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Izutsumi’s starting to think she could get used to this new party.
Though she could do without the dwarf always forcing things into her diet, and the tiny one’s excessive nagging, and the tallman’s.. overall freakiness.
Then, there was the elf.
She worries too easily and dotes way too much. It makes Izutsumi feel—well, she doesn’t know what to describe it as but she doesn’t like it. Party dynamics aside, right now her biggest issue is sleep. Before joining them, she had been crawling into Tade’s futon every night. It was always the perfect amount of warm without being suffocating, and despite Tade’s size, there was always just enough room for her to sleep comfortably in.
Now all she does is lay restlessly, tossing and turning alone in her futon. Halfway through the third night Izutsumi decides to just cut her losses. It’s not like they were all much stronger than she was. If they decided her sleeping habits were worth killing over, she could definitely take them all in a fight.
She surveys the four bedrolls before deciding to start with little one. His bedroll leaves the most room for her out of them all. She crawls over and slips under the covers. It’s warm, just like Tade’s. It might be even better than Tade’s futon, actually. The half-foot’s small size left even more room for Izutsumi to stretch and curl around as she pleased. She goes to sleep hugging him like one would a stuffed animal, and dreams of lazing around back at the Nakamoto estate.
Hours later, the tiny one— Chilchuck, she finally recalls, wakes her up with a string of foreign curses and immediately kicks her out.
Her rating of the experience would be an all around ten out of ten if she ignores his irritability. What a pity, his bedroll seemed so perfect.
The party leader seems to notice her crestfallen attitude after getting kicked out, and offers up his bedroll for sharing. She decides to give spending the night with …Laios a try, and while not uncomfortable, the experience is soured just because it's Laios.
When she wakes, he gives her a hearty slap on the back, and tells her he enjoyed the company. The thought of him enjoying her company makes her gag.
She tries sleeping with the elf, Marcille, next, and is almost turned off by the fact that her enthusiasm about it is just as bad as, if not worse than, Laios’.
“If you’re having trouble sleeping, maybe staying with me could help.” She says as they all set up their bedrolls. “I used to sleep in the same bed with Falin almost every night at the academy, to help her sleep, and—“ Izutsumi stops her there. She doesn’t really care about the details, she just wants one restful night.
The experience is hard to describe. Everything was pretty much perfect. Nice and warm, just enough space for her to move around, and an undisruptive bedmate.
There’s just one thing.
For some reason, she wakes up the next morning completely exhausted. It’s an irritating, unexplainable fatigue that she’s never experienced before. One that makes her chest feel heavy and completely hollow at the same time. She wakes up before the party’s earliest risers, in a cold sweat and completely out of breath. She knows, somehow, that it’s because of her dream, despite the fact that she can’t remember what exactly it was that she dreamt about during her sleep.
Later, after Senshi begins to prepare some breakfast for them all, Marcille stretches herself up and out of bed. “How was your sleep?” She asks Izutsumi, eyes shining in a way that makes her feel so..
“Terrible.” She says bluntly. “I think I’ll just go back to sleeping with Chilchuck.”
“What!?” He cries from his place on the floor.
“Aw. And I was looking forward to having a new bedmate.” Marcille sighs
Chilchuck glares at Izutsumi, “You can’t just decide on something like that on your own!”
She pretends she doesn’t hear him.
“Was it really that bad?” Asks Marcille later in the day.
Izutsumi takes a moment to register what she’s talking about, then snickers a little when she realizes.
“Yeah, I’d rather sleep with Laios again than you.”
Marcille looks genuinely scandalized at that. “LAIOS?”
“Yes?” He asks from the front of the group, oblivious.
Marcille ignores him. “Do I snore or something, is that it? Do I talk in my sleep?” She seems so desperate to know, it makes Izutsumi want to mess with her.
“Why does it matter?” She shrugs. Marcille’s eye seems to twitch.
“There’s no way you prefer Laios over me!”
She doesn’t, but nothing’s wrong with telling a little white lie for her own enjoyment.
She decides to try spending their next night with Senshi to see how it goes. He’s warm, even warmer than Chilchuck. Apparently, all dwarves run hot. His body is sturdy and hard— another apparent trait all dwarves possess. It’s not too bad, but it takes a while for her to eventually drift off into sleep. She tries to imagine she’s napping on a large rock on a warm, sunny afternoon.
Three hours later Izutsumi finds herself lying awake once again, surprisingly not due to Senshi. (Her verdict is that his body is too hard and smelly to get any good rest). No, she had woken up to the sounds of quiet sobbing.
She meant to wait for the perfect moment to sneak into Chilchuck’s bedroll, but retreated once she heard the elf. At first Izutsumi was hoping to just wait until she finally quieted down, but Marcille has been at it for what seems like hours.
When she’s finally had enough, she rolls off of Senshi and slinks over to where Marcille lay. “Stop crying!” She whisper-exclaims, “What’s wrong with you!?”
Marcille’s face only crumples in response, and fresh tears stream from her eyes.
Izutsumi awkwardly rubs her hands against Marcille’s eyelids in an attempt to stop them.
“Stop crying..” she whispers again, with less heat.
Marcille continues to hiccup through her tears as Izutsumi attempts to soothe her by petting her head. It’s a gesture she remembers being done to her when she would cry. Although her memory is too foggy to remember exactly who would do it.
When the sobs subside, Izutsumi moves to crawl into Chilchuck’s bedroll. “Finally!” She all but cheers aloud. But, before she can get out, a hand grabs onto hers. Ugh. The stupid elf is always bothering her.
Izutsumi tries to shake her off, but then she looks down to see Marcille’s pained expression. Then she glances, longingly, at Chilchuck’s bedroll. Izutsumi makes a show of sighing and rolling her eyes despite nobody being awake to actually witness it. Then, she lifts Marcille’s blanket and gets in bed with her. She can feel how tense her own body is, and tries to even her breathing to relax a little.
As soon as she settles, two arms immediately wrap around her.
Izutsumi’s fur stands up. “Hey-“ Marcille presses her face against Izutsumi’s back.
“Ew! You’re wetting me!” Izutsumi growls
Then, “Falin… I’m sorry for leaving you..”
Izutsumi deflates at that. The arms around her start loosen and she wriggles enough to face Marcille. She’s not crying anymore, only a few small hiccups manage to make their way past her lips. Izutsumi leans forward and pushes Marcille’s bangs away from her face. Her brows slowly unfurrow, and her breathing becomes a little more steady. She watches her for a moment more, before nestling herself into the elf’s chest. She guesses trying this again wouldn’t hurt.
“———? ———! “
She hears a muffled voice calling out to her. She can’t quite make out what it is they’re saying, but she’s sure it’s her name.
Izutsumi slowly blinks awake, vision adjusting to the brightness surrounding her.
Oh.
She’s laying on somebody’s lap.
“…Marcille.”
The elf’s hair is done half up, and the rest spills down her shoulders, tickling Izutsumi’s face.
“Are you awake now?” Her voice sounds so far away. “Come, let’s look for food.”
Izutsumi can understand her, but her voice has such an odd, foreign quality to it that she can’t quite place.
“What about the others? Where are they?” She normally wouldn’t bother asking. Wouldn’t even bother worrying in the first place, but something about the current situation makes her wonder.
Marcille doesn’t answer, instead taking Izutsumi by the hand and gently pulling her along. And Izutsumi, too tired to ask again, lets her.
The sun is bright above them, and the way the light shines down on Marcille’s long hair is blinding. Izutsumi wonders how long she had been asleep for the sun to be so high in the sky already.
Izutsumi’s thoughts are interrupted by her bumping into Marcille, who’s stopped infront of a large tunnel.
Izutsumi stretches leisurely, then yawns. “Marcille, where are we going?”
She continues on, forwards into the tunnel. She isn’t holding Izutsumi’s hand anymore.
“Marcille..?” Izutsumi calls, weakly.
She can’t see the expression on Marcille’s face. All she sees is inky black hair swaying behind her as she walks.
“I can’t.. I can’t sleep alone!”
Something really isn’t right. It shouldn’t be this bright in the dungeon. She wants to run after her, but her feet— why can’t she move? The tunnel seems to stretch further and further in front of her. “Please don’t leave me here!”
But she can't see her anymore.
“Please come back..” she cries “Mom!”
Izutsumi jolts, suddenly, grasping at her chest and breathing heavily. There’s a comforting weight on top of her head, and Izutsumi realizes that it’s Marcille’s hand.
Izutsumi’s entire face heats up. She made such a big deal out of not ever sleeping next to Marcille again, and yet here she is. It’s pathetic.
She needs to get out of this bedroll. She should have just gone straight to Chilchuck— Actually, any one of them would have done. Maybe if she burrowed under the mass of Senshi’s beard, she wouldn’t have had to hear the sounds of Marcille’s stupid crying.
She tries to will her heart to stop pounding so quickly, and her ears to stop from ringing so loudly.
Actually, she just needs to get out of here. She should just ditch this party. She doesn’t need them. They’re way too slow and weak anyway-
“What’s wrong Izutsumi?” Marcille says. Then Izutsumi suddenly registers the comforting hand on her shoulder, and the warm hand cupping her cheek. The sounds of her heart pounding start to slow as she follows the rhythm of Marcille’s breathing. Marcille swipes her thumb under Izutsumi’s eye. “You’re crying…”
So now she’s the one crying?
Izutsumi tries to smirk. She almost wants to bring up how hard Marcille was crying last night. Then remembers her dream. No. Her nightmare? Something warm. Someone warm, used to hold her like this. But she can’t remember. It’s so frustrating. Why can’t she—
“Izutsumi?”
“Get off!” She swipes at Marcille’s hand.
“Ouch! Hey, your claws!” Marcille cries as Izutsumi tears away from her and walks off.
It bothers her. That she can’t quite remember what happened in her dream. Only that she had never felt more restless in her life.
She makes a mental note to never sleep with Marcille again.