Defendants B1:Black and White Decent

Chapter 10

Sorry about the three word chapter. I didn't realize I accidentally did that instead of exiting my draft. I thought I was in a different writing program and mixed up the buttons. Sorry for the false alarm.  Also sorry for the delay, I had family over and my chapter somehow got deleted and I had to start over.  :(

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Carlos laid awake. Normally, he'd wake up from a nightmare about this time of night, but he didn't even fall asleep this time. His short trip to the Isle of the Lost was less than pleasant and brought back memories he'd rather forget. However, he didn't regret it. He had his brother now, even if his twin seemed distant. He himself had been that way. He wouldn't be surprised to find Varian in a few deep scrapes before he came around. If he came around.

He knew for a fact that Varian wasn't evil. Just mislead, like all the Vks. It was just that sometimes, the Vks didn't change. They just kept doing bad and being evil. Yet, there was just something different about Varian. He was full of bark, but he didn't seem to actually have a bite. He wondered if that was something they were alike in. That maybe they had similar lives and that their father was just as bad as Cruella.

Then a painful realization hit him. Varian didn't have Evie or Jay or even Mal. Of course, Jay and Mal bullied him when they were younger. It wasn't until him and Evie befriended when he finally got accepted. Who did Varian have? Did Varian have a friend or did he only ever have the chance to become friends with a raccoon? Varian's skin was so pale and not in a natural way like his. It looked sickly and unhealthy.

The sound of groaning reached his ears.   As first, Carlos believed that it was Jay snoring, but that was a hole other dear in itself.  Between both sounds, he sat up.  He could feel Dude snuggling up closer, but he wasn't paying attention.  Carlos could hear Ruddiger chittering, trying to comfort his partner.

The freckled boy got of his bed and came up to Varian's bed.  It was obvious that Varian suffered from nightmares, much like himself.  It was always best to wake him up to snap him out of his panic before it got so bad that he couldn't breathe.  He gently shook his twin's shoulder.  "Varian?"

The younger twin jumped, snapping his eyes open.  Upon seeing Carlos's figure, he panicked and fell out of the bed and onto the floor.  He yelped.

"Varian?"  Carlos winced.

"Wha-?  Where am I?"  Varian screaming.  Jay sat up with a start from the sudden racket.

"Woe, woe, Var-" Carlos tried to calm his brother down, but Varian was already not breathing.  "Jay!"

"Who do I get?"  Jay asked, grabbing the doorknob.

"Just get Evie!"  Carlos said.

Jay nodded and dashed out of the room at full speed, but silently.  Aladdin would have been proud of his skills when it came to being quiet when it came down to something like thievery.  Or in this case, trying not to wake any of the students while helping his friend.  It didn't take long before he returned with the Evil Queen's daughter.

When Evie arrived, she found Varian having a full blown panic and Carlos trying to coach him.  However, it wasn't working and Carlos didn't look too far from having his own panic attack.  Evie put her hands on Varian's shoulders.  "Varian, breathe with me.  In... out... in... out..."

It took a moment, but Varian began to follow her lead.  There was just something about Evie that made others feel a bit more relaxed when she took charge.  Perhaps it was because she gentle, soft and calm, where Carlos was on the verge of panic and it didn't help Varian.

"Better?"  Evie whispered after a few minutes.

Varian slowly nodded.  He suddenly noticed that he had Ruddiger in his lap and Dude curled up next to him.  He had Evie sitting in front of him with her hands on his shoulders.  Carlos was sitting to his right and Jay was standing over to the left.  Mal was walking in the room mumbling something as she stirred something in a little tub.

"Do you have the lavender?"  Evie asked.

"Yep," Mal handed the cream to Evie.  "Jay, can you give Varian a pair of socks?"

"You got it," Jay said as he tossed her a pair.

"Here, rub some of the lavender cream on your feet and put the socks on over it.  This will help," Evie instructed.

Varian nodded and did as he was asked.  They helped him back in the bed, and he fell back asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.  The others gave each other a nervous look.

So, I've used some lavender stuff before to help calm me down before and it worked well.  It was more like a chap stick I put on my feet, but still.  I didn't use it because I had a panic attack for your knowledge.  Thanks for reading!

I'll probably come back to edit it later.