"'s not a shortage," he protested weakly. "I'm just bad at stringin' 'em together." As their earlier conversation had amply proven. Any time he tried to use too many he got himself in trouble and people misunderstood what he meant, leading to all sorts of frustrating misunderstandings.
He was still tense; his pulse fluttered and raced beneath Hotaru's fingertips when she touched him and his muscles stood like steel cords beneath his skin, but he awkwardly freed one hand from his ribs to hook fingers into her sleeve, the lightest of anchors to keep her close - or to keep himself from drifting away.
The others out and about in errands kept walking, stealing covert glances at the drama playing out on the side of the snowy street but not wanting to be caught up in whatever was playing out between the courier and the masseuse, and Tal had forgotten about them long since. His breath puffed out in the shadow of a ghost of a laugh at Ru's words and his fingers tightened gratefully in cloth at the bridge that she offered back to where they had been before.
"I mean, long as you're crazy enough t'stick around with me, I guess you c'n be my favorite..." Especially since, in light of her words today, he was going to have face some hard re-evaluating of his feelings for Deimos.
From high overhead a pale dragon began to spiral slowly down, concerned but unhurried at the calming emotions coming from her human and the view of a dark head and a pale one leaning together.
He was still tense; his pulse fluttered and raced beneath Hotaru's fingertips when she touched him and his muscles stood like steel cords beneath his skin, but he awkwardly freed one hand from his ribs to hook fingers into her sleeve, the lightest of anchors to keep her close - or to keep himself from drifting away.
The others out and about in errands kept walking, stealing covert glances at the drama playing out on the side of the snowy street but not wanting to be caught up in whatever was playing out between the courier and the masseuse, and Tal had forgotten about them long since. His breath puffed out in the shadow of a ghost of a laugh at Ru's words and his fingers tightened gratefully in cloth at the bridge that she offered back to where they had been before.
"I mean, long as you're crazy enough t'stick around with me, I guess you c'n be my favorite..." Especially since, in light of her words today, he was going to have face some hard re-evaluating of his feelings for Deimos.
From high overhead a pale dragon began to spiral slowly down, concerned but unhurried at the calming emotions coming from her human and the view of a dark head and a pale one leaning together.
