📚Sleep sheep parade

Abzu is invited to a mysterious meetup

For Coelune January prompt; Sleepy dreamland

Characters: Abzu, Skymother, Marilynn

Warnings: N/A

Wordcount: 1,580

Vibe: GIRL’S NIGHT

this is kind of half assed and totally unrevised bc im oh so sleepy (its fatigue. help)

its silly and lighthearted goodnight

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Dear Abzu…

I’ve been talking with a friend, and she says she’d like to meet you! I told her you were pretty much stuck in Waterfall, but… I have reason to believe she may be able to make things work. I think she’ll be able to bring me too, so we can finally meet!

I’m so nervous, but… it’s exciting!

She said she should be around on XX, at around 5:00pm. She said to prepare sleepwear and any snacks!

I hope this isn’t too strange sounding. It’ll make sense, I promise!

-Marilynn

“That’s not… encouraging. Is she always like this?” Tiamat asked, as Abzu finished reading the letter aloud.

“She’s usually a bit too forward, honestly. Seeing her writing be this vague and referencing a strange ‘friend’ is unusual.”

“I doubt she’s planning to kidnap you, but it’s still a bit suspicious.” Tiamat sighed.

“The past few months have been nothing but a rollercoaster around here, I guess I’m just fearing for the worst.”

“No, no, I feel that way too.” Abzu said, leaning over to give their wife a kiss on the cheek.

“Marilynn couldn’t be any more different from her though. She’s the kind of person who always looks to the bright side, and would probably cry if she accidentally squished a bug.”

“I guess we’ll see.” Tiamat replied.

“That day in the letter… that’s tomorrow, right? The mail must’ve been late if she expected it to be an advanced heads up.”

“We’ll see.”

–

The following day came and went, and soon enough, it was almost 5pm. Abzu had prepared a duffle bag with pajamas, as well as a bag of sardine chips.

Abzu didn’t have a watch, so it was just a matter of waiting outside the pub to see if anything happened. A few customers entered, glancing at Abzu as they walked by.

Then, only forewarned by a momentary floating glow, a large crack broke through the space about two meters in front of Abzu – bursting open into a large, blue-purple wormhole.

Abzu was certainly startled, if not intrigued – as it appeared to be the same type of wormhole that their daughter’s odd angelic friend Ramiel was capable of creating.

They slowly made an attempt to step closer, but backtracked upon seeing two figures emerge from the wormhole.

From the wormhole came two coelunes – one around Abzu’s height with long purple hair, with the other being much shorter, stumbling out of the wormhole.

There was a pause as the three exchanged glances, before the shortest woman spoke up.

“You’re… Abzu, aren’t you?”

Her voice was a bit nervous sounding.

Abzu examined the woman a bit further, noting similarities in appearance to another rabbit they knew.

Abzu felt they had enough confidence in their deduction to respond.

“And I can only assume you’re Marilynn, right?” they replied with a smile.

Marilynn’s normally lopped ears perked up a bit.

“Y…yes!!” she said, flustered.

“It’s… just a bit overwhelming to finally meet you in person…! I wasn’t expecting you to be so tall…”

Abzu snorted, and slung their bag around their shoulder.

“No worries, hah! I guess it is a bit jarring.” They said, before turning to the taller woman.

“This the friend you mentioned?”

“Yes! She’s, uh… I’m assuming you know Ramiel?” Marilynn said, pausing for Abzu’s input. Abzu gave a nod, and she continued.

“This is… Skymother, Ramiel’s mom.”

The name itself didn’t hit Abzu at first. Rather, they thought about what their daughter had told them about Ramiel, and about Ramiel’s family situation – and it all circled back when Abzu finally recalled the name, and hit them like a truck.

Skymother.

The goddess of Lunaires.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Abzu.” Skymother said, a warm smile on her face.

The feeling that washed over Abzu was indescribable. Sure, she was in what appeared to be one of her forms she used to talk to mortals, but the weight of her presence alone was almost overwhelming.

“It’s… nice to meet you too.” Abzu said, tone suddenly changed as they gave a slow nod.

“Ehehe, I promise I don’t bite!” Skymother snickered.

“I have everything set up, follow me!”

“Where are we going?” Abzu asked, but received no answer – as Skymother hopped through the wormhole before giving a response.

Marilynn just smiled, and extended her hand to Abzu.

Though the wormhole’s energy gave off a feeling of unease Abzu hadn’t felt in a long time, they knew they could trust Marilynn. 

So, taking her hand, Abzu followed Marilynn through the wormhole.

There was a blinding light for a few seconds, with it almost feeling like Abzu was floating. Then, the ground was solid again, and Abzu stumbled to catch themselves as the light faded.

They rubbed their eyes to refresh them, before they widened in awe at their surroundings.

The room was a palace of marbled white and gold, with a high vaulted ceiling and open balcony to one side. The divine veil that held up the inverted sea was visible, glittering in the sky like golden stars.

This must be…

“Welcome to Lunaires!” Skymother said, twirling and throwing her arms up.

“I hope the setup is alright!”

After the initial awe from the general surroundings mostly subsided, Abzu’s eyes were drawn to the area around Skymother – which was almost like a nest of pillows and blankets – though there was also a CRT television and game system, too.

Marilynn was still in a daze from the elegance of Lunaires, while Abzu was more or less a bit confused – wondering what in the world Skymother was planning.

“I think it’s neat,” Abzu started.

“What… were you planning for us to do, anyways?”

“Well, it’s a bit of a long story…” Skymother said, taking a deep breath.

“When I was, uh, younger, I have memories of making a huge mess of pillows and blankets, eating snacks and watching movies! Since everyone is too busy during the day for brunch, and dinner feels too formal, I thought that something like that would be the perfect chance to get to know each other better!”

“Ah, so like a sleepover?” Marilynn responded, perking up out of her awe.

“Hazel would have those with a friend all the time when she was younger!”

“Oh! I didn’t know there was a word for it. Thank you!” Skymother said with a smile.

There was a pause, before Abzu re-adjusted their bag and stretched.

“Well then, ya got a place I can change? So I can get on the whole ‘getting cozy’ thing.”

Skymother nodded, and directed Abzu over to an isolated room.

Abzu changed into their pajamas, and upon exiting the room, saw that Marilynn and Skymother had already made themselves comfortable amongst the pillows.

So, without breaking their stride, Abzu made their way towards the pillow pile and flopped down – the mass of pillows being surprisingly soft.

“So, what were y’all talking about out here?” they asked, leaning back.

“We were talking about you!” Marilynn said, excitement in her voice.

“Abzu, I had no idea you were an adventurer all those years ago! Even exploring the Ultra Deep Sea… it sounds impossible, it’s amazing!”

“Aw jeez…” Abzu muttered, flustered.

“It’s been a long time, hah! I’m not about that anymore. Though… what’s more interesting is how Skymother knew about all that.”

Marilynn glanced over to Skymother.

“Well, this is my domain, after all. I tend to know what happens.”

“I guess so… it’s just a bit flattering to be recognized by someone like you when there’s so many people out there.” Abzu responded, flopping back and hiding their face with their ears.

“Well, it’s because of your adventuring we’re here together now, isn’t it?” Skymother said, sitting up and scooting towards Abzu.

“What do you mean?” Abzu replied, lifting a single lopped ear off their face.

“Your daughter, Mariska, as well as Hazel – they were Ramiel’s first real friends. If your daughter never teamed up with Hazel…”

“Heh, I’d say those two are more than just a team now.” Abzu snickered.

“E…excuse me?” Marilynn chimed in, her ears perking up in a shocked manner.

There was a pause, before Abzu laughed it off.

As the night went on, the three discussed what they did day to day, and how the lives of their children intertwined and connected them.

At one point, Skymother asked if anyone had brought snacks – to which Abzu quickly and enthusiastically brought out their sardine chips… which wasn’t received as well as they would’ve imagined.

Thankfully, Marilynn had made fresh cookies beforehand as well, so while Abzu was content to crunch on sardines, Skymother and Marilynn went through the cookies rather quickly.

The night finished off with a movie – Skymother admitted the collection and CRT wasn’t her own, but rather Ramiel’s. Still, it seemed that Marilynn and Abzu were able to agree on an adventure-comedy that they’d both seen before in their youth.

But as the movie went on, everyone started to get sleepy.

The movie had finished, and Skymother was just on the edge of consciousness herself – when she heard a door behind her open.

In a panic, she turned around – not expecting a disruption.

“Mom…?? What in the WORLD are you doing?! Who are these people?!”

It was Ramiel, holding a baby with a full-moon halo and soft lopped ears.

“Oh, Ramiel… I apologize for the intrusion, but I do hope that you wouldn’t mind giving a little someone you’re holding a brief introduction.”