To Be at Peace with Yourself

Chapter 8: Storm

The video is more chapter ambiance music than chapter theme music, but I felt it was appropriate.

Anyway, have some fluff~

Edit: Replaced the video since it was no longer working and added a bit of dialogue to the chapter

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A loud boom reverberated through the cabin, jolting Goth from his sleep. 

His eye lights darted around the room in a frenzy, trying to identify the threat within the darkness. When nothing rose up to attack him, his soul's hammering pace slowed under the loose tank top he had borrowed.

Taking in his surroundings, everything was still including his companion Palette. He was currently sleeping on a couch by the door, snoring away softly without a care in the world. 

Not surprising considering it was the middle of the night.

The artist had graciously offered his bed to Goth, even after the small skeleton had gotten over his trust issues. His guilt was sated by comments about buying another bed once he went to 'town'. According to Palette's description, it was a place with lots of people living close together. 

Goth wasn't sure how to feel about the idea of more people...

Another boom drew a squeak from the skeleton as he burrowed under the covers for safety, clutching at his scarf. Silence returned and Goth peeked out from the folds of his blanket. 

There were sounds outside... it sounded like water. 

Something's... leaking? Is that the right word?

A flash outside caused him to jump, sending him backward and off the bed with an unceremonious thud. 

As a rumbling motion shook the floor, Goth stumbled to his feet, quickly making his way over to his still-sleeping friend with his blanket wrapped securely around him. 

How can Palette ignore this noise?!

Reaching the skeleton, the smaller prodded his shoulder while urgently whispering, "Palette... Palette, wake up! Please wake up, something's outside!"

After a few seconds, the taller's sockets clenched, then slid open. It took a moment for his eye lights to appear and focus, still hazy from sleep, "Wha... Goth...?" As his sleep-fogged mind processed the small skeleton's words, the stars took on a sharp edge as he sat up, "Something? What did you see? Is it the bad people?"

"I don't know!" the scarved monster whispered frantically, clutching the blanket around him to hide his shaking, "I heard noises outside, something's leaking, there were lights flashing, and the house was shaking!" 

Looking to the window, Palette slowly came to a realization, "Goth... that's just rain... thunder and lightning. It's called a thunderstorm. It's saf-"

A flash of lightning lit up the room, cutting off the skeleton's words. Goth launched himself into the taller monster's chest, whimpering as a rumble of thunder shook the cabin. Palette automatically wrapped his arms around the smaller, bringing him into a hug. 

When Palette thought about it, this was probably the first time the smaller monster had ever experienced a thunderstorm. It's no surprise he would be scared of something he didn't understand.

As another flash and boom prompted another fearful whine, Palette stood up. Holding the trembling skeleton, blanket and all, he made his way back to the bed. 

Palette placed the smaller on the bed, leaving space to lay down before pulling him into another hug. Goth nestled into the taller's chest, shivering as he grasped at their tank top.

Fighting a light blush at the smaller skeleton's proximity, Palette rubbed along their spine in a soothing motion as the rain poured down outside. He grimaced as each flash of lightning and boom of thunder renewed Goth's fear despite his presence. Without some type of intervention, neither skeleton would get any sleep tonight.

"It's alright Goth, we're safe as long as we're inside," he murmured. Suddenly, an idea struck Palette, "Hey, would it help if I told you about what's happening outside?" 

A hesitant nod prompted him to continue, "Okay, so that light you see outside is called lightning. There are tiny little particles you can't see inside the clouds in the sky that build up electricity."

"Electricity...," Goth interrupted softly, pausing as another flash went off, "l...like the stuff in the lamp?"

"Yup. It builds up inside the clouds, and when it has enough, the electricity leaves the cloud and comes down so fast it superheats the air around it," Palette explained as the thunder boomed, "Then, once the lightning's gone, cold air rushes in to fill the space, collides with the hot air, and makes that booming noise called thunder.

"You can actually play a game with the lightning and thunder. When you see the lightning, you count how long it takes for the thunder to come after. Using that, you can see how close or how far away the storm is. The longer the time between the lightning and thunder, the farther away the storm is."

Palette had to suppress a chuckle when Goth perked up at the mention of a game. By now, he had loosened his grip on the taller's tank top, watching the window hesitantly. He still flinched when the next flash of lightning went off, but he relaxed as the artist began to count, "1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8..."

A boom sounded, slightly rattling the cabin. Palette smiled when Goth didn't flinch this time, "That took longer than the last one. That means it's moving away."

"What about the leaking?" Goth questioned, no longer trembling, even when a flash of lightning went off outside.

"That's called rain," Palette supplied, "Water from the ground rises up into the clouds. When the clouds get too full, the water comes back out as rain. It won't hurt you... rain's actually really good for the trees and the plants in our garden. Rain helps them grow."

"Oh...," the smaller yawned, his sockets drooping a bit as his fear ebbed away. The lightning was nothing more than a faint flicker and the thunder no more than a dull rumble in the distance as Goth's breathing even out and he drifted back to sleep.

Palette yawned as well, moving to settle in. 

While he figured Goth wouldn't be scared if he woke up again now that he knew what was happening, Palette didn't want to risk it. He also had to admit the positioning was very comfortable, and the bed made for a much better sleeping surface than the couch.

Curling up next to his companion, Palette let himself drift off to the sounds of the rain.