1375. The Insomnia Meme

[memep0ster]

the i n s o m n i a meme

It happens to everyone - sometimes, you have nights where you just can't fall asleep, no matter what you do. It could be for a number of reasons, or no reason at all. And this is what's happened now: you've been laying in bed for what feels like hours, just tossing and turning, and nothing seems to help. So what's left to do

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[drosyrenfys]

You know, this place is quite lovely. It's a beautiful new world to explore with strange things and people everywhere, but so far as she's seen, there aren't any yellow brick roads at all to send her to a wizard, there aren't any ruby slippers, and there aren't any good witches to send her on a quest to go the right direction.

Dorothy gives a heavy sigh and stares up at the sky. Toto's not here, and that makes this big strange place that much more enormous. It's cold without the dog. She rubs her hands over her shoulders and sighs again. Sleeping is obviously not going to come easily, or possibly at all, tonight.

Maybe she shouldn't be so sad about this, but, well, she can't help it. She's had that little dog since he could walk, and now it's lonely.

!!

[promoted2prince]

It's a balmy night out on the streets of lower Corona. Flynn revels in it because hardly anybody's out and most of them are easy to place-- for instance the noisy row of local inns, with their bright lights streaming down from shuttered windows and cracks beneath their doors.

In contrast, the small local shops were quiet, dark and still. Locked too, but that was a laughable obstacle to a seasoned lock pick.

He is so sure that he is the only one out on the streets that he doesn't notice her at all.

:D

[drosyrenfys]

Dorothy looks up at the stars, listening to the streets around her as she sits on the bench here. It's a nice night, but it doesn't make anything better. The sky is bright, beautiful, but it's nothing special without her little dog.

It's possibly the sound of someone stepping down the streets, but she forces her eyes downward towards the horizon. Maybe she's sad, and she has to wipe tears from the corner of her eyes, but she has to see what the fuss is about with that door. Should he really be fiddling with the handle?

She's patient, watching curiously, hands on her knees. It's not her fault there's a tickle in her sinuses, and she has to sneeze. Hopefully it doesn't distract him from trying to get into his store, or what she hopes is his store.

[promoted2prince]

He freezes at the sound, his hand hovering over the door knob, mid-inspection. It was a sneeze, clearly, and a very human sound. Flynn kept his curses of disappointment in his head and slid his hands into his pockets.

Casually, he turned his head as if he was surveying the tiny houses to his left, but with his eyes shadowed by a curl of hair that hung over his face, he quickly scanned his surroundings.

--there, on a bench. Someone... a girl? Well, it was better than a guard at any rate.

Strange that a girl would be out this late. He decided to do some reconnaissance. "Hi there," he called, raising a friendly hand. "A little late to be people-watching, isn't it?"

[drosyrenfys]

Dorothy watches him as he turns and looks about, tucking a hand into her pocket for a handkerchief. She wipes at her nose. Oh, but he's noticed her and he's calling out her with a wave.

Oh dear. She waves back, tucking that white scrap of fabric into her pocket with her other hand. Maybe it is a little late, but she hadn't got a clock to let her know when it is. Dorothy smiles a little, although it's probably not completely noticeable in this lighting, let alone the fact that it's not exactly as happy as she's trying.

"Oh, I'm not people-watching at all. I simply can't sleep," she tells him, straightening her skirt. "Isn't it a little late to be opening your shop as well?"

[promoted2prince]

The people-watching thing was a joke as few people roamed about at night. Her straight-forward answer makes him smile though. The lie comes to his lips easy as he strolls over to where she is.

"I wasn't opening up, just checking to see if the lock on the door's still okay. The King and Queen are great at the ruling stuff but they haven't exactly fixed Corona's burglary problem." He might have laughed a little, and it might have sounded like a smug one, but it is quickly chased away by a raised brow. Flynn's face is an ever changing one. "You look a little young to be suffering from insomnia, kid. Something heavy on your mind?"

[drosyrenfys]

"Oh," she says simply, not quite catching the dishonesty in his voice. After all, it isn't usual for someone to lie to her, let alone to her face. She doesn't press further ob that for now, though, the subject moved to her.

Her eyes wander from the stranger to her knees and her fidgety hands. About now, she'd be petting Toto to keep her hands busy, but he isn't here. "I'm very far from my home, and I miss my dog," she tells him, her expression falling even if he can't see it. She's not admitting defeat, exactly, just uncertainty, very sad uncertainty.

[promoted2prince]

Annoyance briefly flashed through Flynn's head. His big interruption was a homesick kid? Great. That made it harder to want to ditch her and get on with his evening plans.

He didn't like to admit it but he had a soft spot for kids. Kids were very... open and straightforward, and that was nice for a guy who'd spent a childhood having to lie, cheat and steal in order to survive.

"Sounds tough," he replied, taking a seat on the other end of the bench. "How'd you get stuck here, then? Did something naughty back home so the folks sent you away as punishment?"

[drosyrenfys]

Dorothy finds that very kind of him to join her on the bench. It's a lonely sort of night, and it's nice to have some form of company. She draws a hand over her cheek momentarily as she pulls her expression from dismal to something a bit more friendly.

"Oh, no," she says, shaking her head quickly. "I didn't do anything wrong, at least, I hope not."

She tries a smile, which turns out to be a little thinner than she'd hoped for. "I was home, but something strange happened, and I'm no longer in Kansas. I'm not entirely sure where I am, actually." That sounds vaguely sad, too. She forces her smile a little further, and it looks a little more honest now. "I'm only waiting for morning to find out how I'm going to get home."