Butterflies of the Dark Star

13 (REVISED)

They never got the engines to run deep in the throes of the Ushavex nebula. It sent out a station-wide state of alert, but not an emergency. Agitation crept through her fingertips at the thought of the engineers toiling in the heart of the reactor to get it to work, to get them out of the pull of the nebula, but whenever she checked outside her window, the engines were silent in the vacuum of space. It gave her no comfort to be swaddled in blankets, waiting for things to change.

Nova stared at her wall and fought for any sort of sleep — a momentary understanding of why Neo turned to sleeping meds. Another sigh left her throat, and she debated her options, until a shuffle caught her attention and changed the rest shift. On her back, she frowned when Neo sat up in one, slow, near sluggish movement, as if someone caught him by strings and tugged him out of bed. Her heart stuttered in her throat when he sat on the edge of his bed, his black hair plastered against his brow, though when she tried to search his gaze, it was grey emptiness.

No, it was a grey coloured nebula, reflected from the window.

...Neo?

Nova went to lift herself up, but Neo hauled himself off his bed. Step by step, he floated to the door and reached for the handle. Alarm sent a bolt of lightning, and sent her out of bed. "Neo?"

His lack of response spurred her onward when he left the room.

What the fuck? Nova rushed to follow before he left the dorm itself. His hand reached out to the handle, but she lunged forward and wrapped her hand around his wrist. "Hello?"

The reflection disappeared out of his eyes, and he blinked. "Huh?" He turned to her, then looked around the room. Her confusion spread through his brow as he twisted back to the door, his expression squished in disorientation. "What?" Nova let him go, and he brought a hand to his head. Nova let him go to let him step from the door, rubbing his temple, and he pursed his lips in thought.

"That's never happened before," she whispered. "Since when do you sleepwalk?"

"I don't," Neo drew out through his own confusion and she kept a hand on him to prevent him from wandering off into trouble even in his sleep. "Hm."

"That's it? Just a 'hm that's weird'?" Neo nodded slowly, and Nova scoffed when he wrapped his arms around her with a quiet hum. "Right, I don't know why I ask, you're half-asleep. Are you sure you didn't take any sleep meds?" Nova adjusted herself to get him out of reach of the door. He clung onto her and gave her no response to her questions. "No? You didn't sneak any from the Medtower when you went over there?"

What... did I see in your eyes?

Nova nudged Neo out of her grip and directed him back down the corridor to their room, but found herself trapped in place beside his dragged escape route instead. Chin squished between her fingers, her mind swirled in confusion. Neo never had any sleep issues other than a struggle to fall asleep, and a harder fight to get up. Sleepwalking was not among anything she noticed — nor anything he warned her about beforehand when they first entered the dorm on campus. His confused reaction told her more than words alone. So... what was that? Hand back at her side, she made sure the door stayed locked before returning to the room, where Neo slumped back into his sheets without another word, eyes closed once more.

Red light haunted the edge of her view, but when she turned, it eased out into a soft splash of mosaic rainbows along the walls. It was no different from her late night studying for tests, but it weighed down on her shoulders with a colder sensation. On her bed, she waited for the nebula to reflect off Neo's eyes once again, but he remained asleep without further disturbance. Maybe it's just stress... Guilt washed through her heart, but she slumped back into bed with a groan and threw her pillow over her face to stifle it.