Closed: The World is Quiet Here.

[biteybaby]

Nightmares are nothing new for Sunny Baudelaire. There was a time when she had them somewhat infrequently, before her birth parents tragically perished in a sudden house fire that may or may not have been started by an individual who may or may not have recently died any number of painful deaths, though research into the exact specifics of those events is still ongoing. After previously mentioned arson, Sunny Baudelaire experienced a period of very frequent nightmares, followed by a few months where her nightmares were lessening, a word which here means "became less frequent, though did still happen from time to time".

Unfortunately, she has been having very intense nightmares every time she has fallen asleep in recent days, and in general her waking hours have been less than ideal as well. Recently it seems like everyone but her got to be reunited with their loved ones from home, but all Sunny got was --

She wakes up, multiple times during the night, screaming at the viciously frightening dreams her subconscious has decided to inflict on her. Count Olaf, dead, getting up though and continuing to menace her. Count Olaf kidnapping her and taking her back home, away from her daddies and her brother and everyone else, and keeping her in another birdcage. Count Olaf killing Violet and Klaus in all of the many several ways many several people killed him. Magnu's mommy, who by all accounts was a very lovely person in real life, but in Sunny's dreams she's mean and horrible and laughs at her because her mommy didn't get to come here, even though they're both equally dead and therefore equally as likely to show up.

Sunny is very glad that every time she wakes up crying her daddies are there to hug her and calm her down enough to go back to sleep. She is also very glad that she is still wearing her bedtime pull ups every night. Most of all though, she is glad that Count Olaf is definitely incredibly dead, and even though she can't be with Violet and Klaus, she knows they won't be harmed by him any more. She just wishes the nightmares about the whole situation would stop.

This morning she wakes up screaming from a nightmare at almost the same time she gets up normally, and so she decides to just stay awake. She has big plans to go get groceries with Magnu anyway, and after a bit of a touch and go start to her day, she's finally dressed and out the door with Magnu.

Comments

[biteybaby]

Sunny likes it when Magnu holds her and does big jumps like that. She wants to get as good at jumping as him one day. She's almost there, a phrase which here means, "can finally jump and have both feet fully come off the ground while doing so". She wiggles herself to be cozy in Magnu's lap, sort of resting her head sideways against his chest. "Funny story."

[summerdude]

Magnus holds her snugly, brushing a loose strand of hair back from her face. "Funny story... hm. Did I already tell you the one about the last time I went out for coffee with Thor's pet goat? Otis, not Marvin."

[biteybaby]

She shakes her head no. "Goat drink coffee?"

[summerdude]

"This one sure does! He likes to put on a little bonnet when he goes to the coffee shop. And spy glasses."

[biteybaby]

"A disguise," Sunny assumes.

[summerdude]

"Yeah. He's like an investigative reporter for my valkyrie."

[biteybaby]

"Oh."

[summerdude]

And Magnus launches into a story about Otis, Thor's dreary goat who loves therapy, and his experience becoming extremely overcaffeinated and deciding he wanted to be a therapy goat at the Chase Space. Except most mortal eyes can't see real magic, and since he's a magical talking goat, he's difficult for them to make out as an actual goat. So each of the kids there saw him as something different and equally ridiculous. A bear... a mime... a particularly gruff resident... the ghost of Magnus's uncle...

[biteybaby]

Sunny is trying reeeaaaaally hard to stay awake during Magnu's story. It's a good story and she wants to hear how it ends! But Magnu is, as always, very warm, and she is incredibly tired, so this is a challenge.

[summerdude]

Magnus cuddles her closer, lowering his voice and speaking slowly and evenly. He's mostly talking nonsense now; he can finish the story proper later. "Rutabaga... epistemology... statuette," he says. "Indigo... handkerchief... see-saw."

[biteybaby]

It isn't even nap time yet! She has to stay awake! But, ugh, it's so frustrating how hard it is. She can't even properly pay attention to what Magnu is trying to tell her for his story, it just sounds like a bunch of nonsense words. She is determined! Every time she notices her eyes closing, she makes an effort to open them wide again!

[summerdude]

Magnus fakes a big huge yawn. "And Jack's favorite lullaby goes like this," he murmurs, and starts hum-singing, "The wolf howls in the forest dark, he wants but he cannot sleep. Hunger tears in his wolf belly, and it’s cold down in his den. Oh wolf, oh wolf, do not come here, you’ll never get my child."

[biteybaby]

Finally, after a certain point, Sunny's eyes close and she does not notice in time to open them back up.

[summerdude]

About ten minutes after Sunny falls asleep, the door to the playground finally eases open, and Magnus waves their dads and Szarka and Jack inside. Very, very slowly and carefully, he shifts Sunny higher in his arms, trying not to wake her, so he can climb even more carefully and slowly down onto the floor of the structure instead of the roof, and tell Dadgramore and Laerdad about his and Sunny's morning in the quietest of whispers. When Sunny wakes up, she'll still be at the playground, and her entire family will be with her.