His amusement only serves to set the frown deeper into her features. Yet, inexplicably, it also loosens something inside her chest. The tension that had been coiled there, cranking tighter and tighter with each day her parents continued to break further apart, eases slightly. Maybe it’s the physical act of kicking rocks, or maybe it’s the fact that he doesn’t seem to judge her for her foul mood. Whatever it is, it keeps her rooted in place instead of flying into a surly rage.
Her lips almost twitch into a smile when his question is interrupted by the rock smacking into his chest. Any amusement vanishes when he finally does manage to get the question out however. Or rather, the accusation. Eyes narrowing, she steps forward aggressively just as his retaliatory stone plunks into her slightly flared wing.
Yelping, Luminesce jumps back, startled. This is swiftly followed by an offended huff as her wing snaps wide, feathers ruffling as she shakes the stone loose. “Maybe you should shove your head in a mud puddle,” Lumi snaps in response. It’s not a terribly clever comeback, but she’s too annoyed to think of a better one right now. Of course, if this were any of her siblings, that might have devolved into a wrestling match as they tried to shove each other's heads into a mud puddle. Not that she would admit it.
Though his questions do not erase her antagonism, they do stay her hoof before she manages to lob the rock back at him. She glares at him for a long moment before exhaling noisily and glancing away. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she grumbles, refusing to look back at him. Of course, that was a lie. She did want to talk about it, but she wasn’t ready to share her life’s story with a stranger. So instead she glares at the river for a long moment before another gusty sigh escapes her. “I guess a swim sounds okay.”
@ibrahim