True Friendship

RogueOwl logged out.

Rylee stared at the screen, feeling somewhat surprised when he did. Here she thought her post sounded pretty decent, but instead of replying, he left. Bandit whined and nudged her hand, reminding her how late it was getting, but it still took effort to drag herself away. Her last reply hit a vein of emotions she had tapped into, and now she had nowhere to funnel the remaining feelings.

After getting ready for bed, she grabbed her sketchbook, letting her muse free another way. Graphite coated her hand as she worked, leaving familiar stains on her fingers. When she ran her business, she would draw whenever the itch found her, and some of her best pieces would come when the sleep deprivation set it.

Although...there were plenty of times she woke up only time find that she created was an ugly mess. The odds were 50/50, if she was being honest with herself.

Rylee tucked her legs beneath her, stacking pillows behind her back, and watched as shapes came to life beneath her fingers. She hummed as a seascape formed itself, complete with fish, and intricate coral she delicately shaded. She debated using color, and decided she could make up her mind later. It wasn't like she felt any rush to complete this tonight.

She lost track of time as she scribbled, Bandit sleeping against her leg. His body was comforting, especially on nights like this. She wasn't haunted by memories so much as feelings this time. But the general melancholy was difficult to shake. The struggles with memory of being unwanted, and the fear of being forgotten. Blake has replaced her all those years ago. She never wanted to feel that way again.

Rylee only snapped out of her trance when a light flicked on, and there was Tara scowling down at her.

"You. Bed. Now," her roommate snarled.

Rylee blinked up at her, dazed by the intrusion. "When did you even get home?"

"Like four hours ago. Did you even eat dinner, or have you just been playing on the computer all night, you hopeless nerd?!" with a maternal scowl Tara collected pencils off the sheets and returned them to their box. Rylee didn't resist. She started to rub her eyes when Tara grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand back.

"What are you—"

"Wash your hands first. Good lord, you want to wake up looking like a panda?"

Rylee did as she was instructed, retuning with a meek expression on her face. Tara meaningfully plugged in Rylee's phone, before pointing at the bed.

"I'm going, I'm going. Relax, MOM," she huffed. Tara's mouth lifted ever so lightly with a smile.

"Oh, so you want to work with NO sleep tomorrow? My mistake, I'll leave you alone. After all, I have tomorrow off. It's no skin off my back to be up at this hour," she lifted her chin defiantly, and Rylee laughed.

"Retract the claws, I know you're right. But don't hold it against me!" She exclaimed.

Tara gave Bandit a pat on the head before heading for the door. "I'm sure you'll return the favor sometime. Plus, it's for my own self preservation. You are a witch when your tired." The playful tone melted as she noted the lingering depression on Rylee's face.

"Sleep it off. Think of something happy, and let the rest go," she nudged Bandit with a pink fingernail, and the dog sensed the meaning, and crawled next to Rylee, licking her face. She groaned, shielding her mouth.

"You win! Don't team up on me like that," her body was already sinking toward exhaustion, eyes slipping shut.

"Goodnight, nerd."

"Goodnight, diva," Rylee yawned, and finally went to sleep.