Night Terrors (Open)

[Aito Satoshi]

When I Dream...It's Never Sweet.

Night fell again on the Hogwarts castle and once again, Aito found himself sitting in the window of Ravenclaw tower, staring out the window with the faintest traces of a smile upon his lips. Homework parchment and an inkwell rested on the desk beside him, all completed with an astounding accuracy for his age. The ink was drying, and he didn't feel like using magic to finish the job for him. Through the year, he'd managed to stay below the radar, out of the limelight (pay no attention to the man behind the curtain), and out of trouble. There wasn't much else he could do this year, with one year left until life came knocking.

He silently wished himself a Happy Birthday before he slid off the window sill and looked down at the dried ink before rolling up the parchment and setting the multiple scrolls into his bag for safety. Something about the late stages of fall and the early stages of winter always kept him on edge. He couldn't fall asleep, not when there were so many people to alert to his condition. That would wreck all of the work he had done to stay out of sight.

With a sigh, he slumped into the couch in the common room and looked up at the ceiling with that same small smile that seemed permanently attached to his lips. Before long, the heat of the fire made him start to let his eyes close and he felt the comfortable drift of sleep coming over his senses. He wasn't asleep long, at least not in peace. His face began to distort, beginning with a furrowing brow and trembling lips, his breath began to push harder from his lungs and his heart beat began to climb. Anxiety coursed through his veins and he felt a tightening in his throat before he sat bolt upright with unfocused, far off eyes, and gave a blood curdling shriek.

His limbs shot out propelling him over the back of the couch and onto the floor behind it. After a moment of struggle, he jumped up and took off running out of the portrait hole. His heart thundered, far faster than it ever should, and he caught himself mid stride when his body went into lock down and he fell back as the paralysis set into his blood. Eyes open and wide, tearing from the corners, stared up and unblinking at the ceiling. His lips were relaxed and still his heart pounded madly in his chest. Inevitably he would fall asleep again and wind up elsewhere.

Sure enough, his eyes closed slowly and his breathing slowed. It was nearly two hours before he climbed up to his feet and started moving through the castle with a slow amble, eyes rolled back into his skull as he walked into the cold brisk of the air outside. It did nothing to wake him and he only continued to keep walking through the grounds until he reached the edge of the lake. The water softened the ground near where his feet rested and for the longest moment he simply stood there until his hands reached out at nothing and slow steps dragged forward to bring his body into the water, cold liquid rushing up the comfort of his shoes, up past the ankles, up to his calves and then his knees.

[Alleyne Sinclair]

wherever you go, just always remember
YOU'RE NEVER ALONE, THIS IS MY OATH TO YOU

[/size]


It had been a pretty long day for Alleyne, what with classes, and getting a jump start on studying ahead on things they would start covering after break. And then on top of that, it was her bestie's birthday, and in Alley's true fashion, she'd gone all out for him. Bringing him a homemade cake, a pointy party hat, and a noisemaker to dinner that night, and singing "Happy Birthday" at the top of her lungs, glaring at everyone else at Ravenclaw table until they had joined in. She'd held off on giving him his present until they'd gotten to the common room afterwards though, wanting that to be a little more private. And now, now it was getting late. She'd been lying in bed for a while now, trying to sleep, but it seemed that she was just too wired up right now to fall asleep. And so, she'd taken her wand, and saying "lumos", was using it as a light while she worked on some poetry in her notebook.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she heard a loud banshee-like scream from the common room. The voice was so familiar, she knew it as well as she knew her own or Jazzy's, and the moment she heard it, she knew exactly what was happening, Aito was having another episode. Her best friend suffered from horrible nightmares and night terrors, which almost always led to sleepwalking. Hearing that scream, Alley dropped her quill, not caring if she got any ink on her bed, and jumped from her bed. Grabbing her favorite neon purple hoodie, and slipping her feet into her black uggs as fast as she possibly could, she ran from her dorm and down the stairs to the common room. Looking around, she realized he was gone, no longer in the common room, and knowing his sleepwalking, probably not even in Ravenclaw tower anymore.

Alleyne frowned, running her hand through her long cinnamon brown colored hair. "damnit...I wasn't quick enough," she muttered softly, "where would you go Aito?" It was a stupid question really, and not just because he wasn't there to answer her. When Aito started sleepwalking he didn't think about or really know where he was going or where he'd end up, he could be absolutely anywhere. Sighing, a resigned look formed on Alleyne's face. Screw curfew, if she got caught by a prefect or a teacher, so be it, but she wouldn't be able to sleep knowing Aito was out sleepwalking around the castle, or god forbid the grounds, where anything could be happening to him. And with that thought, she made her way out of the portrait hole, determined to find her bestie before something bad happened.

After searching every inch of the castle for nearly 2 hours, thankfully not being caught by anyone who could give her detention for being out past curfew, and not finding any sign of him, Alley decided it was time to look on the grounds. And just as she walked out of the front entrance of the castle, she saw him. He was too far away for her to catch up with him, and she doubted he'd hear her if she yelled, when he was asleep it was extremely difficult to wake him up, most times she had to literally grab and shake him, so instead she decided to follow until he stopped somewhere, and then catch him. But when he started heading for the lake, she dropped that idea and started to run after him. Unfortunately he was already knee deep in the lake by the time she caught up, and Alley bit her lip, frowning. "Aito...hey, can you hear me? Its Alley..." she called, panicking slightly. When she realized he definitely wasn't already awake, and couldn't hear her, she did the only thing she could, she ran into the lake after him.

As she ran into the water, getting her boots and jeans soaked in the process, and finally reached his side, she grabbed ahold of his arm, and shook him as hard as she could. "Aito! Aito come on... wake up!" she said loudly, trying to stay as calm as she could, "Come on...I need to get you out of here before you fall over and drown in your sleep...please wake up." She shook him one more time, this time holding both his shoulders. When she was sure he wasn't waking up, she bit her lip, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, she grabbed hold of his arm, and pulled, dragging his sleepwalking self back the way he came, and towards the shore. It was hard, because Aito asleep really wasn't cooperating with him, but she was determined to get him out of the water.


MY BEST FRIEND, BEST FRIEND TIL THE VERY END[/size]
you need a hand, and I'm right there beside you[/size]

Wearing: faded blue skinny jeans, long black tank top hanging off her shoulder, bright purple zip up hoodie sweatshirt, black Uggs. Tagged: Aito Lyrics: The Oath- Cher Lloyd ft. Becky G.
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[Aito Satoshi]

Somewhere between realms, he was reaching out to her hands. His brow furrowed as she kept drifting back along the top of the water. Beckoning him closer. He sighed only slightly, in frustration. A soft sound leaving his lips, "M..aiko..." The image behind closed eyes shimmered softly, smiling with joy, beckoning him closer. "Come darling, don't let anything stop you..."

He could hear another voice echoing in the halls of his mind. "It's...Alley...W...wwwake up..." "Alley... His head turned toward the voice and he stopped moving. As his head turned, the apparition of Maiko shrieked loudly and dropped below the surface of the water with a turbulent force pushing out from her spot. Instantly, his head snapped back and he found shrieks of protest leaving his lips, sobs of gut wrenching pain, and the urge to slip beneath the glassy top of the water just to feel safe again.

Instead, a familiar...terrifying sound registered. It was that of one of the lake's mer-people above the water. It was then that the cold registered and he drew in a sharp gasp of air and his eyes snapped into focus. With a frightened squeak, he grabbed Alley's arms and moved backwards sharply, falling back onto the solid ground of the lake banks.

His breath was ragged, and a sheen of sweat covered his forehead. His heart was racing wildly within his chest and his eyes were somewhere between focused and not. What ever dragged him into this nightmarish realm, wanted to keep him there. "Alley....M...aiko...she's in...the water...I can't...." Two years previous was still too vivid in his memory and guilt consumed him. In fact, if it hadn't been for Alley, he would have jumped in there after her and likely died as well. It was not his time.

Nor was it now.

[Alleyne Sinclair]

wherever you go, just always remember
YOU'RE NEVER ALONE, THIS IS MY OATH TO YOU

[/size]



In his sleep he suddenly said "M...aiko..." and Alley frowned as she continued to try and drag him towards the shore. Maiko, of course that would be what was plaguing him as he sleepwalked to the lake, she should have known. She was pretty sure if it was still strong in her memory, then it must be scarily vivid in his. Maiko... her friend, Aito's girlfriend... it had been a tragedy. She could still remember it like it was yesterday, even though it happened 2 years ago,at the end of their fourth year. She remembered watching them pull one of her closest friends' body from the lake, cold and lifeless, tears falling from her face. And she remembered having to hold tightly onto Aito as he tried to escape her hold and jump into the lake himself, not wanting to live without her. But Alley had held tight, refusing to let her best friend kill himself in his grief, and she wasn't going to let anything happen to him now either "Come on Aito... its Alley... you gotta wake up..." she said as she pulled on him.

Suddenly Aito seemed to be half awake, and she heard him say her name. Looking at him with a shakey smile, she nodded. "Yeah Aito I'm here... but we gotta get you outta the lake... come on.." she continued pulling him, dragging him slowly closer to the edge of the lake. He spoke again, stuttering, caught in a place between awakeness and nightmare, saying her name again, and then saying that it was Maiko, and that she was in the water, and that he couldn't... Alley felt a couple of tears fall from her own eyes as she saw him like this. Pulling him close, she hugged him tight. "No Aito... Maiko's not in the water... not anymore... she's gone... and she's not coming back," she said, her voice breaking, "I miss her too, but its not your time to go too... so you need to work with me here, we need to get you out of this water." And with that, she pulled out of the hug, and placing his arm over her shoulder, and wrapping hers around his back, she started moving towards the shore again, slowly, pulling him along with her. "Come on... you can do this. I know you can. "



MY BEST FRIEND, BEST FRIEND TIL THE VERY END[/size]
you need a hand, and I'm right there beside you[/size]

Wearing: faded blue skinny jeans, long black tank top hanging off her shoulder, bright purple zip up hoodie sweatshirt, black Uggs. Tagged: Aito Lyrics: The Oath- Cher Lloyd ft. Becky G.
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[Aito Satoshi]

Voices echoed in the far reaches of his consciousness and he was struggling to hear them. He was asleep again? Blast it all. He wasn't supposed to fall asleep. That would explain why he kept seeing Maiko's face in everything he saw. With Alley's nudging, he found both black eyes opening slowly again and there was a noticeable lost feeling in the gaze that peered at her. His nerves fired, making him look around nervously before he gripped the strands of grass in his fingers. "I'm sorry Alley....I just got so tired! I couldn't help it!" His body tingled and jolted with the lack of energy. "I forgot my potion after dinner. I thought I'd be alright."

The lack of rest was making him clumsy as he tried to climb to his feet, only to fall back to the ground again with eyes partially rolled back. Gods, he was so tired and he'd sell his soul and secrets to the highest bidder for some sleep that wouldn't result in his condition's flaring up again. His body jittered slightly, eyes trying to fight from closing again. "Am I being punished for something? Something I have done? Something I didn't do?" Not so much as a nap for nearly 5 years now. Was he really starting to lose it? "Is it her? Is she angry at me?" He stopped moving and his eyes eased into an awake state and he sat upright, looking over the water. He had loved Maiko with all of his being and it was enough to wreck him to see the lake sometimes. This was insane, inhumane, and something that should be outlawed!

Why did she jump in? Why didn't she just wait? He was only a little late!

[Alleyne Sinclair]

wherever you go, just always remember
YOU'RE NEVER ALONE, THIS IS MY OATH TO YOU

[/size]



As Aito opened his dark eyes, and Alley saw how lost they looked, she wanted to just cling to him right there. She hated seeing him like this, hated that he had to go through this, and all the stupid healer's could do was give him a stupid potion to keep him up all night? It was ridiculous. As he apologized, said he couldn't help it, he was so tired, that he'd forgotten his potion after dinner but he'd thought he'd be all right, Alley hugged him closer. "You have nothing to be sorry for, its not your fault," she said softly, and I know you're tired, but I don't want to lose another friend to drowning in this lake so stay with me here Aito, stay awake..."

He tried to stand up more, but his lack of sleep made him clumsy and he fell to the ground again. Alley frowned as his body shook slightly and her best friend faught to keep his eyes open. He asked if he was being punished for something, if he went through this because of something he did or didn't do, and Alley shook her head. He continued, asking if it was her, if she was mad at him, and knowing exactly who Aito meant, Alley shook her head again even more suredly. "No, no Maiko loved you. She would have never wanted you to have to endure this for any reason," she said, "and before you even think about saying it, it is not you're fault what happened. You weren't there, you couldn't have done anything. And even if you'd been there, there's no guarantee you could have saved her. So I don't want to hear you beating yourself up." And with this, she grabbed Aito's arms, and started to continue to drag him the last few feet to the shore. As she pulled him out of the water, she sat down on the ground next to him, and looked at him. "None of this is your fault... I hate what this has done to you..."



MY BEST FRIEND, BEST FRIEND TIL THE VERY END[/size]
you need a hand, and I'm right there beside you[/size]

Wearing: faded blue skinny jeans, long black tank top hanging off her shoulder, bright purple zip up hoodie sweatshirt, black Uggs. Tagged: Aito Lyrics: The Oath- Cher Lloyd ft. Becky G.
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