I’m declaring it done because I don’t wanna fix it. >> Story that goes with it behind the cut (hopefully!)
Ash had been here for about a fortnight now, perhaps a little longer. It was... interesting? There were many things to see that were new to him - beautiful things, but frightening things too. It was all a little overwhelming, and while he tried not to let it show, not to let it affect him, tonight it all felt like a bit much.
As every other night, he had returned to his room in Doktar Jeddy's house and reverted to his softer more human-like form to go to sleep. And as every other night, he curled up amidst the blankets and pillows, hugging one to his chest, closed his eyes and tried to pretend he was back home - that the pillow was one of the fledglings and that drape of blanket across his side was Cinder's tail, or maybe his arm. It didn't work, it hadn't worked before, but he kept hoping it would, that he could trick himself. He had never slept alone before coming here, had always been in a pile with his siblings, or with his friends - he had taken it for granted and he regretted that now.
Unlike every other night, tonight he wasn't coping with it especially well. He had never thought he would miss his family so much. A low keening rose in his throat, and he curled himself around his pillow trying to stop it. Crying wouldn't help anything, wouldn't transport him back to his family or make him feel less alone. His fingers twitched and he gripped the pillow all the tighter, burying his face in it.
He held like that until his throat was raw, too hoarse to make the sound anymore, then he shoved the pillow away, shoved himself up. He couldn't do this anymore, not tonight; it wore on his nerves, kept him from sleep. Maybe if he had someone to talk to, at least for a little while? Doktar Jeddy didn't understand much of what he said - and vice versa - but still, maybe the man was still awake?
It was the best idea he could come up with at the moment, although admittedly he didn’t take the time to think especially hard on it. The seed of the idea planted itself in his mind, and then he was on his feet, padding barefoot out of his room to the one that was Doktar Jeddy's. He scratched softly at the door with his blunt nails, then pushed it open a crack and peered inside.
"Doktar Jeddy?" His voice was soft and uncertain, and he realized even as he spoke that the giant man was asleep. The room was dark and the sound of the man's breathing was soft and even, hitching now and then in a light snore.
He hesitated in the doorway, letting his eyes adjust to the dark, then after a moment he crept quietly into the room. Doktar Jeddy had seemed friendly, surely he wouldn't mind? Sleep was better when you weren't alone.
He crept around the foot of the bed to the side, and paused when he caught sight of the man's sheet-draped limbs - they weren't wrapped as they were during the day, and the texture to them was odd, slick. He reached out tentatively and tapped Jeddy's right arm - it didn't give like flesh should, wasn't warm.
It worried him a little, but still, he crawled up onto the other man's bed and settled with his back against the other's bare side. After a moment he cautiously reached for the oddly-textured arm and pulled it down around himself. With a sigh he settled, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around Jedidiah's larger arm, holding it close.
It was a little strange but at least it smelled like a friend here, and there was a warm comforting presence at his back. He sighed again and relaxed, feeling his mind already beginning to drift. Even if it wasn't home smells, this was definitely better than sleeping alone.
