You can’t stop the change,
any more than you can stop the suns from setting.
"'Plan?'" he echoes, laughter threading through his voice. "Koa, I was on a dragon last year. All you can do is hang on for dear life." Zavien shakes his head, promptly dismissing any delusions that there's more to it than that, and silently praying that Ronin isn't here to knock him in the dirt again.
The shift is palpable. Tension rises in his shoulders, thoughts and frustrations threatening to heat his blood with the arrival of Koa's younger cousin. The hold on his glass tightens, his features losing the lightness and laughter for something controlled and discretely restrained behind the expression he wears. "Kai." He says the name with a polite 'friendliness,' without anger or malice but lacking the warmth it once held. Rather than lean into the playful mood, he gives a reflexive smile and chooses to take a swig from his frozen lemonade, letting the other men convene while he subtly withdraws from Kaisel's abrasive presence and lack of remorse. Zavien silently wonders if it might be rude to ask Hawthorn if he wants to get another drink with him - even if it's obvious his glass is still half full.
The shift is palpable. Tension rises in his shoulders, thoughts and frustrations threatening to heat his blood with the arrival of Koa's younger cousin. The hold on his glass tightens, his features losing the lightness and laughter for something controlled and discretely restrained behind the expression he wears. "Kai." He says the name with a polite 'friendliness,' without anger or malice but lacking the warmth it once held. Rather than lean into the playful mood, he gives a reflexive smile and chooses to take a swig from his frozen lemonade, letting the other men convene while he subtly withdraws from Kaisel's abrasive presence and lack of remorse. Zavien silently wonders if it might be rude to ask Hawthorn if he wants to get another drink with him - even if it's obvious his glass is still half full.
Zavien
