Emerald Rain

Ailell, The Valley of Torment:

Byleth:

The beast, snarled at Byleth she cowered away from it, the odor was horrible he eyes burned from it, and the beast watched her waiting taunting her with the fact it could kill her at any given minute. Does her mother know in that form who she is? Perhaps Sitri is like Rhea and wishes to rip her heart from her chest.

Byleth shot up from her slumber, she was covered in sweat. She rubbed at her face, dammit, why won't this dream stop Byleth wondered, she sat up and looked around. It was still dark outside. Byleth got up, she knew she wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep after what she had just dreamed. It frustrated her, why now, was it her guilty conscience trying to tell her that she had made the wrong choice. Byleth exited her room, the air was nice and crisp, another thought came to her mind, perhaps this is Sothis punishing her. No, that couldn't be it right? Sothis made it clear before that she trusted Byleth's judgment. Byleth wondered if Sothis had seen both the past and future, the... Did that mean that she knew what the outcome of this would be? Did she foresee Byleth making the choice to abandon her friends and family to protect Edelgard or was she just as surprise as Byleth had been when she decided it.

"Hey there kiddo" Byleth jumped a little, she knew it was her Father, but he had caught her off guard, also... She had avoided him since their last altercation about Byleth siding with Edelgard in the Holy Tomb. "What are you doing out here so late?" he added.

Byleth sighed, "I needed to clear my head" she said.

Jeralt scratched at his beard, "Clear your head? From what?" he asked.

Byleth shook her head, "It doesn't matter" she stated.

Jeralt paused for a moment, "Did you have a nightmare?" he asked. Byleth flinched a little and didn't say anything. "Your silence speaks volumes" Jeralt sighed, "Which was it the war, or the girl?" he asked.

"Neither" Byleth said.

Jeralt tilted his head in confusion, "Neither?" he repeated, Byleth gave a slight nod. "So, there is a new one?" he asked.

Byleth froze, she really didn't want to have this conversation with her Father. Especially given the fact that it was about her dead Mother who she'd never once got to know was haunting her dreams in the form of a blood thirsty beast. Imagine how that might affect how her own Father perceived her Mother, or worse maybe he'd look at Byleth weird for dreaming about it. Byleth shook her head, "It doesn't matter" she said.

Jeralt had a concerned look on his face, "Listen kiddo, I won't force you to tell me but just know that I'm here for you" he said.

Byleth felt a pang of guilt hit her, but would he still be there for her after she told him this? She sighed, well if worst came to worst, she could always use Divine Pulse to undo this conversation, though it did seem wasteful to use her powers over something so trivial. "Thank you" Byleth murmured, she paused for a moment "I've been having this dream of my Mother" she said.

Jeralt looked surprised, like that would have been the last thing he would ever expect her to dream about, "You've been dreaming of your Mother?" he said softly, "What about her?" he asked.

Byleth stopped and took a deep breath, "Do you remember what happened down in the Abyss?" she asked. Jeralt gave her a nod, "I keep dreaming of her... when she turned into the monster" Byleth whispered, she shut her eyes, she didn't want to see how he reacted to the news. "It started when I was unconscious" Byleth said, "It was dark, and I was running, and running but no matter what the Beast was there ready to attack" she whispered, "And then... it happened the other day when we were in Edmund territory while I was awake" she said " When we came face to face with the Wandering Beast, I froze and panicked because I was no longer in the forest, instead I was back in that dark room with the Beast" she added.