[ sleepy ]++ { also known as, sylvain got the gremlin to go to sleep after 84 years }
By the time the chaos and confusion had { died } down in the noisy stables, the moon was high in the night sky - its silver light pouring in through the dusty windows and spilling out onto the cluttered floor through the open doors. Though only the faintest of glimmers from the stars tucked away behind the dreary clouds could be seen from where he stood, it hadn’t turned into an unpleasant night. It had merely become quiet, still even, despite the cacophony that horses had kicked up earlier with their startled calls and hefty grunts. Frankly, he was surprised they had managed to calm down so quickly, though not ungrateful for it given what time it had to be by now and the fact that most of the other soldiers were attempting to head in for the { night } or already had. They were an exception of course, seated on the straw-covered and muddy stable floor just outside his own mare’s pen, bags buried beneath his eyes and, from the look of her, he imagined she hadn’t slept in just as long, while they took this brief chance to rest after everything that had just happened. He hadn’t expected moving the horses about would be easy, but it hadn’t gone as smoothly as he had so { desperately } wished it would have. Regardless, it was over now and he could listen to his mare as she chomped away on the apples they had left for her without having Ingrid’s pegasus close enough to possibly kick his head in.
A sigh tumbled from his lips as his hand came back to run through scarlet locks in relief. However, for as exhausted and strained as he felt at the moment, legs bent before him and the smooth, { ebony } armor he normally donned shoved into a corner with a few more dents in it thanks to a certain unruly pegasus, it was Inshel who truly deserved all of the credit. To say she had changed his life for the { better } might have sounded like an overstatement to some when all she had done was suggest and help him move a few horses around, it was an understatement for him. He’d to admit it, but he was starting to get used to how that pegasus’s hooves felt when they made contact with his armor and just how hard her teeth were when she managed to get close enough to him to snap despite the fact that he was her current source of food and shelter. He was { eternally } grateful that, most days, his mare was the only horse he had to deal with. And, even then, she was far from perfect when she disliked most everyone who wasn’t him.
His attention turned back to Inshel where she say beside him, a smile worming its way onto his features as his arm fell back down to his side. “Well, now that this over with, how about I take -” he was just about to offer her a decent meal at a nice restaurant in one of the towns on the outskirts of the monastery when he saw her slipping. Slowly, her head began to drift sideways. Lower and lower until her cheek fell against her shoulder and her hair spilled out over his back. Her eyes were shut and her breathing was soft; { peaceful } even. For just a moment he allowed confusion to slither into his haze before it morphed into something far more difficult to read.
“I can’t say you haven’t earned a decent rest,” He finished instead, his voice nothing more than a soft whispers as he leaned his head back against the door that lead into his mare’s stall - her head lowering over the barrier to prod at Sylvain’s messy hair. A smile, one more real than fake for once in his life, slipped onto his features as he carefully lifted his other hand to stroke her muzzle, careful not to move much to prevent himself from jolting her awake, even if he can’t imagine his shoulder being all that comfortable. Maybe she’ll learn to use a real pillow next time. But, for now, he supposes he can say still for her { sake } until she’s ready to grab something to eat.