through the darkness to the dawn
He only barely remembers what answer he’d given. When he tries to reach through his mind to retrieve it, he finds the memory gone. Or, at the very least, buried in mud he can’t seem to dig through.
He feels every bit a child as she kisses his cheek, praised for something he has no memory of. And this troubles him deeply, Lumineer, and he thinks that he should dredge himself out of the depths and return to the warmth and safety of the shore. It feels wrong to be rewarded for doing something he hadn’t meant to do and a bashful heat finally pools in his cheeks, every ounce of heat left in his body gathering in the stretch of flesh that had felt the brush of her lips.
He is such a simple boy, so easily manipulated, and he follows her back to the river’s edge. His own teeth chatter and he longs for the sort of magic that would instantly grant them warmth. Were he not so cold, perhaps his embarrassment would have been enough to heat him from the inside out. (Embarrassment born from her admonishment -- he had not meant to keep her in the water so long and, indeed, has no memory of inviting her into the current).
She need not use magic to spur him promptly into action and he sidles up beside her, stretching a wing across her back and using it to hold her close. The most he can offer her is the slowly regenerating heat of his body. His teeth continue to chatter as he exhales a shaky breath.
“That wasn’t very smart of us,” he murmurs and then fashions up a smile that struggles to stick to his trembling mouth.
@[rosebay]