Not Another Mochi

Lio was, to put it plainly, drunk. It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, but between the mochi and the booze, his stomach churned, and his head spun. So far, the Mochi Moon season was turning out to be livelier, and he was having a wonderful time. At least he was until he drank too much. Now, he lay on the floor in his suite, staring up at the ceiling, willing the world to stop spinning.

His wish was granted after a while, his eyes slipping closed when the spinning got too much.

“Lio!” A voice called. “Hey, Lio!”

The man groaned as he opened his eyes, pleased to see things were no longer moving.

“Hey, sleepy head. Are you coming downstairs?"

“Downstairs?” Lio asked. “What’s going on downstairs?”

“The party, silly! Everyone’s waiting for you.”

Lio sat up and held his head. “What?” He wasn’t sure what was happening but supposed he’d find out. “We’re having a party?”

The room may not have been spinning any more, but everything felt off, like something wasn’t quite right. His steps were unsteady as he walked to his door. His body felt heavy, his ears rang, and his hands felt numb. Hell, even his tail dragged on the floor as he walked.

He heard the party before he saw it. There was a crowd when he reached the top of the stairs, but what he saw made him freeze. The people, the buns, all of them… were mochis and dango.

“Lio? Everything okay?” He heard Khepri’s voice, but when he looked around, he couldn’t find him.

“Khep?” He called, growing increasingly distressed. “Khepri?”

“Down here, Lio.”

He was afraid to look down, but when he did, Khepri was normal. “I thought you were going to be some kind of snack,” he said. He knelt and picked Khepri up. “I’m glad to see you’re normal.”

Khepri beamed at him. “Completely normal.”

“Strange to see you like this, though,” he said.

“It’s strange to be picked up like this,” Khepri replied. “What will you do now? Are you going to the party?”

Lio frowned. “And be surrounded by mochi? I don’t think so.”

“Come on, go downstairs. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“You say that…” But Lio started down the stairs anyway. He wasn’t sure how things would go, but he wouldn’t find out unless he went.

It was crowded downstairs. “Everybody” was crowding him and trying to talk to him. It really did seem that they were all waiting for him to arrive. The crowd moved closer, and suddenly, Lio felt claustrophobic.

“I think I’m going to go back upstairs,” Lio said, but when he turned to return to his room, the stairs were nowhere to be seen, and he was surrounded by mochis and dango. “Khep,” he said, “what’s going on?”

Khepri looked up at him. “You’re having a bad dream.”

“Bad dream? What?”

“You might want to lay down. You don’t want to hit your head or something.”

Lio stared at Khepri for a moment before the room started spinning again. He felt like he was going to throw up. He closed his eyes, begging the spinning to stop and then—

“Lio?”

He sat up in a rush, holding his head as it pounded in his hands. “W-what?”

“Hey, you okay?” It was Khepri. This time, though, he wasn’t a bun as he touched his shoulder. “You were talking in your sleep.”

Lio frowned. “I think I was having a nightmare.”

Khepri sat next to him on the floor and gently rubbed his back. “You want to talk about it?”

“Not really. It was stupid.”

Khepri hummed quietly. “Whatever it was, it was just a dream. We should get you some water and get you to bed. You really need it.”

Lio groaned when Khepri started helping him to his feet. “I’d rather not go back to sleep. I’m sure you understand.”

“Well, you won’t tell me what you were dreaming about, so I don’t,” Khepri said.

“Let’s just say I don’t want to see another mochi or dango for a while.”

Khepri looked at him curiously but shook his head anyway. “All right,” he said, “no mochi and no dango.”

The thought of those two things made Lio’s stomach churn. “I’m going to throw up.”

“Oh! Hurry, hurry!”

Khepri stayed with him in the bathroom until he was finished. The tiled floor beneath him was cool, and he was glad Khepri was there. “I don’t think I’m going to drink that much ever again,” he groaned. “Not even next new year.”

“Wow, it must have been bad if you’re saying that,” Khepri said. “Well, whatever you were dreaming about, it’s over now. I’ll stay with you until you feel better.”

Lio smiled tiredly. “I appreciate that.”

When Khepri finally got Lio to his bed, he curled up next to him, petting his hair out of his face and helping him relax. Soon enough, Lio struggled to keep his eyes open, and when he finally gave in, he fell back into a dreamless sleep.