The Little One with Green Eyes

2: Nightmares and Phoenixes

Little One loved his snake-momma.

Little One had never had a snake-momma before. Little One had never had a regular momma before. Snake-momma always made sure that Little One was happy and warm. Little One knew that he was safe with snake-momma. She would curl up next to him as Little One fell asleep in his bed and keep watch.

Little One had been nervous when he first met snake-momma, of course. Snake-momma was a very big snake, after all. But his worry had been misplaced. Snake-momma was kind and gentle with him, and she always whispered sweet words in his ears whenever Little One was scared. Without snake-momma, Little One was sure that he'd never get to sleep.

But sometimes... Sometimes snake-momma's kind whispers weren't enough to keep the bad dreams away. Sometimes holding his Padfoot close to his chest wouldn't be able to shake his fear either. Little One would tremble in his natural bed, snake-momma hissing words of comfort, and his most precious grimm plushie, and try not to cry.

Little One wanted to be brave.

But sometimes Little One couldn't. Sometimes, nothing could stop the icy cold fear from grabbing hold and making his chest feel all weird and tight. Little One would then hold his Padfoot and his snake-momma and cry.

Whenever that happened, his Papa would find him.

The first time it happened, Little One was so embarrassed. He wanted to be big and brave. He didn't want his Papa to be ashamed of him. But his Papa had only smiled at him gently, in a way that no one had ever smiled at him before, and picked Little One up and held him close. His Papa rocked him and whispered soft words of encouragement in Little One's ears until he fell asleep, the comforting thrum of his magic making Little One feel safe and loved.

The longer Little One lived with his Papa, the less the bad dreams would come. With his Papa, Little One had things he'd never dreamed he could have before. Little One had always liked gardens---they were pretty and Little One was always safe when he was outside in the garden. Now, Little One slept in a beautiful garden that was warm, and beautiful and all his.

Little One even made new friends! It had been a long time since anyone had come to see Little One. Well, anyone that wasn't his Papa or his snake-momma. They had come whispering things to each other, and they looked at Little One with fear. Little One didn't want his new friends to be afraid of him, though, so he gave them all flowers. That meant they were friends now.

(And friends couldn't hurt each other.)

But even with all of the good and happiness Little One felt, sometimes the bad dreams would sneak up on him and scare him really bad.

Like they did tonight.

Little One curled in on himself, his eyes staring up at the canopy of stars that covered him---Papa had done it for him, and even after all this time, it never ceased to amaze him---and fought back terrified sobs. He held his Padfoot close to him, the well-worn plushie held against his face for comfort.

His snake-momma wasn't here.

Little One didn't know where she was, but he figured that she was out eating. She had asked him if Little One would be okay without her, and Little One had nodded. Little One was a big boy, and he didn't need snake-momma to sleep with him.

But now, Little One really wished she was there to make him feel better. Snake-momma would've made him feel safe. She would have coiled around him and promised to stand guard so that Little One could go back to sleep.

But snake-momma wasn't here, and the dark shadows seemed to hold danger. Little One whimpered as the leaves of his oak tree rustled against the wind. He jumped when he heard the waterfall trickle against the shiny stones Papa had made for him in the background.