[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]she watches with mild interest as he parts the mist, running fingers through tendrils. they coil, curl, and dissipate.

ah, so they’ve both been clutches of nightmares. different yet similar reasons all the same. maybe it’d work for him…

unfortunately, she still wakes up in a sweat, no matter how much pink mist clouds her room.

”yeah,” her voice sounds distant, faraway, stuck in memories. ”it’d be nice… i’ve noticed it works better on others than my own.”

her demons have long since morphed into her skin. burrowing beneath and settling into empty spaces between her bones. and maybe that’s the point. the devil left a piece of himself in her and a little piece of her is now his.

everything comes with a price, even the physical relationships she clings to. and that price will always be her mind, her body, her soul.

MATIAS SILPH
capturing trevenant!

"i don't have them as much anymore, but that just seems to make it worse when i do."

less exposure to them, maybe? before, he expected them every time he slept, but now, they catch him off guard, haunting whenever they fancied.

in the background, another battle rages on, his dusknoir locked in a grapple with a wild malamar whose SUCTION CUPS stick against dusknoir's body, restricting its movements. it's a good thing dusknoir's SHADOW BALL can form from any part of its body.

a pokeball is rolled towards it after.

illeana reyes
catching malamar!

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]she hums in understanding. it's, unfortunately, a realm shared by both of them. nightmares never quite seem to release the grasp they hold on the mind once they bleed in. it's difficult to shake them, even with endless attempts.

briefly, she remembers the first night. had that been a nightmare, then?

heartstrings tug slightly in the process of empathizing and she's reaching to offer a squeeze of comfort to his fingers before she can stop.

"i'm sorry," comes softly, genuinely. she'd take them away if she could, just as she'd take her own, but that requires her mist and she's not certain how useful it'll be for him. "how often do they happen now?"

in the background, her ninetales successfully manages to scare off a curious grumpig from waking the sleeping babies. the silver fox snaps sharp teeth and the grumpig squeals softly before scampering off into the bushes. satisfied, ninetales curls back down behind illeana's back, tails curled protectively around both of their waists.

MATIAS SILPH
passing!

"once every few days, maybe more."

he shrugs. he hasn't been keeping track, really. but even though they're sparse compared to before, tiredness wears him down, forcing his head to tilt back to rest against the tombstone as he appreciates the comfort from her presence.

"i'm still exhausted, though."

admittance doesn't come easily but it seems to with her. it's then that he closes his eyes, leaning a bit more into the golett.

illeana reyes
catching malamar!

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]there’s still a frequency to his nightmares, one that haunts him. and how many nights can she say the same?

too many.

his head leans back against the tombstone and she’s turning her head to observe him. eyes flutter shit and if she didn’t know better, she’d almost say he’s at peace in this moment. comfortable, serene, safe.

”did you have one last night?” is a way of asking if he’s exhausted right now. and even if he says he isn’t, she’s still letting pink mist waft off her body in little soothing waves.

smoochy boo shifts closer to her body, nuzzled into the crook of her neck. ninetales’s warmth keeps them content, keeps them relaxed where illeana’s mist might fail. between the two, it’s easy to understand why her golett has gone quiet now. no more rumbles, no more twitches from nightmares clawing at the brain. only peace.

MATIAS SILPH
passing!

conveniently,

"i did."

he doesn't remember what the nightmare was about, however, but they all seem to revolve around the same few things: the war, kanto, and what future awaits them.

and after a few moments, sleep gently takes him as exhaustion and comfort overpower. with nothing to support his head except the tombstone (and even then, it's not much), his head tilts to the side, slowly shifting his weight over towards her.

illeana reyes
catching drifloon!

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]"i'm sorry," she murmurs. it's soft, genuine, almost pained.

and she doesn't quite realize it ends up falling on sleeping ears.

when her head turns, her golett is shifting in its sleep. and where it shifts, matias begins to fall. sleep has crept up over the man, easing him into what she hopes is something peaceful. the smile that settles, then, is an almost too comfortable mixture of fondness and affection. her golett shifts once more until it's completely leaned against the tombstone of her fallen pokemon. matias's body soon follows and she has to shift smoochy boo closer to the crook of her neck to keep her from being squished.

a sableye wanders in during the sleeping circle, beady red eyes sparkling. it snickers at the sight and when her attention shifts to the little gremlin, her smile remains. a finger rises in a shushing motion, then, and it must interest the ghost for it creeps closer.

something about a cuddle puddle is enticing to it, perhaps.

she ends up surrounded by one more soul, the purple body of the sableye joining her side. it doesn't quite fall asleep, though. no, it opts to fiddle with her hair instead, as if the long pale waves are the most curious thing. she leans into the touch, more than happy to let the sableye play.

maybe it even knows how to braid.

MATIAS SILPH
cmere cutie sableye!

he never quite hears her apology. or maybe he does but it's when he's on the verge of passing out, so it's not like he'll remember it when he eventually wakes.

with no golett to support his weight, he slumps over until his head finds her lap. but again, it's not like he's aware of it. his mind is elsewhere, lost in the realms of sleep.

quietly, a drifloon floats down to join them, resting atop the tombstone with a polite chirp. it looks down at them, bobbing up and down gently as it also takes a nap with them.

illeana reyes
catching drifloon!

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]she startles slightly at the contact, at the way his head falls softly into her lap. and while it brings a flush clawing back onto her cheeks, she doesn't have the heart to shove him off.

no... he looks too exhausted and there's a peaceful settling of his features. she stares for a moment, as if committing it to memory.

and then, a hand rises to run fingers through salmon strands of hair. the action looks to lure him into a deeper slumber, one with no nightmares to plague him.

pink mist bleeds in wispy tendrils from her fingers. twirling through his hair, settling like a warm blanket on his face.

she'll do what she can to combat their nightmares. his and hers and all of the pokemon gathered around them.

MATIAS SILPH
cmere cutie sableye!

willed into a deeper slumber, no nightmares haunt him this time. perhaps the very pink mist that he once despised — envied, even — keeps him safe, watching over him as he ventures into the plane of dreams. and it's there that he finds comfort, peace, and solitude.

and it's there that he rests, at least for however long this nap lasts.

illeana reyes
catching drifloon!

☉