šµš“Šš“‰ š’¾š“ƒ š“‰š’½š‘’ š“ƒš’¾š‘”š’½š“‰ š’½š‘’ š“Œš‘œš“€š‘’ š’¶š“ƒš’¹ š’½š‘’š“š’¹ š’½š‘’š“‡ š“‰š’¾š‘”š’½š“‰ š’¶š“ˆ š“‰š’½š‘œš“Šš‘”š’½ š“ˆš’½š‘’ š“Œš‘’š“‡š‘’ š’¶š“š“ š‘œš’» š“š’¾š’»š‘’ š’¶š“ƒš’¹ š’¾š“‰ š“Œš’¶š“ˆ š’·š‘’š’¾š“ƒš‘” š“‰š’¶š“€š‘’š“ƒ š’»š“‡š‘œš“‚ š’½š’¾š“‚.ā€™ į“±į““
'Sleepwalkerā€™/Nightmares  āŠ±ā•¾~ą¼„ š€š¬ šššš«š¤ š­š®š«š§š¬ š¢š§š­šØ š›š„š®šž.
                                                     [Ņ“ŹŸį“€sŹœŹ™į“€į“„į“‹]
ā€”  An unannounced memory suddenly appeared. Clear and enticing, nicely placed now in the focus of his thoughts. Sky was, quite unequivocally, the one who made him experience something so profound and wonderful that when it was taken away the afterlife felt unbearable. Closing his eyes, he allowed his mind to be haunted by a vision.
The wind gusted for a moment, and the flame of one candle flares. Sky then paused in front of a mirror and stared at her image. Standing behind her, Elijah knew the silvered surface would show nothing but Skyā€™s own reflection against the walls of the bedroom, though he was close enough to touch her. She reached out to touch the glass before her, fingers brushing gently over the reflection of her face.
With a small sigh, the blonde woman unbuttoned her blouse and tossed it away. The silk fluttered down, a silent ripple of creamy femininity laid onto the bed. The bed theyā€™d shared the previous night, when Elijah simply enjoyed the luxury of having Sky next to him.
Flashes of it all crossed his mind. Her body under his. The sweet words she whispered against his ear. The promises of love and a life of passion and complicity, together. Her skin against his, so real. It was a rare indulgence for Elijah to let the darkness and exhaustion soothe him into a deep sleep after making love, while listening to her heartbeat and feeling the rise of her belly with her every breath.
Sky had somehow touched his heart, and Elijah couldnā€™t even say in that moment that he regretted giving it to her. She was vulnerable and sweet, yet intelligent and strong. He embraced the sight in front of him once more. The place. The woman.
Again he drank in her scent and sighed again. Maybe just an illusion of happiness, a sanctuary he built to pull the necessary strength to keep going one more day, one more year. Other centuries, if needed. His family needed him, and Elijah would never turn away from them. He had a part to play in the actual cursed scheme of things. Kre Nan Hun. The Hollow.
He was never alone, until now, and it didnā€™t mean he wasnā€™t lonely. Sky moved again closer to the mirror and Elijah turned away an instant before she bared herself. He looked out the window into the beginning of the evening, listening to each one of her movements with his keen vampire hearing.
'Itā€™s different for us. Cadence, rhythm, harmony our experience of senses is altered. We move faster. We hear things with greater acuity. Silences are at once longer and more profound. Sound is simply different to our ears. And then there is the emotion. For a vampire it is extremely heightened. Sometimes itā€™s difficult to express.ā€™
He caught the whispering hiss of her underwear sliding down her legs. A drawer opened and closed. He heard the rustle of silk moving across skin. He listened to the robe rustle into place, and to the soft sounds as Sky buttoned it. Elijah turned around.
Her long, blonde tresses tumbled down around her shoulders. Sky took a comb off the dresser, her hair responding with tiny electric hisses as she pulled the teeth through. She drew her long hair out tight, and fiddled whisper music on those strings. No matter how many times he observed her, his fascination never lessened.
With a final sigh, Sky turned her back on the reflection and clicked off the light. He then stood alone in the darkness, listening to her as she walks down the hall, just as if she were barefoot walking on glass. Elijah walked to the dresser and picked up the comb. He removed a strand of Skyā€™s hair and drew it slowly through his fingers.
Standing there, thinking of her light and his darkness, he forgot himself, until his gaze crossed the mirror. Two glowing blue glints appeared, strangely glimmering beneath the surface of the glass. ā€”