Winter, February 13th - Sleepless Night

[zenoh]

Text - Locked to her CR (anyone who've talked to her at least once and likes her enough)

[ Genessia had made Ayame happy and more at peace for the most part, but this night was the first in a long time that she vividly remembered dark memories she wants to stay buried. Needless to say, Ayame was woken up from her otherwise strict sleep schedule. Wearing nothing but a silken robe over her nightgown and with a cup of warm chocolate in her hand, Ayame gazes into the nighttime scenery of Genessia that helps ease her troubled mind, Ayame checked the time on her phone. It's late for early risers like her, but for many people, 10 pm isn't even late.

Even when she has Anastasia staying with her and Hibiki who is sound asleep in the living room, it didn't ease the lonesome feeling that's plaguing her at the moment. She wasn't sure if it was a distant sound of a siren, or just her own mind, but it jolted her from a lost state. Refusing to stay depressed, Ayame had an idea. ]

It's Ayame. Anyone of you still awake?

[ Phone in hand, she sent that text message to a bunch of people she had met and like enough to be considered an acquaintance. Hoping any of them would still be awake at this hour. ]

Comments

Voice

[youfool]

[Ted's sleeping habits turned nocturnal ever since he decided to ape Batman. Network posts are infrequent, so he felt fine leaving his communicator on. Who knows? Someone might have an emergency! They never did, but that didn't deter him.

No obvious disturbances. No flickering lamplight. All right, it's probably fine. He's in the uniform, so it's just voice for now.]

"Heh, to my chagrin. I take it late nights aren't usual for you?"

[zenoh]

[ Hearing the familiar voice, Ayame switches to audio to match Ted. A deep breathe a sigh comes first before she speaks ]

No, they aren't. I like to stick to a fixed schedule.

[ A beat ]

So, what's keeping you up?

[youfool]

"Heh, sounds about right." [He figures women love orderliness in a way his sex can't quite comprehend. Add that to her newfound antipathy for the auction and her strict upbringing...well, some things aren't hard to figure.]

"Oh, work. Don't worry, it's very freelance and...what's the jargon...'results-oriented.' None will mind if I slack every so often. How about your own restlessness?"

[zenoh]

I see.

[ Ayame took a bit to send another message ]

There is nothing to it. I simply don't feel like sleep is for me tonight, and the text is only since I'm unsure of what else to do to pass the time.

[youfool]

[Past-times, huh? Well, certainly nothing to do where he is. The first suggestion is an easy one.]

Heh, judging by the social nature of the call, I assume books were out of the question?

Text

[nrgsvr]

I'm awake.

[ Mayu is an early riser, but he takes frequent naps during the day.]

[zenoh]

I see that.

[ A small sign of amusement formed at the edge of her lips as she sent that message ]

Hello again. It's been quite some time since we've interacted. Have you found a roommate yet?

[ Ayame did come over to check out his house, but ultimately decided to keep her own apartment. In hindsight, it was the right decision. Or else Mayu would have to deal with her having a nightmare tonight and she wouldn't have been able to watch over Anastasia ]

[nrgsvr]

No

[ He would likely sleep through her nightmare. His house isn't the most defensible, though. The only thing keeping him safe is his tendency to stay off the radar, despite having friends like Weiss and Satsuki.]

Need to talk about something?

[ He doesn't see the point in beating around the bush.]

[zenoh]

[ Wow, straight to the point. She can dig this ]

Not exactly. Just too many thoughts running through my mind that, it's a challenge to put it at rest for the moment.

Perhaps it's just time for a vacation. Do you know any place that's good for that here?

[orlokbutterfly]

if I'm not awake at this hour, assume I'm dead.

[He runs two night clubs. Of course he's wide awake.]

[zenoh]

I'll remember that.

[ She smirks lightly while she thinks and types up another response, not that Gale could see it. ]

How's business? I could only assume the holiday has brought more customers

[orlokbutterfly]

If you mean the sort that drinks away their sorrows of not having a significant other, I guess you could say they've found their way in more.

[Which is pretty sad, really. He feels like he should give those types Prism just so they stop whining for more than five minutes and concentrate on hallucinating instead.]

[zenoh]

You should give them a discount on Prism or AvGas.

[ By them, she means her. Because well, she fits the bill too. Just minus the whining part until she gets beer in her system ]

[Text]

[sonicosuper]

Hi Ayame! I'm awake! I'm just heading home from work! ^^ How are you?

[Text]

[zenoh]

[ Ayame blinks at the sight of the emoticon. What is that thing? Why do people use those? She's so out of the loop on normal people things, but she lets it pass and just type up a response to Sonico's question ]

I'm well.

[ Lie ]

Just found myself bored and a little hungry to go to bed. Not sure what else to do, tonight feels like another night where I won't get a wink of sleep.

[Text]

[sonicosuper]

Oh, no! Are you having trouble sleeping? That's no good!:c

Have you tried camomile tea? Or a bath? Those really help me to relax. Especially if you have those really nice bath salts ^^

I keep forgetting to use the font code, lol.

[zenoh]

It's funny you should mention that - I've done those. Practically every night the past few weeks. It worked, but just not tonight unfortunately.

[om_nom_namur]

U say still awaek like its lat3e

Wats up?

[zenoh]

It is late for a crone like me.

[ Ayame took a minute to come up with that joking response, referring to his sketch of her back when they first met. Humor isn't her forte, but she's trying ]

Nothing of interest. I simply couldn't get myself to sleep, and now I don't know what else to do.

[om_nom_namur]

Me [BACKSPAAAAACE and start again. Okay.]

Sumthing keeping u up?
Wats on ur mind?

[zenoh]

Just another dream. It's nothing.

[ And at that instant, she is reminded of one of the many dangers of text messaging: hitting send too soon ]

Mostly I just feel energized. I may have unwittingly drank too much coffee this morning.

[Action] - Locked to Dante Sparda, February 14th.

[zenoh]

[ At the evening of Valentine's Day, just after giving someone their homemade Valentine's chocolate, which proved to be a life-shortening experience for Ayame, she opted to give her second target their Valentine's gift without having to confront them. She ran out of socializing energy and courage, so she sent her chocolates via mail - to Dante. Part of why she didn't want to send it in person was she knew he'll just tease her relentlessly for it. Something she secretly likes but keeps denying to herself. So with the package of strawberry sundae flavored chocolates sent, Ayame can rest peacefully tonight.

Or so she thought. Ayame is at her place, humming to herself while having some wine and late-night television with a silky robe over her nightgown. Unable to stop herself from blushing from the thoughts that keep pushing their way in her mind. So much that she didn't sense what happens next. The doorbell snapped her out of her daydream, and that's when she knew who it was. She didn't think he'd be there until morning! Panicked, Ayame fumbled for the remote. Unable to find it, she just telekinetically turns the TV off and walks toward the door, opening it with a sigh. ]

What, Dante?

[ She's well aware of why he's here. Dreadfully enough. But she felt like acting indifferent and ignorant of the matter would help her control herself for what comes next. ]

[Action]

[alwaysimpaled]

[There were several things that never grew old for Dante. Cutting into a demon for the first time with a new weapon, pulling off some insanely complicated trick shot for no reason other than to look cool, but truly the greatest joy in life was teasing cute girls to make them blush. When Ayame opens the door, Dante will be holding the package she sent him, looking at it with feigned curiosity.]

Oh hey, though you might be able to help me figure out something. See, this package of chocolates - really good chocolate at that - showed up at my shop tonight. But here's the thing. I can't find any return address so I don't know who sent it. Thought you might be able to help me figure out who my secret admirer is.

[Action]

[zenoh]

Geh-!

[ Ayame choked in surprise, her hand flying to her chest before she covered her lips, stifling a louder reaction as she felt heat rise through her skin, especially her face when she heard "good chocolate" and "secret admirer". Her jaw drop slightly in some form of surprise that this is how Dante is going with this. Normally calm and serene, Dante manages to make Ayame express extreme emotion. Great success.

But she'll play along for now, her calm returning for the most part, but she couldn't maintain eye contact without blinking to the side and playing with her hair ]

Is this really necessary? Perhaps it was just Blaze's idea of a joke.

[Action]

[alwaysimpaled]

[He shrugs, smirking a bit.]

I would think the same thing except this is homemade. [He pauses, reaching into the package and popping a piece in his mouth, savoring it for a long moment.] Definitely homemade. You don't get this kind of texture in machine made stuff, and Blaze can't cook anywhere near this level.

[He pauses, taking another bite before tapping his chin in mock thought.] You know anyone that can cook?