[private] but your savage love

[Gale]

Gale this is going to break me clean in two -- this is going to bring me close to you Gale is accustomed to confidence in others, and that the golden girl has the self-assurance tied to striking good looks like hers comes as no surprise. Living so near to Ischia, the nereids and their shore-bound relatives have accustomed him to the ethereal, but he is more than capable of appreciating Aela's dimpled beauty. A few month ago, he would have acknowledged it as well, but he has grown wiser since then. The darkness around them has had less of an effect than the knowledge that he is Cursed. He's learned much in that that time, can even do things like grow a pair of white wings (the right marked with a crimson V). He quickly does just that, flaring them wider as she calls him a pretty target, and afterwards folds them neatly at his sides. He shrugs in acknowledgment of her compliment. They’re not quite like his old wings, but Gale has the most practice with an osprey shape. The darkness around them is empty, but Gale does not place much trust in the Common Lands. They are the perfect place to search for a thrill though, and as the girl suggests it Gale wonders if perhaps that is what has drawn her here. Her confidence seems well-earned, and Gale’s curiosity is piqued. Could he disarm her, he thinks, taking a step closer? She’d not fought off the sunset, and he’d seen no sign of protective armor as he’d so painstakingly scrutinized her earlier. The thought brings an invisible blush across his navy face, which he ignores in favor of answering as if she were genuinely interested in his answer. “I’m on my way to the Field. It’s taken a while to find the best routes on land. I’m used to flying.” Learning new lands in the dark is not the most ideal, but Gale has adapted. Gale has still not quite met her gaze, and when he does she’s smiling in a way that makes his stomach flip. She looks like she knows it too, and the wariness that hadn’t left him grows heavier still. She might not be using her magic, but there are other powers and Gale is far from immune. So he smiles despite his still-present caution, and with that barrier gone asks: “What’s your name? I’m Gale.” @[Aela]