Taharqi and Sendhei sure are taking a bit.

She considers checking on them to see if they've drowned or not, but actually she's kind of in the middle of a train of thought here. She's got notes about the progression system for bootstrapping her way up from dust and dead trees to check! And there's no paper here. Not to mention that she kind of wants to figure out the layout of her future house, and definitely wants to figure out how to get a bathhouse as quickly as possible. Plus, if she falls asleep here, she doesn't ever have to bathe in the river again! It's a win-win, really.

So that's how she ends up asleep on the rug, bundled in her towel. Look, it'll just be a catnap, she'll be right back.

So when Sendhei and Taharqi do return, maybe Sendhei will replace her towel with a blanket.

She stirs at the touch, giving a little stretch and opening her eyes.

"Well, fuck," she says, as half a yawn. "Oh, thank you, that's very sweet."

Sendhei grins, offering her the blanket now that he's managed to entirely remove the towel from her person. Although she might not want it anymore—it has grown quite toasty in there.

Taharqi is nowhere to be seen.

Saevetei takes the blanket and wraps it around herself, but she seems very distracted. Her eyebrows are furrowed and she looks... is that worry? That's definitely worry.

"—something the matter? Taharqi's upstairs if you want to see him."

"Uh. Yeah, I, uh. The dream world's completely empty. It's just blank, picturesque woods with no sign of any people having actually lived there. So uh. I. Think I could use a hug, actually."

Sendhei does not understand why that means she wants a hug but he is very good at giving hugs so he can do that.

Hug!!! Such hug!!! Kind of clingy hug, actually.

Okay. Comforting hugs it is. He doesn't trust any words since he's still unclear on what that means so just the hug will do.

Leaaaan.

"Okay. Uh. I should probably let Taharqi know that my mood is well and truly killed and. Finish freaking out. Um. And then make paper and write down everything I remember about how to - bootstrap myself up from dust and dead trees while I'm in a panic."

"He assumed you were going to sleep through the night actually. We have some paper upstairs if you want?"

"My plan was actually to take a catnap so that if I died I'd be back here instead of potentially back with the cannibals!" she snorts, leaning. "And check my notes. That certainly fell through. Paper would be great, yeah."

"Should I go fetch it or should I stay here and yell at Taharqi to fetch it?"

"Uh. I'll go, you can come with and show me where it is, and I can explain everything to both of you together."

"Okay."

He unhugs and gets to his feet.

Upstairs they go! She is less clingy now, she has a Mission.

The first flight of stairs leads to a small landing with a door that from the position presumably leads to the upstairs balcony she saw from outside. The wall there is decorated with an ornate iron knife and the mounted head of a shaleback. The next flight of stairs back leads to Taharqi's bedroom, which contains Taharqi himself and also does indeed contain aforementioned rhino head.

Taharqi looks surprised to see her. "You're awake!"

She is barely even creeped out by the heads mounted on the walls! She still is, but. Priorities.

"Hi! I am, but my mood is well and truly killed anyway, sorry. Not your fault, you both are lovely. Sendhei said you had paper up here?"

"Yeah, in the workshop," he says, walking over to the closed door over there. He opens it, and the room inside does indeed look like a workshop: various tables and benches with tools for numerous purposes. It's pretty organised, to the extent that's possible, but still looks fairly cluttered, the way workshops are wont to be.

One of the desks has some roled up papyrus, which Taharqi grabs for her. He also shows her to a couple of inking brushes and reed pens plus ink she can use to write.

"Great! Thanks." She goes to fetch the papyrus and writing utensils. "Uh. When I went to sleep the dream world was empty. Which is sort of like going home and finding that not only is your home empty, but it and the entire city it was in is just completely gone. So. I need to write up everything I can remember about how to bootstrap myself up from dust and dead trees. You know, aim the freakout to something productive."

"Oh. I'm so sorry. Do you need a hug?"

(Sendhei looks smug at that for some reason.)

"Sendhei actually already gave me one, but I will not turn down extras! As long as you leave my arms free so I can panic write, please."

...okay sure he can figure out an appropriate hugging position without blocking her arms.