What Time Is It?
ITS THAT TIME AGAIN
Prompt time, that is. The time of year when I invite you to deluge me with prompts! The fill might be short, it might be big. I don't really care what rating it is, or who the character is as long as I've played with them before, so with that said make some prompts!
Prompt time, that is. The time of year when I invite you to deluge me with prompts! The fill might be short, it might be big. I don't really care what rating it is, or who the character is as long as I've played with them before, so with that said make some prompts!
They're big enough to change their own clothes and tie their own shoelaces, and smart enough to fold their school clothes if they don't want a lecture from their Mother. Speaking of which, it's exceedingly odd not to find her waiting for the children in the front lounge, or even in her office.
"Mitsuru?" He calls out curiously, unconsciously pulling his wings in closer as an unexpected cold breeze blows through the corridor.
"...Mitsuru?" He strains to listen as the kids emerge from their bedroom in a noisy flurry, drowning out any chance of actually hearing her response.
Finally, he catches the distant sound of Castor's whining in the backyard, and relief floods his system as he recognizes Mitsuru's voice outside. A hidden part of him always reminds him of the terrifying fear of being left behind. As illogical as he knows it is, the thought persists in the back of his mind every time he struggles to find her.
"Hey, honey!" Thanatos calls out as he trundles down the back porch, waving out to catch her attention. It's only a quick jog to the barn, where he finds Castor sitting uncomfortably a few feet away from Mitsuru. He doesn't even wag his tail when Thanatos pets his massive head, though he does push his head into the physical contact with another high pitched whine.
"What's wrong with him?"
Castor is barely ever this uncomfortable, his ears drooping and tail held stiff in the air. He can't help noticing the way the dog follows Mitsuru with his eyes, occasionally moving his paws restlessly.
"I'm not sure, he's been like this all afternoon. I thought I'd use him to find the source of that awful smell." She wrinkles her nose cutely, but her words catch his attention when he sniffs at the air. That's funny- he would notice a smell. He notices when she's home just by catching a whiff of her scent in the house.
"I...don't smell anything. What's it smell like?"
"Rotten eggs, I think." Hrm. He thinks, and watches as she continues poking around the outside of the barn.
"Couldn't it be fertilizer? I know Sulfur smells like rotten eggs." He shrugs, and Mitsuru gives him a strange look. It's almost like she believes, except that the expression doesn't reach her eyes.
"I suppose so, it is about that time of year." She walks back towards him, only making the slightest sound of acknowledgement as he loops his arm around her shoulders.
"Yeah, it is. So, for dinner tonight I was thinking of frying some crunchy squid. Do you know if we have any of those Chinese peppercorns?"
And that's that- they head back to the house and forget about the strange smell, with Castor right on their heels.
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It's a few days later when he comes back with the kids again, stopping to unlock the front door to let them in. It's strange that the door would even be locked, considering the type of neighborhood Farmville is.
Even stranger is the fact that he can see Castor at the side of the house, his snout poking through the kitchen window. Usually, that would only be because Mitsuru's giving him a bone- but the quiet whines from the over-sized dog guarantee that it isn't the case this time.
"Hi Mommy!" The kids rush through, eager to get back out to play with their friends and try out their wings now that they're fully fledged. She answers as warmly as usual, and he finds her digging through the kitchen cabinets.
"Hey. What're you up to in there?" He chuckles, entering the kitchen and standing beside her. Castor licks his chops restlessly, but he brushes it off as a hungry dog begging for more bones.
"It's that smell again..." She mutters, leaning into the empty cabinet and looking from side to side. It's a kind of focus he hasn't seen her apply to something intangible since her Enhancer binges, and part of him worries about her.
"What, the fertilizer? It doesn't smell like that to me." He sniffs at the air and rests a hand on her shoulder, trying to urge her away from the task. "Are you..y'know, feeling alright? I mean, maybe it's your mind acting up again."
She stiffens under his touch, not that he couldn't expect anything less. It's an understandably sensitive subject, not the least because of her ire for admitting weakness.
"It doesn't feel like it." She sighs, and it looks as if she's going to say more before she starts packing up. "But I have to admit, I can't find the source anywhere."
"Do you...think we should visit the clinic?" He kneels down to help her, completely aware of the way she avoids looking into his eyes. "Just for a check-up, honey. I just want to make sure you're okay."
And again, he brushes off the issue of the smell. Her mind is the first culprit he thinks of, considering that it's played cruel tricks on her time and time again. In hindsight, blaming her brain for the problem probably made things worse.
In hindsight.
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It's a lie, but he doesn't know that. Things simply go back to normal, and Castor returns to his usual jovial self, barking to greet Thanatos and the kids when they return home, begging for bones at the kitchen window.
He wakes up late at night with a familiar urgent pressure low in his stomach, and gets up to relieve the annoying feeling. It doesn't take long before he returns to the dark bedroom, slinging his arm over to wrap around Mitsuru's waist...
...Only to find nothing there. He gropes around at her side of the bed curiously- it's a little damp, and now he can smell the dried sweat on the sheets.
Where the hell would she be at this time of night? He forces himself to sit up, noting her slippers on the floor beside the bed. Why would she walk around barefoot in the middle of the night?
He checks the children's room first, but finds both of them sprawled out fast asleep. And no Mitsuru watching over them, which is where he would have expected her.
"Mitsuru?" He whispers, spotting her bright hair in the front lounge. "What are you doing up at this hour?"
She doesn't react, and he chest inexplicably tightens as he gets closer and closer. Why isn't she moving? He knows she's not dead, and yet, that strange pallor to her skin...
"Honey...?" Thanatos gently lays his hand on her shoulder, tightening his grip when she suddenly jumps.
"Wh-what? Thanatos?" Her voice is shaky, slow, sluggish. He chuckles, even though his heart is pounding in his chest. She looks so frightened, it must be scary to wake up in another room.
"Hey, Mitsuru. I think you went sleepwalking, honey." Thanatos smiles as he kneels beside her, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek. She's so cold...probably because she didn't wear her nightgown.
"Did I...? I don't remember." She yawns, taking his offered hand and following him back into the bedroom. She falls asleep again relatively soon once they climb into bed, his secure hold keeping his in place for the rest of the night.
Still, the memory of finding her in dark niggles at the back of his mind. And when he thinks back on it later, it's probably the point at which she really started hiding things from him.
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"Hey, little lady. What brought you over here?" He reaches down to haul her up and into the air, settling the little girl on his chest a concerned smile. "Did you have a nightmare?"
She shakes her head silently, which is more of a sign than anything that something is seriously wrong. Dea isn't usually quiet unless she's very upset or trying to hide something, and right now it looks like both.
"No? What happened then?" He sits up properly and pulls her into a gentle hug, kissing the top of her forehead.
"Mommy's outside." She sniffs, and while that's concerning, it doesn't explain why Dea is cuddling into him so persistently. As much as he adores providing the love and security she needs, this situation is a little creepy.
"Outside? What's she doing out there?" Dea buries her face into his chest again, hiding. Well, there's no way of forcing it out of her. But Mitsuru's nightgown and slippers are still in the room, so comes to the simple conclusion that she must be sleepwalking again.
"Alright, c'mon. Let's go get Mommy back in here, huh?" There's a small sound of agreement from his daughter as he stands, trudging toward the front door.
That's a bit weird, when he thinks about. Why would she close the door behind her if she was sleepwalking so blindly that she forgot her slippers? He nudges through the front door and immediately shivers from the shock of frigid air- it's freezing outside, way more than it should be.
How can she even be out here? He looks around frantically- there's no sign of Mitsuru, in the immediate vicinity, and it brings a choking fear to his chest again.
"Hey, baby? Where'd you see Mommy?" He mutters, trying to stay calm at least for Dea's sake. Mitsuru shouldn't be out here in her flimsy nightgown, without slippers or a gown. He knows mortals limits pretty well by now, and while the cold isn't enough to be fatal, her feet must be freezing by now.
"At the puppy house." She responds, peeking at her surroundings for a brief moment. "I'm scared, Daddy."
"It's okay, I'm right here. Everything's going to be fine, okay?"
The words come easily, completely for Dea's sake since he doesn't feel that way at all. The puppy house, or the barn as most people know it, is a fair distance of uneven terrain for a sleepwalking woman to traverse in the middle of the night.
"Mitsuru!?" He calls out, stroking Dea's hair more for his own comfort than hers. An answer comes in the form of a Castor whining, walking in circles directly in front of the barn. Inside, Mitsuru stands still, staring at a wooden girder above her.
"Mitsuru! What are you doing out here!?" Castor barks alongside him, as if scolding the woman now that he has the back up of Death to help him. Dea shivers in his arms, squeezing him tightly as she hides her face in his chest again.
The redhead stares, unblinking, and he isn't sure if that's a sign of sleepwalking or not. What he does know is that she shouldn't be staring so intently, that a sleepwalking person should not be able to freeze him on the spot.
"Mitsuru?"
She shakes, finally, before taking in a deep, heaving breath and rushing back into consciousness. He can tell, because there was nothing in her eyes before- nothing but a dull, empty void, that only seems more and more frightening the more he looks into her bright, normal gaze.
"What...? How did I...?" She frowns intensely, wrinkling her nose as if a horrid stench has overcome her senses.
"We'll...talk to Hypnos, honey. We'll figure it out. Let's just get inside, you must be freezing out here!" He reaches out to take her hand, and this time he takes note of the way Castor growls as they leave the barn. For the first time, he considers the chance that something else might be going on.
It isn't until the next day that he questions just why Dea spotted her Mother, all the way out in the barn. Her window doesn't even face the same direction.
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Her heels continue clicking down the hallway, past the children's room without even a moments hesitation to check in on them. And it doesn't make sense, because she doesn't seem angry.
Recalling her strange behaviour only makes that niggling feeling in his stomach gurgle and spit, and it continues for the rest of the morning. He finds himself on the way to Hypnos' home immediately after escorting the children to school, after packing them hurried snacks and giving them change to buy lunch. That was another thing too- why hadn't Mitsuru done it? It just...isn't like her, to ignore the kids like that.
"Brother." Hypnos greets him with a yawn, still clad in his pyjamas. "I've been expecting you."
"Hm. Really?" He returns the yawn with a strained, taut smile. Hypnos must have noticed, but the sly look on his face doesn't melt away.
"I can't say I'm surprised. I guess you know Mitsuru's been...spacing out, lately." He admits, then shakes his head derisively. That's not what he meant, but the words are hard to pick out. They've never really been his strong point anyway, Hypnos is the eloquent one.
"Mn, if that's what you'd call it." Hypnos settles on his couch, sprawling out until his comfortable and leaving Thanatos with the armchair. He takes it with a bit of a grunt, not quite in the mood to sit around. His feet keep tapping at the ground, reminding both him and Hypnos of how nervous he is.
"I found her again last night. In the barn." He sighs loudly, combing his hair back with his fingers. It's hard to admit something might not be right again- denial would at least afford him the opportunity to act as if nothing was happening.
"It's happened a number of times now, hasn't it?" His brother frowns, sipping at his morning cocoa tiredly.
"Yeah. I know it might sound crazy, but I don't like her sleepwalking around like that. What if she gets hurt, or someone finds her?" He wrings his hands together, staring at the carpet as he talks.
"I...don't believe I'm following you, brother."
His head snaps up, eyebrows locked together in a frown. He's about ready to tear into Hypnos when he realizes that it isn't a joke, that nobody is laughing and even Hypnos is taking him seriously enough to sit up straight.
"What do you mean you don't know? She...she's been sleepwalking for days now! Isn't that what you meant when I got here?"
His twin shakes his head slowly, leaning forward in his seat. It's a scary thing, when Hypnos is the one looking disturbed. Usually he's the source of disturbing material.
"I believed you had come to visit because she isn't sleeping, Brother. There isn't any way she can be sleepwalking if she's awake, now can she?"
He frowns. This is all starting to sound...scary. Mortals need their sleep, they need it incredibly badly. He's well aware of how fragile they are, and sleepwalking while not asleep doesn't sound like anything a normal Mortal does.
"I guess not...I'll keep an eye on her, then. Do me a favour and call me if you notice anything tonight?" He swallows, hard. This doesn't feel right, and when he thinks back on it things have seemed weird for a little while now.
"Of course. I'll pay her special attention tonight."
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