no one really knows what the ocean hides
but you and I, bird, we’re gonna find out
There’s something exhilarating about the discomfort she infests him with. It echoes throughout his body and nearly reaches out to her. Perhaps, it’s her predatory instincts that make it possibly to taste fear – to almost dance in sync with a racing heartbeat. Reia’s eyes scour him, scrutinizing every detail including when his muscles flinch in response to her nip.
But it isn’t just the nip that makes him uncomfortably shift beneath her piercing gaze. He stumbles over his words and desperately gropes for answers to throw at her before she can advance again and repeat. They are already close; his scent slithers into her nostrils, his heat reaches toward her. An amused smile almost presses to her lips, but she holds back and gives him the opportunity to finally come to a decision – or lack thereof – regarding her coy and teasing question. Reia’s stomach flutters with excitement and humor until finally it surfaces in the form of airy laughter. ”Yeah, okay,” she quips in between laughs, unable to suppress it any longer. They may be taller and leaner, but this confirms how young they still are at heart and how romantic relations are still far beyond their true comprehension and comfort. It will be a while, maybe longer for her than Pteron, until life pulls them in directions of families and children. The idea seems so distant when she locks eyes with him and reads the uncertainty of his expression.
”Pteron,” she flatly states his name once her bouts of laughter have settled and quiet. Her own face stiffens except for a playful gleam, ”we need to work on how you talk to girls. I thought you would be a lot smoother by now.” A smile breaks the thin line of her lips, but it’s lopsided and a near replication of her father’s. Naturally, her thoughts assume it’s him and not the fact that she (or her family) is intimidating. Mother and father always seem at ease in her company, frequently smiling and wrapping her in warm embraces. Surely, she can’t be scary.
But such is the thought process of one still so young and inexperienced with life’s obstacles.
Ruffling her feathers, Reia peers up at the trees and notices how some pines are charred by her fiery descent. She says nothing of it, choosing to instead move on. ”So, why Taiga?” She doesn’t confess how disheartened she was to lose her only friend in Loess – especially since they are rare and far between for her – because Reia refuses to exhibit weakness or disdain in front of him, at least for now. ”Well, you’re not far away so I can visit all I want,” a devilish smile dashes across her face as it whips to the side to face him, finally looking away from the canopy. The fire crackling down her poll and crest hisses. And for some reason, Pteron’s last statement suddenly echoes through her thoughts. She doesn’t take offense to it, still in the mindset of pointing fingers, she simply adds, ”Honestly, I don’t think you could even court that log over there.”
and I'll be next to you when the lights go out
@[Pteron]