Secrets I have held in my heart
Are harder to hide than I thought
Context clues tell him that this must be Koa’s house, but it doesn’t make Jude feel any less like he’s breaking and entering as they sneak around the side of the house and into the yard - which is a rather athletic endeavor that Jude is glad he’s sober for. Are harder to hide than I thought
Jude realizes that he didn’t even know Koa had siblings at all before this moment. He listens attentively, strangely honored to be here and to be given the chance to know more about the Dragoon when - given everything - he has all the reason in the world to keep Jude at arms length.
Staring up at the treehouse, Jude considers it. “Think we could climb it?” Realizing that must sound rather daring coming from the human equivalent of a limp noodle, Jude laughs awkwardly. “My mom lives in the Greatwood, so pretty much everything is in a tree.” He’d learned to climb them almost as early as he’d learned to walk. Glancing at the ciders in the bucket, Jude reconsiders with a wince. “Getting back down drunk would be hard though.” They could just pass out in there together to be safe, but Jude’s face feels hot just thinking about it, so he boldly grabs a cider to distract himself and cracks it open - and then takes a big swig before he can second guess himself.
The sourness hits him first, making his face scrunch and pulling the can away - but then his expression becomes considering as the apple undertones come forth and sweeten the experience enough to make him hum consideringly and take another drink. “Wow. I thought alcohol was supposed to burn?” While he can taste it’s definitely not just apples, it’s a far more pleasant experience than Jude had anticipated.
I'm standing at the edge of the world
Where do I go from here? Do I disappear?
Where do I go from here? Do I disappear?
Jude
