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 Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 4:43 pm
"I won't tell him," Maia agreed. "Dari told me not to tell him, and I don't want to get his hopes up if it is selkie love." She was really concerned about that. She didn't want to hurt Toby, he'd been hurt often enough. He'd lost so much.
"I was thinking about online college courses," She changed the subject suddenly.
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 4:48 pm
Lori opened his mouth to speak and then abruptly closed it. Well, Toby had been entirely sure that Niamh had been in selkie love, and he had been right. Would he know in this situation? Probably not, right? His ego would just crash to the pavement.
"Oh? Matriculated or-- I mean, uh. As a student at the college or just a couple classes?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 7:04 pm
"A couple classes," Maia began, considering. Maybe becoming a full time student would be nice in the future. She could get a degree! "At least at first. I want to see what's out there, job wise. I read you find better ones if you have a degree, but I also read that a lot of people with degrees are unemployed. And college seems to be expensive." Far more than the stipend she got for being an entity, that was for sure. "I think that's a long while into the future though. After I find a job and get some experience. I haven't entirely figured out this being human thing."
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 12:13 pm
The dreams usually came unbidden. A photograph would spark a happy memory or nonsense starring a loved one. The week up to the anniversary of the incident was usually just distressing, unrelated nightmares, but even after 40 years a night terror had crept in.
Toby rolled and pitched in bed, chest heaving. He was doused in cold sweat. He grunted. He groaned. He pitched again and clutched the sheets.
Dari peered up at the ceiling from downstairs. If it wasn't too bad it might be best to just let him sleep. It could be an especially good dream after all.
Then Toby shouted. Still not awake but shouting.
Dari got up from the dining room table and jogged up the stairs. Toby shouted again, but this time it was more shrill; a pained yelp rather than a plain cry. Definitely not a good dream.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 12:29 pm
Maia had awoken by the first shout; mind still fuzzy, she slowly sat up. "Toby? What's wrong?" she managed. No response; had some kind of monster crept in? Wouldn't Dari have stopped it? By the second, she was thoroughly awake and Had wandered across the hall and into Toby's room. A nightmare. No monsters.
She slid into the bed and wrapped Her arms around him, unsure how to comfort him. "Hey, it's alright. "You're safe."
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 12:35 pm
Dari caught sight of Maia through the open door to Toby's room.
"No, wait--!"
Too late. Toby woke in in a flurry of spasms, some gestures defensive and frightened. He set the palm of his hand hard into the right side of Maia's jaw, kicked her in the leg, and shoved her all before he had fully woken up.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 12:40 pm
Not at all expecting a violent reaction, Maia was unprepared and didn't dodge the blows. She did climb off of the bed hurriedly, moving behind Dari. "I was only trying to help," She said. Ouch. She didn't want Toby to know he'd hurt her, though; he'd just feel guilty. It hadn't been his fault. She rubbed at her jaw.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 12:43 pm
"He didn't mean it," Dari said quickly.
Toby sat up straight in bed, now awake and panting. He saw the positioning of his partner and new roommate and it was no mystery who he'd been pummeling.
"Oh God, Maia, I'm so sorry," he said and got out of bed, reaching out to her. He was still out of breath.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 12:49 pm
Maia knew that, Toby had been in the hold of his nightmare. When he woke and apologized, she hesitated for a moment. "Are you okay now?" She asked.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 1:07 pm
Toby gave a long exhale and ran a hand back through sweat-daubed hair. "Yeah. Yeah, it was just a dream." Once it had been reality, or near reality. Not this time, thank God.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 1:15 pm
Maia sat on the bed next to him, frowning and offering him her hand. "Want to talk about It?" she asked. She'd heard that helped, sometimes. A dream was just a dream, it wasn't real; but It could upset your entire day.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 1:28 pm
"No, no," Toby said, waving a hand dismissively without having noticed Maia's. "I'm just gonna go take a shower or something." He slipped out past them in only his boxers, hand still in his hair. Dari frowned to Maia.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 1:34 pm
Maia returned Dari's frown. "I'll go talk to him," she said, following Toby out into the hall. She wrapped her arms around him. "You can have a shower after I finish hugging you," she informed him.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 1:43 pm
At first Toby went rigid, but then he relaxed in Maia's arms and sighed. At least it was over. Of course he was afraid going back to sleep would mean continuing the dream, but for now he was safe. And exhausted. He turned in Maia's arms and held her back.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:04 pm
Maia didn't release him. "It was about that night, wasn't it?" she asked. What else could cause Toby to be so upset? He was the big strong scary werewolf fbpi agent. Kelpies didn't scare him. Or sea monsters. "You're safe here. Dari and I will protect you." Unless it was a giant landshark sort of thing, like that movie on the sci-fi channel she'd seen briefly before changing it. Then he was not safe, and Maia would not be there; she'd have bolted.
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