Coconut Grove dard-e-dil

@Hamartia

things had changed for him, over the past moon. izel was gone, much to his dissatisfaction, but he had made a few new friends. the seawolves from the bay: lovely lilia and imperious ford, his cheeky brother rannveig, their companion dalia. and then there was his own. . .flock? no, that sounded much too preachy.

troupe. he remembered the word lucas had used to describe his old band. he liked it fine, and thought it described them well, even if they didn't perform tricks.

yes, he was happier than he was a moon ago. it wasn't difficult--he couldn't have gotten much sadder. but the progress heartened him. today, he strolled through the thicker part of the grove, further inland, where the palms mixed with more common trees, evergreen and deciduous. he wondered if he might find hamartia here.

he was intrigued by her, the primary factor of that drive still unknown. was it her sex, or something else? should he feel the same pull, were she male? all he knew now was that what he saw in her eyes was something he felt in his soul, but until he spoke to her about it, he would never put it all together.