"Yes. Go back up there and continue with other things, the plumber will be sent within…I would say a half an hour." the butler replied, before turning away in an obvious dismissal. The older man didn't mean to be rude, precisely, it was just that he was very busy and didn't have time to stand around for small talk. The guard cleared his throat, looking over at them. "I'll guide you back to the prince's room." he said, turning to walk back the way they had came.
“Alright, thank you again,” Indigo said, nodding a bit. She took the hint and followed the guard back to the prince’s room, hoping they could at least take a good nap before the plumber came.
The guard led her back to Riven's room, opening the door for her and then getting into his position again. "There you are." he said, giving her a quick smile.
"And thank you," they nodded to the guard, then entered the room. She peeked inside the bathroom to see if anything else needed cleaning and, finding nothing, went to the room the prince designated for her. Feeling the cot with her hand, it was clearly old and probably not as comfortable as she was used to, but they didn't mind. Indigo could feel the exaustion creeping up their limbs and making their eyes heavy. All they needed was a place to rest.
She laid on her side, staring at the wall. The fabric seemed to cling to her skin; they were so tired they didn't want to get up, but the texture of the fabric annoyed them. However, it wasn't long before she closed her eyes and didn't open them again.
(timeskip?)
(Sure ^^)
(alright, to when?)
(When Riven comes, the plumber comes, or just before the plumber comes?)
(fkhbsb which one first?)
(Dijdekjed uhhhh, idk the last one)
(alright lol)
The plumber was on their way to come and fix the toilet. Riven was still at the party, drunk and on drugs and having quite a good time. He didn't really care what Indigo was doing back in his quarters. He had, in fact, mostly forgot about them by now, though he'd probably remember when he came back.
Indigo slept fitfully and awoke some time later, groaning and breathing heavily. They had forgotten to take their binder off, and now there a tight, compressed feeling in her chest. She almost didn’t want to since she was already awake, but knew from experience that it was better to take it off now. They sat up, reached behind them and unfastened the binder, then set it on the bed and pulled up the sleeves of their chiton. She took a few moments to take deep, controlled breaths, then stood up and opened the door to their room.
It was quiet, something Indigo wasn’t sure if she should be worried or thankful about. Hopefully the plumber hadn’t come yet.
(I’ve never worn a binder before, so I don’t know much about what it’s like. I’ve done some research, but if you know anything, I would like to know if anything about this is incorrect)
(i,,,, have never worn a binder either haha. From what I know tho, it's bad if you sleep in them bc of how tight they are and all that)
The plumber knocked on the door to Riven's quarters, waiting to be let in so that they could deal with the toilet. They were undeniably human, with curved ears and freckles spattered across their face, a friendly look to their eyes. Their hair was buzzed short, probably a good thing considering their profession, and they wore a pair of thick, canvas pants and a shirt that bore old stains that obviously hadn't come out in the wash.
(yeah, plus indigo had been wearing it for several hours at that point)
Well, just in time. Indigo silently thanked the gods that they had somehow managed to wake up before the plumber came and went to open the door. It was too soon since her nap to smile or anything, but she could at least be polite.
"Hello," they began. "You must be the plumber, right? Thanks for coming."
Being without the binder and then presenting herself to another person was very strange, almost unseemly. Indigo was stiff, and held her limbs close to their body.
(yeah that too. I think the most you're supposed to wear them is like,,, 8 hours)
"I am, yeah. Where's the problem?" They asked, smiling lightly as they studied Indigo for a moment, before following them back into the bathroom. They arched their eyebrows at the sight of the toilet. "Oh dear." They said slowly, setting down their toolkit and flipping the seat open. "This, ah, might take a while, and it's going to smell. If you could open some windows for some air?*
Indigo nodded grimly, letting the toilet speak for itself. She went over to the far end of the sitting room, as there were no windows in the bathroom, and drew back the curtains. After a moment of breathing in the fresh air now filtering into the room, they wandered back to the bathroom.
“Is there anything that’s more of my skill level that could do to… help out?” she offered, leaning on the door frame.
They hummed very faintly in thought. "Not at the moment, thank you." they got to work on the toilet, eyes narrowed faintly as they examined what plumbing was visible, taking the lid off of the tank to get a view of the inner workings.
She nodded, then ambled back into their room, rather unsure what to do now. The only thing she could think of was going back to sleep. At the same time, there was a sense that she should be doing something, not just standing or sleeping around. But this was another rare moment of rest, of relief, and they should make the most of it, right?
They sat on the edge of their cot, looking down at their chest. Taking their hands, she pushed against it, trying to make her chest more flat. But her hands could only do so much, and it was probably better to wait a bit longer before she put the binder back on. They sighed, laying themself down on the cot, beginning to drift between half-consciousness and dreaming.
The plumber continued working to unclog the toilet, surprisingly quiet while doing so. Other than the obvious sounds of the wrench and the piping, there was no coughing or undue retching. Then again, the plumber was probably used to working in these kinds of conditions.
The sounds of the wrench and piping seemed to meld into Indigo’s dreams, adding a strange layer of realness over the nonsensical things they saw.
She could see… the prince. He was mad at her for some reason, and was using a wrench to smack her on the head. And then somehow, the prince was replaced by Lady Olympia, who was also mad at her for some reason. Her lips moved… she was screaming at Indigo to do something, to finish some sort of task, but they could never make out what it was. But then she disappeared, and Indigo was in some sort of forest. It might have been the forest behind the Thistlewell Estate, but the dream made it all at once familiar and unfamiliar. It might not have been. Indigo simply trekked through the wooded path until someone appeared ahead of her. It… was her father. Their father, but he was old and gray. Was he dying? Indigo was suddenly in his arms, a mere child, looking into a dying man’s face. She wanted to apologize for some reason. For being born? She sure did cause him a lot of trouble. Her father seemed to nod in agreement before withering away, dying quickly in the way humans often did. His ashes blew in the wind, morphing into an ashen raven. Indigo followed it, her child self growing up as they went deeper into the wood. Deeper, deeper, into nothingness.
The plumber continued to work, plunging the toilet and working again to help it flush normally. They didn't seem to mind working alone in the relative silence, unspeaking save for when, every now and again, they would let out quiet little hums as they worked to find solutions for the problem the plumbing faced.
The transition from sleep to wakefulness was seamless, so much so that Indigo wasn’t sure if she was still dreaming or not for a second. She sat up, when suddenly they became aware that their face was wet. They had been crying. When? As they were sleeping? But they didn’t feel sad… she didn’t really feel anything. Or maybe she felt something, but didn’t know what it was. Just a weird dream. Just a weird dream.
She wiped her eyes, then slowly got out of the cot. They wandered back over to the bathroom to check on the plumber’s progress, pinching her nose.
The plumber looked up when they came in. "I'm nearly done." they said, shifting. They were in a crouch, wrench in their hand as they worked on the toilet and its plumbing. "And then I'll be out of here." they didn't ask any questions of her; it wasn't their busines what Indigo was going through, and they had no wish to intrude.
Their hand dropped to their side, realizing that it didn’t smell as bad as it did before. She offered them a smile. “Wonderful. Thanks again.”
At first she thought to find something to do other than sleep, but something else occurred to her. They turned back, raising a hand to her chin. “Oh, I should’ve asked…” they said. “What’s your name?”
They blinked at them. "Lor." They replied after a moment. "Lor Aldred. And you are?" They returned to their work after a moment, though still obviously listening for Indigo's response to their question.
Maybe it was because they were human, so they felt safe somehow, or maybe it was because she felt rude for how she acted when they came, but Indigo wanted to talk more with Lor. Besides, better sooner make friends here than enemies.
They blinked. “Oh, um, right,” they said awkwardly. “Indigo Umbra. Nice to make your acquaintance.”
"Nice to make yours as well." The plumber agreed, standing in order to check over the toilet. They hoped that they had succeeded in fixing it, but they weren't sure. If their fixes hadn't worked, than it was likely a larger issue than they'd thought, and it would take even more time to fix.
Indigo could not find a way to continue the conversation, and even suddenly felt bad for starting it in the first place. She was probably getting in the way of them doing their job. So, even tho Lor stood up, they gave a small nod and headed to the sitting room, looking over it and deciding to clean it as well.
Lor came out of the bathroom after a few minutes. "It should be good now." They said. "If there are any more problems, let me know." They gave her a quick smile. They had washed their hands and cleaned off, so there wasn't anything left on their hands from fixing it up.
Indigo raised their head to face the plumber, a bundle of clothes in their arms. “Thank you again,” she said, returning the smile. “Will you be on your way?”