A Moment of Peace (Monroe x Adaryn)

[Admin Sydnee]

Monroe nodded at her. Of course she hated her power. It was the reason Cain was after her. That couldn't be easy to deal with. Things Cain said about Adaryn being dangerous and killing people floated back into his mind. When he looked at her, at her delicate, soft features, he didn't think her capable of something like that. And if she had done something like that, it would never be of her own free will.

"Yes, every damn time," he replied with a sigh, reaching up to rub his temples. He didn't really want to go on about how exhausting it was, or the millions of dreams he'd been apart of.

She apologized and he tried to think of what to say as she looked away, suddenly unable to face him. "I....I've seen a lot of things, Adaryn. Keep that in mind. This just happened to be near the top of the list on the freak-me-the-fuck-out meter." He tried to joke, but his tone was all too serious. "This Cain....how long has this been happening? Him killing you in your dreams?"

[Lux]

It seemed everyone in this school had some problem with their powers, so at least she wasn't alone. But she felt bad for Monroe because it seemed as if he had never had a dream of his own, and sometimes, but not lately, her dreams were an escape from the world, peaceful and wonderful.

He tried explaining how much he freaked out in her dream, and it only made her feel so much worse about what he had seen. It wasn't fair that he had to get pulled into her dream and see a girl practically get murdered in front of his eyes. If it were her, it would cause her to go insane. "Sorry..." Adaryn apologized softly, not sure what else to say about what happened. Really, she didn't want to think about it.

Her breath hitched in her throat when he mentioned Cain. Oh god... please... She really didn't want to talk about him right now... But Monroe was so honest with her, how could she not be honest with him...? "Ever since I had gotten to Veritas..." Her voice raised in pitch as it cracked. She hated thinking about it, but looking up at Monroe and knowing he understood what she had gone through, it seemed to be somewhat alright to say. At least he wouldn't call her crazy. I wake up dry heaving for 20 minutes every time. I have been so drained, I was so physically weak. She wanted to tell him that, but she didn't know if he would freak out or not. Instead she said "He came for weeks, but after you came... he stopped..." And man was she glad it stopped. He was actually probably close to killing her, anyway.

[Admin Sydnee]

"Don't apologize," Monroe told her. He didn't want her to think this was her fault. It was his power that made him fall into others' dreams. He wouldn't have had to experience that if it weren't for his power. She couldn't control her nightmares. Well, she could, a little....but it was very hard to master.

He listened to her speak. She explained that the nightmares had been happening ever since she arrived at the academy. He wondered how that could be. He nodded his head in understanding. He wondered why Cain had suddenly decided to stop visiting. "He doesn't seem like a dream. He seems....real, as if he has real power and that he is a real threat. What I don't get is why he targets you specifically. Do you have any idea why?" Was he intruding others' dreams? "And how the hell can he be in someone's dream?"

He held her gaze, his face showing concern.

[Lux]

"Well, I never thought he was fake... his hatred is too real and he keeps coming back. I mean, I didn't know how he got in my dreams... but now that I know someone has the power of dream walking, maybe he has something similar. Maybe he is a teacher at Spiritus, or maybe someone even worse." Adaryn felt nauseous thinking about it, because now there was a thought that he was closer to home than she had expected. It was one thing to think he could only appear in dreams, but it real life? Adaryn staggered back, wrapping an arm around her stomach uneasily.

Once she regained her composure, she gulped hard "As for why he appears in my dream... I have no clue." Maybe because he knew I killed my sister... "Maybe he just doesn't like people with my power?" It was the only other answer she could come up with. Cain was a mystery she wished she could solve so she could get rid of him.

[Admin Sydnee]

"But if he has a power involving going into people's dreams like I do? Why can he manipulate things and hurt other people through them?" Monroe wondered out loud. More importantly, if this Cain had a power, what gave him the right to hate others with powers? Wasn't that hypocritical?

Adaryn's idea of him being a teacher at Spiritus or something freaked him out, but it did seem as if this guy was real, and not just something produced by Adaryn's unconscious mind. "If he's real...and he keeps visiting you in nightmares, him killing you, it doesn't do anything to you physically....right?" He was almost afraid to ask. And he could sense she was really uncomfortable. "Hey, do you want me to stop with the questions? I didn't mean to make you uneasy, I'm just curious and confused. This could be something really serious."

[Lux]

"Maybe he has learned to control things, or maybe he was born with the ability to manipulate dreams too. Some people have more than one ability." Apparently, not all people can manipulate emotions like she could, but instead they could only see the emotions around them. As much as she knew that it was bad to manipulate people's emotions, it benefited her as well as the other person sometimes. But still, she didn't like thinking about it.

"I sometimes figured he was real in some sense..." Adaryn mumbled softly, clasping and unclasping her hands to distract herself from the problem at hand. Then he asked if Cain could physically hurt her, and she bit her lip. "Uhm...Well..." She stuttered, avoiding his gaze. "He, uhm, does. I wake up with a huge pain in my stomach, and well, end up dry heaving for at least 20 minutes after I get up..." She could feel the pain faintly coming on now just thinking about it. She wanted the questions to stop, and when he offered to stop, she nodded slowly. "P-please. I mean, It is making me physically sick..."

[Admin Sydnee]

"Sorry," Monroe said, exhaling a breath. "I have a lot of questions after what happened." Obviously this Cain had a lot of impact on Adaryn. It was scary, even in her waking life, in reality she could still feel his looming presence. "Feel free to tell me to shut up next time I start doing that. Really, I don't take offense. I'm too tired to really argue about much." He mustered a small smile at her. "The only advice I have, is...don't give him power by being so crippled by fear. He probably feeds off of it."

It was sickening really and he didn't understand it much at all, but she could be in danger, and others as well. "It's just...It's been on my mind since it happened." He wanted badly to try and comfort the girl, but he normally wasn't the best with that kind of stuff. "I tend to get stuck on stuff that I see in dreams. Especially since this one left a mark." He brought a hand up to his face.

"But I'm glad that I'm able to see you in the flesh and that you're in tact."

[Lux]

She attempted to return the smile he gave her even though inside she was practically crumbling to pieces. All he was trying to do was help her, so why should she deny him at least a weak smile? It was only fair, considering he seemed to be incredibly concerned. Her lips twitched upward into a small smile for a moment before her lips turned back down into a line. "I'll try not to let him effect me." But she couldn't keep that promise, because she knew she was terrified, and once he showed up in her dreams again, the terror would start once more.

Adaryn had completely forgotten about the slice on his cheek, but when he moved his hand up to touch it, she followed his hand with her eyes. To be honest, she wanted to touch it and see how bad it really was, but wouldn't that be invading her personal space? Plus he was a guy, an older guy, so how was he going to take that? In the end, she decided to keep her hands by her side.

"Well I'm glad that, for the most part, you are okay..." Her cheeks reddened. "Sorry for pulling you into my dream, by the way..."

[Admin Sydnee]

"It's all in practice, Adaryn. You let me know if he keeps showing up. I...I can try to teach you a thing or two about pulling out of dreams. It should work the same for somebody who doesn't have my power. It's hard work, but it could be worth it in your case if you're having nightmares. After all, these are your dreams and if you don't want to have them, you don't have to. That's what I was trying to tell you in your dream...." he trailed off, feeling the rough skin around his cut on his cheek. It would probably scar, forever a memory of the nightmare he'd fallen into.

"Things could be worse," he said, shrugging at Adaryn. "And stop apologizing. You didn't pull me in. My power did." It wasn't her fault in any way. He wished she would accept that. "I should be sorry. I didn't stop that bastard from hurting you." He remembered Cain not telling him to step any closer or he'd kill her, but he had anyway.

[Lux]

Adaryn nodded slowly at his request even though in her mind she was already putting it aside in her mind. No way was she going to let him know if Cain was bothering her again. She didn't want him to get hurt because of her fear. She would just have to face it alone, like everything she had ever faced in her life. Adaryn watched as his hand went back up to his face and she watched him feel the skin around the mark on his cheek. A wave of nausea came over her when the thought of how it happened came flooding into her mind once again. She couldn't let that happen.

"A-alright, I-" She cut herself. He said stop saying sorry, right? It would probably irritate him if she said it again. Suddenly, she felt as if her ears were filled with something, causing her to hear what she just thought he said. "You're sorry? You actually got the dreams to stop, and whether or not you were in that dream, he was going to stab me..." In the beginning, her voice held shock, but as she continued to speak, as expected, her voice had gotten much softer and unsure. "If I can't be sorry, neither can you." Adaryn looked up at him with a hard gaze for a moment, before she looked away again, her cheeks growing red for the tenth time that day.

[Admin Sydnee]

Monroe hoped that she would only come to him if something was wrong. She shouldn't have to go through all of that alone. He didn't know what to make of his emotions, if he should help her, comfort her, or leave her alone. What did she want from him? But he really did want to help her, after experiencing something so traumatizing with her.

"You're right," Monroe agreed with a nod. He didn't know if he got the dreams to stop, but if Adaryn wanted to believe that, then he'd let her. "Fine then, we both can't be sorry, but that doesn't mean that I don't care about your well-being from these nightmares." Nobody should have to face that alone, especially someone who seemed as powerful as Cain. If he was going to be stuck with his power, he might as well try to use it to help someone.

She'd given him quite a firm look before she looked away. "Look....I'm sorry if I've upset you....I'm not really the best at this whole socializing thing."

[Lux]

Why was he being so kind? It honestly didn't make any sense to her whatsoever. Adaryn was so used to being pushed aside and ignored, even by her parents. They would isolate her from the world because, for such a long time, she was considered bipolar. People would either treat her like a fragile five year old or a mentally unstable teenager. Monroe was treating her as if she actually mattered and she was worth saving.

Adaryn could feel the familiar burning sensation in her eyes and nose that signalled the arrival of tears. An overwhelming sense of happiness engulfed her and she knew it was coming from the happy couples around them. But still, she couldnt help but feel grateful for the change in emotion.

"No Monroe. You're not upsetting me... I'm just... I'm just not used to anyone caring about me. Of course my parents did, but I am sure they were relieved when they got rid of me..." Adaryn hiccuped in an attempted to hold back the sob that was trying to push it's way out of her throat. The tears that were coming were tears of joy though, and so was the sob.

"Just....Thank you" Doing something completely unlike herself, Adaryn moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. She was barely up to his shoulder, and she buried her face in his chest. I'm so happy... she thought, not realizing she was also altering Monroe's mood. So happy.. She sighed.

[Admin Sydnee]

Monroe waited for her to say something, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he did so. She spoke warily, but her words were sad. Nobody cared about her? She felt that way? Was she going to cry? She sure looked like it. Damnit, why? "Uh," he managed, trying to think of what to say. "I may try to stay out of people's way for the most part, because I'd rather just be on my own, but....when I fall into a nightmare like that...there's no ignoring that something is really wrong." Adaryn was plagued by these nightmares, she was hunted by Cain. And he wanted to help her in whatever way he could. Maybe Eloise could help.

He was making a mental note to talk to her when an apology poured from her lips and suddenly she'd wrapped her arms around him. Stunned, he stood there for a moment, as she buried her head in his chest, but it didn't take long for a strange feeling to overcome him. A bubbly, happy feeling that felt foreign to Monroe, but he went with it, wrapping his arms around her as well and resting his chin on top of her head. He felt overcome by bliss and wasn't sure why, but welcomed it. It felt like relief, like he could sleep if he wanted to. Like things weren't so wrong.

[Lux]

In normal circumstances, Adaryn would be completely shocked that he even considered returning her hug. It wasn't like it was expected, but she was so overjoyed that she couldn't help herself when her arms went around him. He was tense, as she expected, in the beginning, but the shock soon faded and she could feel the warmth of happiness taking over him as his arms pulled her close, his chin resting on her head.

Never had she been this close to anybody except her family. Nobody had ever hugged her unless it was completely necessary, because they found that if they held her and she was, for example, sobbing, they would feel the same as she was. That is when what was happening really hit her. He wasn't doing this because he really wanted to. He was doing this because she had practically manipulated him into doing. Adaryn's stomach dropped, and she stood there, her whole body tense. As much as she wanted to tell him, it was nice to feel somebody hug her again, so she stayed quiet for a moment longer before she couldn't take it anymore.

"No...No... This isn't right." She moved away, trying to gently peel his arms from around her. It was false happiness, and she shouldn't have hugged him and altered his mood. "Monroe...I--" Adaryn cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice steady. She was going to cry if she didn't stop herself, but she couldn't think of an acceptable emotion. "Monroe, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." She was already screamed at by that guy at the common room that one time for making him happy so she was just waiting for him to raise his voice and scream at her. She deserved it anyway.

[Admin Sydnee]

Monroe wasn't sure how to explain how he felt, but it was the warmth of happiness that had overcome him and he felt at ease, very calm. He'd closed his eyes as he held her, not taking much time to think about what he was doing, but just that he didn't remember the last time he'd hugged someone.

And then she was speaking and pulling away from him, moving out of his embrace. He stared at her, unsure of what was going on. She was stammering and having trouble relaying her thoughts and the calmness faded away and he felt his own emotions resurfacing, the guilt of not having saved Adaryn in her nightmare, the uneasiness about Cain and the exhaustion he felt from not getting sleep. And then he remembered....emotion manipulation...that was her power and that was what had just happened to him.

It seemed her power gave her a lot of trouble and he didn't think that she'd purposely tried to affect his emotions. It just sort of happened and now she was trying to make it right. He looked at her, straight in the eyes, feeling a little weird about the whole thing, but keeping his stance in front of her. "Make me feel happy?" he chuckled a little. "It felt weird, I'll say, but...it is nice to feel that way. Even if it was just for a moment. And I guess I wouldn't normally have hugged you like that because well..." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, I don't usually hug people." The statement sounded strange and he felt as if he could laugh at himself.

"Powers are hard to control," he said, regaining his composure. "I know you're not trying to manipulate me, Adaryn. Just as I wasn't trying to intrude in your dreams. It happens." He offered a small smile, hoping that she could trust him, even just a little bit.