(A sister—)
He had begin to think of her like that, too. Someone he was always happy to see, always willing to help, someone he wouldn't hesitate for: someone he chose to give his time to. Someone he would do the difficult things for. He said nothing, though, just watched his hand against the sky. This wasn't his confession, and she knew that he (had) had a blood sister.
Amalia couldn't fill the Karlia-shaped hole left in his heart, but he had opened a door to another room and put her in there. She fit there.
No, it wasn't his time to talk about sisters, partially because he wanted it to mean something, more than just an echo of Jigano's love, and partially because he did not want to invite questions about Karlia. That wasn't his bad news.
Jigano laid down next to him, a sudden warmth he had not expected. An arm wrapped around his shoulder and tugged him close, and without hesitation he let his side press against Jigano's. Part of him wanted to throw an arm and a leg over the other man, but again: it wasn't the time.
If there was one thing he desperately did not want to do, it was alienate Amalia by being.. well, whatever it was he might be if left on his own with Jigano in a situation like this. So he settled for for extracting the arm trapped between them and resting it gently on Jigano's thigh (pretending the gravity of the situation robbed it of all of its electricity), waiting for Amalia to say that she, too, was ready for another round.
Only—he craned his head back at the decidedly animal noise accompanied by a nudge to his person, and instead of peering into Amalia's black eyes in her angular and beautiful face, he peered into Amalia's black eyes set in the monochromatic, pale face of a snow leopard. "Amalia!" he breathed in delight and wonder, for a moment removed entirely from their current predicament by the revelation of this other form. Light and amazement outshone the bitter and envious current beneath.
She had made her choice, like everyone ought to.
Happily he obliged and raised his head, letting the furry feline place her compact and warm body beneath it. He wanted to get up, to get a better look at her, to study her pattern and her grace and the strength and elegance of her body—but he remained where he was, feeling her purrs rumble like thunder through his body, her nose cold upon his cheek as he reached up with his free hand to scratch along her jaw. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, wanted to ask about it—how long ago had she made this choice? What was it like?
But he had promised bad news, and he didn't know how many more beatings his heart could take, anyway.
"I don't know if Jigano found a moment to tell you yet," he began, his fingers still moving through her fur, following the curve of her strong jaw and exploring the shape and texture of her ears. "But Maea sent the two of us a summons. She wanted to discuss founding a Council to govern the Hollowed Grounds." Rory sighed. "I went there this morning, because Gods know I needed to get out of here for a while... Guess who else she had invited? Samuel, Evie, and Roana." And what a great choice that had been, huh? Fucking hell. He laughed, bitterly. "Vervain came in, too. Everyone else was on-board, but I got out of there. Evie and Vai are good choices, but the rest..."
He trailed off into silence. So, yeah. Talk about long, shitty day.
He had begin to think of her like that, too. Someone he was always happy to see, always willing to help, someone he wouldn't hesitate for: someone he chose to give his time to. Someone he would do the difficult things for. He said nothing, though, just watched his hand against the sky. This wasn't his confession, and she knew that he (had) had a blood sister.
Amalia couldn't fill the Karlia-shaped hole left in his heart, but he had opened a door to another room and put her in there. She fit there.
No, it wasn't his time to talk about sisters, partially because he wanted it to mean something, more than just an echo of Jigano's love, and partially because he did not want to invite questions about Karlia. That wasn't his bad news.
Jigano laid down next to him, a sudden warmth he had not expected. An arm wrapped around his shoulder and tugged him close, and without hesitation he let his side press against Jigano's. Part of him wanted to throw an arm and a leg over the other man, but again: it wasn't the time.
If there was one thing he desperately did not want to do, it was alienate Amalia by being.. well, whatever it was he might be if left on his own with Jigano in a situation like this. So he settled for for extracting the arm trapped between them and resting it gently on Jigano's thigh (pretending the gravity of the situation robbed it of all of its electricity), waiting for Amalia to say that she, too, was ready for another round.
Only—he craned his head back at the decidedly animal noise accompanied by a nudge to his person, and instead of peering into Amalia's black eyes in her angular and beautiful face, he peered into Amalia's black eyes set in the monochromatic, pale face of a snow leopard. "Amalia!" he breathed in delight and wonder, for a moment removed entirely from their current predicament by the revelation of this other form. Light and amazement outshone the bitter and envious current beneath.
She had made her choice, like everyone ought to.
Happily he obliged and raised his head, letting the furry feline place her compact and warm body beneath it. He wanted to get up, to get a better look at her, to study her pattern and her grace and the strength and elegance of her body—but he remained where he was, feeling her purrs rumble like thunder through his body, her nose cold upon his cheek as he reached up with his free hand to scratch along her jaw. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, wanted to ask about it—how long ago had she made this choice? What was it like?
But he had promised bad news, and he didn't know how many more beatings his heart could take, anyway.
"I don't know if Jigano found a moment to tell you yet," he began, his fingers still moving through her fur, following the curve of her strong jaw and exploring the shape and texture of her ears. "But Maea sent the two of us a summons. She wanted to discuss founding a Council to govern the Hollowed Grounds." Rory sighed. "I went there this morning, because Gods know I needed to get out of here for a while... Guess who else she had invited? Samuel, Evie, and Roana." And what a great choice that had been, huh? Fucking hell. He laughed, bitterly. "Vervain came in, too. Everyone else was on-board, but I got out of there. Evie and Vai are good choices, but the rest..."
He trailed off into silence. So, yeah. Talk about long, shitty day.
