[AW] gone with the fallen leaves

[Asterion]

Asterion in sunshine and in shadow* Until she smiles, he can’t quite tell if she’s glad to see him. He’s about ready to look away when his gaze catches the corner of it, and the gesture is enough to make him relax a little more, to duck his chin briefly to his chest in echo of her own nod. Asterion doesn’t miss her cough. Politely he averts his gaze, looking out at the rolling hills beyond her little copse of trees, where bison dot the yellowing grasses – but he knows what that rasp means, and wonders how long she’s been journeying. On top of that, he wonders if anyone planned to come to Novus, or if they all, like the two of them, found themselves here entirely by accident. “I know the feeling,” he says lightly, meeting her eyes again. “My pleasure, Himawari. I wasn’t going to leave you for the buffalo.” He likes the way her name rolls off his tongue; it puts him in mind (a little whimsically, but then he is a fanciful sort of creature) of the hills around them, all smooth dips and valleys. He shakes his head at her apology, waving it off as the wind rises again, leaning on them, rattling the leaves. For the first time, he thinks of the strange stone walls of the Dusk Court keep as appealing. “Not at all. If it puts you at ease, from what I’ve seen so far, this place is…very safe.” The pause is perhaps misleading; it’s not borne of uncertainty but of something akin to disappointment. Asterion was too young, too full of stories of heroes and knights, to want a world that was safe. Her next question only further reminds him of it. “Not remotely,” he answers, and the smile on his dark lips slips into more of a rueful grin. “It was an accident. But I’ve found it’s a good place. Do you think you’ll be staying?” He asks the last gently, unwilling to drive home the point that she is not, perhaps, wherever she’d meant to be. At least she was in good company. @Himawari awww she's sweet