“I… Well, you see…” Severo rubbed the back of his neck. “You are likely going to get mad…but please know that I wasn’t trying to be invasive…I was just trying to help.”
“Just tell me.”
“Well, I…get up in the middle of the night sometimes…and I couldn’t help but hear. I ignored it for a while…hesitating, but then…I just couldn’t. And okay, this is going to sound kind of creepy… Maybe super creepy.” Severo groaned. “Look, there are these things in the Shadow Realm called Nystras… There are also things called Drayes, but they don’t matter so much in this case.”
“Nystras and Drayes?” Seri asked with a brow raised.
“Yes…” The Dweller cleared his throat. “So, these creatures only exist and manifest in the Shadow Realm. And they feed on dreams—both of them—but specific types of dreams. And Nystras gather around for…”
“Nightmares?”
“Yes…they are attracted to the negative energy that nightmares produce. And they feed off that energy and make it worse. But Shadow Dwellers can destroy, and in some ways control, both of these creatures, to an extent. In the case of Nystras, it’s usually to destroy.”
He head tilted. Nystras and Drayes? Neither were things he’d heard of before. It kind of felt like he was being told something monumentous. That there were things out there other than Cryptids and humans.
“And they aren’t Cryptids? Is this one of those things your kind keeps secret?”
“Sort of a secret. And I wouldn’t say they were Cryptids, but something other. It’s like this… while they do exist, the problem is that my kind are the only ones who can see them, and they can only manifest in Shadow Realms.
“I can’t tell you what exactly they are, or if they come from us, considering the Shadow Realms are manifestations of our souls from the void. Or so it’s believed. But because of how and where they are, telling others about them is sort of pointless. How can someone believe they are real when they can’t see them?
“Anyway…this is where it sort of gets creepy… I’ve been sitting outside your doorway in the Shadow Realm, destroying all the Nystras that showed up. Every night…for the last month…”
Seri licked his lips, swallowing as he tried to quell the emotions that started to well up. Why? Why was this man, whose only connection to Seri was that he’d hunted him down for a crime…doing so much for him?
Pushing back the tears trying to form, he asked, “Why would you do that for me?”
“Because I…couldn’t stand hearing you in pain, when I knew I could do something to stop it… At least, do enough so you are able to sleep through the night without waking up in tears.”
“But why? Why would you care? I…” Seri rubbed his face. “I don’t understand why you would care… I’m no one to you.”
“You aren’t…no one. I like you as a person. I think you are brave and caring, even if you are prickly. You are super smart, a good fighter, and yet honorable. Like, you could have killed me, you know, but you didn’t. You are just someone who is doing their best in the horrible situation you’ve been placed in. I admire you.
“And despite how wonderful you are, it’s like, not once did you have someone on your side. And I am just here to tell you, I am on your side, Seri. So, when I see you having a hard time, and I can do something about it, I’m going to do it.”
Seri’s bottom lip wobbled, and he was having a damn hard time holding back his tears, but he was still succeeding somehow. While he heard all the man had said, the only thing his mind was focusing on was the ‘like’ part.
He knew Severo didn’t mean it in a romantic way, but sitting there, Seri realized...he wished the man did. Which was not good for what remained of his sanity.
Seri cleared his throat. “I’m not…used to people caring about me.”
The man’s face crumpled. “That's…”
“I didn’t say it to make you pity me…”
“I don’t pity you. It just makes me sad.” Severo’s bottom lip wobbled, the man’s eyes going glossy.
Seri laughed, wiping at his eyes.“Oh my Goddess…you are a big old softy, aren’t you?”
This man…was too good for him. Severo was…too kind, too caring, too considerate… Seri wasn’t under any illusion about what he was like. Blunt, rude, he wasn’t the most affectionate or caring individual. He frankly, for the most part, didn’t like people as a whole.
Whatever Seri was feeling, likely was not what Severo was feeling right now. The man’s emotions must just be a mixture of pity, misplaced kindness, and guilt for having played a part in dragging him out of hiding. It all added up to him seriously needing to not read too deeply into his actions, because at the end of all this, Severo would be walking away from him.
“Gah,” Skya whined. He looked at her, but she was looking at Severo, her bottom lip wobbling too.
“Don’t cry,” Seri demanded, looking right at Severo.
Severo’s face oddly reddened, his tears seeming to dry up instantly. “I won’t.”
