There are fleeting moments where she is still surprised at the reactions and emotions Zaphkiel is able to bring out of her. Surprised and a touch terrified. There are reasons she has never allowed herself to be close with anyone, reasons she has erected walls and bared teeth and any who dared try even to her own blood; and yet this persistent star-touched dreamer manages to keep encompassing her will with his own. It was like some mystical creature that you didn’t want to get too close to lest you scare it off and so Astrid tried very hard not to think too much on it and just let it simply be. For once to give her the barest attempt at what could be happiness. Something she hadn’t even dreamed of reaching for before this.

She raises an eyebrow at him as he regales himself the mighty hero though it comes as no surprise, she had long realized through their interactions that ultimately that is what he long to be. Taking him in, fluffed and regal with his mane falling in layers over his shoulders perhaps he really was like the white knights of old. Flashes of memory crossed her mind, stories being told at night in a warm den surrounded by family of heroes and villains. She pushes the thought down and away. It wasn’t worth it. He was pleased with her response at least, the hints of a smile on her black lips at the thought of entertaining him and being successful at her flamboyant attempts.

At his words she feigns indignity, scoffing and tossing her head back, “And what good would a Queen of the Hunters be if she were nothing more than a damsel in distress? You wound me, sir.” She figured if she was going to play this game she might as well give it her all, swallowing her gut reactions and biting remarks and acting along. “However if you need I can surely muster the resolve the play the part,” she finishes with a wink, not entirely sure what has gotten into her at this point.

He stills as she circles him making a point not to turn his head when she passes to his blind eye which she can now see is clouded slightly. This impresses her, knowing it cannot be easy to allow himself to be so vulnerable and yet the trust it displays strikes a resounding chord in her soul. It makes it easier for her to settle down beside him, to make her own self prone to him even as she knew there was no danger of him harming her. At her words she once again senses his approval, a warmth that spreads through her chest at the rumble in his Perhaps she could actually do this. Her ears perk forward at his words, interest spreading in her duo-toned gaze. It is his typical vivacious speech and yet she senses an underlayment of truth to the matter. He is giving her the look past his exterior that she had asked for.

“On the contrary,” she said solemnly, not wanting to diminish what she was about to say with pomp and circumstance. “I don’t believe a hero must be ‘perfect’ as you say, otherwise how can they exist at all? Heroes are judged by their deeds if memory serves and would not a story of a one-eyed hero be more harrowing and intriguing than someone who has two?” She tilted her head at him, looking in to both of his eyes steadily before her next words. “Your disadvantage makes your feats that much greater.” She did not, however, expect cheer from her next words and as per usual he surprises her. The solid feel of his shoulder connecting with hers in jest sends an electric shock through her system and she starts, but not before pressing in to him if only for a millisecond.

His next words are none the less spectacular than anything she would expect from him, but there is more sincerity in them than she would have expected. The idea of seeing in to a star realm is nothing less fantastical than his other stories, yet the history surrounding this being some congenital ability passed down piques her interest. She finds herself leaning towards him unconsciously, following his words with an intense gaze with perhaps just a touch of wonder. She smiles lightly at his final sentiments, even looking away for a moment to hide what could well be misconstrued as a blush. No one ever spoke to her like that. “You see, my two good eyes are not nearly as useful as your one for star gazing,” she says looking back at him, trying to grasp where all this was going. “I wish you could show me,” were the last, quiet words that fell from her lips barely above a whisper.