Please please please write esperas!!!!!
doves that is THREE, count em THREE pleases.. I have to deliver.. IIssel must wait!!
no prompt.. we're freestyling! how about Vessel first meeting the ladies? .w. I think yes!
Arcadia was beautiful. Vessel couldn't deny that.
Their skin was smooth, their movements so fluid and languid, their laughter so sweet, their whispers so melodic, their lips so soft, their smiles so.. inviting.
And who was he but a man with needs when they beckoned him further past the treeline?
He had told II he was taking a walk through the garden to clear his head. And he had been! But the one with the waves of titian spilling down her shoulders had emerged from behind a tree and.. smiled at him.
Extended her hands to him.
Welcoming. Guiding. Pulling.
Relished the way her smile widened- she had a beautiful smile. Sorry. He relished the way her smile widened when he responded to her silent call.
Like a siren on land. A nymph? A Goddess?
Vessel's mind had drifted as he followed her.
He would lose sight of her every now and then, only to spot her turning a corner.
It was like a sweet game of chase.
It was reminiscent of those silly romance book scenes where the love interests would chase each other through the woods and end up collapsing on a flowering hill, breathless and in love.
Is that what this was? Was Sleep granting him a lover? Was this a reward for his faith?
The man found himself in a clearing with statues in it. Guardian angels, they looked like.
But the true angels were the ones dancing around the marble.
Sleep, what was this? What had he done to earn this?
Vessel was in awe of them.
They all wore golden filigree masks and black jumpsuits that flowed around their legs as if moved by a gentle breeze, their hair following the same invisible tune to dance to.
They twirled around him, arms swaying and styling, ghosting across his chest and arms- the one with the warm, tawny skin moved like she was about to cup his jaw, but pulled away.
And, admittedly, Vessel chased the touch.
She seemed so soft and warm. Gentle and kind. He couldn't resist!
So they kept up that game.
Smiling at him, leading him, dancing around him, getting within a hair's breadth of touching him before drawing back, stepping away-
Every time Vessel tried to reach, return the ghosts of touches, watch them for more than a moment, even open his mouth, they'd move out of his line of sight. Pull away.
They quietly demanded his silence. His obedience.
Alright. He could do that.
He followed. Quietly. Wishing and hoping that the end of this game was getting to touch, even if just their hands.
Following was stupid, he ended up learning.
For he found himself reaching again, to grasp the wrist of the woman with the narrow nose that looked just so harmonious with her lips and jaw-
Vessel found himself, a moment later, in a fountain.
Tripped. Pushed? Face first. Drenched.
He spluttered, pushing himself up out of the water.
He turned, ready to demand an explanation from them.
II did not have any pity for The First when they ran into each other hours later; II searching for Vessel and Vessel searching for II.
And Vessel supposed he deserved it.
divider credit: @uzmacchiato