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Break days.
Everyone needs them. After a long session, sometimes you just need time to relax until the stress of surviving returns.
Except this break is not going as planned for Cleo.
She was annoyed about the Tango heart situation, of course, but she was willing to look past it. They didn’t know why that stupid name was what pushed her over the edge, but it was just so dumb she couldn’t deal with it or them any longer.
So Cleo marched her way over to Etho’s and gave him a golden apple to seal the deal.
But sitting in their bed, they now know why they’ve felt so much more pissed off. Why everything has just felt like too much.
Her period.
Etho making that sheep farm (though it could hardly be considered a farm) was truly a godsend, as it allowed her to make pads out of the wool.
But the cramps gnawing at her stomach could not be helped, unfortunately. Being only one session in meant nobody had any means to make potions, let alone a heating pad or pain medicine. They sigh, resigning themself to a break spent in pain.
Cleo hobbles off the bed and digs through the few chests that have been used, searching for anything that could help in the slightest.
There is nothing, to nobody’s surprise.
Maybe she should’ve stayed at Lizzie’s. Lizzie would probably have something to help.
But the last time Lizzie participated in one of these games they burnt her house down and made numerous threats on her life, so she doubts she’d be welcome. Cleo drags herself back to the bed, flopping down on it miserably.
(She knows that’s silly and Lizzie would happily help her, but with her brain all messed up with emotions and pain she can’t bear the thought of risking rejection.)
The poorly made bedsheets are digging into her skin, and her hair is crawling on her shoulders, and the rattling of a skeleton nearby is grinding down on her eardrums like it just wants them to cry.
The redhead tosses and turns but just can’t get comfortable. All she wants is to sleep away all the discomfort and the ache in her gut but the relief evades her.
At least nobody is here to witness their misery.
“Cleo!”
Shit.
She quickly sits up, regretting it as a wave of pain absolutely slams into her.
They try to keep the grimace off their face, “Hi, Etho,” Her skin feels like it is raw and on fire as the blanket slides off her. “What’s up?”
Etho does not appear to buy her act. He raises an eyebrow, “Are you okay?”
They suck in another breath as more pain builds in her stomach. “I’m fine.” Cleo crosses her arms to stop herself from doubling over. Etho crosses his arms back and leans against the gravel wall.
“…Sure.” The skeptical look does not leave his face as he crosses the room to dig through a chest.
This is fine. Everything is fine. She just needs to stay calm until he leaves, then the wallowing in misery can carry on.
After what seems like years, Etho stands back up and places whatever he needed into his inventory. He gives Cleo a hard stare for a few seconds then walks out the door without saying goodbye. Rude.
She slides back down under the scratchy covers, hair tangling as it’s dragged. It feels like there is a fire raging in her gut that is fighting to escape. They shut their eyes and squeeze them tight when tears start to fall, because the pain is just so much and she’s so tired and this just isn’t fair.
She’s a walking corpse for void’s sake, shouldn’t this have gone away by now?
Time passes by in a blur and Cleo was able to get a wink of sleep, cramps having retreated just enough for her to rest for a moment. It feels like it’s been years and only mere seconds when Etho returns from his adventure.
They’ve buried themself under a nice cocoon of blankets, warm enough to alleviate a bit of the pain, so they don’t plan on coming out when her name is called.
Someone has other plans, unfortunately.
A hand lifts the covers off of her to reveal a ball of red hair and pale green skin. She glares at them, because how dare they ruin her fort.
One blue and one red eye wrinkle, proving Etho’s stupid face is smiling under his mask.
“I gotcha something,” He speaks quietly. She would appreciate the thought if she wasn’t busy being mad at him, “You’ll like it,”
Cleo raises an eyebrow. They watch as he takes a plain white pillow out of his inventory.
“A pillow?”
“A special pillow!” Etho tosses it at her face.
Once she registers this action she’s first even more pissed. Then, her brain clocks the heat seeping out of the pillow and she’s grabbed it like a wild animal. The pillow is warm, it’s heated and feels like heaven against her torso as she hugs it as tight as she possibly can. Once Cleo’s properly crushed the pillow as close to inside her organs as she can get it, they look back to Etho.
He’s got a smug smile on his face but it doesn’t bother her as much as it should. Tears bead up in her eyes because she’s just so grateful and she’s a mess but Etho’s gone and helped her out anyways. “How… how?”
“How’d I know or how did I make it?”
Cleo glares at him. He laughs and continues, “I knew because I’ve spent enough time with Gem to know what’s up,” Etho shrugs, “I made the pillow from the leftover wool, then went over to Tango and asked him to warm it up as much as he could without burning it. It should stay warm for a while since I kept it in my inventory.”
A tear slips out and rolls down her face. They sniffle and reach an arm out to beckon the man over.
He walks over with a curious look. Cleo yanks his arm and forces him onto the bed, curling up beside him. Etho lands with an oof but doesn’t fight it.
The two settle into position, Etho half sitting upright with Cleo laying against his chest and hugging the pillow. His arm wraps around her shoulders and holds her close.
“Anything else I can do?” She can feel his chest rumble as he speaks.
“Rip out my uterus?”
Etho lets out a small laugh, shaking his head and settling into a comfortable silence.
“Thank you,” They whisper.
She can’t see Etho’s face, but she knows he’s smiling. “No problem,”
The cramps have dulled from the makeshift heating pad and suddenly she’s got no anger left. Her eyes close and she can feel a blanket being pulled over to cover them both up. Cleo finally breathes because things aren’t so overwhelming and she can finally rest.
Maybe it’s a bit odd to be cuddled up next to someone you spent the entire last season hating, but for now she wouldn’t think about it too hard. He did go through the trouble of getting a warm pillow for her.