(no subject)
December 6th - Hibernate
It was getting cold above ground again. Fou could feel it touching the edges of her perception, sinking into the walls and foundations of her body-home and chilling her skin in the evening. It annoyed her so, made her sluggish and slow - not lax in her duties, just slower to respond, to react. To her it seemed to penetrate the air even down in the under passageways of the Head Quarters where she increasingly found herself wandering at night.
The walkways were always busy and full of people at this time of year, the infirmaries full of those who fell victim to the common cold. She had spent some time in there overseeing the work of the nurses, curious at the human tendency to fall ill. She began to recognise symptoms for the common cold and regarded them curiously.
The muscular spasms of the sneeze and cough, the irritation of the airways. Although her physical body never became ill she found it relatable, equatable somewhere in herself to the way the cold breeze seemed to scratch at her skin and whistle down the corridors. The tiredness and fatigue seemed equivalent to the dull ache she felt when she wandered, the way she didn't seem to be able to shake herself fully awake.
The time was drawing near, she could feel it. As Head Quarters sped up, so she slowed down. So it was every year, and always had been. It crept up on, faster each time, the need to curl up in the deep, warm heart of the complex and just sleep, sleep until the warmth spread through the ground again.
She fell asleep in Bak's arms one night, curled close and safe next to him, and she didn't wake. With no small measure of sadness the Supervisor gathered her up, suddenly sombre in the midst of the festive spirit. A small retinue gathered behind him as he walked down to her chamber, a small group of thankful people, gently pressing their fingertips to her cool skin, as she would never let them when awake. Little gestures of thanks that went unnoticed to her in her sleep.
With a certain reverence, Bak knelt on the steps by her bower and gently laid her inside, feeling the warm buzz of her realm prickle his arms and set his hair on end. Without noticing his absence she rolled over, unknowingly seeking out the warm heart of her home, to hide there until winter was gone.