ITP: Drowning in your sleep

[no_longer_a_king]

Characters: Arturia [AU5] and Irisviel
Setting: Dorms
Format: Action
Summary: Between the Bath Game and her trip into the Administrative Levels, Arturia is being chased by Daruma and is exhausted. Iri offers to keep watch while Arturia sleeps. Too bad Arturia misunderstood just how Daruma would kill her in her sleep.
Warnings: Character death, drowning, death during sleep.

[Arturia moved with purpose through the Tower after being released from the game. It'd been unnerving, yes, and a bit disturbing, but she hadn't opened her eyes once and been allowed to leave without much incident.

What she hadn't expected was for it to be true that there would be a ghost following them. With how much people described it as a game she had expected it to be nothing more than that: a game. She hadn't expected to see a woman reaching for her just over her shoulder whenever she saw her reflection. And so Arturia had to keep moving through the Tower, to keep the ghost from getting too close to her and fight to keep sleep at bay.

She had not slept well the days before the game. Regret had been eating at her the last few days and she'd been going out during the night to fight monsters to distract herself. This meant she'd only been getting a few fitful hours worth of sleep a day wherever she happened to be, rather than her bed. People had said you needed to sleep in your own bed here and she was beginning to understand why now that she was on her sixth consecutive day without any rest in the bed she'd been given. Arturia was so tired she could barely move, but she had to keep going, keep moving, keep that thing from reaching her.

Then she saw the ghost in plain sight right before her, hovering a few precarious feet above the ground. Remembering the instructions she shouts for it to stop, then runs, runs up the stairs. She's near the top of the tower, near the dorms, and when she comes out on the landing she almost runs down a familiar woman, barely skidding to a stop in front of her to avoid barreling them both over.]

Irisviel?

Comments

[no_longer_a_king]

Irisiviel.

[Arturia had avoided the woman since they first ran into each other, much like she had people in general, though it had pained her to do so. She'd done her best to look after her from afar, patrolling outside her room in the nights when she couldn't sleep and occasionally ghosting after her without her noticing.

She had made a promise to Saber to look after her and Arturia had nothing left but her word, worthless as it might be after killing her previous Master.]

I am well.

[No she's not. She's clearly tired if she almost ran into someone and her stance is more stiff than usual because of the effort to stay upright. Arturia knows she shouldn't keep things from Irisviel, but some part of her mind is clinging to the pride she has left in an attempt to be the knight the woman needs instead of the exhausted traitor she feels she is.]

[wirefu]

[Irisviel wasn't sure if it was because she had come to know Saber so well, or if the knight was just that out of sorts, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she could clearly see past the knight's lie, and that only caused her concerned frown to deepen.]

Saber... Whatever it is that's bothering you, you can tell me. I won't demand that you do so, but... I'll listen. I'd like to do what I can to help.

[no_longer_a_king]

I....

[She wants to tell her no, it's not her concern, but she's tired and she knows if she stops the ghost will get her. If nothing else she refuses to let the people who put her through that win.]

It's....

[It's Irisviel looking at her that way. How long ago had they said they'd have one another's back? How long ago had she agreed to be her Knight and she would be Arturia's Lady? That meant being honest, being open with one another about their ills.]

The games they're making people play. You have heard about them, yes?

[wirefu]

I could tell something strange was going on, but I've heard very little about the specifics. ["Games"... that's enough to make her a bit uneasy. Especially since...]

You were dragged into one of these games, weren't you?

[no_longer_a_king]

Yes. One that involved a ghost and bathing. Naturally, I got through the first part. [because it takes a lot to make her flinch and how can she be startled when she already knew a dead woman would appear in the tub with her?]

However.... [It's Irisviel. The woman Arturia had sworn to be her Lady in the twentieth century. They swore to have one another's back and, even if Arturia knew she had wound up only betraying the chivalry she had fought so hard to defend. How could she be worthy of a lady such as her?

Yet, she knew she needed rest and help and that Irisviel would only worry should she not speak. As far as Arturia knew, the ghost would harm no one but its intended target. Asking for help would put no one in harm's way:]

The ghost they made us summon is following me and I refuse to yield to it, but it has been some days since I last slept and I.... [Here, she lets her exhaustion creep into her voice.]

....I do not wish for this Ruana to win against me, but I cannot keep moving until morning. Not without some kind of rest.

[Once she got through this, she would tell her and let Irisviel judge for herself if she was still worthy.]

[wirefu]

[Judge her? Silly Arturia. You obviously don't know Irisviel well enough if you think she'd seriously judge you over something that happened during these ridiculous games!]

So you need help. [It was a statement, not a question.] If you'd like, I can offer my assistance.

[no_longer_a_king]

[Arturia pauses, considering it. She does not want to put Irisviel in any sort of danger. Not at all.

Yet, she's passed through populated floors. The ghost completely ignores anyone but her target. Irisviel would not be in any danger at all. Not if she simply kept a lookout while Arturia tried to get a half hour of sleep. Surely that would be enough so she could regain her energy for the rest of the night.]

....if it would not be any trouble. I could use a lookout while I try to get a half hour's worth of sleep.