Overcoming your nightmares

Boots hit the ground running as leaves kicked up, the sounds of harsh breathing covering up the sounds of her heart hammering in her chest. Tears streaked down her cheeks in the wind as branches pulled at her dark tresses. Fear shoved her on blinding as she ran from her past, her body feeling the hurts from years ago, something she swore she would never let herself feel again, and yet it chased her like the hounds of hell, bent on dragging her down. So shaken in her terror, she didn't jump fast enough and a wayward root sent her sprawling into the dirt. Fingers twisted into claws as she reached forward as if to keep going, but her body refused, the dread so heavy in her chest she curled her legs to protect herself. Arms wrapped around her knees as if to further shelter her heart as it slammed like a caged bird against her ribs. Alone, shaking like the leaves that brushed over her fallen frame, the fear ate at her as she flinched with each imagined blow. How long she remained there, she didn't know, but soon a pair of beat-up sneakers slid into her view, before a pair of glowing eyes dropped into her line of sight.

"Hey...Hey you okay? We could feel you from like miles out man! Wait..DZ wait...Does she look familiar to you?"

Wide, tear filled blue green eyes flickered from the werewolf before her to the scuffed boots fast approaching. The growl that met her ears had her unwrapping her legs as she attempted to skitter back away from the angry skeletal man looming over her, but he stopped her as he crouched, a firm hand wrapping around her jaw, tilting her face upwards so she could look up into his menacing white gaze. Confusion bled into her gaze as she took in the familiar jacket, her voice cracking, straining as if she'd been screaming.

"Zyggy?"

Milky white eyes flinted across her face, touching on the scars that decorated her left cheek, dancing to the one that slid into her hairline along her forehead, dipping to the multiple silvered burn scars along her upper chest before recognition had his gaze widening. Super imposed over her fearful face was that of a child, broken and bleeding, with the same wide eyes blinking up at him.

"It's you...Last time we saw you, you were a child....Fuck."

She watched as the menacing gaze melted away to reveal the sweetest pair of white eyes. The muscular frame shifted to one that she remembered as a child that held her while she cried, made her laugh in the darkest times she could remember.

"You came back...Oh you came back."

"Zyggy I'm so...I...I'm sorry."

Fresh tears slid down dirty cheeks as she let her head drop, shame mixing with the whirlwind of emotions eating at her. Her voice came out hoarse as she hiccuped through her words, her hands twisting around each other hard enough to bruise as her body shook. Skeletal arms slid around her, pulling her close, cradling her against his chest.

"No no no, don't cry. It's okay. Shhh you didn't do anything wrong. It's okay."

The normally fast, excited voice of Zyggy was soft, soothing, as he held her, calming her some as she tried to breathe through the erratic breathing the panic was pushing her towards. For a while, she let herself be held, but sooner rather than later, she leaned back slightly, pulling in a shaky breath.

"I didn't mean to scare anyone...Or make anyone come running. I just...I didn't know where else was safe to go."

The last whispered as she looked up, wiping her face with the heel of her palm. Both Zyggy and Munk looked at her with gentle smiles before helping her up, bracketing her between them as they headed back towards town.

"You know you're always welcome here. It's been a while, but you know you don't have to be sorry about coming back."

The sideways smile that the lanky soft skelly boy threw her way caused a small smile to tug at her lips, unable to resist the sweetness that was Zyggy.