whatever, let's get lost on Mars

Oh, empty my heart

The idea did appeal to the girl, if her responding smile was anything to go by. "That would be fun. And I won't tell anyone if you look foolish, if you don't. Can't promise I won't laugh though." Just a little bit. But that was what friends were for, right?

That said, she was not exactly in a hurry to stop what they were doing right now. It was the music that put an end to the dance, as it came to a halt and a completely different tune picked up. Wilder and faster, more rythmic in nature - it suited their steady pace not at all, and Seren reluctantly came to a halt.

"Think you will remember that, next time?" she asked, and looked up - a little taken aback by how close Sah's face had come to be. It did bring to mind their last encounter, the moment of peace before wolves and dragons had broken apart a rather pleasant hug. They seemed to be doing this touchy feely thing an awful lot... and Seren was surprised to find that she actually didn't mind.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

I have never feared the storm

Sah found himself laughing again, shoulders trembling slightly with humor. "Fair. But be warned, I'll laugh at you as well." He gave a teasing grin, a quick wink. The entire night had the Outlander in a great mood.  When the music picked up its tempo, Sah glanced down at Seren. "I'll remember." He promised, his mind also going to their last hug. Sah did find it interesting how comfortable he was with the demigod, but he didn't question it. Something in him told him that she could be trusted, and so Sah did.

The new music swelling through the clearing, Sah took a step back, but kept one of his hands holding Seren's. With the other he began to try to explain one of the dances of his kind. "There was one dance in particular that was always, always seen at any kind of event. It was a simple one but always fun." He paused, trying to best describe it.

There was a look in his eye that was equal parts excitement and wistfulness. "It was done in pairs generally but sometimes we'd try to get as many participants as we could, just for the fun of it. But the main idea was to walk in a circle, wings out so that the tips overlapped with your partners.  And then you would continue like this, steadily flying higher. When you reached a set point in the sky, you would break apart and dive down. And as you and your partner dived down, you would loop around each other, in an figure eight pattern before landing face-to-face." Sah did his best to gesture and explain the dance, but at the end he gave a small shrug. "It's a bit hard to explain. But maybe we could come up with some kind of human-friendly version? It fits this new music pretty well."

Sah

Oh, empty my heart

"Fair is fair. It's a deal, then," she laughed, and winked back. Swaying their joined hands thoughtfully as he explained, trying to get used to being linked to him like this, she tried to picture what the dance might look at for them.

"Well... We can pretend our arms are wings," she suggested. Stepping away from him until both their arms were spread wide, she slipped her fingers from his grasp until only fingertips remained connected. "Something like this? And if we go in a circle... that's not too different." Ignoring the music, the girl began to walk in one direction, with her eyes on Sah to see if he was following. "We can turn too, and touch the other arm... but the rising and diving I don't know how to replace." Though that certainly seemed to be the crucial part. She made a little pirouette in place, just to try it, but was dissatisfied when it did not translate well into what she wanted.

"I could maybe make us float upwards," she suggested, a little dubious. She raised a brow at her partner, to see what he thought of that.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

I have never feared the storm

Sah shrugged, reaching an arm out till his fingers just barely grazed the tops of Seren's. He began to walk in the opposite direction so that they were circling each other. It didn't quite match the feeling in his memories so he took a step forward so that their palms were flat against each other as the turned . That felt more right so Sah gave a small nod, a gentle smile. "I think we've got the first part covered."

As for the second, Sah glanced at the sky and surrounding  meadow contemplatively.  He hummed as Seren attempted her pirouette and then gave her suggestion. "True, your magic could make us levitate. But that'd likely strain you, right?" Sah didn't want the demigod to hurt or exhaust herself for this.

Sah

Oh, empty my heart

Her palm tingled at the renewed contact, a ticklish sensation that traipsed down along the skin of her arm. It did feel better than the flimsy brush of fingertips, and she nodded easily as Sah approved it.

"I don't get tired from using the gravity pulse," she revealed, with an easy smile. "It's only the bigger spells that take a toll, after a few hours." The way she said it showed a shocking lack of awareness of how preposterous such a claim was. Seren had always had a knack for magic, it was easy as breathing for her. "But it does make things a bit one sided... I could just drop you and you would have no control. That's not fair. Not that I would let you fall, of course," she hurried to reassure.

Just to demonstrate, she extended a pulse towards Sah. The pressure of gravity eased on both of them, until Seren's hair drifted upwards on its own and their feet no longer connected quite as firmly with the ground. A gentle touch of a toe against the grass made the girl ascend upwards, pulling the young wolf along by a quick grab of his fingers. Once their feet left the ground, all control of movement was lost.

"I don't know... can we do anything like this?" Except for pulling at each other, perhaps. She tried, and found herself drifting in towards Sah like a feather on the breeze.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

I have never feared the storm

Sah raised a brow at Seren's bold claim before shaking his head in fond exasperation. "You do realize how powerful you are, right? The fact that such a powerful magic is that simple for you, and the fact that other spells take such a prolonged time to affect you, is not the the norm?" Sah teased but he made no move to hide how truly impressed he was.

Sah found himself laughing at Seren's hurried assurance that she wouldn't drop him. "I know you won't. And if you somehow did, I'd never let you live it down." But as she brought them up into the sky, his mirth was replaced with awe. It felt incredible to be back in the sky, even if only slightly. He'd missed it horribly. He missed his wings.

But as Seren drifted toward him, an idea emerged. He kept one of his hands' fingers connected to Seren's while the other arm made a slight sweeping motion. Just as Sah had suspected, the pair drifted away from where he'd pushed. He sent Seren a mischievous grin. "We can move around like that." He repeated the motion, beginning to send them into a gentle circle.

Sah

Oh, empty my heart

Looking surprised, Seren faltered a little. "Well, that's... But I'm not powerful, Sah. Compared to my fathers, I'm little more than a kitten." It was all about perspective, and the ones she looked to for comparison were giants indeed. "You... can't maintain your magic like that?" It was a little embarrassing, truth be told. Seren suddenly had a feeling that she was bragging, or showing off.

The tugging and pushing of fingers distracted her away from the sinking feeling in the stomach. Seeing him smile was reassuring too, and rekindled a sense of elation within that made her slightly reckless.
"Let's see how fast we can spin," she suggested with a fey smile. An arm flung out increased her speed, and she took a firmer grip on Sah's hand. To prevent flying apart from him - that would definitely send him crashing.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

I have never feared the storm

Sah saw the confusion and minor embarrassment on Seren's face. He couldn't help but give a snort of laugher, his smile purely fond. "No Seren. I absolutely can not. And most people can't. I'm pretty sure that's either a demigod thing or something that others spend years, decades even, working towards." Sah knew full well that she hadn't been bragging, but it was honestly both endearing and terrifying that Seren had had no comprehension of her own strength.

Sah happily took the hint and firmly grasped Seren's hand, having no intention of plummeting to the ground. He worked in tandem with her, flinging out his own arm in the opposite direction. The end result was the two of them beginning to spin progressively faster. "Let's see if we can move around more." Sah suggested as they picked up speed. He pushed an arm against the air at the same time that Seren moved her arm. The two ended up spinning but also moving across the sky. Sah gave Seren a triumphant grin at the result.

Sah

Oh, empty my heart

Was that a compliment? Was she being praised, or criticized? Perhaps both. Seren made a silent vow to herself to pay more attention at the people around her and their abilities, limits and strengths. Perhaps only looking at the stars would make her stumble on pebbles, otherwise. "I'm sure you will be able to do similar things too, soon," she offered, full of a completely baseless confidence in her friend. Of course he was brilliant and talented enough to close any gaps between them; it was only a matter of time. Surely.

As the speed increased of their tumble about the meadow, Seren found out that if she stayed still while Sah moved, they began to drift in his direction. And the same was true in reverse. As they inevitably descended towards the ground, she put down a foot and kicked off harder than before; this time the ascent was faster and they rose higher, until a ten foot drop separated them from the ground.

Seren didn't care in the slightest. "I wish we could go higher!" she laughed, leaning back as the wind whipped about her face. Midnight locks flared out and as she looked up, the stars overhead became a shimmering blur before her eyes. Only Sah was real and solid as they spun out across the meadow. His hand in hers; an anchor in a sea of stars.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

I have never feared the storm

Sah simply shook his head with a small smile. "I hope so." His grin turned playful. "My poor ego can't take it." As they began to descend, Sah was going to ask if they could do it again. But Seren beat him to it as she pushed off the ground. The rush of suddenly ascending made his stomach drop in the best way, tearing a joyful laugh from him. To be up in the air, surrounded by stars once more. It was glorious.

Seren's laughter brought more from Sah. "Me too! Maybe if we flap our arms?" He challenged her, and began to try and forcefully flap his arm. It seemed to work mildly but any real gain would likely have to be a team effort. Sah couldn't even articulate how he felt at the moment. Being in the star-filled sky, laughing with a close friend, and feeling the curiosity and happiness coming from his bond will Lilly who chased through the meadow beneath them. He felt more content, more at home then he'd felt since coming to Caido. Slightly overwhelmed with gratitude he smiled at Seren. "Thank you for this."

Sah

Oh, empty my heart

That comment broke any vestige of seriousness on her part. Seren's laughter was bright and cheerful, and accompanied their joint efforts to ascend to even greater heights. But though the flailing did manage to elevate them slightly, inevitably they kept descending unto that annoyingly low ten feet.
"It seems we have found a limit of mine," she lamented, even though it felt a little good - she was not perfect, and now Sah knew it too.

The gratitude was unexpected. Seren stilled, her attempts abandoned under the warm weight of Sah's gaze. Her first instinct was to brush it off, wave it away with another joke... but something stopped her. The smile she returned was a touch shy, and when words failed her the girl did the only thing she could think of. She pulled on his hand, and made herself drift back in. Closer, so that she could slip her arms around his neck in a warm hug.

"For you, anytime," she murmured sweetly - glad that Sah wouldn't be able to see her blush when her cheek was already pressed against his.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

I have never feared the storm

Sah simply glanced at the slowly approaching ground before raising a brow at Seren. "True." His lips twitched, fighting a laugh. "Oh woe's you who can only float 10 feet in the air." At that comment he lost the fight and a chuckle escaped him. That chuckle died down immediately as Seren put her arms around him. Sah hadn't expected a hug, and he was very pleasantly surprised. Warmth filled him at the gesture, making a gentle smile appear on his face. Physical affection was the one he understood and appreciated the most.

Seren's words However made Sah pause, forcing him to swallow harshly. A red flush painted his ears, as he hid his face against her as well. He hadn't expected to hear something that sweet, and he was at a loss for words. So he simply held her closer as they finished descending and stood in the field, his heart taking on an abnormal beat for some reason.

Sah

Oh, empty my heart

There were subtle differences between hugging Sah, and the other people in her life. Her father was taller. Remi was broader, at least a little. Of course, Maeve and Hotaru were smaller and softer, and her mother could not even compare. But it was more than that. This did not feel quite as safe as with Harper or Sunjata, though it was close. Maybe the difference lay in the scent, heady and not entirely familiar. Or in the light tingle where his arms closed around her back. Maybe it was the way her heart couldn't quite settle, but kept racing along at a fast pace, even as Seren relaxed.

She hardly noticed when they returned to the ground. Only the faint tickle of grass beneath her soles suggested that she had forgotten to maintain the spell, and somehow it seemed like too much effort to start it up again. For the second time, she experienced how the world shrank away. The gleaming stars, the distant music and laugher, light spilling onto a field where night had made itself comfortable - it all faded into a backdrop to the beat of her own heart, and an acute awareness of Sah's rythmic breathing.

Was this how you made friends? How long were hugs supposed to go on? Something whispered in the back of her mind that this was probably a bit longer than normal... but Seren did not really want to let go.

So she didn't.

I've got to make room for this feeling

SEREN

I have never feared the storm

Sah rested his chin on Seren's head, eyes closed contently. After a moment he made a noise of surprise before pulling back slightly. He still kept one arm around her waist but there was about a half-foot in-between them now. Glancing down, Sah smile fondly at the disturbance, giving a small chuckle. Lilly had decided that if the pair were going to be on the ground cuddling, she was not going to be left out again. The little pup was on her back legs, front paws outstretched to gently tap her bonded's leg. Upon getting his attention, she let out a happy yip, tail wagging furiously.

"C'mere Lilly." Feeling himself flooded with affection, Sah bent down and picked up his pup. Lilly happily settled against his chest, tucking in by one arm. Seeing Sah's other arm returning to wrapping around Seren, Lilly decided that clearly the demigod needed to also be reminded of her presence. After all, how else could Lilly join the cuddle if not all participants were aware of her? And so the wolf pup leaned forward to give Seren a gentle lick to the face.

Sah