Nyquil

Nyquil is a quiet, sleepy banescale, and was one of the first hatchlings adopted by the clan. He was found snoozing under a hollow log all on his own by a young Bernadette, and was promptly "rescued" (that is to say, plucked from his hiding place without any explanation by the larger hatchling and carried flapping and screaming back to the lair). After being soothed by the adults of the clan, the hatchling fell into the most peaceful slumber of his short life, nestled comfortably in Amory's mane. He has remained with the clan ever since.

A somewhat introverted dragon, Nyquil can be socially awkward and has difficulty conversing with others he hasn't known for very long. Any efforts to befriend him will be further hampered by his unusual sleep schedule. You will find him fast asleep for great swathes of the day, unable to be roused by anything short of blunt force trauma. He is neither identifiably nocturnal or diurnal, rising at strange hours that vary from day to day, much to the annoyance of any clanmate trying to get a hold of him. In the unlikely event that one does manage to form a bond with this enigmatic dragon, you will discover that Nyquil is a kindly and sensitive individual. He prefers to sit and listen to others talk, but when he does chime in to a discussion, he can offer unique and astute insights that others may never have considered. This is because Nyquil is always thinking, about himself, his clanmates, and occasionally more metaphysical concepts. His deep concern for those close to him is a trait he shares with the denmother, but what few realise is that his worries often stem from a much different root than hers...

Sometimes, when Nyquil drifts off to sleep, he has peculiar dreams. These dreams are always about people that he knows, but not as he knows them. While dreaming, he sees his friends and loved ones leading different lives, in different places, and sometimes behaving in ways they never would in the waking world. They are recognisable, but their circumstances are alien, and sometimes reflect a much different Sornieth than the one he knows.

Nyquil has told very few about his dreams. He doesn't know what to make of them. They occur with such regularity and clarity that he feels certain that they are more than mere fantasies, but the reality they depict is too divorced from this one for them to be things that may yet come to pass. Worrying about the contents and meaning of his dreams is a constant source of stress for Nyquil. The dreams also complicate his relationships with his clanmates, as he struggles with the weight of knowing things about them that they don't. There is so much he could tell them, about who they could be in another life, but he fears the consequences of revealing too much for reasons he can't quite articulate.

There are two things that bother Nyquil most about his dreams. The first is that over the course of all his dreams, though he witnessed countless of his denmates, he has never dreamt of himself. This could be meaningless - after all, how often does one see themselves while there are asleep? - but for some reason, Nyquil feels darkly certain that whatever world or worlds he witnesses in his unconscious state, he does not exist in.

The second and more troubling thing is a recent development: a vague, creeping sensation of being observed. He has spent his whole life looking into the dream world, and now, it feels like someone or something is looking back...