Wilson jolted awake, hyperventilating. It wasn't even morning yet, the full moon glowing brightly in the sky. Why on Umbra am I awake at this hour? Wilson thought, holding his head. He was in a cold sweat, even though the night held the heat of the day.

Was that a nightmare? Wilson didn't know. He couldn't remember. He didn't even understand why he was sweating.

Wilson leaned back down on his pillow and closed his eyes, but he knew sleep was a long way off.

...

Yawning, Wilson poked wearily at a glacier with his staff, slowly adding layers of ice to the chunk of ice. He hadn't fallen back asleep until dawn, and he had to get up because Winona was complaining about there being too little water for the flowers. The glacier melt is what she liked using the most because the water was cold and contrasted with the fiery summer heat. And so it was Wilson's duty to make glaciers.

Winona stood next to him, wearing a blue flower gown. You would never see her wearing the same outfit twice, and the flower crowns she wore were always freshly made in the morning. "Thank you so, so much, Wilson. From High God to High God, I am deeply grateful for your agreement to help me with the flowers," she said cheerfully, the flowers on her dress blooming to unbelievable size.

"Yea, yea, whatever," Wilson yawned. He felt like curling into a ball and never waking up.

Winona seemed to notice. "Are you alright, Wilson? Did you sleep well?" She asked, tone leveling to concern.

Wilson waved off her worry. "I'm fine. Just stayed up too late," he said, continuing to build on the ice.

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't mean to pry, but you really should get more sle-"

Wilson cut her off. "I already told you, I'm FINE," he growled through his teeth. This is why he didn't lump himself in with these other Gods. They could be so annoying sometimes.

Winona stepped back as though he struck her. She said nothing for the rest of their time, only to thank Wilson for the help.

...

Wilson sat at his desk, tiredly screwing pieces of metal together. He knew that if he tried to rest, he would not get much sleep tonight. It was a little while after noon, so he only had to wait a few more hours.

A knock at his door snapped him away from his work. Groaning, he stood and walked to the door, opening it. He was surprised to see Wickerbottom, hair pulled up in a bun and draped in a white gown, worry written all over her elderly face.

"Afternoon, Wickerbottom. What brings you here?" Wilson said. You may say that he respected her more than the others.

"Wilson, you don't still have the Cotex Umbra by chance, would you?" Wickerbottom asked, her hands tightly laced together.

Wilson tilted his head. "No... I gave it back to you three full moons ago." He spoke the truth. He borrowed it to study the effect of shadow magic on clockwork creatures. You could say it didn't end well.

Wickerbottom held her hands tighter. "This isn't good. That means I've lost the Cotex Umbra."