There are days that come and go so fluidly that I do not think twice about the meaning behind them. Day in and day out I rule my kingdom without a thought about how I’d gotten to where I was, whether I deserved it. I had worked hard for all that I had, and to doubt myself would crack the very foundation I had built my future upon. But there was the odd day that I would wonder about whether I deserved all that I had gained. Maybe that was why I strayed here every so often, to feel the power of the river wash around my legs. To remind myself that I was strong inside and out, that I had overcome so much and that I could conquer any uncertainty that crept up on me like a demon in the night. With our eyes trained upon one another I confess to him why I come to the river, why I love this sensation and the coming storm as well. Something is reflected back in his eyes, though I’m not entirely certain what it was. There is barely a breath between the end of my sentence and the beginning of his, and I revel in this odd, but exhilarating, connection between us. “Everything,” I reply on the heels of his question, for it is the only reply I can concoct that would even hope to encompass what I hoped for in my life.

The smile that edges at his features is peculiar, as if the act is unknown to him. Part of me hoped I could give him something to truly smile about, to brighten his day though the skies were overcast and dreary. His next words alight a knowing look in my eyes; deadly and yet beautiful. Maybe I’d not yet proven myself as deadly, but I was more than capable in a fight. And if my father was to be believed…well all fathers spoke highly of their daughter’s beauty. Still, maybe it was something I could harness from the storm, though no storm could be captured. It was the magnificence of it all, what attracted me so to it.

When his gaffed words cause him to look away from me, I move to him. There is no hesitation in this, for it simply feels like the only reply to give. I pressed my shoulder to his and told him that he, too, was warm. His eyes snap back to me, shock widening those orange pools as his entire body tenses. I feel it and see it, the way he goes completely rigid. But in a flash no longer than the bolt of a lightning strike the astonishment dissipates and a true smile graces his features. It is then that I stepped forward, breaking our contact and moving in front of him. I felt the prickle of his nose extending to brush against my fur, and it sent a shiver down my spine. I looked back to him for only a moment, and the swaying of his tail lets me know all that I needed. Emerging from the river, I stood upon the bank and turned back to face him. In the second before the sky opened up, he had turned towards me, and then the rain was coming down in sheets.

I turned my crown to the sky, feeling the droplets splash against my face as my entire bodice became completely saturated in mere seconds. Though the storm raged around me, I did not let it completely encompass my attention. That heat he spoke of, I can feel it radiating off of him as he was suddenly before me. In such close proximity I can feel his every movement though we do not touch. His whispered words cause me to slowly lower my head, mahogany orbs looking upon him even as his slide closed to let the rain wash over him. I watch him, embracing the storm just as I had, but there is something about the way the water washes over his scars that makes it a far more striking act. Once more I am given to step forward, positioning myself so that my left shoulder is aligned with his right, and I lifted my nose to the heavens once more as I leaned into him, our connection an addiction I could not deny.