Chapter Text
The room was pitch black with the dead of night. Soft whimpers and warbles ebb from a lump on the couch, audible even if muffled by blankets. The young princess tosses and turns in her sleep, caught in a small nightmare.
Faster. She had to run faster and faster down the empty rail tunnels. She couldn't let them get to her again. Dashing around corners, sliding through gates, jumping off ledges… no matter what she did, twisted minty green hands reached to grab her arms and drag her backwards. A remix she had never heard before played around her… it reminds her of her father's music, but more distorted and sharp with staccato as she hurled herself off the side in a desperate attempt to flee.
Someone stood there at the ledge where she was… she saw herself, looking disappointed at what she was. Shame filled her eyes, and a scowl painted her face… but was it really her face? Or what she thought she was? Everything came zooming back into focus as she careened further down and was about to hit the bottom when…
Octavia yelps quietly, sitting up in a flop sweat. She breathes heavily… before suddenly a familiar churning runs through her body and her face turns a soft teal. She rushes down the hall, dipping into a small room across from the guest bedroom without a word.
Some time passes… and she emerges once more from the room, a handkerchief in hand to wipe her face off. Her tentacles droop and wiggle in discomfort, a very quiet groan from her lips. "...I seriously need to talk to Ahni about this… mouth feels and tastes like shit…" That's when the sound of rattling can be heard from the kitchen. "...mm…?" She goes to investigate, finding a large mass reaching painfully behind the microwave. They grumble, having trouble getting to the plug. She stands next to the doorway.
Her eyes slowly adjust to the low light, revealing Tav, still in his clothes from before and compulsively trying to pry the appliance out from its spot. Eventually, he gets it out with a quiet hiss. "...Fucking shell that took forever. Hopefully this’ll be strong enough to–" He turns to see her sclera glowing a solid lime green, dotted with mauved irises, not unlike his own. The intense gaze is surprising enough to startle him sharply, actively flinching as a small yelp tumbles from his throat like a strangled scream, sending the appliance tumbling to his feet.
Recovering very quickly, he hisses and narrows his eyes, “What the fuck kid, don’t startle me like that.”
"...Sorry."
He turns to pick up the microwave, and then… pauses, looking back at her with clear confusion, “...Wait. Why are you awake?”
She hides the handkerchief behind her, trying to deflect. "....I-It's complicated…"
His sharp eyes glare at her, similarly shimmering in the darkness, “Right…”
With a distrusting huff, he wraps the power cord around the handle of the microwave and picks it up, shouldering past her. “You better not be up to anything, kid,” he all but growls, pushing open the doors to the garden, “If I find you you’ve harmed one tentacle of theirs…”
".... Admittedly I'd be more worried that you're not taking care of yourself… Not that I'm one to talk." Via groans, gripping her head with a warble as she lays back on the couch, shutting her eyes and trying to relax.
For the briefest of moments, Tav’s glare softens, only to be quickly brushed off as he exits the room silently.
The night was still young.