Sage shrugged slightly and thought for a moment. "They aren't usually this bad...I think I was just keyed up from today and it all spilled over it whatever." He grinned sheepishly. "I get them most nights, but I can usually sleep through them and they don't bother me a whole bunch." He thought again, about what they were about and shook his head slightly. "Everything I suppose. Sometimes they're things I've seen or whatever, sometimes they don't make sense, a lot of them are just about dad doing one thing or another." When she suggested showering he nodded and took a deep breath. "ok," he whispered, unfolding his legs a bit and wincing slightly as he moved away from the wall to get up. Maybe pressing himself against the rough plaster wasn't the best thing to do.

Anya offered him her hands to help him up... she didn't want to see him struggle like this. Not with pain, or in his dreams, not ever. But it just seemed like something she'd have to get used to. "This is the sort of thing I wish you'd tell me about... I can't help you if you don't talk to me, Sage." The girl gently pulled him down a little and placed a kiss on his forehead before trying a smile. "Don't be too long." She turned and wandered back to his room, crawling back to the bed and flopping down as she tried to get comfortable again. She suspected Sage had been keeping this from her for a while... so they'd have a ton to talk about when he got back.

Sage nodded tiredly, and turned the shower on once the girl had left with a type of sigh. He knew what she'd said was true...but he wasn't all that sure what to talk about. Or rather, how to talk about it. He slid into the shower, not really bothering to mess with the water temperature too much. The cooler water felt nice, he had to admit that ... The cuts were slightly inflamed by then, and bruises were forming, so the cool water helped soothe it a bit. He washed himself as quickly as he could, and dried off enough to throw his shirt back on. He tossed the bandages...those would just get messy anyway. He crawled back onto the bed next to Anya and flopped down next to her, cuddling in mutely. If she wanted to talk, she'd talk. And he didn't mind answering her questions, though he couldn't help but be a bit nervous as to how he'd react talking about these things.

Anya sat for a little while, kind of thinking about how to talk to Sage about this. She didn't want to hit a nerve or flip a switch in him, so she'd just have to be careful with how she said things. She wasn't angry - she had no reason to be - but she had wished he'd said something a little sooner. So she could help calm him, but mostly so he wasn't alone. His father was a scary man, so even just those flashbacks would be enough to scare someone to their wit's end. When he came back and cuddled in again, she didn't waste a second wrapping herself around him again. One hand in his hair, messing around with it gently, and one on his back, trailing around, careful to avoid any of his split skin. She tucked one leg between his, while the other wrapped around his thigh. She rested there with him for a few minutes before taking in a deep breath. "I'm always here for you, you know, I've always got you," she whispered quietly, shifting her head a little so it was next to her hand on his head.

Sage chuckled slightly and nodded, though it was only a tiny tilt of his head. "I know. I'm just not used to being able to talk to anyone," he admitted softly. He cuddled in closer, not really caring if the bruises on his chest protested a bit...he just wanted to be as close to Any as possible. She was warm, and calming and...well.. safe. She was safe. And he did feel safe with her, even when vulnerable like this. "What do you want to know," he finally asked softly. "I don't mind talking about it...I just don't know how to. Or what to say. It's all crazy in my head and I don't even know if I understand anything myself."

Anya gave a half chuckle at his first statement. "Well I suppose it's a good thing I'm not anyone then, isn't it? I'm... yours, I guess." She shrugged before thinking about what to ask him. Once they got a conversation going, she supposed there'd be a ton to talk about... and she was glad about that. He'd never really spoken to her about any of this kind of thing, but that was probably because he didn't want to unload his burdens on her. But it wouldn't be a burden to her... it would mean she could help him a bit more, to know him better. "Well... how long has this been going on? A while?" she murmured softly, going still for a second before drawing in a big breath, attempting to relax a little.

Sage chuckled at Anyas little comment. It did make him feel better...almost an assurance she wasn't going to judge him for this. If she wanted to know, he'll talk and tell her whatever she needed to know. Well, wanted to know. But he still didn't want to be that burden...she had enough going on without him clinging to her like a baby. He thought back and finally shrugged. "I dunno. Long as I can remember I suppose." He shifted slightly, wincing at the movement and then spoke up again. "Dad killed mom when I was young...maybe six or seven? So that's been in my brain at least since then," he thought out loud. There were other things too, of course, but that seemed to be one of the worst ones.

The girl nodded slightly and shifted a little, trying to make things a little more comfortable for the boy. "And you always get so... panicked? Like scratching at things?" she questioned softly. It wouldn't be good for him when he went back out to the slums... his cuts would open up again and he'd probably get some sort of infection pretty quickly. "Can you do anything to stop them... these dreams? or do you just have to deal with it?" she questioned softly, shuffling away from him a little. She did wonder if his flashbacks were just a way for his brain to process the trauma... because he hadn't done it at the time. Maybe he'd manage to deal with it with time... if he knew he was actually allowed to be vulnerable, to show emotion, he'd let himself let go a little, to work through things. "Have you had any of this kind of thing about Lizzie? or just the bad bits?"

Sage hummed thoughtfully and nodded, then after a moment, he shook it. "It depends on the dream," he admitted. "Sometimes I just sleep through it and other times I react like I did tonight." He shrugged slightly and rested his forehead against her chest lightly. "The flashbacks don't happen so often...usually, I can keep them contained...but sometimes there's just no controlling them." He shrugged and looked up at the girl. "I never thought of trying to stop them...they were just always there, I suppose." He chuckled slightly and then added. "Then again, I didn't sleep as much then as I am now either." He grunted and shook his head when she mentioned Lizzie. "I dream about her dying. About burying her. Nothing about her being...alive."

Anya glanced down at him for a moment, her fingers trailing up his neck and back rhythmically. It had been a little while since Lizzie's death... but it was still fresh. Sage hadn't exactly addressed it just yet either... hadn't cried, or gotten upset about it... not from what she'd seen, at least. "Do you think it'd be smart to go see her grave sooner rather than later?" It might be a good idea... or else he'd just keep on pushing it down. She couldn't do anything about his father, but she could try and find ways to help him... to try and minimize the bad thoughts. "She loved you, you know. You were like... the perfect big brother. The way you looked after her, I've never seen anything like it," she gave him a small smile before shifting a little closer again. "But you know she wouldn't want you worrying about her. So what if we went over in the next few days and just... sat there. Maybe make up a little picnic or something, make it nice so that you don't just have those last memories about her being awful." She tried a small smile before moving away from him again.