#eivel

“I’ve heard sleeping is pretty good for the brain, you know.”

Now, she scoffs at him. “Learned that in some far-off, distant land, did you? I just can’t sleep. Besides, you were here first.”

“I don’t need to sleep,” he says dismissively. “I was just enjoying the view.”

She pauses, then glances back over her shoulder to see what he’s referring to. Though her face is turned mostly away from him, he thinks something in her expression softens with the moonlight.

She turns again and shrugs. “Yeah, it’s all right.”

“All right?” He shakes his head, offended. “All this time on the sea and you still can’t appreciate its—vastness? Its majesty?”

Her snort is soft, but clearly amused. “Sure, if you say so.”

He doesn’t point out that she seems in an oddly good mood. Something tells him that might just ruin it.

After a long moment of silence, she says, “I guess I was just thinking too much. Plus, Rokurou snores. I don’t see how you can stand to share a room with him.”

“Never really noticed.”

“Lucky you,” she grumbles.

“You could always sleep somewhere else.”

The look she gives him is answer enough. She doesn’t want to sleep too far away from Laphicet. Not that she would appreciate if anyone said so.

“Well,” he says, “here’s a good place to think a little less.”

“And that’s what you’ve been doing, is it? That explains the idiotic things you keep saying, at least.”

“You’ll regret ignoring my wisdom one day, Velvet.”

She’s quiet, suddenly. He glances over in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her expression, but then she looks up and meets his eyes.

They watch each other for a moment, waiting, until—

Velvet straightens up and turns away, resting her arms on the wall of the ship. Her eyes drift forward, towards the unending mass of ocean ahead of them.

“Your wisdom’s all right too,” she mutters.

Velvet stood up easily, having long gotten used to the swaying of the ship by now. The air was quiet, though she could hear the murmur of the few crew members still up and going about their night tasks. She had no idea on the maintenance of ships, and was disinterested in watching. The salt spray from the ocean was strong this evening, but it was better than being cooped up in-between walls. Might as well stay on deck.

Raising her head, the stars were bright and numerous. The moon overhead was full, the sight of it familiar, and she turned away quickly to pace across the wooden floorboards. Maybe she kept an eye out for any hint of a sneaky Magilou, or an ear out for some out-of-the-blue laughter from Rokurou, but none of them here. Just one or two crew members, who swiftly moved out of her way, mumbling something about finishing up tasks below deck.

With less distractions, that’s when she saw Eizen, standing at the very port of the ship.

From behind, Eizen appeared to be overlooking the horizon, arms crossed, the wind lifting up his coat like outstretched wings. She rolled her eyes. She was half-convinced he was standing like this for dramatic effect. Her blade rattling in its holster, she walked up to him. “Is it common for malakhim to pull an all-nighter?” she asked him.

Eizen didn’t answer her. He was motionless, arms still crossed, much more interested in that horizon then in acknowledging Velvet that she existed. 

That just pissed her off.

“Hey! I was talking to-” She marched up to him, just about to grab his shoulder when she finally went in front of him, catching the look on his face.

His eyes were closed. He breathed evenly, slowly.

He was asleep. And he was...standing up, while he was asleep. Velvet raised an eyebrow. So some people slept even more with their guard up than she did, it seemed. 

She would have just called it a night at this point, not admitting that she was disappointed in not getting to talk to him. He'd have just blabbed about those underground tunnels again, she reasoned with herself. Or maybe he’d once again invoke the Reaper’s Curse and have the floorboards beneath their feet rot, letting them both fall into the sea.

She would have done nothing, except she saw how his face was also in pain.

It was subtle, but she heard his fast-paced breathing, and saw the way his fingers gripped his arms. Whatever he was dreaming about, it wasn’t pleasant. A phenomenon that she was much too familiar with.

Best to steer clear, or maybe he’d do something stupid and strike at her while stuck in a nightmare. But Velvet found herself by his side, her arm reaching out to him. “Eizen,” she called out. Slowly, carefully.

Eizen’s head lowered. He grimaced. He was stuck. 

Velvet poised her hand just over his shoulder. It wasn’t coincidence that it was her daemon arm that was closer to him - just in case. “Eizen,” she called out again.

He only continued to struggle. “...Nn…” Eizen shook his head, then lowered it so much that his chin made contact with his chest. “…na…”

She felt the pressure of his malak artes, just enough. It alarmed her a bit. Would he cast a spell in his sleep? She could only imagine one outcome, and a sinking ship was not in her plans.

Velvet dared, finally gripping his shoulder, bandaged fingers holding onto him. “Eizen, wake up!”

Eizen snapped his eyes open, bright blue, the color emphasizing the sudden pallor of his skin. Like a fish out of water, Eizen looked around in confusion, mouth half-parted. It took him a few seconds to finally latch his gaze onto Velvet.

“What… Edna, she’s…” he started, still half-stuck in his dream. But him speaking that name seemed to make him finally find his focus. He uncrossed his arms, one hand reaching to press against his forehead. “Agh…Velvet, why are you here?”

“Well, you don’t sound particularly grateful,” she noted. Her hand lingered on his shoulder, finally letting it slip off. She had just been hungry, that was all.

Eizen looked confused at what she meant. Then the sea breeze picked up, making the white sails above them flutter, hitting the mast. He looked around, his hair shifting along with that breeze. “I just… didn’t expect you. Why are you still up? It’s late.”

“What I do in my spare time at night isn’t of any concern to you,” she retorted.

Eizen stared. “It does if you were just watching over me as I sleep.”

Velvet mentally stumbled at that, taking up a moment to devise her answer. “I was not watching you!” Of all the stupid things this man said! “You were just standing here, how would I have known that you sleep the same way a horse does?"

“Oh, I was…” Eizen looked around him again, realizing, and that was when he seemed to be the one embarrassed now. “It’s… a malak thing. Easy to regain energy this way.”

Velvet highly doubted. “I’ve never seen Laphicet do that.”

“Well, it’s an earth malak thing, to be specific.” Eizen coughed into his fist, still avoiding her eyes. “It’s good to feel steady, so standing is just a preferred option!"

“Really.” Velvet wasn’t going to keep questioning this, and honestly, on any regular occurrence, she would have just left him to do whatever he wanted. But the paleness of his skin hadn’t left, and his hands still shook, even if the motion was so minute. Probably no one else would have even noticed.

But Velvet’s eyes were sharp.

Eizen finally turned to her, seeing her gaze, then lowered his hand. “Thanks for shaking me awake.”

“That only took you ten minutes to finally say so, but you’re welcome.” There was a wooden bench just next to them, placed against the side of the ship, and Velvet took it, moving aside her long hair to lay against the surface. “So, what did you dream?”

She knew Eizen wouldn’t tell her right away, of course. “Nothing,” he said instead, his voice low. It didn’t hold any of the strength of the earth, the unyielding magnitude of it. It came out weak and exhausted. “It was nothing.”

Velvet stared at his back, at the metal plates affixed to his coat, catching the moonlight. She stared at the rips, running symmetrically just beneath his shoulders. “Are you just going to run from it?”

That had hit a nerve, somewhere deep in this man’s pride. Eizen continued looking up at the sky before he finally went to sit down with her, though it looked more like he tumbled backwards, his legs barely holding him up anymore.

Velvet blinked. Something about the way he acted was…familiar. Too much so. She wasn’t sure how much she liked that.

“I get these most nights,” he admitted, still avoiding her gaze. Eizen sighed, his chest moving inward as he did so. “It gets awkward if I sleep in the bunkers with everyone. So I usually just… stay out here.”

Guess that’s not surprising, she couldn’t help but think. Eizen had a pride she found foolish, one that would only worsen when he was around the likes of Rokurou. But there were other times when he was humbled, when he was suddenly much subdued then he first seemed. In a way, she found that aspect of him far more compelling.

She was thinking on that too much. She brought her knee up, laying her bandaged arm around it. Loose, white strips floated along with the breeze.

“Then what was it about? Did you dream yourself losing out on a winning bid for some old rusty vase?” It was barely an exaggeration. She had seen the malak actually tear up at the thought of missing out on some relic rumored to lie within a deserted island that the ship had passed by. The currents had been rough, making it impossible to land. Eizen had sulked for the rest of the trip. ("It was a priceless Kharlan painting from the Enlightenment era! You just wouldn't understand…")

Even as Velvet acted frustrated then, she still wouldn’t admit to herself that maybe the other’s weird sentiment with such things was a little endearing. Just a little.

She expected Eizen to either be annoyed at her words, or just plain confused. But what she got was exactly nothing. Eizen sat still, hands now gripping the other as he laid his arms on his knees. She wasn’t even sure if he heard her.

“I could handle that kind of dream,” Eizen finally spoke. “This was something else.”

“Part of the Reaper’s Curse?” she asked, only half-serious. The man could stub his toe and he’d blame it on the curse over his own foolishness.

“Maybe,” he simply said. Another pause, his jacket spread out on the wooden bench like an ocean full of pitch. “They only seemed to start ever since I left her.”

Her. The name he only half-said in sleep. “Edna,” Velvet said, but did so carefully.

But Eizen wasn’t like her, furious at hearing others spill out the name of his sibling. In fact, she saw him smile, even as it twisted along with his pale skin. “Edna should be safe and sound back home. That’s why I left her, so that she could be safe. No Reaper’s Curse to put her in danger. I stand by my decision.”

He pulled on his gloves, fidgeted more in those few minutes then she had ever seen him since he first joined their group. “But, most nights… I dream up something horrible happening to her. The sky swallowing her up, or a daemon fighting her.” He pressed his boot into the floor, as if trying to dig a hole right into it. If the wooden boards had been soil, he might as well have. “I dreamt her being shot, but instead of another malak, it was really her-“

Velvet reached out again, with that same bandaged arm. But she gripped his wrist gently. “Enough,” she warned. “You’ll get lost in it, if you keep going.”

Eizen shook, then stilled. He placed one fist into the palm of his hand, squeezing it tight. “Thought you said I was running from it.”

“You were, make no mistake,” Velvet quickly answered. “But if you face it the wrong way, you’ll only get trapped in it. You’ll be devoured.” She kept her hand where it was, feeling the tension pulling at him so tightly. “Funny, usually you’re the one giving out all the tired, cliched advice.”

The laughter that came from Eizen built something inside her chest that she dared not name. She was just sleep-deprived, like he was right now. Just two people in the middle of the night, unable to swallow their fears. “Maybe you’re right. You’re not usually this patient with people, except perhaps Laphicet.”

The night breeze blew her hair away from her neck. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation. She had said the name of his sibling, it’s only fair he could say the name of hers. (But he’s not Laphi). She put down those other intruding thoughts for now.

“You just can’t let it distract you from what is real and important.” She finally let his wrist go, seeing how his eyes followed along her motion. Did he expect her to do anything else? “But, if you’ve had these dreams for that long, you probably already know that.”

Eizen took another breath, but his voice was stronger, firmer. No longer stuck. “Guess that’s true. But, it’s nice hearing someone else say it.”

“Even if that someone is a daemon?” she asked, maybe too genuine in her question.

“There’s a reason why you are what you are, and it’s made you stronger for it.” Eizen finally looked at her, his cheeks now full of color. For a so-called Reaper, he seemed to have more life in him now. “Because you get it too.”

The acknowledgement might have hit too deep. She turned away, eyes rapt onto the stars. “I do, and you’ll keep quiet about that.”

“Heh, fair enough.”

The easy acceptance Eizen took of the situation also surprised her. Her chest tightened. Again, she was just hungry. They’ve been stuck on this ship for weeks, and while ocean deamons sometimes appeared, it wasn’t enough to completely sate her arm.

“Have you ever fallen overboard?” she asked suddenly.

The look of pure confusion on Eizen’s face amused her greatly. “What? Uh… perhaps a few times actually. I don’t remember how though. Usually it’s at night when…” He paused in realization.

“You know, it'd be good if you get someone to watch over you as you sleep, or you’ll keep breaking the Van Eltia more than sailing it.” How he’d been able to deal with it, she had no clue. But the man was as stubborn as the very earth he hailed from.

“Right…” Eizen coughed, his embarrassment once again so plain on his face. “Now Aifread’s complaints back then… make a lot more sense.”

“Men like you and him need more sense ,” she spit out.

“If that’s the case… are you saying you’ll offer to watch over me?”

The smile she saw on his face was stupid and ridiculous on him. Velvet turned away more, hugging her knee close to her chest, not caring whether any of the belts or leather was pricking into her skin. “I did plenty enough. It’s ruining what little sleep I can get tonight.”

“Fine, then I’ll do the same for you.” Eizen sat back with her, just near enough for their shoulders to touch. The man was surprisingly bold. “As my way of repaying you.”

“Huh.” Velvet scoffed, clenching her bandaged fist before looking over at Eizen, his face nearly impassive now. “You’re serious.”

“It only makes sense, doesn’t it?” He shrugged. “Besides, I’m not sure I can go back to sleep tonight.”

“So, the Reaper wants to watch over me at my most vulnerable?” She eyed him. “Will I even make it through the night?”

“I think, being the Lord of Calamity and all, your misfortunes offset my own.” He shrugged. “We can put it to the test.”

It just all sounded like an incredibly far-reaching excuse to her, but Velvet somehow couldn’t find it in her to say no.

“Just no sudden movements,” she told him as she laid back against the rim of the ship. The swaying of the ocean waves felt comforting, more so in evenings. The sky was open, gave her more to look at than in all the years she had been locked away. “This arm bites, you know.”

Eizen smirked, but he nodded. “Got it then.”

Velvet couldn’t believe she was allowing this, but she really did feel so fatigued. With no daemons to nourish her, she could only feel how heavy her body was. Velvet gazed up at the sky, tracing the constellations that she had missed, then shut her eyes. Eizen was still near, enough that she could feel his body heat.

I shouldn’t fall for this, she thought before sleep took hold. But maybe it was nice to let down her guard, at least for a while.

-

The dream is the same. Seres again, in the white void, eyes completely covered. And over her neck, the black marks of someone’s fingers that had strangled her.

Velvet felt her arm burn, clutched it to her chest. “I can’t forget,” she said.

“You won’t ever forget,” Seres said to her, in a voice that was so painful in its familiarity. It pierced her as sharply as when she would plunge her blade into the quivering body of a beast. “And you can’t regret.”

“I don’t… I shouldn’t!” Velvet gritted her teeth. Her arm became malformed, an array of black that ran with so much red, pulsing like magma beneath the earth. “You offered yourself to me! I needed to live! I don’t care who stands in my way-!”

She reached out with her arm, to grab Seres again, to devour her again. But in her grip, it was a young boy instead. She had already squeezed tight before he vanished, lost forever, again, again, again-

Velvet woke up, gasping for air. But a hand kept her steady, strong and firm.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Eizen was speaking, even though it sounded so far off. “A nightmare, that’s it.”

Velvet heard it, denied it with all her heart.

“No… it’s more than that.” She gritted her teeth, shook in his hold. “I watched him die! Again…” The guilt clawed its way into her throat, and all she could do was let it fester. “Always, again. You don’t understand.”

Eizen had no words, and for once, she regretted something just now. She didn’t mean for it to slip past. But she shook, and her arm still hurt. She curled in on herself, and felt those same arms hold her close.

“You’re right, I don’t,” Eizen was saying. His words were barely above a whisper, yet they felt rough against her hair. “And I hope I never will.”