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False was doing well with Demise, as it turned out. She hadn't expected to last this long, but all things considered, she wasn't as bad as she'd expected herself to be.
She had just evaded yet another attempt on her life when she heard some quiet sobs nearby. Treading lightly, sword gripped in her hand, she crept closer until she saw a hint of red hair bracing herself against a cliff.
"Gem?" She called out, watching the other girl flinch before spinning quickly to face her as False instinctively raised her shield to the Reaper. "You're a bit far from your starter base, aren't you?"
Gem sniffed and wiped her eyes, looking worse for wear than False could tell from far away. She looked tired to her bones, shoulders slouched and hair slightly askew from her usually neat braid. "You're pretty far from the neighborhood, too." She commented, but didn't respond to False's statement.
False shrugged. "Guess so." She hummed, before a few beats of silence stretched twice the distance between them.
"You should head back, it'll be dark soon." Gem eventually said with a tight smile.
False glanced at the sun and noticed how low it was dipping in the sky. "You've got a bed on you, don't you? We can share." She suggested.
Gem shrugged and glanced to the side. "Don't got one."
False blinked. "You mean to tell me that miss GeminiTay doesn't have a bed in her inventory."
Gem giggled, but it came out as barely more than an audible exhale. "Haven't slept much lately." She admitted.
That sounded off to False.
"Why's that? You're a Reaper, aren't you? Nothing for you to worry about."
"I can't sleep because I'm a Reaper." Gem explained, but False could only shake her head in confusion.
"That doesn't make any-"
"You know Grian's games? The 'life' ones." Gem interrupted.
"Yeah, I know of 'em." False answered slowly.
Gem sighed and leaned against the cliffside wall beside her, resting her back against it before slinking down just as the sun fully set and hints of moonlight peeked over the horizon. "This game- Being a Reaper, it's- It feels weirdly the same."
False sat down, keeping some space between them just to be safe. "How's that?" She questioned further.
"When you get down to your last life, it- You just feel this urge. You're restless, you're jumpy, antsy. You feel so powerful yet so helpless, all at the same time."
False stared at her and noticed for the first time how Gem seemed to tremble, even as she sat otherwise motionless. Gem pulled her knees to her chest and rested her forehead against them, closing her eyes.
False moved to come closer when Gem flinched again, letting out a shaky breath while False retreated her movements.
"Sorry, sorry." Gem mumbled.
"It's fine." False said softly, then stayed quiet for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Is there something I can do? To help, I mean."
Gem turned her head against her knees, irises glowing a faint red in a ring around her blown-wide pupils. "No, but it's okay. I'll be fine once someone wins, I guess. Or if I can kill someone."
False felt her hand tighten against her sword. Gem's gaze drifted down quickly before meeting False's again.
"I won't kill you." Gem added reassuringly. "I don't think I could even lift my axe right now." She chuckled.
False frowned. "You need to sleep, Gem." She said quietly.
Gem shrugged and closed her eyes again. "It doesn't help." She muttered nonchalantly. "It just makes me think of Secret Life too much."
False watched Gem's shoulders shake with each breath, even as her face looked perfectly serene, and slowly tried to move closer once again. Gem let her this time, and she set her sword down between them to wrap her arm loosely around the other girl's shoulders.
"What're you-"
"Try to get some sleep." False cut her off, voice gentle but firm. "I'll be right here if you have a bad dream."
Gem looked up at her before sighing in defeat, readjusting a bit to rest her head against False's shoulder before she started drifting off to sleep without another word.
False looked up at the moon, hardly halfway across the sky, and resigned herself to feeling stiff in the morning.
Gem clutched at her jacket in her sleep, and False smiled softly.
Eh, she could handle a bit of stiff legs.