Your grandmother had always warned you about sleeping with a mirror facing your bed; that it was an invitation or a portal into the darker realms. Being the teenager you were, you didn't listen. Vessel had been watching you, evey step you took in that room. He figured you wouldn't be terrified if he showed himself, that you might offer him the touch he so desperately craved. Maybe he was the one keeping you safe from afar, an unknown force keeping you out of harm by mere seconds. Maybe he was just a demon who had become enamored with a little human, bored with his own realm. Whatever the reasons were, he knew he wanted to at least try to become a part of you.

Vessel crouched at the end of your bed, on all fours like an animal ready to pounce as he tilted his head. He said nothing as he watched you sleep, peacefully and without nightmares. His eyes traced over your figure from beneath his mask, fingers curling into the blankets as he prayed you would wake up so he wouldn't have to speak just yet.