Alicia's Nightmare Fuel (Richard)

\*Alicia
was trying to sleep, but she couldn't. Her head hurt, and her mind was
wondering. She started to think, since she had free time.

Not
a good thing.

She
knew she should've tried to distract herself, but she finally had free time to
relax! Now that she was here!

She
thought about how everyone was a monster. Monsters...

She
knew it was going to happen.

Voices,
soft at first. They got louder. She covered her ears, tearing up. They got
louder, and louder, and she knew what was next. She shut her eyes right as she
felt them coming.\* No, no... I was doing so well... not now... \*she hadn't had
an attack since the twins were born... she didn't want to have one now!\* no,
no, no...!

**Tairais:** As always, Richard was wandering the halls when he
blinked back to reality, wincing softly as the pounding headache he had been
nursing all night roared back to awareness.
He couldn't remember where he had been before that: His last memory was of
singing to Elias, and while the thought warmed his heart, it left his mind
troubled.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he turned the corner, only to stop and pause
outside a door as quiet sounds of distress reached his ears.
For once, his weary emotions overrode his instincts and logical thoughts, and
he knocked on the door softly, turning the handle and poking his head inside as
he did so. "E-er.. Hello? I-is everything all r-right?" He knew very
well it likely wasn't, but he could think of nothing else to say.

**Alicia Ghast:**  \*the
red head was covering her ears, curled up in a ball and crying softly\* no,
no... no... p-please...

**Tairais:**  He
gently nudged the door open and left it as such as he walked into the room to
crouch by Alicia's side. It was always a good idea to have an escape route in
uncertain situations, and this most certainly qualified as one.
Knowing his own responses to physical contact when he was in this state (and
desperately shoving aside the memories of one such episode), Richard was
reluctant to try and touch her to snap her out of wherever she was.
"Alicia? Can I do something to help?" He kept his voice low and
reassuring, dropping his stutter in favor of clear communication.

**Alicia Ghast:**  \*she
barely heard him, but did, opening her eyes a tiny bit. She winced and closed
them\* make it stop...!

**Tairais:**  Richard
nodded. "All will be well. Listen to the sound of my voice and follow it.
Feel the weight of my hand on your shoulder and use it to ground yourself in
the present. I can assure you, I will do my utmost to keep you safe."
He took a slow, fortifying breath and began to recite a poem he had read in his
father's study, late on a summer's night.
"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed- and gazed- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils."
Poem after poem fell out of his lips like autumn leaves on the way to winter,
his eyes never leaving Alicia's prone form as he rubbed soothing circles into
her shoulders with his thumb. He only prayed it was enough.
**Alicia Ghast:**  \*she
listened to his voice, repeating the words in her head. She slowly calmed down,
opening her tear-filled eyes.\*

**Tairais:**  He
met her gaze with a look of soft patience, mild worry, and understanding,
smiling just as tenderly. "There we are." He slipped back into his
more comfortable speech patterns, tilting his head slightly. "H-have we
averted t-the storm?"

**Alicia Ghast:**  \*she
nodded, not moving for a while and just breathing.\* thank you...

**Tairais:**  "Of
c-course, amico." He sat down next to her, reluctant to leave her until
she was more grounded. Speaking of.. "W-would you like me to k-keep
talking t-to ground y-you? I k-know from e-experience these sorts of t-things
c-can linger."

**Alicia Ghast:**  \*she
nodded\* yes, please. \*she smiled\*

**Tairais:**  He
smiled again, nodding. "V-very well."
He paused for a second, mind momentarily out of poetry. His thoughts darted to
the memory of singing for Elias, and he pulled another song off the cluttered
shelves of his past, improvising his own melodies when that one ran out.
In a way, it almost felt like singing lullabies to Benediktas again. He shoved
that thought aside for later.

**Alicia Ghast:**  \*she
smiled, listening and starting to fall asleep. She was exhausted.\*

**Tairais:**  Richard
kept singing, noting how tired Alicia looked. He could move her to her bed if
and when she fell asleep.

**Alicia Ghast:**  \*she
slowly closed her eyes, falling asleep\*

**Tairais:**  Richard
sang one final lullaby, making sure Alicia was well and truly asleep. When the
last note faded into the quiet night, he easily and gently lifted her, tucking
her into her bed. Humming contentedly, he turned on his heel and left as
quietly as he entered, sparing a final glance over his shoulder, some
unidentifiable emotion flickering across his placid mask, gone just as quickly.
*Sleep well, Alicia. Esate saugūs dabar.*

**Alicia Ghast:**  \*the
young woman smiled faintly, sleeping calmly and dreaming about her kids and
friends.\*