Golden eyes watching our every move
Losing time without the sun or moon
He is so closely attuned to her in the darkness that it is impossible to miss her subtle reactions. With no one else to share this silent space, to interrupt them from one another, there is only one thing to focus on. It makes each small movement and breath seem much more audible, more noticeable, than it might have been in the world of light. At first he had thought it simply her normal reaction to new things, to a mixed curiosity and fear. Certainly anyone might have such reactions to entering an entirely new world.
But they are alone, and with no one and nothing aside from her to focus on, it soons become clear there is something more. He can feel the subtle heat from her skin, the way she shivers each time he inadvertently brushes against her. Perhaps that is why, unconsciously at first, he had begun to touch her more. There’s something wholly pleasing in those small reactions, and as he becomes more aware of them, he grows equally more entranced, more curious.
Even now though, he has trouble putting a name to what stirs between them. It is something he has never experienced before. But he finds himself wishing to know more, to discover more. To find what causes her to draw closer rather than pull away.
I think it’s lovely. The admission brings a faint smile to his lips, an appreciation for her candor. “Me too,” he says softly, his lips hovering once more just over her skin, breath a mere whisper over her warm flesh. He skims his muzzle lightly along the sleek curve of her neck, this time more deliberately, his actions fueled by his curiosity.
She stares out into the seaside kingdom for a moment, and Ether stills, watching her rather than the view outside. When she hesitates, he shows little reaction beyond a slow blink of his yellow eyes. Her comment confuses him, and for a moment he can only stare, wondering what it is she asks for. He had always been different, but truth be told, he could not pinpoint why. Was it because he loved the shadows so well? Because he had lived a terribly lonely life? Or perhaps it was merely because he had known the love of his parents, and knew that kindness existed in the world. So many reasons and yet none at all, because surely he is not the only one to have known these things.
“I… don’t know,” he admits, a faint frown tugging at his lips then, betraying his bewilderment.
ether