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Out in the middle of nowhere, their cart serves as a comfortable enough makeshift bed after a day's travel, with plenty of soft furs lining the wood and Professor Oru’s fire to keep the four of them warm, while the great outdoors themselves offer a pleasant breeze and a shroud of almost complete darkness across the plains.
All in all, one couldn't ask for better conditions to sleep in, given their current circumstances – and Agott is sleepy. Weary to her bones and with heavy eyes that refuse to stay open, sleep isn't far from claiming her, and no wonder about that; all of them spent the entirety of the last night awake and on their feet, fighting for their lives, not to mention all the nights previously spent awake in preparation for the Silver Eve Night's procession.
And yet some part of her heart remains restless, some kind of deep-set unease coiling in her gut and rampantly gnawing away at her mind, keeping even the sweet comfort of sleep at bay.
Then suddenly she feels rustling right by her side, and fear runs down her spine as she opens her eyes, only to see Coco lying on her back, awake and staring listlessly at the starlit sky.
Her chest hurts at the sight.
With a deep breath to gather her courage, she lets her eyes follow Coco's gaze skywards, taking in the sight of the bright stars that shine upon them. “They sure are beautiful, aren't they?” she whispers into the night.
Coco tenses at the sudden words, before slowly turning over to her side. And for all that their eyes meet in that moment, Coco's gaze seems to be set at something that lies far beyond the two of them. “Agott… what are you up so late for?”
“For taking my time and appreciating more wonderful sights than just magic,” Agott simply states, but she isn't looking at the stars anymore. Not at all. “I learned that lesson a little too late, you see, so now I've got a lot of catching up to do. But that's enough about me.” She unflinchingly meets the far off look in Coco's eyes. “What about you?”
A lone tear quietly rolls down Coco's cheek, and Agott gently wipes it away. Coco's skin feels ice cold to touch under her hand.
“Oh, Coco…”
“I'm scared,” is all Coco says, all that she can say, her eyes glistening as they well up with even more tears. “I'm scared…”
“Of course you are. So many terrible things have happened in a single night, and to you in particular.” Agott carefully cups Coco's face in her hand, mindful of her injury. “Anyone would be scared after that, Coco. I am scared too, and barely anything even happened to me. We're all scared. So, if you… If you want to talk about it, I'm right here. I'll listen.”
“I want to!” Coco exclaims. Her bottom lip quivers, and Agott can feel her shaking. “There are so many things I want to say, but…” She grips her wrist tightly, a recent habit. But the bracelet around her wrist that had appeared along with that habit is now gone. So is Tartah. And so is the light in Coco's eyes, which eats away at Agott more than anything. “I don't know how. I don't know where to begin, what to say. I don't know how to put everything into words, I can't – ” she covers her mouth to muffle the sound of her sobs. “Please. I want to tell you everything, but I can't, not right now. You'll... you'll have to wait. Will you wait until I can speak of it?”
“Of course. It's such an easy request,” Agott softly replies, echoing a conversation from another night that now feels as distant as another lifetime, as she pulls Coco closer to her. Her face now buried against Agott's shoulder, Coco's sobs intensify even further. “Hey. I’ll wait as long as it takes, okay?”
Now, Agott hesitates – comforting others isn't something that comes naturally to her, that is more of Tetia's domain, and Coco's. Her own attempt feels awkward and clunky in comparison, but for Coco's sake, she is willing to push forth.
She pulls the furs back over the two of them until the soft fluff is tickling their chins, bringing them back into the comforting pocket of warmth. Pressing her cheek on the top of Coco's head, she rubs the inconsolable girl's back. “Hush, now,” she soothes. “It's all over. Everything's fine now. We're going home now.”
Coco's breath hitches at the words. “Everything's fine,” Agott repeats. “Everything’s fine, and we'll be home soon. It's alright – let it all out and let yourself rest now, Coco. You've done more than enough.”
Coco's arms wind around Agott, desperately clinging to her with all the strength the exhausted girl can muster, and Agott finds herself mirroring the motion.
This is how Coco ends up falling asleep once she has run out of tears to shed, and how Agott finds herself nodding off soon afterwards, underneath the starlit sky, with Coco's face tucked into the crook of Agott's neck.
They sleep until the sun is burning high and bright over their heads, but even as they stir and open their bleary eyes, Professor Oru's hazy outline quickly shows up to shush them and insist that they sleep a little longer, and with the sunlight soon being replaced by shade, they are quite happy to oblige.