and we could run away. [open]

[deuteranope]

WHO: Maverick Taylor and OPEN (mostly/semi).
WHAT: Maverick’s nightmares rear their ugly heads again. Time for late night stress relief.
WHEN: Night of February 20th (into the 21st) “officially”, but time is fake and nightmares happened on more than one night, so chase your bliss.
WHERE: Lumi3/outside and around.
NOTES: Smoking and swearing, as a Mav does.

( SKITTERING - closed to Imelda. )

[His feet are bare against the cold ice, and part of his brain tries to tell him that he should be slipping and splitting his head open, but there isn't time to argue because he needs to go, he needs to be faster, he needs --

crrrack.

He’s falling. The only one reaching out to him is the sharp-nailed, glowing creature he was running from in the first place...but arms still catch him. They're cold, probably from being so far beneath the ice in this dark pit, and dirty. He can't find where any of them stop being an arm, even as that one twitches with a crack and starts slithering over to him, crawling, nails scrabbling. He shouldn't open his mouth, but it's the only thing he can still move, as the cries for help rise up within him.

Maverick sits up with a yelp and an overwhelming feeling of nausea, like those fingers really had clawed their way down his throat and were stirring up his stomach, now. This room is -- weird. But it's his, still. Just the one at the academy. He’s here, and he'd yelled, but not for help, and he wasn't crying, and thank fucking god it had been years since he'd ever wet the bed from this shit. He doesn't know how much lower he can let himself sink. He runs his hand through his sleep-addled curls to try and stop it from shaking, but when that doesn't work immediately, he reaches for a pair of headphones coiled around the bedpost to clamp over his ears and -- ugh, fuck, where was his phone? He doesn't want to turn on the light… If anyone had woken up -- or was still fucking awake -- then he needed some kind of plausible deniability. Totally still fucking asleep…]

( SMOKESCREENS AND SNOWBALLS - open, around campus. )

[The fear had faded some, letting anger take its place. Adults weren't supposed to have nightmares, only little kids -- and yet there he was, eighteen years old, and waking up in the middle of the night scared out of his wits time and time again. All because of some fake bullshit his brain came up with! He needs...something real. And a goddamn smoke.

He’s already working on a second cigarette by the time he's settled into packing snow into something that is a maybe vaguely human-shaped lump? His movements are agitated and restless, punctuated now and again by a string of curses or a cloud of smoke intermingling with his breath, clear from the cold. He's gotta suck it up and build an army.

And then he's gotta take that army out with the metal bat resting on the ground beside him.]

( SORRY NOT SUBTLE - open, Lumiére 3 common area. )

[Now that he’s worked out all that anxious energy… Okay, no, he still can't fucking sleep. But at least he can come back inside and curl up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate. He’s swapped out his bat for his laptop, drooping eyes scanning the screen as he scrolls through various, brainless sites. Mav’s got music going, but with the low volume he's set it to, someone probably has to get pretty close to recognize one of many songs by The Cure. Soothing rock.

...there are literally a dozen packets of hot chocolate resting next to him. He probably has more than enough to share, during these lazy, godless hours.]

Comments

common area

[suddenlybees]

[ It's pretty late at night, so Kano didn't expect anybody to still be up and about- especially in the common area, especially since Kano's... coming up from the stairs, not from out of his room.

It's past midnight, but this is fine, right? Common area means common food, so without another word, Kano swipes one of the hot chocolate packets and plops himself down on the other end of the couch. Tears one corner of the packet, and starts sprinkling hot chocolate powder into his mouth straight- this is delicious, nobody knock this. ]

[deuteranope]

[Mav might be working to distract himself, but he can't subdue the urge to watch Kano from the moment he's visible on. Ugh.]

You're such a freak.

[Who just eats hot chocolate powder... Far too sweet, in his opinion, but he doesn't have the energy to wrestle it away from the other boy, or even adjust how he's sitting to be more open to his presence. Just...do whatever.]

Do you ever fucking sleep?

[suddenlybees]

[ Hey, it's not like watering it down makes it any less sweet; in dry form, it's got this really weird saltiness to it, and sort of turns into thick pudding in your mouth once you chew it up enough, which he's very tempted to open his mouth and show Maverick, just to prove that his tastes aren't that gross.

Kano will just go on and do whatever, like he always does, lounging back on his side of the couch with his feet outstretched and boots propped up on the small table in front. At least they're not caked in dirt- or he'd done an immaculate job of stomping it all off before coming upstairs.

Chew chew swallow ]

Silly, of course I do~ Eight to nine hours a day, like any normal, healthy person~

[ But in batches, and most during the day instead of at night, and not always in his room or in a bed. ]

What about you? A late night snack like this- [ ... ] Or is it breakfast? First meal of the day, right? You should be having something more substantial, you know?

[deuteranope]

[He will water it down and he will be Satisfied, goshdangit. Almost as a challenge, Mav picks up another packet and gently tosses it at the other. Go for it. Is this like the cinnamon challenge, though? Is Kano going to die doing this? That would be...funny in a really morbid way and he would hate himself even more for the rest of eternity, but there you go.]

Normal, healthy person, huh.

[Ha. Yeah. Good thing he's already fucked up there so he doesn't have to pay too much attention to the importance of a good breakfast Kano's trying to impress on him now. He doesn't really...anything. He doesn't anything enough about any of those questions to go along with them.]

Do drinks fucking even count as snacks? Water isn't a fucking snack. Where does the line get drawn?

Campus!

[heromedal]

[ Rex doesn't so much have nightmares, though that's possibly only because of how little he sleeps. Usually, he's studying or working on a project or staring into the middle distance for hours. No big deal.

Sometimes he takes his little beast, Indrik, for a walk. The pony-sized monstrosity, covered in golden scales with a blazing red lion's mane around a calf face is as energetic as Rex is lethargic. ]

Don't.

[ That's said to the beast as it waves its whip-like tail in a wide sweep Rex recognises as a sign he's about to do something stupid.

In this case, it's charge directly at Mav's incomplete snowman.

As always, Indrik completely fucks it up and ends up slipping on a small patch of ice, flipping onto his head and gliding across the snow on his back to stop exactly an inch away from hitting the snowman, where he stays. On his back, legs in the air and beady furious eyes staring at Mav. ]

Sorry. He's just... like this.

[ Rex wanders over, to place a foot on Indrik's rotund belly, rocking him back and forth a bit like a cradle. Seems to calm him down. ]

[deuteranope]

[It's lucky the creature -- whatever it was -- had its little mishap, because at the sound of something inhuman clattering his way, Maverick had abandoned his task in favor of picking up his bat and gripping it tight, eyes wide. Even now, with evidence that it's a giant goofball puppy of a monster, he can't...bring himself to let his hold relax, just taking some slow steps back to get in a more surefooted stance like he expects to either need to fight back or sprint back to his dorm.]

What the fuck is that thing.

[It's a snapped, on edge comment more than a question.]

[heromedal]

Useless, mostly.

[ It's not an unreasonable reaction to Indrik- the real deal, full grown is a monster with few rivals. This particular fellow just doesn't seem to understand he's not there yet, but at least has ceased hostilities for now as Rex rocks him.

Of course, Rex is a 7'4 guy with a permanently dour expression and the voice of a 50-year-old man with a heavy smoking habit, so neither of them is especially friendly looking. ]

It's an Indrik.

[ Possibly the Indrik, very little research has been done on them (it?) because the grown version is terrifying. ]

SMOKESCREENS

[yokeye]

[Toki isn't sure why he's out here. He can't remember if he's leaving the dorm, or heading back. But he's dressed appropriately for the cold, and has Kuroko, so his current assumption is "taking the cat for a walk." In the middle of the night. Why not? Maverick seems to be making a series of really terrible approximations of snowmen and swearing at them. So it's of course taken as an invitation to invade his space.]

Maverick~!

[Kuroko's little claws kneed into his coat. She doesn't like it when he yells.]

Why are you building snowmen in the middle of the night!?

[Kuroko escapes his arms and runs over to Maverick, hiding behind a lumpy snowman.]

[deuteranope]

[Someone help this boy, for the love of god.

Like Kuroko, Maverick isn't too keen on this sudden increase in noise, and turns his scowl up from the not-quite-snowman to the -- oh wait shit, a black cat... Dismissing Toki -- because he's Toki and thus not a dangerous problem -- he ducks around to check on the feline friend. Not his feline friend, he can tell that much, but still a small lift in his spirits.]

So I can beat the fucking shit outta 'em. What's the deal with bringing your cat in the cold?

[yokeye]

[At that, he notices the baseball bat.]

You didn't get to fight enough daemons at the ball~? If it's some kind of training thing, why in the middle of the night and with snowmen? There are places for that!

[Like the Mythril Cage, apparently.]

Kuroko likes to go for night walks~!

not subtle

[gaiarage]

[He's been heading out at night less and less lately, trying to keep a low profile for all the good that does him. Still, there's not a whole lot you can do around here when you can't sleep (or just don't want to), so wandering around the building is about as good as he can get it. Not like anyone's going to object, even if this isn't his floor.

But it's still boring as hell, so imagine Naoki's surprise to see there's someone else up right now. He wheels around to the side of the couch, drawing tight the hoodie he's got draped over his shoulders and trying to get a peek at what's on that laptop.]

I thought music wasn't allowed here.

[Not that he cares because it's a stupid rule but somebody might.]

[deuteranope]

[If he was feeling more rambunctious, Maverick might prove him wrong on that "nobody would object" thing, objecting for the hell of it, but tonight he just watches with a wrinkled nose. Hrmn...]

It's fucking not.

[And the laptop doesn't have anything interesting on it, honestly. There's the player for the music, obviously, and the school's network ignored in the background, what seems to be the result of a google-amazon search mess where he's tabbed a dozen related things (a nonfiction book, at least on the current tab), and...a livestreamed kitten cam. What darlings.]

Ask me if I give a shit right now.

[gaiarage]

[He doesn't smile, because that's impossible, but his expression lightens just a little. There's something weirdly heartening about that attitude and he can't quite place it.]

No thanks. I'm good. [Like that was an earnest request and not just Mav being a shit.

Curiosity satisfied, Naoki hops up onto the arm of the couch and perches there like a gargoyle. At the very least he's courteous enough to pick the one furthest from him, because even if personal space isn't really a big deal he really doesn't feel like getting too close to people right now. Not that that stops him from eyeing those hot chocolate packets.]

Couldn't sleep?

Common Area

[lastexit]

*Maya left a note in her room for Zaka, she wasn't entirely sure what her plan was, just she needed to move around. She'd stay on Floor One but she didn't need a beary worried roommate looking in on her. And, honestly, the other faces on the floor weren't the most welcoming for the other end of the spectrum. She hoped that hiding out somewhere she wouldn't go meant familiar faces wouldn't find her.*

*Except, well, Ms. Rivera might. But Maya would hear her coming and be able to hide out or vanish fast enough. What Maya wasn't expecting was to hear anyone in the common when she got to the top of the stairs. One playing music. Which Maya could make out from across the floor because her powers are like that. She slipped out of the staircase without a noise.*

I thought this was still a no-music floor.

*Maya's fortunately very easy to see, even if she makes less than no noise moving about. Hopefully Maverick was looking in the right direction when she came up.*

[deuteranope]

[He feels so exhausted hanging out with Kano and Kanata, as little as he does even that, that seeking out others in the building to get to know them wasn't a fun prospect, even if he wanted to be nosy. Still, he vaguely recognizes Maya as a person in his area at times, usually looking spooky for a reason he can't quite put his finger on. Her little silence approach trick doesn't help this opinion get debunked at all, as he jumps a little and shudders out an annoyed hiss when he realizes it's just some weird girl coming up the stairs, not an intruder. Fucking hell... At least he had his hands all ready to steady his laptop -- breaking that would just be the fucking cherry on top of this godawful night, huh?]

What, you gonna fucking tattle on me?

[lastexit]

Impressed you live dangerously, I want her to get rid of that rule.

*Maya falls into a seat with enough distance to not be in Mav's way, but close enough to not be loud talking. Not that she needs it, she can hear better than anyone. The couch doesn't make noise as Maya falls into it.*

Was planning to hide out here until I feel like going to bed. Nobody would think to look for me on this floor. Wasn't expecting anyone to be up though.

smokescreens

[transfusionem]

[She's been having trouble sleeping since being shuffled off to the academy - maybe it's nerves, maybe it's a side-effect of this whole thing, maybe it's a sign she should just give up and try to be nocturnal. Whatever it is, she's restless, and that means she's taken to going on runs around campus in the middle of the night.

Usually she doesn't stop to bother people who are walking, but...]

Hey there. [Adelaide brushes back her bangs, looking at Maverick's progress.] D'you want some assistance?

[deuteranope]

Do I look like I fucking need assistance? [he bites back, shoulders hunching up around his neck in defensive annoyance a brief second before he actually looks over to the person offering it. Well, she didn't look like a total tool... He'd have to find out more to make that decision for sure, though. With a sigh, he switches to holding his cigarette and glares at his progress.]

Just out here making a fucking snowman, not something exciting. Shouldn't you fucking be asleep, anyway?

[transfusionem]

No, but that doesn't mean you don't want some. [Geez. Slow your roll.

She shrugs, not that he'd notice with the way he's glaring at his snowman.]

Probably, but I can't manage to get any, so. Here I am. [She motions with a flourish - that, again, he probably won't notice. Oh well.] Ready and willing to help you build this snowman, if you want me to.

smokescreens

[spelleton]

[ Guess who's not asleep and also doesn't seem tired at all? This guy.

He's silent for a little while, just watching. Eventually, he speaks up, and surprisingly it's not shouldn't you be asleep or even that's a bad habit you've got there. Cigarettes aren't healthy, after all. ]

Something on your mind, Mr Taylor?

[ He has a thicker coat on to presumably deal with the cold, but he wears it like an afterthought. It's not buttoned, but it does hang neatly off his frame. Enough time to adjust the coat itself, but apparently not to wrap it tight. ]

[deuteranope]

[Maverick isn't big on people watching him, so it's almost a blessing that he's startled by Ekkehardt speaking up, even if he almost bites down on his cigarette stopping himself from cussing. He looks over with a glare, but at least it isn't as severe as it would be if this was the other person that lurks around the infirmary. At least this one is a Totally Normal Human...cough.]

Fuck, man, there ain't ever been a Mr. Taylor and there never will be. [Too weird!!!] And no, I'm just out here freezing my balls off in the middle of the night for shits and giggles. Just a thing I fucking do.

[spelleton]

[ He's definitely a totally normal human being apart from his possibly outdated and very specific fashion sense, nothing to see here.

If he's affected by the glare, he doesn't show it. He's entirely unfazed. ]

I see.

Maverick, then. [ He could tack on a 'mr', as he's done in the past with some people's first names, but he doubts Maverick would care for it so he doesn't. ]

I don't usually see you up this late. [ He's usually asleep, or at least inside the dorm, at this point in time. ] Shall I take that as a yes, or a no?

[ There's probably something on his mind, but if he wants to do anything in his interactions with students, he wants to give them an out. He's not one to apply pressure unless he needs to. ]

skittering

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

[Imelda's not quite asleep yet when she hears the yell come from Maverick's room. Her light is still on--just a small desk lamp casting dim light out into the room that barely reaches the opposite wall. It's enough to see by as she walks over to their shared bathroom, listening from beyond two closed doors.]

[It's not the sort of noise that she would expect to hear in the middle of the night--a little worrisome, but maybe not an emergency in the strictest sense. Should she investigate? Should she let him sort it out? There's a moment of indecision where she hesitates on her side of that door... And then she opens it to move into their conjoined bathroom. The noise is soft, but there's a faint light that spills into the room. Maverick might be able to see it under the door, just before she knocks lightly.]

Maverick? Are you alright?

[deuteranope]

[Fuck -- hearing her move around unnerves him enough that he overshoots his reach and he hears his phone tumble across the floor. Eyes wide and fixed on the door, he opens his mouth to reply. It...takes what feels like an eternity to find his voice again.]

I'm -- [Ugh, too weak, too squeaky. He doesn't have it in him to clear his throat, even after he takes a few more deeper breaths.] Fine. I'm fine. I just...

[...don't have a way to excuse this away, when he can't pretend it wasn't him.]

Uh, go ahead and open the...door, I need to fucking find my -- my phone... [As much as he wants his space, no intruders, he could use the minimal light.]

[no_dejare_de_quererte]

[At his permission, she'll open the door and spill a small amount of light into the room. She takes a small step in, just enough to see him and make sure that he's indeed okay.]

[Pepita, however, takes a much less cautious approach. She hurries through the open doorway, running across the room. There's a moment where she hunkers down low to the ground, and then she's springing up onto Maverick's bed, landing on the comforter and getting her bearings again. Hopefully that doesn't startle Maverick too much.]

[Meanwhile, Imelda just lets Pepita do as she wants. She's going to scan the floor for the missing phone, just in case it landed somewhere near her.] Do you want me to turn on a light switch?