Roaming these streets from dusk to dawn, Nightfall is preying on nightmares beating them in battle whenever the oppurtunity presents itself. Deluding himself into being a lone warrior that cannot halt his advance, he’s spending his nights as a warrior while resting in abandoned buildings and construction sites during the day. Cold and rainy nights are approaching as April bears no qualms about burying him beneath harsh weather conditions.
“I have to work harder!” he tells himself feeling battered after slaying another nightmare. Exhausted, pushed beyond his limits of stamina, he falls. Lying atop his very own shame, he finally comes to a rest on a sidewalk. His sudden slumber, not long before sunrise, starts with the echo of a few steps being taken towards his direction.
Light is seeping into his eyes bypassing his eyelids. A fluffy and warm embrace is keeping him warm as a gentle breeze sweeps over him. Nightfall slowly opens his eyes as the slight rumble of a door shakes him awake.
“Hey sleepyhead! Wake up!” demands a sqeaky little girl demanding his attention. “You can’t just face a dozen nightmares in one night and be fine after that! But I’ve given you a day! Get up!”
Nightfall jolts awake as he takes to the air. Another fairy is making demands as he frantically zooms around the room wondering just where he could be.
“My master is gracefully extending her kindness to a hopeless fairy like you! Sit!”
“Master? Where are we?” Nightfall asks as he descends. Upon closer inspection, he comes to realize just how different she feels compared to him and Morning Dew. She’s pink with pudgy cheeks and floppy ears. A thick x lies beneath each eye. Both her marks and her ears are black with her fluffly little tail being white.
“I’m Night Hare! My master has taken on the identity of Starburst! Now it’s your turn,” she announces with glee.
“Nightfall and Light… Where are we and where’s your partner?” He’s still a bit taken aback just waiting for a reason to take off and return to his duties.
“My partner is at work and would like to keep her identity a secret! Where we are is of no importance!”
“First!” she says pointing right at him. “You’re a really young fairy, aren’t you? To leap into several battles without being aware of your stamina… Light must be your second partner, huh?”
“He’s my seventh…”
“Hm? Shouldn’t you be aware of your limits by now?” she inquires. “Well, not that it matters, but you’re still a baby compared to a veteran like me! With a count of 101 succesful partners and another Dream Catcher nearing fifty nightmares, you’re just a puny little boy!”
“101?! For how long have you been doing this, my senior Night Hare?” He’s awestruck and perplexed. Nightfall believed his count to be impressive as the few interactions he’s had with other fairies were mostly with those that were younger than he was both in age and experience.
“I just celebrated my 75th birthday!” she huffs. With pride she announces her seniority. “I churn out Dream Catchers like a factory! Since you’re still beneath a dozen, I’m guessing you’ve been doing this for 11 years? Maybe more?”
“8 years.”
“My! Aren’t you efficient! I started out with an average of 2 years per Dream Catcher! You’ll catch up to me in no time!” She’s petting Nightfall while showering him in praise. Her short stature requires her to fly to even reach the top of his head.
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“By the way, what brought you out there? Where’s your partner?” she asks concerned.
“I don’t think he wants me around any more… I’m always so loud and annoying that I ended up on the streets again,” he says holding back tears. “It’s happened before and I’ve done it again.”
“Cast out, huh? Sometimes people just aren’t very approachable nor kind. Don’t worry-”
“He is kind… I just say too much sometimes…”
She’s puzzled and intrigued. Night Hare sits down signaling that he ought to elaborate on their connection.
“Light is just finishing high school. I came in at a bad time commanding he fulfill his duties bothering him out of nowhere,” he mutters. “I then pried into his personal life and convinced him to reach out to another Dream Catcher that happened to be a friend of his…”
A distressed and reserved Nightfall not boasting of his strengths would seem uncanny to both Rem and Ellis. His interaction with Rem and her fairy partner just cements that. Hare however, so far, has only been exposed to the Nightfall that seems meek and easy to impress.
“You don’t seem like that at all. A person you maintain in front of others?”
“Yes,” he says. “I don’t wanna disappoint any more of my partners. Before-”
“Stop! We’re heading to him right now!” Brash and brazen… With zero restraint, she grabs Nightfall and takes off after forcing Ellis' address out of him. Yet she manages to get to his partner’s home without revealing her own location. After all sorts of twists and turns, they arrive at their destination.
“He really hasn’t shown up that entire weekend? Should you be at school?” Rem asks.
“Well it’s not like I can find him nor can I just figure out where he’d go. I almost got in trouble for trespassing and stepping onto a construction site,” Ellis counters. “Plus I can’t force him to come back home. It’s his choice.”
“That sort of attitude is why you barely have friends.” Banter. Rem’s comment wasn’t meant to invoke hurt feelings. “Not like that! I meant it as a joke! Like always!”
“Really funny,” he says. “The only joke in view are your upcoming grades.”
He sighs as she bemoans her approaching demise. “I appreciate it. Thank you.”
They head into class with his thoughts drifting and spiraling as he thinks of Nightfall. An entire weekend went awry because of his partner’s disappearance. Though it surprisingly wasn’t as negative as he thought it would be. That sudden loneliness and silence gave him time to reflect and an entry into his mother’s life. When they meet again, they’ll surely talk coming out of this conversation closer than ever.
Yet the moment Ellis returns with his fairy partner awkwardly waiting for… something, he awkwardly heads downstairs grabbing a plate and a few baked goodies his mother had left behind.
“Yo,” he says as he places a plate in front of Nightfall. “You’re fine, right?”
Nightfall nods. He can’t make sense of Ellis. Nor can he make sense of what he himself is feeling. Anger. Frustration. Embarassment. Fear. Sadness. Jealousy. Joy. Relief. All kinds of emotions are swirling up within him. Trembling, he stuffs his mouth as he begins to cry.
“I’m sorry,” Ellis shouts as he nervously darts around the table kneeling down in front of Nightfall. His hands are all over the place as he attempts to embrace his partner. Yet, like some sort of invisible barrier, he can’t bring himself to bridge the gap between his hands and Nightfall.
“I should apologize! I’m always yelling, and shouting, and bossing you around, and I’m such a bother, and…” Nightfall almost chokes on a piece of cookie. Ellis quickly grabs a bottle out of his mini fridge and guides it toward Nightfall.
“You don’t have to,” Ellis says tearing up as well. “What you said was mean but I did something way worse than that. Rem would have talked you down and figured something out while I just lashed out like I always do.”
Nightfall shakes his head.
“No it’s true. I don’t know how to talk to people. I don’t know how to connect with them. I don’t know how to trust them. And I never believe in them. I always take things personally instantly shutting down any joke at my expense. I act like I’m this stone-cold emotionless husk but I’m so much more emotional than anyone else. I like to pretend as if I have this air of absolute rationale but I’m just a liar. I’m incredibly selfish engaging in this nightmare-slayer persona when I only do that to be praised.”
Ellis hugs Nightfall. Fully embracing his partner he takes a deep breath.
“I don’t know how I feel but I’m sorry for making you feel like a bother,” he adds. “I felt really lonely when you were away, so please don’t do that again. I need you as a Dream Catcher and a friend. So don’t do that ever again.”
