He fidgets beneath the curve of her neck, feeling the subtle warmth of both of their skins in closeness. Quietness consumes them both for a moment and he feels the heaviness of his eyelids as they threaten to close with every steady blink across the deep navy of his irises. Perhaps he could stay here forever, trapped in this snowy white world with a stranger, instead of facing what awaits him at home - though now he cannot say what he will find there if he did return. A funeral spire for his father? Or the once-king on his deathbed, feeble and gaunt with a disease that has tore up his insides. Warden’s white nose twitches at the uncomfortable thought, pressing the flat of his forehead against her shoulder now a bit forcefully - like a child, pouting and hiding their face.
I want you to show it to me, Warden.
You don’t want to see it, he doesn’t say. He remains silent - for a boy, he is very cautious with his words and chooses them wisely; he knows his thoughts are rude, so he keeps them to himself. His mouth remains in a thin line, unimpressionable and neutral. Glassheart’s movement lets him know that she is looking towards the distance, where the snow melts away into the tropical landscape of Tephra, miles upon miles from where they now stand. Warden does not follow her gaze, but continues to stare into the gold of her skin, his eyes hard beneath a furrowed brow. He’s ready to tell her no, to refuse her of this request, to explain that the darkness here is nothing like the darkness he finds at home.
Please.
This causes a single ear to flip towards her and a little huff of breath to leave his ivory nostrils. He lifts his face slightly, suddenly feeling less defiant. “You do?” He asks this but already knows her answer, moving away from her with a single, sweeping step. Warden’s bald face turns to where she gazes, his chin near the deep auburn of his sloping shoulder, the cold air pulling the obsidian black of his forelock away from his eyes.
“Okay.”
The boy agrees, turning his body to stand just before her in the direction of Tephra. He stares into the nothingness for a moment, his internal thoughts easily written across his youthful face. “Let’s go.”
-- warden
@[Glassheart] <3
