Confession Time

The Beginning

Dream watched Nightmare walk towards him, book in hand, shoulders hunched and his body posture all curled in on himself. The other had gone to the village in order to try to borrow one of the books at the small library. He'd insisted on going himself - rather than Dream getting up to go get as many books as the other wanted (carefully writing down what sort of subjects the other wanted to read). From the defensive way that the other was holding himself... It hadn't gone very well. Dream had no idea why the villagers didn't like Nightmare - his other half was loving and kind...

But Nightmare would never really talk about whatever was bothering him, no matter how persistent Dream was about trying to talk to the other - Nightmare would sometimes even teleport out of sight and hide for days if he was too pushy... Which was frustrating and worrying, as all he wanted was to help the other... If Nightmare wouldn't talk to him outright... Maybe if they played a game (both of them loved playing games, especially two-player games together) Nightmare would feel better about opening up? But what sort of game could they play that would ensure that the other would talk about what was bothering him... Or what he possibly felt guilty or unsure about?

Clearly this called for a new game, and Dream was determined to figure it out. His eye lights dimmed for a bit as he watched Nightmare walk the rest of the way to their tree, sitting down on the far side, so that no one who came up towards them from the village would immediately see him. After thinking for a while, Dream's eye lights brightened - this game would probably work! The positive spirit peeked around the trunk of the large tree, his heart lurching a little as he saw Nightmare had buried his face in his hands, and the other's shoulders were shaking a little. Violet tears were soaking into his clothes.

Instantly Dream rushed around The Tree and hugged his beloved other half tightly, distressed that the other had managed to hide the pain and misery that he was ever so slightly emitting from him. "Shh... It's... It's going to be okay, Nighty... S'okay... Do you..." He wanted to ask why Nightmare was crying, but that never ended in the truth. Time to take the plunge. "Do you want to play a game? I... I made a new one up, a little while ago, and I have the rules down and everything."

"I..." Nightmare started, his voice shaky as he clung tightly to the positive spirit, hesitating for a couple of moments before continuing, sounding and feeling a little surprised. "Sure, Dream. What's the game you thought of? I... I'm not sure that I'm up for a running-around kind of game."

"That's okay! It's not a running-around game. It's a talking game," Dream responded back, squeezing his beloved for a couple of moments before continuing. "It's called Confession Time. There are three basic rules. The first is that we have to be completely honest with each other about what we talk about. The second is that no matter what one of us tells the other, we can't hold grudges or be mad at what the other says... And the third rule is that after we finish talking, we have to cuddle with one another for at least five minutes afterwards, okay?"

"I... Oh... Okay. Wh-what are the goals of the game, Dream?" Nightmare asked, his voice a little quieter and the uncertainty and worry in his aura intensifying a little.

But the other was still hugging him, which Dream took to mean that he was at least open to playing the game. "Well... We take turns talking about stuff that worries us... Or like, if we did or said something... Or didn't do or say something that makes one of us feel guilty, we talk about it. So that it doesn't feel like an awful weight that we think that we have to keep hidden from the other."

"... Dream... I.." Nightmare started, fidgeting a little and shifting away from him in an unsure manner, the uncertainty and stress rising within the other's aura.

"Oh! A-and while we're talking, we're on opposite sides of the tree... So that we're close to one another while talking, but it's easier to talk than if we were to be face to face. Cuddles happen after the talking. Also, each turn begins with the person who's talking to say Confession Time, so that the other knows that what they're saying is something that they're confessing, rather than talking about what the other person said. If... If we're comfortable, we can talk about what we confess before the other person takes the next turn- but we don't have to," Dream explained, guessing part of what the other was so distressed about... His visible reaction to whatever the other had to say. "So... So what do you think about the game?"