[She's having one of those mornings where it looks like she'll be asleep until just before the store opens. There's no specific reason; it's not like she had a particularly wild night last night. She just feels like catching some zzz's.
It's a more comfortable sleep than usual: more warm, more restful. Her night is free of horrible dreams, free of anything at all. No soldiers, no cruel customers, no silver-haired man, no friends or family she won't see again—none of them come to visit her. She hasn't had a sleep this peaceful since the night she dreamed she was bouncing in a bouncy castle and eating pudding with Sumo.
So, when she hears a voice all of a sudden, it sends a jolt right through her. She has good alertness and keen hearing, one of those skills she absorbed from some guy or another. She wakes up at once, only to find her face buried in something pillow-soft. Which doesn't make sense, since she still has just the one lumpy pillow. Even at #3 in sales, she still has almost no personal wealth to her name. But she's starting to accumulate some! She's just gotta save, and then—
... wait. Those are two "something soft."
Her eyes fly open. She pulls back.
She realizes immediately that one, this is a person, and two, this is a woman—dudes don't smell that good, not even the Bard, and those were definitely boobs in her face just now. Which on the one hand is a huge relief, since customers aren't supposed to spend the night, and the idea of one of them breaking into her room is seriously disturbing. She must've fallen asleep hugging one of the other girls, but how'd that happen? Lupe-chan obviously isn't this springy.
Those are the thoughts running through her mind as she hoists herself up. Under her knees, the soft, springy mattress moves—proving she's in a real, actual bed, one with soft, fluffy bedsheets. That's different, and what's even weirder is her clothes. This is not the old shirt she goes to sleep in. There's all this fabric bunched around her legs, and the chest feels uncomfortably night—
But none of that matters when she sees who she's in bed with.]
..........................
[Her mouth falls open but no sound escapes. Her eyes go wide, her entire body frozen. That's how she is for a long moment: just sitting there in silence, half-straddling her dead friend.
Slowly, she reaches out a hand. It trembles slightly on its quest towards Shequraso's cheek.]
several days later..... (also spoiler warning)
[She's having one of those mornings where it looks like she'll be asleep until just before the store opens. There's no specific reason; it's not like she had a particularly wild night last night. She just feels like catching some zzz's.
It's a more comfortable sleep than usual: more warm, more restful. Her night is free of horrible dreams, free of anything at all. No soldiers, no cruel customers, no silver-haired man, no friends or family she won't see again—none of them come to visit her. She hasn't had a sleep this peaceful since the night she dreamed she was bouncing in a bouncy castle and eating pudding with Sumo.
So, when she hears a voice all of a sudden, it sends a jolt right through her. She has good alertness and keen hearing, one of those skills she absorbed from some guy or another. She wakes up at once, only to find her face buried in something pillow-soft. Which doesn't make sense, since she still has just the one lumpy pillow. Even at #3 in sales, she still has almost no personal wealth to her name. But she's starting to accumulate some! She's just gotta save, and then—
... wait. Those are two "something soft."
Her eyes fly open. She pulls back.
She realizes immediately that one, this is a person, and two, this is a woman—dudes don't smell that good, not even the Bard, and those were definitely boobs in her face just now. Which on the one hand is a huge relief, since customers aren't supposed to spend the night, and the idea of one of them breaking into her room is seriously disturbing. She must've fallen asleep hugging one of the other girls, but how'd that happen? Lupe-chan obviously isn't this springy.
Those are the thoughts running through her mind as she hoists herself up. Under her knees, the soft, springy mattress moves—proving she's in a real, actual bed, one with soft, fluffy bedsheets. That's different, and what's even weirder is her clothes. This is not the old shirt she goes to sleep in. There's all this fabric bunched around her legs, and the chest feels uncomfortably night—
But none of that matters when she sees who she's in bed with.]
..........................
[Her mouth falls open but no sound escapes. Her eyes go wide, her entire body frozen. That's how she is for a long moment: just sitting there in silence, half-straddling her dead friend.
Slowly, she reaches out a hand. It trembles slightly on its quest towards Shequraso's cheek.]