Noctisardor Bypass sonnenschein

The silence continued, and he embraced her. Ciri crooned an affectionate note into the tousled charcoal furs of Mahler's throat as she buried her snout among them. To her, he smelled of comfort and of home - the dearest things in the world to her.

She let the quiet linger for a short time longer before her raven muzzle withdrew from the hollow of her father's throat, and she poked her nose gingerly to the velvet of his cheek. It was there that the swallow stole a kiss, fleeting and delicate.

"Are you lonely, Papa?" Ciri asked him softly, tone hushed for fear of disturbing the calm, and entirely unaware how he'd once asked her mother that very same question.