His closeness seems to cause a slight change in her. Levi may not be able to sympathize with the emotions of others, but he wasn’t blind to the signs of them. Her head dips, her shoulders fall, she seems to sink into herself, collapsing, barricading her heart from the dragon who taunts the damsel.
Regardless, he presses his lips to her cheek, she does not waiver like he assumes she will. He is expecting her to wield her magic in defense then, he braces himself for it, but instead he feels her shudder under his touch. A small movement, so subtle yet powerful. It awakens something in his belly, a type of ember he has never felt before. The heat from his anger melts, melts into his guts, where this new feeling lurks.
He gently pulls the blue skin under his mouth between his teeth, careful not to damage the already slightly broken skin. Iron and salt overwhelm his taste and he pulls back slightly, content with this small prize.
He didn’t think that shudder was fear.
Her body prepares for movement and he is surprised when instead of adding to the distance between them she reduces it. For the first time in his life a mare brings herself next to him, pressing into his side the same way he had seen his mother comfort his father so many times before. Her strength is not aggressive, not boastful, but it is there. She is warm against his cold, river soaked skin. Warm in a way completely different from his fire, gentle yet steadfast - burning with the only sort of fire he had no knowledge of, yet burning all the same. He doesn’t realize she hasn’t been breathing until she draws in a sharp breath. Her blue eyes hold a look he is not used to seeing, one he is not quite sure how to interpret.
“I want a friend.” Her mouth moves and his eyes glide down from her heavy lases to her lips. Her words are pure and simple, far from what he was expecting. To him, her straightforward answer is more mystifying than any shrouded flirtation or snide comment. She is confusing him at every step.
She may be blue, white, and soft like the sky, but she was made of iron and salt – and something about that combination left his legs motionless.
He searches for his own words then, but he finds nothing. A friend? Where is the line between friend and acquaintance anyway?
She had taken his anger, his fire is quiet, and he is at a loss for what to do with this statement she had given him. He had asked the question in the first place, but now he is disappointingly unequiped to continue the conversation.
He feels wholly not himself. A shiver shakes his shoulders, despite the mellow warmth of summer. The hours spent in the chilling water had cooled him more than he realized; now that it was clear there would be no fight between the two strangers his limbs seemed almost numb.
Levi pulls away from her then. Early on in his life he had decided he would lean on no one else. To work with, to cooperate with an ally, that was different. The way he wished to lean into her, to feel her, made him feel unsettled. He didn’t want to be warmed, comforted, soothed, pacified. And he wasn’t capable of giving – or he didn’t want to believe himself capable of giving.
So, he walked into the sun, out from under the dappled light into a place where the sand was warm and laid down with a grunt. He could have used his fire in some way, but he would rather just take in the warmth given by the god of fire. He looks to her, still as unsure as a colt, but trying not to show it.
Levi
so scream you, out from behind the bitter ache.
@[Rapture]