The breath of the wailing wind rolled down the sides of the sharp jagged mountains, which loomed above us like luring thorns piercing the stygian skies. It's bitter caress blustered through every lamenting branch, quivering fern, and bristling bush of the dark and deathly forest. Tendrils of my golden hair danced out in front of my sorrowful face to it's grievous song, twirling against the tangled shadowy locks of my frightening savior.
We'd been riding for what felt like a long while, and not once had I relaxed and loosened my grip around his neck. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind. He'd only murmur softly to me in that bizarre unearthly language and awkwardly rub my back each time I'd start weeping again. Yet despite his kindly comportment towards me, I was still extremely wary of him.
I didn't know what kind of creature he was, nor whether or not his intentions were good. Fear of the possibility that he might have saved me just so he could kill and eat me himself lingered in the back of my mind. It was a strange feeling to have someone as both a source of comfort and safety, yet also, fear and unease.
Loud splashes and the clomping of hooves resounded up from beneath us, as the cadaverous stallion we were riding leisurely made it's way across a shallow river. The dark glossy water gently parted around many bones and sharp rocks which dwelled within the swirling sands of it's trickling trail. I'd been staring blankly over the man's shoulder, watching how the passing trees would come into view, then seemingly become swallowed up by the opaque mist as we made our way further through the woods. It felt like being trapped in a dream, unable to awaken from a hellish nightmare.
I finally mustered up the courage to take a closer peek at him. Hoping that he wouldn't notice my movement, I ever so slowly tilted my head back and began to really take in his otherworldly features. His pointed ears and ethereally handsome face had me legitimately wondering if he was actually an elf... No, maybe not. At least not with those fangs, claws and eyes. Perhaps he's some sort of vampire, or demon? ...Maybe?
He noticed me blatantly studying him like a confusing dinner menu at an unfamiliar restaurant, and shifted his uncanny crimson gaze to my uncertain yet curious one. I immediately stopped trying to figure out what type of mythological creature he was, and timidly shifted my eyes away.
"Human." He gently spoke as if trying to regain my attention. My heartrate rapidly quickened, while I reluctantly dragged my gaze back up to meet his. A soft sympathetic smile fluttered across his otherworldly face, with a look of both captivation and disquietude. "Okay." He comfortingly said, as if he were telling me that everything was alright. With the reins still in his hand, he pointed forwards while saying something and nodding in the same direction.
My body felt stiff and sore as I slightly turned around to glace over at what he was gesturing towards. I didn't see much. Just more insufferable wasteland. Thick ominous fog laid draped across the melancholic undergrowth of the forest floor, swirling throughout the darkness like a ghostly enchantment overflowing from a witch's caldron. We were now riding up along the riverbank, were the water seemed to grow a bit deeper than where we had crossed over.
Then I noticed that we were approaching the rocky base of one of the mountains. A large, yet gently flowing waterfall came into view through the darkness. It's pale current passed beneath the shadows of the mountainside, then hypnotically cascaded over large stacked stones to melodiously endow a wide pool, which fed the river with it's watery offering. The sounds of shrill chirps and trickling water filled my ears, while strange smells far more pleasant then what was in the depths of that malodorous forest filled my nose. Little burgundy ferns and dark quivering flowers were grievously sprinkled throughout the stony versant. A few dark twisted trees, adorned with small red fruits daintily dangling from their branches, stood menacingly beside the water. Their silvery leaves writhed in the breeze, while some sort of red sap oozed from the branches.
I stared with wide awestruck eyes, taking in the unearthly place. It was so gloomy and dark, yet an incredible sight no less. A ghastly whinny suddenly broke my trance, making me practically leap out of my skin. I jumped and quickly gripped onto the man like my life depended on it. His arm tightened back around me, and a deep chuckle rumbled out of him.
...Did he just laugh at me?
The horse excitedly pranced over to the trees, despite the man growling "Sagacor" while trying to steer it in the opposite direction. We stopped below the twisted boughs, beside the water's flowing edge. He shook his head while muttering something, then very gently reached his clawed hands up and pried my stiff grip off from around his neck. My legs hesitantly unwound from around his waist, as he carefully slid me off of him and onto to the saddle.
He said something to me with a warm smile, then gracefully hopped off the horse with his long messy hair swooshing behind him. "Where are you going?" I softly croaked out. My voice was a bit hoarse from all the screaming I'd done earlier.
My eyes stayed glued to him as he reached up and plucked one of the fruits from the branches. The twigs writhed and hissed as if angry that he'd picked from them, but he paid it no mind. The horse happily nickered, as the man walked over to it and lovingly offered the crisp juicy fruit, while gently stroking it's midnight muzzle. I couldn't help but notice that his claws somehow looked much shorter than they did back in the forest.
Tentatively, I swiveled around, and began to slide from the saddle. One hand was firmly gripping the obsidian horn, while the other was curled beneath the thick black leather of the seat. My good foot made contact with the cool pebbles of the riverbank first, then I slowly slipped my injured foot down beside it. A hiss of pain escaped my lips, as I grimaced from the miserably sharp feeling.
Fucking hell, that hurts...
The man swiftly glided over to me with inhuman speed. One second he was in front of the horse, the next he was at my side. With a small yelp, I flailed my arms and stumbled back from the shock of it. A black wispy mist seemed to emanate out from behind him, as he carefully swooped me up bridal style while saying "No, no, no."
Holy shish kebabs, he can move fast!
I stared up at him like a dumbfounded goose, as he caringly held me in his embrace. He was incredibly strong, yet his touch was so light. It was as if I were the most delicate thing he'd ever held before, and he was afraid that I might break at any moment. "Come." He quietly said, while starting to carry me over towards the large stones by the waterfall.
The sound of pebbles crunching beneath his boots became silent, as he began walking over the silvery grass and ebon soil. "Wait, w-wait." I fearfully stammered, realizing that he was heading towards a dark cave-like opening within the rocks that I hadn't immediately noticed upon arriving here. His only response was a smile.
I nervously grasped onto him, as we traversed beyond where the waterfall lachrymosely whispered to the river and into the darkness, allowing the gaping mouth of the cave to swallow us up. Everything was pitch black inside, an inky void of nothingness. It was so dark that I couldn't even see an inch in front of my face. He gently placed me down on a cool stone floor, leaning my back up against what I assumed to be the wall... Then he seemingly left me there, alone in the eerie abyssal darkness.
"Hello?" I meekly called out in the dark, the only other sound being the echo of the waterfall outside. Anxiety began to crawl up my spine like spiders up a rope. "Mr... Um, Creature?" ...Did I seriously just call him Mr. Creature of all things!?
"Yes." His voice came from a short distance away, followed by some soft rummaging sounds. A wave of relief washed over me from knowing that he hadn't left, but the suffocating darkness was nearly unbearable. I suddenly heard what sounded like paper being unfolded right in front of me. "Earth, yes?" He said close to my right ear.
I perked up at his words. "Yes, Earth! I need to get back to Earth!" I randomly groped around in the air beside me, trying to find him. Yet I grasped at emptiness.
"Oh... light." He spoke on my left, with realization in his tone.
Then I heard him rummaging around from further away again... Okay, this is oddly creepy... The hiss of a lighter abruptly resounded throughout the cave, and golden beams suddenly streamed out from a small flame within the man's hand. He was standing next to an intricately carved black table with a few random objects on it, lighting a menacingly designed lantern. It was adorned with sharp black spikes and looked as though it was made to guide lost souls through the underworld.
My eyes immediately darted all around, taking in my new environment. There was a threadbare black throw rug circling around the perimeter of the cave, with stones neatly stacked all along the walls, giving it the illusion of being inside a castle. A few tall dark bookcases, two black tables on opposite sides of the room from one another, and a large menacing chest were the only furnishings. Sharp formidable stalactites hung from the tall ceiling, dangling above us like harrowing spears of death.
Dark shadows danced across the stone walls, as he carried the very dim, ominously glowing lantern over and placed it down before me. "Light." He exclaimed with a far brighter smile while happily gesturing towards it, as if presenting some mystical phenomenon. Although the ghastly thing looked straight from the depths of Hell, it's light was indeed very welcome.
At least now I'll be able to actually keep track of this freaky guy's whereabouts.
The lighter made a soft click as he placed it onto the stone floor, while crouching down beside me. My curiosity spiked as I took in the sight of it. It was a little black bic lighter, clearly from earth... How did he get that? ...My gaze then moved up to where he was now presenting me with a couple of sketched out drawings.
"Earth, yes?" He said while pointing a clawed finger at a random picture of a pineapple wearing sunglasses.
...Umm.... What the actual hell?
A look of pure befuddlement fell across my face, earning a confused frown from the man. He then swiftly changed the drawing out for another one. It was of a realistic nature scene with a duck pond. "Earth?" He questioningly asked while tilting his head.
"Yes! That's earth! Haha!" I swiftly sat up in excitement, causing a searing pain to shoot through my head. I winced and placed a hand on my temple... Of all the times and places that I could have ended up practically incapacitated, why did it have to be while I'm stuck in another godforsaken dimension!?
"Shh, shh." He gently shushed. With a touch as light as a feathers caress, he placed his hands on my shoulders and guided me back down against the wall. Then he softly smiled, and got up to walk back over to the table.
I watched as he grabbed a medium sized black bowl and a cloth, then he silently walked over to the entrance of the cave. "Stay." He said while looking back at me and holding up a hand. More black mist seemed to emanate from him, as he swiftly slipped outside like a wispy shadow, becoming one with the stygian darkness.
Well that was weird...
With my adrenaline wearing off, the throbbing sting in my foot was becoming unbearable. Ever so slowly, I dragged my leg up over my other knee. I took a peek at my injury and gasped in horror. I literally wanted to vomit. The furiously inflamed cut was deep and mangled, with a bunch of sharp little pebbles lodged inside. There was absolutely no way I'd be able to walk on it without killing myself.
No... This can't be happening! I can't be crippled while trapped in the fucking underworld, or wherever the hell I am! Nonononono!
Tears welled up in my eyes as despair filled my soul. I mentally cursed the strange event that had gotten me into this bizarre mess in the first place... If only I'd stayed in the car, and not gone into that damnable stream... Then, my eyes widened as a sudden realization slapped my across the face, making me feel like a complete and total idiot for not realizing it before...
The elf man and the corpse from the stream are clearly the same species... The corpse was on earth... The elf man knows I'm a human, speaks some English, and has things from earth... I'm not the first human he's come across... He probably knows how to get me out of here...
I looked up just as the man occupying my thoughts stepped back into the cave. I hastily held up the nature picture and frantically pointed to it, while he gracefully made his way beside me. "Can you take me back to earth?" I eagerly asked, receiving a curious tilt of his head in response. He placed the bowl on the floor, which was now filled with water, and crouched down. "I..." I pointed to myself. "...need to get back to earth." I pointed to the picture, then hopefully pointed back and forth between myself and it a few times.
The eerie intelligence in his crimson gaze was startling, as he carefully watched me. "Yes." He said, with the bones softly twitching on his forehead. His clawed finger pointed to me, then he made like two of his fingers were walking through the air towards the picture. "Go..." He pointed to the picture. "Earth. Yes?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" I excitedly exclaimed. "Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!" I rapidly thanked in relief, while hugging the paper to myself.
A sweet, almost shy looking smile danced across his lips, and amusement twinkled in his freaky eyes. "You're welcome." He said, surprising me that he knew how to say that, yet adding to my excitement.
He reached into the bowl and pulled out a wet cloth. Little droplets trickled back down as he gave it a good wring, then he carefully held it up to the side of my head. "Okay." His deep voice murmured, as he very gently began wiping the blood from my temple.
Oh... Is he going to clean my wound?
I stayed as still as possible, letting him carefully tend to my injury. His other hand lightly brushed some of my hair behind my ear, moving it away from all the blood. He softly spoke in his strange language, comforting me every time I'd wince from the slightest sting. It was surprising just how gentle and mindful he was. He rinsed out the cloth, then started cleaning all the disgusting grime from my face. It's cool caress soothed my cheeks and tickled my brow.
With a small splash, he placed the cloth back into the water, and looked into my eyes with admiration gleaming in their scarlet depths. "Valarendrik." He said while pointing to his chest, then he pointed to me with a look of curiosity. I didn't respond, and just stared at him blankly. "Valarendrik." He repeated his previous actions.
...Vala-what?
...Well, by the way he's pointing to himself, it's safe to assume that peculiar and particularly lengthy word is his name... But how the fuck am I ever going to remember that bizarre sounding thing?
I awkwardly cleared my throat, realizing that he was trying to exchange introductions. "Lucilia." I pointed to my self as I softly spoke.
His face lit up with a wide smile. "Lucilia." He repeated.
That joyous smile was like a contagious disease, and I couldn't help but smile back. He continued to clean more grime from me, gliding the cool cloth over the length of my arms. He even took the time to wash my hands, attentively wiping the dirt from my palms and each finger. His snarled hair draped to the floor beside us, and I noticed a literal stick entangled within it's ebony veil.
His large body shuffled in front of me, and he wrapped his large clawed hand around my calf. Carefully, he cleaned around the many cuts on my legs, then moved hesitantly up my outer thighs while slightly leaning over me. It almost would have been romantic in a weird way. If only he were a human with a hair cut, and I wasn't an injured and disheveled mess inside of a cave, trapped in a horrifyingly dark world.
He cleaned my right foot, then looked at my left one, then to the water, then back at my foot, and then up to me. "Stay." He said again, then awkwardly walked backwards out of the cave with the bowl. He was only gone briefly, then he came back with new clean water. He crouched down before my foot again, and firmly grabbed ahold of my ankle.
My eyes widened in fright, as I watched his claws lengthen dramatically to razor sharp points. "Okay." He reassured with an apologetic look, right before using those terrifying finger-daggers to dig out one of the pebbles lodged in my flesh.
"Holy fucking son of a bitch!"
I cried out in agonizing pain and flung myself forwards, grasping at my leg. "Fuck.. cunt.. bitch.. bastard.. dammit.. slubberdegullion!" I screamed every curse word that came to mind, as he gently shushed while continuing to remove the small bloody stones. Each one clinked to the floor, while tears streamed down my cheeks. I had to bite my knuckles to keep from screaming anymore, and he had to tighten his grip on my ankle to keep me from pulling away.
This has to be done... This has to be motherfucking done, dammit! I mentally chanted to myself in complete anguish. Fucking fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck... Oh and did I mention, fuck?
"Okay, Lucilia, okay." He gently cooed.
It seemed to go on forever. My breathing was rapid, and I was crumpled up against the wall with my eyes squeezed tightly closed by the end of it. Relief filled my very soul when I finally heard him say "good." But that relief was short lived, because soon I was hissing from the pain of him washing it out.
Once that was finally over, he got up and walked to the chest. I trembled as I watched him open it and pull out two black cloths. He used his claws to rip one of them into thick ribbons, then glided back over to me. My foot throbbed as he used the material to bandage it up, tying it tightly on top. "Good." He said while nodding at my foot in accomplishment.
"Th-thank you." I weakly stuttered with tears still trailing down my face.
"You're welcome." He answered again, while holding out the other cloth and unfolding it so I could see that it was a shirt. His hand lightly tugged on my dress, then he shrugged and placed the shirt down beside me. It was then that I noticed that my dress hadn't fully dried yet... And that my nipples were completely visible through the thin wet material... Well fuck, that's embarrassing.
With a smile, he left the cave yet again, taking the bowl with him. I hesitantly grabbed the shirt and held it up before me. It was huge, definitely his, and made from a soft cotton-like material with thin leather straps creating a strange design over the short sleeves and across the chest.
My eyes warily peeked out into the blackness of the doorway... He could easily be watching me from out there... Do I really want to do this? An internal battle raged in my mind for a quick moment, then I ultimately decided that it would be best to wear something dry. I didn't want to be lost, injured, and sick.
Swift as lightning, I abruptly ripped my dress off over my head like it was on fire, then frantically scrambled to get the shirt on. Unfortunately, between being injured and my hastiness, I somehow fucked it up and became tangled in the damn thing. I accidently flopped onto my side, with my head trapped in what I was now realizing was a sleeve.
"Come on, you stupid shirt!" I grumbled with a hint of panic in my voice, while pathetically squirming around like a disgruntled eel.
"Lucilia?" His deep accented voice suddenly froze me in place. Which was probably not a good thing, since he was definitely getting a decent view of my scandalous little lacy peach panties, midriff, and some good side boob too... Shit.
"I'm fine. I-I can do it." I stammered, as he very gently helped me wrangle the shirt on correctly.
My disheveled head popped up through the neck hole, causing my flower crown to listlessly fall off beside me. I quickly shimmied the bottom down over my thighs, thankful that it was large enough to be like a baggy knee-length dress. My eyes blinked up at him, and I was well aware that my cheeks were bright red with mortification.
He clearly noticed too, because he was staring at them with great intensity. He tilted his head side to side while the bones on his forehead creepily twitched. His eerie gaze then moved to my eyes. It was as if he was completely mesmerized by them, unable to look away. I just silently sat there and stared back at him, unsure of what to do... Okay, this is really awkward...
He stayed crouched before me like that for what felt like a really long time. With my newfound sense of security, the adrenaline in my system had all but dissipated, and exhaustion was swiftly taking over. I softly yawned, piquing his interest.
"Oh, sleep!" He suddenly exclaimed while perking his head up, startling me a bit.
"Yes, sleep." I replied while looking around for anything that he might possibly use as a bed... Maybe he hangs upside down from the cave ceiling like a vampire?... Then again, maybe he is a vampire...
The thought of sleeping in this harrowing place constricted my chest with unease, but staying up wasn't really an option. Being overly exhausted wouldn't do me any good in a place like this. And besides, I felt safe enough staying here with Vala-whatever-his-name-was. He didn't seem to be malicious at all, and could easily protect me with those swords of his.
He looked around as if unsure of himself, then tentatively leaned forward and folded me into his arms. I softly squeaked in surprise as he pulled me up, then rolled over and stiffly laid down, slightly reclining against the wall in an uncomfortable looking position. My cheek rested against his bare chest, as I awkwardly laid on top of him.
Okay... Well, I guess I'm using him as a bed then?
A black shadowy mist began swirling over me, covering my body like a warm feathery blanket. I warily widened my eyes and nervously gripped his jacket. What in the hell? My heartrate quickened and I froze in fear while trying to take deep calming breaths.
I just need to relax. This may be insanely creepy, but he probably wouldn't have cleaned my wounds and bandaged my foot if he planned to kill me, or suck out my soul, or whatever he does...
"Sleep?" He slightly shrugged with a look of uncertainty.
Since I really didn't have any other options, I wigged my legs against the smooth leather of his pants to get a bit more comfortable, then forcefully closed my eyes and tried to relax. Although my head was on his chest, I noticed that I couldn't hear or feel his heartbeat. It was sort of bizarre.
His arms stayed wrapped tenderly around me, as the shadowy mist lulled my senses closer to sleep. The withered ambery glow of the lantern was very dim and unimpressive, but it still brought me some comfort as I quietly sniffled, longing to go home. The fear and pain that I was in made it rather difficult to drift off into slumber. But eventually I did, with tears softly trickling down my cheeks, all snuggled up in the big strong arms of my dark otherworldly rescuer.
~Valarendrik~
The exceptionally bright light of the lantern cast it's mystifying otherworldly glow throughout the cave, enticing unnatural shadows to dance to the movement of it's brilliantly flickering flame. I watched it in awe as I awkwardly laid there, propped up against the highly uncomfortable stones of the cave wall, stiff as a board, while holding the strange and delicate little human in my arms. She was so otherworldly, with her heart bizarrely beating against my stomach, and her vibrant colorations.
Her breathing slowly became long and deep, and the smell of fear all but disappeared. I excitedly shifted my gaze down to her peaceful looking face. Her messy golden locks were sprawled out over my chest, flowing down my side and onto the floor like a silken stream. While her strangely colored eyes were gently closed shut.
Holy shit... I think I've done it. I've actually managed to get her to do the sleep thing! A sense of accomplishment bloomed in my heart, and I mentally high fived myself.
In all honestly though, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, or how to properly take care of her. Humans needed 'sleep'. That much I knew. But with Gwendolyn being the only other human I've ever met, the only thing I could think of was to mimic how I've seen her sleep. And I've only ever seen her sleep on top of Azathoth like this. Only, I don't have wings to wrap around Lucilia, so I used my shadows to blanket her instead. It seemed to do the trick just fine.
I felt pity for the poor bedraggled thing. She was completely helpless, frightened, and weak. And not to mention badly injured. I mean, she couldn't even put a shirt on by herself! I doubted that she'd be able to properly walk for at least a few days, maybe even a week or so. It was also apparent that she was lost without a single clue about where she is.
Although I felt as if I may have gotten myself in over my head with this, I had to save her. It would have been cruel to just leave her out there in the wilderness to die. To listen to her scream her head off like a damn idiot, practically ringing the dinner bell for the wolves, and not do anything about it... No, I could never be so merciless. And yet, now I feel responsible for her.
"Devour her as the wolves would have done... Taste her red human blood... Fresh living blood..." The crown sibilantly whispered into my mind like a bloodthirsty grue, while eerily twitching upon my head. I paid it literally no attention. At all.
As I curiously stared down at her dainty little hand wrapped tightly around my jacket, one very important question kept repeating in my mind... How the fuck did a human just randomly end up in The Abyss!?
It made no sense at all. Traversing worlds wasn't something that just happened all willy-nilly for no piddling reason. In all my 4,000 and something years... I lost track of my exact age because I just simply do not care... not once had anything like this ever happened. At least not that I'm aware of that is. I also couldn't help but wonder if she was the only one. Not that it really mattered though, any other human who did manage to stumble into this world was surely dead by now.
My lips pinched tightly closed, and I let out an irritated sigh through my nose. I longed to kick myself in the head for not making the effort to learn more English. If I wasn't limited to communicating with her like a primitive dingbat, then I could actually ask her about what the fuck happened, and explain to her where she is... And also inform her that she'll possibly be stuck here for a few months...
"There is a language spell in the 'Venenatiav Vulumek.'" The crown deviously whispered.
I glared in vexation at the crown... Well technically at the wall, since I couldn't physically look at my own forehead, but still, it knew full well that my annoyance was directed towards it's pestiferous persona. "Would you shut-" I began to softly whisper through gritted teeth, as to not awaken the human. Then I stopped mid sentence, realizing that it had actually suggested something potentially worth while... for once.
That's actually not a bad idea...
Trying not to engage with the crown any further, I narrowed my gaze over towards one of the bookcases. As a tenverian, my eyesight was incredibly sharp. I was able to swiftly hone in on the correct book, then will my shadows to retrieve it.
A black swirling mist began to slither across the floor like a wispy tendril of darkness. I strenuously willed it along, as it pathetically slunk up the side of the bookcase. It wavered and wobbled a few times, as if it might dissipate at any moment. Then I wrapped it around the desired manuscript using my mind. It was extremely difficult since most of my shadows were already blanketing the human, plus they were weak regardless... A bitter reminder of my inadequacy.
It was a cruel joke, honestly. That the prince with two marks of power would be so powerless. That I was a fucking weakling.
Shaking those irrelevant thoughts away, I willed my shadows to bring the book over to me. It lowered from the shelf, gently glided across the floor as though it were a leaf upon a stream, then floated up on the black mist before me. It's binding was solid black, with Venenatiav Vulumek inscribed on the front in dark grey, using the malign looking abyssal alphabet.
Since my hands were busy holding the human, I used my shadows to flick through the aged pages. I inwardly grimaced at some of the gruesome illustrations. Drawings of bones being tortuously removed from flesh, eyes dissected while still in their sockets, upside down bodies with blood being drained from their sliced open throats, and other grisly things all flickered by, until I finally came across the spell I sought.
Ah, here it is. A tongue rooting spell.
I frowned after reading it. It was invasive and would probably frighten her. However, it wouldn't harm her, and it would give us the ability to properly communicate. My eyes trailed down over her small petite form, while I regretfully thought about how I was possibly going to traumatize the poor thing even more than she already was.
I'd honestly never seen such a mesmerizing sight in all my life. Her silky hair was so foreign and pale, golden like the light of the lantern. And her eyes, well, they were by far the most beautiful color I'd ever seen. I secretly couldn't wait for her to reopen them once she was finished doing her sleep thing, just so I could see that color again. She was so vibrant and exotic, and it was hard not to notice how lovely her features were too.
She's very beautiful...
I smiled at the thought of her being here for a little while and taking care of her. If the spell worked, then I'd have someone else to talk to other than the unwelcome chatter of the crown, and my one sided conversations with Sagacor. My shadows snapped the book shut, as I decided on preforming the spell once she awoke.
"Lucilia." I happily mused under my breath, while carefully stroking a lock of her soft hair with the tip of my finger.
And so, I stayed in that uncomfortable position, eagerly waiting for her to awaken. I excitedly peeked down with every soft little noise and slight movement that she'd make. Then a slight frown made it's way to my face when I realized that she was drooling on me. But still, I didn't wake her.
Many hours passed, as she peaceful slept in my shadows.