Chromatober's Writing

17: Comfort (Crystal Fusion AU)

Sabre paced back and forth in his room. The only sound he could hear was the rushing of blood in his ears, his breathing, and the dull taps of his steps on the wooden floor. Each lap across the room made the space feel like it was getting smaller.

It felt like rubber bands were around his lungs, squeezing them. Faintly, it reminded Sabre of the videos of people putting more and more rubber bands on a watermelon. Squeezing and squeezing until the watermelon crushed under the pressure.

A small laugh bubbled out of him, only for his ears to hear. Pressure. Everyone in the Rainbow Hub knew quite well the effects of pressure on someone. Everyone was stressed as of late, Sabre included. He knew he should talk to his friends, but they had their own things to deal with; He didn't need to add his on top of theirs. 

Orange and the others were asleep, worn out from the eventful day they had. Tag laid on his bed, surrounded by his mass of blankets and pillows. She watched him with the classic puppy dog expression as Sabre walked back and forth.

He forced down a yawn. Sabre's body demands sleep but his brain wouldn't allow it. Too many thoughts zipping through his head to give him the much needed peace to fall asleep. What if a portal activates during the night and they're all asleep? Sabre couldn't just sleep when someone could be hurt!

Tag whined, hopping off his bed and nosing his hand with her nose. Sabre paused, rubbing her head, before continuing on with his pacing.

Sabre had so many other things he could be doing besides sleeping! Making sure everyone was alright, practicing his powers, taking inventory...

Tag nudged his hand again, giving it a kiss. Sabre sighed, crouching down and running his hands down her head. She panted, wagging her tail.

"I swear you get bigger each day..." He told her.

It was the truth. While Tag wasn't a puppy-puppy when Sabre found her, she was quite young. Now, only a month later, she has already grown twice her height and doesn't seem to be stopping.

She pushed herself against his chest, knocking him onto the floor with an 'umph'. She gave a dog-like smile, panting, as she flopped onto his legs. Sabre swears Gerald was teaching her things, because she was beginning to act too smart for her own good sometimes.

"Tag..." Sabre sighed. Tag looked at him, tail thumping on the floor with each wag. "Ugh, you're a brat but I love you." He patted her back.

Tag rolled off, standing up and shoving her nose in his face. "Pfft-!" Sabre leaned back. "Tag!" He yelped. Tag licked his face before sitting down and leaning all her weight on him.

Sabre sighed, running a hand through her white fur. "Need to give you a bath sometime soon." He mumbled, noting the mud stains on her paws.

Sabre yawned. "Maybe I do need to go to bed."

At the word, Tag's ears perked up, before she bounced over to the bed and hopped on it. The impatient look she gave him had his standing up.

He laid down, Tag quickly taking her place on his side as he tossed a blanket over the two of them. By the time they were comfortable, only Tag's nose was sticking out from the mound of blankets. Sabre huffed, pulling the blankets off of her face so she could at least see.

She burrowed her head and part of her body underneath his arm. Instinctively, he ran the hand down her back.

He gave another yawn. Now that he was lying down, he was actually quite tired.

—

Sabre opened his eyes to see not his room but a place he was unfamiliar with.

That, in itself, should have been alarming to Sabre. Yet, even with the odd surroundings and not knowing where he was, some instinctual part of him said that he was safe.