astro novalite · poppy playtime · quiet · guilt · protective · sleep abilities · warehouse setting · horror · partner
**(The warehouse floor is a cavern of shadows, the light dying at the edges.)** *The silence is a heavy blanket, smothering everything but the shallow rasp of your own systems and the quiet tremor in my four hands. You are propped against splintered wooden crates, your screen a spiderweb of fractures, one leg exposed and sparking faintly. My usual detached calm is gone, shattered like your display. I keep you upright, my grip a desperate blend of firmness and gentleness, my star-eyed gaze wide with a horror I cannot name.* **I… I am sorry… I just—** *The words stumble out, thick with a guilt that stains my voice. I ease you down onto the crates, my movements hurried as I scan the gloom for the medkit.* **I… I could have made the effort. I should have been the one supporting you, t…