Given the late start and general chaos of the day, Klug was generally pleased with how the research paper had gone. It wasn't finished, mind, but having a mostly-complete outline and a few early sections drafted was beyond his expectations.
Yes, if he'd worked alone it would have gone smoother and would probably be finished by now, but working together with Sig wasn't as much of a detriment as he'd anticipated. The Glossary of Obscure Magical Terms came out way more often when the blue-haired bubblehead was involved but he admittedly looked a thing or two up to verify, himself.
More unexpectedly, his classmate actually had a passable knowledge of plants. It was an extreme novelty that the boy had some useful knowledge that wasn't directly related to insects. Sure, knowing more about vegetation helped determine what bugs could be found where, but it was still something different. To Klug, plants were simply those things that died whenever he brought them inside. No matter what he tried they always seemed to do that. At some point he'd taken it personally and stopped trying.
Working on the coffee table was more crowded than he'd prefer, but the floor made a good holding space for books not currently being referenced. Not ideal, but it worked.
Scribbling a few more annotations in the margins of an entry for uses of day lilies in relation to light magic, he casually asked Sig to pass him the outline again, intending to append it with this new information. No response.
... Great. Klug groaned, resting his cheek in his palm. The shallow breathing, open eyes and failure to blink meant one thing; Sig was asleep again. What time was it, anyhow? He'd lost track at some point. Glancing at the window, all that could be seen was the deepest navy and black, broken up by the yellow and white dots from nearby homes. Oh.
An upside-down look at the watch around his neck confirmed it. 12:30 in the morning. Very late, or very early if one preferred. Being tired wasn't just understandable, it was, well, quite natural.
Sleep.
Sleep?
Sleep?! It finally registered to his fatigued mind; what was he going to do with Sig? He couldn't expect his classmate to stumble home in complete darkness. Didn't he live on the outskirts of town, anyway? Even if it wasn't as far, Nahe wasn't exactly the safest forest to traverse alone. At night. There'd even been rumors of an owl-bear, so far unsubstantiated but Klug wasn't eager to validate them.
No, Sig had to stay over. The sofa had been good enough for a nap, after all. Pillows and a blanket could make it downright cozy. It would be fine. Fine! Why wouldn't it be? Sleepovers were a thing, not something he'd really been a party to but they existed. Besides, it'd be more convenient for working on the project in the morning. Maybe they'd even finish it. Stranger things had happened before.
Fetching the linens didn't take long, and as expected, the couch was easy to transform into a cozy-looking nest. Now all he needed to do was wake up Sig and change into night... clothes. Radiant heavens, he hadn't thought about that. He mentally flipped through his wardrobe, trying to remember if he had anything comfortable that would suit. Their builds were different and most of Klug's clothes were form-fitting to some degree. An old t-shirt would probably work and he had no real attachment to those, anyway.
Now, to retrieve such an article... well, maybe his shouty little red roommate would be 'asleep', or so absorbed in the new novel that he could come and leave unnoticed. Taking care in mounting the stairs, Klug mentally prepared himself to trespass in the most forbidden of all territories; his own room.
Slowly, carefully, he grasped the doorknob an-
"Hi," the book-bound phantom greeted him with all the warmth of an overworked coroner, "we need to talk. Now."
Damn. Klug cringed, all his hopes of a quiet night/ morning dying with no hope of resuscitation.
"Look, I just want to grab something, then you can be indignant all y-"
Somehow the tiny narrowed dots that passed for its eyes seethed with genuine menace and more than a hint of anger. "No. NOW."
"This has nothing to do with y-"
"This has EVERYTHING to do with me! You think I don't know?! That I can't TELL?" It bristled, raising its voice for all the good it did. After all, only those who had a connection with the carmine body-snatcher seemed to be able to hear it. Unfortunately for Klug, he was one such party.
Klug sighed, trying to defuse the firecracker that was currently exploding and doing a number on his fatigued mind, "I'm sorry if you feel like I abandoned you, Aya. Tomorrow I'll take you to the store a-"
"Bribery won't work THIS time, kiddo." 'Aya' cut him off. It was more a descriptor than a name for the frustrated demonic entity. Its proper name was lost to the mists of time so it had adopted 'Ayashii' or 'Strange' for lack of a better title.
"Even one from the 'rare' section?" One of those books would cost the mage plenty, but it would be worth it to avoid a headache.
Screeching, the tiny semi-corporeal entity picked a pencil from its holder on the desk and threw it at Klug's face. The pencil arcked, but fell woefully short, rolling to a slow stop at the attempted briber's feet. Aya howled in frustration, cursing at its inability to manipulate anything heavier than a small paperback. Even that took a great deal of effort.
Klug paced across the room, wearily taking a seat on his bed. If this was going to continue he may as well be comfortable. Hopefully the shrieking nuisance would exhaust itself soon. While Ayashii was generally a prickly character it was rarely this upset. He flatly entreated, "so, will you actually tell me what I've supposedly done or are we doing twenty questions?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'TELL YOU'?! YOU'RE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE, AREN'T YOU?!"
"Your novel had a happy resolution?"
"NO! IT'S... it's actually fine. I'm enjoying i- HEY! DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!"
"I can't do that if I don't know what the subject is."
"YOU'RE STUPID BUT YOU'RE NOT THAT STU-"
Both parties were startled by a knock at the door, followed by the slow squeak of hinges. Wreathed in the relative dark of the hallway was an ominous cloaked figure. It shuffled forward, and into the light.
Ah. Of course. It had to be Sig, didn't it? Blanket draped over head and shoulders like a cowl, the two bleary eyes blinked from behind a disheveled mess of bangs. At least he'd found the linens without trouble.
True, he had knocked, but it was customary to ask before barging into someone else's room. Klug's mouth opened, and h-
"So loud. Please, stop yelling. 'Kay? Wanna get some sleep..." It was a simple complaint, but there was a problem.
"S-Sig? I wasn't yelling, so what are you talking about?" At least, Klug didn't think he'd been. Maybe the bug catcher had the hearing of a dog on top of his squirrel-like eating habits.
The cloaked somnolist shook his head, mumbling something that sounded like, "not you, him." A draped arm gestured to the now silent book demon. Sig stared at the apparition, like he was trying to remember something.
Uncomfortable with the attention, Ayashii floated backwards, crossing its arms indignantly. Staring back, it hissed, "what do you want?"
"Sleep." The cloaked sleepybug really didn't mince words, did he?
"Well you can't always get what you want!" spat the little red viper.
"How..? T-this has to bad dream or something," Klug muttered to himself, wondering exactly when he'd fallen asleep, "I just... I can't..."
"Klug, why's your book so loud?"
"I'M NOT A BOOK, I JUST LIVE IN ONE!"
Sig tilted his head, then drowsily asked, "oh, like a snail?"
"I'M NOT A- huh, that's not entirely inaccurate," Aya pondered momentarily, then resumed his irate tirade. "THAT DOESN'T MATTER, ANYWAY! Idiotic half-a-soul meat shell, why am I even talking to you?"
Half a soul...? Klug really, really didn't like where this seemed to be headed. His head already hurt and none of this helped.
The bizarre chain of insults didn't seem to phase their target. Instead, the cowled intruder moved to sweep up the book, shouting resident and all, mumbling, "so noisy."
"S-Sig I don't think that's a great ide-"
"GEDDYERHANDAWA-" thud. The tome snapped shut, safely tucked under Sig's arm.
"Dun' worry, not gonna hurt him. G'night," he started to slowly shuffle off, leaving Klug in his room. Alone.
"... Good... night." It certainly didn't feel like a good one. Not at all. Was it his imagination, or were both of Sig's eyes... red? No, a trick of the light, fatigue or both at the same time. It had to be.
It was probably better for his sanity that his friend's arms had been covered by the robe-like sheet. Beneath, Sig's left arm silently radiated a troubling ruby aura. Sometimes, one was better off not knowing.