I know it's hard to abandon your path
Noah was oblivious in the moment of mirth, but he wasn’t one to stay stupid. Having been born and raised on the tundra, the hunter was incredibly observant. He didn’t miss the way Melita’s face contorted and she looked at him with steely eyes. The grin on his face softened, then faded, not vanishing entirely but settling into something more measured. He shifted his weight, easing back a half-step from the cannons and the rail alike, hands lifting palm up in a placating gesture. The Firecracker was her space. He should have asked.
His wings emerged again, the partial-shift showing the demigod before him that he did not intent to take over her ship. At her answer, his mouth curved again and he glanced back at the cannons with renewed appreciation. “Ludo has a way of making things that look like toys until they ruin someone’s day.” He remembered the relic that the herald had made, and how he and the others had tried to get it and it took a whimsical and childlike touch to win it in the end.
Her follow up question drew his attention fully back to her. The name landed with weight like iron sinking in his belly. Noah’s posture shifted to something steadier, like bracing against a familiar wind. He nodded, though, trying to keep the feathering of his jaw subtle. Silence hovered for a second, filled only by the creak of the ship and the distant wash of the sea. He cleared his throat, ”Those cannons are really impressive.”
His wings emerged again, the partial-shift showing the demigod before him that he did not intent to take over her ship. At her answer, his mouth curved again and he glanced back at the cannons with renewed appreciation. “Ludo has a way of making things that look like toys until they ruin someone’s day.” He remembered the relic that the herald had made, and how he and the others had tried to get it and it took a whimsical and childlike touch to win it in the end.
Her follow up question drew his attention fully back to her. The name landed with weight like iron sinking in his belly. Noah’s posture shifted to something steadier, like bracing against a familiar wind. He nodded, though, trying to keep the feathering of his jaw subtle. Silence hovered for a second, filled only by the creak of the ship and the distant wash of the sea. He cleared his throat, ”Those cannons are really impressive.”
When this is all that you have
