forum All my roleplays are dead please give me attention // closed oxo (I'll do more though)

Started November 22, 2021 by @Fraust

tune

Saul and Farah lay together as Saul drifted into sleep. He hugged Farah's back to his chest, and she subconsciously matched her breathing to his. They were a perfect pair in every way – matching and canceling each other out in just the right places.

In the dead of the night, Farah's eyes opened, and for a moment, she was unsure of where she was. Then she smelled the familiar scents of peppermint and wood and felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around her midsection. She smiled and turned her head so Saul's warm exhales landed on her cheek. She didn't want to wake him, but as she shifted around, his eyes fluttered open. He sat bolt upright and looked down at her, his eyes shining with joy. "Farah?! You're awake."

"Obviously, darling," she replied with a smile, rolling onto her back.

Excitement bubbled up in Saul, and he bent over to kiss her lightly. Farah reached up to cup his face and smiled into the kiss.

Saul broke away for a moment. "I missed you."

"I love you," Farah murmured and drew him down in for another kiss. Saul happily obliged, and after a few moments, their sweet reunion came to a close as Farah murmured, "We should be getting back to sleep."

He sighed. "You're right." He laid down beside her again, and she curled against him, laying her head on his chest. After a few moments, Farah felt his breathing become deep and even, signaling he had fallen asleep. She smiled, closed her eyes, breathed in his scent, and fell back asleep until the sun's morning rays slanted through the window and lit up the darkened room.

In the morning, Aiki was wide awake and sitting up in the bed. They had circles under their eyes and looked exhausted; they clearly hadn't gotten much sleep. His sleep had been very fitful and plagued with nightmares about Farah and Saul and Rosalind and Aiki… he was still stuck thinking about them now as he stared blankly at the wall. They were trembling lightly and their face was very pale, and they looked anxious and uncomfortable.

In the morning, Farah woke to kisses tickling the back of her neck. She let out a giggle and rested her hand on top of his that lay on her stomach. "Saul…" she breathed his name quietly and tilted her head down so he had more room.

"Farah…" he mumbled against her neck as he continued his feather-light string of kisses.

"My love, as much as I'd like to keep…" She sighed as pushed his hand softly into her stomach and kept kissing. She closed her eyes with a smile and let him continue for a few more moments before she reluctantly spoke again. "Darling, I think we should get up now."

"Alright," Saul replied, placing a final kiss at the nape of her neck before withdrawing and pushing himself up into a sitting position.

Farah remained laying down, savoring the moment a second longer before sitting up as well. "Where did Aiki sleep last night?" she asked, massaging her temples with her fingers.

"In my bed. Ben let him know it was okay," he replied, gazing at her as if she were the most glorious being in the world.

"We should check on them," she said, glancing over and doing a double-take. "What?" she asked.

"You're beautiful," he cooed.

"Stop," she retorted, shoving his shoulder with a smile. "Let's go." She rose off the bed and strode toward the door.

Aiki did their best to keep quiet, not wanting to bother Ben or Andreas with their whining. He felt very dizzy and his mind was foggy, and it was very difficult to focus. With little to no sleep or food in their system, they felt like they were barely functioning.

Upon vaguely hearing footsteps, or at least thinking that he did, he glanced up, briefly broken from his trance. Their ears were drooping and their heart was pounding in their throat, and their tail and hair were both very disheveled. "Mmnh… Farah…? Saul…?" He called out weakly in his croaky, cracky voice.

Farah quietly pushed open the door and saw Aiki sitting in the bed, clearly awake. She paced over to him, and her steps were as elegant, confident, and graceful as they were before she fell dangerously unconscious less than 24 hours before. She perched on the edge of the bed and covered Aiki's hand with her own, immediately transferring calm feelings through the touch. "How are you?" she asked kindly while Saul stood behind her. "How did you sleep?"

"Mmnh…" Aiki closed their eyes almost as soon as Farah touched them to help them relax. "Didn't… didn't sleep. Couldn't…" He swore softly under his breath and groaned, wincing at his growing headache. "Feels like my brain won't work… I-I feel awful. I just wanna go home and sleep through a full day in my own bed…" They yawned and leaned back a bit, their head bumping the wall.

"Of course," Farah replied. "We'll get you back to your family today, I promise. And I'm sorry you couldn't sleep, but it will be better once you're home. Oh!" she quickly tried to cushion their head from the blow to the wall with her other hand. "Easy. Just relax." She magnified the calm radiating from her to him, ignoring the mounting pressure in her head.

Aiki groaned softly, his eyelids fluttering a bit as he tried to relax as instructed. "I'm tired…" They murmured softly. "I just wanna go home… I wanna see my parents again, and… and Eiji… I'll even deal with going to school again." He winced a bit and rubbed at his eyes with one fist, his ears still limp. They seemed pretty limp as well, too tired to really do much.

"Well, let's work on that now," Farah murmured. "Saul, wake up Ben, and let's get this party started, shall we?"

Saul chuckled as he walked to Ben's bedside. "That's something I never thought I'd hear you say."

"Mm… work on what…?" Aiki asked sleepily, leaning against Farah. "Going home? Can I… do I get to go home now?" He yawned again and closed his eyes, starting to nod off despite how badly he wanted to stay awake at the moment.

Farah noticed, and she waved Saul off from waking Ben. "Well, I'd like you to get some rest first. I can feel you need it." She lowered her voice and whispered firmly, but not unkindly, "Stop trying to hide your feelings from me."

"But I can… I can rest at home… I wanna go home… please…" Aiki insisted, trembling lightly and turning their ears back. He couldn't keep himself from yawning again, and he was slowly growing limp against Farah.

"I just want you to rest. A few minutes, that's all it will take," she reassured him, positioning herself to be comfortable for him when he leaned against her. "You'll be with your family before you know it, I promise."

Aiki whined softly, but regardless, it didn't take long at all for him to fall asleep. They were exhausted, and their body desperately wanted the rest after almost a full night of none at all. He looked much more peaceful while he was asleep, although he was still a bit pale.

Farah and Saul exchanged a look, and Farah gently stroked Aiki's hair to urge them deeper into sleep. She knew he needed the sleep, she felt it the second she extended her calming aura to them.

Aiki relaxed a bit more with Farah's magic, making a strange contented noise in their sleep that sounded almost like a weak purr. He yawned, simply slumped over on Farah as he fell more deeply asleep.

Farah giggled and made small adjustments to accommodate their movements. "Rest, sweet fox boy," she murmured. "We'll get you home very very soon."

As she said this, she felt her stomach drop. There was no way to get back to the First World without a gateway ring. And using Rosalind's appeared to be out of the question. Farah racked her brain to think of any possible solution for getting Aiki back. Suddenly, her face lit up, and she looked quickly to Saul.

Saul arched an eyebrow, nonverbally asking the question.

Farah's reply was one word, a name: "Luna."

Luna was the princess of Solaria, training to be the queen now that she'd graduated from Alfea with Farah, Saul, and the rest last term. Farah and Luna had a mutually-beneficial relationship, using each other for personal gain and somehow becoming what one might call friends. In any case, Farah was sure that if she reached out to Luna, she could help. One of the crown jewels of Solaria that her family possessed was a gateway ring, and attempting to rekindle her "friendship" with Luna was more likely to happen at this point than convincing Rosalind.

Aiki definitely seemed more relaxed than before, but his sleep was still a bit disturbed by unpleasant dreams. They stirred a bit and shifted closer to Farah in their sleep, their face slightly contorted with fear and displeasure.

All that he could think about was the possibility that he might not get home at all. They were worried about what might happen to them, and the pain they would cause their family by suddenly disappearing, hell, they were even worried about how guilty the kid that sent them here must feel. Even if anyone could find the forest he was sent to, he wasn't there anymore. It would be impossible to find them as long as they were in the Otherworld.

"Saul," Farah murmured. "Why don't you run to the kitchen and grab us some breakfast, hmm?"

"Of course. Anything for you," he whispered. He glanced at Andreas to make sure if he was asleep before he leaned in to kiss Farah briefly but deeply.

She silenced the moan that rose up in her throat and allowed herself the moment of pleasure before she broke off the kiss and nudged him away. "Go on now. I don't want Aiki waking up, and you're not back with a decent meal they can eat before they go home."

Saul saluted her playfully. "Yes, ma'am."

Farah's covered her lips to silence a laugh. "Go!"

Saul grinned and left, overjoyed that he made her laugh.

Aiki stirred a bit, but stayed asleep. Even despite the nightmares, they were exhausted enough that they could probably sleep for a while, especially with Farah's steady calming magic. He yawned and shifted, his ears twitching whenever something brushed against them and his tail curled up around himself for comfort.

Farah sighed softly, and as Aiki slept, she devised her plan in her mind for how to contact Luna. She doubted Luna's loyalty at times, but now, she would need to put her hope in the girl, and Farah didn't exactly know what that would entail.

Aiki was still fast asleep by the time Saul returned with food, and they seemed to have gotten settled. Farah's magic helped to push away his more negative thoughts, and he seemed to be pretty relaxed now.

Farah sighed when Saul opened the door, a covered tray of food in his arms. "Aiki's still asleep. Ben and Andreas got up a few minutes ago to do some training. It's just us."

Saul's smile widened. "How lucky are we?"

Farah grinned back. "The luckiest," she said with an undertone of sarcasm.

Aiki stirred at the smell of food and shifted a bit where he lay, but still stayed asleep for the time being. They yawned, exposing their sharp teeth, and turned their ears back again as they got settled.

Farah looked down at Aiki as he shifted, and when she looked back over at Saul, he was already sitting down on the bed beside her. They gazed into each other's eyes for a second, then Saul grinned. "Close your eyes."

She wrinkled her nose. "What?"

"Do you trust me?"

"No. Absolutely not. God, no. Never." Farah smirked, her eyes darting around his face taking in the little details of his complexion.