Nightmares

[Thalia]

The fines hairs on her arms stood static; she could feel the tension, if not truly share the fear. Her ancient self quivered in reaction, like a rousted dog not quite sure what had disturbed it. Even the emergence of the grotesque demon did not shed light on why she had been drawn here, and though she recoiled from its image as it burst from the fog of the trees, it did not explain anything for her. Nothing kept her here but invisible chains, tethering her to a nature she could never fully understand.

Then, when the man's hands embraced his head, she finally had some small glimpse of what had truly called to her. But the significant scope of that understanding bled quickly to something closer to normal human empathy. He hurt tremendously. Nimeda's hand hovered over his naked shoulder, but the consolation of a touch electrified suddenly with something greater. Gifts stirred, lingering at the edges of memory. She knew enough, for a moment. Enough to know she could help him. But he would lose much in the process. Her hand moved away, hastened perhaps by the glimpse of the wolf in her peripheral. They would not forgive her for that. It would be akin to stealing their brother away from them.

Amidst her reverie, the demon had moved. Emotional pain became physical. Wounds had meaning here. Maybe that was something Jon had said, or maybe it was something she had always known, popped to the surface like a burst bubble. The man pushed her back, buffeted her with his body like she was something he wished to protect. For a moment she was caught on the sight of the blood, understanding that it would follow him back, then distracted by back where? Jumbled in her own thoughts, she cradled back her own hand, quietening the flood of power that had reacted to his distress until she was nothing but an empty vessel. She would help, but not that way.

More wolves rippled through the shadows. "Your nightmare."
She said it again, only this time is wasn't a question. Nor an accusation, but more like the affirmation of ownership. She was still close, though it would have been a simple thing to blink away. The demon did not even seem to notice her; she was little more here than an observer. Armour clinked around him again, plus the bravery of weapons now the wolves had come to his aid, but it would do him little good. Only she didn't quite know how to make him understand. Instead she tugged on his arm, begging him back away from the fight. "It will kill your wolves if you let it. They will die forever. But demons do not exist. Do you see?"