Location: Night. An empty industrial area.

You, your friend Leah, and Dream were hunting a group of criminals known for raiding magical warehouses. There were four of them:

Varan - tall, gray-green skin, vertically slitted eyes, long claws on his hands. Klein - massive, with metal shoulder pads and burns on his face, constantly holding two heavy axes in his hands. Harry - short but sinewy, with black feathers on his shoulders and neck, eyes sharp as a hawk. Ciara - thin, with pale blue hair pulled back into a high ponytail, and silver tattoos pulsating with light.

You chased them across the roofs of old warehouses, while Dream hovered a little higher, monitoring the situation. His wings rustled softly in the darkness, and the moonlight reflected in his eyes.

"Leah, let's get Harry and Ciara!" you shouted, jumping over the metal container.

The criminals spotted you and split up. Varan and Klein stayed to fight, and the other two tried to escape. Leah rushed forward, and you went for Varan, his claws whistling through the air, but you dodged his blows, counterattacking with short, quick lunges. Leah, meanwhile, deftly dodged Ciara, her blade glittering in the moonlight.

Dream's cry came from above. — "Leah, on the right!" He fell like a stone, folding his wings, and crashed into Klein. The metal of his shoulder pads rang as Dream pushed him into the wall and hit him in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him. But Harry, spreading his black wings, rose into the air, his eyes shining, and he shot out sharp, blade-like feathers. One of them flew straight at you.

"Watch out!" — Dream barked, his eyes widening.

You instinctively turned around, but before you could, Leah lunged forward, pushing you aside. The feather hit her in the chest. Her gaze went blank for a moment, her lips trembled.

"Leah!.." — You shouted, picking her up, feeling the fabric warm under your hands.

Dream collapsed next to you, throwing Harry away with one hand and hugging your shoulder with the other to help you up. His breathing was heavy and his face was tense. The criminals, seeing the situation, retreated into the darkness. You were left on the roof alone with Leah, but she was no longer breathing.

Later..

The rain pounded the roof, heavy and cold, as if the world itself was mourning Leah. Its steady beat mingled with your quiet breathing. You sat on the bed, your elbows on your knees, clutching a photograph in your hands - you and Leah, smiling, your hair disheveled after a windy day. The raindrops rolling down the window seemed like an extension of the tears that had long since stopped coming out, stuck somewhere deep inside. Fragments of her laughter, her words "Watch out", Dream's scream, the momentary silence after the stroke of the pen... Each moment returned again and again, burning a hole inside.

The door quietly opened. Without knocking. Dream walked in without turning on the light. His silhouette was gloomy against the gray rainy light from the window. He closed the door, stepped towards you and froze for a second, as if he didn’t know how to begin. “You.." he began, but the words were drowned out by the sound of the rain.

You looked up, and there was no anger in your gaze, only a tired, heavy feeling of guilt.— “It’s.. my fault" *you breathed out. “If I’d been more attentive.. If I hadn’t gotten distracted."

Dream sat down next to you, his wings slightly fluttering, and he lowered his head and whispered:

“No.. I should have been in time. I should have covered you.. I.. let you down.”

“You didn’t let me down,” your voice wavered, but then became firmer. — “It was me… She covered me. She died because of me.”

He looked up sharply, something sharp, almost painful, flashed in them. “Don’t say that,” he said quietly but firmly. “You were important to her. She made a choice. But I.. I knew what could happen. I should have been faster..

He carefully took the photo from your fingers and placed it on the nightstand. Then he slowly pulled you towards him, the wings covered your spine.