feral | sting eucliffe

XLV | ALN

Season 1, Episode 45: A Lonely Night!

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SHE FIXED HER SHEETS, looking up from the slightly fixed mattress and over towards Yukino with a hesitant stare. "Are you sure about this?" The white-haired celestial mage nodded eagerly, a big smile on her face. She chimed happily, adjusting the keys that were attached to her right hip. "Of course! You're always welcome, Y/n. However, it'd be nice if you paid some of the⁠—"

Y/n smiled sweetly, "⁠—I will, don't worry. I don't plan on freeloading off of you, Yukino. So, I'll make sure to pay at least half of the rent." The girl nodded happily, twiddling with her fingers before disappearing into her room and reappearing with a towel. "Listen, I'm going to go shower, okay? Just shout if you need anything!" 

She waved before heading into the shared bathroom, a fresh pair of clothes and a fluffy pink towel in her hand. Y/n just nodded, a grimace on her face as soon as she turned away. She was absolutely stoked that Yukino would be kind enough to offer her a place, but it bothered her that this was one of the first nights she'd be without the Kyuuseishu.

She was sure that the others felt the same way, but now they were all on their own paths of independence. A soft sigh left her lips as she fixed her blanket on the bed and peeked out the windows, surveying the night sky briefly. After closing the curtains, she unzipped her duffel bag and started storing stuff away in the spare dresser Yukino had.

Looking back at the window, the female grew startled at the sight of a face. She blinked once, twice, and then it was gone. Y/n figured it was her reflection, approaching the window and tracing its panes as she sighed. Her PTSD had been fine up until now and hadn't been acting up as of late, but she was scared that if she went to sleep without her friends, she'd have a nightmare.

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the window with a heavy sigh. A door opened, Yukino coming out of the bathroom as she dried her short hair. "Y/n? The bathroom's free now if you want to use it. Are you okay?" She questioned, looking at her friend's back with a concerned look.

Y/n looked over at her with a hesitant nod and a valiant smile. "Y-Yeah, just miss 'em, that's all."

Yukino gave a sad smile, "Aw, well, you'll get used to it and you'll make plenty of friends in Sabertooth. Besides, you can always visit them and we usually have a guild reunion once a month, but that's usually because of battles." She said, sheepishly adding on the last sentence. Y/n nodded, knowing that she was attempting to make her feel better.

Y/n slid off her bed, her f/c sheets wrinkling at her actions. "I think I'll just go shower," She smiled gently, taking a towel that Yukino had handed her earlier. Yukino nodded, "O-Okay." She responded quietly, Y/n digging out some clothes and heading into the bathroom. Closing and locking the door behind her, the girl slumped to the floor, clutching onto her garments.

She'd have to be brave, right? She was seventeen, not eight. She shivered, remembering her life as a little girl. Shaking her thoughts out of her head, she looked to her left and stared at the shower before getting to her feet. Setting her clothes on the counter and hanging up the towel, she stripped off her clothes and headed into the shower.

Twisting the handle, hot water poured out of it and sprinkled over her body, a sigh leaving her lips at the relaxing feeling. Maybe this shower could drown out her possibility of nightmares? As much as she hoped for, Y/n knew that she'd most likely have a haunting memory that tormented her for the night. Grabbing a scrubber and pouring some soap on it, she gently got rid of the dirt.

Her neck grew warm all of a sudden, her hand tracing over the tattoo of it. Her eyes shone with sudden confusion, feeling the tingling sensation on her neck. It felt as if someone had rubbed something prickly there. Y/n grew concerned, rubbing at her neck with the scrubber furiously before giving up when nothing seemed to change.

Figuring that it must be the water or something else bothering her, she rinsed off the suds and stepped out of the shower after washing her hair with a nice smelling shampoo. Lathering lotion onto her body and pulling on a pair of pajamas, she stared at herself in the mirror. Wrapping her hair into a towel hat, her hand traced the tattoo again.

Indeed, it was glowing. What for, though? She hadn't morphed and she definitely wasn't using one of her abilities. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she attempted to dim the tattoo. After a few minutes of furiously staring in the mirror, the tattoo dimmed back to its usual black over her s/c skin. A knock on the bathroom door startled her.

Yukino spoke up, "Y/n? Are you okay? You've been in there for a while; you didn't fall or anything, did you?" She grew concerned, part of her face leaning against the door. Y/n quickly stumbled for a proper lie, "U-Um, no! I-I just changed, that's all." Yukino nodded, shuffling away from the door. "Oh, okay. Well, I'm heading to bed! So, please turn off the light before going to bed too!"

Her footsteps retreated towards her room before her bedroom door closed. Y/n let out a heavy breath, quickly brushing her teeth and leaving the bathroom. Removing her towel hat, she set it on a chair to air dry as she shuffled underneath her covers. Curling up under the blankets, a breath left her lips, getting comfortable with the warmth that they brought.

It felt odd not to hear Akane grumble about finding her charger or Nikos starting to bicker with Chase just because the boy liked to stay up and read or Chase's retorts to Nikos about him shutting up and passing out already. A small smile upturned her lips at the edges in amusement as she closed her eyes silently.

Good night, everyone.