Though Hal had smiled, he could see the offense she had taken in her eyes. He knew her, had memorized her reactions and emotions in a way that only Kino could(though she still continued to surprise him every day). He knew her smiles, her real one that seemed to reach all the way to her back molars, that caused her bright eyes to squint and her muzzle to crinkle. This was not a real smile, and he couldn’t fathom what he had said that would make her react in such a way. He wanted to help, wanted to know how to say the right thing in these situations like she always seemed to, but that simple wasn’t him. He was brash, he was clumsy socially, spilling all over himself and others and coming out in all the wrong ways. In situations like these, he didn’t quite know how to respond other than in light teases and banter. If the atmosphere got too heavy he’d freeze, or say something even worse than usual. But, it seemed that that didn’t please Sahalie at the moment, that part of him didn’t sate the needs that she had for this conversation and he was left at a loss.
Then, surprising him again, she was suddenly right there plucking him from his thoughts of her and replacing them with a live version. His heart stuttered in his chest, topaz gaze widening slightly as they suddenly came nose to nose and eye to eye. Ocean met golden sunset as she returned to seriousness. "You gotta promise me," she practically demanded, and he internally winced. Promises were complicated and hard, they were binding and they were…definite in a way that scared the skittish Lagina boy. He was a wind-gust, he was a dandelion caught in a summer storm, going with the flow instead of being hammered down. Promises were serious, and serious terrified the seemingly serious Kino. But…those golden eyes were enticing. They were warm and inviting to a battered and beaten ex-prince, whose ribs were showing and pelt was grimy and unkept. They were exploration, adventure, and friendship that he thought he would never have. There were a lot of things he had now that he’d thought he hadn’t deserved before, and those golden eyes were what had brought him to them.
“Sahalie Tainn, I promise to help you capture the Bend. I promise that I will help you prove to be the sun, and not just a spark,” though a simple spark can start a whole other fire.
Getting to his paws, the large boy gave his pelt a shake. “But, I think the rest of Oak Tree Bend needs their sun right now,” he told her, turning in the direction of the communal den and gesturing for her to follow. If he was going to put his money where his mouth was, she needed to do the same.
Fade