clarity, paint me bright like stars in the dark of night
She shook her head when he congratulated her, confused by the stillness, by the space that he kept so carefully between them. She wasn’t used to feeling so cautiously separate from others and it surprised her to feel that there was a pang in her chest, a slight pinch of hurt. It furrowed her brow for a moment before she shook again, trying to get rid of the ache spreading there. Her light eyes found his and stayed there for a moment, studying him, trying to discern the shadows in his eyes, the flatness of his expression.
Would it be so bad to just let loose?
“I didn’t tell you so that you could congratulate me,” she said softly, musing as she considered him again. “But thank you, I suppose.” It seemed like an odd reaction to her story, an ill-fitting one that didn’t seem to sit right, but she accepted it as one of the seemingly many strange behaviors of his. She brightened a little at his apology, and subsequent invitation. “I would love that!” Her pretty face glowing with pleasure.
“I love finding new places.”
For another brief moment, silence reigned over them again and her shoulders twitched a little at the quiet of it. She met his icy gaze again and then took a step away, opening up the space that he so seemed to crave. She pawed at the ground absentmindedly and then turned to him with a wicked gleam in her eye. “If you’re bad with people, maybe you’re better with racing.” She took a jogging step away from him and then turned her head back to give him a challenging grin. “I bet you can’t beat me to the other side.”
On one way, she had a feeling that he’d be a challenge.
On the other, with the power from the Quest, zipping through her veins, she felt invincible.
And besides - anything was better than the silence.