Luckily, what I lacked in physical prowess was made up for in my communication and persuasive action skills. Outside of research, it was the one thing that I focused on.
Oftentimes when someone arrived here, it was because they were interested in joining ISS. For others, though, they were brought here forcibly because of their threat to society as a whole, to be held until they could be trusted. That’s where I came in. Apparently, I had a very calm and soothing demeanor, so when a new nightmare was brought into the facility unwillingly, I helped.
It was usually right around explaining what we did here that most decided to join us. Nightmares weren’t very different than most beings. Everyone craved community, family, a group of people to call their own. It was my job to show them that they had options. That there were individuals who would welcome them instead of those that would try to kill them. That they had a home here, if they wanted it.
Time and time again, I’d sat with creatures five times my size as they snarled and threatened me, but I possessed my own brand of ‘magic’ when it came to soothing those around me. Usually within minutes, I had calmed them down to the point that we could talk. It wasn’t really magic, of course, but it was an ability I was proud of, and I tried to use it when I could.
On the other hand, it most likely meant there was something off with me. The fact that I didn’t feel fear.
I had to admit that not everyone on my team was happy with this second part of my job. But they weren’t happy with a lot of decisions that I made.
A sound from my room had me slipping on my thin silver-framed glasses before taking one last look at the pair of cropped black pants, sweater, and heels I’d chosen to wear today. The heels had these little black spikes on them, and the sweater was purposefully cut in places to appear worn, allowing me to push off the subtle chill of the air-conditioning without feeling too stuffy. Still, as I stepped into my room, a shiver ran over my skin, and not due to the temperature. No, this was due to who was outside my door.
Why he didn’t just let himself in, I had no idea. It seemed only at night did he decide it was a good time to randomly appear. I think it was his attempt to scare me. What he didn’t understand? It just turned me on. Terribly.
Problems? Who had problems?
Tugging open the door, my smile grew.
Razar leaned against the frame, his eyes immediately scanning over me as if searching for something, before he relaxed. I never understood what exactly he was looking for, but whatever he saw brought a small twitch to his lips before he stepped into my space, meeting my gaze once again. My breathing caught slightly at how much his closeness affected me, making my skin feel flushed as I resisted the urge to reach out and touch him.
He was my best friend. My protector. Something I would normally never admit to, but when I had told him once that I knew he would always protect me, his entire face lit up. Since then, I had never shied away from assigning him that role. If he wanted it, then it was one hundred percent his.
Along with pretty much whatever else he wanted… although I’m not positive he knew that part yet. A memory cascaded over me about one particular night about five years ago when I had nearly gotten myself killed.
The rattling from the windows had me slowly looking over to where a massive, fur-covered nightmare terrorized our holding room. I cringed as the table I normally sat at went crashing into the door, bouncing off of it with literally zero effect. My father offered me a look, but I shook my head, walked towards the door, and pressed my palm down onto the electronic pad. In retrospect, this was a dangerous move, but up until this point, I’d yet to get hurt, and I didn’t think that would happen today either. I looked down at the cute dress I’d gotten for my nineteenth birthday as a treat to myself and sighed, realizing that I hadn’t even dressed properly for this job. I really was off my game today.
“We should wait until at least Razar gets here,” my father commented as I stepped into the chamber. The beep sounded as the door sealed off, and I stepped out into the secondary door that opened. Almost immediately I was hit with the scent of wet fur and blood. A low growl broke from the nightmare that I could feel watching me, having paused in his destruction, obviously trying to gauge my threat level. I turned and began walking towards where the table normally sat as I examined our new nightmare.
There were several classes of nightmares, and this one wasn’t particularly dangerous... except for the wild temperament and brute strength.
“Hey there,” I offered softly as the creature stopped, its enlarged fangs dripping with blood as it sniffed the air.
“Any chance that you are interested in shifting back?” I added. The nightmare growled and lunged for me. I let out a small groan as my back hit the wall, a massive hand wrapping around my neck, almost immediately cutting off my air supply. Even in this moment, fear escaped me as I stared into the wild eyes of a terrified creature.
“Who are you?” the nightmare demanded, putrid-smelling breath like raw meat surrounding me.
“Arabella,” I gasped out, my vision going spotty.
“They lock me in here for days, and then send you in for food? It’s insulting,” the nightmare hissed, pressing harder on my neck. I nearly smiled at his rationale.
“Not food, just here to talk. Although if you don’t let go soon, I may pass out—”
A savage growl sounded as the large hand around my neck was removed and the nightmare was thrown all the way across the room, a wounded whimper making me frown as I clutched my throat, trying to breathe in and out slowly.
Christ. I may have been closer to passing out then I realized.
“Arabella.” Razar was there, picking me up, in human form despite his black wisps of magic that brushed my skin. I offered him a tired smile as he muttered a curse and set me down, walking over to right the table and chair, knowing I planned on staying till we figured this out.
“I will be sitting right here when you are ready to talk!” I called out, my voice raspy as Razar stood behind me, running a hand over my shoulder as if making sure I was okay. I tilted my head up at him as the nightmare across the way stood, licking his wounds before he slowly crawled over.
“Thanks for that,” I whispered as Razar’s eyes heated.
“Don’t go in here without backup,” he murmured. “Please. You almost gave me a goddamn heart attack.”
Impressive, considering he biologically didn’t really have a heart.
Despite not always needing it, I had taken more precautions following that incident. I made sure to always have backup nearby, and we kept sedatives on hand in case of a particularly angry or destructive nightmare. We didn’t like to make a habit of drugging nightmares, but sometimes it was necessary.
Either way, I would continue to do my thing, and it made me feel all that much more special to know that I had Razar at my back.
He had always been protective over me, though; this wasn’t something that had developed gradually. Rather, it began the night I was found outside of the institute by my adopted father.
Well, maybe saying I was found by my father was inaccurate—he was led by Razar to me.
Apparently, it had been a super stormy night, and my father had been in the nursery, working with Razar on some of his basic elementary magic so that he didn’t accidentally hurt himself while shifting. When he had started acting up and refusing to do stuff, my father had assumed it was normal behavior, especially for a toddler.