He had seen those blue eyes bright with laughter and misted with tears. He had seen them weary, wondrous, bright, and shadowed. But he didn't have a word for what he saw in them now, as Rory's gaze took in the humanity that lay beneath the fox, and the fox's heart within the man. But for all that words failed him their connection remained in the hand on his cheek, and in the way neither of them wanted to pull away.
He cared for this man. That, he had admitted to himself when he had asked Ludo's protection of the Abandoned, all those weeks ago. He cared for other people as well, but... he cared for Rory enough to trade his dreams for his friend's safety. He cared enough to follow him out into the night, amongst the monsters that waited there, ready to coil into their minds.
He cared enough to show his transformation, that most vulnerable, most cherished of his secrets.
Oh, how the ice fairy who had given him Isuma's egg would laugh at him if she could see him now... but she was as far from his thoughts as the rest of the world just then.
Isuma yawned and rolled over as she was shifted, snuggling more comfortably into her new position with the deep sleep of the very young and the very tired. She missed how Rory's hand rose to capture the fox-turned-man, and missed how Jigano's eyes closed - not in hiding, but in a relaxation of tension, a surrender of trust to the hunter who held him so gently. Blue eyes opened at the soft words, the hope that had begun to flicker before growing stronger and warmer in them. "Well..." he started, then paused, unsure of where to go until a flicker of a phrase surfaced in his mind. Blood and rage tickled the edges of the memory as well, but... blunted. And it seemed right to take a little light from the darkness that had almost cost them everything. "I thought... you might want your emotional support fox back," he murmured, tilting his head just slightly to nestle his cheek against Rory's other hand, ears perked forward but relaxed in silent testament to how the hunter had soothed the Attuned's unspoken fears.
He cared for this man. That, he had admitted to himself when he had asked Ludo's protection of the Abandoned, all those weeks ago. He cared for other people as well, but... he cared for Rory enough to trade his dreams for his friend's safety. He cared enough to follow him out into the night, amongst the monsters that waited there, ready to coil into their minds.
He cared enough to show his transformation, that most vulnerable, most cherished of his secrets.
Oh, how the ice fairy who had given him Isuma's egg would laugh at him if she could see him now... but she was as far from his thoughts as the rest of the world just then.
Isuma yawned and rolled over as she was shifted, snuggling more comfortably into her new position with the deep sleep of the very young and the very tired. She missed how Rory's hand rose to capture the fox-turned-man, and missed how Jigano's eyes closed - not in hiding, but in a relaxation of tension, a surrender of trust to the hunter who held him so gently. Blue eyes opened at the soft words, the hope that had begun to flicker before growing stronger and warmer in them. "Well..." he started, then paused, unsure of where to go until a flicker of a phrase surfaced in his mind. Blood and rage tickled the edges of the memory as well, but... blunted. And it seemed right to take a little light from the darkness that had almost cost them everything. "I thought... you might want your emotional support fox back," he murmured, tilting his head just slightly to nestle his cheek against Rory's other hand, ears perked forward but relaxed in silent testament to how the hunter had soothed the Attuned's unspoken fears.
