Welcome to Gaia! ::

Richard leaned toward the window of the little restaurant they were eating in, glancing up at the shifting colours in the sky. "Christ, I hope not." The colours had definitely been enough to jog a memory he'd been less than enthusiastic to recall. The sleeplessness, before, had seemed never-ending. Perpetual and awful, the way it'd slogged and dragged at his brain.

Either way, he didn't like the fact that the aurora was back, and the endless snow had not helped Richard's sense of unease about the whole affair. Snowdrifts were piling up almost faster than they could sweep and shovel them from the driveway and path in front of the house.

Sure, it wasn't currently snowing, but Richard didn't trust that would continue to be the case. He had already cancelled his classes for that day and the next. The kids were doing well enough in the competition classes that they could afford to take it off, and he didn't want anyone, competition class or no, getting hurt slipping trying to get to the dance studio.

His other job was also taking a pause, since he didn't have any interest in breaking his own ankles trying to get to one of the clubs with open spots.

Richard had deliberately avoided obligation-based contracts with the clubs in the area for this specific reason.

"If we do, I'll riot."

Richard chuckled, the sound warm and fond. "I mean, me neither. But then again, I haven't tried. I guess the real test will come when we try to go to bed later." He glanced down at his own water, but left it where it was for the moment. "It's early yet."

There were still traces of blue behind the bright colours, evidence of a sun that had not long ago set in an early winter departure. "Hopefully we'll be fine. I'm sure we can rummage up some extra-strength sleep syrup from last time." Maybe they could even get enough ahead of the curve that there would be some left in stores. Not only had it not been terribly effective last time, but even finding it in stores had been a monumental--and often fruitless--effort.

"If the lights are legitimate," and not somehow related to Chaos or any of the eleventy billion crises to occur in the past couple months, "then they're a nice sight, at least. Good and vivid."

"It probably is? It probably won't kill us to take it if we need to, at any rate." Blah blah reduced efficacy something something. Richard leaned closer to the window again, frowning slightly as he looked up at the sky again. "It's probably fine."

He turned back toward his food to take a bite of the fish sitting there. "I'm not going to say any more than that, obviously." As he chewed thoughtfully, "don't want to jinx it."

"Both things are true," Richard replied magnanimously, with a gentle wink. "This could always be worse, anyway." Not that he planned on enumerating how, because of the whole 'not wanting to jinx it' thing. "But we're a bit overdue for a visit to the comet, aren't we?"

"No, you didn't tell me you had mice!" Richard leaned forward earnestly. "Are they big, or are they really small? Do they glow at all?"

"Hell yes I want to watch the aurora for a bit and then go to Encke after." Richard kept his voice down, but only just, his eyes sparkling to match Ignacio's. "Are you kidding? That sounds amazing. I'm going to name one."

"Do you think a collar would be harmful? Would they even wear a collar?" Richard's eyes wandered toward the ceiling, gazing through it thoughtfully as he flaked off some of his fish.