Rest And Restraints (Monroe)

Monroe's deep black hooves clicked and clacked softly against the floor of Dan's Dango as he strolled across the establishment and up to the counter closer to one of the walls of the building. He'd come to pick up an order of assorted mochi as a gift for the nuns, though he didn't see Dan around at the moment. Perhaps he was in the back? “Dan?” He called out softly, humming in thought and stepping deeper into the shop where Shibani was known to laze about in a large pile of pillows.

“Oh.. Hello, Monroe.” Shibani's soft voice drifted through the room, immediately followed by a long soft yawn. “Would you like to join me for a nap?”

“Most certainly not.” Monroe quickly cleared his throat and straightened up, attempting to turn him down again, but this time in a less unnecessarily strict tone. “No… Thank you. I'm busy at the moment. Where is Dan?”

“Oh, Dan isn't here.” Shibani stretched before settling right back down on his pillows. “Delivering some mochi to Quince or somethin like that.”

“I see… Well, how long will he be out?” Monroe tapped his hoof against the floor impatiently. He was frustrated. Every single time he'd gone to do a task today something just had to get in his way.

When he'd gone to Hutch to ask a question about his Candyl Somber, the store was temporarily closed. When he'd tried to get Peter to mend his church robes for him, Peter was far too busy helping Velveteen prepare for a fashion show. Not to mention there wasn't a soul at the church willing to assist him in cleaning up after a wedding in the courtyard.

He was growing very tired of this pattern.

“Oh, it shouldn't take him long…” Shibani's voice trailed off a bit as he studied Monroe for a moment. “You look exhausted.”

Monroe opened his mouth to protest, wanting to insist that he was fine, he wasn't that tired… but instead he just sighed. “I am exhausted. There's always work to do. Which is exactly why I can't just stop and take a nap with you. Everything has gone wrong today, and I'll be lucky if I can fix it all before the day comes to a close.”

Shibani chuckled slightly in response, giving him a look that bordered on pity. “Come on… everyone deserves a break. What use is an exhausted priest, hmm? Can't do the church much good if you can barely keep your eyes open. You have such dark circles under your eyes- when was the last time you slept for more than a few hours?”

His soft sleepy voice bounced around in Monroe's head, even after he'd finished speaking. He was right, after all. He was no good to anyone in this state. And it had been ages since he got a proper night's sleep… Hell, it had been even longer since he'd had a good nap. Micro sleep wasn't doing him as much good as he liked to convince himself it was. And so, despite himself (and his horns), he swallowed his pride and hung his head. “Ok, perhaps I could join you for a short nap. But just until Dan returns and I can collect the order. At least I can get one task done today…”

“Lovely, come on, there's a cozy spot right here.” The white haired bun patted the pillows next to him and smiled at Monroe. “Settle down in the pillows with me.”

The taller bun nodded and kneeled down on the floor so he could better ease himself onto the plush pile. He winced as he leaned back and moved a pillow aside to see what was causing the discomfort. “Is this… A box of matcha powder…?” He blinked a few times before moving more pillows around. “A container of red bean paste?? Sesame seeds??”

“Dig around long enough and you'll find carats, panties, booze, hell, I've even found imps and whole pumpkins hiding in the pillows…” Shibani chuckled at Monroe's absolutely perplexed look. “I think people leave random things here when I sleep… not a clue why. Perhaps it's some backwards prank? An act of good fortune? A sacrifice or offering in strange hopes of good rest or something of the sort?” He shrugged and laughed softly to himself again. “A bit silly, but I can usually convince other buns to take things before they overwhelm the pillows too much… usually…”

Monroe slowly shook his head before laying back again, this time without the discomfort of odd objects, and closed his eyes, letting his body slowly relax. He let out a soft sigh as he settled in, telling himself he wouldn't even fall asleep. He would just rest his eyes until Dan returned. He was a busy bun with many things to do.

Shibani smiled as he felt Monroe completely relax, glancing over to see his chest rise and fall in a steady pattern. “Don't worry, Monroe… I'll make sure you wake up before too late. As long as I wake up, at least..”