05-21-2020, 06:18 PM
halcyon
a tight-pressed line keeping
a wildfire on the inside
a wildfire on the inside
As they both stare into the rippling waters of the hidden jungle pond, the light breeze that would generally rustle the verdant boughs and vines around the feline pair had all but disappeared as if holding its breath in the same way they were. A silver fish, flashy and braver than its kin, momentarily comes to investigate and then a slight shift of his weight underwater sends the slippery thing into hiding once more. Halcyon exhales in frustration, but stays focused as best he can, what with his interest in Titanya growing.
A brief grin pulls back his lips at the woman's inquiry ─ he interprets her tone as a joke, though perhaps it had not been such a thing. “Nothing like that,” he says quietly, bright eyes still glued onto the gentle rocking of the azure liquid beneath them, “Her closest friend invited us to visit her and her son in Loess, and then while we were there ─” he pauses for a moment, breathless as another silver fish braves the space between their striped legs. Titanya makes a move for it, and catches nothing but water. Halcyon can't help the small smirk that twitches at the corner of his mouth at her exclamation. “─ my brother and the woman's son went missing. Stolen away, by one of the other kingdoms. So we stayed until they were returned.”
Halcyon shares the story so matter-of-factly, as if those weeks without Cormorant and months without Alcinder hadn't been the most tumultuous he had experienced in his young life. But it's easy to talk about now that he and Cormorant are in Ischia, safely, with Aquaria.
He's surprised when Titanya decides to share her past, then confused when she mentions a land whose name he had never heard before. And surprised, again, as she confides in him a death and a rebirth. Halcyon loses all concentration for the task at hand as his rounded feline ears perk up and his eyes turn to look at his feline companion. “I didn't know that was even possible,” he whispers incredulously as he continues to gaze with his bright green eyes, “How... how old are you... in this lifetime?”
Movement catches his eyes and he reverts them to the water, just as a collection of fish dart into the area that divides Halcyon and Titanya ─ his front paw jabs for one and catches it loosely, so when he pulls his claws from the water the fish comes with it, but not securely ─ and all of a sudden it is airborne between them, flopping frantically, laughter falling from Halcyon's ajar mouth.
@[Titanya]
“”
A brief grin pulls back his lips at the woman's inquiry ─ he interprets her tone as a joke, though perhaps it had not been such a thing. “Nothing like that,” he says quietly, bright eyes still glued onto the gentle rocking of the azure liquid beneath them, “Her closest friend invited us to visit her and her son in Loess, and then while we were there ─” he pauses for a moment, breathless as another silver fish braves the space between their striped legs. Titanya makes a move for it, and catches nothing but water. Halcyon can't help the small smirk that twitches at the corner of his mouth at her exclamation. “─ my brother and the woman's son went missing. Stolen away, by one of the other kingdoms. So we stayed until they were returned.”
Halcyon shares the story so matter-of-factly, as if those weeks without Cormorant and months without Alcinder hadn't been the most tumultuous he had experienced in his young life. But it's easy to talk about now that he and Cormorant are in Ischia, safely, with Aquaria.
He's surprised when Titanya decides to share her past, then confused when she mentions a land whose name he had never heard before. And surprised, again, as she confides in him a death and a rebirth. Halcyon loses all concentration for the task at hand as his rounded feline ears perk up and his eyes turn to look at his feline companion. “I didn't know that was even possible,” he whispers incredulously as he continues to gaze with his bright green eyes, “How... how old are you... in this lifetime?”
Movement catches his eyes and he reverts them to the water, just as a collection of fish dart into the area that divides Halcyon and Titanya ─ his front paw jabs for one and catches it loosely, so when he pulls his claws from the water the fish comes with it, but not securely ─ and all of a sudden it is airborne between them, flopping frantically, laughter falling from Halcyon's ajar mouth.
“”