Dreams Of An Astrologer

Chapter 8: Pillowtalk

Mona could not move from the bed.

It was not only because a certain wanderer was cuddling her while sleeping practically on top of her. Her muscles were also working against her. They were stiff and sore. Just moving her arm was hard enough.

The astrologer let out a resigned sigh and settled back into his arms. She stroked his back gently as she reminisced about the night before with flushed cheeks. She glanced sideways at her vision of hydro on the nightstand and her blush deepened.

Let bygones be bygones. Mona thought about the future. How they should approach their relationship now. They had crossed all possible lines, the mutual attraction was very clear. So now she had a choice on her hands.

Wanderer being her destiny did not equate to them having to date. It never had been. And yet, Mona conceived the idea, the pros, and the cons. As she finished the list, she was aware of a missing piece.

His opinion.

There was no point in assessing her options if the other side did not want to present theirs. She decided to wait for him to wake up while she watched him sleep peacefully. If only he were that peaceful all the time. Looking at him gave her a certain idea.

She picked up her hydro vision to lay it on her chest next to him. She clasped her hands together and traced a hydro circle in the air. In mere seconds, it became one of divination. She searched for Wanderer's constellation and glanced briefly at his memories engraved on it.

"What are you doing?" Wanderer mumbled, burying his face in her neck to protect himself from the light.

"Looking at your constellation." Then Wanderer returned to staring at the circle with narrowed eyes. "I am not divining your future, I am looking at your adventures in Sumeru."

Mona was beginning to resent the region. There was something about it. Every time she saw the Archon of nature and wisdom, she became more convinced of it. She looked at her tiny image with the feeling that she was missing something in her interpretation of the dream.

"Why?"

"Because I'm bored..." When she saw his expression turn incredulous, she decided to tell him the rest. She closed the circle to avert her vision again. "And I want to talk about something, so I was waiting for you."

Because making everything clear from the start would save her a lot of headaches in the future. For her, and him. Her hand moved along his spine again. The other, caressed his face as she pushed the hair away from his sleepy face.

"Ah, there it is." He settled back on her chest and yawned. "Well, come on, Mona. Start blurting out, see what you want to talk about."

"Hey, aren't you going to move from there?"

"No, indeed, I do as I please." He stressed grinning. "I like to hear your heartbeat, so I know when I make you nervous. That way, I know where to strike next time."

Mona sighed resignedly and blushed. It did get on her nerves, and it annoyed her to admit that his comments only helped to prove him right. She had, however, learned her strategy for throwing every "strike" back at him. As if to play down the importance of his words, she replied in a dignified manner:

"So, basically, you're enjoying my caresses, and I'm warm."

Mona smiled triumphantly as she saw him frown. She had to admit that she had failed to add the mention of the heartbeat. From what she could see, they seemed to serve as a beast appeaser. Wanderer was struggling to keep his eyes open. Perhaps he did not need sleep, but he did need to recover from the effort.