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Asra had barely left the bedroom inside the humble magic shop for almost a day. His eyes remained on only one thing: a bed in the middle of the room, near an open window, where MC lay. They looked...peaceful. The same way someone might describe a dead body at a funeral. Blank. No stirring at all. No noise. No signs of neither happiness nor distress. It was maddening.
The initial thrill of having MC physically in front of him once again seemed like an eternity away now. A soft, warm breeze fluttered into the room, shifting a few strands of MC’s hair and fluttering against the light blanket draped over their still body. Catching the movement, Asra gasped, jumped to his feet and felt his heart skip several beats. “Finally!” his mind screamed. A moment later: disappointment. MC’s body remained still. Defeatedly, he slumped and allowed gravity to return his body back into the wooden chair, wiping a single tear away and trying to shake the feeling that nature had played a cruel prank on him.
Time drained on and Asra frequently shifted around the room, trying his damndest to be patient despite the restlessness plaguing him internally. He would move from sitting in the chair to sitting on the floor, the windowsill, the side of the bed. Anything to have some sort of change in the too-still shop. The room, being modest in size, made it so he could never be too far from them; Just the way he wanted it. Any sign, good or bad, he would be there for them when they needed it. Not like...last time. No. No. He didn't want to think about that anymore. Not when they were so close to being together again...
Asra's slender fingers ran tiredly through his messy, white locks and he blinked a few times to reset his vision. This waiting was agonizing. He had accomplished everything he set out to do and it seemed as if it all went according to plan... and yet, here he was. But he would stay for as long as it took. His own basic needs were minor now. Hunger, thirst, sleep: they barely even registered. Why should he care about those things when nothing could match the loneliness he felt in his heart? He was determined to be here when MC awoke, it was as simple as that.
From time to time, Faust slithered into the window to quietly spend time with her favorite person; Wrapping her long body around his slender shoulders and comforting him a bit. Faust presence lightened his heart a bit and allowed the thoughts, the ones threatening to drive him mad, to pause. He could sense that his familiar was worried about his wellbeing but he casually dismissed her concerns while slowly stroking her cool scales. He would spend this time with her feeling hopeful, speaking barely above a whisper about how their “friend” would be back soon and speculating on the future of adventures they would share.
But, eventually, Faust would move on to go eat or keep an eye out for things, as she liked to do. And Asra would be alone with just his mind once more.
“Why aren’t they waking up?”
“Did I screw it up?”
“What could have gone wrong?”
“Please...oh gods...”
Worry. Self-doubt. Fear. Dread. Exhaustion. Asra sat through it all, going through several rounds of the same terrible anxiety. The speculation filled his mind so quickly, and felt so heavy, they seemed as if they might smother him to death. As the hours crawled on, more and more often would Asra have to force his body to calm itself.
“What good does it do to anyone if I’m a wreck when they wake up?” he’d remind himself while focusing on his breath, temporarily halting the trembling of his hands or legs and pushing the negativity away. Once he felt in control again, he’d continue trying to focus on the few positives: MC didn’t show any signs of pain and their chest was rising and falling; the only movement they had displayed at all.
“They’re just sleeping. They’ve been through a lot...”
Still, he frequently made trips to MC’s resting spot, hovering the back of his hand just above their face, feeling for the warm, soft breath escaping from MC’s lips. It wasn’t just an illusion. They were alive again and he could feel it.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled his hand back, satisfied with the results of his test once more, and rested his calloused hands together on his lap. The longing in his chest was bursting if only to hold one of MC’s hands in his own. But he wouldn’t. In fact, he was frightened to do so. It seemed to him as if they were made of sand and would crumble at the slightest touch. He didn’t want to do them any more harm. He would wait for them to wake up...and once he was sure everything was okay again they could go back to normal. He would never again take their presence for granted; He swore to that.
As the exhaustion was becoming increasingly more difficult to stave off, at last, the gods decided to take pity. It was a small change, a twitch of MC’s closed eyelid, but Asra took note immediately. Asra bolted to his feet again, his eyes widening to make sure his foggy brain wasn’t playing any more tricks on him. He wasn’t sure his heart could handle anymore let down.
It began slowly, but surely. Fingers and toes began to flex, shoulders stretched and twisted, and a soft groan fell on Asra’s longing ears. Their voice. His heart beat faster now and it was taking the last of the little energy he had left not to grab them up into his arms and to make sure they were real. “I’ve already waited this long. I can wait a little longer,” he told himself silently as he stood at the ready beside MC’s bed. Careful not to come off too eager and potentially startle them, Asra took a few steps back, putting himself opposite MC’s waist but his eyes never leaving their face. Tears were threatening to gush from his beautiful, tired eyes.
More and more, MC began to sigh and stretch each major muscle group. Finally, after lazily lengthening one arm above their head, MC’s eyelids slowly cracked open. Realizing someone was there, MC’s eyes popped open the rest of the way but they didn’t startle from the bed. Lips slightly parted, their eyes slowly scanned the length of Asra’s frame. Asra, for his part, was making an effort to look as serene as he could muster, but he was unable to hide the wear the desperation had taken on him. His hands trembled, for different reasons than earlier and he slowly curled his lips into a gentle smile.
“...MC?” he gently asked.
MC returned his question with a blank stare.
That was his first hint that something wasn’t right.