some nights never end |
Aug. 3rd, 2019 06:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fujimaru[ Everyone has nights like this, once in a while:
Nights where there's nothing wrong -- no pressing, potentially world-ending (or even just deeply unpleasant and/or uncomfortable) disasters -- and no fights, no disagreements, where no caffeine was consumed too late before bedtime and nothing you ate disagreed with you, when you're bone-tired after a long productive day... and you still can't sleep. Sometimes, out of nowhere, old regrets and uncertainties rise up out of the ether and blindside you while you're just trying to relax for the night. It happens to anyone, and whoever says otherwise is a liar.
Which, generally speaking, Ritsuka isn't. Little white lies now and then, sure; the occasional fib or deliberate deception now and then, of course. She's only human, after all. But she's a self-aware one, and even if most nights she has no trouble dropping off almost right away, some nights feel like they stretch on endlessly, no matter what she tries. She's flipped her pillows, she's kicked off the blankets, retrieved the blankets, laid down on the floor, had water, scrolled mindlessly through social media feeds on her phone, and even if she's tired, she can't sleep.
So finally she goes for her last option: a walk around Chaldea. Even if Servants don't need to sleep, most of them keep to their rooms when it gets to be this late; the few that are still awake will surely either be in the training rooms or brooding off in isolated areas. It's highly unlikely for her to run into anyone that will cause a fuss over her being awake this late, and that's the part that matters.
Especially because she forgoes getting properly dressed: just the camisole and shorts that she sleeps in and a bigger loose T-shirt over those, and some house slippers. Exercise is supposed to help, she's always heard, so surely a few laps around the main base will help her settle.
Ritsuka walks at a slower pace than she does usually, her eyes trained on her feet. She's not particularly watching where she's going, just following the curve of the hallway. After all, she's alone out in these hallways.
Right? ]
Nights where there's nothing wrong -- no pressing, potentially world-ending (or even just deeply unpleasant and/or uncomfortable) disasters -- and no fights, no disagreements, where no caffeine was consumed too late before bedtime and nothing you ate disagreed with you, when you're bone-tired after a long productive day... and you still can't sleep. Sometimes, out of nowhere, old regrets and uncertainties rise up out of the ether and blindside you while you're just trying to relax for the night. It happens to anyone, and whoever says otherwise is a liar.
Which, generally speaking, Ritsuka isn't. Little white lies now and then, sure; the occasional fib or deliberate deception now and then, of course. She's only human, after all. But she's a self-aware one, and even if most nights she has no trouble dropping off almost right away, some nights feel like they stretch on endlessly, no matter what she tries. She's flipped her pillows, she's kicked off the blankets, retrieved the blankets, laid down on the floor, had water, scrolled mindlessly through social media feeds on her phone, and even if she's tired, she can't sleep.
So finally she goes for her last option: a walk around Chaldea. Even if Servants don't need to sleep, most of them keep to their rooms when it gets to be this late; the few that are still awake will surely either be in the training rooms or brooding off in isolated areas. It's highly unlikely for her to run into anyone that will cause a fuss over her being awake this late, and that's the part that matters.
Especially because she forgoes getting properly dressed: just the camisole and shorts that she sleeps in and a bigger loose T-shirt over those, and some house slippers. Exercise is supposed to help, she's always heard, so surely a few laps around the main base will help her settle.
Ritsuka walks at a slower pace than she does usually, her eyes trained on her feet. She's not particularly watching where she's going, just following the curve of the hallway. After all, she's alone out in these hallways.
Right? ]
sorry for the delay!!
Date: 2019-08-08 11:35 pm (UTC)Still, his time with Chaldea hasn't been unpleasant by any stretch of imagination. And, he finds it amusing almost how he's been dragged through all sorts, made to reach heights he never considered himself capable of. In another word, it's fun and he enjoys it for as it is, so if it were to be gone the next day, he wouldn't have any regrets.
In the end, it doesn't bother him so much as it is a curiosity— one of the many that often entertains his thoughts when he makes his late evening rounds. The night air has always been refreshing, and there's something about Chaldea in its emptiness that's particularly reminiscent of his time at the Hanging Garden. That is, until an unmistakable presences breaks him out of his thoughts, causing the corners of his mouth to curve upwards. ]
Oya. Master, won't you watch where you're going?
[ He feigns surprise, tone gentle and chiding. Catching her front by the crook of his arm, he tips his head at her curiously. ]
If something were to become of you in my presence, I'm afraid I'll have a lot to answer for.
hello!
Date: 2019-08-11 04:54 am (UTC)[ It's not a dignified sound. Not that she normally styles herself as a very dignified person, but it's embarrassing to make a noise that loud, and especially when it's so quiet otherwise.
There's a second where she blinks at the arm supporting her, and then she looks up, still befuddled. ]
Amakusa...? Jeeze, you startled me.
[ Speaking about that whole lack of dignity thing-- she isn't actually trying to straighten herself up yet. Flopping like a ragdoll is just fine with her.
And she adds, without any trace of irony -- like it hasn't occurred to her at all that there's a difference in what they need in order to function properly: ]
Isn't it kind of late? You should be resting.
no subject
Date: 2019-08-12 09:56 am (UTC)Hm? I'd say it's more peculiar for you to be out. [ the sun will rise in hours, and there's never a shortage of things for their Master to do. If anything, as Servants, they had a surprising amount of idle time comparatively?!
He's not so interested in that line of conversation though, gaze falling on her lopsided shirt. When there seems to be no threat of her tripping over herself (or him), he'll relax his hold on her to attempt to fix her collar.
Unceremoniously, the fabric slides back down when he lets go and he gives another amused hum. ]
Is this forewarning that you'll have me working tomorrow?
no subject
Date: 2019-08-13 03:48 am (UTC)[ Quick, Ritsuka, think of a plausible excuse! Something that will be clever and convincing and not-- ]
...I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd take a walk.
[ --the actual truth.
Oh well. That's probably not something that even a mastermind like Amakusa can use. Probably. And even if it is, it's one of the thousands of little flaws that make up an ordinary human. He's probably already accounted for all of them and more.
She grumbles at his hands on his collar, but she doesn't protest the handling. By this point, really, her personal space bubble is almost nonexistent. ]
Da Vinci was saying there's a new hotspot she wants to investigate tomorrow. No idea what we're gonna find there, but I thought I'd set the team up for defense.
[ So at least one Ruler, if not more. ]