Disclaimer : Nill and Ernest are both characters form Miwa Shiro's manga DOGS.
A peaceful afternoon was a rare thing to occur in the under town . Nevertheless,Ernest would always know how to make the most of those occasions.
He usually sat on a bench nearby a large window in the sacristy,with a lot of books scattered on the desk in front of him . He skimmed through some of them for a little time before finding the one to plunge himself in.
They were mostly philosophy books and old literature from nineteenth and eighteenth centuries.
He loved how it felt to pass his hand on the tiny braille characters and,in that very moment, see - yes,actually see - the places ,the people, the colors ,the concepts spring up from the blackboard of his mind and be alive in front of him.
He was enjoying one of those special times right then : it was early in the afternoon,and a bright day too,he could tell by the tiny rays of sun that climbed further and further on his shoulder as the time passed by.
He was hearing Nill's light footsteps on the church's floor,as ,he figured,she skipped in the pools of colorful light produced by the stained glass windows.
But she soon got bored of that game,and he heard her approaching with the rustle of her pretty dress all along.
She sat on the bench's end and just rested there,quiet. Without diverting his attention from his reading,he stretched his free arm out and began stroking her hair slowly and continuously,almost absently.
She accepted that kind of cuddling naturally,because at these times it seemed to have nothing to do with the usual squeaking and 'gothic-lolita-dressing-maniac -thing'.
So she was even surprised when he stopped all of a sudden and turned to face her.
A singular thought had come to his mind,perhaps because of the mixing sensations of the sun now caressing his entire back ,and her silky warm hair beneath his fingers,and the suggestion coming from the book ( An anthology of medieval ballads ).
Anyway,he found himself speaking it out even before he could reflect on it .
''You know Nill,from the very first time that I met you,I could tell you were Fair ,and that-''
here he paused and played tenderly with one of her locks
'' -Because all your self smells Fair . And your hair my dear,it feels as a liquid sun.''
Now she was stunned . He could sense her astonishment by her complete immobility ,so he regained his usual kidding manners and '' My,My, '' he said '' Am I not being a real poet,huh? Must be because of all this load of culture here !'' and he tweaked her cheek playfully.
But her skin was burning.