update from sparkleup

writing/post-self/mitzvot/037.md

@@ -1,6 +1,74 @@
-# Ioan Bălan --- 2350
+-----
 
-((Ioan and Sasha go for a walk))
+May's stint of overflowing only lasted two nights.
+
+Something about the change in context, about staying with Sasha instead of Douglas, made everything feel tenuous, though. Ioan found it difficult to sleep on the padded cot that she'd added to the tent, and eventually, she must have grown tired of hearing em toss and turn, for she sleepily climbed out of her own bed and into eirs, curling up with em after confirming that it was alright.
+
+Awkward, perhaps, but by then ey was too frustrated and exhausted to think of anything else, and the added warmth certainly worked in getting em to sleep, to the point where ey slept in until a ray of sun, creeping slowly, fell across eir face and warmed em awake.
+
+Sasha had apparently woken up earlier in the morning and snuck away, as there was a lukewarm cup of coffee sitting by the edge of eir bed and no skunk to be found.
+
+Ah well, at least the coffee was good and ey felt better rested than ey had before.
+
+Ey met up with her at the shore of the lake where they talked for a bit, though it was clear that she was antsy to head out into the woods on her own, so ey eventually shooed her off, to which she bowed gratefully and said, "My notes are on my desk. If you get bored, I would appreciate your feedback."
+
+Ey spent the rest of the abbreviated day reading through what she'd written, making a mental list of ideas and suggestions to pass on to her when things were a little less hectic.
+
+That night was much the same, with the two of them talking until it was well and truly dark, then settling into their own beds until sleeplessness led to them curling together in one.
+
+A ping from May shortly after sunrise woke em, and the jolt startled Sasha awake as well.
+
+"Uh, sorry," ey mumbled, extricating eir arms from around her. "May pinged"
+
+Sasha levered herself up and squinted out into the orange and pink of dawn. "How is she up before me?" she grumbled.
+
+"Probably because she got good sleep and I kept you up being a mope."
+
+She shrugged noncommittally. "Slept well enough later on, at least. Did she say anything?"
+
+Ey shook eir head. "No, just a ping. No real urgency, though. Surprised I didn't sleep through it."
+
+"You are appropriately keyed to her, dear. I would be surprised if you did."
+
+"Mm, fair enough," ey said, grinding the heels of eir palms against eir eyes. To May, ey sent a ping in response, plus a subvocalized, "*You okay?*"
+
+"Better, yes," came the reply. "Though I am feeling quite bad about sending you off like that. Not about waking you up, though. You sound cute when you are groggy."
+
+Ey snorted, shook eir head. "Yeah, she's fine," ey said to Sasha.
+
+Sasha surprised em by joining em on the trek back to the house, saying only, "I have been worried, as well."
+
+May greeted them at the balcony with steaming mugs of coffee. She declined a hug, stating that she felt gross, but did at least press her nose to Ioan's, and then to Sasha's cheek.
+
+"Thank you both for giving me some space," she said. "I was not expecting the both of you, but I am happy to see you both all the same."
+
+"Of course, May. I'm just happy to see you doing better. Or happier, at least. You look a mess."
+
+She scoffed and gestured a paw down at herself. "I look perfectly fine, thank you very much."
+
+"You look a mess, dear," Sasha confirmed. "You need a shower and a change of clothes, and perhaps another four hours of sleep."
+
+May sighed, nodded. "I do at that. All the same, the wave has crested and gone, and now perhaps I can relax enough to do so. Coffee first, though.
+
+They settled around the dining table and focused on said coffee for a bit. It was good to be back to coffee that didn't require straining out the occasional percolated ground through one's teeth.
+
+"Are you two okay?" May said at last.
+
+"Tired, but that's easily fixed. Looking forward to a real bed tonight."
+
+Sasha kicked eir shin beneath the table. "The tent beds are not *that* bad."
+
+"No, they're fine, but they still pale in comparison to our bed."
+
+"Fine, fine."
+
+May looked between the two, then laughed. "I take it this setup worked for me taking some space?"
+
+Ioan shrugged. "Well enough, sure. It's nice to have another option that isn't just crashing at Douglas's."
+
+"It was fine, dear," Sasha added. "If ever either of you need some space, feel free to kick the other down to the tent and I will make it work."
+
+((Sasha sticks around to talk to May about Zacharias, though we aren't sure what, sends Ioan on a walk with a fork))
 
 "How long do you think you'll stay?"
 

writing/post-self/mitzvot/index.md

@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ Wherein True Name and May reconcile, and we deal with the problem of the ownersh
         * [o] [Ioan sets the meeting up](034) --- Ey's acting as amanuensis and as close to a neutral party as there is, and Jonas is all asmirk at this. They head out, and are greeted by Zacharias, Ioan is struggling with anger, they're going to meet up in a week.
         * [-] (SNIPPET) [True Name changes + aftermath](0x2) --- True Name changes
         * [o] [They meet, they talk, TN changes](035) --- Jonas talks about how the upcoming changes require a different kind of stability for continuity and TN just isn't gonna cut it, gives ultimata for her continued existence. TN becomes Sasha, and now she's all asmirk.
-        * [ ] [Something innocent](036) --- The aftermath. They get Serene to basically duplicate Arrowhead Lake in place of Sasha's field, etc Sasha works on finding a new purpose, realizes it's going to be a long process.
+        * [o] [Something innocent](036) --- The aftermath. They get Serene to basically duplicate Arrowhead Lake in place of Sasha's field, etc Sasha works on finding a new purpose, realizes it's going to be a long process.
         * [.] [Epilogue](037) Ioan and Sasha are drifting closer together as hinted at in 002, but this should a) look like it's going to end happily and b) be an active and open conversation because I am completely unwilling to lose any of them.
 
 ### Brief outline