Returning to Ponyville [Tuli/Avan - CLOSED]

Avan stood there in his room, his whole body shaking. As he stood there cursing himself over and over, he narrowed his eyes as he stumbled slightly. "No..." he muttered to himself, shaking his head. A light headed feeling came over him as he moaned softly to himself. He had 'forgotten' to sleep for the last few days, and now it was finally catching up to him. He normally had the will to stay awake most of the time, but every once in a while it would break and he would...Well, the next few moments quickly spelled it out as he stumbled slightly toward his bed and just barley manged it to it when his legs quickly gave out, and he fell onto his bed with a moan, having fainted.



The next time Avan awoke, it wasn't a pretty one. His cloak was pulsing at a quick race as the last few moments of his nightmare flashed in his mind. "NO!" he shouted as his eyes flashed open and he suddenly kicked out with his legs like he had been trying to run, only to hit his bed and send him rolling off the side of it. He hit the ground with a loud thud, and he stared at the ceiling of his room with wide eyes as he tried to catch his breath. However, as his heart started to calm, his face broke down into a mask of despair. "Why..." he whispered as he shook slightly, some tears running down his face. "Why couldn't I save her?"

It had been about five and a half hours later, Tuli falling asleep after crying so much and waking to what sounded like Avan scared. Panicked, she opened her door and went over to the door to Avan's room. With a sigh, she knocked on his door quickly. "A-Avan... Are you alright?" The silver unicorn asked, a frown on her face. Even though she deeply regretted her actions and thought it better just to leave Avan to himself, the sound that had startled her awake worried her. She wanted to know if he was alright, because waking up to a large thud never sounded good.

Avan was still lying on his floor, tears rolling down his face when Tuli knocked. He glanced at the door, silence for a few moments before he rolled onto his side. "Go away, Tuli," he growled softly but loud enough for her to hear, his voice cracking slightly. Instead, he changed his gaze to the door that was right next to him. It was rather large; almost the height of the room. The top half of the door was a day, with the sun in the bright blue sky while the bottom half was the night sky with a full moon gracing it, with stars dancing around it. In the middle was a simple that looked much like his mother's cutie mark; a symbol of balance. Words were carefully inscribed in the sun and moon, but in a tongue that nopony in Equestria knew...Only he knew what they meant. He finally pushed himself to his hooves as he glared at the door.He read the words once before he turned and climbed onto his bed. With a defeated sigh, he curled up into a ball and wrapped himself in his cloak and his head resting in his hooves.

Tuli then sighed. "I'm not leaving until I know your alright. I've scared myself enough for one day." She replied flatly, her eyes narrowing slightly. Sighing again, she put her hoof on the door handle, knowing she would regret this so much. Pushing the door open, she cursed at herself as she had hoped it was locked. When she saw his room, her eyes had to adjust. But she centered her gaze on Avan, and muttered something to herself. "Avan... You don't look to well..."

"I said go away," he muttered from his bed. However, when his door swung open he cursed to himself softly although he refused to move. "I'm fine, Tuli," he whispered as he pulled himself into a tighter ball. "I'm just...Tired." It was true, he was tired. He hadn't gotten a good night sleep in over a thousand years. He wanted to sleep good for once, but he his mind wouldn't let him...It wouldn't let go of the past.

"You look worse than just tired, Avan. But at least your alive." Again, her voice was pretty flat. Tuli scanned her eyes over Avan; and it looked like he had been sweating, and breathing heavily. "Nightmare?" She asked, knowing the look all to well. She would stare at her face in the small mirror of her room for hours after a nightmare of her own. Starting to wrap her magic around his cloak to take it off of him because she thought he might overheat, something she didn't expect was the cloak to drain some of her magic, which also drained a large amount of her energy. This made her take a few steps back, instantly feeling drowsy. "I-I-- I'll let you be then..." She said before leaving his room, panicked by what had happened. Something was odd about that cloak... But she wouldn't worry about it now. Illuminating the stairway with her horn, Tuli made her way down the stairs and sat on the couch. Seeing a small dying plant, she used what energy she had to rejuvenate it, then laid down on her side.

He said nothing as Tuli spoke; not willing to say anything about his Nightmares or the state it had left him in, but when he felt Tuli's magic wrap around the cloak, his eyes quickly wided, but he sighed softly when she cut off her magic. He didn't dare move as he listened to her quickly say that she was going to go, before leaving. "Damnant eam, Tuli!" he cursed softly to himself as unwrapped himself, shaking his head. He knew what his cloak did if others touched it; it would drain their energy. It had been an unforeseen side-effect when he had put the magic in it; that now it acted like a self-defense mechanic, tiring out those who tried to remove it. However, he was worried for her. He took in a deep breath as he pulled himself from his bed.

He left the darkness of his room and entered the hallway, before closing the door behind him. He quickly trotted down the stairs and toward the living room. He peaked into see Tuli lying there on the couch, causing him to sigh. He finally found the courage to step into the room, and slowly made his way to where Tuli was lying. "A-Are you alright, Tuli?" he asked softly, titling his head. "I am very sorry about that; I should of warned you about it."

Tuli had partially fallen asleep, but woke up to Avan's call. "Hm..? No.. I'm- fine.." The tired mare said, pausing to yawn. "I guess I deserved it... I know your cloak- is important to you, it's okay.." Now she knew one thing to leave alone for sure, especially when she was already slightly tired. Closing her eyes to rest a minute, it took Tuli a moment to realize she needed to sleep soon. Rising to sit, the tall mare had dark circles underneath her eyes, drooping slightly. "I just need sleep. It's late, but I'm sorry myself about trying to mess with it. You just looked like you were going to overheat and pass out..." Another drowsy sentence, yet she wanted to stay up for just a little bit longer.

Avan sighed as he looked at her. "No, you did not deserve it, Tuli," he muttered softly. However, he paused as he stared at her. She was right, she did have to sleep; she looked like she was going to drop at any second. He sighed as his horn started to glow. "My cloak is magical; it doesn't make me hot unless I want it to," he said as he started to undo the latch on it. "And the only reason I would drop is because I haven't been sleeping well due to a nightmare." He wasn't sure why he was saying this all; maybe because he had a feeling that Tuli wouldn't really remember it. But as he undid his cloak, he gently floated it over to the other chair in the room. Draping it across it, he quickly streached his wings and turned his magic onto Tuli. He gently lifted her up in his magical grip and placed her on his back, using his wings to support her. "Come on," he whispered softly as he smiled at her. "Lets get you to bed." He slowly made his way toward the stairs and carefully descended them, all the time making sure Tuli said perched on his back. As he reached her room, he gently opened the door with a flick of his horn and slowly entered it. He shook his head as he lifted her off his back and onto her bed, before tucking her in. "May sweet dreams fall upon you, my dear," he said quietly before he turned and left the room; shutting the door behind him.

Before almost falling asleep completely, she had been able to stay awake at least partially until Avan had laid her in bed. She hadn't heard much at all, but either way, the memory of the evening would barely exist in her head. Tuli had been able to whisper a thank you before falling asleep, the comfort of the bed embracing her quickly. The tears that had stained her pillow were basically gone, and all that ran through her mind was sleep. The cookie still was laid on her dresser, as well as her journal tucked beneath the plush head-rest.