Promises Promises/Insomnia

[imaglyphwitch]

Who: Luz and you!

What: Accepting loss and dealing with NEW problems (yay)?

When: The first week of September

Where: Check prompts for locations!



A- Cellar Door

Luz would have said she was being needless emo. After all, there was rainfall here and she was depressed, so she figured being here would match her mood. How more dramatic did you have to be? But Luz wasn't in laughing mood, and it was everything she felt like right now.

Margot wasn't coming. She knew that now, she accepted it, and accepting that meant everything else that came with it. Margot was back in her world, robbed of her ability to think and reason as a person, back to her basic instincts as a wolf. No more playing and late night talks. No more huddles with her adopted sister. No more gardening. She wouldn't even remember Luz when she was there. It would be like she was never with Luz at all.

But Luz would remember. She'd remember and know that Margot wasn't just some person who wandered and left the dream. She was the sister she never had, the girl who'd share a room with her and helped her paint it and watched Eda cook as they eagerly awaited being fed and what the next day would bring.

She'd remember, and now, in the rain, she could at least cry with her hood up, and she'd be as much a passerby as anyone. Just some shadow person passing, weeping about something or other.

Or so she thought anyway.


B- Cassandra (The Disaster House)

Luz has had some time to think, and it was finally time for her to head to the place that would be her home. It's be nice, honestly, to have a place where there were more people her age, she reasoned. Obviously living with Eda and Margot had been ideal, and after that it had been the Doctors and Vira Lorr. Now she was at a new place, and a new place required a completely new way of living and, most obvious of all, would be redecorating her new place, which was the attic upstairs.

If you were visiting or a resident yourself, you'd see Luz busy at work already trying to make this place her own. There were already several stuffed animals, although Trenchwood seemed to have it's own ideas of what was cute, so the various creatures might be a bit off putting. There were several easels in the corner, one notably a wolf friend she was missing as well as one with various witches: Azura, Miss Hardbroom and of course her beloved Eda. The curtains were pulled back and there was air rushing in, so Luz was having a bit of trouble keeping all the papers from flying away.

"Darn it! This is the fifth time!"

C- Disaster House- I don't need sleep, I need clean!


Was Luz getting a little unhinged because of her recent depression? Was she just overcompensating somehow? It was hard to tell. What one could SEE, however, was that it was the dead of night and Luz was not at all sleeping, but was instead intent on cleaning the disaster house, half mumbling to herself as she did so.

"I could tackle the living quarters, got to arrange the skulls. I don't want to get to the garden because I'll be crying again, or the greenhouse because I could probably die, or get poisoned. No good. Not going into Fern's room yet, I'll definitely die. The kitchen, YEAH! That sounds perfect!"

She had to go to the bathroom first.

"ARGH! WHY IS THERE A HOLE HERE?! VARIAN! THEY'RE JUST BATHROOMS!"


D - Drifting into Dreamspace

So after finally "convinced" to try and get some sleep, Luz finally had settled down, her omen (that was new) giving her a reproachful stare.

"I promise, I'll try!" Luz insisted, though Tempest did not look convinced. Luz blew a raspberry at the wolf and added, "thanks, you're the best" and closed her eyes, attempting to drift off. She'd been trying to do this the past few days, and doubted anything was going to happen, but figured if she couldn't sleep, she'd maybe go to the tower and get some reading done.

However, she DID drift off, just not in the way she though. For a moment, she felt a wave of color pass over her, and she figured that she was finally nodding off, but instead of that she felt light. She exhaled and felt herself leave, and for a moment, she was assuming she was unconscious.

But it was a strange feeling. She opened her eyes, and realized she was very much not awake, not quite. She was instead floating, drifting quietly down the attic steps and then out the door. She should have been freaking out, but her body felt so tired, and whatever was happening now felt NOTHING like that.

A passing though occurred to her. Maybe I should try these lamp location thingies out.

But where would she wind up?

Comments

C

[droptheious]

Sleep is not something Varian has really got much of since arriving in Trench. He's remained horribly wired and restless. He struggles with switching his brain off to sleep as it is and now that's in overdrive. It also means he's getting distracted- leaving projects half-finished. Hence the wall hole.

Having Luz and Luca in the house is really nice though, even he has to admit having more people under the roof is making the whole setting in period easier. Reaper and Fern are great, but one haunts the house like a ghost and the other doesn't really get on his case about anything like this. Sometimes, he misses the banter Glitch would through at him for making destructive additions to the house.

"I'm going to install more pipes," oh look here he is, peering in. "We might get a stronger shower flow if I do that."

They don't need this, they absolutely don't need this.

Re: C

[imaglyphwitch]

Luz leapt out of the hole, shaking the dust out of her hair. She attempted to try and seem imposing, but she stumbled slightly before fixing her stare on Varian. Also, she had bags under her eyes.

"Stronger fl-who needs that?! As long as the water is flowing, we don't need holes in the bathroom! Someone could hurt themselves! Luca could, he's probably still getting used to using it properly!"

Maybe? She was actually not too sure about that and hadn't had the chance to ask him yet.
Certainly Luz wasn't sure she wanted to know that.

"Do you even know how to properly plaster this stuff when you're done?"

[droptheious]

"Why wouldn't we need that? It would be more efficient. And I need to make holes in order to get to the pipes, I can't just levitate them out of the ground y'know."

He says that like it's the most obvious thing ever, gosh wow. And at that question, he pauses, looks up at the ceiling, ponders his answer.

"...I'm pretty sure I can muddle my way through it."

She chose to live here, she can't take it back. This is her life now.

[imaglyphwitch]

"Unless it's some kind of pressure water, we're probably good! Besides, what if we happen to go to the bathroom in the night half asleep! What if Luca did? We have to try and avoid potential death, Varian!"

Luz was trying to sound reasonable as she said this, but her face looked a deal more frenzied than usual.

"Muddle your-are you serious?! How long would it take for you to do that?"

Now Luz was beyond irritated and sounded on the verge of collapse.

[droptheious]

"...Ah. Yeah. Admittedly I didn't think about that. Probably should have put some glow-tubes around it or something."

PROBABLY. He rubs the back of his neck, raising his shoulders in a shrug.

"I don't know. Probably not that long, I'm not sleeping right now so I have a lot of spare time."

He's definitely noticed her stress, and while he kind of expected a little unsettled issues with settling in, she's a lot...More than he thought she'd be.

"Luz, are you okay? You look...really stressed out."

[imaglyphwitch]

"Probably a good idea!"

Luz would actually never sound this irritated if it weren't for the lack of sleep. Worse still, Luz was vaguely aware she was being aggressive but also trying to make sense of her actions was so HARD.

"What are you talking about? I'm the appropriate level of stress! Sure, I haven't been getting much sleep and I feel a little irritable and Margot's gone and I'm pretty sure I can't control the sound of my voice, but other than that I'm fine!"

Luz paused. "Hey wait a minute. Have you been staying up again?"

[droptheious]

"Yooooou are definitely not a regular level of stress, I don't know what all of this," he gestures at her entire self. "Is, but it's definitely not regular. It's concerning if anything. Like have you been staying up again?"

Because obviously reverse unoing her is the best way of dealing with this situation. Obviously.

"And yeah, I can't sleep, and before you ask, yes I have tried all the sleep aids, and the tower and none of it's working. I have, genuinely, tried to go to sleep. Ask Fern."

B

[schoolingfish]

Luca is also trying to redecorate, but he runs into a wall. Figuratively, anyway. Literally he just stares at it blankly for about five minutes before he realizes he has no idea what he wants to do, so he goes and finds Luz. Who is in her room working on decorating it herself.

"Hey, Luz, I had a--"

Then the papers blow across the room.

Going to pick them up, so he can hand them back to her, Luca pauses and looks at them.

"Oh, wow! These are really good!"

Re: B

[imaglyphwitch]

"Oh, hey Luca! Thanks, I needed those! They have some of my sketches for things I want to draw later, and some of the plans I want to use for my room."

So far she still wasn't even a third done with how she wanted the place to look.

"How's yours coming along?"

[schoolingfish]

"I...haven't done much. I haven't even decided what color I want the walls to be. I thought of painting my room this really pretty purply blue...then I realized the reason I liked the color was because it was the same color as Alberto's scales. And then I thought...would it be weird for someone to paint their room the same color as your scales? Assuming you had scales, I mean."

Because part of him is still hoping Alberto is going to show up, and Luca doesn't want it to seem too much like he spent the entire time thinking of Alberto.

"Maybe I should paint it sky blue. That might be nice."

[imaglyphwitch]

"Aw, really?! That could look nice! If Alberto ever comes here I'm sure he'll be super flattered! I mean, if my skin could have those kind of cool colors, of course I'd want to paint my room like that! We COULD do both though: purply blue on the wall, and sky blue ono the ceiling. OR the reverse! That's the great thing about having your own room! You get to choose!"

Luz was actually beginning to get herself even more excited for what she could do with her attic space! Thank you Luca!

"What about posters?"

[schoolingfish]

"Yeah! Oh, I hope he shows up in the Trench, that would be great!"

And he feels a lot more confident incorporating Alberto's scale colors into the color scheme now. As for posters...

"I didn't really think about that. I had a couple pictures in my pack that Alberto drew from back home that I was going to put on the wall, but other than that...maybe something with the moon and stars?"

[imaglyphwitch]

"Describe him to me and I'll sketch him out. That way if he pops up, I'll make sure you know!"

This Alberto guy sounded pretty special to Luca, so she wanted to be sure that if he popped up, Luca would know about it.

"Sure, we can do that. If they don't have a poster for that, I could always try drawing you one, right?"

B

[laminae]

Having the house arrive here is a huge relief. Fern isn't sure how it happened, given it was a dream construct, but he isn't about to complain when it means they have a safe, warm, familiar place to live.

He's wandering the house, doublechecking that everything is where it's supposed to be, just in case. There's a whole new floor which is weird and makes him uncomfortable, and he pointedly avoids it since thinking about it for too long makes his anxiety spike for some reason, but the rest of the house is free game! Eventually he'll head on up to the attic to see how Luz is settling in.

He pops in right as a piece of paper smacks him in the face. Making a surprised noise, he nearly barrels over backwards.

Re: B

[imaglyphwitch]

Luz was cursing her luck when she hears one of her spare papers make contact with someone's actual face and an exclaim of noise. She looked up and saw that Fern was trying to get one of the papers off his face, and she immediately was trying to stop him from falling over.

"Fern, sorry about that! One of my papers got away, still setting up! You all right?"

Despite herself, Luz is giggling a little.

[laminae]

Thanks Luz, he appreciates it. He grabs onto her to keep his balance, removing the paper. "S'all good," he responds, blinking. No harm, no foul!

"How're things going? You sure you're okay up here?" The attic is one space he and Varian never really made use of, so he isn't sure if it makes for a good living space. It seems cozy enough though, and given the downcast weather outside cozy seems pretty important.

[imaglyphwitch]

Boy she was always envious of his ability to bounce back so quickly.

"Oh yeah, this place is bursting with possibilities! I just have to make it my own, and that'll take time with any kind of space really. I don't even really want to paint the walls, it's rustic enough I can leave it be!"

She still needed to add her touches but otherwise this was going to be a great bunking space!

"I haven't gotten to see your room yet though. Is it pretty much the same as back in Deerington?"

[laminae]

Fern gives the space a glance around, glad that she likes it, before focusing back on her. "Yup. Looks like someone just picked it up and dumped it here. Feel free to check it out, just watch where you step."

The room is kiiind of a mess because someone is a total teenage boy and doesn't clean up after himself, and with his hobbies of collecting junk and weaponry that makes for a potentially dangerous combination.

"You and Luca have free reign of the entire house."

[imaglyphwitch]

"I'll do that! I already know that I'm going to have to start cleaning up most of the house, yours will probably be the most dangerous!"

Why she says this with enthusiasm seems strange as cleaning means work, but Luz had always looked up to Fern and his warrior strength. It was going to be awesome to clean and see all the cool stuff he'd collected in his journeys.

"I'm going to try a keep the place tidy while I'm here. Luca's still discovering things, and even I'm starting to find myself as a person. It'll be better to do that without worrying about stepping on a sword or falling into one of Varian's holes in the house."

All of this she says as if it's the most natural thing in the world, and to Luz? It pretty much is. Varian and Fern led active lives, they were bound to forget about simple house chores.

A

[notimeforfailure]

The compass had led her this direction.

Normally one with a firm belief in taking control of her own life, Lysithea has, for the last few days, mostly just... wandered. She had been delivered a compass, and it had occasionally shivered and pointed in a direction. She had followed it. This system seemed to work out well enough for exploring this new place she was meant to call home.

Ahead of her, she hears some faint sounds that are unmistakably sobs - and a muffled figure half-hunched over obscuring their face with a hood. Though she would usually mind her own business, Lysithea had a feeling there was a reason she was meant to decide to go this direction.

"Pardon. ...Are you alright?"

Re: A

[imaglyphwitch]

She hadn't expected someone to find her here, and this someone sounded pretty familiar to her. Luz racked her brain, to remember, and then the person came slowly into view with a squint.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something sad, it...wait! L-LYSITHEA?!"

It couldn't be. It was her, but she looked older, and somehow even prettier? She hadn't seen the girl after coming here, but she was sure she was coming back. She just didn't expect it to be here, of all places.

"When did you get back?" She tried rubbing her face, but she still looked like a splotchy mess.

[notimeforfailure]

It takes about two blinks before Lysithea remembers --

"Luz!"

Three years was a significant length of time, but it's as if they're standing on the sands looking out at the lighthouses once again... On Lysithea's end, she is conscious that Luz looks almost exactly the same as she had in her memories...

Clearly, it was only her who had changed.

"I... Just a day ago. And you've been -- here? Has any time passed for you?"

[imaglyphwitch]

Luz of course immediately goes to hug Lysithea because it's Luz.

"Man, you definitely leveled up! For me it's only been maybe a week! So you've been back in your world awhile, that's great! You've probably learned way more magic by now!"

Luz sniffed because, well, it was still raining and she had been crying. It was still great to see someone she was scared might have woken up, but it still reminded her of someone who was sadly not around right now. Still, it was great to see how much her friend had changed.

"It hasn't been long. Spent most of the time trying to adjust to this place. New monsters, new blood stuff, new world in general. Are you living here now?"

[notimeforfailure]

"A week..."

Barely any time at all. Her disorientation in this place must be nothing compared to Luz and the others who had stepped out of one hellscape straight into another. At least she had some time in familiar surroundings. Lysithea accepts this hug with much more grace than her younger self would have before responding with a smile.

"Well I'm very glad to see you again, Luz. Truly, I kept expecting to be back any moment... But the years dragged on, and my habit of sleeping with my antler became more of an idiosyncrasy than anything.

"Never mind me, though. What's wrong?"

Direct as always.

[imaglyphwitch]

"It wasn't that long ago, yeah."

Luz wasn't sure if she thought of this place as a hellscape yet, although it certainly hadn't done her any favors the first day that she got here. It definitely was good to find someone she knew a little older, and, apparently, better at shows of affection now!

"Oh, that sounds about right! The antler sleeping part, I mean. So you've gotten older and probably better at magic, right? You have to tell me about what's been going on!"

Right. Yeah. Why she was here crying.

"Not everyone came back," Luz said, her voice sounding smaller. "I haven't seen Margot anywhere, and she was planning to plant a garden and everything. People kept saying that I might find her later, but I haven't seen her yet."