(Untitled)

[honest_johns]

It's the wee hours of the morning. There are people still awake in the bar -- there are always people awake in the bar -- but in Alain's room everything is dark and silent, but for slow steady breathing. Two sleepers' breathing, tonight

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[awesome_lilly]

Lilly's dreaming. It's an old dream, but this time... it's different.

She's lying on the ground, broken and bleeding, the smell of chlorine in her nose and near-unbearable pain in her head. It's dark and cold, and her mother is walking away and... Veronica's crying. She's a ghost, again, wandering Neptune but this time there are no doors. Nothing leads her to Milliways, and the years start to pass as they do in dreams and Lilly is still a ghost and she's trapped and she can never leave...

Just a dream, Lilly tries to tell herself, tossing restlessly in her sleep. It's just a dream, you can wake up, it'll be over because it's not real... but it is real. Somewhere, it's real and Lilly suddenly thinks that maybe... maybe it's real here.

[honest_johns]

He's awake, suddenly, blinking in the dark and unsure of what woke him. Keeping still, his breathing still slow, as he waits to figure it out; training holds.

Lilly mumbles something incoherent, and twitches a little, and then mutters again and rolls away from him restlessly, and he knows.

He rolls onto his side, frowning, and reaches out to run a soothing hand down her arm.

[awesome_lilly]

It's not quite a conscious memory but Lilly's not quite conscious...

Clarence's hand slides down her arm, checking the stiffness of her limbs. He shakes his head. It's no good, she's still warm. She's still *alive,* but he doesn't feel her pulse. Doesn't or won't.

Lilly jerks away from Alain's hand, mumbling incoherently. If you have good ears, you might be able to pick out the word "no." Possibly even the word "ice."

[honest_johns]

His hand freezes, as she jerks away.

A good deal more worried now, "Lilly?" His voice is very low, and rough with sleep.

[awesome_lilly]

She turns again, still restless, her forehead wrinkling in her sleep.

"cold..."

One hand lifts to brush clumsily against her forehead, pushing her hair blood off her face.

[honest_johns]

A little louder, "Lilly."

He's wary of touching her until she's more awake, now.

"Lilly, wake up."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly gasps, her eyes flying open. She looks straight at Alain, but for the moment there is no recognition in her eyes.

"what? who're..."

She trails off, blinking disorientedly.

[honest_johns]

His forehead is creased with concern.

"Wake up, Lilly. It's all right. Just me."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly's breathing fast from the nightmare still, but her face relaxes just a bit at Alain's words.

"Alain?"

Some of the tension seeps out of her shoulders.

"I woke you up, I'm sorry..."

[honest_johns]

A small headshake. "'s all right."

Worried and reassuring in equal measure.

He ventures to touch her, now, moving slowly to cup her face with his hand. "You okay?"

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly nods once, reaching up to curl her fingers around his wrist.

"I'm okay...

Her voice is still soft and uncertain, though, and her body is still tense.

[honest_johns]

"You're right here." His hand is warm and steady. "Dream's over."

[awesome_lilly]

Lilly just nods again, doesn't say anything for a moment. She's had nightmares before. They're not usually this disturbingly real. And she's never before gotten the sense that somewhere, somehow, the dream is still going... and she's still in it.

"I'm really okay. It was just a bad dream."

[honest_johns]

"Aye."

[awesome_lilly]

It's still there, that nagging feeling that somehow the dream is continuing. Lilly tries to ignore it, to focus on the warmth of Alain's hand but it's still there like an echo in the back of her mind.

She frowns.

[honest_johns]

The moon is bright, and Alain has good eyes. And he can feel the faint tension in her forehead, against his fingers.

His frown grows as hers does, but his is worried.

He doesn't know her sleeping habits well enough yet; doesn't know if she wants cuddling or talk, to go back to sleep or to wake up for a while.

After a little while of her inward-looking frown, he tries anyway. Slides his hand down her cheek to wrap around her shoulders and pull her very gently towards him.