CHARACTERS: Anders (magerights) and OPEN, particularly to people on the first floor who might go to the common room.
DATE: 24/09 (Week 4, night 5)
RATING: Gen, will change as necessary
SUMMARY: Having lost a few games of cards, Anders' fears of darkness and close spaces are suddenly making it difficult to sleep.

Darkness and small spaces have always given Anders a sense of unease since that more memorable punishment he endured in the Circle, made worse after joining the Wardens, which turned out to be all about rushing into dark caves deep underground and trying to fight things that would actively try to kill and possibly even eat him, and not necessarily in that order.

But he'd usually been able to manage, even if that meant summoning a small wisp of light to circle the area and provide something reassuring to focus on. Now, things were markedly different and while he could guess that COMPASS had a hand in it, it didn't help him much to know that when turning out the lights to sleep made his pulse spike and feeling just the blankets around him brought on the overwhelming feeling that he needed to fight and escape now, before it was too late.

It had been so bad that Anders had found himself struggling to breathe properly, the mild weight of the blankets pressing down on his chest and body, and eventually he'd flung them off and fled the room, uncaring for how that might sound to others nearby. He only stopped once he reached the common room, turning on every light in the room and adding a couple of wisps of magelight to the mix as well until the whole room was lit up almost enough to seem like daylight. Then finally the fear began to fade and Anders' breathing started to even out.

Of course, now he was out of bed and wearing only his trousers and smalls, the cold already starting to chill him, but there was no way he could make himself return through the dark just to fetch a blanket or something. Perhaps there was something he could set on fire instead...