Work Text:
latibule
(n.) a hiding place; a place of safety and comfort
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The stony walls of the Clockwork Basilica stretched and blurred in Nilonii’s vision as she traipsed through the halls. Only the chill of mineral and metal beneath her feet kept her grounded enough to retain her sense of direction as she traversed through the corridors, her arms wrapped around herself in a futile attempt to keep herself warm.
Nighttime had long closed in upon the Clockwork City; it was kind and lended good rest to everyone except for Nilonii. In her bedroom it had kept her suspended in a web of paranoia, echoes of her past dancing mockingly in her ears. Each sigh from the brass pipes in her room sent her back to those sleepless nights in Sadrith Mora, where every whisper of sound from the wilderness posed a threatening question. Was it simply the Nix-Ox calling to one another, or had something crawled out from the depths of the Dreloth Ancestral Tomb? Nilonii no longer had to worry about such things, but the tendrils of these memories still clung to her mind. And, after countless disturbances through the night, she found herself able to break free from the oppressive weight of her duvet to begin travelling to the one place she felt she would find solace.
Her legs had long begun to ache and complain, but the knowledge of every step bringing her closer to comfort provided them with enough fuel to keep going. Upon rounding the final corner they were overloaded with energy, and the brass door at the end of the hallway became all she could see. She began to run as though the door would suddenly vanish, and then opened it with haste.
No sooner had Nilonii stepped through the door frame than she heard a voice rise above the clanking of machinery.
“Ah, Nilonii.” Sotha Sil said, studying the features of her weary face. “It's quite late, you should be resting. Is something troubling you?”
She said nothing in response, feeling silenced by each rapid breath that left her nose. Sil watched as she limped across his workshop, stealing a nearby chair from a drafting table before placing it next to his. Her weight dropped onto it like a sack of saltrice, and she silently cursed at the lack of cushioning as her body met the stiff metal seat. Nilonii took a moment to compose herself before turning her attention to Sil, who wore a rather puzzled expression upon his face.
“Can you explain that to me?” she asked, motioning towards a globe-like device that sat in front of him.
Sil was stumped. It was uncharacteristic of Nilonii to be around him outside of their tutoring sessions; little trust she harboured in him, so why had she come to his workshop in the dead of night? But once he saw the unspoken plea in her tired eyes he decided to oblige, and shelved his questions for a later time.
“This is a mnemonic star-sphere. It houses memories, given form as stars in interconnected constellations. I could explain the inner mechanisms of it if you wish, but some terminologies may hold no meaning to you.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” Nilonii yawned, then continued, “It’ll make sense to me one day.”
Nodding in agreement, Sil let his eyes scan Nilonii’s face one last time before focusing his attention back to the star-sphere. With predictable precision, he removed one of the side panels, exposing all of the intricate inner workings of the device to the gentle yellow glow of his workshop. He picked up a delicate-looking screwdriver from his workstation and used it to point to the different components as he explained their function, and what they did in tandem to the other sections of the globe. Throughout his explanation Nilonii remained silent, so much so that Sil had momentarily forgotten that she was sitting directly next to him. Upon realising this he turned his head towards her to ask if she had any questions, and was met with the sight of her swaying in her seat, attempting to fight off encroaching slumber.
“Perhaps we should finish this tomorrow?” Sil suggested, watching as his words sobered Nilonii from sleep.
“No! No… m’ fine, please carry on.”
“You’re slurring your words, Nilonii.”
She shot him a glare. Sil huffed in response, the corners of his mouth ever so slightly raised as he resumed his lesson. But this time, he periodically glanced over at Nilonii, watching as her form was whittled down by exhaustion. At one point he was sure she was asleep, but through the strands of her hair he saw that her eyes were still stubbornly affixed upon the star-sphere. It was then that he decided to take a new approach to the situation, and began to gently hum as he started re-attaching the globe’s side panel.
Within an instant he felt a dull impact on his shoulder. The sound of humming was clearly too powerful an opponent in Nilonii’s battle against sleep, one which Sil recognised as being doomed from the moment she entered his workshop - and she had every intention of losing. She slept with such depth that it made even the unwelcoming hardness of his arm appear as though it were the most comfortable place for anyone to lay their head, and Sil resolved to let her rest there as long as she needed. As he resumed his work on the revolving wheels of the star-sphere, he pondered the question of where he would store the memory that he was currently living in; ultimately deciding that it would be best preserved in his mind.