Aqua’s heart melted at the soft request, even as guilt nipped at her, regrettably literal, tail.
She carefully padded over and ducked beneath the shade of a near tree, gingerly lowering herself and the slumbering youth in her arms to the ground. Well, Aqua was; she couldn’t, in good conscience, just let the girl sleep on the ground. So, perhaps awkwardly so, she kept the girl cradled on her lap and stared across the way.
Such closeness was as foreign as it was nostalgic; Aqua had carried Ven around on her back whenever she found him nodded off in some cozy little nook. Of course, there were great differences; Ven would never have asked her to cuddle, even if his naps weren’t so deep.
“Okay,” Aqua said quietly. She remained very still, ears flicking at every errant, ambient noise. The low hum of insects, distant voices. It was soothing; nap inducing, even. Her fur–still weird that I have that, Aqua couldn’t help the grimace–trapped heat, warming her inside out. Her oversensitive nose, however, made sure to keep her awake; every inhale brought a wave of different information into Aqua’s brain, and she wasn’t sure what to do with it. Grass, trees, pollen–
“Ah…Ahhh…” Aqua craned her neck back, eyes watering.
Nononono fight the sneeze, fight the–
“A-Achowoooo!” Birds overhead scattered as her sneeze turned into an embarrassing howl.
The wild howl jolted Hikari right out of her sleepy state, sapphire eyes blinking owlishly. Well, she was certainly awake now. She took a moment to collect herself, taking in the change in her surroundings. This was most certainly not a park bench. What happened.
Mulling it over, she remembered someone carrying her before getting this moment. She looked up at the stranger - now revealed to be a big blue wolf - and blinked. That certainly explained the cozy warmth she was feeling earlier. So she wasn't the only one affected strangely this morning it seemed. That sucked.
She reaches up a hand to pet the wolf on the snout, only for it to phase through. Oh, right, ghost body. The sentiment was there at least. It was rather strange of her; in any normal circumstances she would have been running away in a panic. Something about this stranger just seemed so inviting however, and Hikari's tired body wouldn't will itself to move. As if being in her presence alone made the stage girl feel safe and protected.
"... Bless you," she says, blinking her hazy blue eyes. She forced herself to bite back a yawn, content to just fall back asleep. So tired. "That was... An impressive sneeze. Are you feeling better?"
