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It was cold. Dark, too. She stared up at a starless sky from a cold, stone clocktower, void of all life and color. The area around this pocket of nowhere was dead grass with a stone path cut through it, all with a large rune at the end for entering and exiting this dimension, this blip in the middle of space and time.
It was cold. It was always cold. She slowly turned back to her work, to the dimly glowing ethereal mirror at the heart of the tower that could show the user any time in history, any place. Endless bookshelves filled with documentation of the timelines and history, walls covered in cogs that climbed throughout the tower, all fueling the constant ticking that echoed the entire landscape for all eternity.
The sound that still haunted her. The sound that, if she let her mind wander, she could almost swear was still ticking, maybe only a tick or two, but enough to drive her mad and remind her of this prison she spent eons in, all alone before the planets formed, before the Earth, before humanity, before the concept of chaos itself, being told to overlook time in an empty void where nothing existed to ‘overlook,’ leaving her to do nothing, nothing but sit, wait, and lose her mind the backdrop of time ticking on endlessly.
She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the ticking, the cold, the sobs, nevermind if they were her own, they were muffling the sound of the clock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
“Shut up…” She whimpered, covered her ears, curled up pitifully in her throne of cogs and mirrors, squeezing her eyes shut even tighter.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
“ENOUGH!” She bellowed, the very threads of time in her chest that served as her heart tightening and trembling uncomfortably to a steady panicked rhythm.
Tick. Tock. TICK. TOCK.
“STOP IT! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!” She screamed, clawing at her ears, hissing, curling up further, throat sore and voice hoarse.
“JUST STOP IT-”
“Kronii…?”
A voice cut through the noise. A soft and familiar one, one that made all of the tension slowly ebb and fade away at its sound. The ticking stopped, The cold of the tower vanished back to darkness, being replaced by a different sound, the soft sounds of peaceful breathing that lulled her into a sense of calm, letting out a soft, weary sigh.
She felt her body slowly relax, and she let herself sink into the void once more.
The soft sounds of birds chirping is the first thing the Warden of Time noticed when she found herself starting to slowly return to consciousness.
The second was the sheer warmth that made her sink further into the mattress, hesitating to wake up yet, not that she had wanted to in the first place, waking up wasn’t exactly something she typically looked forward to even when she wasn’t so incredibly comfy and content right where she was.
Kronii groaned when the early rays of sunlight hit her eyes, slowly opening her eyes to glare at the sun that dared to interrupt her (eventually) peaceful slumber, though part of her knew that she needed to get up at some point…
But, she couldn’t really be bothered, and this morning she had a reason outside of apathy. As she glanced down at said reason, a smile slowly replaced the irritated glare, features softening at the beautiful sight she found in front of her, namely, the sleeping face of the Guardian of Civilization. The sunrise was breathtaking, but she was far far more breathtaking, at least in her unspoken opinion.
The Warden slowly reached up, gently brushing messy brown bangs from her eyes, hand slowly moving down to touch and caress her cheek, her smile growing warmer and softer as she drank in the sight before her. Mumei was so completely at peace, chest slowly rising and falling with gentle, quiet breaths, hair set alight an almost golden brown by the morning rays of the sunrise. At the light touch on her face, the Guardian stirred slightly, moving closer and burying her face in the Warden’s chest with a soft, content hum.
Kronii positively melted at that, unable to hold herself back from having the dopiest lovestruck smile on her face that she was thankful stayed hidden from the world, she’s sure the others would’ve teased her to no end over it.
“Mmm…?” Mumei mumbled, eyes fluttering open at half mist, looking sleepily up at Kronii and catching said smile she really really wished she hadn’t.
“Sorry, did I wake you…?” Kronii asked softly, apologetically. Mumei shook her head with a soft yawn, struggling to keep her eyes open.
“Sleepy?” Kronii asked softly with a fond tone to her voice, fingers moving from her cheek to gently running through her hair, a light and airy giggle escaping the girl when her hand ghosted over her feathers.
“...Mhm… Do we gotta get up?” Mumei asked sleepily, rubbing one of her eyes with another yawn.
“...No, not really. Just go back to sleep, Mumei.” Kronii murmured into her ear, smirking a little at the slight shiver that brought to the smaller girl and the pink that found its way into her cheeks.
“Mkay…” Mumei muttered, avoiding eye contact as she rested her head back on the pillow, mere centimetres away from the warden. Kronii couldn’t help herself, pressing a gentle and loving kiss to her temple. Mumei hummed happily at that, leaning up and pressing an equally loving kiss to her lips, brief, but full of all the love the two felt and shared. When she pulled back, Kronii smiled another soft smile that, if she weren’t so comfy, Mumei would’ve grabbed a journal and jotted down the memory of so she’d never forget it.
“...I love you, Kronii.” Mumei murmured, nuzzling closer, ear over her where her heart would be, where strings of time thrummed with each breath. The soft, rhythmic, comforting sound lulled her right back to being sleep again, letting out the smallest of sighs that melted the Warden’s heart even further, if that was even possible.
“...Love you too, Mumei.” Kronii muttered, glancing up at the silent clock and taking note of the somewhat late hour, close to when they’d need to be ready for the council meeting that day. Normally this would be the part where she would feel bad for sleeping in and go on one of her usual existential spirals, but, at the moment, she couldn’t care less.
Because to her, right now, nothing mattered more than the girl in her arms and the soft sounds of her peaceful breathing lulling her back to sleep. She was in no rush, after all, she was right at home where she was, her nightmares and memories be damned. She was perfectly content here, and she refused to let those pesky things ruin that for her.
Kronii closes her eyes and dreams not of the tower, but of soft laughter, feathers, and home.