(likewise, it isn't the first night that abby has woken up with a start in a wash of cold sweat. the nightmares are swings and roundabouts; currently they skew both frequently and nastier because she has new material to work with, but they'll lessen again. eventually. she hopes she isn't waking anybody else in the house up every night, she has no idea if she's yelling or not.
she wipes her eyes as she sits up, exhaling roughly. checking her fluid for the time: almost four in the morning... she could go back to sleep and– what, have another dream about lev's empty eyes, and her hands tacky with his blood? yeah. that's not going to happen.
so she swings her legs to the side of her bed, and sighs, and rubs the back of her neck. and, glancing up, notices something outside the window. something with a soft, almost ethereal glow to it. abby pushes up from the mattress slowly, with sluggish, sleepy movements, and squints through the dark.
It wanders around the statue of the Prophet, nosing it, sniffing at the grass around it, not eating, but as though doing the act of eating.
Eventually, it drops down next to the statue, curling up at its feet like it brings comfort to be close it it. Little ferns sprout all around the base of the shrine.]
(abby watches it in silence, almost pressing against the glass in wonder.
there aren't a lot of animals here. birds haven't been singing lately. insects haven't been chirping. the mist makes everything heavy and quiet and she doesn't like it, it makes her uneasy. so when the deer finds a good spot at the statue of the prophet that lev usually tends, abby finds her slippers and a sweatshirt, and makes her way outside in the dark.
she approaches, as quietly as she can with her arms wrapped around herself in the slightly chilly air. the deer is lounging at the feet of the prophet, little eyes closed as if in slumber.
does she call to it? probably not huh. abby wants... well, she kind of wants to touch it. give it a stroke, but it's a wild animal and would hate that, right. so she just pauses, watching.)
(she feels stupid the moment her mouth closes again, but– its got this look on its face that is so weirdly familiar to her. calm, and collected, and curious. she can't believe she's reading this much into an animal, but... it reminds her of him. and there's nobody here to hear her say it softly into the space between them like a hopeful idiot anyway, so she may as well lean in.)
[To be fair, it's no ordinary animal. That much is obvious from looking at it. The deer makes a soft noise, something between a grunt and a sigh before looking at her.
(it's intrusive and startling, and abby freezes up through it, but– wildly it confirms her hypothesis. that was his forest, and his bow. that was their boat.)
What the fuck, (she says, but it comes out watery. she doesn't know how to deal with this, she doesn't understand. did lev come back but... as a deer? the week isn't up yet, he has four days left. not that abby's been counting.
she takes a few steps toward him, slowly reaching out.)
[The deer doesn't start. Which, if it were a wild animal, that's probably would it would do. Instead, it stares curiously at her hand for a few seconds, as if assessing her.
Then it leans forward and butts its head against her hand. Not painfully hard but... hard. Hard but clearly playful.]
[The deer makes a frightened sound, almost like a child's cry, and scampers back behind the statue. It looks at her, wounded. Brown eyes deep and afraid.]
Wait– (she doesn't come any closer, she just crouches down so she can be a little more on his level instead. hands up, palms facing outward.) Sorry, I– didn't mean to do that.
(that tickles...... abby snorts with soft laughter, and gently rubs her thumb over his cheek, watching him.
the images that flash through her mind momentarily don't make a lot of sense to her. is lev trying to tell her that he's only sleeping? what does the field mean? her brow furrows slightly, and though she knows it's going to get her that face again, she admits:)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
:(
she wipes her eyes as she sits up, exhaling roughly. checking her fluid for the time: almost four in the morning... she could go back to sleep and– what, have another dream about lev's empty eyes, and her hands tacky with his blood? yeah. that's not going to happen.
so she swings her legs to the side of her bed, and sighs, and rubs the back of her neck. and, glancing up, notices something outside the window. something with a soft, almost ethereal glow to it. abby pushes up from the mattress slowly, with sluggish, sleepy movements, and squints through the dark.
is it... a deer?)
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It wanders around the statue of the Prophet, nosing it, sniffing at the grass around it, not eating, but as though doing the act of eating.
Eventually, it drops down next to the statue, curling up at its feet like it brings comfort to be close it it. Little ferns sprout all around the base of the shrine.]
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there aren't a lot of animals here. birds haven't been singing lately. insects haven't been chirping. the mist makes everything heavy and quiet and she doesn't like it, it makes her uneasy. so when the deer finds a good spot at the statue of the prophet that lev usually tends, abby finds her slippers and a sweatshirt, and makes her way outside in the dark.
she approaches, as quietly as she can with her arms wrapped around herself in the slightly chilly air. the deer is lounging at the feet of the prophet, little eyes closed as if in slumber.
does she call to it? probably not huh. abby wants... well, she kind of wants to touch it. give it a stroke, but it's a wild animal and would hate that, right. so she just pauses, watching.)
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It doesn't start like a normal fawn might, instead it just looks at her, like it's curious. Or maybe like it expected her.]
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(she feels stupid the moment her mouth closes again, but– its got this look on its face that is so weirdly familiar to her. calm, and collected, and curious. she can't believe she's reading this much into an animal, but... it reminds her of him. and there's nobody here to hear her say it softly into the space between them like a hopeful idiot anyway, so she may as well lean in.)
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Images flash in her mind:
Forest, bow, boat.]
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What the fuck, (she says, but it comes out watery. she doesn't know how to deal with this, she doesn't understand. did lev come back but... as a deer? the week isn't up yet, he has four days left. not that abby's been counting.
she takes a few steps toward him, slowly reaching out.)
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Then it leans forward and butts its head against her hand. Not painfully hard but... hard. Hard but clearly playful.]
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abby is the one who starts, and swipes instinctively back, catch the deer's budding horns with her hand when she smacks at it.)
Hey!
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Wait– (she doesn't come any closer, she just crouches down so she can be a little more on his level instead. hands up, palms facing outward.) Sorry, I– didn't mean to do that.
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The same feeling when Lev doesn't take to one of her jokes. It inches forward a bit anyway.]
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abby slowly drops her hands, content to wait him out.)
You're still coming back, right. (she sounds like she's joking, but her shoulders are rigid.) Or are you just a deer, now.
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Images flash in her mind: a sleeping face, a field, their house in Deerington.]
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the images that flash through her mind momentarily don't make a lot of sense to her. is lev trying to tell her that he's only sleeping? what does the field mean? her brow furrows slightly, and though she knows it's going to get her that face again, she admits:)
I don't understand.