With every broken bone, I swear I lived
Her mouth twitched as she watched him eat, laughter breaking free in a quiet giggle. "Glad you like it. Apples and sweetgrass were the only real treats we had when I grew up. Sugar didn't exist and even honey was a rarity." The scent was nostalgic. The way sunlight dappled the ground, colored green by the canopy too; it all left her feeling a touch wistful.
The offered apple gave her pause. Maybe it was nothing, to eat from the same fruit he'd already bitten into. But then again, maybe it wasn't very different from the way teenagers passed a bottle of cider back and forth, blushing and giggling over the imagined taste of each other's lips. A bit silly, a bit sweet. Maea leaned in and trusted Harper to keep the apple still for her as she took a bite. Her fangs sliced cleanly through the fruit, leaving her smiling and looking everywhere except at Harper while she chewed.
"It's sweeter than I remember," she admitted around the mouthful. "The trees look healthier too. It was never this lush..." Without the barrier, nature was able to breathe again. Growing stronger, greener, more nutritious; it was hard to imagine that this place had been all but infertile.
The offered apple gave her pause. Maybe it was nothing, to eat from the same fruit he'd already bitten into. But then again, maybe it wasn't very different from the way teenagers passed a bottle of cider back and forth, blushing and giggling over the imagined taste of each other's lips. A bit silly, a bit sweet. Maea leaned in and trusted Harper to keep the apple still for her as she took a bite. Her fangs sliced cleanly through the fruit, leaving her smiling and looking everywhere except at Harper while she chewed.
"It's sweeter than I remember," she admitted around the mouthful. "The trees look healthier too. It was never this lush..." Without the barrier, nature was able to breathe again. Growing stronger, greener, more nutritious; it was hard to imagine that this place had been all but infertile.
maea
