Room 204; Monday Morning [ 08/03 ].

[a_demosthenes]

Valentine, half asleep and half awake, found herself stretched, long and lean, quite like a cat, and comfortably so, except that wasn't actually much of a cat anymore. It didn't even registers until, pressing out the length of her limbs, she instinctively, almost habitually now, brought her hand to her mouth, intent to smooth out some rogue strand

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[endsthegame]

He had been lapsing into sleep, it'd seem. He could tell by all the images that flashed by him, the worst of his memories, a never-changing, never-ending collage of death and abandonment that only ended once his eyes blinked open and he caught the lines of Valentine's collarbone by his face. Oh. The island must have worked its magic overnight.

He exhaled once. Proximity, touch, they were difficult subjects, even with Valentine: Ender was trying to keep her at, maybe not as much of a distance as Ben or Karla, but certainly a distance. And yet here he was: curled into her body, warm, safe, and for a moment, he could almost pretend everything was all right. She loved him, he knew that.

He could've made a joke, but he couldn't think of any that were funny.

[a_demosthenes]

Valentine caught the shift in his breath that made it clear to her that he was, if anything, awake. She would have used the word aware if it weren't for the fact that she knew even in sleep, Ender was aware. She didn't say anything right away, though, liking the quiet and liking the feeling of being trusted (somewhat; as much as Ender would allow, anyway).

[endsthegame]

He lifted his head. It was enough to catch sight of her face. He studied it.

[a_demosthenes]

Valentine tried to keep her expression impassive for as long as she could, feeling Ender studying it, but she couldn't maintain it for very long. She cracked open an eye, looked down toward him, and arched an eyebrow.

Unlike him, however, she actually could think of something funny. Or that could pass as such.

"I threw up on your floor," she informed him, which was as good as any good morning, if not better. Her impassive gaze remained although she wrinkled her nose a little. "Hairballs."

[bitten_notshy]

Right, so he'd gotten a call saying Rose was awake, and he'd seen that about Emma for himself, but Jack still had no real idea where Valentine had taken herself.

No one seemed to be in her room assuming Jaina isn't back yet la, so he went to tap on the door to Ender's.

[a_demosthenes]

The knock at the door, light as it was, pulled Valentine a little unwillingly away from the little sphere where only she and Ender seemed to exist and reminded her that there was actually an outside world. Her head turned a little toward the door, unsure if she wanted to accept that world back in yet, but it was Ender's room, so her eyes drifted back toward her brother, eyebrow lifted in question and leaving it to him to decide. He was the one more in need of the quiet than she was, anyway. She was simply reveling in the fact that she could provide it.

[endsthegame]

Ender looked back at her, then at the door.

He shifted slightly, pulling up armored plating like it was nothing, natural, just like breathing - and it was - and called, "Who's there?"

[bitten_notshy]

"Jack Priest," Jack told the door, feeling slightly foolish as he did every time he ended up in such a situation. "It's nothing important, I just haven't seen your sister in a while and I thought I'd check if she was with you."