the way you kiss me will work each time // Dawn

[Rhaegor]

and I could easily lose my mind; the way you kiss me will work each time
calling me to come back to bed, singing Georgia on my mind

Given half a minute of consideration, it becomes obvious that his best friend has plotted out his life more thoroughly than she has. Dawn sees him as king one day, as a father to one of his so called girlfriend's (that she should not consider herself one of them is a tribute to the blindness of friendship and youth) children, happy and stoic and silent. Rhae himself barely knows what his next day is going to look like, never mind what his life might shape up to be; all he knows is that he has friends who are infinitely too good for him, who do for him acts of service that he can never hope to repay them for.

And yet, it is a tribute to her optimism and her grace that she sees such a delightful future for him; for she has come from a broken family, or at least, she knows of her family's broken history. Rhaegor has alone known the unity of his mothers. Yes, they have their drama, what with each of them having children from other stallions, but he had been raised alongside those children such that the rifts were only seen and not felt. Abysm, Velk, and Valdis were as much his siblings as Warlight and Sviko; in this way, he comes from a place that merits him having an optimistic outlook on his future; and yet he doesn't, and this sweet, darling girl does.

A call rings out across the salty earth of the Cove, coming from the direction of the ocean; he barely hears it over the crashing of the waves, but by the grace of the gods, he does. Halting, the prince feels for a moment his exhaustion all too heavily; but when a figure appears and gradually becomes the form of Dawn, the fatigue lifts, as if the girl brings with her an invaluable clarity.

He stumbles to close the distance between them, failing to account for the lay of the land in his haste to be with her. When they meet, the first thing they do is embrace, each holding the weight of the other and in turn bestowing their weight, too. A mutual understanding. An equal trust. Her pale yellow skin reminds him of her namesake, causing the boy to squeeze his eyes shut as tears threaten to spill down that very same skin. Trembling, his lips move against her in silent prayer, a thanks to whatever gods remain in the wasteland for this small miracle.

"Dawny," he answers, voice raw with emotion (and with plague). A cool wind blows, but he finds its effect negligible with his best friend so close. "Yes, yes, I'm okay - and you are too." He pulls her closer one last time, body shaking with the effort, before stepping back to consider the shifter's lovely countenance. She is not strikingly beautiful like Chryseis, but instead radiates the quiet grace of one who understands more than she ought to - and that in and of itself inspires a kind of affection in Rhaegor, and admiration that he holds for now but her.

"Dawn, I'm sorry I left - I had to go to Tephra... And I've decided to stay, and now I - I - it's not my place to ask you to come with me." The tears that were in his eyes before return full force, spilling over his cheeks; he doesn't duck his head to hide them, knowing that in the presence of Dawn, his emotions are safe. "But I wish I could. I miss you. God, I just want you safe."

Rhaegor

@[Dawn]