a beating heart of stone

HARPER

Harper's grin is wry and twisted in the wake of Loren's offer. "Trust me, you don't want to see me drunk. It's all yours." For such a kind and exuberant man, alcohol has always brought him back to the terrors that lurk in the dark recesses of his brain. Unsafe for more than just himself, and so he has mostly sworn off the stuff. Not that the reminder stops him from cheerily tailing Loren, keeping pace even as the hairs on the back of his neck stand up when the chorus of chattering rodents echoes overhead.

Or maybe they stand at attention beneath Loren's flirtations, which prompt a flood of heat to Harper's cheeks. Certainly unused to being on the receiving end of such bluntness. Sputtering wordlessly for a moment, Harper runs a hand through his hair and bashfully ducks his gaze. "This isn't the best place for such things, I'm no exhibitionist," he excuses weakly, gesturing with some measure of amusement at the squirrels. But it's not a no. Harper has never been so equally wrong-footed and enthralled, which means today is already shaping up to be a sufficient adventure. Though he laughs at Loren's exasperated response towards the creepy squirrel. "Valiant foes, then. I'm not normally a bully of cute furry creatures, but a slingshot sounds like it would be pretty fun in here."

caught in this reckless raging fury
that they call the love of God

_{Table Code by Sky!}