Through The Storm

A small story written by Essence. Please do not edit without permission! Thanks <3
Just some angsty but cute friendship fluff. Told in third person point of view of Kurante.
It was a stormy night.
Kurante hated nights like this.
She had always hated them. But there was no way that she'll let it show, never in the past, and tonight was no different.
Currently, she was lying on the floor of her room, with no one but her best friend by her side. The two of them had once again exhausted themselves practicing their newest compositions, and now neither of them could muster the strength to climb up on the bed.
Usually, it would have been easy to fall asleep. Her eyelids were heavy, and she could barely move a single limb. Kurante was always known to fall asleep quickly, even more so when she was this tired.
However, all traces of sleepiness seemed to have vanished as the rain started falling, replaced by an all-too-familiar wave of anxiety.
Why can't we have storms without... those...
And - to make it worse, honestly, she loved rain - just not what was gonna come with it.
Calm down, she told herself mentally. It's just another storm. Just another storm with the sound of raindrops falling, the cold feeling that keeps coming through the window even though it's closed, there's nothing to be scared of -
A bolt of lightning shot through the sky, painting the night sky a brilliant white. The deafening thunder that soon followed silenced every possible reassuring thought her mind tried to summon.
She had only desperately hoped that the shudder that went through her body went unnoticed by her companion laying next to her.
Sadly, her wish was not granted.
"Kurante? Are you okay?" The turquoise dragoness looked over at her friend, her shifting lilac scales noticeable even in the dark. Anima had turned around to face her, her light blue eyes conveying obvious concern, even though they were clouded with sleepiness.
"Um... yeah, of course I'm fine! Just a little cold... hehe." She didn't know how unconvincing she sounded in that moment, but she knew her best friend enough to tell that she didn't believe her.
"Are you sure? You don't look too well..."
"Ani, I'm fine." She wished that she would stop asking and go back to sleep. Truth be told, she wasn't sure how long would her shaking talons and constant shivering go unnoticed.
The answer was not very long, apparently.
"You're literally shaking, Kurante. I can't see very well in the dark, but I know it's not just from the temperature."
Why does she know me so well? 
Although her fear-filled mind desperately sought for a quick solution out of this, deep down, she knew that Anima would figure this out, somehow. The other hybrid was just too kind and caring to not know.
As she opened her mouth to respond, another roar of thunder cut off any possibility of her uttering a single word.
"... Kurante?"
She felt hot tears filling up her eyes at the sound of her name.
No. You can't let anyone know. Not even her. Not even if she's your best friend- 
Another flash of lightning. Another crash of thunder. And this time, her resistance fell down completely.
Against her will, a terrified squeak escaped her throat.
"... oh, dear. What's wrong?" The lilac colored dragoness gazed upon her, eyes filled with nothing but worry.
Somehow, at those words, with those crystal blue eyes fixed on her, Kurante lost her control entirely.
As the rain outside fell freely, so did the rest of her tears.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Anima's soothing voice filled her ears as she moved closer and pulled the crying hybrid into a hug. She simply gave in and melted into the embrace, not caring that she had just let her best friend see her cry over something so stupid.
Kurante felt soft lavender wings wrap around her, as if Anima was physically protecting her from the storm, the terrifying sound of thunder, and all the memories that came flooding back with it... right now, she just wished that she could remain in the warm hug forever.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, with Kurante trying to drown out the rest of the world with the comfort that came with the simple gesture of affection. It worked - even the thunder no longer managed to scare her, while she was safe within her friend's embrace... When her crying had subsided a little, she heard Anima's voice again.
"Kurante... tell me what's wrong."
"I..." Her voice came out shaky and broken, devoid of her usual cheerfulness and excitement. "Never mind... you must hate me now."
"What?"
"I mean-" She choked up again, her tears blurring her vision. "Who in their right mind would want a dragon who's scared of lightning and thunder as their friend?"
"I do."
"... no, you don't understand." Kurante tried to speak more, but her crying made it physically impossible to do so. She looked into Anima's eyes, seeing the sadness in them. Not sadness that mirrored her own... rather, she guessed, a heaviness that came from seeing her best friend in such a state, something so unlike her usual vibrant self.
What have I done to deserve such a friend? 
"Kurante, let me tell you something."
She saw Anima's expression change as she said that - she still looked sad, but now... the feelings written on her face seemed so much more... personal. She averted her gaze from Kurante, and she could've sworn that she saw something sparkling in her eyes...
"Ani? What is it?" She managed to ask in between sobs.
"... You've never actually seen me fly, have you?"
Now that Kurante thought about it, it was true. Anima had never spread her wings and soared into the sky, or even hover in the air whenever she jumped in excitement. She had never paid much attention to it though, since they were indoors most of the time, and flight was more often than not unnecessary.
"... it's because I can't."
What?
When Anima looked at Kurante directly again, she was shocked to see tears flowing down her face.
"Ani?"
"I - I can't fly, Kurante. I never could. My wings -" She lifted one of them for emphasis, her voice cracking as she said that. "They don't work. They... they never did. If I try to fly, or even if they get hurt ever so slightly... it's going to cause me a lot of pain."
In such a vulnerable state, it was impossible for anyone to not notice how close Anima was to crying herself. She didn't blame her - how could she ever imagine a life without ever being to fly, to feel the wind blowing against your scales?
Kurante wrapped her own wings around her friend, twining her own tail with hers as well. She felt the lilac dragoness lean on her as she started sobbing.
Surprisingly, she could still talk through her tears.
"I... I never told you about this. I didn't want anyone to know... not because I was ashamed of this. I just - I just didn't want it to happen again."
"What happened?" Kurante asked, sniffing slightly as she focused on comforting the lilac dragoness.
"I... before I moved to Hikari, I was... picked on. Not everyone treated my disability well. They teased me, insulted me, sometimes they even pushed me. But that's not what upset me the most."
A huge stab of sympathy shot through her heart.
Moons... poor girl. Why didn't she tell me this earlier...?
Probably the same reason why you never told her about your past.
"What saddened me the most -" She continued, "- was that all of my friends started avoiding me. They never said it, but I could tell. I knew it, I was a nuisance to them. They got tired of having to be careful around me, so that they wouldn't hurt my wings. I didn't tell anyone after that... because I was too scared that they'll leave me again."
"... I won't leave you."
Bright orange eyes locked on clear blue ones as she realized she had to let her know that she was being serious.
"It's... not just because of that. After this incident, sometimes... even I felt like I wasn't good enough, like my wings were dragging down myself and everyone around me. I... I couldn't even bring myself to sing, when I first left my old school."
Kurante reached up a talon to brush away the tears from her friend's face. At that moment, she felt absolutely crushed at what Anima told her. She only wished that she had told her earlier - she knew she sucked at comforting dragons, but Anima was her best friend - she would have never sat down and did nothing if she told her something so serious.
"But... that changed when I met you, you know?" She spoke, a small smile gracing her face even through her crying. "I found my voice again, I found my inner strength again, I felt like I wanted to perform, to let the world hear my music again. Maybe I never got over my insecurities completely, and maybe I haven't really learned to accept my flaws... but you've helped me, Kurante. I know I've never said this, and it sounds a little stupid... but you mean a lot to me."
This time, Kurante's vision blurred again, but her tears came from a feeling so deep, so touching that she was unable to resist.
"Oh, Ani, you know I'm not as good with words as you are," She said, hugging her friend closer. "But I don't see you as anything less, you know? So what, if you can't fly? You're still an amazing singer, and you are the best dragon I've known my entire life. No matter what, you're still Anima, my best friend that I love. And that won't change, you know that?"
"... I love you too."
That was what both of them needed to hear.
The two dragons stayed silent for a while, enjoying the peace that came from being within each other's embrace. When her breathing had finally steadied, Kurante decided that it was only fair that she told her side of the story as well.
"Hey, Ani?"
"Yeah?"
"I... haven't told you the reason why I'm scared of storms yet. I..." She let out a long, heavy sigh. "It's a long story."
Kurante felt a soft pink talon gently squeezing her own. She couldn't help it, she smiled through her tears at her friend's encouraging look.
"I'm here to listen."
"Okay... well, I never told you where did I come from - or why did I come here in the first place. I found Hikari by mistake when I ran away from home."
"... Why did you do that?"
And here comes the hard part. 
She took a shaky breath, before continuing. "Life became tough after... after dad left. By left, I mean left the world." The mention of that incident brought another fresh wave of sadness, and it seemed like Anima could sense it as well, for she gently stroked Kurante's side with her wing in a gesture of comfort.
"We were so happy back then, when he was still around. We'd laugh, play music and just have fun all the time. He... he taught me how to play the lyre, and when he left... none of us were quite the same. Especially mum. She... she often lost her temper, she was barely at home, and I knew she was trying to help... but in the end, she yelled at me and said that she wanted me gone from our home. She..." Kurante blinked as she let her tears fall freely. "She said I wasn't welcome anymore."
"..."
Anima seemed speechless at what she'd heard, for she didn't respond, but simply pulled the turquoise dragoness closer to her. Kurante once again started crying, unable to take the sudden wave of emotions that came with the confession.
"Kurante... I'm so sorry." She collapsed entirely in her friend's arms, with her wings wrapped around her. "That must have been so hard for you, not having family around... you should have told me earlier. But... what does this have to do with being afraid of storms?" Anima asked quietly.
"... I... whenever there's storms, the darkness that comes with it, and the whole heavy mood it brings, it just... it just reminds me too much of my life, my life back at home after dad was gone... and the lightning and thunder... it's just so loud, so much that it reminds me of when mum just yelled at me and my sister..."
"... oh."
"Ani... I don't even know what happened to Tide after I left. Sometimes, I felt like I should have done more, that I should have done something to help mum out, maybe then she wouldn't have been so stressed, maybe this wouldn't have happened... and these storms, they just remind me again and again that I could have done something, if I was less useless..."
"Don't say that!"
Kurante was shocked at the sudden exclamation and the fire that suddenly lit up in the lilac dragoness's eyes.
"You're anything but useless, Kurante. I've never seen anyone made music that well, and your lyre playing skills? I don't think I'll ever find someone who can do better than that. And - well, even with so much pain in the past... you're always so happy, and you always spread this happiness through your songs and music... if that doesn't show that you're strong, brave and a wonderful dragon, then I don't know what would."
"... really?" Kurante looked into Anima's eyes, her own orange ones portraying an unusual weakness, something vulnerable and fragile. Something that she had never shown to even Rush, or any of her other friends, for that matter.
"I mean every word I said. You're an amazing dragon, a talented musician, and, most importantly, a best friend I never thought I needed."
"Oh, Anima, you're the best friend I could never ask for. You've... you've done so much for me, you never judged me for whatever I did, or for whatever that happened to me. Even now, just being with you makes me feel so much better... in fact, you just made me feel that crying isn't that bad sometimes."
"... huh. I guess we've a lot more in common than we thought." Anima smiled warmly at the turquoise dragoness, wiping away a tear of her own before she did the same for Kurante. "I feel much better too, letting you know something that I've been keeping for so long. I hope you're feeling less upset, too."
She was. Her heart felt much lighter than it was before this, and even the sound of the falling rain outside didn't bother her that much anymore. Her crying had ceased, her fears put at bay.
"I am, Ani. I-" She let out a huge yawn, suddenly aware of how tired she actually was again. "I think we should probably sleep, though."
"You're right." She heard Anima yawn too before she laid down again, pulling away from the hug, leaving Kurante missing the physical affection that she was receiving just a second ago.
"Hey, Ani?" She called out hesitantly.
"Hmm?" Her friend cracked open an eye to look at her, her own exhaustion clearly evident.
"Uh... could you maybe... hug me again?" Kurante blushed slightly at her request. "I know it sounds silly, but -"
She was cut off as she felt herself being enveloped in the warmth of Anima's wings again. She might not be able to fly, but to Kurante, the feeling of safety they offered meant so much.
"Aw, I never realized my best friend loves to cuddle that much." She smiled as she heard the teasing voice. "I enjoy hugging you too, you know?"
"I'm glad you feel that way..." The rest of her words trailed off as the world melted away, her mind finally entering the realm of sleep. She didn't need her sight to tell that Anima had let a long-awaited slumber claim her as well.
Under the pale moonlight that floated softly through the window, they were safe in each other's embrace. Most importantly, Kurante was no longer terrified of the storm outside, for no matter what, Anima would always be with her.
She'd been with her through the storm, and she just knows that she'll be there for many more to come.
-Fin-
Characters (in order of appearance): Kurante, Anima
A/N: I just wanted to write something sad and touching with a friendship theme, to match the rainy mood where I am recently. c: Even I need to remind myself that sometimes a friend is all you need to get through a tough time. <3
Hope you all enjoyed it. <3
Category:Content (Light Fairy)
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Genre (Short Story)
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)