She opened her eyes and she was in their den, it was dark save for the flickering, dying fire in the middle of the den. She wasn't laying next to it though, she was further away to stay away from the heat. It was purely a light source at this point. A sharp, pulling, cramping pain around her sides made her gasp and she lifted her head, her sapphire gaze landed on the subtle swell of her side where their children were growing. Another, insistent pain gripped her and her mismatched ears fell back fearfully. It wasn't nearly time for them to come, it was much too early. She had only begun to show her pregnancy a week or two prior, there was no way it was time.

But the pain she felt said otherwise, shooting through her and making her whine. She looked around for Iroh and couldn't find him, panic filling her chest. She tried to call for him, but she couldn't get a sound out besides another pained whine. The contractions seemed to hit her all at once and just as suddenly all she could smell was the blood, her young pregnancy over in an instant, shutting her eyes tight so she wouldn't have to see, feeling tears burning at her eyes.

Elise blinked her eyes open with a gasp, swallowing past a lump in her throat as she panted lightly against the panic griping her chest. She realized with a start that she wasn't alone, she was still pressed into Iroh's chest, slowly coming back down to earth, blinking away the tears that had gathered in her eyes as she slowly released the grip she had taken on his fur. She realized he had been trying to wake her up and she blinked as she lifted her gaze to look at him with a shaky, relieved sigh. Just a dream. Just a nightmare. "Iroh... Oh what a terrible dream..."

Elise Adravendi

Iroh swiftly became accustomed to having Elise at his side when he slept, being without her never felt right. He loved her and being able to share his life with her, and in turn sharing hers. They were going out on patrol together today and Iroh was going to help Elise find out if she had the spirit of a warrior inside after all. Iroh was excited, to spend his time with her and to show her one of the skills he knew best. He had taken a while to drift to sleep and he’d remain light through the night. When Elise began to mumble and stir next to him Iroh was swiftly woken.

Iroh held her close to his chest, expecting her to wake up slowly in his arms. She continued to dream, stirring with distress while struggling to claw herself into wakefulness. ”Elise,” he called out and she held onto him tightly before suddenly blinking open her beautiful blue eyes. She relaxed only slightly as she realized she was awake and confessed softly to a terrible dream.

The Abraxas man leaned in to kiss his woman, offering a comforting embrace as he snuggled back in the furs with her and held her tightly to his chest. ”It was just a dream. Don’t worry.” He assured her, rocking her gently as he kissed her forehead and wrapped himself around her more protectively. As though he could shield her from the night terrors with his body alone.

Elise returned his kiss with a soft smile, relaxing more as he held her tightly and snuggled into their bedding with her. Everything was fine. Just a bad dream. She wasn't even pregnant - not for lack of them trying - so she didn't know why that nightmare had even snuck up on her in the first place. All her thoughts of the future with her hopes and dreams for their relationship just just started getting to her in ways she didn't like, she supposed. She tucked herself into his neck as he held her close and rocked her gently, soothing the last of her anxiety and fears away with his warmth and gentle words. "I always worry, you know this," she teased softly in return, tipping her muzzle up to give his throat a gentle kiss.

As she came back to reality she remembered what they had planned today and she grinned, lifting her head so that she could find his gaze. "Patrol day!" she said with a chuckle, leaving another kiss on his lips, the nightmare clearly pushed aside. She didn't quite forget it - it felt too real for her to do that just yet - but his comforting and her excitement to try this new task with him made it a little easier to focus on something else. Elise gave him another kiss, lingering a little longer and more tenderly this time, before she finally pulled away and made herself slip out of his embrace before she was too tempted to just steal him away and stay in bed for the remainder of the morning. She'd just have to give them something to look forward to when they got done with their patrol instead.

Elise Adravendi