such expensive mistakes

For a moment, they are wretched things: lonely creatures thrust together by circumstance. Seiji begins to wonder if Kiada is not, perhaps, more lonely than he supposed. He had assumed.... Foolishly assumed someone so charismatic would of course have friends. Many friends. A place in life. A calling, as he once did. But then why is she alone here, with only the bird? He is perhaps too critical; all at once he feels embarrassed by his suspicion. What is he doing? Who is he becoming? A memory floats up: he can hear the voice of someone long lost, left on a distant shore, half-hidden by fog: Look at the daylight, meu amor. One of his ears tilts slowly sideways. I am getting dark again, he thinks. Bemused. A little embarrassed. He hears a sadness in Kiada's voice when she speaks, and he wonders if he has anything to do with it. For being distant; for turning away. For allowing his own feelings to rule him, while she is here as well, lonely as well. And he cannot know what moves inside her mind aside from what she's told him, but he feels an ache in his chest at the sound of her voice. His features are soft when he shakes his head. Gently. No, he thinks. No. There is no need for apology. He wishes only that he could explain — put words to everything inside of him. Or even just tell her, I was better company when I was more myself. But he cannot; he can only shake his head, step forward carefully. Gauge her reaction. If she does not leap away, he wishes to touch her shoulder gently with the soft end of his nose. A sort of... it's all right. A foreign gesture to his mind but one he has adopted now in this place. Stolen from his dearest friend, who Seiji once considered a little overfond of touching. Whether or not she allows him to touch her, though, he has moved closer. Eyes brushing over her shoulder. Her chest. Pausing on something there. He hadn't noticed it before. Maybe he was on the wrong side of her? But now his head tilts as his dark eyes linger on the strange, glowing wound carved into her flesh. It looks... painful. Strange: like something out of the deepest part of the sea. Seiji's ears come forward in a silent question. His eyes flick up to meet hers, wondering. For the first time a little concerned.

img by Tildae @ flickr

@Kiada