Chapter Text
Rumi was in a dark, cold alleyway.
The edges of her vision were blurry, but she vaguely knew that she’d been here before.
She could tell by the way the air smelled, damp and faintly sulfuric.
She could tell by running her hands along the brick, which was dry and smooth.
And she could tell by the masculine figure standing before her, looking exactly as she’d last seen him.
Black hair, dark eyes, and an infuriatingly melancholy smile.
“Jinu…?” Her voice sounded hollow, as she called out into the dark. The figure blinked, as if startled. Rumi herself was startled. She didn’t usually speak in her dreams, this was an odd change for her. As she pressed a hand to her throat, confusion obvious on her face, Jinu lunged, arm outstretched.
“Rumi, I’m-” His voice disappeared like a phantom, his body soon following.
“JINU-!” She cried, her voice hoarse as she became aware that she was sitting upright, in comfy cotton sheets, with Derpy’s big, bulbous orange eyes staring directly at her.
“O-Oh, oh my gosh…oh it was a dream..” She sighed, taking large gulps of air. Derpy mrrped , butting his head against her. The bird was nowhere to be found.
“O-oh…oh guy, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you..” She leaned into the headbutt, hugging the large blue tiger. “I…I’ll be fine, you don’t have to wake me up if I’m dreaming.”
The tiger tilted its head, expression unchanging, but Rumi still felt scrutiny under its gaze.
“...okay fine, can you stay?”
The tiger let out a grrrmph in acknowledgement, and snuggled up on Rumi’s lap, content as any average housecat. Rumi winced slightly at the sudden weight atop her, but she smiled and let her body relax under Derpy.
Within minutes, she was asleep again, and this time, it was dreamless.