Golden eyes watching our every move
Losing time without the sun or moon
For a moment, Ether merely stares at the stallion before him. Were it not for the eerie, unblinking yellow of his gaze, he might have been just another shadow. Silent and intangible and entirely unnoticeable. Even when he finally stirs he makes no sound beneath the weight of his own body. The perfect predator, if he’d ever had the inclination.
Perhaps fortunately, he hasn’t the inclination. His heart is still too good and pure for such things to settle in his thoughts.
He isn’t entirely naive, however. He has seen enough of the world to know how much can hide behind a benign smile and pretty words. If he hadn’t been siblings with Heartfire, perhaps he might have held a less cynical view of the world. But with her, it is impossible not to see and understand at least some of what lies beneath the belly of the beast. And he thinks Woolf is too swift to agree, too easy and slick.
But then, he is not the one he had made a deal with. He wouldn’t pretend to understand his sister. Nor would he doubt her ability when it came to handling these affairs. No doubt she understands very well the nature of the man who she had tasked Ether to find so many weeks ago now.
It’s odd though. They are siblings, but one might never guess it. Ether would’ve gladly called him brother, but he gets the distinct sense Woolf would not do the same. Unless he could be of use to him, he thinks. Then he might deign to call it so. Still, it’s odd. A blood mage who doesn’t even bother to know his own blood.
Without a word, he steps back. It takes only a thought to bend the shadows to his whim. His illness impedes him, and they seem stiff, but still they obey. Until a portal beckons. His yellow gaze settles on his kin, inscrutable as they consider him. The faint sound of waves can be heard, gulls screaming and the scent of salt telling them Nerine waits on the other side.
ether