A Home for Lost Boys

~Eight~

{Possible trigger warnings: a bit of religious commentary, some swearing

If I miss something, I apologize and please let me know}

Sleepless nights meant sitting by the creek. Apparently that was a pretty common thing in the Sanctuary.

Roman wrapped himself in his blanket, alone again as Ivy left to try and sleep again. They hadn't talked much, she just cuddled up to his side silently. He didn't mind. 

"Couldn't sleep, Hairball?" Someone asked from behind him.

Roman sighed heavily. "I don't have the energy for this Virgil. Get lost."

"Don't think I will." Virgil tucked himself into the patch of moss that he usually used as a seat.

For once, the White Court left him alone. Roman stared at the creek without really focusing on it.

"What's your star myth?"

He blinked a few times and looked at Virgil. "What?"

"Everyone has a star myth. Like most White Court believe that if we wrongfully take a soul, a pure soul, they become a star, so their purity becomes beauty for everyone to see."

Roman snorted. "What's your definition of a pure soul?"

"Patton." Virgil responded without hesitation. "Someone like Patton."

"I see."

"So what's your star myth?" Virgil leaned back, looking up between the branches.

"Are you... drunk?" Roman raised an eyebrow at him.

"No. They don't make stuff strong enough for White Court to get drunk."

Roman sighed and blew out a breath, thinking. "Star myth. Lycan star myth... god, I don't think we have one. Or maybe I'm just too urbanized."

Virgil grunted. "I guess it's worth noting that your kind are turned, it's not hereditary."

"Do you ask about star myths often?" Roman raised an eyebrow at him. 

"They're interesting. Logan's is my favorite, I think."

"What's Logan's?" 

"I guarantee you he's listening in, so he could tell you." Virgil shrugged.

Roman looked up and around, trying to find the dragon-shifter. After a few moments he spotted a small shape darting through the tree branches.

"I find it incredibly annoying that you sell me out at every turn." Logan commented as he hopped down from a low-hanging branch.

"I think it's funny." Virgil shrugged.

"Of course you do." Logan took a seat on the rock Dee usually used to nap on. "I will admit I was distracted, I'm not entirely sure what you were talking about."

"Star myths."

"Oh yes." Logan nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Dragon-shifters teach that stars are the flames of the overly adventurous, dragon-shifters who flew too far and too high and couldn't find their way back. I believe the full myth is that they light their flames every night, trying to find Earth again, or at least each other."

"And shooting stars are?" Virgil prompted, still staring up at the sky.

"Supposedly they're dragon-shifters who found their way back." Logan shrugged. "I never really believed such things."

"That's modern day ideology." Roman shrugged. "The old beliefs of different races aren't enough for younger generations."

"Are you religious?" Logan asked him.

"I guess, sort of. I was raised Catholic, but it's kind of hard to go to church when you're constantly being chased out of cities for supposed hate crimes." Roman sighed and sat back, fiddling with his blanket.

"A very fair point." Logan looked over at Virgil. "Go to bed, Virgil. You're falling asleep where you're sitting."

"You're not my dad." Virgil replied lazily, putting his hands behind his head. 

Logan raised an eyebrow. "I'll get Patton."

"Oh come oooon, Lo."

"Go to bed."

Virgil grumbled and hauled himself to his feet, yawning widely. "I'm going, f*ck off."

"I thought you guys were nocturnal." Roman looked up at him, confused.

"Incorrect." Virgil pointed at him. "That's a vampire culture myth that's crossed over to us White Court. It's not true for Remy either but hey, what can you do?"

"You're stalling." Logan crossed his arms calmly. "Bed."

"I'm going, I'm going. Leave me alone."

Roman ducked his head sideways on instinct as Virgil passed him. Sure enough, the White Court made an absentminded grab for his hair.

"Virgil." Logan's voice went sharp when he paused. Virgil grunted and walked off.

"He's such a pain." Roman complained, sitting up again. "Why won't he leave me alone?"

"I'd assume it's because he gets a reaction from you." Logan shrugged. "You should go to bed too, Roman, it's late."

"I had a nightmare, I'm not going back to sleep for another hour." Roman was a little surprised at how easily he admitted the truth, but he felt safe enough around the dragon-shifter.

Logan hummed softly. "Perhaps this could help."

Roman looked over at him and found Logan holding out a small, smooth stone that it seemed he'd plucked from the creek.

"Take it and press it in the center of your palm, then start counting your heartbeats as you feel it. You'll be asleep in no time."

"Thanks..." Roman pocketed the stone. "Shouldn't you be getting to bed as well? Or are you one of the nocturnal ones?"

"Well, it's a bit complicated." Logan tilted his head a little.

Roman leaned forward. "How so?"

"Being a toy-size takes a lot of energy. We compact ourselves from full grown adults to tiny creatures the size of the average cat. Because of how the shifts work, and the energy they take, we don't really sleep in normal cycles like most creatures do."

"So what do you do?" Roman asked.

Logan leaned back on his hands. "I've schooled my body into a regular schedule that at the current moment is taking an hour long nap every six hours. Otherwise it would be three days awake, one sleeping all day. Incredibly tedious and unhelpful."

"Sounds like fun." Roman said after a moment. "I'd love to be able to sleep for a full day at a time... maybe then people would leave me alone."

"Highly unlikely. But I'm sure they'd end up with an incredibly pissed off werewolf in their face." Logan stood up, brushing his jeans off. "Seriously, you should go to bed. No one here knows the meaning of sleeping in."

Roman thought back to Remy banging on his door at 8 AM the previous morning, insisting he come hang out. "I noticed... what if I set it up so it seemed like I was in my hut but I slept somewhere else?"

Logan snorted. "Good luck with that... and goodnight, Roman."

"Goodnight, Logan."