Skyler: ::enters from the kitchen, chomping grumpily on a banana. He was wearing his flannel pajamas and a cotton t-shirt, as well as his slippers::
Skyler: ::glances around for Wy:: I can't bloody sleep.

Skyler: ::the long pretty shiny black hair was in a rare rumpled state, not quite so shiny and straight tonight::

wyheree: ::raises her glass at Skyler as he enters, a wry smile on her face:: Neither can I, my friend.

wyheree: ::notes the rumpled hair:: This is a sight I never thought to see.

Skyler: I'm grumpy. ::a frustrated bite of the banana:: It's cause I'm lonely. My bed is cold. I want someone to join me in it. I want someone to whisper my deepest feelings to, to play sweet pillow games with, to trade soft caresses.

wyheree: When does your lady return?

Skyler: Not soon enough. I'm not even sure she'll remember me, though. ::watching Wy with gentle sleepiness, though there's a wicked twinkle in his eyes::

Skyler: You know what?

wyheree: ::tilts her head at Skyler as she does when he confuses her::

Skyler: Nothing I've ever done compares to the joy I felt in my Empress' arms. More lovers than I can remember have lain down for me. I've had plenty of fun in my life . . I've done naughty, fiendish things I'm all too impishly proud of. I have crept through bedroom windows on a thousand summer nights, visiting unheard of pleasures upon many impressionable young maidens. ..::he averted his gaze, seeming to speak from some distance field of remembrance::

Skyler: I?ve lounged in their fluffy beds of white pillows, and rejoiced in innocent flesh more times than I can count. I?ve swum bare-skinned in rivers on July afternoons without even a tingle of remorse, and I?ve gone sleigh riding on December midnights, long after bedtime, where snow flitted down as thick as trillium blossoms, and smoke plumed up from village chimneys. ..but none of that was even half as rapturous as my intimate moments with Jewell.

wyheree: ::lowers her eyes at his words:: She must truly be extraordinary..

Skyler: Yes. And now all those moments. ..::terribly soft now:: Are lost, in time. Like tears . . .in rain. For they pale in comparison to the nights I sat on that couch right over there! ::Points to the couch by the hearth:: Here in the common room of the Red Dragon and kissed the lips of the most beautiful woman in all the world, as the flames rose up behind us...

Skyler: ::one last bite of the banana, and it's gone. He flips the peel carelessly over his shoulder for someone to trip on later::

wyheree: ::a sad wistfulness darts across her eyes for a moment. Then, she uses her icy tendrils to snag the peel and dispose of it properly - it would never do for someone to break a limb::

Skyler: ::He didn't seem to be aware of Wy's actions. He strode toward the aforementioned couch and lowered himself delicately upon it, face down. He buried his face in a pillow and lay there quietly in his pajamas::

Skyler: Jewell . .. I miss you. ::muttered helplessly into the pillow, where no one could hear::

wyheree: ::takes her glass and curls up on a nearby seat, silver eyes fixed on the flames as she quietly sipped her wine::

Skyler: Wy -- let me ask you an important question. ::flipping over on his back, clasping his fingers together on his stomach::

Skyler: Do you believe . . . .::once more his voice came from some distant place::...that absence makes the heart grow fonder? ::this question posed as if it was the most puzzling, enigmatic issue ever to be considered::

wyheree: ::lowers her eyes, for her own experience with this question had been heartbreaking:: I believe it can if the heart is true, my friend.

Skyler: Really? ::he barely heard her, the wheels in his mind turning at breakneck speeds:: Because ...it certainly has for me.

wyheree: ::soft sigh as she take another sip of wine:: Your lady is most fortunate...

Skyler: ::he pulled several locks of his long black hair over his eyes, using them to hide behind, like a thick silken curtain. Now those gently sleepy cerulean pools were obscured::

Skyler: No, Wy. I am.

wyheree: ::hesitates, then smoothes the hair from his eyes::

Skyler: I wish I were older. I feel so young sometimes. It's tough being eighteen, and rich, and sexy, the blossom of health and wellness and youth. ::his tone revealed no jest; he seemed to be genuinely grievous:: Everyone in this city is older and wiser and more mature than me, it seems.

Skyler: Sometimes I feel looked down upon because I don't have magic powers, I don't have legions of troops at my command, or I don't have an extensive regal pedigree.

Skyler: ::draws his bangs back down over his eyes, not wanting this naked emotion to be seen on his face. Far too vulnerable at the moment::

wyheree: You have gifts that are far more valuable than those, my friend. ::smiles as she peeks through his hair:: You see things as they are, not as people wish you to see them. You are what you are without apology. Truth be told, there are times I envy you.

Skyler: Really? ::that got through to him, for that was what Jewell used to tell him. He parted silky black bangs just enough to fix on her with one deep blue eyeball:: Aww, Wyh. That's sweet.

wyheree: ::nods:: That is the simple truth.

Skyler: I need a foot massage. ::idly glancing down at his slippered feet, wriggling the toes.:: I have such pretty feet. Clean, smooth toenails. Perfect arches. No hair or calluses. And they smell clean and fresh.

wyheree: ::leans in closer with a smile:: I only soothe headaches..

Skyler: Well, I don't have a headache. ::regretfully::

wyheree: A forehead and temple massage may help you sleep.

Skyler: ::he shook his head:: The only thing that will help me sleep is my Empress, lying just before me, snug in the curve of my body, with my arm curled around her waist. So at the slightest whim I can flutter my lips across the nape of her neck. ::guttural, longing moan::

wyheree: ::unsure of what to say, she curls up on the floor between couch and hearth, chin on her knees, silver eyes gazing into the flames::
wyheree: Would that someone missed me as such... ::whispers into the fire::

Skyler: I must get my rest, now. ::he rose slowly from the couch. Dazedly he moved across the common room, like a little boy who'd gotten caught by the sandman in an unfavorable location, far away from the comfort of his bed, and was forced to make the entranced, dream-like walk back to his bedroom::

wyheree: ::eyes flicker as Skyler goes, then return to the fire::