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Cold, reflective. It tapped like glass under my body as I tried to move. It was a lattice, glowing containment. I couldn’t say if it was icy cold or searing hot, sharped into a razor to cut fingers, or smoothed to sensory deprivation. It was dead quiet no matter how loud someone tried to scream. Rattling the cage didn’t do anything except exhaust me. I had long succumbed to the cage. The time blurred, mixed like smudged paint, swirling under a brush until you can barely tell the colors apart. I wasn’t even desperate for an escape after a certain point, more to live in ignorance to my entrapment. I try feebly to touch the lines, starting to fade and muddy with the deep, muted purple sky.
My hand reached out, but caught the leg of a chair. Smooth plastic, cool in the night’s subtle chill, the type you only notice as you run your hands along your skin. I wasn’t there anymore. I was somewhere safe. Still, it didn’t fully reassure me when the other watchers still existed. I still loved my sisters, but I just couldn’t risk them seeing me, telling Ghostwalker I had managed to escape.
I ran my hand along the carpet. It was fluffy, like an obscenely soft blanket. I was curled up like a cat, my flytrap-shaped tail hiding my face and limbs under a desk. It was cramped, but it felt safe enough for me to relax. The chair in front of it hid me from the open window, while still letting me get a decent view of my surroundings. I didn’t take my mask off, didn’t want it to be recognized by anyone who happened to be passing by and even risk being known to any of the SFotH. Maybe it was paranoid behavior, but I still couldn’t stand the thought. I didn’t get a medal for living life in fear, at least last time I checked.
I finally, though slowly, crawled out from under there. My thirst had gotten the better of me, and I knew that there was a glass of water on the nightstand. It was lukewarm and delicious, especially when you were in sensory deprivation hell for a century. I flicked my tail, stopping myself from chugging the entire glass as I set it back down with a slight clink. Vine Staff shifted slightly from where she was sleeping, rubbing her eyes.
”Doom? You’re still up?” She asked me. “And don’t you take off your mask when you sleep?”
”I just don’t feel comfortable with it.” I shook it off. I really didn’t want to address my fears of being known and sentenced to “bad pumpkin jail” right now.
”You look shaken up. You good?” Vine Staff sat up, giving me a look. Something like concern. It was enough to make my tail bristle and flick ever so slightly. “Nightmare?”
”…yes.” I shamefully admitted, rubbing my arm.
”You can sit here.” She shifted to make space beside her, patting it. I considered my options for a moment. I didn’t want to risk sleeping in view of the uncovered window, stars weakly shimmering like they were painted over. But laying beside Vine Staff seemed so comfortable, plush mattress and warm blankets, almost tantalizing. Je ne sais quoi, was that the word for this? Something like that.
So I finally agreed after a full minute of deliberation. Her bed was so damn comfortable, it took approximately 85.7% of my willpower to not just fall asleep. It must’ve been a while since I slept on an actual mattress instead of something ramshackle, mashed together out of whatever was on hand.
Vine Staff curled up right next to me. “You’re always so tense.” She pointed out as she got herself comfortable. She wasn’t wrong, I probably hadn’t been able to properly relax since my time in Playground, and those days were long, long gone. “Do you want me to try to help?”
”Pardon?” I titled my head like a dog.
“I can’t imagine constantly being on alert is the best for you.” She carefully pulled me into a hug. “So maybe don’t? Is this okay?”
”Yeah.” I couldn’t deny I liked physical affection, despite my best efforts. It was just so… warm, maybe? That sort of emotional warmth that was basically impossible to acquire from someone like Ghostwalker due to the fact that he’s yet to unlock those emotions.
I absentmindedly shifted my mask around a little, realizing how uncomfortable it was starting to be against my neck. It hit the floor with a light, dry sound. Vine Staff had already fallen back into sleep, her tibia twitching ever so slightly. It was starting to seem nice to fall into that same doze, my eyes starting to drift shut.