Private to Osomatsu

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus makes sure Puck is settled well in the garden before heading to bed. For tonight, Hydrangea seems to have decided to stay with the giant moth and make sure he feels safe. Franciscus doesn't mind that much, and he actually has a smile on his face as he slips off to sleep...

...only to wake up with a strangled yell.

He leans forward, breathing hard and looking around desperately. No one's here, it seems...but still, he can't sleep. It's as if there's something lurking around every corner, every door. He ends up summoning a small sphere of flame carefully, slowly walking towards Osomatsu's room and gently knocking at the door.]

Osomatsu? It's me, Franciscus...

Comments

[relieable]

[Osomatsu is only dozing lightly. he doesn't... really sleep much these days, because of the nightmares. he's also been a little bit cranky since seeing Choromatsu in the crystal ball.

one eye opens, and he pushes himself up on bed]

Come in. [he calls softly, not wanting to wake anyone else up]

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus crawls in, still breathing hard.]

Ah...sorry, did I wake you? [Osomatsu was on the "right" side, after all, so maybe he didn't get any nightmares? Or at least not from the older steward himself.]

[relieable]

[he rubs his eyes tiredly, but then takes notice of Franciscus' state. immediately he is up, trying to get closer to him, to help him sit down on the bed]

I'm fine... What happened to you?

[silvertongueheir]

It...it appears the elder of those two stewards can also be vindictive when he fails to win. He simply prefers to torment people with nightmares instead. [It felt so real...he rubs his chest where the proboscis pierced him.]

[relieable]

[what?]

The Elder Steward? He gave you a nightmare?

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus nods.] At least, the nightmare had him in it, and he seemed quite mad about losing the vote. And it revealed...he had a proboscis of some sort under that cloak. [Franciscus is still holding a hand over his chest, as if trying to hold back the imaginary blood flow.] Which...he used to stab me, and drink my blood.

[He shudders, again, leaning against Osomatsu.] It-it felt so real...

[relieable]

[oh. ew. that is certainly a nightmare. Osomatsu brings his arm around, folding it so that his hand can pet Franciscus' hair]

Like a mosquito. [he shakes his head] You're fine, now, though, right? You're still here...

[silvertongueheir]

[Mmmm, hair-petting. Franciscus leans into the touch, relaxing somewhat.]

I am...it still makes me nervous, though. I thought we'd determined he was a vampire at that meeting on Tuesday, and I suppose I just assumed he'd be the kind with fangs.

[relieable]

Wouldn't it be scarier if he had fangs, though? If he did, he'd be suckin' on your neck.

[his eyebrow twitches. bleh, what is this image he's put into his own mind?]

[silvertongueheir]

Ah...I suppose that's also true. [Neck bites can be sexy under the right circumstances, but no way he's thinking about the stewards that way.] But still...it makes me wonder how much more different he is from the vampire stories we know. His weaknesses might also be completely different...

[relieable]

[he threads his fingers through Franciscus' hair, pushing that weird thought out of his head]

So you really think the stewards are vampires?

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus leans in closer, slumping on Osomatsu's shoulder and reaching out to take his other hand. He's still a bit tired from that nightmare, after all.]

It...is seeming more and more likely, isn't it? Ambrosine and Eric both seem convinced, though I suppose it could be less them having experience and more them looking to vampires as the first explanation for anything.

[relieable]

Mmn. I don't really... talk to the Stewards all that much. Maybe others know more information about them. Maybe we should just come out and ask them what they are.

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus nods.] Actually...Eric said the younger one told him the older was a blood-drinker, didn't he? Perhaps they'll be more inclined to spread information about each other.

[relieable]

Oh... Yeah, I wonder if we could pit them against each other that way...

[silvertongueheir]

[He winces a little, remembering how Akko said that as well, but decides not to mention her for now.] We know some of the things they have split opinions on, already. Perhaps we could distract them the next time they both appear with a discussion on genres of music or something of the sort.

[relieable]

[he nods, pleased]

Yeah, get 'em fighting. Even if they don't set us free, they might at least give us more information.

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus actually manages a slight smile at that.] Maybe we can even turn their voting game around on them and pretend we want them to be a tiebreaker for our group on something.

[relieable]

[he drops his arm, gripping Franciscus' shoulder now, giving him a squeeze]

Sounds like a plan. They wanna play games with us, so why don't we play?

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus chuckles as well, a grin spreading across his face.] Oh, I'm sure we can make them regret messing with us. [He squeezes Osomatsu's hand back.]

[relieable]

[a devious plan! but, then, they have to do whatever they can to survive. who was it that said this was a battle of wits? Krone, he thinks...]

For now, you wanna try sleeping? You think you can?

[they probably... shouldn't be wandering around outside their room, considering what night it is]

[silvertongueheir]

I think I'll be able to sleep, if you're nearby. I hope you don't mind me staying the night? [He moves up from where he's leaning on Osomatsu's shoulder to nuzzle at his cheek.]

[relieable]

Like I would mind.

[cuddling is super awesome! he's all for it. besides, Franciscus needs him. those big brother instincts kick in when that happens]

You just wake me up if you need me. Or even if you just wanna talk. [it's not like he's been sleeping any better]

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus nods.] Of course. [And now that he's been given permission, he's stopped stifling his yawning, but he does lean in to give Osomatsu another quick kiss before starting to lie down.]

Good night. [He feels like he sleeps a little better when Osomatsu is with him, even when he hasn't been having weirdly realistic vampire mosquito dreams.]

[relieable]

Night.

[for now, Osomatsu says sitting up in bed. he's... a little antsy, thinking about vampires now. maybe he'll just watch over Franciscus as he sleeps for a while, petting his hair]

[silvertongueheir]

[Franciscus mutters a little and lifts an arm to try and tug Osomatsu into lying down next to him, but it's pretty half-hearted. The hair-stroking is enough to get him to slowly relax, and he soon finds himself starting to fall asleep again. Hopefully whatever happens, the elder steward won't show up.]