MAEA
Chuckling at the response, as in her mind his careful inspection of the fin suggested otherwise, the girl scratched Haai behind the ear, happily accepting the gryphon's kiss and returning it with one of her own. Her eyes were focused mostly on the animal, registering Sunjata only on the outer rim of her vision. All that bare skin made her nervous, and she dared not look too closely at him. No doubt both scars and tattoos had a story to tell, but in this she was simply too timid to ask.
"I'm sure you are. And I'm sure it's nothing. And I swear I won't tell anyone about your.. uhm.. sensitivity." There was a pause somewhere in there, enough ambiguity to make it unclear exactly what she was referring to. The skin of his fin? Or perhaps his poor wounded boy heart, after the savage attack by a trusted companion? It was a mystery.
Sloshing more water onto her legs and face, she watched as he proceeded to try and capture the sun. It was pleasant in the shade. Every breeze was cooled by the surrounding water, and from the forest around the river came the sounds of wildlife. Birds, humming insects, other, less familiar cries that mingled into a chorus of life. Haai weighed next to nothing in her lap, and she could feel the rapid pulse of her heart against her skin, the rise and fall of a small ribcage.
And all the while, the temptation of the water was there. A whisper just beyond her ability to hear.
"I'm sure you are. And I'm sure it's nothing. And I swear I won't tell anyone about your.. uhm.. sensitivity." There was a pause somewhere in there, enough ambiguity to make it unclear exactly what she was referring to. The skin of his fin? Or perhaps his poor wounded boy heart, after the savage attack by a trusted companion? It was a mystery.
Sloshing more water onto her legs and face, she watched as he proceeded to try and capture the sun. It was pleasant in the shade. Every breeze was cooled by the surrounding water, and from the forest around the river came the sounds of wildlife. Birds, humming insects, other, less familiar cries that mingled into a chorus of life. Haai weighed next to nothing in her lap, and she could feel the rapid pulse of her heart against her skin, the rise and fall of a small ribcage.
And all the while, the temptation of the water was there. A whisper just beyond her ability to hear.
