[Seran]

“You were screaming ‘mommy’ in your sleep. What’s up?”
Fighter nervously looked towards the figure of Black Mage. Thief raised an eyebrow, with not concern, but mild aggravation, as Fighter’s eyes slowly traveled over to Red Mage.
“RM?” Fighter asked weakly, his trembling hands suspended in front of his chest, one cupped around the other. “Is that – is that you? You’re alive? You’re not dead?”
Red Mage revealed himself as he stepped forth from the shadows, his feather drooping from his red hat, his eyes alert and nowhere near tired or cross, and he blinked at the frightened warrior.
“Yes, I’m alive. Fighter, did you have a nightmare?”
Fighter fixed his eyes on Red Mage for a moment, happiness failing to find its way to him for a moment. He glanced at Thief, then to Black Mage, who was rubbing his eye with an exhausted yawn. His hands fell, and started to nervously grip the blanket, tightening and relaxing. He swallowed hard, in an attempt to recover from what was only an illusion formed by his worst fears.
“A nightmare…” he repeated slowly and quietly. “A nightmare…”
“Oh, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what a nightmare was!” Black Mage spat, annoyed. “You woke me up! Just tell us what you saw and let me go back to bed! Nimrod.”
Fighter couldn’t help but glance up, smile, and laugh with relief. They could hear sniffles amongst his mirth, and Thief stared at him as though he had gone insane, climbing off Fighter’s bed impatiently. Thief sighed, and his right hand rubbed his elfish ear, his left hand supporting his arm’s elbow. The other two exchanged looks, one concerned, the other scornful. Fighter fell back on his pillow, fighting back his laughter as he heard confused and annoyed voices muttering out from the other rooms.
“S-so you…it…I mean…heh…” He sat up again, grinning nervously in the awkward moment. “Y-yeah. It was a nightmare.”
“So what was it?” Thief asked him, frowning in disapproval. “More bladeless hilts?”
Fighter chuckled as he recalled what his nightmare was about, but as he remembered every moment of horror in it, his smile fell, and his shoulders relaxed from the laughter. It was truly a nightmare.
“I…” he started, trying to find the right words to describe it. “I…it…he…Black Mage, he…RM…er…I…”
“I’m going to sleep,” Black Mage muttered, turning around and heading back to bed. Thief scratched his head, eyes closed wonderingly.
“I’m awake, so I might as well go out for a ‘walk’.”
“Oh no,” Red Mage interrupted, pointing at Thief accusingly. “You’re going to steal from the innocent again, aren’t you?”
“Uh, no. A walk, I said.”
“How can you prove it?”
“How can you prove I’m going to steal? Besides, I’m your leader. You can’t stop me.”
“…Leaders were chosen to face mutiny!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Thief turned towards the door, and calmly walked off, eyes still closed while he pulled on the doorknob, swung open the door that had never been completely closed, and walked out of the room. Red Mage looked towards Fighter, who was drooling on his blanket, which was stuck in his mouth.
“You want me to read you a story, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, alright, fine…” Red Mage sat down next to Fighter, drew out his character sheet, and started to scribble on it. Fighter sighed, glanced towards the lazy Black Mage, and heard shouts beyond the window as Thief attracted attention during robbery from the bank. Ah, good ol’ Thief and RM and BM! he thought to himself.
Fighter!
Wha-ha, whozzat?
Fighter, it is me! Swordopolis! I have been trying to contact you!
What is it about?
Your nightmare, Fighter, is what it is about. Do you not realize what it means?
Uh, no. Not really.
Oh, don’t make me explain to you.
“But…” Fighter muttered to himself, and Red Mage glanced up from a book he was writing in.
“But what?”
“Huh?” Fighter noticed that he had accidentally drawn Red Mage’s gaze. “Oh, nothing. Sorry.” Red Mage nodded, and as Fighter looked down at his hands, he remembered the terrible pain he had faced just before his tormenting death. He pushed himself farther beneath the blanket, pulled it over his head, and rolled over next to Red Mage for comfort. Red Mage patted him on the head.