HALLUCINATE | THE SANDMAN

NINETEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN
-[ Childish Things ]-
"I do not have time to waste on childish
things such as love"

         "YOU KNOW, DREAM REALLY LIKES HAVING YOU AROUND."

           Azrail felt like her eyes would get stuck in the back of her head with the amount she was rolling her eyes. Matthew had been persistent in telling her how much Dream of the Endless admired her and wished for her to be in the Dreaming with him.

The raven squawked loudly where he sat, the abrupt sound making Azrail's ears ring painfully. "He acts so much more different when you're by his side."

The Grim Reaper waved her hand to shoo to bird off her shoulder, rubbing her aching ear. "This is not a necessary conversation we must have, Matthew," she remarked, casting a glance into the bedroom just beyond the thick glass they were sat in front of. Rose was just beginning to wake up, casting her eyes to the exposed roof expectingly but only see a small bird who tapped the window with his beak.

                However, Azrail couldn't focus on the situation at hand. She quickly turned to Matthew. "Wait, what do you mean different?"

                  The raven fluttered off the rooftop, following Rose as the young girl climbed out of bed. Azrail jumped off the roof, gliding beside him and taking a seat on the other side of the roof with Matthew. He stalked further away from her, purposely standing in a thin part of the roof that didn't allow Azrail to follow.

                     His wings moved in such a way that seemed to mimic a shrug. "I don't know. He's so... smitten with you."

                      Azrail blinked, and then she blinked again. Her nose screwed up in confusion. "Smitten? As in he..."

                       "Yeah, he does."

                       The silence returned for a moment as Azrail found her attention to drift. Her bottom lip was caught between her teeth in thought, uncertain on whether she liked how her mind wondered to think about how Dream interacted with her. He was more gentle and softer when it was just him and Azrail. He was more soft when it came to her.

"I mean, you notice he touches you every chance he gets, right?" Matthew pointed out with a squawk.

Azrail managed to shake her head in denial, scoffing faintly at the mere thought of Morpheus being in love with her. That was such a stupid thought when they far exceeded any basic human emotion. Love was just not on the radar for creatures of the calibre.