his movement catches the corner of her eye and she finds herself surprised at his retreat. as his name falls from his lips her ears rise forward to catch it, though they flick back momentarily with irritation at his amusement. when his eyes, mismatched like hers, drop to the pool, hers follow suit, mesmerized by those same ripples he studies. what would it feel like to lay down in that water, dredge wondered…. to let it fall over you and consume you. had he been wondering the same thing when she intruded? as he continues speaking she finds her full attention drawn to his pale figure, her eyes leaving the surface of the water to regard him curiously. he is careful with his words and with one dark eye and one light she levels a steady gaze at him, one he does not return. it is softer and more receptive than she had dared to be the length of their conversation. he has laid a small part of himself bare and despite her bluster and misery, dredge does not wish to flay that sensitive offering with abrasiveness. when push comes to shove, she cannot find the will to pull the trigger on her anger and kick him while he’s down so-to-speak. the mare nods, letting her show this quiet agreement with him. though she had not been downright civil with the man, the interaction has been needed as he put it. her own moment of vulnerability comes too late though, for when she is just about to voice her own appreciation of their strange transaction, he takes his leave. her mouth opens to speak, dark lips pulled back hesitantly as she scrambles for something to say… but before she can utter the words, good bye her own walls come crashing up. it would be left unsaid between them, forever now. it was a terrible thing, she thought then, to be right. it was only a matter of time, she had surmised when they first met, that she would drive him away. |