I should have loved a thunderbird instead
at least when spring comes they roar back again
He does not expect that when he will be greeted, it will be from someone behind him.
Curious, he angles his head to see the girl stumble forward and he frowns, wondering at what would cause her to behave in such a manner. He looks around and sees the brightness of the fireflies around him and it suddenly occurs to him that they could have frightened her. He doesn’t feel guilt or fear but he doesn’t hesitate to absorb the illusion, letting it fade and leaving the only light the glow from his body.
“I’m sorry,” he says, his breathy voice genuine for whatever may have caused her sudden stumbling forward but not apologetic for the magic itself. “Are you okay?” His dark purple eyes sweep upward and catch the blood smeared across her forehead. “Did you hurt yourself?” He has no way to try and heal her; he has no way to ease her pain, but he asks anyway, feeling the empathy of it race through him.
Aegean has not spent much time around fighters and was not a particularly rambunctious child so he doesn’t know what it is like to injure so casually and he feels the faint twinge of worry in his chest.
“My name is Aegean,” he offers as an olive branch—wondering if he has perhaps ruined the diplomatic mission before he had even gotten a chance to talk to another. (Kensa would never trust him to represent Hyaline ever again.) “I come from Hyaline and simply wanted to see how things are going in Taiga.”
He wants to ask her more—does she live here, how does she like it, why does she stay—but he feels like he has already said and done too much so he remains quiet, watching instead and letting the silence stay.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead
(I think I made you up inside my head.)
