many interests

Knock knock

"Nótt?"

No response.

"Nótt? Sweetie?"

No response again.

Vessel opened her bedroom door, he found her on her bed, deep in prayer.

"Nótt, baby girl." Vessel kneeled next to her bed and shook her by the shoulder.

"Hm? Oh, sorry, papa. I didn't hear you." She looked up gently, still slightly surprised from his sudden appearance.

"Baby, it's time for dinner." He helped her up, guiding her by the shoulder in the hallway. "How long have you been prayering for?"

She hummed and looked up, trying to remember. "What's the longest you spent praying before, papa?"

"I think, about 5 hours? Even my body has limits, it's still exhausting to pray in the temple."

Her ears pointed downwards at the mention of the temple, she still wasn't allowed inside.

"Well, I still broke your record. 5 hours and a *half!" She giggled, the same cocky smile as her father's plastered on her face.

He smiled and ruffled her short hair, "good job, baby girl. Maybe you could start giving offerings to Sleep now, you're all grown up!"

They reached the dinner table, everyone was already seated and picking at their plate. Vessel sat next to you and kiss your head, he looked at the rest of the table and announced her achievement.

"Nótt officially spent more time praying in one sitting than me. 5 hours and a half." He smiled as nótt flushed with the praise from her uncles and you.

"Oh nótt, that's amazing! But there's more to worship in it for you now, you can start giving offerings!"

"I can open the gates, have you watch as it's put for her." iv offered, remembering that nótt can't go inside. It was an empathetic offer, but nótt still seemed bothered by it.

She sighed, "I guess, there's no other option." In an attempt to lighten the mood, she joked "I better give it to you, if I gave it to uncle iii he'd break it before he even steps foot in the temple!"

"HEY!" iii snapped up at the crude joke.

"who said that..? Wasn't me, must've been the wind..." nótt giggled under her breath.

"Ugh, not the time for this, nótt." iii grumbled, picking at the plate that he didn't even need to eat. "An ugly beast escaped before I could properly finish it off." He mumbled, knowing the mention of the beasts still upset nótt. And a sharp look from you quickly reminded him of that.

At night, nótt laid in her bed, trying to think of an offering she could bring to Sleep.

"Carved trinkets?"

"Baked goods?"

"A cooked flamingo?"

She cringed at the last option, she loves Sleep, but she wouldn't kill her friends for her favor.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, maybe she'd get an idea in the morning.

...

...

"Nótt."

She opened her eyes at the call of her name. But she wasn't in her room, and she wasn't even laying down.

She stood in shallow water, water so still it was a perfect mirror of the cloudy sky above. She looked around, there was nothing but still water till her horizonline.

"Nótt."

A voice ahead called. A blurry figure, shrouded in all black clothing, She could see giant antlers sitting on its head,

"It needs you nótt, it's waiting for you."

The voice emerged again, from all directions now.

A loud screech shook the water, breaking the perfect reflection it had.

Another shriek followed, waking nótt up with a gasp. She sat up in her bed, focusing on the noise outside.

It was a more muffled, distant shriek. A beast. She pitied it. But last time she followed a beast at night, her family almost got killed.

"This must've meant something."

She hesitated before getting up, quietly padding down the hall and down to the garden. The creature shrieked again.

She walked and walked to the noise, the forest trees slowly lessened.

She reached the source of the noise, the creature shrieked so loudly it pained her ears.

The creature laid in a field of "flowers" and tall grass, Bleeding out from its abdomen. How it survived for that long, she didn't know. But it still pained her heart to see it.

"Oh Sleep, oh sweet creature!!" She immediately kneeled next to the creature, her hand shaking as it touched it's wounded flesh.

Tears start welling in her eyes, but there was nothing she could do. She did all she knew she could do, she prayed.

"Oh Sleep, please, please my goddess, save your poor creature. Please. Have mercy on them."

She prayed and prayed, tears streaming down her eyes at each pitiful cry from the creature. "Please..."

Nótt didn't know for how long she prayed, but she was tired, her eyes fighting to stay open and throat dry from praying.

"Please, please, my goddess." She mumbled as she felt a movement under her.

She fell, the flowers gently cushioning her fall.

With what little consciousness she had, she looked up.

The creature, fully healed stood at its full height. It extended one of its arms and pet her hair, before disappearing back to the night.

...

...

"Nótt!"

A faint voice called out, her body was shaken vigorously.

"Nótt, baby, wake up!"

Multiple voices called out her name, she finally worked up the effort to open her eyes. She was met with the sight of you hunched over her and crying.

"You scared me!!" You immediately grabbed her and hugged her tightly, burying your face in her neck as you sobbed.

Nótt looked around her, her uncles and her father standing with all sorts of expressions. Anger, fear, relief, confusion.

"Papa...I- I'm sorry-"

"No."

Vessel sharply cut her off.

"You are no longer a child, you don't get a pass on doing this again." He turned away from her, anger seeping from every crevice of his form.

"But, I-"

A loud guttural hiss cut her off.

Everyone's head turned towards vessel.

Nótt's protest died on her tongue right then and there, she'd never heard or seen him so angry he'd hiss at someone before.

After what felt like forever in silence, you tugged your daughter up, "let's go, we'll continue this at home."

The walk home was deathly silent, even iii had a rare moment of void silence.

Vessel walked ahead of everyone, fuming. While you and the others held your daughter close. And it was very clear she was holding back tears.

Vessel closed the door of your bedroom, his shoulders finally relaxing as he pulled you into his embrace.

"Sigh, that kid- Oof!" He was cut of by your pushing him against the door, and keeping your distance from him.

"No! You don't have the luxury of my comfort." You yelled at him, his expression quickly turned to one of shock and confusion.

"Love-"

"Don't "love" me, vessel! You hissed at our daughter, you didn't even give her a chance to explain herself!!" You went on, "and until you go and fix things with her, apologize and let her explain, consider yourself welcome to sleep in the garden!!"

And before vessel knew it you pushed him out of the door and it was shut behind him.

The clarity after your yelling really gave his mind the reboot it needed, now not blinded by anger. He finally saw the error in his way.

And with the threat of banishment from the bedroom, he now has an angry wife and daughter to comfort.

He rushed to nótt's room, taking a deep breath before knocking.

"...come in." Her muffled voice answered, it was slightly cracked so he could tell she was crying.

He opened the door, finding his daughter sitting on her bed, prayer beads resting in her palm. She didn't look up at her father, excepting another lecture she didn't even deserve.

Vessel hesitated to approach, but slowly he moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed. With a deep breath, he spoke in the gentlest tone he can muster.

"I'm sorry, nótt." He glanced at her, she sniffled and looked up at him. "I...I was so scared for you, I didn't even think to ask."

He let himself move slightly closer to her, "It was uncharacteristically immature of me, that anger. And I do not wish for it to become characteristic."

Nótt moved closer, ears pointed downwards. Vessel opened his arms to invite her in an embrace, she hesitantly moved into it like a cub to its parents.

He immediately wrapped his arms around her and she did the same, burying her face in his bare chest and letting a few more tears fall on his chest.

After rocking her for a few minutes, letting her comfort herself again that her father would never turn into a man that would do this regularly, vessel put his hand under her jaw and gently lifted her face up to look at him. All of their six eyes locked onto each other.

"Now, would you like explaining to me? Honestly?" Nótt pulled away slightly, her hands resting in her lap and gaze averted from her father.

"And you'd believe me?"

"Ofcourse, sweetie."

With a deep breath, nótt spoke up. "Sleep sent me a dream. She told me to go to the forest, a beast was wounded there, I- I don't know what she wanted from me, but I prayed and a prayed for her to heal it."

Nótt's voice cracked slightly at the end of it, the memory of the beast's pitiful cries still pained her. "I can't remember what happened after, but it seems like Sleep heard my prayers. The beast wasn't there in the morning."

Vessel's heart almsot stopped beating, hut he had to keep a calm composure. With a still very shocked expression he asked, "D-Did you see her? Sleep? In your dream?"

"I couldn't exactly see her, she was very blurry. Like murky water, but I knew it was her." Nótt's gaze traveled back to her father, studying his worried expression. "Is everything alright, papa?"

"Yes, yes. It's okay. Just please, the next time she speaks to you. Tell me immediately, wake me up." He rested his hands on her shoulders and gave her a kiss on the forehead, "I must go, love."

He had to tell the numerals, and comfort you before telling you. He wouldn't want to add to the heart ache you were experiencing.

Vessel gathered the numerals in Sleep's temple, he told them of nótt's dream. Safe to say noone overreacted.

"Should I cook a flamingo? An Offering for Sleep to keep nótt safe?" iv offered, ii didn't seem to disapprove.

"A flamingo? Cook a whole beast to keep our niece safe!" iii intervened, vessel just sighed and ran a hand down his masked face.

"Noone is cooking anything. We just keep her in the manor for a few days, and iii will patrol more." He waved generally to ii and iv, "ii and iv can make sure she doesn't go near the temple. Thats all."

"That's it? Vessel, this could be the signs you were warned of! And This is all your asking of us?!" ii fought back, "atleast tell her mother, shouldn't she have a say in this too?"

Vessel looked down in shame, reminded of your anger towards him. "she doesn't wish to speak to me right now. But I will inform her."

The numerals fell silent, and with an agreement reached, they all silently got up to go back to their own duties.

Vessel followed soon after, choosing to leave you cool off before trying to make up with you.

Vessel has seen you around the manor throughout the day, in the kitchen, with iv, with nótt, near the temple. But he can tell you were avoiding him like the plague.

After a very awkward dinner where you avoiding communication with vessel at any cost, you receded to the bedroom early.

Vessel followed.

He entered the room, finding you already laying in bed, the room dimly lit by a single candle.

"Love?"

No response from you.

"I apologized to nótt. She explained what happened." He sat on the edge of the bed on your side, hand hesitantly hovering over your calf. That seemed to catch your attention, your eyes glancing to him.

"She had a dream from Sleep. She ordered to her to go to that forest." You finally sat up, the covers sliding off your body, clad in just his (only) shirt and shorts. Vessel was briefly distracted by your body until his eyes snapped up back to your face.

"This may be one of the signs Sleep warned us off. We have to be more careful these days." His hand came to rest upon yours, "and I can't focus with you upset with me."

You sighed and held his hand, rubbing his knuckles with your thumb. "And I can take it his won't happen again? At a time of such change for our daughter, you have to control yourself." Your voice remained stern, devoid of any affection.

"I promise." Vessel confirmed.

He leaned forward, searching your face for any discomfort. Once he saw none, he closed the distance and kissed your cheek.

"I'm sorry, honey." He pulled you closer, smothering your face with kisses. You still tried to keep a stoic facade, but he you've been married a long time. He knew exactly how to break you.

"You still want to play cold?" You can feel him grin against your cheek, "I know what to do." Vessel buried his face in your neck, taking a deep breath of your scent before licking a long stripe over your pulse.

You let out a small whimper, barely hidden under a loud breath. Vessel chuckled and kept going. "You can't stay cold forever, love." He palmed your breast and bit your neck hard enough to leave a mark, that finally broke you, a loud moan escaped your mouth before you can process the pleasure, heat started coiling in your lower belly.

"Give up?" Vessel pulled away, Teasing you with a wink and his tongue stuck out.

You grumbled and grabbed his hair roughly, "you shall reap what you sow." And quickly pushed him onto the bed.

While you and vessel were dead asleep in the night, nótt laid awake in her bed.

She couldn't sleep, she was scared to sleep.

She laid and wondered, why? Why did Sleep choose her to go to the beast? And why did she listen to her prayer so quickly? Sleep wasn't exactly known to listen to her followers immediately, maybe it was her father's blessing. Being born of him maybe gave her some sort of privilege.

She had to know the answer.

She got up, the second night in a row she doesn't sleep in her bed. She grabbed your old shawl that you gave her after her old one got ruined in flamingo food.

After padding quietly across the manor, and narrowly avoiding her uncle ii, nótt reached the temple gates. The heavy metal doors would be locked every night, but conveniently, not tonight.

She pushed open the gates as quietly as she can, luckily they didn't creak or groan like they usually would.

Nótt glanced around, offerings of all sorts lay on the granite floor and surrounding the stage. Furs, fresh fruit, small trinkets of wood and bone. Candles surrounded the alter, they seemed to never dim through all these eons.

"My goddess? Can you hear me?" Nótt spoke, seemingly to noone. She kept her voice low, for the temple's echos can alert someone she's here.

Nótt stepped closer and closer towards the stage, "you called for me last night, to your beast." Out of the corner of her eye, the candles seemed to flicker. "I don't know why, but you listened to me. You heard my prayers and healed your beast."

"But that's not why I'm here. I'm here for answers, my goddess." Nótt bowed her head, kneeling down infront of the low stage steps. "How am I doing these things? Why don't your beasts attack me, why do they listen to me?"

Nótt felt movement around her, winds despite no windows being present. "Why aren't I allowed in your temple? Why do you push me away my goddess?" She held her shawl tighter as the winds grew stronger.

"Please my goddess, please, don't push me out!!" Nótt's voice started to crack, visions of that dream flashing her mind, clouding her thoughts and ability to speak. She hiccuped and tried to hold back her tears, focusing all her energy on commuting with her goddess.

She prayed and prayed, as she felt her body stiffen and jerk uncontrollable, as her stomach felt like it was twisting in on itself, this wasn't right. She wasn't going to let her goddess kill her for asking questions. Right before she felt her mind give out, she managed one scream with all the breath in her lungs, alerting anyone around.

And before her eyes closed, she heard heavy footsteps run into the temple.

"Wake up! Wake the fuck up!" iv banged on your bedroom door, when you stumbled out of bed and opened the door he was quick to grab you by the shoulders to shake the sleep off you. "You, vessel, come on, it's your daughter!"

You and vessel didn't anymore, quickly rising out of the room and running with iv down the halls into ii's apothecary.

You found ii and iii, and nótt laid on a thin mat on the ground. She wasn't moving.

"My daughter-" just as you and vessel were about to rush in, iv held his hand up. ii had work to do first, he didn't want to deal with a terrified mother and father too.

"She slipped past me, entered the temple behind my back." ii anxiously worked around her, preparing some sort of medication to help wake her up. "Had a seizure, she managed to scream to alert me."

iii kneeled next to her, checking that she's still breathing and her heart is still working well. "Clever girl..." He mumbled, hand resting on her pulse to keep track of it. iii looked the most dim you've ever seen him, the light in his eyes snuffed out like a candle.

"Here, make her sit up." ii kneeled next iii holding a cup, iii followed his order, holding her head up as ii put the cup to her lips and forced her to swallow.

iii laid her down again, for a few moments nothing changed. Till her eyes stared twitching under her eyelids, and soon enough her eyes slowly opened.

"My baby..."

Nótt almost immediately started crying, the panic, fear, and pain of all that's happened crashing down on her again. But the comfort of your voice broke her.

You and vessel pushed past iv and sat down to embrace your daughter, she clung onto vessel and you, burying her face in your shoulder as her tears stained your clothes.

"You're safe, baby. You're okay, you're okay." You kept reassuring her, till her breathing slowed and tears thinned.

"I'm sorry, mama." Were the first words she muttered. "I don't know why I thought this was a good idea, Sleep hates me!"

"My child, that's not true. I-" Vessel held back his tongue, still not sure if it's time. He looked around to the other numerals, hoping they encourage him to say it.

"The longer you keep this hidden, the more she's a danger to herself." ii stated sternly, he was still anxious about almost losing her.

Nótt heard and glanced at ii then back at her father, studying his worried expression. "There's something you're hiding..."

"Please, papa, just tell me the truth! Why am I like this!?" Nótt raised her voice, at the edge of crying again.

"Nótt, please calm down. We'll explain everything." You readjusted to sit properly, your hands twitching anxiously in your lap. "Nótt, your father...can't have children, okay?"

While that was news shock on its own, nótt almost immediately looked towards her uncles. You could see the gears turning in her head.

"Neither can your uncles, don't worry." You reassured her.

"Becoming a vessel, requires one to leave behind that ability. Our seed is useless." iv explained, being the youngest, he was more aware and still not at ease with the consequence.

Nótt was still confused, she looked back at her father, was he even her father? You held your daughter's hands, rubbing her knuckles to comfort her.

"When I got married to your father, Sleep heard my cries, she heard me cursing her for taking away such a luxury from him." You giggled at the memory, "she honestly should've struck me down for all that I said. But instead she gave me you."

Your daughter stared at her lap for a moment to process the new information, when she still looked confused you knew you had to be more blunt. Vessel took that as his sign to explain.

"My daughter." He moved closer to her, "you are a blessing from Sleep. Albeit through me, but a blessing nonetheless. An extention of her magic given form."

"I'm...an extention of her. A blessing from her? Why didn't you tell me?" While nótt seemed at peace with the new information, she still didn't know why they hid it away from her for so long.

"Sleep's orders. We were just as upset as you, honey" iii explained. "But she said, as soon as we tell you, you can go in the temple completely fine."

"Really!?" She shot up, excitement flaring in her eyes. You and vessel giggled at her sudden switch.

"Yes, my darling. Do you wish to go now? Have a little praying session with no interruption, or put your own offering there."

"YES!!" Nótt grabbed her father's arm and pulled him up, before the other numerals or you can even catch up she was already leading him down the hall to the temple. Her giggles echoing down the hall.

-----

The kiri inspo is really starting to show.

Hope you enjoyed <3