He almost can’t believe it’s her. The small bluebird that flits through the sky and comes to hover near him is like something from a dream. She shifts, her mouth saying his name in a way that nearly causes his heart to leap from his chest, and Zeik hovers a few more times before rolling gently and shifting back to his original body. The form seems strange, its been so long since he’s been Zeik. But Felinae is there, finally there, breathing, whole, beautiful. He’s silent. He can’t move, can’t force himself to wrap her in his embrace because he’s frozen from the shock of it all.
A year. They had been without each other for a year. His dark head rises, auburn eyes flashing with a feverish excitement as he takes a hesitant step forward. “Felinae?” He breaths, almost like she isn’t real. His head drops, ears falling back before he retracts his step and squares, feeling the all-too-familiar weight of shame grow heavy on his shoulders. “Can you ever forgive me?” He whispers, teeth grinding together with the pain that sentence causes him.
There is so much more that he wants to say, so much more that he want to know. Where was Besra? Could he see her? Did she know about him? But they fall behind the one that lingers in the air between them now. For the first time in a long time, he feels helpless.
Z E I K
-everything we are and used to be is buried and gone-