driftfleet | Red Fish assemble!

[ cas smiles at her, warm and soft, and wriggles down a little lower into the blankets, getting himself comfortable and shutting his eyes. ]

Much better.

[He has, quite deftly, cheered her up.]

Thanks, Cas. I'll give you back your pillow space now.

[His eyes are closing and he looks like he's settling in, is why she's offering to vacate the space.]

[ cracking open one eye. ]

What, going back to your big comfy bed?

No.

[It's honest. She just figured he'd like his stuff so he could sleep.]

I just want you to be comfortable.

[ he shrugs, and shuts his eyes again. ]

Hey, no skin off my nose if you want to stay. I'm plenty comfortable.

[Well then. Suppose that settles that.]

If you're sure.

[She settles back down. It's nice, having a blanket, something soft to put her head on. And company.]

[ soft blankets and company are definitely a plus, and company too, though it's uh.. a little weird, for cas, to be sleeping beside someone, you know, platonically, but it's still nice. ]

'M sure.

[ spoken through a yawn; he's already sleepy, won't take long to nod off. ]

[It's enough for her. She stays, but she doesn't sleep for a while. It's always hard for her to fall back to sleep once she wakes up. But eventually, she drifts at the surface of sleep, just before that current that pulls down into true slumber. She's in no hurry to get here though. This is comfortable for her.]

[ cas falls asleep easy enough. he doesn't have much trouble most times, falling asleep, though truth be told that's usually because he's drunk in some way, and while he's definitely not entirely sober at the moment, he's not inebriated enough to pass out easy.

but sye's a comfortable presence. he always sleeps better for a warm body nearby, so it's not long before cas is nodding off, too.

he probably should have known better. cas has nightmares often, it's part of the reason he tries not to sleep sober if he can help it, and having terrible dreams is all well and good, but it's not something he wants to pile onto other people. he'd been too wrapped up in helping her, though, in trying to cheer her up that he hadn't even thought of it.

cas doesn't move in his sleep, even when his strange dreams go sour, when they turn to blood and death and lucifer's mad smile, to dean with his skin flayed and fire licking at his feet and a little girl turned monster in his arms, biting into his skin.

all at once cas snaps awake with a sharp gasp and a rough, quiet sound in his throat, head spinning and a shiver lancing hard down his spine. ]

[Thing is, Sye doesn't need much to bring her to waking. Too long sleeping in places where danger and pain were a soft promise away. A gasp is more than enough to have her eyes pop open and her sitting straight up, reaching for the knife she keeps on her.

But she's just as quick to assess that there's no immediate threat, so the knife stays put away. She reaches for Cas' arm, gentle but firm. A grounding presence.]

Cas? What's wrong?

[She can guess, in general, he'd had a dream, but beyond that it's a mystery. Either way, she asks.]

[ there's that brief moment of disorientation, that half a second where he's still got one foot in the dream, but sye is not alone in that trait; living in war-torn apocalypse land, even in the safety of his cabin cas always has to be quick to rise in case of emergency.

still, he's looking through her for a moment before he's focusing, registering. ]

I'm - I'm just --

[ he says, breathes, really, then lifts a trembling hand to his face to grind the heel of his hand into his eyes, breath still quick and sharp, panic singing in his blood. his voice is rough with sleep and tight with lingering fear. ]

Just.. a dream, that's all. Sorry.

[She gives his arm a gentle squeeze, for reassurance, and to help ground him. She is real. He's awake.]

Nothing to be sorry for.

[If it hadn't been him, it would have probably been her. And she's usually a thrasher. He was down right polite about it in comparison.]

You know what usually works for me after a bad dream is a change of venue.

[It's an offer, feeling him out if he's up to moving somewhere else.]

[ cas hesitates a moment, then sits up slow, energy still vibrating all through him in uncomfortable waves. he doesn't really want to bother anyone, but.. ]

Yeah, I'm.. uh, sure, I should get out of your hair.

[She shakes her head, and gets to get feet. She offers him a hand at the same time as she picks up the blanket.]

Grab your pillow. I want to show you something.

[ there's only a moment's thoughtful hesitation before cas takes her hand and hauls himself up to his feet, pillow tucked up beneath his arm. he'll come back for his jacket and boots later, he leaves them here all the time. ]

Right.. sure.

[She keeps his hand. Not that he needs the guidance, but she thinks he could do with a bit more contact. He's not usually so taciturn, and that makes her think the dream is still hanging around the edges of his consciousness. A real, warm person can only help push it away.

She leads him to her quarters. The room is incredibly sparse; a bed, small side table, and a few likes of books on the floor she borrowed from the library. On the walls are drawings though. Rare paper, with sketches of individuals, some faces be would recognize from the crew. On that side table is a glass container, holding what looked like sparkling, almost liquid light; arcane energy.

She addresses none of these things, yet, and takes him over to the bed. She tosses his blanket over the one already there, then pulls the covers back, nodding for him to climb in.]

In you go.

[ it's a little strange, to feel her hand in his for more than the few seconds it takes to stand, but cas doesn't complain, or try to pull away, only follows quietly while she leads him to what must be her room - pretty cushy being a captain, huh?

it's sparse but.. comfortable. quiet. it has a calm, private sort of feeling to it that cas can really appreciate, and he can't help but wonder why she'd sleep in the cargo hold when she's got this nice space to herself where she can easily get away from people. but hey, who is he to judge.

if he'd ever been a kid he might have balked at the idea of the covers being drawn back for him like he's a child, but cas has never had that experience, doesn't have the background to even tease at being offended, so he simply does as asked, and sits on the mattress, far more comfortable than the floor had been. ]

.. thanks.

[Syeira might be the teeniest bit claustrophobic. Just a little.

She sits too, facing him and not blocking the magical light on the side table.]

This was a gift from a friend of mine. It's nice to have a light waiting if I wake up. It does a nifty trick. Would you like to see?

[She's going to show him anyway probably. Asking is just a courtesy.]

[ he feels a bit better once she sits. heaven knows castiel doesn't need the comfort, usually when he's having nightmares he's alone, anyway, doesn't have anyone nearby once he wakes up, but it still feels.. nice. different, but nice.

glancing toward the soft little light, he dips his chin. ]

Sure.

[Syeira would argue that just because he's used to handling it alone, doesn't mean he should have to.

One magic harp conjuration later, she starts plucking the strings in a soft tune, a lullaby. She keeps her eyes on the container of energy, as she starts to sing.]

♫Lay down your head,
And I'll sing you a lullaby.
Back to the years of
loo-li, lai-lay;

And I'll sing you to sleep,
And I'll sing you tomorrow.
Bless you with love,
For the road that you go.♪

[From the moment she sang the first note, the light of the arcane energy started to shift and change color, flowing into pretty patterns with each new note. It's soothing along with the notes, complimentary, as if the light itself were singing along. There's a reason she loves this gift so much.]

[ cas has heard her sing before, he knows what she's capable of, and he'd certainly never discount the power of song, but still it soothes him rather more than he'd expected. it moves over him soft and smooth, like ocean waves lapping at his feet, and there's an other-worldliness to her voice that reminds him a little of.. heaven, of the ethereal sound that the universe makes when it moves through his wings, the songs of the angels. maybe it's the divinity in her, who knows, but it's more a balm than he would have thought it could be.

dipping his head, cas shuts his eyes, and it's hard, even now, not to go to darker places, not to let his mind drift back to his dreams, to convince himself that he is somehow unworthy of this song, of any comfort at all, and least of all her seemingly boundless friendship. there's so much about him that she still doesn't know, but feeling sorry for himself isn't going to change anything, so the best he can do is simply ride the song, to sit quietly and listen while his shoulders slump and his hands uncurl in his lap, much of the tension in his body leaking away.

the light show helps, too. it's a neat little trick indeed, the energy inside flickers and pulses like a living thing, like a tiny star caught in a box, and even with his eyes closed he can still see the muted dance of light through his eyelids, a fine accompaniment. ]

[The light comforts her when she's in here by herself, and fresh from a bad sleep. It reminds her that someone cares, and soothes her spirit. Sometimes, she would just sit on the floor and hold the light and sing softly to it for hours, watching the colors change for her. She's happy to share the comfort with him. Because he is her friend, and caring for him, even if he doesn't think he needs it, helps her.

Even after the lyrics are run out, she strings the tune along, humming the melody along. Her devious plan is to sing him back to sleep. Hopefully this time it will be peaceful.]

[ cas has definitely fallen asleep sitting up before, could easily enough do it again, but it's not the most natural or comfortable of things - still, with the energy all draining away from him it's difficult not to feel sleepy and tired all over again.

after a moment, cas finally lies back, though his eyes crack open, hooded but watchful, and lift to her profile. ]

Are you staying?

[ she'd been sleeping too, after all, and it might be forward to ask her to stay, but he'd rather not be alone, either. ]

If you don't mind sharing.

[She understands that need. Not wanting to be alone. And she's found that when someone is nearby, she sleeps better herself. Which means she'll stay regardless. If he says he minds, she'll just take the floor.]

[ considering they shared the floor, this is really no different - though cas better understands the nuance of human interaction than he ever did, and sleeping together in a bed definitely has different connotations, but cas can't really bring himself to care. funny, too, considering neither of them are human, anyway.

so he shifts aside to make room. ]

Red Fish assemble!

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