[P] Endless Sky

[Eik]

His ears perk forward and his chest leans in to the sound of Moira’s laughter. He would like to make her laugh more, but he isn't very good at things like that, so he simply enjoys the sound of it for now. Laughter had never been easy for him-- for some reason it made him feel like a fool-- but the sound of hers is mesmerizing. 

" I do not wear mine proudly like you do, but they are mine... For what it's worth"

He nods silently, seriously. So, she is stronger than she looks-- it does not surprise him. He takes a step closer with a sudden urge to touch her broken wings, but that is all- a single step. Anything else would be presumptuous, and the last thing he wants is for her to flee. He does not think she would, but she might, and he could not bear that possibility.

Then she yawns a massive yawn and ruffles her feathers like a sleepy bird. Jasmine? He is familiar with jasmine. The wealthy Solterrans plant it near their northern windows so that the sweet smell drifts above their heads at night. It is a scent he learned to associate with luxury and not necessarily peace-- but perhaps now when he roams the streets of the capital, delicate whiffs of jasmine will rise above the sand and salt of Solterra, and he will be reminded of Moira Tonnerre

The thought brings a small smile to his face.

"Thank you, we have jasmine in the desert." He sounds excited, and absently notes to himself how hard it is to find a good healer in Solterra. It was past time they invited the other courts to come and share their knowledge, or better yet send the Solterran youths out to learn from their neighbors. He quickly tucks the thought away for when he is alone, or with his sovereign, and savors Moira's company for however long he has left with her.

"Athos, Venus, and The Nameless."

Eik is shy to look at her as much as he does but he can't draw his gaze away from the way her coat seems to catch the sun and amplify it. A fiery challenge to our dear Solis-- he can't help but privately approve but would never say such a thing out loud. And as she talks, he pictures the places she's seen and the places he's seen and how strange and wonderful it is at all that their paths should converge-- if only for a single, far too short, sunrise. (He does not dare to hope for another, for the pain of dreams that never come true)

He has always loved stories but hers in particular is spun masterfully. Each word rings heavy with love and nostalgia and truth, and he feels honored to be gifted such a glimpse at her life. Captivated as he is by each and every one of her words, waiting in anticipation through the long quiet for the next, her question catches him completely off guard.

"Oh?" He looks behind him for a moment as though the backdrop knows the secret to why she would want to paint this scene. Nothing he sees offers an explanation, and as he listens to the morning the breeze playing in the trees sounds a bit like mocking laughter. He turns back to her, unable to wipe the dumbfounded expression off his face. "Eh, sure, if you want." If he had the slightest clue of how personal this was to her, he would be far less concerned by his own self-consciousness. As it is, he is skeptical this may be some sort of trick. "Well, only if I can see you again." He is greedy, and even though the sun is up his questions (demands now) keep coming. "Do you trust me enough yet to tell me where you live?" There is a rare playfulness to his voice, and a twinkle in his sleepy eyes.

-     -     -
There is no better way to know us
E I K
than as two wolves, come separately to a wood

@Moira :')

[Moira]

M O I R A

she looks into her mirror,
wishing someone could hear her, so loud

Interest courses through her as it does him, thrums in her blood, holds her captive until she leans nearer him. Absentmindedly she steps forward, their breaths mingle for but a moment as the space between them disappears, her eyes are wide, heart beats fast, and his smile takes her breath away. Of all the people she's met, Eik is completely and wholly himself. It puts her at ease, lets her relax and match his grin with her own, lights up the morning just as it does his skin. And he is a masterpiece.

Nations would crumble at his feet. She could watch them burn if it showed the same reds on his skin, the same orange licking down his spine, the same yellow crowning him as though a god. But Moira has no gods, and Eik will not be the first she worships.

Still, he would not make a bad one.

And with her thoughts all in a flurry, a bleary storm in the winter, he pulls her back. Back to heated days and baths for healing. To a time when her hands were pruned from the oils she mixed for her family, the water never stopped flowing in her corner of the study. There was always more to do, more to make, another person to see. By appointment or emergency, she'd seen her hands in red and white and yellow. She'd smelled the most lovely tonics and the worst that made her gag. All of it did not surmount to the pleasures of Denocte. Denocte - where there was never a dull moment. Where the gypsies roam freely and the party never truly ends. Her new residence.

The infirmaries there are now stocked to the brim with oils for soothing, for waking, for revitalizing. The shelves full of bowls that smell foul and fair alike, for healing, for unwinding, for helping. Cobwebs for patches and leaves for poultices. Perhaps here, it would not turn out so badly if she found some valerian with Eik to take home, too. "If you need help preparing it, send a bird to find me won't you?" There is that gentle amusement again, her eyes crinkle at the corners, her wings cling to her sides but shake gently as she inclines her head. All would be well. It always was.

Time ticks on, she can feel it passing through an hourglass, each grain of sand so fine as it hits the pile that grows below. And yet, the seconds do not seem long enough, her breath never quite normal when he speaks again. As he stumbles over words, thinking through her request, she almost offers to withdraw her statement. But no, he is a portrait she cannot wait to taste, to let her worries and stresses and fears ease out of herself and onto the page, to let his glory shine. Instead, earnest eyes meet his shy gaze. Head tilting to the side with a lopsided grin, Moira nods. "I'll deliver it personally then. But you'll have to tell me where that is, of course."

It's an easy statement. Uncomplicated. Moira never meant to keep the painting after all. For all those treasured memories she threw away, every canvas burned and walls splattered with color of her failings, this was one she would share with him. Biting her lip at his request, brows raise, and she nods. "In a library, most days. The halls are filled with music and laughter and life, but only at night. They are noisy, but happy." Her vagueness makes her frown - he deserves more than just that silly little piece. He's been nothing but forthcoming. Sighing, she continues. "It is called Denocte, where I rest my head and make my living. It is a good home."

Already having demanded his own dwellings, she knows she cannot parrot back such a simple question. What then is left for the two of them then? What more outside of goodbye? Sorrow pierces her for a moment at that, a melancholy and longing she cannot quite find the explanation for. "Will you remember me when we part, Eik?" Did her life have any importance after all?

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@Eik <3 i'm so sorry this took way too long to reply to, please forgive me ;;

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[Eik]

Eik becomes achingly aware of the color of her eyes in the morning sun and the smell of her skin and how close she is, and how his body buzzes in response to all these things like so many of lady florentine's bees. He may or may not be sweating, just a little behind the ears... he shifts his weight uncomfortably and hopes she doesn't notice.

They go somewhere together, each in the other's thoughts, and maybe when they come back to the present they are both a little different for it.

Or maybe they are both exactly the same, just closer.

(explore enough maybes and surely you'll find a certainly)

"If you need help preparing it, send a bird to find me won't you?" He request is followed with a warm, gentle smile he returns with his own weak one. Send a bird? He'd just as soon go and find her himself, but he supposes that would be impractical...

And then the subject moves on to her painting and its delivery. Eik does not know what he would do with a painting of himself, but he does not want to offend Moira by asking. Unlike most Solterrans, he does not have his own private quarters in the day court- during the day he's writing or reading in a plain room decorated only with a table, and at night he sleeps in the canyons or near the oasis. Perhaps Seraphina or Bexley might have a better idea what to do with a painting of himself-- he makes a note to ask one of them, later.

"I live in Solterra, to the East." He briefly looks toward the land of the rising sun. "You must send a bird when you're on the way, so an escort can meet you at the edge of the desert." He says this with utter seriousness, afraid she may take his warning too lightly and decide to try crossing the Mors unguided... The journey would be simple enough by air, but by foot it is treacherous for newcomers and natives alike. "Please." Eik would be absolutely horrified if anything happened to her on route to the day court.

Much to his dismay, he hasn't seen much of Denocte other than the Arma Mountains. The tension between day and night has made him hesitant to go- not out of fear for his own safety or anything like that, he simply doesn't want to say or do anything to disturb the tense, delicate peace between two nations that share a dark history. "I've never been," he admits, enjoying the way she describes her home (how different from the way some Solterrans do, spitting each word between clenched teeth) so simple and true. "But I know it is that way," he gestures with his nose to where the Night kingdom lies, easy to recognize with the Arma Mountains rising almost as high as Veneror. He grins briefly, cheekily, and then is self conscious of the space between them once more.

And then she asks, with a certain feeling he can't pin down in words, "Will you remember me when we part, Eik?" The idea of forgetting her strikes him as amusing. Moira Tonnerre must not realize how special she is, which makes her all the more unique. How brilliantly out of place she would be among the violence and vanity of Solterra. "Yes, I so believe so," he humors himself with the understatement, and a small grin tugs at his lips.

He takes one last step forward and reaches out his muzzle to shyly brush her cheek in farewell. "It would be impossible to forget you, Moira Tonnerre." He is afraid to ask about himself, afraid to hear how forgettable he is, so he does not. It is hard to draw himself away from her, but he has a task to do and a kingdom to return to. "Safe travels until we meet again, be it Denocte or Solterra or in between," he says in parting, turning reluctantly to walk up the river in search of the plant that will bring him sleep. He wonders absently if sleep, when it comes, will bring him dreams of orange, red, white, and black.

-     -     -
There is no better way to know us
E I K
than as two wolves, come separately to a wood

@Moira no apologies needed! I could continue this thread FOREVER but I'm wrapping it up here so we can have another soon <3

[Moira]

M O I R A

she looks into her mirror,
wishing someone could hear her, so loud

With each fallen pebble of sand, their time together grows shorter, each second stretching and bending, until he speaks, he moves, he lives. These people, she remembers from time to time, are not mere paintings or patients. Just as she does, they, too, live and breathe. Eik awakens within her the yearning to know more of him, of the Easy where he calls home. When orange eyes turn toward the desert, they see only an expanse with few plants littering the surface, dunes in the distant raising and falling, and an emptiness that echoes the hole in her soul. Giving her a warning, sharply she jerks her attention back to the dappled man, the kind man, the gentle man. What causes such concern? Moira longs to ask more questions, but even she cannot argue with the pull of slumber which she's sought all night, and he seems not quite eager, really rather reluctant, but wanting to get back on his way.

It is a soft sigh that slips past her lips, a small smile that tugs the corners of her lips up, a small nod acknowledging his request. "That makes it rather hard to surprise you then, doesn't it?" amusement drips in the words, a teasing note tickling her throat, but it makes her sad. Surprises, by nature, Moira herself does not enjoy receiving. However, if it would make another smile or happier, she would not mind surprising another. "Of course I will do ask you ask, Eik. Perhaps one day I will show you the Court where I live." Rolling over the thought, she decides he would be a rather lovely image there. A light in the dark, a star to brighten the hallways. Eik would be kingly there, too, striding down corridors and through the stalls of the court. As plain as he thinks he is, she sees him as something far more, something almost magical.

Quietly, a shiver of pleasure slips up her spine, a blush creeps over her face, when at last he tells her he would not forget her. Rising in her throat is a lump, unwelcome, unbidden, and her eyes are wet for but a moment. Covering tumultuous emotions with a tittering laugh, the phoenix looks to the ground to regain her composure. "I dearly hope to see you again, sometime, Eik. May your ancestors guide you in your quest." Dipping her head, the woman turns toward the mountain range he so kindly pointed her toward. It is much too far to make the trek right now, in her harried state, and so she turns once more to go back from whence she came. Back to Asterion and Dusk and the Cliffs where dreams are whispered to the seas. Moira does not look back, but she wishes to for one last look.

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@Eik ;u; presh babes must part. I hope they do meet again soon !!!

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