My sleep that night was filled with dark withers and deafening explosions. Hints of the Manberg Revolution withers found their way into the dreams, with Techno's words ringing through my head.

The following nights' dreams also had withers, but some were images of Noemi's dying light or the darkness devouring my heart alive for the second time.

Those were the nights I woke up screaming.

Thankfully, on those midnights, someone was there to accompany me with a mug of tea and warm honey. Most times it was Techno, reading in the corner of my room, with his hand protectively on his sword.

Ghost and Nyx would wrap around me, the first understanding my need for grounding. He would shove his head under my palm so I could feel his soft fur, helping to slow my breathing.

The wolf had automatically warmed up to the pup, taking on a brotherly role. He watched the playful pup with patient eyes and was always trailing her around.

The lightness and playfulness of Nyx made me smile in the mornings when I felt like I couldn't get out of bed. And of course, there was Tommy, making me get up so I could practice flying with him or showing him how to pull his wings in and out of his back.

He could now fully pull out his wings on his own. Secretly, I knew the teen was trying to distract me with his swearing and teasing as we trained.

Plus, Ghostbur was always popping up when I needed blue the most, the substance absorbing the sadness from my heart. Phil brought me along to help build his own connecting house next to Techno's.

With each day, it did get easier. When I was pulled out of bed and the storm cloud, I did it for Noemi's sake and with the hope that I could continue her legacy.

That I could save Dream.

One morning, almost a week after Techno had shown us the secret room of withers, I was awoken by my shoulder being shaken gently.

I groggily opened my eyes to see Techno fully dressed in his winter apparel standing in my almost pitch-black room. He looked fully awake despite the early hours, with his hair pulled into a ponytail and his boots tied.

"C'mon, we're going somewhere," He said softly. "Get dressed and meet me outside."

He turned, stopping in the doorway. "And don't bring your sword. You won't need it."

The last part confused me, but I followed his orders and got dressed without my sword. I pulled my cape tight around my shoulders and braided my hair into a sloppy coil. Once I was ready, I pulled on my gloves and boots.

After placing a kiss on Ghost and Nyx's sleeping heads, I checked in on Tommy before heading outside. He was fast asleep, with Ghostbur asleep in an armchair, holding a closed book.

Outside, Ash was already tacked up with her tan leather saddle and dark reins strapped on. Her grey mane fluttered lightly in a cold breeze, some snow stuck to her black hooves.

It was still dark outside but I could see the faint haze of sunlight just a smidge above the horizon. Stars poked out in the sky, and the moon was still the main source of light, dipping low.

Techno had mounted Carl and was waiting patiently for me. I patted Ash's neck, getting a soft whinny in response, and climbed into the saddle with a creak.

Without a word, Techno kicked Carl into a trot, with me mirroring his movements. We rode in the direction of the sun, the only sound being the crunch of snow under the horses' hooves and the squeaks of our saddles.

My mind was still half-asleep so I didn't mind the quiet. I took it as an opportunity to be still and just watch the world pass around us.

White puffs came from our breaths, floating up into the paling sky. The spruce forest disappeared behind us with the houses as we came into a snow-covered plain with dead grass poking through.

We passed a Nether portal, coming to a snowy beach a little further away. Ice capes floated in the dark water in front of us, the rising sun glinting off of them.

Techno dismounted from Carl, dropping his reins so the horse could graze in the almost invisible grass. I slid off of Ash, pressing a hand to her nose and slipping her a carrot from the saddlebag.

I followed after Techno, sitting down on a fallen spruce log after swiping off the snow. Cold pierced through my body from the log, but I didn't mind.

We watched as the sun rose, bathing the sky in brilliant pinks and reds. The blue ice turned pale and pastel in the light, warming my face.

"I have a gift for you," Techno broke the silence.

"This you wanted to bring me out here?" I hummed sleepily in a teasing way.

"And I wanted you to see the sunrise. I thought it could help after the nights you've been having."

I smiled. My heart felt touched in a way that only family could do so.

"Thank you," I said. "You've already given me so many gifts." I gestured at Ash who grazed at my side, digging through the snow. "Two of my pets are from you, you gave me a home-"

He put a hand on my arm, stopping me. "I like giving gifts. And I want to repay you for helping me."

"Helping you?"

He just shook his head, not wanting to say what it was. "Just know you've helped me."

I stayed silent, not pushing him. I didn't want to stir his boundaries.

He responded by digging into his cape pocket, searching for something. After a moment, his hand came back up in a fist, holding something.

His eyes never found mine, but he held out his fist and opened his fingers.

A small chain bracelet sat in the center of his gloved hand with little wooden charms hanging from it. I gently took it in my hand to get a closer look at them.

The trinkets were tiny, smaller than my fingernail, and were clearly hand-crafted. There were four of them: a wolf, a flame, a star, and a lotus flower.

Each one dangled and swayed from the soft breeze, pulling at my heartstrings. Even if they were just little charms, each one had its own meaning to me.

I looked back up at Techno, who was watching me, waiting to see my response. I smiled and closed my hand around the bracelet.

"Thank you," I said. "I love it."

A small smile grazed his lips in the early morning light. "Of course. I can't take all of the credit for it though. It was Tommy's idea, he just needed me to craft the charms."

"Tommy thought of this?"

"Yeah, he wanted to make you something since we may not all be together at Christmas time." He paused, a sadness there for just a second.

I knew there was a chance that we wouldn't be able to spend Christmas together, due to the problems awaiting us in the Dream lands, but I had gotten my hopes up. Soon, we would have to face our obstacles.

Techno cleared his throat and looked back down at me. "Now that we got the sentimental stuff over with, there's another reason we're here."

A ruthless smile replaced the soft one on his face as he said, "We're training today."

I perked up, my magic pushing with excitement. "But you said not to bring my sword?"

"Well, didn't you train with your sword with Dream?" I hid my wince at his name and nodded. "You have plenty of experience with weapons, but not so much with your magic."

I crossed my arms. "So I'm going to practice my magic on you, who has a weapon?"

He nodded, standing. I stood as well when he offered his hand, pulling me up. "You need to make your magic more powerful, and you can only do that with training."

Snow crunched under his boot as he walked towards the clearing next to us. "So lose the cape, you won't need it."

-

He was right. I didn't need my cape.

Despite the bitter autumn air, I was sweating a little into the training. Especially since I was working so closely with flames, lightning, and sunlight.

Techno had immediately started working with my new light powers once I told him, incorporating it into our drills and fights. It worked as well as the other magic, flowing smoothly from my commands.

When I trained with my magic with Dream, it was always survival-based. We never fought or trained with it, instead, focusing on how it could keep me alive in tough or deadly situations.

So, Techno worked on what Dream hadn't.

For a guy who didn't have magic like mine, he was a very good teacher. We focused on every aspect of my powers, including the elements that I didn't use as often as fire.

He taught me to form solid shields made of fire and ice alike that covered my entire form and more. Eventually, I was able to make swords of every element, including ones of sharp ice, rocks I pulled from the ground, and lightning.

My magic had been pushed harder than this before, but never in a way of strengthening it. The goal here was to be able to continue a fight even without a man-made weapon.

Techno pushed me, giving me few breaks. He was the complete opposite of how Dream had taught me.

When Dream would give me frequent breaks and provide very positive feedback, Techno pushed me through drill after drill and yelled out constructive criticism mid-fight.

Even if I was sore and bruised, I felt lighter and more like my old self. Confidence ran through me, off its leash like a freed animal.

It felt good to push myself harder than I ever had and to feel my magic improving. It came faster to my calls and sparked to life the instant I even thought about it.

I used my physical abilities as well, dodging arrows and hits so I could give myself space for a shield or form a sword. I ducked and wove, using everything I could.

"Go!" Techno shouted across the clearing.

The sun was in the middle of the sky, beating down on my soaked head. My light was at its peak, pulsing through me like a blooming flower alive under sunshine.

I ran at his small figure, stretching out my magic to feel for his move. It picked up his motion, an arrow whizzing at me a second later.

It came close to my arm, but I dodged right, not slowing my pace. Three arrows came soon after, and I called wind, sending them wide with a swipe of my hand.

The same amount came again, and I pulled fire out of the air. Flames crackled to life around me, dissolving the arrows as soon as they tried to pass through. Ash floated to the ground and the ruby flames disappeared.

Now that I was closer, Techno dropped his crossbow and quickly unsheathed his wooden sword. His knees bent with anticipation, waiting.

"Wooden sword!" He called as I neared. A stick had been placed in my path, purposely for this.

I scooped it up as I ran, not breaking my eye contact on Techno. There was a splintering sound and the stick smoothed under my palm into a dull sword.

When I came in range, I lunged at him. Our swords collided with such force that my powers could feel the wood creaking and splintering slightly.

We moved in rhythm, dancing in and out of each other's paths. My magic had improved greatly over the past few hours, but still, Techno was hard to beat. Most times I ended up losing.

This time, I gritted my teeth and spun off his sword. This was our last fight for the day, and I wanted to end it on a good note.

He waited patiently, his dark eyes tracking every movement I made. While we had been fighting, I was careful not to get cut or draw blood. I didn't want to draw out his voices.

I bolted towards him again, but this time as I swung, I tried something new.

Light flashed into his eyes with a swipe of my fingertips, temporarily blinding him. One of his hands went up to shield his eyes, and I sent him backward with a strong gust.

Roots appeared behind his heels, sending him windmilling backward. He landed with a hard thump on the snow, already raising his sword on the defensive.

My wooden sword clashed against his, my arms quaking with the effort. As my sword met his, my magic cracked.

A violent shake ran under the ground, quaking the loose rocks and branches in the spruce trees. The horses whinnied anxiously from behind me.

That made Techno and I freeze, our breathing heavy. The world steadied and calmed again, my magic sent reeling from the burst that shook the ground.

"Glad to see your magic is stronger," Techno hummed, drawing his sword back. His crown had fallen off during the fight, nestled in the snow.

I backed up, offering my free hand. He took it and I heaved him into a standing position.

The wooden sword dropped back into the snow and naturally shifted back into a stick from the lack of my magic's support.

"Thanks for helping me improve it," I said, smiling as I bent to pick up his crown for him.

I stood on my tiptoes and he bent his head a little, allowing me to place his crown on his pink head.

"Anytime." He straightened and we walked towards our horses. "It's good to see your old self back."

"It feels good to be back," I said, laughing a little.

It was true, I felt some normalcy at the moment. My confidence had returned as my magic improved and I fell into the rhythm of fighting.

And a part of me knew I was back to normal for good.

When we neared the horses, I dug into my cape, which I had left folded on Ash's saddle. My hand wrapped around the bracelet, the feeling of the wood charms brushing my gloves.

I had found out on one of the few breaks I had, that my gloves felt like a different material because they were magic-proof. Phil had used some expensive and rare fabric to sew them, allowing for my magic to be used without burning the gloves.

I pulled the bracelet out and held my hand out to Techno, who was getting ready to mount Carl.

"Can you put it on please?" I asked.

He nodded, walking over to me. There was a soft click as he clipped the bracelet onto my wrist, just above my glove and below my sleeve.

I dipped my head in thanks, and he turned to jump onto his horse.

He said as I swung myself into my own saddle, "Tommy also has a gift when we get home."

We kicked into a slow trot, moving back towards the houses. Smoke wisps were dark in the distance against the bright blue sky, floating from the chimneys.

"What is it with you all giving me gifts?" I said lightly.

He shrugged, a few strands of pink hair moving with the gesture. "As I said earlier, Tommy wants to just in case we don't make it to Christmas."

My smile faltered, and my thoughts returned to the looming threats ahead.

I had ignored it since I had gotten here, but the issue of Tommy and Techno having different ideals still remained.

If Tommy and Techno did split up, whose side would I join?

"Hey, I'll race you," Techno said, an evil glint in his eyes.

This drew my confidence back out, testing the competitive side of myself.

I smiled ruthlessly back at him. "Alright, we'll see who wins. Considering I have the faster horse, I think this will be easy..." I muttered the last part.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! All I said was ... GO!" I shouted, kicking Ash into a full-on run.

She took to the challenge, pushing herself faster than I had told her to go. The wind whipped at my face from her speed, and I laughed out loud in joy.

"Hey!" Techno called, somewhere behind me. Carl's heavy and fast footsteps were right behind Ash, gaining on us.

I just cackled and lifted my face to the sun, shouting in high spirits.

~~~~

happy chapter :)

okay my upload schedule may be really weird this week since I'm really busy, sorry :(

love you all, I hope you have an amazing day or night! remember you are important and loved