160.
Title: The Master of Sleep
Pairing/Characters: Masuda Takahisa, Tegoshi Yuya, a donkey named Stephanie and an owl named Kato.
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Prompt: # 160 - Massu is the Sandman and brings dreams (or nightmares).
A/N: Unbetaed. Inspired by the book The Book of the Sandman and the Alphabet of Sleep by Rien Poortvliet. I used to be terrified of this book, but now it's my favourite. Yes, I did indeed turn Shige into an owl.
It was seven o'clock in the morning.
A little figure made his way to one of the only windows in the castle, a broom in his hand and thin gossamer wings on his back. He hummed to himself as he unlocked the window and slowly pulled the glass inwards, the cold morning air making him shiver and ruffling his blonde hair around his pointed ears. He swept as he waited, grumbling about the dirt the wind had blown in, and struggled with a stray leaf that had found it's way inside. Since the leaf was twice the size of the fairy, it was rather difficult.
Another gust of wind sent the fairy sprawling backwards with a cry, his broom falling to the floor with a clatter. He brushed the hair out of his eyes, sitting up a little. "Takahisa," he sighed. "Welcome home."
A man dressed all in white and gold dismounted from the tiniest of donkeys, petting her once before moving to help the little fairy to his feet. "Did you have a good trip?" the fairy asked, shuffling to pick his broom from the floor. "Any problems?"
The man - Takahisa - shook his head. "No problems," he answered. "Everything okay here, Yuya?"
Yuya nodded. "Everything's okay. As it has been for a thousand years," he said, moving to close the window again. "There were no Keep-Awakes waiting for you again, were there?"
"Not tonight," Takahisa said, rubbing his eyes. "I think we'll get to bed, Yuya. You should too."
Once Yuya had finished closing the window - quite a tough task for such a small being - he turned and leant on his broom. "I cleaned up in the library today, and made your bed," he said, and Takahisa smiled sleepily.
"Thankyou."
"It's not a problem," Yuya said softly, turning his broom about so he could hit at Takahisa lightly. "Go to bed!"
***
But bed was not where Takahisa was going. He headed to the library, letting the hood of his suit fall off his head, his bright red hair almost shimmering in the light from the torches lining the walls. His donkey followed, her hooves the only sound on the stone floor.
Takahisa was the Sandman. Every night at seven o'clock sharp he would head out into the night, bringing sleep to everyone in the world. It was a tough - and sometimes almost deadly - job, but he loved it. You see, the Keep-Awakes would sometimes attempt to stop him, but he always won. He had to, in order to let the people of the world sleep.
Sleep was very important.
The library was a wonderful place. It was Takahisa's favourite place, all dark reds and browns and golds. The scent of parchment was rich in the air, the fire crackling away in it's hearth, throwing long shadows against the bookshelves that lined the walls. With a smile, Takahisa noticed that Yuya had left his book on the side table as he walked to his chair.
"Here, Stephanie."
The donkey walked over, her tail swishing about as she moved, resting her head on the back of the chair as Takahisa sank back into the chair. He picked the book up and opened it where he had left off the night before.
"Which page were we on...?" he asked, and Stephanie made a low noise in her throat. "Ah, right." Takahisa settled back, cleared his throat, and began reading. "And so, the princess pricked her finger upon the spindle. A bright flash of green light exploded through the room, and she crumpled to the floor, her golden hair falling over her beautiful face..."
Stephanie listened with rapt attention, nudging Takahisa with her muzzle if he read too fast. She loved the stories he read her. From Sleeping Beauty to Little Red Riding Hood to the tales of Peter Rabbit - they had read them all, and Stephanie had loved every single one. She especially liked the ones with pictures.
Ten minutes later, they were both yawning, so Takahisa marked his spot and closed the book. "Off to bed," he murmured, scratching Stephanie under the chin and standing up. She nodded her head and swished her tail, pressing her muzzle to his cheek before backing up.
Takahisa and Stephanie were inseparable, but Yuya refused to allow Takahisa to sleep with Stephanie in the same room. So she went through another archway, her hooves echoing down the hall as she left for her own room.
It didn't take long for Takahisa to change into his pyjamas and slide under the covers after carefully placing his sandbags onto his bedside table. Sleep came easily to the Sandman, especially when there was a nice warm waterbottle at his feet and a deep blue nightcap upon his head. He had just one tiny dream that night, about flying through purple and orange skies on a magic carpet.
Takahisa awoke in the evening to the sound of Yuya singing. He loved Yuya's voice; it was quite lovely. He was singing a song that Takahisa had heard before, but couldn't quite place. Takahisa blearily sat up, rubbing his eyes and pulling his nightcap off, blinking at the owl that sat in the corner of his bedroom.
"Good morning, Kato."
"Good morning, Sandman."
Takahisa heaved himself out of the bed, yawning and scratching his stomach before moving to his closet. "What's up?"
"The sky, generally," the owl answered. "Or the ceiling. Actually, right now, the upstairs bathroom is above us--"
"It was a figure of speech, Kato," Takahisa said, his head in his closet. "Yuya? Did you wash my day clothes?" he called after being unable to find his usual clothes. "They're not here..."
"I put them in the basket outside of your room," Yuya called back from outside the room. "Like I always do."
"Oh," Takahisa said sheepishly, and Kato turned his big yellow eyes onto him, looking unimpressed. "Sorry, Yuya."
He managed to get dressed quickly once he found his clothes - Kato had turned his back to him to give him some privacy - and headed down to the kitchen, where a lovely stack of pancakes was waiting for him. "Thankyou, Yuya."
The little fairy just waved a hand at him, mumbling under his breath about animals in the kitchen. Stephanie was already there, bobbing her head and whickering happily as Takahisa ran a hand through her spiky mane. "Ah, your beautiful pancakes," he said, sinking into a chair and admiring the food in front of him. "They always look like a masterpiece."
"Yeah yeah, just eat," Yuya said, placing a fork and knife into his hands and sweeping away the owl feathers that had fallen from Kato as he shook himself.
"Sorry."
"Don't talk to me."
When Yuya turned his back, Kato poked his tongue out at him. Takahisa laughed into his breakfast. "What are you laughing about?" Yuya snapped, and Takahisa just shook his head.
"Nothing."
"Hurry up and eat. You've got a full day ahead of you Takahisa." Yuya bustled about the kitchen, already washing Stephanie's bowl, cringing as Kato picked at the pancakes on the table. "Kato, could you stop that; you're getting crumbs on the floor--"
Kato ruffled his feathers. Yuya tried to get him to eat the things he cooked, but Kato just couldn't stomach it. He would find a mouse or two later, so he wasn't too fazed.
"Well, I'm going to check the weather patterns," Kato announced, his beak clicking as he spoke. "If you need me, I'll be in my room." And with that he was gone, shuffling off through the corridors as only birds can do, muttering under his breath about dates and winds as he went.
"You should be going too," Yuya said, taking Takahisa's plate from under his nose. "Shoo! Off to the mines with you!"
And so Takahisa went. He didn't like it down in the mines, but it was something he had to do. He always insisted on seiving the sand himself. He made his way down into the middle of the mountain that the castle sat upon, into one of the thousands of rooms that had been cut out of the rock. Piles upon piles of sand lay in mountains around the room, glinting in the flickering light from the torches on the walls.
He sighed, quickly getting to work, finding his shovel and buckets. And so he sieved. And sieved, and sieved, and sieved. He sieved until his shoulders were sore and there was no more coarse sand lying on the ground. It was then that he called for Kato.
Takahisa poured the sand into hessian sacks held open by Kato - Stephanie was supposed to do this job but she often forgot, and Kato liked being useful anyway. It was a lot of work, but that was okay, because Takahisa liked working in the silence, his mind focused on his task.
The sacks were taken into another room very carefully, before pouring the sand back out onto the floor, again with Kato's help. Here Takahisa stepped away, because he was not needed for this final stage. Four pixies, tinier than the Sandman himself - who was only two inches tall anyway - stood in the middle of the room, shuffling through their books for the right song. They waved as he and Kato left, shaking off the remaining sand grains from their feet.
The pixies began singing as Kato and Takahisa headed down the hallway, and it wouldn't be long until the sounds of their voices broke the sand grains down into the finest sleeping sand. Takahisa hoped that the pixies would be careful with the sand once they were done; if the sand got into their eyes, they would fall asleep for an inknown length of time. That had happened a few times before - strangely, it was always the same pixie.
A cup of tea and a few biscuits (which were stolen from the jar that Yuya had tried to hide from Takahisa) later, Takahisa revisited the room with Kato and Stephanie and shovelled the now extra-fine sand back into their bags. Stephanie was already decked out in her harness, so all Takahisa had to do was hook her to the cart and lead her to the lower rooms.
"Done!" Takahisa sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow as he surveyed the bags sitting against the wall, all of them waiting for the night to fall. Stephanie made a noise and pressed her muzzle to his cheek, her whiskers tickling his face and making him smile. "Come on, time to get some lunch."
Hours had passed since Takahisa had started his work, and Yuya had prepared a small lunch for them. "Lunch!" Yuya screeched, his voice reaching Takahisa in his room as he changed into something less sweaty.
"Coming!"
Kato was out hunting, and Stephanie had her head in a bucket of hay, her tail practically wagging, she was so happy. They barely ever brought hay into the castle. It was more of a treat than a necessity. That didn't stop Stephanie from kicking up a fuss when Yuya refused to write it on the list, though.
Yuya had made sandwiches. They were lovely sandwiches, and Takahisa ate two before sitting back in his chair and groaning. "No more," he said, laughing. "Please don't feed me anymore."
Yuya laughed, whisking his plate away and moving to wash it. "Will you have space later for dinner, just before you go?"
"Of course I will," Takahisa said seriously, "I always do."
"You love your food."
"That, I do."
After lunch, and after Yuya had beaten him away with his broom, mumbling under his breath about the hay that Stephanie had left on the floor, Takahisa headed to his training room. Stephanie followed, their routine the same as it had been for so many years.
The two spent an hour training. Takahisa flicked sand into tiny little pots he had hung around the room in various angles, moving around the room as fast as he could, every single grain of sand finding it's way into the pots. After so many years, the technique was second-nature to him.
Stephanie was on her treadmill, slowly walking on and on as Takahisa trained. She soon became bored, instead moving to nose at the pots along the floor. "Stop that," Takahisa said, pulling his blindfold off. "I might not be able to see you, but I can hear you."
Stephanie folded her ears to her head sheepishly and went back to her treadmill. Takahisa sighed. "That's enough for today," he said, wiping his forehead. Stephanie bobbed her head, agreeing wholeheartedly. She never liked this kind of exercise. She found it boring.
He was going to go down to the kitchen for a glass of water, but Yuya was standing outside to doorway with a glass in his hand. "Thought you needed it," he said, smiling.
"I did, and thankyou," Takahisa said gratefully.
"Where are you going now?" he asked, twitching his wings as he smiled. "Did you need a snack?"
"We should be off to collect the sand," Takahisa said, giving the glass back to Yuya and smiling. "And I wouldn't say no to a cookie or two," he added with a cheeky smile. Yuya narrowed his eyes at him.
"One. You get one cookie."
"But--"
"One, Takahisa."
"Fine."
There was never time for dinner really, but that was alright, because their lunch always filled them up enough. Stephanie and Takahisa travelled back down to the mines to collect the sand. A few bags would do for tonight.
Takahisa left the bags in the kitchen and, munching happily upon his cookie, made his way to Kato's room, which was at the very top of the east wing of the castle. Kato ruffled his feathers as Takahisa walked in, staring up at a very important-looking map stretched across one of the walls. The room echoed, it was so big. There wasn't much in there, except a large skylight and maps rolled up and slotted into a massive bookshelf; there was a mess of twigs in one corner for Kato's bed.
Kato swivelled his head around when they neared him - something that Stephanie always hated; she shook her head and flattened her ears at him angrily. Kato clicked his beak and shook his tail a little, ignoring her like he usually did.
"What's going on in the world, Kato?" Takahisa asked, looking up at the map on the wall as if he could actually figure it out. It was a map of the world, that much he was sure of. But he couldn't understand the little squiggles here and there or why there were lines stretching across the map, so he just looked at Kato for an explanation.
"Not much, actually," Kato said, peering up at Africa with a curious expression in his big yellow eyes. "You'll have some weather problems, of course, but that's to be expected."
He stretched his wings, looking a little bored as he continued speaking, even though Takahisa knew that Kato loved what he was doing. There were little pegs here and there that Kato had put up previously, and he now pointed to one of them just off the coast of South Africa. "There's a little storm over here," he said, and Takahisa nodded. "Watch out for the lightning, and the winds - you know the drill." Takahisa nodded again.
Kato moved over to another part of the world. Europe. France. "It's raining here. There isn't much rain but it's quite windy, so you still need to be careful." He went on, through hurricanes and heat waves and war zones, until Takahisa was sure he knew exactly what he was going to have to look out for.
Stephanie scratched behind her ear with her hind hoof as she waited for this part to be over. Takahisa had never really taught her manners, and anyway, the word 'manners' means nothing to a donkey, even one as magical as Stephanie. Kato gave her a withering glance.
"So, we're done?" Takahisa asked, and Kato nodded.
"Just make sure to remember that bad storm in Ireland," Kato warned. "It seemed quite troublesome."
But Takahisa just waved a hand. "I know, I'll remember," he said, calling Stephanie. "Thank you, Kato."
Kato clicked his beak again. "I'm going out hunting; if Yuya calls, I've just gone for a fly," he said. Yuya never liked it when Kato hunted, so he tried to keep it secret.
"Okay."
"And I won't tell him you're about to steal another cookie," Kato added, and Takahisa paused.
"Er... thankyou," he mumbled, and Stephanie bumped him with her nose, laughter dancing in her eyes. "Shh," he hissed, as they walked back out.
Yuya was mopping the upstairs bathroom, and so Takahisa carefully tucked a cookie into his hat before going to say goodbye. "I'm leaving now," he said, peeking his head into the bathroom. Yuya leant against the mop, wiping his forehead and flapping his wings slightly.
"Oh okay. Have a safe trip," he said, smiling wearily. "I'll be here when you get back."
"Get some sleep," Takahisa said worriedly. "You always stay up for me; it's not healthy."
Yuya just waved a hand. "Shush. On your way now," he said softly, smiling at him. "Have a good time, make sure Stephanie doesn't fly too high."
"Thankyou."
And so he and Stephanie headed out into the night, the bags of sand tied to her harness securely. Their work started straight away; a tiny family of hares at the base of the castle were huddled together, grooming each other as the sky turned dark.
A few sand grains in-hand, Takahisa and Stephanie flew down, quickly flicking the sand right into the animals' eyes and shooting away before they were noticed. There were birds and bugs and squirrels; camels and lizards and cows; children and mothers and lonely old men in front of their televisions. None of them saw the two fly by; the only hint of their existence was a small gush of air and the faint scent of donkey.
The storm in Ireland was quite horrid, the lightning almost toppling Takahisa off Stephanie a few times. They only stopped once, on the top of Tokyo Tower, so Takahisa could split his cookie with Stephanie, but then once the last crumb was gone so were they, soaring over the lights of Tokyo as fast as they could.
Somewhere between Korea and Hawaii Takahisa wondered if Yuya was going to cook French toast when they arrived back. He hoped Yuya was sleeping, and wasn't trying to battle the stubborn mould in the third floor bathrooms. Again.
Takahisa had once found him asleep in the library, hugging his dustpan and brush.
Twelve hours later they were done, quickly turning tail and heading back home, to comfy slippers and a warm bed. Stephanie was weary, slowly dropping lower and lower in the sky, and Takahisa ran a hand through her coarse mane. "Come on, Stephanie," he murmured. "Just a little further. It's almost seven in the morning."
She made a tiny noise and somehow managed to rise up, back up to that window that Yuuya had once again opened. Takahisa could see him standing at the window ledge, his wings almost glowing in the light. He smiled tiredly at them from the window, stepping back to let them in.
Stephanie landed lightly, her hooves barely making a sound. Takahisa slid off her, making sure her harness was off before letting her go. She trotted off without a backwards glance, probably to have something to eat before waiting for Takahisa in the library.
Takahisa turned to Yuya, who just blinked. "Did you get any sleep?" he asked.
Yuya clutched his broom tighter. "No, but I did manage to get rid of most of the remaining cobwebs in the library - you know, those really tough ones right in the corners--"
Takahisa took Yuya's broom away, holding it out of his reach as he tried to get it back. "Yuya," he said seriously. "You have to sleep."
And so he led Yuya through the castle, back to his room. Yuya's room was quite large compared to Takahisa's own; there was a bed and a chest of drawers and an ornate bookcase full of recipe books and maps (because Yuya liked to dream about travelling).
"I don't need to sleep-- I can do that later--" Yuya protested, still attempting to get his broom back. "Really, Takahisa."
"No," Takahisa said, pushing Yuya down onto the bed. "Now, you get dressed and lie do-- lie down Yuya!" he repeated, as Yuya stood. Yuya clicked his tongue and fluttered his wings, something that Takahisa knew was a nervous reaction.
"Fine," he muttered. Takahisa beamed.
"Stay here, I'll fix you something."
Yuya was dressed in his pyjamas when Takahisa came back with a glass of warm milk and honey (it had taken him a while to find the honey; Yuya had moved it since he had needed it last). Takahisa wasn't entirely sure he had ever seen Yuya in his pyjamas before.
Yuya looked self-conscious as he rolled his sleeves up and drank the milk, sighing a little and rolling his shoulders. "I'm just... just a little tired..." he said, sinking down onto the bed. "Just a little."
Takahisa smiled, taking the glass from him and setting it down upon his bedside table. "Go to sleep."
"You can't make me," Yuya protested softly, as his eyelids lowered.
"I can, and you know it," Takahisa smiled. Yuya grumbled under his breath, pulling the quilt up to his chin.
"Shut up," he mumbled, already half asleep.
"Goodnight, Yuya."
"Not sleepy..."
Takahisa leant down and pressed a small kiss to Yuya's forehead. "Goodnight."
"...Night."
And so the castle slept as the rest of the world awoke, rubbing their eyes with the backs of their hands and scratching their heads, the effects of the sleeping sand slowly wearing off. The world continued on as it had for years, turning and growing and living, but the smallest, most important beings were fast asleep, their toes warm and their light snores filling the air.
Takahisa was the last to sleep, his back sore and the hint of a headache just behind his eyes, sinking into the bed and sighing. He placed his nightcap on his head and yawned, welcoming the warmth of the quilts as he tucked himself in. In a few hours he would have to do everything all over again, but he didn't mind.
The Sandman closed his eyes with another sigh, and welcomed sleep like an old friend.
End.
Pairing/Characters: Masuda Takahisa, Tegoshi Yuya, a donkey named Stephanie and an owl named Kato.
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Prompt: # 160 - Massu is the Sandman and brings dreams (or nightmares).
A/N: Unbetaed. Inspired by the book The Book of the Sandman and the Alphabet of Sleep by Rien Poortvliet. I used to be terrified of this book, but now it's my favourite. Yes, I did indeed turn Shige into an owl.
It was seven o'clock in the morning.
A little figure made his way to one of the only windows in the castle, a broom in his hand and thin gossamer wings on his back. He hummed to himself as he unlocked the window and slowly pulled the glass inwards, the cold morning air making him shiver and ruffling his blonde hair around his pointed ears. He swept as he waited, grumbling about the dirt the wind had blown in, and struggled with a stray leaf that had found it's way inside. Since the leaf was twice the size of the fairy, it was rather difficult.
Another gust of wind sent the fairy sprawling backwards with a cry, his broom falling to the floor with a clatter. He brushed the hair out of his eyes, sitting up a little. "Takahisa," he sighed. "Welcome home."
A man dressed all in white and gold dismounted from the tiniest of donkeys, petting her once before moving to help the little fairy to his feet. "Did you have a good trip?" the fairy asked, shuffling to pick his broom from the floor. "Any problems?"
The man - Takahisa - shook his head. "No problems," he answered. "Everything okay here, Yuya?"
Yuya nodded. "Everything's okay. As it has been for a thousand years," he said, moving to close the window again. "There were no Keep-Awakes waiting for you again, were there?"
"Not tonight," Takahisa said, rubbing his eyes. "I think we'll get to bed, Yuya. You should too."
Once Yuya had finished closing the window - quite a tough task for such a small being - he turned and leant on his broom. "I cleaned up in the library today, and made your bed," he said, and Takahisa smiled sleepily.
"Thankyou."
"It's not a problem," Yuya said softly, turning his broom about so he could hit at Takahisa lightly. "Go to bed!"
***
But bed was not where Takahisa was going. He headed to the library, letting the hood of his suit fall off his head, his bright red hair almost shimmering in the light from the torches lining the walls. His donkey followed, her hooves the only sound on the stone floor.
Takahisa was the Sandman. Every night at seven o'clock sharp he would head out into the night, bringing sleep to everyone in the world. It was a tough - and sometimes almost deadly - job, but he loved it. You see, the Keep-Awakes would sometimes attempt to stop him, but he always won. He had to, in order to let the people of the world sleep.
Sleep was very important.
The library was a wonderful place. It was Takahisa's favourite place, all dark reds and browns and golds. The scent of parchment was rich in the air, the fire crackling away in it's hearth, throwing long shadows against the bookshelves that lined the walls. With a smile, Takahisa noticed that Yuya had left his book on the side table as he walked to his chair.
"Here, Stephanie."
The donkey walked over, her tail swishing about as she moved, resting her head on the back of the chair as Takahisa sank back into the chair. He picked the book up and opened it where he had left off the night before.
"Which page were we on...?" he asked, and Stephanie made a low noise in her throat. "Ah, right." Takahisa settled back, cleared his throat, and began reading. "And so, the princess pricked her finger upon the spindle. A bright flash of green light exploded through the room, and she crumpled to the floor, her golden hair falling over her beautiful face..."
Stephanie listened with rapt attention, nudging Takahisa with her muzzle if he read too fast. She loved the stories he read her. From Sleeping Beauty to Little Red Riding Hood to the tales of Peter Rabbit - they had read them all, and Stephanie had loved every single one. She especially liked the ones with pictures.
Ten minutes later, they were both yawning, so Takahisa marked his spot and closed the book. "Off to bed," he murmured, scratching Stephanie under the chin and standing up. She nodded her head and swished her tail, pressing her muzzle to his cheek before backing up.
Takahisa and Stephanie were inseparable, but Yuya refused to allow Takahisa to sleep with Stephanie in the same room. So she went through another archway, her hooves echoing down the hall as she left for her own room.
It didn't take long for Takahisa to change into his pyjamas and slide under the covers after carefully placing his sandbags onto his bedside table. Sleep came easily to the Sandman, especially when there was a nice warm waterbottle at his feet and a deep blue nightcap upon his head. He had just one tiny dream that night, about flying through purple and orange skies on a magic carpet.
Takahisa awoke in the evening to the sound of Yuya singing. He loved Yuya's voice; it was quite lovely. He was singing a song that Takahisa had heard before, but couldn't quite place. Takahisa blearily sat up, rubbing his eyes and pulling his nightcap off, blinking at the owl that sat in the corner of his bedroom.
"Good morning, Kato."
"Good morning, Sandman."
Takahisa heaved himself out of the bed, yawning and scratching his stomach before moving to his closet. "What's up?"
"The sky, generally," the owl answered. "Or the ceiling. Actually, right now, the upstairs bathroom is above us--"
"It was a figure of speech, Kato," Takahisa said, his head in his closet. "Yuya? Did you wash my day clothes?" he called after being unable to find his usual clothes. "They're not here..."
"I put them in the basket outside of your room," Yuya called back from outside the room. "Like I always do."
"Oh," Takahisa said sheepishly, and Kato turned his big yellow eyes onto him, looking unimpressed. "Sorry, Yuya."
He managed to get dressed quickly once he found his clothes - Kato had turned his back to him to give him some privacy - and headed down to the kitchen, where a lovely stack of pancakes was waiting for him. "Thankyou, Yuya."
The little fairy just waved a hand at him, mumbling under his breath about animals in the kitchen. Stephanie was already there, bobbing her head and whickering happily as Takahisa ran a hand through her spiky mane. "Ah, your beautiful pancakes," he said, sinking into a chair and admiring the food in front of him. "They always look like a masterpiece."
"Yeah yeah, just eat," Yuya said, placing a fork and knife into his hands and sweeping away the owl feathers that had fallen from Kato as he shook himself.
"Sorry."
"Don't talk to me."
When Yuya turned his back, Kato poked his tongue out at him. Takahisa laughed into his breakfast. "What are you laughing about?" Yuya snapped, and Takahisa just shook his head.
"Nothing."
"Hurry up and eat. You've got a full day ahead of you Takahisa." Yuya bustled about the kitchen, already washing Stephanie's bowl, cringing as Kato picked at the pancakes on the table. "Kato, could you stop that; you're getting crumbs on the floor--"
Kato ruffled his feathers. Yuya tried to get him to eat the things he cooked, but Kato just couldn't stomach it. He would find a mouse or two later, so he wasn't too fazed.
"Well, I'm going to check the weather patterns," Kato announced, his beak clicking as he spoke. "If you need me, I'll be in my room." And with that he was gone, shuffling off through the corridors as only birds can do, muttering under his breath about dates and winds as he went.
"You should be going too," Yuya said, taking Takahisa's plate from under his nose. "Shoo! Off to the mines with you!"
And so Takahisa went. He didn't like it down in the mines, but it was something he had to do. He always insisted on seiving the sand himself. He made his way down into the middle of the mountain that the castle sat upon, into one of the thousands of rooms that had been cut out of the rock. Piles upon piles of sand lay in mountains around the room, glinting in the flickering light from the torches on the walls.
He sighed, quickly getting to work, finding his shovel and buckets. And so he sieved. And sieved, and sieved, and sieved. He sieved until his shoulders were sore and there was no more coarse sand lying on the ground. It was then that he called for Kato.
Takahisa poured the sand into hessian sacks held open by Kato - Stephanie was supposed to do this job but she often forgot, and Kato liked being useful anyway. It was a lot of work, but that was okay, because Takahisa liked working in the silence, his mind focused on his task.
The sacks were taken into another room very carefully, before pouring the sand back out onto the floor, again with Kato's help. Here Takahisa stepped away, because he was not needed for this final stage. Four pixies, tinier than the Sandman himself - who was only two inches tall anyway - stood in the middle of the room, shuffling through their books for the right song. They waved as he and Kato left, shaking off the remaining sand grains from their feet.
The pixies began singing as Kato and Takahisa headed down the hallway, and it wouldn't be long until the sounds of their voices broke the sand grains down into the finest sleeping sand. Takahisa hoped that the pixies would be careful with the sand once they were done; if the sand got into their eyes, they would fall asleep for an inknown length of time. That had happened a few times before - strangely, it was always the same pixie.
A cup of tea and a few biscuits (which were stolen from the jar that Yuya had tried to hide from Takahisa) later, Takahisa revisited the room with Kato and Stephanie and shovelled the now extra-fine sand back into their bags. Stephanie was already decked out in her harness, so all Takahisa had to do was hook her to the cart and lead her to the lower rooms.
"Done!" Takahisa sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow as he surveyed the bags sitting against the wall, all of them waiting for the night to fall. Stephanie made a noise and pressed her muzzle to his cheek, her whiskers tickling his face and making him smile. "Come on, time to get some lunch."
Hours had passed since Takahisa had started his work, and Yuya had prepared a small lunch for them. "Lunch!" Yuya screeched, his voice reaching Takahisa in his room as he changed into something less sweaty.
"Coming!"
Kato was out hunting, and Stephanie had her head in a bucket of hay, her tail practically wagging, she was so happy. They barely ever brought hay into the castle. It was more of a treat than a necessity. That didn't stop Stephanie from kicking up a fuss when Yuya refused to write it on the list, though.
Yuya had made sandwiches. They were lovely sandwiches, and Takahisa ate two before sitting back in his chair and groaning. "No more," he said, laughing. "Please don't feed me anymore."
Yuya laughed, whisking his plate away and moving to wash it. "Will you have space later for dinner, just before you go?"
"Of course I will," Takahisa said seriously, "I always do."
"You love your food."
"That, I do."
After lunch, and after Yuya had beaten him away with his broom, mumbling under his breath about the hay that Stephanie had left on the floor, Takahisa headed to his training room. Stephanie followed, their routine the same as it had been for so many years.
The two spent an hour training. Takahisa flicked sand into tiny little pots he had hung around the room in various angles, moving around the room as fast as he could, every single grain of sand finding it's way into the pots. After so many years, the technique was second-nature to him.
Stephanie was on her treadmill, slowly walking on and on as Takahisa trained. She soon became bored, instead moving to nose at the pots along the floor. "Stop that," Takahisa said, pulling his blindfold off. "I might not be able to see you, but I can hear you."
Stephanie folded her ears to her head sheepishly and went back to her treadmill. Takahisa sighed. "That's enough for today," he said, wiping his forehead. Stephanie bobbed her head, agreeing wholeheartedly. She never liked this kind of exercise. She found it boring.
He was going to go down to the kitchen for a glass of water, but Yuya was standing outside to doorway with a glass in his hand. "Thought you needed it," he said, smiling.
"I did, and thankyou," Takahisa said gratefully.
"Where are you going now?" he asked, twitching his wings as he smiled. "Did you need a snack?"
"We should be off to collect the sand," Takahisa said, giving the glass back to Yuya and smiling. "And I wouldn't say no to a cookie or two," he added with a cheeky smile. Yuya narrowed his eyes at him.
"One. You get one cookie."
"But--"
"One, Takahisa."
"Fine."
There was never time for dinner really, but that was alright, because their lunch always filled them up enough. Stephanie and Takahisa travelled back down to the mines to collect the sand. A few bags would do for tonight.
Takahisa left the bags in the kitchen and, munching happily upon his cookie, made his way to Kato's room, which was at the very top of the east wing of the castle. Kato ruffled his feathers as Takahisa walked in, staring up at a very important-looking map stretched across one of the walls. The room echoed, it was so big. There wasn't much in there, except a large skylight and maps rolled up and slotted into a massive bookshelf; there was a mess of twigs in one corner for Kato's bed.
Kato swivelled his head around when they neared him - something that Stephanie always hated; she shook her head and flattened her ears at him angrily. Kato clicked his beak and shook his tail a little, ignoring her like he usually did.
"What's going on in the world, Kato?" Takahisa asked, looking up at the map on the wall as if he could actually figure it out. It was a map of the world, that much he was sure of. But he couldn't understand the little squiggles here and there or why there were lines stretching across the map, so he just looked at Kato for an explanation.
"Not much, actually," Kato said, peering up at Africa with a curious expression in his big yellow eyes. "You'll have some weather problems, of course, but that's to be expected."
He stretched his wings, looking a little bored as he continued speaking, even though Takahisa knew that Kato loved what he was doing. There were little pegs here and there that Kato had put up previously, and he now pointed to one of them just off the coast of South Africa. "There's a little storm over here," he said, and Takahisa nodded. "Watch out for the lightning, and the winds - you know the drill." Takahisa nodded again.
Kato moved over to another part of the world. Europe. France. "It's raining here. There isn't much rain but it's quite windy, so you still need to be careful." He went on, through hurricanes and heat waves and war zones, until Takahisa was sure he knew exactly what he was going to have to look out for.
Stephanie scratched behind her ear with her hind hoof as she waited for this part to be over. Takahisa had never really taught her manners, and anyway, the word 'manners' means nothing to a donkey, even one as magical as Stephanie. Kato gave her a withering glance.
"So, we're done?" Takahisa asked, and Kato nodded.
"Just make sure to remember that bad storm in Ireland," Kato warned. "It seemed quite troublesome."
But Takahisa just waved a hand. "I know, I'll remember," he said, calling Stephanie. "Thank you, Kato."
Kato clicked his beak again. "I'm going out hunting; if Yuya calls, I've just gone for a fly," he said. Yuya never liked it when Kato hunted, so he tried to keep it secret.
"Okay."
"And I won't tell him you're about to steal another cookie," Kato added, and Takahisa paused.
"Er... thankyou," he mumbled, and Stephanie bumped him with her nose, laughter dancing in her eyes. "Shh," he hissed, as they walked back out.
Yuya was mopping the upstairs bathroom, and so Takahisa carefully tucked a cookie into his hat before going to say goodbye. "I'm leaving now," he said, peeking his head into the bathroom. Yuya leant against the mop, wiping his forehead and flapping his wings slightly.
"Oh okay. Have a safe trip," he said, smiling wearily. "I'll be here when you get back."
"Get some sleep," Takahisa said worriedly. "You always stay up for me; it's not healthy."
Yuya just waved a hand. "Shush. On your way now," he said softly, smiling at him. "Have a good time, make sure Stephanie doesn't fly too high."
"Thankyou."
And so he and Stephanie headed out into the night, the bags of sand tied to her harness securely. Their work started straight away; a tiny family of hares at the base of the castle were huddled together, grooming each other as the sky turned dark.
A few sand grains in-hand, Takahisa and Stephanie flew down, quickly flicking the sand right into the animals' eyes and shooting away before they were noticed. There were birds and bugs and squirrels; camels and lizards and cows; children and mothers and lonely old men in front of their televisions. None of them saw the two fly by; the only hint of their existence was a small gush of air and the faint scent of donkey.
The storm in Ireland was quite horrid, the lightning almost toppling Takahisa off Stephanie a few times. They only stopped once, on the top of Tokyo Tower, so Takahisa could split his cookie with Stephanie, but then once the last crumb was gone so were they, soaring over the lights of Tokyo as fast as they could.
Somewhere between Korea and Hawaii Takahisa wondered if Yuya was going to cook French toast when they arrived back. He hoped Yuya was sleeping, and wasn't trying to battle the stubborn mould in the third floor bathrooms. Again.
Takahisa had once found him asleep in the library, hugging his dustpan and brush.
Twelve hours later they were done, quickly turning tail and heading back home, to comfy slippers and a warm bed. Stephanie was weary, slowly dropping lower and lower in the sky, and Takahisa ran a hand through her coarse mane. "Come on, Stephanie," he murmured. "Just a little further. It's almost seven in the morning."
She made a tiny noise and somehow managed to rise up, back up to that window that Yuuya had once again opened. Takahisa could see him standing at the window ledge, his wings almost glowing in the light. He smiled tiredly at them from the window, stepping back to let them in.
Stephanie landed lightly, her hooves barely making a sound. Takahisa slid off her, making sure her harness was off before letting her go. She trotted off without a backwards glance, probably to have something to eat before waiting for Takahisa in the library.
Takahisa turned to Yuya, who just blinked. "Did you get any sleep?" he asked.
Yuya clutched his broom tighter. "No, but I did manage to get rid of most of the remaining cobwebs in the library - you know, those really tough ones right in the corners--"
Takahisa took Yuya's broom away, holding it out of his reach as he tried to get it back. "Yuya," he said seriously. "You have to sleep."
And so he led Yuya through the castle, back to his room. Yuya's room was quite large compared to Takahisa's own; there was a bed and a chest of drawers and an ornate bookcase full of recipe books and maps (because Yuya liked to dream about travelling).
"I don't need to sleep-- I can do that later--" Yuya protested, still attempting to get his broom back. "Really, Takahisa."
"No," Takahisa said, pushing Yuya down onto the bed. "Now, you get dressed and lie do-- lie down Yuya!" he repeated, as Yuya stood. Yuya clicked his tongue and fluttered his wings, something that Takahisa knew was a nervous reaction.
"Fine," he muttered. Takahisa beamed.
"Stay here, I'll fix you something."
Yuya was dressed in his pyjamas when Takahisa came back with a glass of warm milk and honey (it had taken him a while to find the honey; Yuya had moved it since he had needed it last). Takahisa wasn't entirely sure he had ever seen Yuya in his pyjamas before.
Yuya looked self-conscious as he rolled his sleeves up and drank the milk, sighing a little and rolling his shoulders. "I'm just... just a little tired..." he said, sinking down onto the bed. "Just a little."
Takahisa smiled, taking the glass from him and setting it down upon his bedside table. "Go to sleep."
"You can't make me," Yuya protested softly, as his eyelids lowered.
"I can, and you know it," Takahisa smiled. Yuya grumbled under his breath, pulling the quilt up to his chin.
"Shut up," he mumbled, already half asleep.
"Goodnight, Yuya."
"Not sleepy..."
Takahisa leant down and pressed a small kiss to Yuya's forehead. "Goodnight."
"...Night."
And so the castle slept as the rest of the world awoke, rubbing their eyes with the backs of their hands and scratching their heads, the effects of the sleeping sand slowly wearing off. The world continued on as it had for years, turning and growing and living, but the smallest, most important beings were fast asleep, their toes warm and their light snores filling the air.
Takahisa was the last to sleep, his back sore and the hint of a headache just behind his eyes, sinking into the bed and sighing. He placed his nightcap on his head and yawned, welcoming the warmth of the quilts as he tucked himself in. In a few hours he would have to do everything all over again, but he didn't mind.
The Sandman closed his eyes with another sigh, and welcomed sleep like an old friend.
End.