Redtail Rise whistles and cricket song

Ratio was shocked into stillness as Ashalr pressed close to him. His brain provided him with nothing but static, his gaze blank for several seconds. Prophet and even Avicus were prone to bumping shoulders with him - a new but not unwelcome ritual - but this was not that. Ratio never initiated contact, only accepted it as it came to him. He would never have been so bold as to reach out to Ashlar, even if his muscles ached at him to do so.

He was braver than Ratio. 

Ratio finally returned the affection, his muzzle brushing against the smaller male as he shifted back. He felt the soft fur on his face, the scent in his nose. Avicus' heat and the stress it brought him was temporarily forgotten, but it made him feel reckless. He wanted to hold Ashalr longer, press into him, and run his tongue along his cheek. He felt the urge in his bones, like he would die if he did not act.

Die he would, then, because he kept himself back. The warmth swallowed him and as his eyes found the beautiful amber of Ashlar's, not looking at him, his gaze was soft. He would not chase the man away with his silly, selfish desire for more. This was enough for now - maybe forever, though his heart howled in agony at the thought. Ratio needed space to make this suffocating feeling recede but for now, he did not leave. 

He laughed a breathy, quiet laugh at Ashlar's words. "I...Thank you." he didn't know what else to say. He let the silence settle over him for a moment. He should leave before he got himself into more trouble. He should leave before he said something he could not take back, something more than how great Ashlar was. Worse, he might actually reach out. But he didn't want to leave, his instincts screaming against him at the thought of walking away. 

"Do you...want to patrol? Together." he offered after a moment, unsure of what else he could say to keep them together without choking on his hormones.