maskormenacelogs | Who needs sleep? (CLOSED)

Who needs sleep? (CLOSED)

WHO: D33 + Archie
WHERE: Between Heropa #001 + Heropa #002
WHEN: Sometime in the first or second week of September, idk.
WHAT: D33 still can't sleep and neither can Archie - insomnia neighbors unite.
WARNINGS: None atm. Will update as/if needed.

[Following D33's little sleep-deprived meltdown on the network, he had been given some advice (some good, some bad, that is) on different ways to solve his little insomnia problem. One in particular had succeeded in doing the trick - it had also succeeded in giving him the most miserable hangover he could possibly imagine. So, with the whiskey option having been thrown out, D33 finds himself awake yet again. He's been sleeping a bit better since his initial crash, at least, but most nights are much like this one - droopy-eyed and heavy-bodied, trying to find things to do aside from banging his head against the wall until he knocks himself unconscious (which has actually been quite tempting a time or two given the chronic insomnia).

[Tonight, however, he opts to go take a brief walk outside rather than inflict a head injury upon himself - he keeps within his shadows, of course, ~~strolling~~ pacing anxiously and irritably around his back yard until he notices something over the fence - is that someone in Heropa #001's pool? It can't be any earlier than four am. The man's brow furrows, he steps out from his cover and approaches the fence, peers over it and utters a perplexed:]

Archie?

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[D33 tenses a bit, sitting up a little straighter as Archie exits the pool and firmly shaking his head as his eyes go back to the water.]

I can't swim.

[He says so flatly but a bit panicked sounding - it doesn't occur to him that Archie might be inviting him into the house, not the shark-infested swimming pool.]

...There's no water in the house.

[the exhaustion is clear here in how d33 doesn't understand archie and it takes archie a few seconds to parse what d33 means.]

[Right. Well, now he feels silly. He puts his head toward the ground, clears his throat, nods, and then pushes himself up to follow Archie into the house.]

[archie just rolls his eyes and holds the back door open for d33.

mightyena is curled up by the back door. it looks at them when they enter.]

Coffee?

[The man shakes his head, eyeing the dog a bit nervously, taking care to avoid stepping on its fur as they enter the house.]

No, thank you. I don't drink coffee.

[His eyes are still on the dog as he speaks, but eventually he turns to Archie.]

Am I allowed to touch her or will she bite me?

Alright. Water? ...There is water in the house.

[he blinks dumbly. god, he's tired.

archie rubs his face and goes to fix himself a coffee. with copious amounts of grains poured into the mug.]

Naw, he's fine. [mightyena is already wagging its tail; simply trained well enough not to bound up to strangers barking.] Just watch his front paws, yeah? He don't like being touched there.

Water. Thank you.

[D33 mutters as he turns to the dog, slowly coming to squat beside him and hold out his hand, waiting for Mightyena to give it a sniff before cautiously running it over the top of his head and around behind his ears.]

Is this what that little one will grow into? [He says so somewhat idly, keeping his eyes on Mightyena as he pets.]

[a couple minutes later, d33 has a nice cold glass of water, and archie has a hideous cup of coffee that has the consistency of glue more than water.]

Yeah. I don't think they'll evolve here, though. If they don't, then they'll just get some characteristics-- darker back fur and stuff.

He's evolved.

[The man mutters so idly, thoughtfully - Blue had mentioned something about Pokémon evolving, hadn't he? Growing into new stages with new powers as they got older. He still hasn't pulled himself up from his squat yet, preoccupied now with running his fingers through the Pokémon's silky fur. But, after a moment he finally straightens, taking the glass from Archie with a nod and sipping it.]

Thank you.

[Surprisingly mild for D33, even he realizes. But he's a little too tired to question it - he's been up just long enough now that he's too tired to act like an asshole but still lucid enough not to be devolving into the late stages of paranoia - it's a good look on him.]

You spend a great deal of time in the water, don't you, Archie? Despite this fear of drowning?

[Well, he's still D33, after all. He wouldn't be him if he didn't ask at least a couple more invasive questions - but he's genuinely curious. Seems counter-intuitive.]

Yep.

[archie replies equally flatly, far too tired to bother trying to explain it. if d33 asks, his answer will simply be "magic,".]

I do, but I'm not scared of drowning. [he's already forgotten that he didn't want to tell d33 the circumstances of that nightmare woops.] No-one who grew up in Pacifidlog was ever afraid of drowning.

I am. [D33 thinks-- Oh no, wait. He said that out loud. Cue his body stiffening uncomfortably as he looks to the floor and clears his throat, sips some water and tries not to choke on it (wouldn't that be ironic).]

But, you, ah. You'd said you'd had a nightmare regarding it.

I figured that. You looked like you thought the pool as gonna come alive and eat you!

[he snorts.]

Weren't me drowning. I'm goin' into the livin' room, it's cold in here. Come or not, I don't care.

[Well, he...might as well? He pauses for a moment at the doorway, turning to see if perhaps Mightyena will be following them - hoping he will be, maybe. Then, back to Archie.]

Who was drowning, then?

[of course it is, it's gotta look after its dumbass trainer.]

Nnnope. Not tellin' you. Don't wanna think about it. Why are you scared of drowning?

[Fair enough. And, for once, D33 doesn't press the matter. But he doesn't look too keen on answering Archie's question either, lips tightening as he shrugs his shoulders. He keeps his eyes on the opposite wall as he speaks.]

I don't know how to swim. [Like he said before - that should be a simple enough answer, right? Even so, a moment later, he adds quietly:] You know how it feels. You've said so yourself.

[He doesn't stop to think that that would imply that he knows how it feels as well, but even as the thought occurs to him, he simply shrugs his shoulders again, crossing his arms over his chest.]

Given that, I would wonder why you aren't afraid of it.

Edited 2017-09-12 01:27 (UTC)

I could show you. I get paid to do it on weekends.

[he thinks of d33 in water wings and a rubber ring with the 10 year olds in his class. funny. then his brain decides to supply the image of d33 doing what he does best to them. far less funny. he winces.]

Guess I'm just stupid. I don't know. I was scared the first time and when I almost drowned back home... I guess I just know I'll have Sharpedo to save me if it happens.

[Somehow, the idea of having a gigantic shark in the water with you doesn't make D33 any more keen on the idea of swimming and/or drowning, but, he supposes to Archie, that "Sharpedo" is just as much a pet as his Mightyena is - who, by the way, D33 has taken to scratching again as he invites himself to take a seat on the couch next to it.]

I suppose it might be a useful skill to posses. [Or an essential one, but he winces a bit at the thought. He really, really does not like the feeling of water in his lungs, and he really doesn't like the idea of being submerged in it - but not knowing how to swim had made the flooding in Heropa a couple of months ago far more terrifying than it probably should have been. Anyway, he doesn't give a definitive answer on whether or not he'll accept the offer just yet either way.

[Yaaaa-aaa-aaa-aaa-aaawns, though.]

Pardon me.

Uh huh. Ya never know when this place is going to get flooded again.

[which archie will be useless during, because haha flashbacks aren't fun.]

Shit, bro, just go into the spare room with Mightyena. Just try and have a nap with it, yeah?

[The man hesitates, but, glancing down at Mightyena again and already feeling his eyelids starting to get heavy, eventually he gives as begrudging of a nod as he can manage, yawning again halfway through his words as he says:]

Very well. [As much as D33 might not want to admit it out loud, Archie had been right about that puppy therapy getting him to sleep before. It's worth another shot if it can bring him some shuteye this time around.

[So, after a moment he places a hand on either knee and pushing himself up from the couch while he holds back another ground.]

I suppose you won't be doing the same. Does he do nothing to aid in your sleep? [Gesturing at the dog again.]

[dogs always work, bitch.]

Spare room is still spare. No-one's gonna be here except me today.

[he shrugs. to be honest, he'll probably just pass out on the sofa.]

He does, he's a good boy. [archie holds up another red and white ball.] Crobat is good too. I might see if he wants to do anything, though he usually sleeps during the day.

[Well, either way. It's not as if D33 minds taking the dog from him - with all that coffee he's drinking, Archie isn't likely to be sleeping any time soon anyway. So, eventually he simply nods, turns for the direction of the spare bedroom and mutters a:] My thanks. [Then glances down to make sure Mightyena is following him before exiting the living room.

[A nice pupper sleep to follow.]

[archie just waves goodbye to him, then puts on the tv - at low volume.

later on, when d33 wakes up, he'll find a bunny sitting next to his head, sniffing curiously.]

[The feeling of tickly little bunny whiskers on D33's face causes the man to startle awake, sitting upright in bed with a somewhat panicked sound as his bleary mind tries to hone in on what's just happened. He takes a glance around the room, searching for Mightyena and instead finding a soft little fluff ball still sniffing around his pillow.

[What the--

[A couple moments later and D33 has made his way out to the living room, the bunny in his arms (he's doing a rather good job of holding it given his lack of experience in bunny rabbits), brow furrowed in an expression that's more perplexed than irritated.]

Does this...thing belong to you?

[Yes, he knows what a bunny is, Archie. He's just a little flabbergasted right now, that's all.]

--Nuh! Huh?

[okay so archie actually had fallen asleep on the couch and startles away when d33 appears.]

Oh. I was wonderin' where he was...

You can't have been wondering too desperately, it would appear.

[He says with the flattest expression possible given the mixture of surprise and, honestly, curiosity still present on his face. He glances down at the little rabbit whose nose is still twitching, its whiskers tickling at D33's hand. Does he...hand him back now?

[He kind of doesn't want to.]

Why do you have a rodent living in your house?

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groan* not ground wtf me

rip

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