Unblinking eyes stared up at the ceiling over head. The blankets that had once covered the child’s body had been tossed to the foot of the bed, and its occupant remained motionless for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes at most. The only real sign that the girl was alive was the steady rise and fall of her chest with each breath she took. Her heart was pounding noisily in her ears, but only she was privy to that sound.
Behind her eyelids while slumber claimed her subconscious, her once pleasant dreams warped and twisted into the likeness of the nightmarish landscape she had accidentally fallen into ten years prior. Though she knew what she had just seen was only a replica of that frightening place, she could never forget the way it had imprinted itself upon her body – even if the scars were invisible to the eye. It left her feeling afraid and uneasy.
But now she was cradled in comforting familiarity. The gentle humming of the Calnus murmuring in her ears, the muted glow of starlight hidden behind the lowered window-covers catching the corners of her eyes, and the reassurance that one of her comrades was soundly sleeping across the room all served to help soothe away her fear. Still…
”Faize,” the Lemurisian uttered the young man’s name in a voice that could hardly constitute as a whisper. And as expected, there came no apparent reply from his bed.
Though the vision that had plagued her was merely a nightmare, Lymle couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling she was experiencing. Willing herself to sit up, she fought against her limbs’ reluctance and silently slid from atop her mattress. The floor felt cold beneath her thinly clothed feet, but not at all bothered by it, she crept across the room on whispering tiptoes to Faize’s bed.
Even in the darkness, she could make out his form peacefully resting beneath the blankets; he didn’t appear to stir in acknowledgement of her presence, and that was somewhat relieving for the girl. She didn’t quite yet know what she wanted to do, but the one thing she was certain of was that she didn’t want Faize lecturing her while she was trying to decide between her options.
Ultimately, the choice was pretty clear; Lymle only needed a moment of pondering before she reached the inevitable conclusion.
It wasn’t that she liked Faize or anything; she was just lonely and craved a little bit of comfort. She wouldn’t even have to touch him or anything; there was already plenty of room left on the bed for her to crawl up and just fall asleep beside him. There would be no harm done, after all. This was a completely reasonable line of thought, and delicately, the girl placed her hands on the mattress – readying to hoist herself up.
However, Lymle hadn’t forgotten about what transpired between her and the Eldarian earlier that day. He had been so mean to her – calling her a spoiled baby because she just wanted to take a little nap with Ee-tan. What was wrong with that anyway? With the memory suddenly in the forefront of her mind, Lymle was hesitant to lie down with Faize. In fact, she almost felt dejected as his words replayed in her thoughts. Why couldn’t Rei-tan be her roommate instead?
No matter how much she wanted to sleep beside someone in that moment, it most definitely couldn’t be Faize. He would probably just yell at her and make fun of her again. That’s why she really hated him. So with her mind made up, she turned her back on his bed and started back for her side of the room – resolute not to be a ‘spoiled baby’ and to just sleep on her own.
