Dad was laying there as Cindy watched the flames. She was shaking with anger and fear. The pain around her ribs was tight and uncomfortable. Clutching at the pain she walked towards the body and looked at it. It crumpled slowly into ash, leaving nothing behind but a scorch mark in the ground where it had fallen.

Cindy thought her father sounded rough as he breathed there on his back. His groans of discomfort as he clutched at his arm. The one blow against her had drained a quarter of her hit points and felt like a mule kicked her solidly in the chest. Sitting down she shifted through the ashes and looked for anything that she could take with her. Instead of finding the balls of light filled with loot and tennies she pulled out a single blackened bone from its wing and held it tight in her hand.

It didn’t disappear into light, it didn’t fade or change. It felt more real than anything else in this world had been besides the touch of another person like Mom or Dad. With closed eyes she memorized the feeling of the bone in her hand. Making sure she could remember defeating the thing that brought her nightmares. She filled her mind with thoughts of Mom and how she had helped her burn the picture of the thing. Why did you make this?

“Cindy…” Croaked out Dad. He rolled and winced as his tender arm touched the ground beneath him. THe skin of his arm was red and blistering from wherever the acid the creature made touched him. His back was in ruins as the clothes he wore knit themselves back in place. Dad slowly moved to his hands and knees as he gulped down air fighting off his agony.

“Healing, aura, channel,” Cindy barely managed the words as she walked towards her Dad and hugged his arm. She ignored his wince as she desperately wanted to touch his skin and make sure he was ok. Her mana drained but the pain barely lessened on her ribs. Even when their hit points were filled, the sting of it all still lingered in their minds.

Both of them stood there as Cindy buried her face in the hair of her father’s arm. It tickled at her face but she ignored the feeling. She didn’t know how long she kept there. Hiding her face from Dad. He was waiting for her to be ready. Slowly she pulled away and looked at Dad’s face. “Are you ok?” Cindy could see the leaking blisters and painfully swollen skin.

“I’ll live,” Dad said as he went to his knees. The golden cracks on his body from her fire were gone. He stood, fully healed as far as this world was concerned. Though that wasn’t the truth of it. His skin was slowly fixing itself before her eyes as the burn shrunk and lessened. It was correcting the touch of the monster now that it had time.

“I’m glad you are alright. That thing… it hurt, nothing is supposed to hurt here.” Cindy looked at the world with a new light in her eyes. Mom did this. Which means I’m responsible. “Did potions help?”

Dad looked at her, “It got to you didn’t it?”

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Cindy nodded, holding onto her ribs. “It clipped me with a headbutt. Sent me flying back. I’m ok though.”

Dad kneeled and even though she went to pull away he scooped her up and pulled her to his face. “This thing, it broke all the rules of this world. You said it was from your nightmares. What else did it do in your dreams?” Dad’s eyes were intense and focused as he waited.

“It would chase me, find me wherever I hid. I always woke up when it went to peck at my face when it was towering above me. This thing was just as fast as in my dream but the way it attacked was so different. Like an incomplete vision of my monster in the dreams.” Cindy looked away feeling guilty. If I hadn’t told mom would it have been here? She thought.

“Are you ok? Is the pain getting better for you?” Dad tried to budge her arms so he could look at her side but she fought off his attempt.

“The pain is getting better. Just feels like when we went skiing and I fell down a bunch. I’ll be ok.” Cindy didn’t bother taking a potion. Hit points were full and she doubted it would help. Dad was putting on a brave face was all.

“Whatever that thing was, it was wrong in this world. It must be one of the things we are supposed to stop. Think there are more monsters like that one?” Dad brought out what she feared most.

“There were other monsters I told Mom about from my dreams Dad. I think after today… it would be a good idea to expect more of them.” Cindy stood straight despite the ache in her ribs and ignored that pain. She had to be tough like Dad.

“I think it would be a good idea if you took some time to think about all the monsters you’ve dreamed of. If they have any weaknesses you can think about, it might help if this becomes a pattern.” Dad walked towards the lake, “We have to figure out what to do now.”

The two of them emerged into the clearing with the placid lake of black water. The motes of darkness in the air now seemed to float without purpose. Cindy looked at it all. How do I help?

Dad looked just as lost as inspiration took its time to strike. She took a deep breath, “I’ll try all my magic to see if any of it helps. There has to be something we can do besides just sit around and wait for the world to heal itself.

After being set down Cindy started to walk through her many forms of magic, aiming and trying every combination she could think of. It took almost an hour of attempts before she was near giving up.

Anger burned at her heart, she could feel it spreading through the black cracks on her chest and she screamed out in frustration. She embraced that anger in the darkness and thrust her hands out. “JUST GO AWAY!” The motes of light stirred at her movements finally. Responding to her now that she was focused on the feelings in her chest. She stoked that fire, feeling her body shake and quiver as she built up her anger into a torrent of energy.

“Cindy…” Warned Dad as he went to stop her.

She stepped out into the water and it was pushed away from her by an invisible force. It frothed at the edge of that wall. The other edge of the water seemed to brighten and clear as the motes of energy started to swirl and approach Cindy.

“CINDY!” Dad yelled. She ignored him.

She could feel that darkness inside her chest threaten to swallow her. It spread across her chest and when they were able to be seen the motes of darkness rushed to them and started to seep into her very skin as the world darkened around her. With it came every sad thought, every drop of her despair. And in its face she thrust her anger! Denied it at every step as she soaked up the darkness and tossed it in the fire of her rage.

The water grew clearer, the air less dense as she threw her emotions into overdrive. Bringing in that darkness to put through the crucible of her mind. I won’t let the darkness win! I’ll beat it! I’ll burn it all away!

After what felt like eternity the air was clear, the forest was healing, the water was clear. And Cindy collapsed. Right into Dad’s hands.