Keil

Keil laid there quietly, watching Sylvia as she slept. Already half an hour had gone by, with him finally finishing up his bandages, yet she had still not woken up. He sighed with concern, torn on what he should do.

Should he wake her? She had gotten quite upset last time she had fallen asleep here. But at the same time, he could not help but notice how very fatigued she appeared to be. She obviously needed this sleep. However, perhaps this was not his choice to make. She had only fallen asleep because he had insisted on changing his own bandages for once, and instead of leaving she had patiently waited around for him to finish.

Keil knew he probably should just wake Sylvia up so she could get back home before it became too dark. Waiting any longer might be dangerous! So he sat up and tried to reach towards her, but her voice quickly stopped him.

"No, stop kitty... that's my broom..." she whispered softly.

Keil nearly let out a laugh. She talked in her sleep!

"Okay, just a little milk then..." she giggled softly.

He blushed with delight at such a sweet-sounding dream. He simply could not imagine what she was saying, but he wanted to know so badly! It was so fascinating to watch her mumbling words he still could not comprehend. So lovely, even...

He watched her for a while with amusement, trying to understand the thoughts she was experiencing. His mind still contemplated waking her, despite how much fun he was having. Eventually he remembered that she really might be very mad if he didn't.

"Sylvia?" he called to her softly.

She mumbled some sort of reply, making Keil laugh again.

"Sylvia!" he said, just a bit louder.

Sylvia suddenly smiled in her sleep and let out another sweet giggle. "Keil..." she quite clearly replied.

His heart suddenly started beating loudly in his chest, with his cheeks flushing lightly. Was that... his name she had just spoken?

Keil immediately propped himself up on one arm and continued to watch her now with more interest. His mind was consumed with wonder. Was Sylvia just answering him, or was he in her dreams right now? Was she enjoying his presence there? What, exactly, were they doing together? He didn't know, and was sure he might never know, seeing as they barely understood more than two words from one another!

Keil scowled with frustration. He had never really felt like this before, wanting something so desperately out of his reach. Back home most things came pretty easily because of his father's influence. If he or his brother ever wanted something, they got it, even if it required some work on their part. Yet to understand Sylvia like he wanted? Surely that was completely ridiculous! No one back home knew the land-dwellers’ language anymore, and certainly no one from her world still knew theirs. So then, what he wanted was for the first time impossibly out of reach. How saddening…

For most of the night, Keil continued to watch Sylvia, entranced and puzzled by her every whisper and movement. He fought to make sense of it all, to make sense of her. It really wasn't easy, though, and eventually he found himself falling asleep, her body just inches away from his that night.