As Crios walked away, he gave a sigh of relief and exhaustion. He and the rest of the group had been working their tails off the past few days with little break. Fortunately, the end results were positive. The fox doctor was debating if taking his own advice was a good idea; whether or not taking some time to rest would be beneficial or detrimental. After all that happened, he’d probably collapse on the spot without it and he needed to rejuvenate his own energy. Being around the nightmares made him have to constrain most of it and he felt a little low. Maybe it was still the air of ‘nightmare affections’ still haunting him, but he did have an idea of just who to call to help him relax. Before he did, however, he went to his office to set his equipment down. 

Much to his surprise, he was greeted by the sight of Fuan’s horns on his desk. [i]’I knew Lord Enasi was serious, but I never thought he’d go so far as to take something precious from them. . .’[/i] He doesn’t doubt his Guardian’s decisions. He simply found the action surprising- more so because no one ever disappointed Lord Enasi. In a world of positivity and tranquility, things always ran smoothly- even with minor bumps here and there. And on the outside, it seemed that way too. On the inside, however, things were much more topsy-turvy. The doctor still couldn’t believe that his Guardian would even attempt to burden himself with so much weight. Somehow, it only took Night himself to make Enasi crack under pressure. . .Even if it was for the better. 

Crios sat his bag on his chair and shifted through the things on his desk, before setting them on one of the higher shelves, as if putting them on display in one corner. He really hoped those dreams would come to their senses before something worse happened to them. That idea alone made him think to snuff out his other workers to check their loyalty and trustworthiness, but once more he reminded himself that he needed to rest. Crios forced himself away from his office and began walking towards his source of positive energy. 

On his journey there, he ran into Enasi’s second. “Oh, how is he?” It was obvious just who he was talking about.

“He’s resting. Asleep in his room.” Harper informed with a nod. Crios was glad to hear it. It eased him a little more. The look Crios gave made the rabbit raise his paw up to stop him. “I understand your concern Crios. However, I have to be awake to make sure nothing else goes astray while our Guardian sleeps. Don’t worry, I’ll rest when I’m given the opportunity.” Crios didn’t like the idea, but he understood it and simply nodded before turning to walk off. He also had to remember, just as he shouldn’t talk back to his guardian, Harper was technically no different. 

The rabbit decided to go and check on his guardian once more just in case he ended up falling asleep on the floor. The first time he peeked inside, the guardian looked quite...ruffled. So, he decided it was best not to bother him. On the way there, he ran into Seishu and Inui. He stared at Seishu for a few minutes, before he finally accepted the idea and headed out to go continue with his job.

~~~~~~~

“Cho, you have company!”

“Oh?” The ever happy chef wiped his hands off with a towel and took his apron off. One of his cooks took it for him. “Crios? Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Are there orders to be taken? How is everyone doing?” The bad news that was relayed to him made him pause and give a concerned expression. 

Crios quickly shook his head. “No, no. Things are fine. They’ve calmed considerably. I’m sure when both wake, they’ll need to eat and so will the others, but that’s not why I’m here.” He felt the sudden flush growing again as Crios’ eyebrow arched quizzically. Crios cleared his throat. “I was wondering if you’d be able to take a break and,” He felt like a child all over again when he and Cho were together. He was always more quiet and calm about things, letting Cho be the excitable one and the one to lead the way. Crios began to wonder how he let his work get in between them. 

Cho watched as Crios’ thoughts took over his initial question. It made him giggle, knowing well just what Crios was going to ask. He had been around the doctor way too long not to know. Things unrelated to his practice made it easier for him to go off on his own little tangents. Taking too long, Cho leaned over and kissed the doctor before smiling. “Yes, we can go. I could use a break- and I definitely wouldn't want to miss one of the fabled breaks you actually take. I mean who knows how long it’ll be before you take another!” Cho grinned and walked over to declare his break before taking Crios’ hand and leading him off.

“Oh, before we go...do you mind having one of your cooks send something to Harper? He needs it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

[i]’Waking’ in the void of darkness wasn’t as pleasant as he had hoped it to be. Well, as pleasant as it could have been. The Guardian felt like he had fallen into the nothing instead of woken to it. No matter. As soon as he adjusted, his senses had dulled as usual, leaving him trapped with nothing but his thoughts. Enasi rested in a sitting position and closed his eyes. 

[b]Things are okay now. Everyone is safe. Seishu is being taken care of. The minions are in their cells and away from harm.[/b]

He would have whined towards that thought if he could have. It was hard to convince himself that they were okay after what had happened. He wasn’t even sure what happened! He recalled being nervous and feeling sick. Then he started to feel pains...That, he understood. He and Seishu were connected. That he knew. Then somewhere in that, his emotions got out of hand.

[b]Ugh. . .[/b]

He rested his head in his hands and sat in the silence, waiting for the moment he’d wake up. Much to his surprise trees and tall grass sprang to life. Enasi jolted up only to yelp in surprise and fall backwards.

He laid in the grass, staring at the sky as things began to form around him. The sky was a perfect blend of colors. Creatures flew through the sky and music filled the air. 

[b]He’s always been so creative...[/b]

Enasi couldn’t help the smile that spread as the world formed around him. He took a deep breath and sighed, letting his senses kick back on and adjust. Rolling to his feet, Enasi turned his head left and right, not spotting Seishu anywhere. The wind shifted, pushing him forward gently. He took a few steps forward only for the wind to change and go upward. “Go up?” Well, he supposed that would be the fastest way to find the guardian he was looking for. So, rather than wading through grass and trees, he stretched his arms out for his fluffy white wings to sprout behind him. 

[b]Guide the way.[/b]

He rubbed the symbol on his hand, taking off into the sky. The birds and drakes flying around lazily flew through the air, occasionally flying by the guardian in intrigue. Some even looked as if they were pointing him the right direction. He was high in the air, and flying for a few minutes before he noticed the sparkling pool of water below him. Not too far away, Seishu was standing by it. 

With a small smile, Enasi swooped down, the wind causing the lake to ripple gently. He landed silently and his wings disappeared. He took a few steps towards Seishu, glancing around the scenic view once more. “It’s really lovely. I’m almost jealous of how creative you are.” His playful grin relaxed and he looked at his counterpart. “Everything went well when I left, right?”[/i]

~~~~~~~

It seemed everyone was well on their way to relaxing. Rue and Rasha were getting well rested and energized, the Guardians finally were back together, even Harper had felt a little better as a random dream gifted him with food. In the opposite realm, nightmares alike were able to rest a little easier knowing their guardian was safe and well again. As much as they worried about their guardian having to rest on enemy grounds for so long, he was in better hands there. 

Because despite the wave of relief amongst many, there was one who was quite the opposite. Enraged and filled with venomous fury, Gin paced back and forth in front of a large table. The room itself looked as if it was for guards to plan tactile attacks. The minion desperate for Seishu’s position could have practically pulled his hair out. 

[i]’I was so close!’[/i] He was growling to himself, digging his nails into a chair every time he stopped. “How could we let him slip away! How could we have [b]missed[/b] this opportunity!” One of the chairs had crashed behind him. No longer than an hour ago had they found Seishu’s trail of negative energy. They had started their search not long after Gin realized just how strong the mock symbol on his hand began to grow. However, just as it took Harper and the rest of the crew forever to find Seishu, Gin and his followers had a similar issue. Except they were too late. The dungeon style area was completely vacant with nothing but faint traces of energy. 

The nightmares knew to stay out of Gin’s way. In his line of fire, they were sure to be attacked first hand. If they were lucky, it would maybe be verbal abuse, or even a few punches. When he had a weapon at hand, they were sure to keep their distance. Some of them were not so lucky. “S-Sir, please!” One minion was ordered to fetch him a drink. 

Now, the drink was shattered on the floor and Gin held the minion by his collar. “[b]You.[/b] I bet [i]you’re[/i] still devoted to that scum of a guardian aren’t you!? What were you going to do, huh? Try and poison me!?” 

“N-No, of course not sir! I-I am loyal to only you.” The minion’s voice wavered in fear as he stared up at Gin who was glaring daggers at him. After agonizing moments with a sword pressed over his heart, he was dropped to the ground. Why he wasn’t killed was beyond him, but instead of questioning it he scooped as much of the broken glass as he could and ran off. 

Gin was in one spot now, glaring at nothing in particular. His nails dug into the wooden chair he was leaning against. Anger, frustration and paranoia ran through him like a storm. “I was so close. . .” Gin needed a plan. He was tired of waiting for the guardian to rot away. It was taking way too long. . He needed to lure him out, away from the protection he had. . .Or lure them both out to kill them. That was a much better, more dangerous plan.  It would be fine just killing Seishu first. Once he took that power, then he could get rid of the rest of the dreams. 

Gin growled again as his brain wracked over just how he could get rid of Seishu for good. Until he could figure that out, he was in a perpetual state of anger towards everyone who came near. He wasn’t crazy enough to murder them though. He did realize he needed as many of the ones loyal to him as possible if they were going to attack.