with her so near, he can smell her den, a mixture of loose soil and stone and foliage. he knows that the hour is late and that calling on someone in the night might be considered strange - but when else would he have the freedom to call on her when she was not at the beck of her sovereign and he was not at the beck of his? when would the mountain not be bidding her to do her appointed works, and his shining prince not be needing him to keep his senses alert for friend, foe, and meal? they were not starcrossed, not even by a long shot, but they were not free entities that could whimsically run away together -- and moreso because one half of this pair does not understand what has happened between them.

he is not an old man yet, but he is no longer a part of those surprisingly strong years anymore. he is still capable, but he is not superior to many who would be rising up to take hold of the world. he had so little to give her, and even less because of his learned ignorance of his own heart. the soul was what bound creatures as far as he had ever known. he did not understand the heart as he had understood the absolute obedience to one’s soul. this wish to see her was not a compulsive need, it was a compulsive desire.

looking at her now he feels soothed, yet not as if he could not have borne to be away longer. it was curious, the want without the need. it was not bewitching, not in the way doe had been -- but almost stronger because it felt like it needed him to agree first in order for it to be cultivated. it was not gift wrapped, it was not as sudden or as absolute… but it was… oh hell.

his pale green eyes are hooded in expression, but her closeness seems to calm his hatred for the moon’s torments and her words soothe him only more as she agrees to his invitation and begins to search his face. “It might be a bit late in asking but are you hurt?"” she inquires, but it takes him a moment as she looks him over to remember to respond - it had been very long since his last “once over” after all. “i sometimes struggle to keep my breath for long runs. it is sore.” he admits as openly as could ever be expected of a man confident that some injury or another would not impede his abilities. “i am glad she did no such damage to you.”

it is hardly a profession of love, but the deepening of voice could tell her enough as to the heartfelt satisfaction she had come out of it unscathed where he and his brothers and the other female took the blows.

but then on the topic of family, and that female, it seems they are of the same mind and there is the barest smirk when she admits her pity - his own pity very much alongside hers as far as the words would tell him (he hardly shared the compulsion to wish his strongest asset in a fight off a cliff). “not so poor - i heard that though she did not best him in their little greeting brawl, she managed to retain his preference rather than disdain. she must have been strong for him to fight her and not disregard her thereafter.”

but then it comes to the wondering. did she want him to bring his brothers? was it strange to call on her alone? was it unpleasant? it was a bit of a torment as he watched her face, “Your company is much preferred,” and though she had meant it as a flirtation, fenrir is not so wise in such things to hear it as such. what he hears is that though she was looking for ifrit to appear, as well as his brothers likely, she preferred him over his red brother. this, you see, was not a surprise to the black male. “i am glad my brothers are not in your finer graces.” he adds, though more in the abstract realm than perhaps she would have thought might come.

“Do you often visit people in the dead of the night? It is quite a mysterious time,” she asks, this time a little more forthright a question in drawing out his intentions than other attempts had been. he does take the bait, if only a little bit. “it is not usual for me to seek anyone out if they are not my brothers, food, or enemies that need putting down.” and then with a slightly deeper tone, “i wanted to see that you were well and night was when i could escape my duties.”