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Jove was having trouble getting to sleep.

All his favourite comforts were right there, the heavy duvet and soft pillow, the glowing baubles on his night stand, even the soft light from the mushrooms under his bed that usually lulled him right to sleep. But he could hear noises from his closet. The hollow sound of several things rolling across hardwood, sinister laughing breath, a clack of teeth in the otherwise silent room... The mimics were about tonight, and Jove was too frightened to even turn on the lights. If he did that they would see him, rolling their big, hungry eyes in his direction...

The puppy curled his tail around him where he hid in bed, even keeping his glowing eyes closed tightly just in case they saw him there, alone and vulnerable. But he couldn't block out the sounds, and it was even more frightening knowing he couldn't open his eyes and make sure they weren't creeping up on him... leering over his bed... grinning those terrible sharp-toothed grins thinking he was fast asleep...

With all the speed a frightened child could muster, he grabbed his pillow and made a mad dash out of his dorm room, down the hallway, and up the long staircase that led to the cemetery outside. He didn't stop running until he was well past the graveyard gates and could feel the fresh air blowing through his hair, and the dew from the grass on his bare feet. He had left the mimics behind, but now Jove found himself in another dilemma.

He didn't want to wander around outside in his nightshirt all night. He looked around, clutching the pillow to his chest as the wind toyed with the hem at his bare knees, and then started walking in the direction of the monster dorms.

Jove found his way to Ren's room without much problem, slipping into the monster dorms and stumbling slightly up the stairs while he grasped his pillow tightly. His feet left dampened footprints in the hallway as he paused in front of his friend's room, eyeing the dark gap where Ren had left the door open ever so slightly. It was just like him, the door being open and welcoming even at night. Peering in, Jove was able to spot the Ren-sized lump in the bed, surrounded by pillows. As quiet and peaceful as it looked, Jove could feel that something was not right. Maybe it was a smell in the air, or the false stillness in the room.

He whined quietly, the sense of foreboding increasing as he hesitated like always in the hallway. Usually he waited for an invitation, but Ren was asleep, and the pup didn't like the feeling that he had to be in that room, so he slipped through the door and pushed it back to it's nearly-closed state. Then he tiptoed over to the bed.

No, Ren didn't look very good at all, and what's worse, he smelled like a scared thing. Even though the pup had come for his own sake, all that was forgotten as he crawled onto the pillows next to his friend and gave him a gentle push. Something was wrong with the gryphon and he needed to know what it was so he could make it right.

The puppy whined. His friend was clearly ill or something, and doing that thing Jove himself did when he was feigning composure.

He struggled against his fear as Ren reached up to him, steeling himself to remain still and not jerk away. The hand was clammy, not warm enough to suggest a sickness that living types would often succumb to, and the pup's head tilted in distressed confusion as his ears drooped. He whined again, this time a lower pitched "That doesn't matter!"

He ignored the weak smile and gave Ren another little push, as if asking "Why are you not okay? What can I do?" Then he mimicked his friend's earlier motion, touching Ren's face in a comforting manner and petting his hair. Who knew if it would help, but Jove had to try something.

Jove stood on his hands and knees over Ren and petted his hair and long, fluffy ears with his cold fingers until he was satisfied the gryphon was on his way back to recovery. Or at least back to a less troubled state of wakefulness. The light in the room flickered when the pup blinked his glowing eyes. With a sigh he sat back on his heels, hands falling into his lap.

He nodded, he was okay. The mimics were frightening, but they hadn't hurt him, and he had a safe walk over to Ren's dorm... He was still distraught that Ren had been in such a state though. Jove whined again, his concern for his friend could just as easily have been mistaken for fear from bad dreams, or whatever other personal concern might trouble the child.

If Ren said not to worry, he should take his own advice. Jove snorted, but lay down and wiggled forward on his belly until he was pressed up against his friend's side, his head resting on the gryphon's chest so he could still continue his observations.

It was true though, Jove had come over for other reasons than to rescue Ren from the throes of a nightmare, and his cheeks flushed at the thought. He didn't want to admit he had been too scared to sleep in his own room, like a little child seeking the comfort of a warm body to sleep next to, but in the dark his embarrassment was even more evident than in the light. His blush literally glowed. Not as bright as his eyes, but certainly enough to make out the dark freckles across his nose and cheeks.

One ear flicked backwards, remembering Ren's closet, and for a minute he was afraid there might be mimics in there too that would creep out at night. He wiggled even closer before reminding himself it was mostly blocked off with pillows and whatnot.

Jove's ears flattened as he was poked, and he snuggled closer. For a living body it might not have been a problem, but he had just been wandering outside in the cold, in nothing but his white nightdress. Ren might not be so comfortable with the snuggling now that Jove's freezing feet touched his legs...

Perhaps the answer to his question was yes, ghosts get cold. But does it bother them? Not really.

Mimics, on the other hand, bothered this little ghost a great deal. If only it were nightmares that troubled him, then he could wake up and think to himself that it was okay just like Ren had been doing. Both his fluffy ears flicked backwards, Re wouldn't let those things come in and get him, surely he wouldn't...

The pup nibbled on his lower lip for a couple seconds before whispering "Mimics." The word was said softly, just barely more than mouthed as if Jove was afraid they would be attracted to the sound of their name. The fear made him want to curl up between Ren and his piles of pillows, safely hidden under the blankets with the gryphon to ward off the rolling terrors. But he forced himself to stay where he was so as to not reveal the extent of his fear, and tried to ignore his vulnerable back facing the door.

At the exclamation Jove's ears perked up, and he pushed himself up onto his hands with alarm, the white nightshirt slipping off one scrawny shoulder as he stared down at Ren in surprise. What was that all about? Ren only seemed temporarily noisy and discomforted, so Jove hesitantly settled back down, unaware that he had triggered the loud reaction with his ghostly cold body.

The pup let his eyes close as Ren pulled him closer, and the room darkened. He felt safe, just like Ren said. The gryphon was bigger and stronger, and would scare away all the mimics if they so much as showed their beady little eyes!

Jove lay still for the nuzzling for a minute or two, and then scrambled inelegantly right over Ren to lie down on the side of his bed near the wall. He was all bony knees and sharp elbows as he tried to make himself comfortable, almost digging himself a little nest between the pillows and his friend's warm body. When he finally settled it was half lying on Ren's chest, feeling the heat permeate through his cold form. Now he felt completely safe, and his eyelids drooped sleepily over his glowing eyes, casting Ren's face in shadow.

Jove's nervous little frown was enough to confirm Ren's suspicion, the mimics came from the closet. So did all his other minipets when they were not lounging about in his room, but the mimics were the only ones that troubled him. It was one reason he rarely slept in his natural form at night, it made him that much more bite-sized.

The ghost scowled sleepily, and insisted to himself once more that he was not a child. He didn't need a lullaby. Just like he didn't need Ren's fingers brushing through his hair and touching his face, although the actions were soothing all the remaining frayed nerves left in the pup. Jove concentrated on the rise and fall of his friend's chest as he breathed, and copied the movements to see what it felt like. How did the living just keep on breathing all the time, even when they slept? It seemed like so much work to him.