#lunite

Sleep. It's something all living things need in some form or another, even if they don't appreciate it, it's still a necessity for survival. But what about creatures that don't have to follow these rules? Or perhaps they can't, even if they tried? That was the blight that fell upon Lunite, the inability to sleep, an aggressive form of insomnia. She occasionally would fall asleep here and there, once maybe every few days if she was lucky, but only for a few minutes at a time. She didn't let this stop her from doing her job and assisting her twin. She and Pyris, dropped in a strange new world, ripped from the place they once called home, found a new place for them to belong.

Bob's hotel, the most popular on the west side of the kingdom, attracting tourists from across the land and even the bordering continent of Astronia, the place Pyris and Lunite first found themselves when appearing in this world, before moving to Bob's Bulverde to work full time. Their job was simple, manage and run the daycare in the family zone wing of the hotel, giving parents a much needed break if they wished to visit the casino or Kenos corner. Some parents would occasionally leave their kids for the entirety of their stay to enjoy the adult amenities more frequently, leaving their child in the care of the twins. Of course, some children didn't like sleeping in the rooms of the daycare hall. Either by stubborn choice or anxiety of not having mom or dad around, they would stay up late into the night.

Lunite, always being awake and vigilant, would round up any young ones still awake I'm the late hours of the night, spending as much time with them as they needed before they would eventually fall asleep. They would always fall asleep… well… almost, there was always one or two every now and then, that simply couldn't sleep at all. Lunite felt for them, the poor children, she knew how it felt. They were always a struggle, but Lunite was always patient, never once did she raise her voice or scold them, even when they lashed out, she was always patient, after all, either it be early in the morning or late into the night.

They would all fall asleep eventually.

But something changed one day. The night prior was rough, at least a dozen kids refusing to sleep, and still full of boundless energy even the next morning, only to crash around noon after Pyris took them off her hands to give her a break. Lunite sighed, knowing it was going to be another long night, but she knew she could handle it, she always did. She sat in the far corner of Blackout bar, eating her lunch, when she noticed a familiar figure walk over and sit across from her. She quickly swallowed her food and wiped her mouth. 

“Blacklight, what's up?” She asked, greeting Blacklight with a nod. The screen display on Blacklights helmet displayed a smile as he spoke.

“Oh, same old same old, hey, I don't mean to bother you on your break, but I heard you had some trouble with those little goblins last night.” Blacklight chimed, but Lunite only frowned.

“Children Blacklight, they are children, not goblins.” Lunite hissed, but Blacklight waved her off.

“Yeah yeah, look, not my point. So I was talking to Nightshade a few days ago right? So she has this friend, a popular game streamer, who goes by PZX5?.” Blacklight rambled before he shook his head. Lunite couldn't help but crack a smile, mostly in amusement. It was always a spectacle watching Blacklight talk, mostly because he was always hyped up on enough caffeine to kill a cow.

“I'm getting ahead of myself, not the point. But this guy's got a brother yeah? Has this freaky ass power, turns out the guy can make people fall asleep but just looking at him!” He exclaimed. Lunites ears twitched, her interest peaked.

“So, turns out, he has these streams right, it's meant to help you sleep. It's nothing fancy really, just a stream of his logo or whatever it is, I don't know, but apparently just watching it can help you fall asleep! Didn't work on me of course, but apparently worked really well for Conroy and S.B. Maybe it can help you with those little goblins you call kids.” Blacklight chuckled, inciting a friendly punch to the arm by Lunite.

“Blacklight!” But Lunite couldn't help but smirk as she tried to scold him. Both ended up snickering, but Lunite soon shook her head. “I'll consider it if things get out of hand, thanks Blacklight.” She nodded, and Blacklight nodded back, standing up from his seat. 

“Well, the grind never stops, you know, enjoy your lunch.” He waved, walking off. Lunites attention returned back to her food, perhaps these streams would help after all… maybe… could they…? No no, it couldn't. She shook her head, what a silly thought. 

~

Days had passed since then, and Lunite almost hated to admit it, but the streams were working wonders for those children who were too bound with energy to settle. All it took was playing the stream, and one my one each would fall asleep. Of course, just as she thought, the streams never seemed to work for her, no matter how long she looked at the logo on screen, it didn't seem to work. But it was in this resistance she noticed something strange. The logo seemed to shimmer and pulse with a faint glow, in a strange rhythmic pattern, almost like a heartbeat, slow and steady. It was… mesmerizing in its own strange way. While it may not have aided her in sleep, she couldn't help but watch it in her free time, something about it seemed to make her relax. she noticed, like a heartbeat, the pulsing light would fluctuate, typically during the day, and she wondered if anyone else noticed this strange pattern. Probably not, most people who watched the stream would have long fallen asleep before they noticed. She felt a sense of pride and privilege, knowing that most likely, she was the only person who was aware of this shift, as if it was made for her and only her. But that seemed foolish didn't it?

Noon was approaching, it would be time for the youngest nap time, but of course, it was another day of restless behavior, and to make it worse, there were far more kids today than what she was normally used to. She wondered if the streams would help today. After all, getting a gaggle of toddlers to sit and watch the stream long enough for them to fall asleep wouldn't be easy. As she guided the last of the children into the room, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and turning around, she saw her twin. They seemed tired, giving a yawn before speaking.

“Hey sis, sorry to bother you but you have a guest today for nap time.” Pyris mumbled, Lunites ear flicked in confusion. 

“A guest? I wasn't told about this? Don't you think nap time is perhaps not the best time to be welcoming a surprise guest?” Her voice was tense, just above a whisper, not wanting the children to hear, but Pyris didn't seem bothered, as if too tired to care.

“Oh don't worry, I'm sure you'll love the guest, they'll get the kids to sleep in no time.” Pyris muttered with a chuckle, Lunite was concerned. 

“Pyris, are you feeling alright? You seem out of it.” Lunite questioned, but Pyris only shook their head with a chuckle. 

“Ah, nah it's fine, but your guest is about to stop by any minute.” Pyris paused their sentence to yawn. “And if I spend any more time around him I'm really gonna crash, he'll explain more when he gets here, see ya sis.” Pyris muttered casually, waving their hand as they walked down the hall and out of sight before Lunite could question any further. Her tail twitched in annoyance, this wasn't like Pyris to do things so last minute like this. As she was caught up in her confusion, a voice caught her attention.

“Excuse me… this is the nap room right?” Lunite turned, there, at the end of the hall stood a man. His figure was large, almost intimidating, or at least, it would be if he didn't look like an oversized teddy bear. What caught her eye almost immediately however, was his head, an old box TV sat on his shoulders, the eyes displayed on his screen looked tired, yet somehow bright and full of life. Lunite paused for a moment, taking in every detail before she spoke.

“Yes it is… are you our guest?” She questioned, her voice flat, almost cold, which seemed to put the man on edge. 

“Y-yes, you're um… Lunite? Um… I'm Mr. Night Light, but, uh… most just call me Nill.” He stammered, he didn't move from his place at the end of the hall, which caught Lunites attention. But what really peaked her interest was that name.

“You're the one who hosts those sleep streams right?” Her voice softened, which seemed to put Nill at ease. 

“Yes, that's right.” He responded. The silence that followed however was tense. Lunite shifted slightly.

“Um… you're welcome to come in.” She gestured to the door, which seemed to make Nill slightly uncomfortable.

“Oh, I would but… I don't want to get too close to you.” He muttered, fidgeting with his hands. “It's kind of… a long story but, it's not just my streams that can put people to sleep, people get tired just by being around me, I don't want to make you tired when you have a job to do.” He explained the whole time he avoided eye contact, like a small child that was guilty of something, ironic for a man of such size and stature. Lunite let out a mild chuckle.

“I think you'll find I'm quite resistant, please, come in.” She chimed, her voice warm and welcoming as she opened the door. Nill seemed surprised. He hesitated but soon walked forward. Walking right past Lunite, giving her a glance, as if checking to make sure she hadn't passed out on the spot. However, she remained standing tall, unfazed and unbothered by his presence. 

As he entered the room, with Lunite right behind, the children's eyes all fell on him. Lunite noticed right away that just by simply being in the room, some of the children were already starting to yawn. 

“It seems this will be easier than I thought… Would you like to read the children a story, Nill?” She asked. Nill blinked before nodding.

“A story? Oh yes, of course.” He said, giving Lunite a smile. She responded with one of her own, walking over to the shelf to grab a book as Nill made his way over to the corner of the room.

“Alright children, before nap time, our friend here is going to read a story for us, so gather around and put on your best listening ears for him.” Lunite chimed. The room was filled with giggles, nods, and tiny voices responding with a yes or something of the same manner. Lunite approached Nill as he sat down, handing him the book. As he reached out to grab it, his hand brushed against her own. She didn't react, but for a moment, Lunite saw a flash of panic om Nills face, soon followed by mix of pure disbelief and curiously, but it only lasted a moment before his attention was turned to the book I'm his hands. The children who sat around him were already starting to get tired, some even laying down on the ground as Nill started to read. 

Nill only got a few pages in before all of the children were fast asleep. Nill didn't even notice until Lunite chuckled, causing him to look up and see the mass of tiny sleeping buddies, causing him to also smile. Both of them spent the next few minutes making sure each child was covered with a blanket.

“If I knew it would be this easy, I would have asked you to stop by weeks ago.” Lunite chortled. Nill responded with a laugh of his own but didn't say much after that. As Lunite turned to Nill, she found him surprisingly close. She could see the color on his screen was a lighter shade of pink than before, and he seemed to struggle to keep eye contact.

“Hey so… this is a really… odd question… but… could I see your hand for a moment?” Nill asked. He fidgeted for a moment as Lunites ears twitched in curiosity. 

“Of course.” She said without hesitation, holding out her hand palm up. Nill seemed to hesitate, even though he was the one to ask. But he soon reached out, taking her hand into his own, or rather, his paws. He looked down at her hand, then up at her face, his face was lit up a bright pink.

“You don't… feel tired at all?” He asked. Lunite felt her face heat up for a moment, something about the way he looked at her, she couldn't quite describe.

“No… not at all… I've never been able to sleep well, I guess you could say it's… a rather aggressive form of insomnia.” She muttered, her voice trailing off. Nills eyes never left her. It seemed to make her face warm up even more.

“Normally… I can't get this close to people- let alone touch them, without then passing out cold… you're… you're the first person I've met who's… not affected.” He muttered, and after a moment, his face suddenly went bright before he turned away, letting Lunites hand go. “Sorry, I was staring, wasn't I?” He muttered. Lunite only froze for a moment. A thousand thoughts bounced around in her mind, but she was able to finally say one. She placed a hand on Nills arm, causing him to look at her again. 

“Would you, perhaps, like to get lunch with me, Nill?” She asked, a soft smile on her face, and Nill smiled back.