The grass was cool and soft under my feet. I sighed, I k wasn’t real. My right flesh and blood leg shifted slowly into an ugly metal thing, deformed and crooked. It ractically demonic looking and definitely not something I could walk with.

  Daisy poked me with her trunk.

  “I know, I know that’s not what it looks like but that’s how it feels. Especially now that I know-… now that I ’t pretend it’s just temporary.” I leaned over and pressed my fato my baku friend’s side. “I have to apologize to them. I shouldn’t have yelled like that.”

  Daisy gave a low, long squeal and pressed her face against me.

  “I’m sorry Daisy, I didn’t mean to worry you.” her trunk ed around the bay ned squeezed in a soft hug. “Hey, I really need a distra right now. Think we go make sure my friends aren’t having nightmares?”

  She got up and pulled me to my feet. I stumbled walking on the deformed metal, but I couldn’t make it better no matter how hard I tried fog on how it was supposed to look. Daisy stood o me and used her trunk to pull me against her. “Thank you Daisy.” I said before leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. She petted me and the off.

  It was slow, but we found my tribe’s dreams. Jaina was having a nightmare about trying to stop her patients from hurting themselves. Daisy ate it and we moved on, guilt in my heart because I khat was my fault.

  Redagga was having a nightmare about a vilge on fire and people screaming. Daisy dragged me away from it quickly without eating it. I remembered what Vei’Ryn said, some nightmares were not really nightmares. Baku couldhem. Qwill said something about Red losing people. This rivate until she shared it so I turned away and just moved on with my friend.

  Wen’s was surprising. She was standio a crypt in full armhosts whispered to her that she was a failure and she stood there trembling and just let them. Tears streaked down her face as the ghosts taunted her and she did nothing, seemingly too scared to move.

  Daisy ate the nightmare and Weren was ba her giant kit. I turo leave and go on to the dream-

  “You fug turn around a back here! Don’t you dare walk away from me!” I quickly turo see Wen staring daggers at me, she was g harder than she had been in the nightmare but it was anger and hurt on her faow, not fear.

  “Wen, I-”

  “No, you fug get over here NOW!” she demanded and I couldn’t fight her. Daisy helped me walk to her and once I was close enough, Weren spped me so hard I would have fallen without the baku to lean against. Paihrough my cheek and made my eyes water. “You stupid bitch. How dare you.”

  “I didn’t-”

  “No, you shut your fug mouth and you listen to me. We LOVE you. The whole tribe does. Do you have any idea what it felt like for us to find out you were suffering and didn’t e to us? FUCK! Luvetra was going to run off if Carmil hadn’t been there for her!”

  I felt my stomach twist as she yelled at me. I knew I deserved it.

  “You do so much for us, make us feel loved and wele and home. I don’t care that it’s some goddess blessed aura helping you. The feelings we have are fug real and you know it.” She sniffled and rubbed her face “If one of us was hurting, needed help, how would you feel if we hid it from you and just suffered?” I stood in silence for too long “ANSWER ME!”

  I swallowed “I’d be angry, hurt, I’d feel like you didn’t trust me.”

  “Yeah… so take y fug smart brain and figure out where the rest of that thought goes.”

  “I’m sorry.” the words were a harsh whimper, I was g as much as she was by then.

  “No. No you’re not. Not yet. Because I swear to you. If you ever do this again. If you ever make us worry like this just one more fug time…” she took several breaths before she looked me in my eyes again. “… theher you’ll leave the tribe or I will.”

  I couldn’t breathe, my heart felt like there was a knife in it. “Wen-”

  “I mean it. I am not going to wateone I love torture themselves, Not again. Not after you’ve beeing through to Luv and making her fug smile all the time. So don’t you dare ever pull that shit again. Do you hear me?”

  I nodded “I p-promise. I promise I won’t. I’m so sorry. I was so fug stupid.”

  “Yeah, you were.” She pulled me into a hug and squeezed me tight and I did the same for her.

  “I swear it, I’ll be better.” I said as I sniffled.

  “I know. I know this was a big deal for you and it just crushed you and you reacted poorly. I know and I love you and I want you to stay with us. That’s why I’m so angry, why we’re all so angry and hurt. You’re one of us. You e to us for help when you .”

  I nodded and kissed her cheek.

  She pulled bad gave me a small smile, obviously f herself to let the anger go for now. “So… this is Daisy I assume?”

  Daisy and We and there were pets and a few minutes of cuddles. But I had to leave soon enough. I wao see the others, do what I could for them in their sleep. Probably make more apologies.

  Briggavel’s dream was simple, not happy, but not a nightmare so Daisy couldn’t do anything. She was in a cart riding along the road and the sery was ging stantly. Like she was in a different nd every few seds. It felt like something personal so I left her alone and moved on.

  I was surprised to find Dekarru, for some reason I figured she’d be protected or something? Being an oracle seemed like it would have things like that. But no, she was there. Sitting in a gde and listening to the sounds of nature. “This a dream then?” She suddenly said as I started to turn away.

  I took a breath and made my way in with Daisy’s help. “Yes.” I said as I sat in front of the shaman and Daisy set her head in my p. “This is my baku friend, Daisy.”

  Dekarru gave a soft grunt “Heard about them, never seen one before. She’s cute.” she said, reag out aing the nightmare eater. “Your face is red, you get spped?”

  “I visited Weren already.” I said with a nod.

  “Surprised you’re in one piece. She was on the ath when she found out what happened.”

  I looked down “Yeah, she really let me have it. And I deserved every bit.”

  “Good. Means I don’t o give you any.” She sighed. “Y always look so fucked up in here?”

  “No, used to be a normal leg. I think my dream body reacts to my mental state.” I shrugged.

  “Huh, wish I had that, maybe lose some wrinkles.”

  “I like them.” I said with a small smile.

  She chuckled. “Pervert.” I nodded and she grinned for a moment, but then her face faltered. “Did… did you think I was holding some magic fix back from you?”

  I hesitated then nodded “A little bit, like, maybe you o know more about my goddess. Or the moons had to be in alig or something.”

  “I wouldn’t do that to you.” her voice sounded pained.

  “I know, I know that in my head. But in my heart I was so desperate to believe that someone could snap their fingers and give it bae. Make me whole.” I shrugged again.

  “Yonna make things up to all of us, you know that right?” I just nodded. “Good. Now get out of here. I bet you’re saving the two of them for st, aren’t you?”

  I didn’t respond except to stand and lean on Daisy as we left.

  Luvetra and Carmil’s dreams were close to each other, and both were…. Bad. Carmil was ed up in dozens e bands trying to crush her and tear her apart. Luvetra was alone in the woods, naked and filthy and looking half feral. I took a deep breath and reached out, then pulled both dreams together.

  Luv turo see Carmil and immediately regained herself as she ran to start tearing the elemental free. The two had arms around each other quickly, finding fort in each other’s embrace. I took a breath and stepped forward, Daisy helping me forward until I was closer.

  They both turo see me and… relief, anger, wuilt, they both felt so many things. I just lowered myself to the ground and took a breath.

  “I fucked up.”

  “That is an uatement. Do I o return to my previous state? To live within you permaly to ensure your are hiding no more ailments from us?” Carmil had never sounded so angry before.

  “Wh-why?” Luv’s words hurt to hear. The guilt ractically physical for my chest.

  “Because I didn’t want to admit it. I didn’t want to face that I wasn’t doing as well as I had thought. As well as I wao be. I just… I just kept telling myself that I was fine. Like that would be enough to make it true.”

  Luvetra slid behind me and held me tight as Carmil climbed into my p and squeezed me just as strongly.

  “I swear. Never again. No more hiding things from you. No more pretending I’m not hurting when I am. No more refusing to ask for help.”

  “You promised me something like that before, Esme. Why should I believe you this time?”

  I took a breath and held her tight. “Because I am more scared of losing you two than I am of feeling weak. I’d rather be a burden than alone.”

  “Y-you’re n-not a b-bur-burden.” I heard my giant lover say quietly.

  “Aher are you.” I reached up and squeezed Luvetra’s arm. “But I know you feel like you are sometimes. I guess I empathize with that.”

  Carmil kissed my neck gently. “We will support one ahat is the only way forward.”

  The rest of my time with them was quiet. We just held each other, felt the warmth of our bodies. But the draw of the Dream called after a bit and I had to leave again. I promised to spend more time with them soon in the waking world, then Daisy helped me up and helped me dowh again.

  “Thank you for helping me, I already owe you so mud you keep giving more. I’m so grateful. You old me what you want iurn.”

  Daisy just reached up and patted me softly and I uood.

  “Yeah, friends help each other. I’m getting that a lot tonight.”

  I found Re’s dream, it was… intimate. I left she and her lover to their privacy quickly.

  Flyt’s dream was a horrible nightmare… or looked like it to me at first. She was surrounded by books, ledgers, paperwork. She sat at a desk with pen in hand madly scribbling down numbers aions. Occasionally she would reach over to a full, messy ledger and run a glowing hand across it and start scribbling faster. It was so much math and paperwork… but she was smiling softly and humming a tune. Huh. I guess she likes math? When someone else came in with a ack of ledgers she practically cheered. Yep. Math lover, and people call me a weirdo.

  I chuckled and moved on. Once more I found that thread from both of them and I felt pelled to try and find out what that elf birl’s dream meant.

  It didn’t take long before we found it. Daisy helpio a meadow filled with flowers and butterflies and friendly bunnies and squirrels and deer. It was extremely fairy tale idylli the ter of it, surrounded by all of the beauty of the dream was the girl again. Boy? I’d figure it out.

  We made out way over. He? She? They, lets go with they until told otherwise. They were smiling and feeding the animals and wearing a of flowers and looking like a fairy tale princess. When I sat down before them they smiled at me “Hello there friend! Are you a prioo?”

  I raised my brow “Not that I know of.”

  And suddenly their face torted in fusion. They blinked and looked around and then at me. There was anger and panic for a moment, but they just slumped down immediately with a look of defeat. “You’re some being of the Dream, some nightmare creature I suppose? e to torment me again with these cruel visions?”

  I snorted as Daisy id her head in my p. “No, Daisy here is a baku, they eat nightmares actually. If I was one I’d be in her belly by now.” and my baku friend squealed softly and patted my cheek with her trunk.

  “They why torture me like this? You destroyed my dream and trapped me in this nightmare where my body is…” their word was so soft I barely heard it, but it felt more a question that a statement “… wrong?”

  “Sorry, but Daisy says that manly ma was the real nightmare. Right Daisy.” a happy and positive squeal and she wiggled. The elf tried to hide it, but they smiled briefly at the mighty ess powers of my dream buddy.

  “W-well that’s wrong. I am the son of a Duke of the Hegemony. I am a strong and proud warrior, not some… some pretty sorceress damsel!

  I blinked and tilted my head “Sorceress?”

  They turned absolutely scarlet “I... I misspoke, that is all.” Layers there were to this one, but that slip and I started to see… not quite the truth, but the shape of the lie anyway. I inhaled and stretched out, my mangled metal limb shifting to be more directly in front of them. They stared at it, a hand c their mouth, taking the bait as I’d hoped. “Dear gods, what happeo you?”

  I gave a small sad smile. “I got hurt, and I lied about it. I lied about how much pain I was in and so it got worse and worse. I lied to my friends about needing help, about having problems. They found out, they always do you know. Friends will dig their way down past every wall you have and figure things out.” I shook my head. “I should have told them, now they’re angry at me and our retionships are strained and I might lose some of them. It was scary and painful, but if I’d just told them, things would have beeer.”

  They looked at me and chewed on their lip, smart enough to get what I was saying “Wh-what… what if the thing hurting you is really really big? What if they might hate you if they know?”

  “Then they aren’t really your friends.” I said as I reached out and squeezed their hand. “But there will be people who uand and hold you dear and help you.”

  They stared at their p, smoothing out their dress softly as they were lost in thought.

  I felt the world start to fade slowly and took a ce “Are you in Beaver Valley?” they nodded “e to the Encve District, ask for Dekarru, tell her Esme sent you for help.” There was a moment of fusion, and then the Dream was gone.