The Nomad | Inscryption P03 x Reader

Sleep Deprivation Isn't Great

{P03's POV}

         'She wants to go home? I nearly forgot that she has a house,' I thought, not really knowing what to say. I want to say no. After all, they are obligated to work under me. They have been helpful. Very helpful, in fact. But, a part of me wants to say yes. I don't know why. 

         "No. I won't allow it." I responded sternly. I saw their demeanor instantly change and took note of the strongly negative reaction. 

         "Ah. Okay. I didn't expect you to say yes, but it was worth a try. I mean, after all, you're not much of a good guy, or rather, robot haha..." 

         Now it is my turn to have a negative reaction. Usually, I would feel happy about being referred to as a bad guy. I mean, it's my whole schtick, but for some reason, I hated hearing it come from her. 

         "Actually, I have a different idea. A compromise, if you will." I hate feeling pressured into decisions, but this feels like it's worth the shot. 

         "What?" She said, sounding doubtful.

         "I will allow you to go back to your home, BUT, you still have to work here. You have to be here by 7 am every day and work until night. If not, you will have to move back into the factory, you will not be able to speak with the other bots, and you will absolutely not be allowed to have any "decorations" here." I believe that is a fair compromise, but their expression says otherwise. 

         "...I...I don't know. Man, that sounds impossible... I guess... I can work with that." They had their eyebrows drawn together and rested their chin on their hand. "Yes. I accept your offer."

         "Okay. I will allow you to leave now since it's rather late. Don't forget, be here by 7 or that's it, human." I went back to my table to continue to sort my cards. I heard them walk away and close the door. 'She usually says bye,' I thought briefly to myself. 

{Y/n's POV}

         'This is gonna fucking suck, but I need to go back home.' Many of my valuables are stationed in my cabin. I only stopped on this island because I needed a break after the last shitty place. I was stuck working for this "clan" as a housekeeper. I... hated it. So much. The things I had to go through. The things I had to endure. Worst of all, when I attempted to escape, one of them managed to find me a week later, knocked me out, and brought me back on their ship. 

         When we finally got back to the island, my heart dropped. I was frozen. They had found my family; my parents and younger siblings. They had all been beheaded. I lost it. I murdered all of them, along with the rest of the people on the island since they were all one large family, or more accurately, "association." 

         When I left, I just sailed aimlessly for weeks, not sure where I'd end up, not that I cared. I do not feel much anymore. Eventually, I ended up here- where the "scrybes" all lived. That is what P03 told me. I knew only a little about this cluster of islands from my maps. 

         This cabin contains the only things I have left to remember my family. A few photos, some clothing, jewelry, and stuffed animals. It's not much, but it means a lot to me. But now, I am locked into another job, albeit this one is much easier, but it is keeping me separate from my belongings. It's worth accepting P03's offer to be able to come back here, but it will be difficult if I mess up. 

         My biggest issue is the part where I have to wake up early. I suffer from terrible insomnia and night terrors. I only get about 2-3 hours of sleep each night. Most of the time, I don't even fall asleep until around 7 am. Well, now that I'm here I might as well try!

         ... I didn't end up sleeping. However, it is now 6:30 and I have no other option than to go over now and start with my new routine.

~A few days of work go by~

{P03's POV}

         Y/n has been holding up their end of the deal pretty well so far. I mean, it has only been four days, and they only have one rule to stick to, but they have my praise anyways. 'Ah, she's here now. She really cut it close today, arriving at 6:56. I will reprimand her for it,' I thought to myself as she entered my room. We both seem to have developed the habit of criticizing each other. 

          "Stupid mortal! Do you know what time it is? You've pushed your arrival time back a bit every day, but this was a big... uh... jump in...time... wasn't it?" My words got muddled by the end when I focused on them. They look awful. Their skin is essentially translucent, their under eyes are dark and puffy, and they're stumbling over their feet with each step. '...What the...?'

         "Sorry about that... boss," She replied, barely audible. She tried to make her way over to the chair opposite of me, but, before I could say anything, she collapsed to the floor. I immediately sprung up and went over to her. 

         "Hey, what the hell is wrong with you? Keep it together, human..." I yelled at them once again, but my words seems to just go through them as they sat up while keeping their head down. She was holding her chin. Admittedly, I now felt a bit concerned, not knowing how to respond. 

         Suddenly, I saw blood dripping down their hands- a lot of blood. 'What do I do? She's just sitting there. Is she even aware that she's bleeding?'

         "Y/n. Get up. You're bleeding. You, uh, need to fix that." What am I supposed to even say?! Wait... Now I see water, or tears I suppose, falling into their lap. I may not be able to read human emotion that well, but I can make one bold assumption- they aren't feeling great. 

         *Sigh* "Uh, lay down and I'll be right back." She hesitantly did as I said as I left the room. 'Now what? Hmm. I'll make the Dredger figure it out.'

         "Hey! You!" Dredger immediately turned in my direction once I called out to him. 

         "Oy, boss. Somefin' wrong? Ye seem stressed." Tch. I'm too easy to read. I have to change my demeanor so it seems like I don't care. 

         "Well, yes. The human has tripped and hurt herself, but they're too pathetic and incapable of fixing it. She is currently waiting for you to give me supplies and... tips... on how to fix it. Luckily, he believed that I don't care.

         "Ye, humans be lackin' the smarts sometimes. Ye just need'a patch 'em up. Somefin' to soak up the blood and some tape to keep that attached. Good luck, boss." He turned back to his work. 

         Got damn it. So vague. Whatever, I need to hurry back. I'll take a bunch of the fabric from her room. She probably has tape in there as well. 

         By the time I returned, she has dragged herself over and was propped up against the side of my table. Her eyes were closed. She has fallen asleep or passed out. At least it will be less awkward to fix them now. 

         She still has tears streaming down her cheeks, combined with the blood that is running down their throat and into their shirt. I carefully reached forward to their face and wiped the tears away. Then, I looked for where exactly the wound was. Found it- it looks to be a deep gash on the bottom of their chin. Luckily, it wasn't too wide. 

         I rubbed over it, but they instantly recoiled in reaction to the pain. Their reaction made me flinch a bit as well. I went back and decided to just wipe the blood from around it. It was a bit difficult to remove it from their neck and chest because of the way she was sitting, but I tried my best anyway.

         At last, I wiped their tears away one final time and taped the remaining fabric to their jaw- something that was a struggle to do with a single arm and claw. I let out a robotic sigh and moved backward to observe my work. 

         'What... happened? They were fine yesterday. What changed? Well, come to think of it, they were sort of sluggish and lazy with their work. I suppose that they can just explain themselves when they wake up.'

         I hesitantly went back to my desk to work on some cards. However, I could barely focus. I was looking over at them every other minute to see if they were awake yet.