Warm Sleep [Invite]

@Korra Quinn

Reina liked her ‘lazy days’.

It was the time she set aside at random times and indeed random days when she took a step back to appreciate her situation, work out any problems she might be having and formulate plans to solve said problems. She usually did this while out of sight from everyone but also in full view of the sun, where she would bask and often stretch before taking an unintended nap. Hours later when the sun was gone Reina would chastise herself on her lack of coming up with any plans to solve any of her problems, but would then turn around and congratulate herself on fending off sickness and other health problems with her nap, which she was told was actually quite healthy. And so she would conclude that the time she’d spent napping to make her body healthier counteracted her lack of planning, and would then go about her day. Or night, whenever she happened to wake up.

At this point it was night, and Reina had pulled her coverings over her as tightly as she could before conceding that staying outside and sleeping at this point was completely out of the question. It was far too cold and she’d napped for a cool four hours at that point, so why sleep more? Her ear ticked a bit, with Reina tilting her head a bit to catch the sound of revelry and song coming from not far off. Old City wasn’t a dump if you knew where to look for what you wanted and most spent that time trying to make their own living area a bearable and safe place to live. The one place that never seemed to have problems staying in business were the taverns. Reina have a crooked smile that seemed to overtake her face whenever she was about to go along with an idea she knew was bad but couldn’t possibly resist. After all, she really didn’t have a lot to lose.

And so Reina made her way to ‘The Back Door’, a seedy tavern with seedy people with seedy intentions and a seedy environment. If Reina had to describe the place, she would say ‘seedy’, but that was because her vocabulary wasn’t as expansive as she made it out to be, often using words in places they had no business being. Still, seedy fit the place perfectly and even a more scholarly person would have probably only make a passing comment on the seediness of the place before rushing on towards more accommodating establishments. Reina took a moment to pat herself down, only now thinking that maybe she should check to see if anything had been taken from her while she slept. It hadn’t happened yet, as Reina was usually pretty good on waking up when someone ‘entered her bubble of personal space’, but it was always a good idea to double-check, despite it being much later after waking up.

She also took the time to make sure her appearance was at least passable. Reina felt a bit dirty and she really didn’t like the feeling at all. She would usually take the time to break in somewhere to wash herself off, maybe even clean her clothes if she was feeling tart at the time. Or, should there be clothes that were her size, miraculously find an entirely new wardrobe!! Reina knew she was a tad more muscular than normal girls her height and weight were, though that was no excuse in her mind to wear men’s clothing. They were simply more comfortable, but Reina had never been one for ‘that frilly shit’. Reina patted herself down one last time before taking a bottle from her pouch on her side and pouring some water into her hand and splashing her face. She made sure she was at least a tad cleaner than before, even making sure to swirl some water in her mouth and spitting it out in an effort to make her breath a tad more…human. When the last thing you ingested was booze on a daily basis, your mouth was probably gross. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but Reina simply assumed.

She was greeted warmly by the other patrons as Reina had been making regular appearances at The Back Door for quite a while. Immediately she was drawn into a card game with more of the regulars and, of course, was brought drinks almost instantly. While most would frown upon Reina’s often boisterous attitude and odd mannerisms and talk, the owner of the tavern, a woman by the name of Molly, welcomed Reina’s presence with open arms. The dark skinned woman was entertaining enough and her gold was as good as anyone else’s. When Reina couldn’t pay or was simply too drunk to process the basic concept of paying for a room, Molly would let Reina sleep it off in her own bed, though that came with rewards of its own at a later date.

“Yer a lucky son-of-a-bitch Reina,” growled Art, his name given to him because he used to design plans for buildings that people used to ask him to build, though that hadn’t happened in some time. “Comin’ in here all perky and shit. You high or somethin’?”

“Not yet,” Reina popped back absent mindedly as she looked at her cards before laying out the four she had. She leaned back and took the cigarette that was in her mouth out with two fingers and grinned, the look on her face telling it all. “Read ‘em and weep boys!!”

Another collective groan and Reina cackled like a madwoman, taking all the objects that her fellow gamblers had bet and tossed into the center of the table. She took a handful of the gold coins and caught Molly’s eye, waving her over. When she got there Reina held up her hand and gave her a few, winking and giving the bar owner a knowing look. Molly blushed slightly, though she scampered off a moment later to bring the table a fresh round of booze. One by one the table emptied, though it would gain a new gambler or two throughout the day. Reina made off like a bandit, as usual, though she never kept the money for long. By far her favorite activity was to pinch or slap the backsides of the help that Molly employed to keep the bar running. While normally Molly allowed her maidens to take action against such harassment they’d all learned long ago that Reina simply enjoyed the action, and always left good tips. Plus, Reina was harmless enough, and never took it too far.

“We’re closing up love.” Molly called out, sighing as she looked out at the empty bar. She was dead tired and although Reina was charming enough dealing with her for those hours had been a test of patience. “You know where my room is love, right?”

“Sure, yeah…” Reina squinted her eyes and looked outside. It was still dark…or was it dark again? Had the day gone by already? Time flies when you’re having fun, or whatever. Right. She stood up a moment, then back down. “Erm…gimmie a sec Molly. Jes, like…ya know. When the room stops doin’ that spinney thing. Then I’ll…I’ll go to your room. Gonna get some fresh air though. Dun think I’ve tasted fresh air in…huh. Awhile.”

“Sure thing kitten,” Molly replied, her mind on other things than her once and awhile lover barely being able to walk. “Cynthia will get her money and bring it to the room. Go get yer air love, and if you vomit please do it out there.” She looked up from a pad of paper she was holding and eyed Reina. “I mean it Pendragon. Yer cute but I ain’t cleaning up yer vomit again, ya hear?”

“Yes…yes ma’am.” Reina slurred slightly, giving a hearty salute as she headed to the front door of the tavern. Which was, oddly enough, the back door that lead into the alleyway.

The cool air hit her like a slap to the face and Reina shivered a moment before she tilted her head from side to side, the loud cracking making her wince. Yeah, she’d been sitting down for far too long. Her ass and legs hurt and it hit the thief that she’d moved far less than she normally did in a day, the information sinking in that for most of the past twelve hours she’d been in a bar winning gold and other assorted valuable objects and eating pretty terrible food. Not a horrid waste of time but the thought made a hollow feeling well up inside of her chest. She brushed it aside, as she normally did with such thoughts, and took a few steps down the alley before she began to walk. And, though she wasn’t quite sure why, Reina simply kept walking, her hand running gently alongside the buildings she was walking by. When she ran out of building to touch, Reina kept going until she was by the river.

Her muddled brain took a second to entertain one of Reina’s normal thoughts; should she fall into the river would anyone notice her missing? Would anyone care? Would that simply be the end right there, the end to Reina’s somewhat interesting journey through life that would only really be interesting if someone knew about it and bothered to write it down? She wondered how she would be remembered, though the line of thoughts that fallowed that weren’t very flattering. Still, it was a morbid question she liked at as, if only to remind herself that she was a very small fish in a very grand ocean and that her story wasn’t one that was meant to be echoed throughout history. No, Reina’s story would end with her crawling into a bag somewhere to finally sleep, only to never wake up again.

…or, wait. That’s what was happening right now.

Reina took a moment to adjust herself in this warm bag, taking note that she really wasn’t quite sure on how she’d ended up in this bag, only that falling asleep inside this rather warm and clean bag was a fantastic idea. It was no Molly’s Bed, which usually had a busty tavern owner to go along with it, but with how the light was coming up and with how the river sounded not too far away, Reina was out almost instantly, her soft snore indicating just how deep in her slumber she really was.