[I’m not like them but I can pretend.]
[Kurt Cobain]

He loved the smile that split her maw, spreading with easiness and friendliness even as he at first ignored her gaze. There was a fledgling happiness to it, as if it pioneered in unknown territory, and he responded in kind, though his own smile sported relief. At the tilt of her head he responded likewise, greeting her unique optics with his own generic, well-meaning stare. A thrill ran through him at her casual address towards him; a testament, evidently, to the endurance of the bonds they had once formed. “Trust me, I know.” Noche affirmed her observation of the passing of time with a sheepish grin. “I guess I just couldn’t stay away.”

Miya had more to say and he pivoted ever so slightly to face her, bemused at the onslaught of questions. With an almost imperceptible shake of his head he shifted forward, letting his collar fur mingle with that of the pewter princess. It was his turn to push the boundaries, but he did it purely out of a thoughtless happiness with disregard for any potential threat in his stance. He mused as he laughed, with a twinkle in his eye and a not oft-seen vulnerability. “As to my passing through, I honestly can’t say. I felt a bit of a magnetic attraction to this place, but perhaps it was just you. So I guess my future is dependent on yours.” The boyish charm in his words prevented any strength of passionate emotion, but he was excited to see Miya. In his opinion, it had been far too long since he’d conversed with anyone, and the emerging bubbly creature was both a comfort and a breath of fresh air. This he took in now, letting it push aside the blood in his veins, feeling his heart throb faster in his chest.

“I’ve been here and there.” Noche smirked, wiggling his arched eyebrows tauntingly. “If you haven’t heard me it’s because I’ve been alone. I know I’m a bit of a stomper, but I crept up on you pretty well today, huh?” Dropping his body low over his front paws, his muzzle below her chin, he adopted a secretive voice that plummeted his tone an octave deeper. “It’s all in the practice.” He waited for Miya’s response before rocking back onto his hind paws and sitting straight, thinking of her and the future all at once. A chaotic mind dispensed his questions for her, and somehow in his gray mouth they did not trip out, but ordered themselves with precision. “And what of you, Miya? I haven’t seen you around. What’ve you been up to where your family cannot intrude?”

He failed to address the tension in her that he’d sensed upon his initial approach. Plenty of time for that, when they weren’t just reuniting, when his fur was a bit more unkempt and the formalities were taken care of. It was the patient killer that got his prey. Noche still knew the rules of the game, even if he no longer played it.

[ooc]
Great! <3 How could they not be?! I love these two. ^^