Tribal

18

Acacia had been exhausted from all the fighting from the night; she was practically falling asleep standing up. Ghost had decided that it would be a good idea to rent a room for the night. Ghost had been supporting Acacia as they walked; she was drowsy and could only see the city street lights. Eventually, they got to a large building with multiple windows.

"What is that building?" Acacia asked tiredly.

"It is a safe space where you can sleep for a few hours," Ghost told her.

"What about you? Don't you need sleep?" Acacia looked up to Ghost.

"No, void beings don't require sleep. I'll be okay." Ghost walked Acacia inside and paid for a room. They had made their way upstairs to their room and unlocked the door with the key the clerk gave them. Once inside, Acacia had already fallen asleep in Ghost's arms; he picked her up and gently sat her down on the bed and covered her with the blankets. He sat his blade on the coat rack then sat down on a chair that was facing the door; he wanted to be able to spot any intruders should they decide to enter. The door, and the window next to it that let you look out into the hallway, were the only ways in or out of the room. There were no other doors or windows in the room. He had his eyes trained on the door when he heard Acacia call his name.

"Ghost? Where are you?" Acacia sounded slightly panicked so he stood and walked into the bedroom. The way the room was set up, there was an entrance room; it had chairs and a bookshelf, then there were two doors at the back of the entrance room, one led to the bathroom, the other to the bedroom, the bathroom and bedroom were also connected by a sliding door. Ghost walked into the bedroom where Acacia had the blankets held to her face; she was facing him. She looked afraid of something.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ghost asked worriedly.

"I... I don't like the dark. Not anymore, can you stay here with me? Please." Acacia was begging him to stay. Ghost was having a hard time seeing her face, but he could tell that she had been crying. He took pity on her, even though a part of himself told him not to; he sat on the edge of the bed and tucked Acacia back in. He probably would have just sat there all night but Acacia had other plans. "Can you lay down?" Ghost pondered her question then responded with one of his own.

"You know I am not a mantis right?" He waved his hand and the illusion was gone; he looked like his normal self again.

"I know, I just thought maybe... no, never mind." Acacia flipped over turning away from him. He didn't know why, but seeing her hurt like that made him feel something, a sense in his chest, a desire to comfort her. He decided that just one time wouldn't hurt anything. He removed his cloak and let his head hit the soft pillows on the bed; Acacia had felt him get in bed and secretly, she wanted to cling to him but she decided against it. He may not like that and she had asked enough of him already. Acacia fell asleep rather quickly knowing that Ghost was right next to her; Ghost on the other hand, was struggling to find any peace; he focused his thoughts and used magic to reach out and view what the others were doing. Hollow was comforting their mother who was weeping in her personal garden inside the palace. Hornet and Quirrell were debating on what to do; someone had to return to watch the children; neither wanted to abandon the other, how noble of them.

The mantis lord and his assistant from earlier were asleep; they likely would be until morning, as the lords likely wished to be a part of it. He found peace in this, but his peace was soon interrupted by that familiar shadow.

"Wow, not even a full day and already sleeping together." Shade commented on their predicament.

"It means nothing. I am not a mantis, even if she wanted me I can't give her what she needs. It would be cruel." Ghost looked sympathetically towards Acacia; he was fascinated with her he would never admit to himself, or anyone, that he had feelings for her. If only he could be what she needed, maybe he would try to seem more interested in her. Instead, he hurt her constantly; he was hesitant to comfort her, sure she would listen to his ramblings but she needed someone who could do the things she needed from a partner. He could not. As much as he wished he could.

"Excuses, excuses. If you like the girl then take her, make her yours. You know you want to. Look at her, defenseless, it would be so easy; you could use a spell to keep her asleep. She would never need to know." Shade laughed, and Ghost's soul flared, he wanted to strangle Shade for even insinuating that he would ever do such a thing.

"You are a monster." Is all Ghost said.

"A monster yes, but if I am a monster, what does that make you?" With that, he disappeared. Acacia began to move in her sleep; Ghost could see tears flowing down her cheeks, instinctually he tried to wake her up.

"Acacia, Acacia wake up!" He shook her gently until she jolted awake with tears in her eyes. Without thinking she wrapped her arms around him, crying softly into his chest. "What happened?" He asked. She didn't respond; she just kept crying. He wasn't supposed to do this but what choice did he have? She needed him. He took out the dream nail and entered Acacia's mind. Inside was just pitch black, an endless sea of reflective nothingness; he could see Acacia in the distance. He slowly approached her and saw that she was chained down; he knelt down and tried speaking to her. "Acacia, can you hear me?" Either she couldn't or she couldn't respond. Either way, he decided that the best thing to do was cut the chains; he cut them and Acacia fell into his lap. He saw in the distance those eyes again, eight cold eyes.

"Leave us, Shade." Ghost said. "You are not wanted here." Immediately he was kicked out of the dream and found himself back in the regular world; Acacia still crying but it wasn't as frantic. He could not take seeing her in this pain anymore; he gently wrapped his hands around her and laid her down on the bed, pulling her head into his chest, slipping under the covers, and he gently rubbed her head until she fell asleep. And for the first time in a long time, he fell asleep.