Thunderclouds loom above, threatening to strike the earth. The woods are flooded from the heavy rainfall. Inside of those woods, a young dragon is running. The unstable, muddy ground squelches under her feet with every thudding step. Light is scarce, she can barely see a foot ahead of her. Tree branches jump out at her as she pushes on, but that doesn't matter.

"Shit, shit, shit..!", she swears to herself. Time is running out, her heart pounds like machinery. She hates the feeling of the mud being thrown onto the back of her calves with each step, but she can't afford to care. "Where the fuck are you?", she yells into the darkness. Her breath is becoming shaky with anxiety. Her running comes to a halt.

Her head whips around, scanning her darkened surroundings. She curses under her breath. "c'mon, c'mon..." she whispers, biting her lip. In the corner of her eye, something moves. Her eyes dart to where it was, ears listening for any movement. She's sure of it, there's at least something there.

No time to think. She runs into the darkness once more, desperate to reach it. Suddenly a sharp pain erupts in her knee, and she falls into the drenched earth below. She yells, but the mud muffles her words. She can't move. she feels her lungs struggling as she attempts to free herself from the sludge. She panics, her lungs growing more and more desperate for a breath, when suddenly-

 Icey startles awake, gasping for breath. She cautiously grips the surface below her, only to feel a soft comforter. She takes a deep, shaky breath, and exhales slowly. Just another nightmare, She thinks to herself. Her hands are shaking. She brings her hands together,  gently massaging her left hand with her right. While she waits for her hands to steady, she ponders the dream. It's almost every night now, isn't it? She grabs her phone from her bedstand and opens her dream journal app.

She rubs her temples as she scrolls through the entry dates. Fuck, It might really be an issue. Icey has realized that it's been almost every day for a week and a half at this point. She sighs and types a brief entry for last night.

She stands up and walks over to her wardrobe, taking out a simple T-shirt and jeans. She slips on the jeans and struggles to button them, her claws getting in the way of the process. What am I supposed to do? It's not like I can even begin to afford therapy...

She manages to button her jeans and proceeds to slip her t-shirt on. Icey starts to put her hair into a claw clip ponytail. She twists her hair into shape, holding the claw clip in her mouth. Maybe I should talk to somebody about it. But who? Everyone I know is way too busy to listen to my problems. She grabs the claw clip and fastens her hair into place. Her bangs fall out of the ponytail, too short to stay for long.

Forget it, life isn't gonna slow down for me. Just go to work and hope tonight is different. She slips her phone into her pocket and opens the door. She hesitates, looking back at her bed with a far-off expression. She shakes her head as if dismissing her thoughts. Just go to work, Icey. She walks out of her room and closes the door behind her.