Abyssal Reverie

Chapter 19: Telomeres

"Won't you say that you will? Let the Impulse to love and the instinct to kill- entangle to one."

Letting Vessel in this time was easy. He worked his way around my body as though it was an old friend he could finally visit after a long time away from home. He was gentle with me, each movement deliberate as he sowed every open part of me shut. I could feel the swift movements of his hands as he tugged the needle through my skin. He had made me drink a glass or two of the amber mead he kept next to his bedside to keep me calm and collected.

Simon had managed to wheel in additional cots for both III and me. Even with my eyes still covered, I could tell the difference in each person's breathing, almost as though the colors of each breath danced behind my heavy eyelids. Vessel's breaths were more haggard; as he worked on fixing me with both his hands and his magic, I could hear the effort of each Inhale and exhale swirling around me. It was almost like the crashing waves against the ships, relentless but busy at work to push us forward. A dark blue against the stark, bright white of the sky.

Simon's were soft, muffled slightly by what I believed to be a blindfold over his eyes. They were almost like a summer breeze, swirling with life and hope. Each breath he took painted a beautiful sunrise, the oranges, and reds boasting a perfect morning.

And III's were labored. The work of a healing body shuttering between each inhale and exhale. The effort it was taking to put him back together was peeking into the atmosphere around us. It was like the early days of spring as the trees began to grow their summer dress, bright Green stubs sprouting in the most unusual places, determined to become something more than what they started as.

The longer I lay here, enduring the healing hands of Vessel, the more entune I became with the dark world around me. The soft chatter of the crew outside. The occasional check-in from II and IV. All these things carried a new color in my mind that aided in compartmentalizing the day's events. My eyes were never the only tool I had at my disposal, and it took lying here in my most vulnerable state to realize just how valuable it was to be able to hear.
"You are so deep in thought, Selah." Vessel tugged at the skin on my stomach, still working to close the gash that laid from one hip to another. "I don't know that I have never seen you be this quiet for so long." The chuckle rolling off his lips and vibrating his ribs glowed gold like droplets of the sweetest honey.

"Tell me about what happened." his lilt was soft against his teeth, almost as though he was trying to keep the sweetness of the sound from me.
"It all happened so fast..." My voice cracked, the whisper that escaped echoing off the wood surrounding us. "We were eating, III and I were talking about him teaching me to read Stygian." I could feel the tears prickling the sides of my eyes, the pressure building just behind my eyes.
You don't have to speak with your voice. Vessel's words were so soft and gentle. More so than he had ever been with me before.

It was almost as if the word Stygian had set Giffy off like the creature sleeping deep inside him was waiting for the right moment to pounce. I sucked in a harsh breath as Vessel caught the needle on a tough patch of skin, a hissing sound escaping from between my teeth.
"Hel, I am so sorry." I hear Vessel stand, pouring liquid into a glass and holding it to my mouth. "Drink. It will help with the pain. I promise."

I take a moment to collect myself, throwing back the mead as quickly as he handed it to me. It warmed the inside of me. A flutter of heat clawed its way down to my stomach, the burning in my throat ebbing away second by second. I could feel the soft touch of Vessel's hands on my arm as he waited for me to give him the okay to continue.

Better get on with it, or I won't have the courage to let you finish. The voice in my head was still tired, the weight of my reality heavy both in my mind and out of it. I could feel Vessel begin his work once more. I could feel the pull of each stitch as he coaxed my body to heal. This was so different from the first fight with a guardian. It was almost like the wounds he healed that time were almost all internal. The Ether that had run through my veins was the real enemy. But this time, the physical wounds I sustained were more than Vessel's magic could heal.