Prompt: After that night, he never saw him again

A first try at writing about a new character, a potential blue jay-human anthro character. Disclaimer; both name and appearance are still up in the air for change.

Running. There was just movement, all he could do was push himself harder. He had no air in his lungs to scream, just panting heavily while fear and adrenalin shot through his veins. 'It's a dream, you know it's not real,' but the words were never a comfort. Sometimes he felt that he allowed himself to experience it as a punishment. Maybe he thought if he went through the fear, waking up would be easier.
He never felt anything while awake, the emotion electrified him in his dreams.

Nightmares.

There were no dreams anymore; only nightmares. Only running. Only black, white, and red. Always red. Running, always running--

Elliot's eyes snapped opened with a feral gasp. His naked hands reached up, fingers tensed into claws as he ran them over his clothed chest. No injuries. No blood. There were no stains on the cloth, and even the bed sheets were clean. It took a few seconds in order for his terrible eyes to adjust to the dark, but slowly he was able to make out shapes of furniture. The s****y posters on his walls. Elliot's breathing was still ragged and unsteady, heart thumping painfully loudly in his ears, but there was no danger.

Despite the realisation within the actual sleeping hallucination, he forced himself to whisper out loud. "It was not real. A dream... It was a dream," escaped his beak, softer than a flutter of wings. Reaching up, his humanoid hands gripped the skin on his face before digging short claws into his jaw and cheek with growing force. "It was not real." Forcing himself to focus on the actual events of the dream, Elliot released a shaky breath. "I did not even see anyone. There was not even a real setting, it was not in any sort of reality. Why wouldn't I fight back anyway?" Picking off the few but sufficient flaws in the dream, he slowly felt himself sinking back into reality. His brain was clever but not clever enough, and the bird-man had picked up tricks over his time for recovering from the trauma every night.

Pulling the hand away from his face, Elliot ran the thin fingers through his short hair before lifting his arms above him. This was the only time they were uncovered, while asleep, and in the dim lighting his light coloured feathers apeared black and white. There was a thin layer on the back of his hands, growing thicker along the outside of his forearms and thickening to real feathers at his elbows. The small ones on his wrists and hands were ruffled, half scratched off from his own doing. Disgust again reared in the back of his head at the sight of his disgusting body, despite the vibrant blues that covered his human body. He was basically a normal human with s****y feathers and a beak, how could his own kind ever even acknowledge him? He was a disgrace.

Elliot threw his scrawny legs off the side of the bed, abruptly pulling his sights away from his arms. He reached for the bracer-like gloves dropped without care next to his bed just as a small impact on the bed alerted him to his companion before a meow followed. "Hey buddy," Elliot murmured to the cat, not looking yet as he pulled the vital accessories on. They wrapped around his hand, leaving the palm and fingertips free, before going up his arm all the way to his elbow. Folding the feathers all towards his hand, they were easily covered by the light, tan materiel and immediately he began feeling better about himself once the ugly feathers were covered.

Turning his head, the male's eyes visibly softened when they landed on the feline. The cat in question was an old siamese, his body a deep tan with his extremedies all dipped in a dark chocolate with light blue eyes. He meowed again, louder and more demanding this time, before pushing his sleek, lithe form against the side of his companion. "Thanks Zen, I'm alright." Elliot reached over and ran his palm over the fur of his friend, soothed by the softness and warmth. Zen responded with a rougher nuzzle, pressing his forehead against the other's shoulder.

Elliot managed a smile, although it was exhausted and half hearted, before scooping up Zen into his arms. "Alright, bud, how about a midnight adventure." The siamese scrambled onto the bird's shoulders, swaying easily with the movements of his owner. The moon shined it's light softly through the nearest window, giving just enough light for the half blind Elliot to make his way through the apartment, already forgetting whatever was following him in the dream.

Author's Note

Any constructive critique welcome, but don't be cruel. I know my spelling is off, I am on mobile.