Est_20: 09 Comfort:

[skull_bearer]

TITLE: Prelude
AUTHOR: Skull Bearer
FANDOM: Dragonlance
PAIRING: Raistlin/Dalamar
GENRE: Slash
TABLE: Here
PROMPT: 09 Comfort
RATING: PG
WORD COUNT:
SUMMARY: Night Dreams redux
WARNINGS: Fluff, with a few dark shadows.
DISCLAIMER: *arms lawyers*

 

Dalamar woke up when a blast of cold air hit his skin with all the subtlety of a frying pan. He jerked awake and groped for the blankets, the night was icy and they were sleeping outside. His hand hit only rapidly chilling skin, and with a groan, he opened his eyes.

Still bleary from sleep, everything was a blur, and it took several freezing moment to realise that Raistlin was sitting up, blankets clutched to his chest, his back to Dalamar.

 

He was shaking.

 

Oh Nuitari, not again. He was surprised his lover's coughs hadn't woken his first; although, knowing Raistlin, he'd probably done his best to muffle them to avoid waking him, without realising that taking the coverings away would have the same effect.

Dalamar groaned and sat up, scowling at his lover's exposed back. Even while coughing, Raistlin should know better than to sit up like this. He didn't need elven sight to know how much heat the young mage must be losing like this.

 

He leant forward and wrapped his arms around Raistlin's chest, the young mage was still shaking and the skin on his back was like ice.

"Bad night?" He murmured in his ear.

Raistlin didn't respond, although Dalamar felt him swallowing and the trembling easing off a little. With one arm holding his love and the other firmly on the blankets, Dalamar laid them both back down again. The blankets were still warm, and he tucked them in tightly before burrowing beneath them.

 

The coughing fit had obviously passed, and Dalamar was on his way to drifting off again when he blinked awake again because something was obviously wrong. Raistlin hadn't moved, still lying stiff and still in his arms, eyes fixed on the stars.

"Raistlin?" Dalamar brushed fingers through his hair. "Are you alright?"

It was just as well he could feel him breathing, otherwise he was as cold and still and clammy as a corpse and Dalamar might have panicked. But he was breathing, far too rapidly but still too deeply than it should have been.

 

Not a coughing fit then. Dalamar ran his fingers along Raistlin's chest. "Did you have a nightmare?"

As though that had been all he'd been waiting for, Raistlin took a deep breath and let it out, eyes closing. He didn't often have nightmares, not as often as Dalamar anyway, but when he did they were awful. Dalamar rolled over and propped himself up on one elbow. Raistlin opened his eyes and looked up at him; he took another deep breath and managed a weak smile. He touched Dalamar's face gently, as though to reassure himself he was real. Dalamar closed his eyes and rubbed his face against his hand, like a cat. Raistlin's smile became more genuine.

"A bad nightmare then?" He asked. Raistlin nodded. It would have to have been. The nightmares were bad, but for Raistlin to have been left in shock for so long after one was unheard of. Normally he just buried himself in the bedclothes and tried to attach himself to as many bits of Dalamar as he could, which was hardly a trial. This was new.

 

Still, after last year, and the very real dangers of being a mercenary, what did he expect? Dalamar lay back down.

Raistlin let out his breath again, and that turned into a yawn.

 "I will be fine." He whispered. He put his hand on Dalamar's chest, but otherwise didn't try and come closer. The Dark elf hoped the dream hadn't been about Amberyl, and gently ran his fingers down his arm. Raistlin smiled and didn't seem to mind.

 

"What was it about?" Raistlin didn't always remember his nightmares, often they weren't really nightmares but night terrors, and from those were there was nothing to remember. He seemed to remember this one though, and flash of pain crossed his face. Dalamar stroked his hair. His mouth moved silently, shaping words he couldn't give voice to, then shook his head in wordless refusal.

 

"Don't worry about it." In fact, Dalamar felt bad for asking. Raistlin would tell him later, or tomorrow, or whenever he felt ready, he had no business pushing him.

"Thank you." Raistlin swallowed, and rolled closer until they were face to face, one arm thrown across Dalamar's waist. "It was very bad." He admitted.

"It was just a dream," He reassured him, and frowned when the smile vanished from Raistlin's face.

"Not quite a dream." He pressed his face into the elf's neck.

 

Dalamar was silent for a while, stroking Raistlin's hair. The young mage's breathing evened out until he sounded almost asleep, and Dalamar's words might well have fallen on deaf ears. "Was it about your Test?"

Raistlin might not have heard it, he was already mostly asleep, but as Dalamar followed him into slumber, his wonder if the sudden tension he thought he'd felt in Raistlin's shoulders had been entirely in his imagination.

It's getting a bit lonely out here, and it's hard to keep writing when you think you're the only one keeping this ship afloat. I&E is far from my best work and while I do still like, it's becoming easier to get pulled away from it. It's partly the fandom, or rather the lack of it. I've become somewhat too fussy to enjoy the FF.net trash out there. Please, could you write a little? I need inspiration and I know I won't be getting it from canon.

Comments

[shadowvalkyrie.livejournal.com]

Awww... This is the nightmare-antidote I needed! *cuddles the mages and makes shoo-gestures at the all-too-present shadows*

I'd like to help with the ship-afloat-keeping, but a) I have less than three weeks left to write my BA paper (I started today, after a month of procrastination *facepalm*) and I need to get a really good passable grade there because I want a job, not sudy on for an MA and b) all my bunnies are either epic or insane, and I still have enough self-hatred issues about (among other things) my writing to sabotage an entire factory of newspaper-typing monkeys. And I don't think I manage being inspirational at the best of times, either.
I agree, though: the fandom needs to be beaten back to life. No, undead existence won't count. (Well, maybe it will; the situation does seem kind of desperate. *sad sigh*)

[halokitty69.livejournal.com]

Inspiration? I'll have to dig out that old pwp I was writing ^_^

Seriously though, I'll miss I&E if you ditch it. I still do a little *yay* when I see it on my friends page. I like this one. Poor Raistlin. I forget sometimes how much he suffers.

Shame I don't have my scanner at the moment. The Dragonlance comics I've been reading have some fantastically sexy-evil pictures of Raistlin ^_^

[(Anonymous)]

Well, after reading this I'm finally getting around to commenting. So far, I have enjoyed the entire I&E series; it's one of the better fics I've read in a while, and I agree that most of the stuff out there is just not up to my standards. Sorry that I can't offer any inspiration, but I figured it had to at least help to know that some people are reading and enjoying your work.