Yeah, but I was awake before I went looking, right? So I still woke up before you. [There's a faint chiding note to that tone, as if Ren totally has reason to be scolding anyone else for not waking up at appropriate times when he's prone to regular catnaps.
He puffs out his cheeks a bit at Merlin's comment on his bed, though.] Mmm, I don't know if it counts if it's because it looks like you took a bunch of other beds' stuff and piled them on yours...
[Because that's kind of what it looks like to him, honestly. Also he's petty.]
[...That is unfortunately a pretty tempting prospect, and it makes Ren outright pout at Merlin.] I can't try it out right now, I just woke up...besides, there's a festival or something going on outside I've been meaning to check out.
[Despite the fact that it's been there since they returned and it's been at least a day or two. Ren couldn't quite work up the energy to jump straight into it after all that.]
Lady Astoria must be in a decent mood if it's still going.
[it is tempting, and probably more so when Merlin stretches his arms above his head, as lazy as the cat that's come to see him, lounging in the comfort. soft, and the light scent of flowers clings like it does to everything he's around too long.]
Mmm, I don't know if that's the point of it... [Considering they've all just come back in abysmal moods and this seems like exactly the kind of thing Astoria would do to try and make things cheerier, judging by what he's heard about her so far.
Ren folds his hands over each other on the side of the bed and leans his chin on it, eying Merlin somewhat thoughtfully. He knows he had to crash when they got back from the ship, but he's trying to tell whether this is a similar sort of situation.]
Oh, until I'm no longer tired. That ship messed up my sleep schedule pretty bad.
[looking back at Ren, his smile is as careless as it usually is, though there's something lacking in his usually cheerful expression if someone looks closely.]
[Being the kind of person who carefully crafts that kind of cheer himself, Ren can pick that lacking up fairly easily, and he gives a somewhat doubtful hum at the response.]
Mmm, I'm sure it did... [It's not actually a call-out (yet), because it definitely messed with Ren's, but that comes pretty close on the heels, Ren tilting his head to one side.] I don't think you can just sleep until you forget all about it, though.
[Ren shrugs a little, as if it's not something that really needed saying.] Well, I did, but I'm sure more than enough happened on that ship to ruin anyone's sleep schedule for a little while. Sleeping until you're "not tired anymore" kind of sounds like you're trying to avoid stuff.
[Or people, or dealing with what happened on the ship. It's anyone's guess what he's actually trying to avoid, but it does sound like an evasive tactic to Ren, not least because he'd considered doing somewhat the same sort of thing himself.]
It's hard not to read into it when most people I know who like to dream are like that for a reason... [Including himself, but that's something Ren is rather unwilling to get into. Psyqualia opened itself to him in part due to his ability to dream, in a way, but that had gone all kinds of bad directions for him until he got a handle on it.]
Besides, there's plenty of interesting stuff going on outside that you're missing out on. If it's just about dreaming, then you can dream anytime.
[He knows perfectly well it isn't at this point, but he can play along if trying to snipe his argument from a different angle works better.]
I mean, there's only so much we can do indoors here, unfortunately... [Ren makes a rather general gesture towards the somewhat lacking amount of anything beyond the bare necessities in the temple rooms. He supposes they could exchange stories, but they've done that once before as well.]
Mmm, "worried" is a strong word... [He is a bit, honestly, but Ren never actually admits to being worried about anyone, so he waves it over.] I just don't really think sitting alone with stuff is very useful to anyone. Least of all you.
Mmm, maybe. I don't know if it was in those words, though~
[Ren can be extremely determined when he wants to be, for better or worse reasons. Though anything on that train of thought is interrupted somewhat when Merlin dumps Ren's cat on his head - it's still asleep enough that it doesn't startle and scratch him, but it's also big enough that there's not really proper room for it on Ren's head these days. So Ren just kind of holds his hands up enough that he can ease it down to lying around his shoulders instead.]
Hey, that could've been nasty if my cat wasn't so calm... [Though Ren gets a paw stretched lazily into the side of his face as he says that.]
That was obvious from the moment they jumped up for a nap.
[the fact that they let him gently squish their face was proof enough. while Ren's preoccupied with the cat, Merlin'll change into actual clothes, getting dressed with a speed that's counter to him just being dozing in bed a few minutes ago.]
Accusing is a pretty strong word, isn't it? Though I might suggest it if you were too slow...
[That's definitely not a denial, in any case, and once Merlin is done getting dressed, Ren doesn't hesitate to turn on his heel to lead the way outside.]
[he hesitates for one second by his bed, but then turns on his heel, leaving his staff where it rests. no, there's no real reason to be carrying it out when everything's calm. he'll blame it on nerves from the last mission. the nerves he doesn't have.]
[Ren glances back to observe that little hesitation - it speaks enough to what Ren had suspected already - but doesn't directly remark on it when Merlin catches up to him.]
Mmm, she's put a bunch of rides and games and food stalls out, mostly, though they're kind of weird. I think she's kind of missed the point that with games that give out prizes, they're supposed to give out more prizes the better you do and not less...
[There's a faint amusement to Ren's tone that says he might've observed a few not so great reactions to that system.]
Maybe our dear lady has only read about the concept of a carnival, and never actually attended one. One can't fault her for trying, even if the losers are getting the better end of it.
I feel like she might be taking the whole "trying to make everyone feel better" thing the wrong way, honestly, but that's probably part of it too...I guess she doesn't do this sort of thing often, huh?
[This is his first return from a world jump, and he knows the one before had been even more disastrous, so he's kind of curious whether this kind of damage control is normal.]
Not necessarily. When I showed up here, most of the Temple was ill from a sickness brought back from another world, and that had to be sorted out before we all went to Akvos - in the end everything got a little too much vitality and the plantlife ran a little wild, but fine with me.
Then after Akvos, that's when you likely showed up - with the servants fussing, the strange foods, all of that. I can't say for certain, but it feels like the magic here ebbs and flows and comes out in a more spontaneous manner. With her so tied to this place, I wonder if the magic output is shaped by her thoughts, conscious or otherwise.
[do you really want to get Merlin started on magic]
Oh, I'm glad I missed the sickness thing, the plant thing sounds okay but the rest of it I could pass on... [Interdimensional sickness sounds like a Not Great experience to him, honestly, and that's ignoring everything he's heard happened with Akvos.
Merlin's not wrong about when he arrived, though, and he gives a bit of a familiar nod at what he mentions.] I guess that would make sense, wouldn't it? Akvos sounds like it was pretty bad, but I feel like this last one might have been more...personal, I guess? For some people. Maybe including her.
[Ren does not at all mind getting started on magic, but he does feel like it's possible the Horologium hit some people harder by virtue of being more comprehensible to most and more psychologically seated in its horror than losing an entire world.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
He puffs out his cheeks a bit at Merlin's comment on his bed, though.] Mmm, I don't know if it counts if it's because it looks like you took a bunch of other beds' stuff and piled them on yours...
[Because that's kind of what it looks like to him, honestly. Also he's petty.]
no subject
[go on. test drive it.]
no subject
[Despite the fact that it's been there since they returned and it's been at least a day or two. Ren couldn't quite work up the energy to jump straight into it after all that.]
no subject
[it is tempting, and probably more so when Merlin stretches his arms above his head, as lazy as the cat that's come to see him, lounging in the comfort. soft, and the light scent of flowers clings like it does to everything he's around too long.]
no subject
Ren folds his hands over each other on the side of the bed and leans his chin on it, eying Merlin somewhat thoughtfully. He knows he had to crash when they got back from the ship, but he's trying to tell whether this is a similar sort of situation.]
How long are you planning to sleep for, anyway?
no subject
[looking back at Ren, his smile is as careless as it usually is, though there's something lacking in his usually cheerful expression if someone looks closely.]
no subject
Mmm, I'm sure it did... [It's not actually a call-out (yet), because it definitely messed with Ren's, but that comes pretty close on the heels, Ren tilting his head to one side.] I don't think you can just sleep until you forget all about it, though.
no subject
[shifting, he props his head up on his hand.]
no subject
[Or people, or dealing with what happened on the ship. It's anyone's guess what he's actually trying to avoid, but it does sound like an evasive tactic to Ren, not least because he'd considered doing somewhat the same sort of thing himself.]
no subject
[he's right, but there's only a few people he allows to call him on his lies without spinning more to cover it, and none of them are in the room.]
As much as I like to discover what lies in other people's dreams, my own are also an enchanting place.
no subject
Besides, there's plenty of interesting stuff going on outside that you're missing out on. If it's just about dreaming, then you can dream anytime.
[He knows perfectly well it isn't at this point, but he can play along if trying to snipe his argument from a different angle works better.]
no subject
[and he smiles with a lightness that gives away nothing.]
Or could it be that you've gone and gotten yourself worried about me?
no subject
Mmm, "worried" is a strong word... [He is a bit, honestly, but Ren never actually admits to being worried about anyone, so he waves it over.] I just don't really think sitting alone with stuff is very useful to anyone. Least of all you.
no subject
[but it's enough to make him laugh, and as he's getting up and out of his bed, he scoops up the brown cat with one arm to deposit them on Ren's head.]
no subject
[Ren can be extremely determined when he wants to be, for better or worse reasons. Though anything on that train of thought is interrupted somewhat when Merlin dumps Ren's cat on his head - it's still asleep enough that it doesn't startle and scratch him, but it's also big enough that there's not really proper room for it on Ren's head these days. So Ren just kind of holds his hands up enough that he can ease it down to lying around his shoulders instead.]
Hey, that could've been nasty if my cat wasn't so calm... [Though Ren gets a paw stretched lazily into the side of his face as he says that.]
no subject
[the fact that they let him gently squish their face was proof enough. while Ren's preoccupied with the cat, Merlin'll change into actual clothes, getting dressed with a speed that's counter to him just being dozing in bed a few minutes ago.]
no subject
[Not that he actually seems all that bothered by it, honestly, mostly just finding it slightly amusing as he rubs the cat's head.]
You must be more of a morning person than I am, getting dressed that fast...
no subject
[and hopefully whatever this festival is will wake him up the rest of the way.]
no subject
[That's definitely not a denial, in any case, and once Merlin is done getting dressed, Ren doesn't hesitate to turn on his heel to lead the way outside.]
no subject
So, you were mentioning a festival?
no subject
Mmm, she's put a bunch of rides and games and food stalls out, mostly, though they're kind of weird. I think she's kind of missed the point that with games that give out prizes, they're supposed to give out more prizes the better you do and not less...
[There's a faint amusement to Ren's tone that says he might've observed a few not so great reactions to that system.]
no subject
Maybe our dear lady has only read about the concept of a carnival, and never actually attended one. One can't fault her for trying, even if the losers are getting the better end of it.
no subject
[This is his first return from a world jump, and he knows the one before had been even more disastrous, so he's kind of curious whether this kind of damage control is normal.]
no subject
Then after Akvos, that's when you likely showed up - with the servants fussing, the strange foods, all of that. I can't say for certain, but it feels like the magic here ebbs and flows and comes out in a more spontaneous manner. With her so tied to this place, I wonder if the magic output is shaped by her thoughts, conscious or otherwise.
[do you really want to get Merlin started on magic]
no subject
Merlin's not wrong about when he arrived, though, and he gives a bit of a familiar nod at what he mentions.] I guess that would make sense, wouldn't it? Akvos sounds like it was pretty bad, but I feel like this last one might have been more...personal, I guess? For some people. Maybe including her.
[Ren does not at all mind getting started on magic, but he does feel like it's possible the Horologium hit some people harder by virtue of being more comprehensible to most and more psychologically seated in its horror than losing an entire world.]
(no subject)
(no subject)