The soft clearing of a throat drew him from Tinuvel’s temptation, and he breathed a low, warm breath past his lips as his ears twitched and the ice blue of his eyes jumped to see who’d beckoned him from his thoughts. He was mildly surprised to see Dahlia, even more so when he glanced past her expecting to see Ramiel and noted she was completely alone. He blinked, refocusing on her, and studied the way she turned her face from him, and how ethereal the cream of her mane looked beneath the starlight. It glowed gently, casting a soft aura over and around her.
He could have scoffed at himself. Foolish, pointless thoughts. Those were better had in Ramiel’s head, where he was fool enough to say them aloud with enough confidence that they sounded elegant. If Raziel tried he’d only stumble and stutter and look an absolute fool.
In his frizzy mane of silver white, Raziel’s ears twitched when she started to speak. Before thinking, he made a noise in his throat like a scoff, finding it ridiculous she should think she need to apologize at all. But, mere seconds after his initial reaction, he blinked and found himself feeling awkward, knowing he was the reason she felt the need to leave her safe sleeping space by Ramiel and find him to apologize. He stumbled to find any words and the silence stretched between them long enough to make his insides twist and his tongue feel as if it’d grown three sizes too big for his mouth. He felt clumsy.
“No, it’s… I…” He blew a frustrated breath of air out of his mouth and swallowed, chewing anxiously for a few seconds on air, flicking his tail behind him – it caught the gentle glow of moonlight and seemed to shimmer – and settling again. “You don’t need to apologize. You were…” the tension he’d built inside himself at being afraid to speak so candidly gentled, just somewhat, “you were exactly what Ramiel needed. Since this is the only time we’ll ever be here, it’s good he had a day filled with an adventure and made a friend. It’s good this will be a nice memory.” The love he had for Ramiel warmed his voice and gave him a kindness that matched his twin’s. It shone briefly in his eyes as they warmed, just slightly, on her.
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