King Elk Forest i will paint you in silver; i will wrap you in cold

drown me in ur words I love it <3

Again, Nathaniel's firebird left him perplexed and uncertain what to say. There were no words from her. The girl wilted quietly, and though he could not understand the emotion in her eyes he understood that it was because of what he had said. He had expected excitement. The ex-soldier assumed the fiery girl would be one step ahead of him, would share or guess his intentions-- still he did not realize this was erroneous.
Instead he thought that perhaps she did not welcome the idea. That it distressed her so much left his stomach in uncomfortable knots, and without further contemplation he sought to make amends. Nathaniel turned to nose her cheek, simply returning her gesture at first, but he found himself unable to pull away and leave it at that. The ex-soldier trailed his nose through Mona's fur first to her ear, then down her neck, pressing himself against her for a moment-- should she allow it-- in an almost-embrace.
He moved away barely a few beats later, trying to find the words to assure her that she didn't have to do anything-- that he would simply have to hurry back.
Do you-- if you'd rather stay-- or if you have other plans... He looked away, uncomfortable and keenly aware of the awkward, stunted way he was speaking now. There was more he wanted to say, but the words caught in his throat. Frustration flashed through him, followed closely by a flood of shame-- why was he struggling with this? Asking himself was pointless, because he would never admit that it was because he had really hoped she'd come with him.