Sleepless night

Nari tossed and turned on her mattress, her mind working over and over again her conversation with Soraya and Naitachel. Part of her was glad that she'd finally confided in someone, but another part of her was scared now that someone else knew. Then of course, she had deliberately shown the brand to Michael too. Feeling too confined in her room all of a sudden, she rolled off of the mattress and dragged herself up to her feet. If she couldn't sleep, she'd go for a walk.

She didn't bother to change clothes, but she did at least pull on a light jacket over the tank top she slept in. New clothes had been brought to her earlier in the evening, but she wasn't sure about some of them. Too flashy, too clingy...not the stuff she'd normally wear. She stuffed her feet into her shoes, then after grabbing up her backpack and making sure there was a flashlight in it, she left her room, locking the door behind her.

Starting from her room, she decided to start mapping the area. It would help get her mind off the earlier conversation, plus it would also give her a map of the tunnels, so she'd know what was where...especially any bolt holes. At least in this area there were lights shining, though they'd been dimmed given the late hour. Nari paused each time she came to an intersection, carefully and neatly drawing out the map in her notebook, labeling each intersection and noting each doorway. She didn't go in any of the other doors, figuring them to be other sleeping rooms. She'd work her way to the kitchen, then decide what to do from there.

.

Nari bit back a startled yelp and jumped some, clutching her pencil and notebook to her chest. "I...I couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a walk. I just started feeling penned in while in my room, and I'm not used to living underground yet." A partial lie, she liked being away from prying eyes, and underground suited her some. "What about you?"

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Nari clutched her notebook tightly to her chest, her eyes widening a bit. "N...nothing...just something to occupy my mind some." Something about the woman made her feel extremely self-conscious and wary, so she started backing away a step or two. "I didn't mean to interrupt your run, so...nice meeting you..." Nari gave her a bit of a shy smile, then started to turn to walk back the way she'd come.

.

Nari flinched away from Maria's half-heart attempt to get her notebook. "I...I'm just not comfortable around people." She said weakly, swallowing hard. "A..and my name's not Little Mouse, it's Narissa." So, the mouse does have a little bite, but not that much. Nari tucked her notebook into her jacket, her pencil in a pocket, then wrapped her arms tightly around her chest. "I..I don't really want to stand out any..." She swallowed again, weakly and quickly shaking Maria's hand. "I think I'll head back to my room..." She tried to leave again, actually aiming for a way /not/ toward her room.

.

"At least vampires aren't real." Nari snorted some, then narrowed her eyes as Maria shared the news about the camera. "Why are you telling me about it? I didn't have anything to do with it, unless you did and now you're bragging about it." Nari stopped and gave her a bit of a glare. "Will you stop following me? I just want to be left alone."

Nari sidestepped quickly, then darted down another tunnel, hoping that Maria would take the hint and not follow her. She jogged for a while until she was out of breath, then slowed down and leaned against the wall. Not hearing anyone following her, she slid down to sit, pulling her notebook back out. At least she ran straight, but she didn't remember how many other doorways and tunnels she'd passed. Frowning, she tried to draw out the tunnel she just came down, but she'd have to walk through it again to double-check for the doors and branching tunnels.