Farrah has nightmares. Dark dreams of that night in the bathroom—- of ponytails and blank gazes and of the knife, that awful knife, hitting her again and again, and all she can do is scream.

The screaming in the dreams often times turns into screaming in real life, and it’s not at all uncommon for Farrah to bolt up in the middle of the night, yelling, and ready to run from the next blow.

For that short period of time, after the sleepover, when she could slip into bed with Varian and Rina, things were better. She still had nightmares, they still woke her—- but it was easier to fall asleep after, and she found that she wasn’t actually screaming. That was only a few days, though, and after she watches Varian fall into his own eternal sleep, Farrah finds it impossible to get a night’s peaceful sleep again.

She’s eternally grateful when Salieri pushes the two beds together, and sandwiches her between him and Discord. But it is still not easy. All too often, she wakes up, once, twice, sometimes even three times, screaming—- shooting upright in the night, like if she moves quickly enough, she might avoid Riley’s next swing. But there’s almost always one of them, sometimes both; there beside her, to say gentle or funny words, to brush her hair back and tuck the blankets around her again. To make sure she’s safe.

Tonight, though, when she wakes up screaming, the bed(s) are empty. Across the room, Janis is snoring in a pile with Peregrine and Maya, which seems to have spared them the alarm. Farrah slides her hand under her pillow, to reassure herself that the knife is still there, where it can’t hurt her, then wordlessly she slips out of bed.

As she wraps the blanket around her shoulders, and moves to step over Elle’s sleeping form, Angus is starting to stir. He makes to sit up— but Bruiser’s on his chest, which kind of complicates that. “Farrah?” He asks, and she waves her hand dismissively at him before he can move the tiny dog, or further disturb Elle.

“I’m okay. I’ll be back.”

He nods, and settles back in with Elle, and Farrah, with her blanket settled around her shoulders like a cape, and Rum Tum Tugger tucked under her arm, sets off into the school.

She checks the band room first, and it’s empty. She contemplates sitting down at the piano, to try and see if the keys lift her spirits, but she’s still feeling uneasy at being left alone. Every doorway feels like it might have Riley looming behind it, every shadow turning into a new hiding place. She already regrets getting up and leaving the room where there might at least be safety in numbers—- why didn’t she at least bring the knife with her? At least she’d have some sort of protection then. She keeps moving through the halls, terrified, when she finally hears the murmur of familiar voices, coming from the library.

She enters quietly—- so quiet that they don’t even hear her at first, bent over their game of chess. Salieri’s grumbling about something that Discord’s done, some kind of sin against the game of chess, and Discord’s trying to defend his play with a righteous “Well, the pony rules the castle—“

“For the last time, it is a knight—“ Salieri retorts back, which is when Farrah decides to make her presence known. You know. Before the chess tension boils over and she witnesses something she can never unsee.

“Dad?”

She has to bite her tongue to hold back the smile and laughter when they both respond to that, nearly bopping heads in a rush to both look upon her at the same time. Then Salieri gives Discord a quick look, and Discord just quirks a brow, and suddenly, Salieri is up on his feet, making his way to her. She meets him part way, and he sets a hand on her shoulder, ushering her to sit down at one of the tables with them.

“What are you doing up?” He asks, his voice both urgent and kind at the same time, as Discord sets a newly hot cup of tea in front of her.

“Bad dream.” She mumbles, her voice still groggy, either from exhaustion or fear. She honestly doesn’t know which. Discord just nods knowingly, while Salieri’s face briefly tightens, trying not to show anger or concern for the monsters that haunt her each night. Farrah, for what it’s worth, sips the tea, already feeling warmer and safer now that she’s joined them. “What are you guys doing up?”

“Ah, we were just—“ Salieri starts, while Discord whips the entire chessboard off the table, like a cat. While Salieri looks at him in frustrated awe, Discord announces—

“Fuck Chess.”

Which of course makes Farrah dissolve into laughter, which in turn makes Salieri feel a little less frustrated with the destruction that’s been wracked upon his chess set. A little. He bends to pick it up from the floor, while Farrah huddles in her blanket cape, watching Discord snap an entire spray of glitter into existence. The glitter only serves to frustrate Salieri more—- but it makes Farrah laugh harder, so he decides it must be at least somewhat tolerable. Once he’s finished picking up all the pieces, with no help from Discord, and Farrah’s finished her cup of tea, he clears his throat.

“Well. Let’s get you back in bed.” He says, trying to hide a smile when Farrah whines loudly in protest.

“I can stay up, I can stay up with—-“ She yawns mid-protest, and his hand finds her shoulder once more.

“No. It’s late enough already. And I’ve had enough of this game for one night. I think it’s time we all get some rest.”

Farrah, realizing that means she’s not heading back alone, nods, and with his arm wrapped around her shoulder, slowly gets back up.

“Yeah. I guess I could—- Discord?”

Discord stands too, wearing his typical care free expression. “Well, I’m not tired, but I might as well make sure you two don’t get lost.”

Farrah flashes a bright smile at him, before yawning again, and allowing herself to be led outside of the library. This time, she’s not afraid of the shadows, or of knives that haunt her dreams. With Salieri’s arm wrapped around her, and Discord walking closely behind the two, she’s perfectly safe.