She kept listening to the tick tick tick of the clock hanging on the wall in her room. The sound was hypnotic but it would not lull her into sleep. Sleep was where the nightmares were. The ones that woke her in a cold sweat, stomach aching, and heart ready to burst out of her chest.

Tick.... tick... tick.

Almost like the measured steps of a predator ready to strike...

Shivering, Kodi pulled her pillow closer and burrowed further under the covers. She felt nauseous again. Felt that white hot searing pain...

She all but screamed when her corgi, Thorin, shifted on the bed. Involuntarily, she'd kicked at him. Which earned her a growled retort and a huffy corgi who decided the floor was a much better spot to curl up. Groaning, Kodi tried to calm her racing heart again. She had to deal with this. Somehow. But... how? It wasn't like she'd been fully prepared for what could happen. There had been hints of the danger, yes. Which, why wouldn't one suspect as much when you could change into a magical ******** girl.

Complete with deranged and terrifying monsters that were out to kill them!

Shivering, Kodi tried to shove all those thoughts out of her mind. But the nauseous feeling still remained. And the pain. Her hand brushed over her stomach. Geez, how was she going to explain that one?! Not that anyone every saw that much of her... it still presented a problem.

Not as big of a problem as you're lack of fighting skills. The thought came uninvited. Yet it was a bigger problem.

But who said she wanted to continue fighting? Why did she have to?! Couldn't she just go back to being the girl trying to make it through college and graduate with her bachelor's degree and maybe set out for a master's after that?

Tick... tick... tick...

She didn't want to have to deal with this! Why had she been chosen? Awakened?! What the hell ever this was!

Tick... tick... tick...

Answers. That's what she needed. Maybe understanding would clarify things. Or... set her on the right path? Whatever that might be. She had to admit, grudgingly and possibly a little embarrassingly, that all of this had - to a point anyways - not really seemed real. More like some crazy grand adventure like the kind you'd find in Tolkien's world. Or any other fantasy world. That creature would certainly fit within one of them, that's for sure.

But... almost dying? The pain?! THAT had been real. Not some fairy-tale story come knocking on the door. It had been a huge, rude, wake up call to what she was really facing. And it had almost cost her dearly. The reality of this was weighing heavily on her shoulders.

That was the first step then. She would seek out answers. And learn what she could to truly start understanding things. What she was. Who she was. And was to be? What had she been fighting? Or, better yet, what was she fighting for?

Tick... tick... tick...

Sleep began to tug at her consciousness.

Answers. Understanding. Picking herself back up. She was determined to do them all. Else the nightmares continue to plague her.

Tick... tick... .... tick...

[WC: 540]