merged | SOMNIA INBOX

[ There's a deep, pulsing ache that comes from her end of the Murmur, but there's an additional hint of surprised appreciation at the sound of Toki's voice. ]

I mean—I'm alive now, but I'm pretty sure it killed me last night. [ Not pretty sure. She's confident it did. ] You—you got away, right?

Oh fuck, really?

[It doesn't seem as bad a fate as it could be, seeing as she's clearly alive now, but she definitely doesn't sound great.]

It didn't get me... but I guess I got lucky. Kept trying to go after it. [It feels more stupid now that he's not in the throes of whatever was compelling him towards the thing.]

Yeah, it—it fucking sucked. Literally. [ A flash of panic, sharp and sudden, and then it's as if she's put it away in a box on the highest shelf. As long as she doesn't think about it, she's good. ]

You got seriously lucky. I couldn't believe how you—it's like you couldn't keep your eyes off of it.

It's so weird. It felt... right, or something. Like... like I had to.

[Saved only by dumb luck, really. He could have walked right into that thing's open... arm... things, had it asked.]

And I was so fuckin' mad at it! Still fuckin' mad at it, I guess. Since, y'know.

[He mentally gestures at nothing in particular. He'd felt the panic for a second there and he's doing his best not to be too specific about it.]

[ It's greatly appreciated that he doesn't go into details. ] I was pissed at it, too—still am—but whatever you were... It seemed like it was pulling at you, like it affected you.

I was so worried you were going to walk right into it.

I wasn't really thinking too hard about it, but after I woke up... That's when I really figured out how fucked up it was.

[Now that the spell or whatever it was is broken, he can't believe what he was doing. But at the time? Perfectly reasonable.]

I think... I really think it had to be making me do it. The big thing, or maybe the dream.

Sleep. I bet it was Sleep influencing you somehow, I just... I don't get why—unless she just really wanted us to all suffer that. [ Everything always boils down to Sleep in her eyes. ]

How are you feeling now?

Yeah... that makes sense.

[He doesn't hide his recently-determined anger at Sleep. Makes as much sense as anything else.]

I'm... better. Still feel weird, but different. Probably regular weird for... you know. Turning into stuff. Kinda hungry. You?

[ It's an anger he'll find her embracing in the Murmur. Everyone should feel some small spark of it here. ]

I hurt, and I want to make Sleep hurt. [ Brutally honest. ] But it could be worse. I could still be dead, so... [ Hey! Is that a silver lining she sees? ]

You got shit to eat, right? I got some extra cans if you need 'em.

I get it. I really, really wanna kick her ass. Is that a thing people can do? We should kick her ass!

[Because if not... he's gonna figure it out anyway. Somehow.]

I... I already got food, you should eat yours so you feel better. I gotta get the special stuff without all the sugar and everything.

We should. I plan on it. I've been trying to figure out how... [ But Sleep is both powerful and difficult to reach. ]

Oh, so... You need a specialized diet or something? I guess I won't offer you the candy-coated nuts, but if you ever do need something, I don't mind sharing or trading.

Yeah, uh, got diabetes. But if I'm really careful with sugar, it's fine, I don't really need the insulin or anything if I'm careful.

[Which is just great, because there isn't any.]

But, uh, thanks. For the help, if I need it. But you really should eat stuff so you feel better! And... I'll tell you if I find out how to kick Sleep's ass too!

[Because as much as he wants to kill her himself... well, everybody kind of deserves to do it at this rate.]

[ Diabetes. Shit. That's what Freddie's so worried about, and she knows the two of them talk—might even be friends. Maybe she'll nudge him to reach out to Toki next time he's spiraling. ]

Don't know if eating's gonna make me feel better, but... [ Gratitude threads through the Murmur, small but real. She means it, and the next part makes her grin. ] And you better. I'll be seriously pissed if you go kick her ass without me.

It's gonna be real hard not to but I think we all have to take turns.

[It's nice to be able to laugh about it a little, at least, and he's glad to feel the bits of gratitude. He's happy to help when he can.]

The problem's gonna be fitting everybody in! 'Cause we're all gonna be going at her, like, fuck you!!

We can do it like a round robin. Everyone gets a good hit in. I mean, she's a god, I think she'll take a good beating.

Yeah, that works. Or we could... we could time people! In case you do really fast hits. Or little ones.

How do we decide how long?

Probably something short to make sure everybody gets a turn, but you have to make it long enough for people to do stuff. So maybe you test it first.

I can't imagine Sleep would just... chill while we figure out the timing.

That's why you gotta... practice on something else first. So we know what we're gonna do for the real thing. You know?

We could make up a stuffed version of her, paste on six eyes, and see how long it takes for us to kick all the stuffing out of it.

And then we can set it on fire. [ ...she might just want a reason to burn an effigy of Sleep tbh ]

Oh! I could help with that! I got a lot of stuffed animals that are kinda ripped apart and stuff, we could put some of those together.

[He's using some of it for his teddy bear throne, but a toy store has a lot of stuffed animals.]

That's a good idea, Toki. Hell yeah. Wonder what else we'd need to build an effigy—think we could find some antlers somewhere?

Maybe in the park? Or... we could make some with sticks. I have some glue.

Oh, good idea! We'll have to find some black fabric, too.

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