Big Salmon Lake Stale air and dead parades

He did feel bad. He could tell that he wasn't in a good state of mind, that something in him had changed during his illness. He kept waking up expecting it to be gone, the way a headache would dissipate after you hit your head a little bit. This time though, it didn't seem to want to leave him. Like a demon plaguing him, drumming about in his head, it wreaked havoc.
If he was meant to be hiding his suffering from her, he was doing a damn poor job of it. He'd never been good at concealing the way he was feeling, he just got good for a while at not talking about it. Takiyok could read him like a book, and he knew it. There was no point in even trying to hide himself from her.
Her tone disarmed him, though. She wasn't being demanding, and she wasn't asking anything from him. The defensive feeling he felt from the anxiety of worrying over Lunaria cracked. Within its reaches, he pulled something soft and tender, something that echoed the warmth of Taki beside him.
She stopped. For a moment, he kept walking, but when he realized she hadn't paused to sniff at something or relieve herself, he stopped too and turned.
And then, so did the world.
Everything came to a standstill. The silence that had plagued the light in the sky was on the opposite side of the same coin. The chilling of Lunaria's absence contrasted darkly with something warm and fluttering upon Takiyok's essence. Taikon could not ignore it. The timing was abysmal, and for a selfish flicker he wished she had just waited to say something, but soon after her warmth flooded his senses and spirit with something soft and comforting. As he stepped forward, he found himself lost in her, until finally he pulled her to him and held her close.
He didn't have the right words. His mind wouldn't allow it. L-love you, he blathered, but it was a poor fit for the way he really felt.
Before he could correct it, a raven flew overhead and croaked. The sound reverberated in their pleasant silence. It did not bode well. Taikon looked up, his heart dropping even as he felt her warmth against him. Not good, he thought. We're almost there, he breathed, moving just slightly away from her so that she might follow along. Even though his words had been the understatement of the century, his demeanour seemed to change. Suddenly he seemed to need her at his side. Perhaps he had before, he'd just forgotten momentarily.