04-03-2019, 02:42 PM
Ophanim
There’s danger looming on the horizon but he either doesn’t notice or he simply doesn’t care enough to do anything about it. Instead he stands there, wings spread to gather the warmth of the sun as it reflects off all the glowing gold across his body. His eyes remain closed as he listens to the breeze rustling through the trees and the sound of newborn children at play off in the distance. For him, all is at peace. Even at the sound of someone approaching, he does not move or even blink his eyes open to watch her as she draws closer and closer. The slow turning halo just keeps hovering over his head like a constant satellite.
But then she says his name and it is a voice he remembers rather easily. “Adna!” he replies with a smile before even turning his head to see her sad eyes and reserved demeanor. While she keeps her head low and establishes a distance between them, he is quick to bridge that gap and nuzzle his face to her cheek in a warm welcome. The scales hidden within him flourish across his skin to mimic hers as they turn all his gold and white to a fiery red and black. He has yet to master his mimicry, though, so the color is just a bit off as he examines her curiously.
“I’m sorry if you’ve looked for me. I’ve been… everywhere and nowhere I suppose,” he offers with a laugh as joyous and regal as Sunday morning Church bells. “What about you? Did you run away from home?”
His voice grows softer with his questions as he watches her curiously, those golden eyes searching every curve of her face for some clue as to her thoughts. Ophanim’s wings slowly curl against his side as his ears turn forward to catch her every word. She is all thorn and brambles. Adna keeps her sharp edges and yet she permits him fleeting glances into her soul when she speaks. How strange that she is so much more coarse than Starsin and yet softer at the same time. Maybe that’s why he visits her more than most others, gives her the second place in his heart. (He knows Starsin sits on the throne with him twisted around her finger. Ophanim could never breathe those three words to anyone else. But if he did, then Adna might be one to hear them.)
“Does it help if I said I missed you? Or is that stupid?” he says as his smile returns. He knows isn’t the brightest of the bunch or even the bravest when it comes down to it. Ophanim isn’t the best at anything but he finds some comfort in that fact.