The Heartwood blackwound

reno was attractive in the sort of way that a dry creekbed might regard a pending deluge. teya was rendered incompetent by his accented voice. her skin warmed to a heatpoint as sayf touched her, and she was a little nervous that he could hear her heart racing.
the widewater rapids of her gaze steadied herself against sayf's own. the fact that he knew her intimately brought a flush to her cheeks. "i ... tremelia." she tried that little white lie on, trusting that the man from akashingo wouldn't give away her secrets. "and i outnumbered. maybe we go into rain instead."
she moved into an open patch of earth. the droplets started to wet down her fur as she glanced back toward her companions. and while guilt did rise — why agree to be married if you're going to be like this — it was put to death by the memory of weeping hopelessly next to reyes while he did nothing more than stare at the water around their home.
and so teya waited for reno and sayf to join her, winging every moment with no coherent plan of what came next.