Seven o' clock in the evening, the night having already begun to stretch over Gray Village and Blancblack Castle while residents made their way home from work after a long day. They did work hard and deserved the rest, spending time alone for some quiet solitude or with family and a close pack of friends hanging out together. Lights inside each of the homes and the castle were on, but the businesses and some departments in the latter were closed down because employees all had to go home. Their duties and responsibilities finished, they looked forward to the rest as they each headed off for their respective homes. Some people lived in Gray Village, others in the castle, yet the end result was the same since everyone who locked up their workplaces for the night shared a key element in common, that being the end of every peaceful day between angels and demons.
However, there were a couple shops with one or two employees and their employers active in finishing up the tasks remaining prior to their departure. It was even the same with some centers in Blancblack Castle because a few offices were still lit up due to the people still working. One of these departments in particular was the anthropology department headed by Maurice, an angel who happened to be a very close friend of Horus, a late head of the archaeology department who married the late head of the anthropology department, Iris, an angel who used to be Maurice's superior. Its prestige as a leading center of social studies regarding individuals and cultural elements was well-deserved, and the employees who took jobs in either of these departments loved the work. So much so that they willingly put in overtime because they found the job to be quite fun. Yet, one angel in the anthropology department usually remained behind more often than the others, and she had a different motivation in mind: to be like her parents, follow in their footsteps, and fulfill their work.
She yawned heavily, stretching her arms in the air before reaching for a tool with a shaky hand even as her muscles ached from having stayed up for about four whole days so far. Fatigue's been setting in, yet the poor girl willed herself to continue working. Bags already appeared as one sign of exhaustion kicking in, the periorbital puffiness matching the styes of both eyes which were suffering from these two symptoms. Pressing a hand to her forehead, the young angel blinked since she sought to clear away any unclear and vague hallucinations of shapes and false memories which danced across her vision in a successful attempt to distract and disorient her while messing with a set of memories harnessed in both her short and long term memories over the past several days.
Froze sighed, her headache already having turned into a painful migraine. She stared down at the pieces of an old picture frame she'd been analyzing through red eyes showing how tired she was. Her colleagues in this department unearthed the object in Daybreak Forest a couple days ago at an old cabin that used to be near the site of a historic battlefield from the war. Despite being a young girl sixteen years old, Froze was inducted into the two departments that actively participated at dig sites together all the time. She'd been a part time employee for about five years at this point, an amazing accomplishment for somebody who only took up the position when she'd been eleven years old. Although her education in anthropological and archaeological studies took up the course of those five years in addition to her academic progress in school, she already earned her license a few months before her sixteenth birthday and was now a recognized employee. That enabled her to participate in the research and field work at sites like the battlefield, and she put in quite a lot of hard work for somebody so young who sought to be like her parents and make their spirits proud.
A knock at the door of the room she was in caught her attention and she looked up.
"Hard at work as ever, just like your father," Maurice murmured softly and stepped in with Grora right behind him. He turned to look at the angelic woman, holding an arm out to present the young girl with a small smile. "You see, here she is, fine as can be—well, aside from an awful case of sleep deprivation, of course. Her strong sense of diligence is to be admired in any case."
"True, though she can't do so much without getting a bit of rest," Grora agreed and stepped over to her, taking a seat at the workbench Froze remained planted at, carefully resting her elbows on it without disturbing any blueprints or sketches of the picture frame—or the picture frame itself, for that matter. Leaning forward, she gently placed a hand on the other's temple since she wanted to feel her temperature. Thankfully Froze wasn't suffering from that bad of a fever just yet, though her forehead was sticky from sweat. She did go home to shower and eat, but the young angel didn't stop to rest. "Hey, sweetie, how are things going?" Grora inquired sweetly, stroking the other girl's cheek despite the sweat coating it. "It's been a long day. Why don't you put those things down and head home for a good night's sleep? You do need it after a long day at work, after all."
Froze merely yawned in response—probably the hundredth forty-seventh time throughout these past several days—before averting her shoddy attention back to her work. "I-I'm fine…" the tired girl muttered under her breath. Her voice was very soft, though still loud enough for them to hear what she said. Even so, it was tinged with much exhaustion and irritation in spite of its muted sound which probably helped raise the volume just enough for them to hear her. "I-I can still handle this…" She smacked her parched lips together, having not eaten anything since lunch today.
"Not in that condition at your age, young lady," Maurice commented politely, yet retaining a somewhat stern attitude in his tone out of compassion for her. He didn't like to be tough regarding how he came across to others, though he realized some discipline was needed to make his point to those who wanted to stay back and keep working for longer periods of time that weren't necessary. Although the older angel didn't mind it when his subordinates worked overtime—he even went so far as to encourage it sometimes to them and himself if they were extremely enthusiastic about one of their latest finds—Maurice knew well enough when it was time to take a much needed break to regain strength needed to get through another day. "You're one of my best part timers here, though don't feel as if you should be overworking yourself all the time." Stepping over to a filing cabinet, he moved some of the papers on top over to a desk next to it before leaning against the wall.
"I-I have t-to…" the young employee muttered and gazed up at him coldly, mostly because her sleep deprivation made her feel irritated over anything, hence why she was left alone for about a week while it took its toll on her. "You know as well as I do that our work is important, Maurice."
"We're not saying it isn't, Froze," Grora remarked in a calm voice, being very patient with her. "We just think you need to get some rest, that's all. You've been at this for around a week by now and your friends have been asking about how you've been doing because they didn't see you at school for the time you were gone." She pressed her hand on the girl's shoulder and stroked her back tenderly. "We've told them you were busy with work and couldn't make it to school for only a short while because these departments are understaffed for a bit. They do miss you quite a lot."
"Well, you can tell them I'm still busy," the exhausted angel requested, directing her to be kind enough to relay that message. "I'm still cataloguing these pieces and analyzing them from the battlefield we went to, and I need to get this done before I even think about resting." She yawned, picking up a magnifying glass to analyze the wooden frame and determine what kind of wood was used to make it. "If another team hadn't been sent out to another dig site, I'd probably consider it."
"We cannot blame the rest of everyone else we employ for that, but you're right nonetheless about it," Maurice conceded the point. "It's true both the archaeology and anthropology centers do have several projects currently underway as we speak. That's partly why we're understaffed now, but we have received some help from other departments to alleviate the tension. Even Wodahs and Kcalb have shown up as well to aid us too, though everyone from outside our departments certainly have their own assignments and responsibilities to maintain in addition to helping us with ours."
"See, Froze, it isn't that bad," Grora smiled sweetly at her while speaking in a tender voice to soothe the sleepy angel's temper. "You could afford a break for some shuteye, then you can go right back to work if that's what you'd like to do. I can help walk you home since I have time." As she raised a hand up to gently take the magnifying glass away, the younger angel shrank from her.
"No thank you…" Froze yawned once again. "I must finish examining this artefact…"
Her dedication to the job made Maurice chuckle which garnered a cold glare from his rather sleepy employee. "Your commitment to getting everything done reminds me of your father. Horus was truly one of the best friends I could ever have, always like a brother to me. There was this one time the two of us found an amazing flower pot in our world's desert, near a space where demons lived during the war. We were so excited by the find we worked together to produce about a certain hundred or so theories about it: where it originally came from, who made it, that sort of stuff. There had also been a time the two of us were on a walk in the meadow and found a collection of eagles which migrated to the area; an odd find, one making us literally lay in the tall grass and flowers as we considered why they were present in an area they didn't usually come to. Birdwatching surely can do that to oneself; our passion for knowledge made us lay there side by side quietly, unmoving while observing the flock go about its business for four hours. I remember the time we climbed up one of the tallest mountains in our world just to confirm a possible sighting of an artefact from the war. Sadly it was just a rumor, but the view was so breathtaking we explored the area for vistas."
"He was a good man, one of the warmest, yet jubilant individuals I've ever known," Grora agreed with him before averting her attention back to Froze. "I'm sorry you've never met him and your mother, Froze. You really would've liked them. Had they not been killed, they'd still be here with us. I know they're watching over you in the afterlife." She shut her eye and giggled too, taking her hand and softly stroking the underside of Froze's chin as if she were a cat. "I bet you'd become totally different from how you are now if they were still alive to raise you. Still, we cherish you as you already are, and we will always love you. They may be gone, but you've got everyone else in your family and us as well in addition to your friends too. We all care about you very much, Froze."
"I appreciate it…" Froze murmured, feeling the effects of fatigue getting to her since she'd been wobbling unsteadily on the stool she sat on. Even so, she refused to back down from work as she persisted in her efforts to retain a firm grip on being awake to perform her duties well. "Though I must get this done…" she yawned yet again. "I-I'd appreciate it if you left me to my work…This is important…it has to be done…" Although she started nodding off, the young angel fought sleep.
Maurice and Grora exchanged worried glances, concerned for her health. "I thought Froze would be difficult about this," the former of the two older angels commented to the latter. "I've let Yosafire know about this issue she's having with refusing to sleep an hour ago when I called her."
"She'll be coming over to pick up Froze and bring her home?" the other angel inquired.
"Yep, I was just buzzed by one of the receptionists down in the lobby before you came for Froze. He told me she'll be up right away to collect her," Maurice explained as Froze declined the idea, deliberately brushing it aside out of irritation because she still wanted to work.
"I-I don't need to sleep!" she retorted bitterly, lack of sleep making her lose focus and get mad at the two older angels for trying to make her rest when she didn't want to. "Why did you call her, Maurice? She knows I'm too busy to make time for her now!" Despite trying to get back to a bit of work, Grora stopped her which made Froze pull away and nearly lose her balance and fall.
"Careful there, Froze, you'll fall," the angelic woman said softly in a polite tone. Although the young angel's tone towards them was not nice, she and Maurice understood it was due to Froze not getting enough sleep because she deprived herself of it on purpose to keep working. "Just calm down and let us help you. I understand you've been having some trouble with your duties because of sleep deprivation. Maurice has told me you've been making mistakes cataloguing and analyzing these artefacts because you've not been sleeping lately. A good night's shuteye will make you feel all better and refreshed, ready to get right back to the work you enjoy doing. Sound good, Froze?"
"N-no!" Froze replied, beginning to struggle ineffectually within the older angel's grasp as she tried to free herself from Grora's grip on her when she stood to hold the younger angel. "I can still work! I-I don't need to sleep yet!" The pigtails of her messy blond hair swayed lightly, though not without a sense of wild urgency. Nonetheless, Grora maintained a firm, but gentle hold on her.
"Come on, Froze, don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be. Just calm yourself and relax, we're doing this for your own good. You need to rest like everyone else. Don't fight it."
"I'm here!" a familiar voice called out to indicate Yosafire had finally arrived. "Where can I find Froze?" she asked a couple other employees who were just finishing up and she thanked the two of them for pointing her over to the room her friend was in with Maurice and Grora. "Thanks, have a good evening!" Saying so, she ambled over to them and stepped right in. "Her, Mr. Maurice, good to see you again, sir. How are things going? Make any interesting discoveries in the field?"
He laughed, stepping over to embrace the young demon in a hug. "Hi, Yosafire, things are going well, in fact—well, not for everyone as you can see," he gestured towards Froze with an arm and pointed out how exhausted the poor girl was. "We did find plenty of unique relics and are still in a process of finding more." Releasing her from the hug, he walked around the workbench while picking up the picture frame. "See this? An old picture frame from a cabin near a battlefield. This was from the time of the war; look, see how the frame is delicately carved from wych elm."
"I see, I've seen trees just like that in Evening Forest. They're beautiful, even in autumn!"
"They sure are," Maurice nodded in agreement, "but that's a topic for another time. We've got to get Froze home for shuteye, otherwise she'll continue to be this cranky over not having it."
"S-stop it! I-I already told you…I-I'm fine!" Froze continued to protest, being manhandled by Grora who helped Yosafire remove her from the chair. "I-I don't need help sleeping! I can rest after…I'm done with this!" Unfortunately for her, it was no good because she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep at all for several days so far. Her exhaustion took its toll on her, and she failed to stop the two of them from pulling her away. "L-let go of me…! This is embarrassing! S-stop this now…!"
"Sorry, Froze, you need your beauty sleep to cut back on all that stress of yours!" Yosafire quipped lightheartedly while the older angelic woman carried her friend out piggyback style.
"I-I'm not stressed out…" the young angel yawned, feeling her face turn red because it was embarrassing as she claimed it was. Her domino styled skirt brushed against the threshold and her hat—gray with a domino style as well, just like the rest of the outfit—fell off as both pigtails were flapping behind her. Luckily Yosafire caught it before the hat landed on the floor, following Grora and Froze out while Maurice waved goodbye to them as they began to exit the department.
"See you around, girls! Don't worry about the mistakes, Froze, I'll help you resort all of it when you're much better," he called out as Yosafire and Grora waved back at him while leaving.
"Yep, see you around Mr. Maurice, have a good evening!" the young demon replied.
…
"I-I can't believe you helped make me retire for the night…" Froze murmured in irritation, dressed in blue pajamas while sitting at the kitchen table. Her right elbow rested on the surface of it and her hand held her head up. The angel's eyes, red from fatigue while baggy and styed blinked and she winced slightly, now noticing how painful it was. It wasn't that bad, though it stung as she blinked which was why she felt the eyelids and tried to pop the styes when Yosafire stopped her.
"Don't do that! You'll break them open and spread the bacteria in them!" her friend warned her, batting Froze's hands away while placing a bowl filled with salad in front of the angel. "Here's dinner for you, a nice, juicy salad! It's mostly lettuce since that will help you get to sleep tonight."
Froze blinked again and sighed, seriously annoyed as her facial expression sank into a deep frown of disapproval. She turned to the demon and glared at her, pondering why she had to eat just a big salad when there were other things she could eat in addition to it, yet besides it as well. "And just why do I have to eat this, again, Yosaf?" Her voice was tinged with frustration, suspecting the other girl of trying to poison her or something without Grora present since the older angel had been called back to the castle, leaving poor Froze in Yosafire's care after the demon brought her things over to spend the night looking after her best friend. "How exactly will it make me sleep?"
"Just eat it, that's all you have to use it for," Yosafire advised her while breaking up a few more leaves of it to produce more juice from it. "The juice will also help once it's been rubbed on your forehead." Her second remark confused Froze, making the angel incredulously bothered.
"W-wait, what?"
"That's what you do with the juice when you need help sleeping," the demon explained. "I do it all the time whenever I need it. Trust me, it'll do wonders for you in this regard, Froze."
"Somehow I doubt it…" Froze mentioned critically, rolling her eyes and sighing after more yawning. Still, she picked up the fork Yosafire gave her and started eating as her friend poured the tea she made into a cup. Grabbing the handle and bringing it up to smell it, the young angel looked at it and wondered why it had a different scent than the usual kinds of teas she drank. "This isn't a tea I drink, Yosaf…w-what's in this stuff, anyway? More useless lettuce juice you prepared?"
"No, and the lettuce juice isn't useless," Yosafire deadpanned sheepishly, beginning to get the peppermint prepared in a bowl while sprinkling some lavender into an incense bowl. "It's just herbal tea with Roman Chamomile in it—again to help get you to bed while reducing stress. Here's the peppermint, too, but don't eat it since you only have to smell it and the burned lavender."
"Are you trying to burn my house down?!" the angel demanded, incredulously suspicious.
"Not at all, I'm merely applying a small flame to the lavender," Yosafire explained briefly and blew a tiny bit of green fire from her mouth into the incense bowl to set the herbs ablaze. "Now eat your salad and drink the tea; they're good for you, Froze. I guarantee it!" she said with a smile.
"Where the hell did you learn all this stuff anyway?" her friend inquired suspiciously with another yawn. "Surely not in Mr. Lowrie's science class on alchemy and chemistry?"
"Partly, but Victoria also taught me too. You remember her, right?"
Froze put a bent finger to her chin after sipping the tea, beginning to feel the effects of her dinner and the other herbs taking a pleasant toll on her body since she felt a little tired. She closed her eyes and pondered whether Yosafire was referring to one of the girls employed at the Gustave Lolong Bed and Breakfast in Aicirederf. That thought brought back good memories of their visits to the annual Fly Fishing Festival held every year a little around the middle of July on any number of days in that timeframe. The two of them went there together a few times and spent three weeks there on vacation each summer; normally it was just the two of them, but a couple times their other friends also joined them as well. Nevertheless, Froze did remember Victoria. "Ah, you mean your herbalist friend from Aicirederf, the one who works at that Bed and Breakfast we always stay at?"
Yosafire nodded to confirm it. "Yep, she's the one and is also my supplier of herbs around the region, specifically the areas close to town. It's been a while since we last saw her, but she and I keep in touch quite frequently as pen pals. Even Becca's sent me some letters too; she even called me a few times just to check in. Speaking of which, I'm really looking forward to next year's visit there. I know it's been a few months since we came back and all, but man, I can't wait to go back!"
"Yes, yes, next time…" the angel murmured softly, accepting the fact that the herbs really were beginning to help as Yosafire said they would. "Anyway, there aren't any other herbs I need to help me get some sleep tonight, are there?" she asked, wanting to make sure the demon did not have anything else too strange up her sleeves. Yet her question came across without any malice, a firm indication that Froze recognized her friend meant well, and so did Grora and Maurice. Taking a look back in hindsight, she realized her behavior was pretty rash and accepted the fact they were worried about her. She even acknowledged the herbal remedies Yosafire used were very necessary.
"There's plenty, actually, but not too many more."
"Like what exactly?"
"I've taken the liberty of setting more herbs around your bed to help you sleep tonight with no trouble waking up," Yosafire began to explain, counting off on her fingers the number of herbs. "Cinquefoil, datura, elder, hops, linden, passion flower, rosemary, thyme, and valerian." Then she did the same gesture, except she recounted the purpose of each. "I attached a satchel of cinquefoil to a hook above your bed where the tapestry you hang there is. I've also put elder, passion flower, rosemary, and thyme under your pillow—rosemary will also stop nightmares and prevent you from getting hurt, and the thyme is an additional fortification against nightmares. Your pillow has been replaced by another, one Victoria made and sent me as a gift; it's made from lavender and linden, and I also inserted dried hops inside it to strengthen the effects. Lastly, I stored datura within your shoes and put them under your bed with them pointing towards the closest wall."
Froze's eyes widened slightly, amazed at how thought out this was. "That's…a lot of herbs, Yosafire. Don't you think all of them are a little too much? All of them might not be needed."
"They're all safe," her friend reassured her. "You're right, it is a lot, but it's safer than just using agrimony. Agrimony has the same purpose, though it'll put you in a deeper sleep—it shan't kill you, but you'll feel like a dead person while sleeping and won't awaken unless someone takes it away to wake you up. That's why I refrain from ever using it because I might forget about it. Its potency is certainly a scary thing from the sound of it," she admitted with a sheepish chuckle, "but it really isn't all that bad when you think about it. You just need to hope it's removed, otherwise a death-like state is what you'll be in for quite a long time—probably forever, I suppose, eh heh."
"I-I see…" the young angel murmured, yawning now since she finished her dinner as those effects from the herbs took root and made her feel sleepy. "I'm getting tired now…I guess I should be heading up to bed now…right?" Although she was uncertain, Froze figured she'd trust Yosafire.
"Yep," the demon stepped by her to help Froze walk. "Hold on, let me steady you…that's it." Having firmly held onto her angelic friend so the exhausted girl didn't fall, Yosafire started to lead her towards the stairs up to the second floor. "You know, it's not so bad, Froze. Just let these herbs do their thing and you'll be asleep in no time so you can feel refreshed in the morning."
For once in the past several days, Froze smiled, believing she was right. "Yeah, I hope so."
…
Such a cute one-shot, don't you agree? Yosafire and Froze are certainly a good canon pairing because their friendship is so sweet. As for Grora and Froze together, I assume their relationship is like that of an adopted child being raised by a foster parent or two. This bond has been alluded to in chapter nineteen of Inner Craving, and I think it works in my opinion. I know I've mentioned in a post in one of the forums that this story was going to be featuring Yosafire and Froze together as the main pairing, but I think I'll also add Grora in too because of how close she and Froze are in a foster mother-daughter bond. Since Maurice is also quite prevalent in the first part of this one-shot, I suppose I'll add him in as the OC character too.
I looked to National Geographic's Field Guide to Trees of North America for this.
Another source I used was Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.
Also, this one-shot references two future projects of mine by alluding to what became of Froze's parents and two characters from Aicirederf and the establishment they work for. The Gustave Lolong Bed and Breakfast was named after two well-known crocodiles: Lolong, an Indo-Pacific crocodile who weighed two thousand three hundred seventy pounds, and he was also twenty feet three inches long; and Gustave, a Nile crocodile known for having eaten around three hundred people and was featured in a documentary and a film inspired by him.
Lolong was able to be measured by Dr. Adam Britton, an Australian crocodile expert of National Geographic. He confirmed Lolong was the largest crocodile in captivity. Lolong was named after Ernesto 'Lolong' Goloran Canete, a crocodile hunter. Ernesto died before the crocodile was captured. Lolong died in captivity two years ago on February 10, 2013.
As for Gustave, the documentary was called Capturing the Killer Croc and it featured attempts to capture and study Gustave led by Patrice Fey which all failed. Patrice Fey was examining him ever since the 1990s, and he was the herpetologist who named Gustave. It is unclear whether Gustave is still alive or not as a last reported sighting of him was in February 2008. The movie, Primeval, from 2007, was also based on Gustave as well.
You can find out more about these crocodiles and sleep deprivation on Wikipedia.
As for my next main project, it will be a story about Grora coming to terms with what happened in her past. Ater and Arbus are also main characters of this story as well since the project will focus on the accident in which Grora lost her eye because of Ater, plus it shall also go into detail on their past as well by featuring how they came to be Kcalb's pets. That's merely two of three important points in the story; another is Grora's connection to Hastur, one of two characters I've teased in Seven Nights at Clarabella's. It's been months since we've last heard of him, and now the time has come to see what this new angel is like. Based on how I've introduced him in Seven Nights at Clarabella's, I can confirm he will be an antagonist.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gray Garden; it is owned by Mogeko. I do not own the Field Guide to Trees of North America; it is owned by National Geographic. I don't own the Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs; it's owned by Scott Cunningham. I don't own Capturing the Killer Croc; it is owned by Jean Michel Corillion and Vincent Munie. I do not own Primeval; it's owned by Michael Katleman.