drifting and floating and fading away;

[thoughts]

Date & Time: 25/3, early in the mornin'.
Location: wandering throughout the city.
Characters: the wizard and the witch.
Summary: does it still count as sleep-walking if you're only partially awake?
Warnings: the typical things that come along with being river: mentions of torture, mental instability. also merlin's ears.

[ she's dreaming.

or at least, she thinks she must be. it's hard to tell, when she hasn't slept and could only just differentiate between the two before all of this. her toes dig into wet, downtrodden ground and she feels the cold sting of rain pressing in through her clothes. the proper stimuli are there. the brain is sending the appropriate responses to the shiver in her arms. all signs point to reality.

she's not convinced. nothing is convincing, and she walks slowly ( heel to toe, heel to toe, like a dancer preparing for a routine that will never come ) through the everyday hustle and bustle of the city without paying attention to any of it. her eyes stay wide with dark, ugly bruises beneath her eyes; awake, and dreaming. the apartment was too quiet and the city is too loud. she's stuck somewhere in-between, seeing without seeing and knowing it all the same.

too much in her head. too much empty space. lost. she just wants to wake up. ]

Comments

[dragonspeak]

[The constant rain becomes a nuisance about two weeks into his stay, and by now even Merlin's just accepted its presence with weary resignation. He might not be in Camelot anymore, but he can't risk using his magic openly still. Not when Arthur and the others are in the city, too. Merlin draws the raincoat more tightly around himself, fingers lingering on the slippery material again. Whatever it's made of, the coat really is as useful at keeping him dry as he'd been promised.

He's distracted from his thoughts when he nearly bumps into someone--someone who is as drenched from the rainwater as he is dry.]

Mimi? [It takes a second to recognise her.] Aren't you...aren't you cold? And you're barefoot!

[thoughts]

[ she didn't hear him coming, which startles river far more than merlin bumping into her. she catches glimpses of a grey sky and a white castle, raining there too, and it's coming down all around them. soaks through her hair and her clothes, both of which cling to her skinnier-than-usual frame.

but she doesn't jump or scream or anything at all, really. just turns around to frown at his appearance ( looks alien on him, out of time ) and then down to her feet, wriggling her toes in the mud. ]

It's gone soft. Squishy. [ squish squish, between her toes. what was the question again? ] Could be warmer. But it's always like this.

[dragonspeak]

[It's true the ground's softer than normal because of the rain, but...that doesn't mean it's any safer to go around barefoot.

After a moment of hesitation, Merlin shrugs off his raincoat and drapes it over her shoulders. It looks like she needs it more than he does, and he can always dry his clothes off with a quick spell later.]

What're you doing, wandering around like this?