Pitiful, ridiculous. What’s the difference, really?
It is not the first time that word has been used to describe him. Others had never been able to grasp his hang up over his brother’s death, why it haunted him even years later. So, they condescendingly called him pitiful, never understanding the gaping hole of innumerable questions left in death’s wake, only seeing a moping young man content to wallow in misery.
His eyes are not fully Baltian with their bright blue color, but the pupils are still cat-like and they narrow further in his misunderstanding of her statement. Of course, the first person that he meets in this new land is as patronizing as the rest. A sudden flame of angry pain licks at his heart, heats the blood coursing through his veins. Tension bristles almost tangibly through the air as he lets out a low sound of resentment.
His first instinct is to look away from her, but something compels him to hold her gaze. It’s a wise choice, for the look she gives him is a far from condescending and it instantly douses the fire within him. Well, at least he hasn’t said something he might regret. But there’s still time.
So, Beqanna. He glances around, taking in the scenery as he wonders what secrets its beauty might hold. Even if it does not have his family concealed in her wings, maybe it has something that will help him anyway. The laugh she offers is sweet with a musical quality that he finds appealing. The gentle melodies of calling birds, the clicking choruses of insects, even the seductive songs of sirens of the deep have always soothed his tortured soul. He notices a similar effect in her voice, but her question catches him off guard.
He does not understand the possible suggestion that families do not love each other. Though contentious as they are, Baltians and Stratosians are different sides of the same coin when it comes to family. His tone is defensive, almost offended when he responds, “Of course.. do you not love yours?”
The feathers of his forelegs rustle quietly in his frustration. He’s not sure where he was expecting this conversation to go, but this is not quite it. Perhaps he should bring the topic back to simpler subjects.
“Have you lived in Beqanna long? What is it like?”
@
margot