The sun was warm on their skin, and the breeze had faded to little more than playful skirls from time to time. They no longer needed to sit close together to share warmth, but Jigano enjoyed the closeness of camaraderie that they shared even without touching as Rory laid out his materials. The bard stole shameless glances at his friend's project as he finished tuning the strings and let his fingers slide comfortably over the harp, drawing out pure, soft notes from the mellow old instrument.
Isuma looked up at them as a moment silence fell between the bard's question and the shepherd's answer, her face yellow with pollen. For a moment her exuberance was stilled as Jigano held his breath, but as soon as Rory answered she was off frolicking again, chasing an early bumble bee that wanted nothing to do with her. "Ahhhh dancing," the fox nearly purred in satisfaction, his fingers coaxing a bright scattering of notes from his harp that melded into a cheery little tune to set toes tapping. "And do you dance, by chance?" he teased, blue eyes laughing as he glanced towards his friend - and this time met his gaze by accident. What he wouldn't give to hold the hunter close, he thought, when it wasn't comfort that Rory sought from him, but joy? To spin and laugh and return again to arms that he trusted not to let him go?
He realized that his fingers had gone still on the harp strings, and he ducked his head away as the blush suffused his cheeks, hiding behind a fall of white hair as he cleared his throat self-consciously. He started to pick at the strings again, this time plucking out the ghost of a melody that Rory's earlier poem had flowed to, and teasing out a few extemporaneous variations as he did so. "I mean... I'll need someone to show me the local dances, so I don't step on anyone's toes," he tried to recover, his voice light but his stomach flipping with the uncertainty of how far he was allowed to go.
Isuma looked up at them as a moment silence fell between the bard's question and the shepherd's answer, her face yellow with pollen. For a moment her exuberance was stilled as Jigano held his breath, but as soon as Rory answered she was off frolicking again, chasing an early bumble bee that wanted nothing to do with her. "Ahhhh dancing," the fox nearly purred in satisfaction, his fingers coaxing a bright scattering of notes from his harp that melded into a cheery little tune to set toes tapping. "And do you dance, by chance?" he teased, blue eyes laughing as he glanced towards his friend - and this time met his gaze by accident. What he wouldn't give to hold the hunter close, he thought, when it wasn't comfort that Rory sought from him, but joy? To spin and laugh and return again to arms that he trusted not to let him go?
He realized that his fingers had gone still on the harp strings, and he ducked his head away as the blush suffused his cheeks, hiding behind a fall of white hair as he cleared his throat self-consciously. He started to pick at the strings again, this time plucking out the ghost of a melody that Rory's earlier poem had flowed to, and teasing out a few extemporaneous variations as he did so. "I mean... I'll need someone to show me the local dances, so I don't step on anyone's toes," he tried to recover, his voice light but his stomach flipping with the uncertainty of how far he was allowed to go.
