Sohalia
Tarak responded to Pip's hiss with one of his own, but as the dragon began to chase the griffin's tail, he spun to try and keep Pip in his sights. The result was that the two creatures spun in place on Soh's desk, each chasing the other in a small circle. It would have been amusing, had their humans been paying attention; as it was, Soh's silver eyes were fixed solely on Koa, the companions' antics only registering somewhere far in the back of her mind.
He came closer still, reaching for her hands, and she stared at him stupidly, her heart hammering loudly in her chest at his earnest gaze and his proximity, immediate regret bubbling in her chest that she hadn't gone first. After his greeting, what had possessed her to let this conversation continue? She just didn't want to hurt him, had hoped that maybe he hadn't felt this way about her, had thought that maybe if she just ignored the problem, it would go away. But it wasn't going away, he did feel that way about her, and she was going to hurt him.
"Koa," she whispered as he reached to brush a lock of hair from her eyes. "I - I can't -" she stammered, biting her lip as she looked away, avoiding his touch, her cheeks suddenly aflame. A few weeks ago, she would have been overjoyed for him to be here, like this, offering his heart to her. But a few weeks had made a huge difference, and now... now she just felt guilty and ashamed. There were a million reasons she could have used. She was the Heart now, and she had to focus on her work being chief among them. But when it came down to it, she couldn't stand the bitterness of the lie on her tongue. She owed him the truth. She pulled her hands from his, taking a step back as her heart broke a little inside her chest. "I - I'm seeing someone else."
He came closer still, reaching for her hands, and she stared at him stupidly, her heart hammering loudly in her chest at his earnest gaze and his proximity, immediate regret bubbling in her chest that she hadn't gone first. After his greeting, what had possessed her to let this conversation continue? She just didn't want to hurt him, had hoped that maybe he hadn't felt this way about her, had thought that maybe if she just ignored the problem, it would go away. But it wasn't going away, he did feel that way about her, and she was going to hurt him.
"Koa," she whispered as he reached to brush a lock of hair from her eyes. "I - I can't -" she stammered, biting her lip as she looked away, avoiding his touch, her cheeks suddenly aflame. A few weeks ago, she would have been overjoyed for him to be here, like this, offering his heart to her. But a few weeks had made a huge difference, and now... now she just felt guilty and ashamed. There were a million reasons she could have used. She was the Heart now, and she had to focus on her work being chief among them. But when it came down to it, she couldn't stand the bitterness of the lie on her tongue. She owed him the truth. She pulled her hands from his, taking a step back as her heart broke a little inside her chest. "I - I'm seeing someone else."
