Ilyna snaps her eyes open in the middle of the night, looking disoriented. She doesn't move at first.
#IlynaApartment – July 3, 2019
Ilyna wakes up in the middle of the night from a nightmare that she struggles to shake out of her mind, and Li wakes shortly thereafter. It is also the first night in their own apartment.
There is heavy snowfall outside, which can be heard when the frequent gusts of wind pushes it against the building. It's still very dark outside, however.
Li is soundly asleep, curled up by Ilyna. It took a while, but eventually exhaustion won out over her unease at being back in the site of her abduction.
Ilyna gives a small sigh of relief as she sees Li still fast asleep, and she tries not to wake her as she rolls over to sit on the bed's edge. She picks up the omni-tool and the orange glow of its display soon lights up the room. It's just 3 in the morning. She shuts it off again and puts it back on the table, but she doesn't get back under covers. 'It's just a bad dream,' she assures herself in what's barely
Li stirs a little as Ilyna moves away, but she remains asleep as the bedroom is bathed in dim orange light from the omni-tool.
Ilyna casts a glance over her shoulder as she hears Li's stirring, but resumes looking ahead at the wall when it's clear that she hasn't woken up yet. She considers going to the living room to relax enough to go back to sleep, but that idea is immediately discarded; Li might wake up and expect her to be close. The images of the nightmare comes back to her as she stares at the wall, and there's frustation
Li shifts as Ilyna's internal struggle continues, her arm seeking the comforting confirmation that she's not alone as garbled recollections of the last weeks play in her sleeping mind. She doesn't find it, prompting an uneasy mumble as her hand grasps at nothing.
Ilyna is interrupted by Li's mumbling and looks behind her. Seeing the hand reaching for her, she turns around to sit entirely on the bed and reaches out to take her hand. The interruption isn't any help to her inner struggle, however, instead serving as a reminder of how much is at stake. Li has been through a lot, and Ilyna will never stop doubting whether she has what it takes to be the support needed for
Li 's half-awake mumbles settle down as her hand finds Ilyna's, arms wrapping around her forearm and hugging it close as the shadows in her dreams retreat a little. Held at bay but never gone. Always lingering at the edges of conciousness, seeping deeper when accompanying the traumatic memories of which she has far too many for her age.
Ilyna lies down as she's pulled towards Li, and awkwardly tried to put the blanket over herself without disrupting Li. Her breath is termbling slightly as she watches Li. Had this been her little sister Iera, or Ehanis in her first decade, she would have chuckled or smiled instead. That's not to say Li is any less adorable, but the reasons for her to hold onto Ilyna is anything but.
Li is holding on tight, face pressed against the asari's arm, long black hair obscuring it from view as it pools out around her head. It's no doubt a bit of an uncomfortable position to rest in compared to how they slept before.
Ilyna is not moving her arm regardless of the discomfort. She knows she's not going back to sleep for a while anyway, so she may as well wait a few minutes. "It's okay," she says in a very quiet whisper before bringing her free hand up to wipe under her eyes.
Li seems to relax, and for a while things are quiet, with nothing but the darkness accompanying them as her sleep depends once more, but then her grip tightens, eyes shooting open with a startled sound, gaze darting blindly around the dark room.
Ilyna gasps as her arm is gripped tighter and her attention snaps towards Li. She places her free hand on Li's shoulder. "It's okay," she says. "I'm here." Her breath shakes a bit despite her best efforts to hide it, and there is some moisture below her eyes.
Li starts to settle down as she gets her bearings, and hears Ilyna's voice. She shifts, snuggling up closer to her as her eyes continue to scan the darkness fruitlessly, arms held close to her chest. Her breathing remains tense as she stares out into nothing.
Ilyna wraps her arms around her. "You had a bad dream too?" she asks in a sad murmur rather than a whisper.
Li nods softly against Ilyna, face half-buried against her side, one eye still peering around the room, as if feeling the need to stay vigilant against the darkness that surrounds them. Against the things that hide in it.
Ilyna lets out a small sigh. "They will pass with time," she says, her voice still a bit affected. "It just takes a while." That is, if the collectors' defeat truly means that the galaxy is done tormenting them.
Li doesn't seem all that comforted by Ilyna's words, but she remains silent. At least for a time, before her voice sounds, tiny and quiet: "It's too dark..."
Ilyna nods. "I can give us a little light," she says and lets go off Li with one of her arms and reaches behind herself for her omni-tool, using her biotics to move it from where she recall leaving it on the nightstand into her hand. The field is far too weak for Li to feel any static buildup, however. The orange glow is the first light to brighten up the room as Ilyna pokes around looking for the light
Li shifts a little against Ilyna, seeking a more comfortable position, even the dim light of the omni-tool seeming to calm her a little, some of the tension leaving her body.
Ilyna finally finds the controls, and the ceiling light starts giving off a dim orange-yellow light. "Is that better?." It's a few steps above the omni-tool's glow in offering visibility, but not so bright as to be too uncomfortable for someone that prefers to sleep in darkness (like Ilyna). She then shuts off the omni-tool and pushes it behind he pillow.
Li nods softly, her gaze scanning across the room another time, lingering briefly on the darkest corners, before relaxing back against Ilyna.
Ilyna wraps her free arm around her and pulls her closer. "Now, let's... get back to sleep," she mumbles tiredly, her tone still a bit saddened. "Still many hours left until morning." The asari has relaxed a little, but it wouldn't be hard to see the concern and sadness in her face.