14.May.20, 11:45 AM
The relief Madiquel felt when A’tay said he wasn’t mad at her, washed over her like a sudden ray of sunlight, warming her up and Madiquel felt a quiver dip down her spine in response even as she beamed up at A’tay in the darkness with such relief she couldn’t have found words to articulate it if she’d tried. Instead, she smiled at him warmly, expression full of relief and affection for her friend; her eyes crinkled and her smile widened when A’tay responded to her dancing comment by moving into motion, and she laughed softly, the sound delicate in the darkness.
Shifting her hands from A’tay’s chest to loop her arms loosely around his neck, her wrists crossed, Madiquel joyfully swaying to the music of dragon humming. It wasn’t the same type of hum as that which announced a Hatching, and it took Madiquel a moment to realise it was a popular Harper tune, and she sent Zezeth a wave of love and affection, which the young green dragon echoed back at her. Madiquel wasn’t sure how long they danced for, or when Zezeth stopped, but it was noticed eventually and the swaying faltered before ending. She wasn’t even sure which of them ended the dance, or if they both stopped at the same time.
Still smiling, Madiquel left her arms linked around A’tay’s neck as she stood on her toes, to place a light kiss on his cheek, a quiet thanks for the dance, and his friendship, and not hating her for being selfish and hiding away since the Hatching. No related words followed the kiss like normally followed Madiquel’s cheerful pecks; instead, she was distracted by the evening stubble on A’tay’s face. Apparently, her friend was clean shaven whenever he visited her, because Madiquel was taken completely by surprise by the prickly cheek, blinking as she pulled back, though not far, and she shifted to brush her finger along his cheekbone, as if to make sure her lips weren’t lying.
They weren’t.
Aside from her Papa, who had at one point after losing Denath looked like a crazed hairy monster, Madiquel’s friends were, apparently, majority cleanshaven, not shaving, or not close enough for her to notice the scruff. Frowning slightly, Madiquel stood on tiptoe again, this time using one hand to gently tip A’tay’s head by the chin to catch the moonlight, while she leaned close – almost cross eyed – to peer at his stubble. It was barely visible, obviously the same soft shade of blonde as his hair, and hiding from the little light there was. She doubted it would be any more visible in the daylight. She gave a soft ‘hm!’ noise, and released A’tay’s chin gently, her fingers brushing quickly across his top lip (yup, still prickly) and then wrapped her arms once more around his neck, tightly this time, and pressed her cheek to A’tay’s, his stubble scratching her cheek as she spoke.
“I never realised,” she said quietly, her voice implying her own denseness for not taking note of the fact her friend was growing up just as much as she was, even if she was behind most of the other girls that had been lucky enough to make it into her healer class. She had noticed she had hips now, and a modest chest was hard to miss at bath time, but she hadn’t yet met the major milestone of her menses and honestly, considering both stories and studies, she wasn’t looking forward to that – although the fact that she was a half-fledged greenrider promised she wouldn’t be as miserable as her past-future-self without a dragon was going to be!
Shifting her hands from A’tay’s chest to loop her arms loosely around his neck, her wrists crossed, Madiquel joyfully swaying to the music of dragon humming. It wasn’t the same type of hum as that which announced a Hatching, and it took Madiquel a moment to realise it was a popular Harper tune, and she sent Zezeth a wave of love and affection, which the young green dragon echoed back at her. Madiquel wasn’t sure how long they danced for, or when Zezeth stopped, but it was noticed eventually and the swaying faltered before ending. She wasn’t even sure which of them ended the dance, or if they both stopped at the same time.
Still smiling, Madiquel left her arms linked around A’tay’s neck as she stood on her toes, to place a light kiss on his cheek, a quiet thanks for the dance, and his friendship, and not hating her for being selfish and hiding away since the Hatching. No related words followed the kiss like normally followed Madiquel’s cheerful pecks; instead, she was distracted by the evening stubble on A’tay’s face. Apparently, her friend was clean shaven whenever he visited her, because Madiquel was taken completely by surprise by the prickly cheek, blinking as she pulled back, though not far, and she shifted to brush her finger along his cheekbone, as if to make sure her lips weren’t lying.
They weren’t.
Aside from her Papa, who had at one point after losing Denath looked like a crazed hairy monster, Madiquel’s friends were, apparently, majority cleanshaven, not shaving, or not close enough for her to notice the scruff. Frowning slightly, Madiquel stood on tiptoe again, this time using one hand to gently tip A’tay’s head by the chin to catch the moonlight, while she leaned close – almost cross eyed – to peer at his stubble. It was barely visible, obviously the same soft shade of blonde as his hair, and hiding from the little light there was. She doubted it would be any more visible in the daylight. She gave a soft ‘hm!’ noise, and released A’tay’s chin gently, her fingers brushing quickly across his top lip (yup, still prickly) and then wrapped her arms once more around his neck, tightly this time, and pressed her cheek to A’tay’s, his stubble scratching her cheek as she spoke.
“I never realised,” she said quietly, her voice implying her own denseness for not taking note of the fact her friend was growing up just as much as she was, even if she was behind most of the other girls that had been lucky enough to make it into her healer class. She had noticed she had hips now, and a modest chest was hard to miss at bath time, but she hadn’t yet met the major milestone of her menses and honestly, considering both stories and studies, she wasn’t looking forward to that – although the fact that she was a half-fledged greenrider promised she wouldn’t be as miserable as her past-future-self without a dragon was going to be!