The Night Belongs To You | Vessel

𝑿𝑰𝑰𝑰 - 𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔

𝑫𝒂𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒂'𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒗
—❦—

I jolted awake, covered in sweat. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my breathing was fast. My eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the darkness of the cabin as it was night. When they did, I noticed Vessel lying in his bed, fast asleep.

I took a minute to calm down and decided that it wouldn't hurt if I decided to go outside to get some fresh air.

I quietly got off of the couch and went to open the door. I opened the door and got outside while making as little sound as possible. Once I got outside, I noticed the campfire still burning, but the flames were small. Maybe they forgot to put it out?

I walked over to the campfire, and as I got closer, I noticed someone was sitting by it. It was II... or IV? Wait... it was III. I didn't notice him, apparently... Even if he was there, I went to sit down and looked at the campfire, ignoring him unless he would talk to me.

He seemed to have noticed me rather quickly.

« Hello, Dahlia. » He said.

I looked at him, then back at the fire. « Hi, III... »

« Are you okay? You look... tense. » III said.

I forced a little smile on my face, trying to act all sweet even tho I just wanted to go back home.

« I'm fine... » I answered.

I was clearly not.

III looked at me and tilted his head to the side slightly. He then looked at the fire and seemed to be thinking of something.

« Would a massage help? » He asked.

Massage? Before I even knew it, III stood behind me and was massaging my shoulders. I didn't have time to answer but I had to agree... it felt good...

« Oh... Uh... » I managed to say before just keeping my mouth shut and enjoying the massage.

He was actually really good at this. It somehow helped me get distracted from all my stressful thoughts for a few minutes.

III stayed silent as he was just doing his thing. He eventually spoke up but kept going.

« Is this alright? » He asked.

« Yeah... » I quietly said, almost sounding like a whisper.

It was enjoyable, but it really bugged me that I couldn't see his face or simply his facial expression because of the mask he wore. Since Vessel didn't answer my question, I decided to ask it to III instead, wanting to see if he would answer.

« Hey, III...? » I asked.

It felt weird calling someone III.

« Yeah? » He quietly said.

« Why do you all wear masks? » I asked.

I then started thinking... if Vessel didn't answer my question, maybe it was an offensive question? Would it annoy them that I asked about their masks? Would he just ignore my question, too?

« Well... it's, uh... a... cultural thing. Yeah... It's to, uh... honor our... god! » III said.

Okay, he was lying... it was obvious. That probably meant I shouldn't ask that. Maybe they just didn't like to show their faces?

« Oh... Who is your god? » I asked curiously, hoping it wasn't another question I shouldn't ask.

« His name is Sleep... It's kinda hard to explain to a human... » III said.

« That's... a unique name, I guess... » I said.

I then closed my eyes and relaxed as III continued massaging my shoulders. Why was he so good at this?

« And what does he look like...? » I asked again.

I always hesitated to ask questions. After all, I didn't know any of these men. Would they get mad if I asked too many questions?

« Well... let's say he's tall and all in black. He looks... y'know... scary? » III gave a small description of Sleep.

« ... Does he wear a mask like all of you? » I asked something yet again.

III seemed unsure. « It's hard to tell. We never saw his face, or at least what was hiding under his hood. » He spoke.

... I know he only gave a small description, but so far, it reminded me of the man I saw in my dream. I decided to ask more questions to figure out if it was actually him.

« Does he appear in dreams? » I asked directly just like that.

III stopped moving for a few seconds after I asked this question. My mind started racing. Why did he stop? Did I ask something wrong? Is he annoyed at me? Did I go too far? What does that mean?

« Did you see him in a dream, Dahlia? » III asked, stopping the shoulder massage to sit by me.

I hesitated to answer, but III seemed serious, so I decided to answer. I nodded to his question.

« Okay... What did he tell you? Do you... do you remember what he said? » III asked.

Why did he look so serious about it? Was something wrong? Did my dream actually mean something? Was it not just a nightmare?

« Uhm... well, he didn't say anything except for something like, "You are home."» I said. « Why? Is it something bad? Am I in trouble? » I then asked, worried.

III seemed to notice my worry, and he quickly changed from serious to reassuring. « No! No... You're okay. It's alright, Sleep does that sometimes to... mess with people... » III spoke.

I felt reassured by that. But was he actually honest? He wasn't just lying to me to make me feel better, was he?

—❦—