I think I can manage being collateral damage
"Exactly," Ever murmurs, eyes still scanning the next stall even as his thoughts linger in the previous one. "You can see why the beaver caught me off guard. I’d been assuming the next one would have wings. Pure utility—flight expands observation range, adds escape options, and would’ve made landing on La Verbena much easier." His tone is academic, but there’s a subtle glimmer behind his eyes as he says it, like he doesn’t mind the surprise quite so much after all.
He glances over just in time to catch the warmth colouring Isla’s cheeks, the way her smile betrays her even as she tries to scold him. The tiger-stripe sample shifts easily into his left hand, freeing his right, and he steps just slightly closer, the sun casting fine lines across his face as he tilts it toward hers. "Yes, Isla Lockwood?" he echoes innocently, though his voice carries that same dry undercurrent, soft and deliberate. His hand slips around her waist, not possessive but certain, fingers resting lightly against the curve of her back as he draws her gently in.
"Do you," he murmurs, leaning down so that only she can hear it, "have any suggestions? For alternate behaviours. Should the urge become overwhelming?"
He glances over just in time to catch the warmth colouring Isla’s cheeks, the way her smile betrays her even as she tries to scold him. The tiger-stripe sample shifts easily into his left hand, freeing his right, and he steps just slightly closer, the sun casting fine lines across his face as he tilts it toward hers. "Yes, Isla Lockwood?" he echoes innocently, though his voice carries that same dry undercurrent, soft and deliberate. His hand slips around her waist, not possessive but certain, fingers resting lightly against the curve of her back as he draws her gently in.
"Do you," he murmurs, leaning down so that only she can hear it, "have any suggestions? For alternate behaviours. Should the urge become overwhelming?"
.
