The thing about Lloyd's nightmares is that they're patterned, repetitive, and most of the time, just have him deal with one fear or trauma at a time. For as unpredictable as they are in schedule, the themes and visions are usually the same five, just shuffled around and picked up whenever Lloyd's fucked up mind deems it necessary.
He's had nightmares about Mithos before. He's had nightmares about Kratos before.
He's never had this nightmare.
Bile rises in his throat as he witnesses the nightmare firsthand, sees rather than feels Mithos and Kratos take their licks at his past self, mana-heavy magic burning at his jacket and through his skin, flinching at the sound of a knee taking aim at his head. Lloyd raises a hand to instinctively touch his temple, freezing when he properly realizes he's actually here, not in his own body, watching the memory from his own eyes like he usually does. Stumbling back, his right hand slams up against the wall he collapses against, heaving a breath as the dream continues, continues, continues. Panic rushes through his hot blood, pumping through his body like adrenaline, and he shakes his head, shuts his eyes tight, trembling. What is this!? What is happening, he didn't want this, he didn't want this, didn't want any of this, didn't want to watch this fucked up lucid dream, didn't want to fight Mithos, didn't want to fight Kratos -!
The dream stops.
Lloyd doesn't open his eyes. Not even when nudged by the familiar feeling of Kratos Aurion as he knows him, not willing to see him and his cold, empty, battle-ready stare.
Lloyd doesn't dare open his eyes until the sounds of battle stop, until the tears burning behind his eyes hurt to hold back anymore, and when he blinks his eyes open, it's with an anxious body, shivering though the air is warm, the campfire doing nothing to soothe his nerves. He falls to his knees, gripping his shoulders tight enough for his nails to leave marks, keeping the shuddering breaths in his lungs for fear an upcoming attack will knock them out of his body. Blinking, he tries to take in where he is, draws a map of his position in the world with the stars as his guide. Their twinkling helps bring him back to his own body, helps him swallow down the panic and grief that lie on his tongue.
"What the fuck," Lloyd breathes out, words as shaky as his grasp on reality is. He spins around, looks for the party members, looks for Sheena, for Malos, for Anna, but finds - Mithos. Just Mithos, sobbing and curled up on himself. "Mithos? What - what the - where are we?"
Lloyd looks back down at his trembling hands. Hastily wipes hot tears streaming down his face with the back of his hands. Tries to calm his voice. "Did you - did you see all of that?"
In a moment of sympathy, Lloyd reaches out his hand, but a thought forms in his head that causes him to drop it back to his side, squinting at the crying Aegis as he does. How did this - why is it that the first time he sleeps while in resonance with Mithos, he has not only a new nightmare but wakes up in an unfamiliar place with Mithos in it, seemingly just affected as Lloyd is? As he thinks, spiraling down into his own negatively, anger spiking as he comes to the conclusion that Mithos has something to do with this, the fire behind him crackles loudly, eating the wood with a speed that tells of something coming completely out of control. "Mithos, what did you do?"
EVERYTHING IS FINE
He's had nightmares about Mithos before. He's had nightmares about Kratos before.
He's never had this nightmare.
Bile rises in his throat as he witnesses the nightmare firsthand, sees rather than feels Mithos and Kratos take their licks at his past self, mana-heavy magic burning at his jacket and through his skin, flinching at the sound of a knee taking aim at his head. Lloyd raises a hand to instinctively touch his temple, freezing when he properly realizes he's actually here, not in his own body, watching the memory from his own eyes like he usually does. Stumbling back, his right hand slams up against the wall he collapses against, heaving a breath as the dream continues, continues, continues. Panic rushes through his hot blood, pumping through his body like adrenaline, and he shakes his head, shuts his eyes tight, trembling. What is this!? What is happening, he didn't want this, he didn't want this, didn't want any of this, didn't want to watch this fucked up lucid dream, didn't want to fight Mithos, didn't want to fight Kratos -!
The dream stops.
Lloyd doesn't open his eyes. Not even when nudged by the familiar feeling of Kratos Aurion as he knows him, not willing to see him and his cold, empty, battle-ready stare.
Lloyd doesn't dare open his eyes until the sounds of battle stop, until the tears burning behind his eyes hurt to hold back anymore, and when he blinks his eyes open, it's with an anxious body, shivering though the air is warm, the campfire doing nothing to soothe his nerves. He falls to his knees, gripping his shoulders tight enough for his nails to leave marks, keeping the shuddering breaths in his lungs for fear an upcoming attack will knock them out of his body. Blinking, he tries to take in where he is, draws a map of his position in the world with the stars as his guide. Their twinkling helps bring him back to his own body, helps him swallow down the panic and grief that lie on his tongue.
"What the fuck," Lloyd breathes out, words as shaky as his grasp on reality is. He spins around, looks for the party members, looks for Sheena, for Malos, for Anna, but finds - Mithos. Just Mithos, sobbing and curled up on himself. "Mithos? What - what the - where are we?"
Lloyd looks back down at his trembling hands. Hastily wipes hot tears streaming down his face with the back of his hands. Tries to calm his voice. "Did you - did you see all of that?"
In a moment of sympathy, Lloyd reaches out his hand, but a thought forms in his head that causes him to drop it back to his side, squinting at the crying Aegis as he does. How did this - why is it that the first time he sleeps while in resonance with Mithos, he has not only a new nightmare but wakes up in an unfamiliar place with Mithos in it, seemingly just affected as Lloyd is? As he thinks, spiraling down into his own negatively, anger spiking as he comes to the conclusion that Mithos has something to do with this, the fire behind him crackles loudly, eating the wood with a speed that tells of something coming completely out of control. "Mithos, what did you do?"