Chapter Text
☆
You feel all the crusties and sleep in your eye as you turn over in bed.
Ugh, you hate mornings, just because you have to wake up and actually get ready, to be productive.
It would be better if you could laze in bed all day, especially with your family, your friends.
Just the image makes you smile fondly.
You try to open your eye, getting up from the bed before you’re assaulted with pain.
Ouch!
Your eye stings, aggravated by the smallest sliver of sunlight passing through. Your head feels like it’s just been cracked open, the pain shooting up into what felt like your brain.
You groaned, testing your vision again as you opened your eye.
Slowly this time.
You actually get it open and can see, but the light is still very assaulting and aggravating.
Great.
Like you needed your eyesight to get any worse than it already is.
You groan again, throwing yourself back onto the plush bed, only to grimace whenever your head explodes in tiny bursts of pain.
Right, you forgot about that little detail. Stars, this is gonna be rough.
But!
You know yourself and your limits. You’ll be able to push through. You just have to tough it out. You got this.
You also have to be normal, which is a bit hard since the whole…looping thing.
You shake off the feeling, you got this. You can pretend just fine for a day. No big deal.
☆
Stars, maybe you should just take the sick day.
Your entire body actually hurts, especially whenever you stand in place for a bit. Your feet start to tingle, before your legs tingle. There were unfortunately many times you almost collapsed just while getting ready.
Embarrassing.
You took the time you needed to get ready, however you felt worse somehow. You thought it was maybe just a waking sickness or something. Something that was going to go away as soon as you woke up.
However, it’s still here and you’re already exhausted.
Somehow, your usual, but slow, routine to get ready has you wanting to fall asleep on the floor.
You groaned again, resting your head in your hands. Today is going to suck. Oh well. You don’t have the time to dilly dally all you want.
Isabeau has been working on designs that people have requested (his very first jobs actually. He’s been very nervous and excited. You know he’ll do a great job). So he’s actually awake and busy.
Mirabelle isn’t really working like Isabeau, but she’s been studying and trying to figure out new crafts. Which makes her busy as well. She might also be going to this town's House later in order to talk to all the Housemaidens. About what, you have no clue.
Bonnie and Petronille are both working on cooking all day, as well as training. (You had offered to train Bonbon properly this time, something you blinding messed up on the last loop possible. They obviously took the opportunity and they enjoyed it, however Petronille thought it was best to take over. You try not to feel any emotions about it other than joy. Bonnie should get the time to spend with their sister. It's been awhile since they were actually around each other).
Anyway, Bonnie is going to be busy all day. Petronille will be too, as they also have other adult things that she’ll want to do throughout the day. Also, you’re not exactly friends yet. So, there’s that.
Odile. Usually she goes to antique shops and writes in her journal. You don’t actually know what she’ll be doing. She likes to sit and relax, especially with her “old” bones. Maybe you could go on a secret quest and then do a bunch of work around town after?
You feel yourself smile at the thought. Yes, sounds good. You go to take a step when you crash to the floor.
Short conclusion, floors hurt.
You curse, realizing you stood still for too long. You try to push yourself up, desperately trying to ignore the headache and the body aches and failing. (Your entire body is pulsing and it feels like there is a fire inside. Not good).
There’s a knock at the door that you are right in front of. You somehow scramble up fast enough to be standing, holding onto the dresser. (You thank the Universe, Change, Expressions, whatever is out there for putting this dresser right here. You might have not been able to stay standing).
You mumble out that you’re decent and that whoever is out there can come in. The door opens and it’s Odile. Fantastic! (She almost caught you on the floor like a pathetic weakling, and she definitely would figure you out and send you back to bed).
“Are you alright? I heard some commotion up here,” She stated. You made that much noise?
“Yeah, sorry. I tripped. Over my feet. Like, a really big trip,” You said. You can feel your cheeks warm from the utter embarrassment. Odile just chuckles though before speaking again.
“Would you like to go on a secret quest with me? I can imagine it’s been a long time since you’ve had that opportunity, and I do miss the outings we had,” Odile asked. You remain frozen a bit shocked.
Oh. Oh okay. Part one done! She did the easy part of asking for you! You nod your head, trying to not seem too eager, but Odile just smirked at you before laughing.
You curse as your cheeks grow warmer. Stars she noticed.
It’s not your fault you enjoy being with your family. They bring you undeniable amounts of joy. You sigh, slowly moving before the pain is mostly gone and you walk down the stairs. (Blinding stars! Remind yourself to never walk on stairs while your body literally wants to betray you. It sucks!)
☆
Okay, act super cool.
Sure, it hurts to walk, every step sending literal pins and needles of pain shooting through you. Your head is also pounding and aching, the sun and natural light a bit too much for your one eye.
You try not to make it obvious, but you feel your body flinching and wincing every few steps, or with every glance into the sky.
So, you just mainly focus on the antique stores and what you could buy. It takes away most of your body’s pain, especially if it’s ignored.
Odile doesn’t find much, other than some diamonds that she enjoys the color and shapes of. She buys them and even more diamond-esque accessories. When you asked what it was for, she just smiled and said Isabeau.
Oh, for any future designs she wants him to make. That’s smart actually. Maybe you could look for something like that.
Somehow, this town has a few antique shops so you guys walk into another.
You browse looking for star accessories or even just anything relating to stars.
You find some diamonds that almost resemble simple stars, but you don’t think it would fit any designs very well. You even try to find some circle ones, but there’s nothing. You pout.
Well, this blinding sucks. You haven’t found a lick of any possible accessories that you would like. Of course, stars aren’t really a big thing in Vaugaurde, but it still aches your soul.
You sigh, walking through the rest of the store, looking through books. When you notice that Odile is not around, you sit and take a quick break, breathing in and out before pretending like normal again.
Unfortunately, this little secret quest bears no fruits. You weren’t able to find anything you actually wanted to buy. Odile got super lucky though. You had to wait near the counter with her as she bought her selection.
It was taking a bit longer than you expected and you couldn’t stay still for too long, so you started swaying to the side, barely pacing.
You try to hide another wince, but Odile glances at you from the side.
Oh. Oh stars.
Does she know? Does she know that something is utterly wrong with you, and that she won’t want to be your friend anymore?
Will she hate you for thinking that you could just lie and pretend about being fine?
You feel your heart ache in tandem with your body, legs, and head.
You need to calm down. She doesn’t hate you. It’s probably weird to see you fidget so much. You usually like to stand in place. Makes you very good at being quiet.
You breathe in and out, clenching your fists tight into a ball as you calm yourself. You feel better, as better as you can be considering how hurt you are.
Odile turns to you, before squinting.
“Are you alright? You don’t normally move around that much, Siffrin. One could say you’re a bit on edge,” Odile asked. Her eyes shined with sincerity and a bit of worry.
Uh oh. She’s worried. Play it cool.
“I guess I’m just a bit more energetic than usual. Probably excited to go around town,” You supplied. She smiled, shaking her head before gathering her things and heading out the door.
“Well, that concludes all I had planned for the evening. If you would like to relax at any moment, I’ll be reading some more of the stories that Mirabelle has recommended, if you would like to join of course,” Odile offered. You simply declined and you both parted ways.
Okay. You’re fine.
Your body is aching and feels like someone is poking thousands of needles through you, and your head feels like someone just bashed it in with a large hammer. (Even larger than Petronille’s, and hers is humongous).
You breathe in and out.
Better get a move on before your body decides to give out on you.
☆
As you walked around the town, you offered help to anyone that needed it.
There were simple tasks like helping a family with simple chores or even helping cut up some wood for a bonfire. (you’ve never actually been to one, but it sounds nice. Sitting by a warm fire, with your family, watching the stars. It’s very nice).
Of course, you weren’t one to shy away from harder tasks either. You were helping someone move some really heavy bags, before your body felt awfully numb and light. You would have nearly tumbled to the ground, hadn’t you caught yourself and stood up immediately.
The man you were helping was shocked, and he had asked if you needed to rest a bit.
Internally, you knew you needed to. You had almost fainted and fallen face first into the ground. However, you wanted to be stubborn today and told him you were fine.
You pushed past your limits and completed even more than you originally volunteered for. It felt great! (Not for your body that was screaming out in exhaustion but it was fine, you were fine).
You walked a few blocks away from the man’s house before nearly collapsing on a bench.
Your body was on fire. You sighed, feeling your limbs twitching on their own from pain and overuse.
You know you could do these things. Did the overuse and obsessive use of such strong craft really damage your body that much?
You remember the Head Housemaiden, Euphrasie, mention something about it. She had said that you were so incredibly lucky that all the craft build hadn't actually incapacitated you. Like permanently. Forever.
Honestly, the thought scared you just a bit. To be stuck in a bed forever, unable to actually move around or do something useful.
…
Maybe taking a bit of a break is good for right now. You guess that it's better to rest and still having the ability to move rather than pushing yourself until you collapse, unable to do anything. Yeah, resting seems like the best option.
However, you still have a bit of sunlight to burn before it's actually night. You could just gently, very carefully, walk around the town before going back to the inn. Sure, it's not actually working or helping anyone to just be walking around. But you also guess it's better than just taking up space.
You sigh, sinking further into the bench and closing your eyes.
It actually feels nice to sit and catch your breath for a second.
The bench that you ended up choosing is surprisingly very relaxing? You're able to relax a lot more than you're used to, and it's far too confusing to understand. Maybe there was some kind of craft imbued into the wood to make it more comfortable to sit on?
You open your eyes, feeling the ache and burn in your limbs actually start to cease. The headache you've had all day is still there, still nagging behind your eyes with sharp pain. But you feel a lot more relaxed.
The wind is nice, and the birds are nice to listen to. You're far enough away from other people that they aren't grating on your nerves. (You wish people didn't give you such a kick and bite response. The unreasonable amounts of anxiety you feel thinking of the idea of talking to someone literally makes you wanna run far, far away. It's so silly, and incredibly irritating).
You shuffle around the seat, sitting up straighter. You take a breath in, letting it out slowly after. Alright. Game plan.
Just take a walk around. No extra work that could potentially strain your weakened body.
You remember your family mentioning that there was a market or something similar. Maybe you could walk around there? Check out the stalls and see if there's anything you could get for everyone else?
You smile, slowly standing up and getting your bearings. Your legs tingle with a faint pain, but you smile nevertheless. Yes, you've decided. It sounds like the market is stealing the rest of the day from you.
Now that you know what you're doing, you start to move one foot in front of the other. A smile graces your face. You're weirdly excited at the idea of looking through the market.
It doesn't take as long as you think. Sure, the town is a bit on the smaller side, but you were literally only fifteen steps away. It wasn't a big market like you had expected, just a bunch of townspeople trading items and tourists buying little gadgets and accessories.
You take your time, looking through each and every tent. You end up spending some coins on a wood carving set. You had needed the newer tools anyway. There were even some tools you didn't have last time. There's quite a few ideas you're already starting to have.
You continue to explore the area, trying to ignore the subtle burning of your legs and the mind-crushing headache.
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