Seiji
Her greeting is at once sunshine and thunderstorm, dancing light and poised dagger. Seiji hesitates, his hands lifting as if to expose themselves as empty. Fangorn's growl rattles in his ears, an un-animal sound, pulsating just the wrong side of not-quite-right. He stills. He stills — like a deer caught in the field, head up, dark eyes large, and for a moment the breath doesn't seem to move in his lungs. Maybe, somewhere deep beneath his ribs, his heart still beats. The rest of him betrays no clue.
But then she breathes.
She breathes first. He breathes after, alarm flickering into a warm smile, crinkling the edges of his eyes. "Hello," he nods, and approaches more slowly, his eyes lingering on Fangorn. "Melita." It is almost a question. Not quite. He thinks this is her name, though they only met once briefly. Petals soft against his fingertips, stems sturdy in his hands. The first deep breath after Longnight. He had been dizzy, then, with everything. She had seemed kind.
"I am ... okay," he tells her, choosing the word with some consideration. He glances up from Fangorn as if just now noticing her state of undress, and something shifts in his expression. Something we might name surprise, if we must name it. Not embarrassment, not worry — he sees the haphazard pile of clothing behind her. Just... surprise.
He gestures at the water his brows raised. "Were you... going to swim in this?" Now concern creeps into his voice. Is that wise? What is it, anyway? Does she know more than he? "I am a little lost," he adds, as if this explains his confusion. The words are more than true. "I walked in this forest and..."
But then she breathes.
She breathes first. He breathes after, alarm flickering into a warm smile, crinkling the edges of his eyes. "Hello," he nods, and approaches more slowly, his eyes lingering on Fangorn. "Melita." It is almost a question. Not quite. He thinks this is her name, though they only met once briefly. Petals soft against his fingertips, stems sturdy in his hands. The first deep breath after Longnight. He had been dizzy, then, with everything. She had seemed kind.
"I am ... okay," he tells her, choosing the word with some consideration. He glances up from Fangorn as if just now noticing her state of undress, and something shifts in his expression. Something we might name surprise, if we must name it. Not embarrassment, not worry — he sees the haphazard pile of clothing behind her. Just... surprise.
He gestures at the water his brows raised. "Were you... going to swim in this?" Now concern creeps into his voice. Is that wise? What is it, anyway? Does she know more than he? "I am a little lost," he adds, as if this explains his confusion. The words are more than true. "I walked in this forest and..."
