Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sky seemed so heavy that morning that it seemed to seep in through the window. Isikoro gazed out of the window at the grey clouds, almost in a zombie like state, his mouth hanging open and his eyes half-lidded and unblinking. He could almost see his reflection and stare back at the sunken eyes and exhausted. He hadn't been sleeping well... In fact it felt like wasn't sleeping at all. In between waking up and tending to Eiry, who would slink into his bed at night moping about Chloe, his sleep was restless and haunted. To Isi, it felt like sleeping was taking more energy instead of restoring it. It was only when his head began to slip and nod, did Isi save himself from falling into his cereal. It was the last of the cereal box, so half of it was crumbled flakes and cereal dust that turned the milk a dirty white. Staring bleary at his breakfast, Isi tried to remember what he was doing. Oh, that's right. He was eating. Pulling the spoon into his hands, he took another dreary bite of his slush cereal and concentrated on chewing.

Thank his lucky stars it was a Saturday morning.

The unexpected ruffle of his grey tinted hair made Isi jump so much that he slapped his hand down onto his spoon and catapulted it, as well as some soppy cereal, over his shoulder and into the air. It landed with a disgusting 'plop' noise on the wall. Realizing that it was only his brother, Isi sighed heavily in the middle of a distressed moan and rubbed his face, letting his shoulders slump as if they were the melting glaciers of the South.

Rubbing one eye with the length of his arm, Isi muttered irritably in a sloppy surprisingly angry growl, "Mm...NOT a doofus..."

Isi looked at Aphismet, first with an angry glare until his stone face melted and softened with worry. He didn't want Aphi to know about... His nightmares shouldn't be something Aphi had to worry about. Already there was so much that the poor white-haired man had to worry about: Chloe, her kidnapper, Rivener, Roux, Eiry, his job, other classes, and already Isi was a bundle of troubles too. His legs and disability, the bruises that still painted his neck, and his sudden constant tiredness. He didn't want Aphi to know that he was having nightmares now. It might be the last straw.

"Nothing...Nothing..." Isi quickly responded, trying the best he could to change the conversation, "Uh...I can't get used to your white hair. It always surprises me. That's funny, huh?" Isi took a spoonful of cereal and shoved it into his mouth.

When Aphismet leaned forward over the table, Isi felt almost like his protected bubble was getting pushed upon, so naturally, Isi leaned back in his chair so his back pressed tightly against the wood. He hunched his shoulders defensively around his neck and shook, his head softly, determined not to let Aphi know. He couldn't see that he was digging himself a grave.

"Really, it's nothing. Just tired, heheh..." the forced laugh sounded like a wheeze. "Aren't you going to eat anything?"

What? Isi gaped with shock at his adopted brother as he seemed to morph before his eyes into an adopted father. Usually Aphi would've stopped badgering him by now. What was going on? Well, along with his hair, Aphismet had changed quite a bit. Unfortunately, Isi didn't and his personality stayed stubborn and prideful, "I've told you, there's nothing wrong!" Then Isi had planned to get up and retreat to his bedroom where he could better plan strategic disguises for his secrets, but as soon as he pushed himself up, he realized that he pushed up too fast. For a split moment, Isi felt a brief blackness crawl into his vision and he let himself slide back down into his chair, gripping tightly to whatever he could hold.

It was just normal hypo tension, but it was enough to lay Isi at the mercy of Aphi's interrogation. Rubbing his forehead, Isi muttered soft words in response to Aphi that became a jumbled string of words.

Family...

Isi had forgotten what that felt like. He was so young when he was, for a short while, blessed with it. He knew it existed in other families, but it seemed like it wasn't real, like reading about adventures in fantasy novels. He honestly didn't know how to deal with family other than protect them and fix their problems. When Aphi began banging on Isi's protective shell with such an intensity that it almost seemed to break Aphismet, Isi's shell began to shatter.

Turning his storm gray eyes to Aphi, the boy laid down his defenses and he bit at his knuckle, turning his eyes away. He didn't know how to respond. His shoulders gave a stiff jerk, and before he knew what he was doing, Isi pushed himself up from his seat and used the table to guide his trembling footsteps around the bend. For some reason he wouldn't use his crutches, he refused to use them, as if they were the adulthood that gave him strength. He didn't need them now. Isi had his brother, Aphismet. His legs finally gave out when he got to Aphi's chair and he collapsed to his knees before the white-haired man.

"Aphi..." Isi whimpered, "I've b-been having nightmares...They won't stop! I-I...Can't sleep at all..."

Isi felt himself tremble a bit. He didn't want to appear so weak, but that was how he really felt inside: scared. And he felt terrible for making Aphi feel like that, worried and guilty. Isi didn't mean to torture him, he was trying to keep him safe... Safe from these things in his mind. Those dreams of his haunted him and even now he was wishing that this wasn't just another one of his nightmares where Aphi would tilt his head back and reveal a mouth waiting to devour him. In fact, he almost expected it to happen. He was subconsciously waiting for the floor to drop out, for fire to burn away the faces of people he couldn't remember, or for his legs to shatter like broken pottery. So he clung with balled fists to Aphi, hugging him tightly for the warmth and security he seldom received.

"No, no poison...No psychiatrists. Can I...sleep in your room? I've never done that before...Slept with someone nearby. I mean, Eiry comes in everyone once in a while...But..." By that time Isi was rambling and he was cut off when Aphi held him out and looked him square in the eye. He nodded tiredly, the mere motion making him a bit dizzy.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, "I didn't...I didn't want to be a burden. You've done so much for me and you've got so much to think about already. I didn't want to be that final straw. I thought I could protect you..." Then Isi gulped and he let himself get pulled back into Aphi's embrace. He pulled himself up slightly so that he was sitting on one of the man's knees. Sitting like this made him feel like a child again, like the pictures he saw in the mall of children sitting in Santa's lap during the Holidays.

"My nightmare...It's garish..." and Isi proceeded to tell Aphi his nightmare. The faces with no faces, the fire, the stumbling grotesque monster-like beings with familiar faces, and falling. He was always falling and there never seemed to be a time where he was caught by a pair of arms. What he failed to mention, however, was the voice of the doctor.