Arrakis knew he promised Night Sky to come to her when he had nightmares but he didn't want to burden her with them every night. He was afraid she would get tired of him so he still snuck up to the roof sometimes. He had been going to the roof more often lately. His magic had been a bit unstable since he had been enthralled by the green knight. Even if he went to sleep in his half gryphon form he instinctively switched back into a mage when he woke up from a nightmare and he didn't want to hurt Night Sky with his magic.
He was tempted to run away from his magic for a little while with his half gryphon form but ignoring his magic was more dangerous. Instead he used his wind magic to silently leap onto the roof. The cool air helped him calm down and his eyes softly shone brighter as he looked up at the stars.
Sky must be sleeping with someone else tonight, probably Red Son or something. He prefers not to sleep alone, but he doesn't know the other castle inhabitants well enough to cuddle with them yet, and well, he can't find another random bed every night of the week. Sometimes he has to sleep in his own, alone.
Of course, he's awoken several times with nightmares of the people he loves suffering, dying painfully, or being killed... By him.
After the third nightmare, he gives up on sleeping entirely and gets up to wander the castle. He goes down to the kitchen and finds a satchel of tea Levi gave him, one he's been saving for a rainy day, and figures this qualifies as rainy. He wants the comfort, wants the reminder of Levi. He brews it carefully, according to the methods Levi taught him, and then takes the tea up to the roof for some fresh air.
He almost jumps out of his skin as his eyes catch on Arrakis' form. Not that he's scared of Arrakis, he just has PTSD and a huge startle reflex. He takes a breath to steady himself before approaching the other man, sidling up next to him.
Arrakis startled as well and his eyes sparked brighter as he summoned his wind magic. The inhuman mage he became in his nightmares flashed in his mind and he dismissed his wind in a panic before he hurt Finnick. Remembering how he had looked at his magic with wonder when they first met made his own hostile reaction sting. He didn't want Finnick to be scared of him and he quickly tried to hide how shaken he was with a small chuckle.
"Sorry. I didn't expect anyone else to be up here. Not that I mind the company." It was nice and the sharp flickering in his eyes hesitantly softened as Finnick joined him.
Please. One of Finnick's best friends is Nina, who is a millimeter away from punching his lights out at almost all times. Not to mention how aggressive Katniss and Johanna used to be toward pretty much everyone, not to mention the other bloodthirsty tributes... A little wind magic as a defensive reflex doesn't scare him. It's only natural.
However, Arrakis looks frightened, and Finnick feels a little bad for scaring him.
"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just needed some air."
He cups his hands around his teacup, leaning against the wall of the castle and looking out. He sighs, some of the tension beginning to release from his shoulders.
There was nothing natural about Arrakis's magic, but he was glad he hadn't scared Finnick. Once again his lack of fear towards his magic drew him in. His eyes softly glowed as Finnick's words resonated with him. He rested his head against his knee with a sigh "Yeah, I know how that feels."
He wished Finnick didn't feel the same but he was glad for the company. He hesitated before scooting a bit closer, not quite close enough to touch. Despite his ache for human touch he resisted the urge lean again him for now. He turned to the stars with a faint smile.
"They are. Regardless of the world, the stars are always beautiful."
Arrakis' blue eyes are glowing in the dark, and Finnick finds himself a little entranced by them as he looks over. Finnick also considers touching Arrakis but decides against for now, since he's trying to be better with giving people he doesn't know too well their personal space.
"You're right. That's a nice commonality. I wonder if they have named constellations here."
The entrancing glow of Arrakis's eyes seemed to resonate with Finnick's words. His eyes sharply flickered before softly glowing brighter at Finnick's offer. It was tempting, and it made Arrakis want to feel Finnick's touch even more and he inched his hand a bit closer, letting Finnick decide whether he wanted him this close or not. His eyes narrowed as he considered his answer.
"I don't know. It's very kind of you, but it's not easy to talk about."
And yet the offer tugged at him, making his eyes softly burn brighter with longing. His eyes narrowed as he whispered. "There's a reason I said you wouldn't like my magic." Maybe he said too much and his eyes flickered faintly with his unease.
The stars were a perfect distraction and a hint of Arrakis's usual brightness retuned to his voice. "I don't know. I've been here over a year but surprisingly I never checked, but maybe that's because I'm used to a hidden sky you can't see."
Even now he searched for that hidden sky among the unfamiliar stars and there was a hint of sadness in his faint smile.
Arrakis tensed at the question, his eyes sharply flashing brighter with the secrets he couldn't tell. His magic resonated with his emotions and he focused on Finnick's touch in order to keep himself from getting lost to the weightless embrace of his magic. His eyes narrowed as he answered.
"My magic is dangerous." After being enthralled by the green knight he had no right to hide the potential threat of his magic. With Finnick living in the castle he deserved to know that much. He knew his answer was vague and he was tired of keeping the truth about his magic a secret. Finnick's presence pulled a hint of the truth out of him and he hesitantly continued, "And it has already cost too many people their lives." His eyes softly burned brighter with the deep guilt he struggled to keep out of his expression.
At hint of that guilt lingered in his voice for a brief moment as he talked about his world. However it was quickly replaced with a fragile happiness that was reflected in the soft glow of his eyes as he looked up at the stars.
"According to legend the ancient gods used to live among mortals but they chose to leave and moved their kingdom to an invisible realm in the sky only the gods can see. Children are named after the constellations of that hidden sky in order to get the ancient gods' blessing. That's the story anyway, but it was also a clever way for our ancestors to keep aspects of the world they left behind when they were exiled, while hiding the truth and their connection to another world." His smile wavered slightly. "My friends and I only learned the truth a few years ago."
The truth had shattered his entire world and his eyes brightly resonated with his words.
Arrakis was purposely vague about the truth. He hadn't told anyone here about it. Bits and pieces maybe but never enough that anyone could fit the pieces together. His happiness here was because no one knew the truth, and he didn't want to risk losing that.
The weight of his secret could be suffocating sometimes, especially after what happened with the green knight. With Finnick's encouragement he felt like he could breathe a little easier and he silently thanked Finnick with a fragile smile.
He didn't want to hold back anymore and he bumped against Finnick's shoulder. "That's not a good thing." He settled against him with a small smile. "Still, I'm glad you're not scared of me."
"No, it's not," he says with a small laugh, and finally puts his arm around Arrakis' shoulders.
"I've already died twice, and I know it isn't permanent here, so it doesn't scare me much anymore. And in my world, I went through a lot of scary stuff, so it's not too easy to scare me in general."
Another tiny laugh, exhaled through his nose.
"Well, except for nightmares, I guess. But those are mainly about my loved ones being in danger."
Arrakis leaned into Finnick's touch with a small hum. He closed his eyes as he focused on calming his emotions enough so he could feel the comforting arm around his shoulder more. His eyes opened when Finnick mentioned dying and they flashed brighter again.
"You should still be careful. You don't want to go to the inferna, trust me."
He sympathized with a hesitant chuckle. "Yeah, mine have been like that too lately."
It was a break from his other nightmares but in many ways the nightmares about his magic destroying the loved ones who he had found here were worse. He tensed slightly as he spoke. He hadn't told many people about his nightmares but for some reason Finnick was easy to talk to.
"What's it like?" He asks, curious. It seems to be something like hell, but he wonders how literal it is. Actually burning alive? Or some other kind of torture?
"Ugh," he says with a little sympathetic squeeze. "It sucks. I'm sorry."
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Nightmares
He was tempted to run away from his magic for a little while with his half gryphon form but ignoring his magic was more dangerous. Instead he used his wind magic to silently leap onto the roof. The cool air helped him calm down and his eyes softly shone brighter as he looked up at the stars.
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Of course, he's awoken several times with nightmares of the people he loves suffering, dying painfully, or being killed... By him.
After the third nightmare, he gives up on sleeping entirely and gets up to wander the castle. He goes down to the kitchen and finds a satchel of tea Levi gave him, one he's been saving for a rainy day, and figures this qualifies as rainy. He wants the comfort, wants the reminder of Levi. He brews it carefully, according to the methods Levi taught him, and then takes the tea up to the roof for some fresh air.
He almost jumps out of his skin as his eyes catch on Arrakis' form. Not that he's scared of Arrakis, he just has PTSD and a huge startle reflex. He takes a breath to steady himself before approaching the other man, sidling up next to him.
"Can't sleep?"
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"Sorry. I didn't expect anyone else to be up here. Not that I mind the company." It was nice and the sharp flickering in his eyes hesitantly softened as Finnick joined him.
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However, Arrakis looks frightened, and Finnick feels a little bad for scaring him.
"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just needed some air."
He cups his hands around his teacup, leaning against the wall of the castle and looking out. He sighs, some of the tension beginning to release from his shoulders.
"Nice night. The stars are pretty."
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He wished Finnick didn't feel the same but he was glad for the company. He hesitated before scooting a bit closer, not quite close enough to touch. Despite his ache for human touch he resisted the urge lean again him for now. He turned to the stars with a faint smile.
"They are. Regardless of the world, the stars are always beautiful."
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Arrakis' blue eyes are glowing in the dark, and Finnick finds himself a little entranced by them as he looks over. Finnick also considers touching Arrakis but decides against for now, since he's trying to be better with giving people he doesn't know too well their personal space.
"You're right. That's a nice commonality. I wonder if they have named constellations here."
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"I don't know. It's very kind of you, but it's not easy to talk about."
And yet the offer tugged at him, making his eyes softly burn brighter with longing. His eyes narrowed as he whispered. "There's a reason I said you wouldn't like my magic." Maybe he said too much and his eyes flickered faintly with his unease.
The stars were a perfect distraction and a hint of Arrakis's usual brightness retuned to his voice. "I don't know. I've been here over a year but surprisingly I never checked, but maybe that's because I'm used to a hidden sky you can't see."
Even now he searched for that hidden sky among the unfamiliar stars and there was a hint of sadness in his faint smile.
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"I figured. What reason?" Finnick's still pretty sure he's going to like it, but there's only one way to find out.
"A hidden sky?" He has no idea what Arrakis means by that.
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"My magic is dangerous." After being enthralled by the green knight he had no right to hide the potential threat of his magic. With Finnick living in the castle he deserved to know that much. He knew his answer was vague and he was tired of keeping the truth about his magic a secret. Finnick's presence pulled a hint of the truth out of him and he hesitantly continued, "And it has already cost too many people their lives." His eyes softly burned brighter with the deep guilt he struggled to keep out of his expression.
At hint of that guilt lingered in his voice for a brief moment as he talked about his world. However it was quickly replaced with a fragile happiness that was reflected in the soft glow of his eyes as he looked up at the stars.
"According to legend the ancient gods used to live among mortals but they chose to leave and moved their kingdom to an invisible realm in the sky only the gods can see. Children are named after the constellations of that hidden sky in order to get the ancient gods' blessing. That's the story anyway, but it was also a clever way for our ancestors to keep aspects of the world they left behind when they were exiled, while hiding the truth and their connection to another world." His smile wavered slightly. "My friends and I only learned the truth a few years ago."
The truth had shattered his entire world and his eyes brightly resonated with his words.
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"I'm sorry. That's rough."
His expression lifts a little, trying to be encouraging.
"I'm not scared, though. You'll find I have very little sense of self-preservation, these days." He laughs lightly.
He listens as Arrakis talks about his world.
"Wow. That's really cool." He doesn't know what he's referring to with 'the truth,' but the rest of it is neat.
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The weight of his secret could be suffocating sometimes, especially after what happened with the green knight. With Finnick's encouragement he felt like he could breathe a little easier and he silently thanked Finnick with a fragile smile.
He didn't want to hold back anymore and he bumped against Finnick's shoulder. "That's not a good thing." He settled against him with a small smile. "Still, I'm glad you're not scared of me."
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"I've already died twice, and I know it isn't permanent here, so it doesn't scare me much anymore. And in my world, I went through a lot of scary stuff, so it's not too easy to scare me in general."
Another tiny laugh, exhaled through his nose.
"Well, except for nightmares, I guess. But those are mainly about my loved ones being in danger."
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"You should still be careful. You don't want to go to the inferna, trust me."
He sympathized with a hesitant chuckle. "Yeah, mine have been like that too lately."
It was a break from his other nightmares but in many ways the nightmares about his magic destroying the loved ones who he had found here were worse. He tensed slightly as he spoke. He hadn't told many people about his nightmares but for some reason Finnick was easy to talk to.
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"Ugh," he says with a little sympathetic squeeze. "It sucks. I'm sorry."