jungle

Aurelia was safe for now and so she began to calm her breathing. She turned as Danya started moving again and told her it was just a hole after all. She swallowed. "A little. I don't want to be swept out to sea. The idea of drowning... terrifies me. Think about it, it's horrible. Then think about being blind and doing it." The sheer darkness would crush the life out of anyone. She shuddered at the thought. "I think I'm done, I'm sorry." she added, continuing towards the beach until her toes hit the sand.

She shook off and sat down near the water's edge, just close enough for the waves to kiss her toes. "Come sit by me, please?" she asked. She wanted to be close to him, suddenly. She didn't know why, but she felt lonely talking about death and darkness. Danya was one of the only wolves she could rely on for comfort, even if he was abrasive and not cuddly at all. She still brought to her a warmth that she could not deny and frankly, wouldn't. What was the point in that? Aurelia didn't like keeping things all business, all the time. There was a time for business and a time for personal things and this was one of those times.

Danya turned his gaze to the horizon, watching as the water in the distance rose and fell into white ridged waves that tumbled over themselves. In the sky, seabirds fluttered about, whisked around on wings that caught the winds high above the ocean’s surface. A fish slithered past Danya’s leg, scales running over the thin fur on his limbs as the fish went farther out to sea, going with the gentle current as it breathed in and out. He gave a sigh, turning back toward Aurelia as she began to speak.

”A little,” she said. ”I don’t want to be swept out to sea. The idea of drowning… terrifies me. Think about it, it’s horrible. Then think about being blind and doing it.” Aurelia spoke with true fear in her voice. Danya tilted his head slightly to the side, considering her words.

”I can understand the fear – I think.” He said quietly, turning his gaze back towards the horizon.

”I think I’m done, I’m sorry.” Aurelia said. Danya shook his head slightly before he spoke in turn.

”It is okay,” he said, watching as she walked out of the water, shaking it off as she did so. His gaze slid over her, looking her over as the water held her fur down, making it cling in areas it didn’t normally. Danya tilted his head slightly to the side, a small smile touching his charcoal lips.

”Come sit by me, please?” Aurelia asked. Danya obliged her, slowly walking from the water, feeling the drag of the current against his pelt, feeling its weight as it ran from him the farther from the water he got. He paused, shaking himself, sending water flying around him for a moment. He slowly came beside her, settling himself on the sand beside her.

”What troubles you, Aure?” He asked, glancing over towards her with a curious look on his features.

Aurelia wondered if he truly could understand such a fear without living through what she did. He didn’t seem to fear much at all now that she thought about it but honestly, deep down, he had to be afraid of something. Nobody was truly fearless and if they were... something was wrong with them. She sat in the sand quietly as he came to her side and when he reached her, she leaned on him for comfort. He asked her what was wrong but really, it was nothing. It was just... life. There was nothing she could do about this melancholy that often overtook her, at least nothing she’d done worked thus far. It had been a part of her life for so long that she just thought it was who she was from time to time.

”Nothing, really.” she said in response. A great many things troubled her but today she was determined to try and not let them. She drew a breath and closed her eyes, enjoying the touch of a friend and the warmth of the sun. The gulls in the sky cawed and she let out a soft hum. ”We should probably head back soon,” she said. They did have a business to attend to after all.

-exit aurelia-

Danya, in truth, did not fear much. But he did understand fear – he understood it as this cold, creeping thing that wrapped its fingers around one’s heart, and rose in their throat like bile. He understood it as a tingling in his legs to run, to flee, but more so, he understood it as a sense of discomfort. It was not a feeling that he would want to live with for long periods of time, and in some way, he felt compassion for the blind woman before him, in that she always seemed to fear something. He lowered himself beside her, leaning into the touch that she offered as much as she leaned into him.

It was strange to be so close to someone, more so a woman. He never would have thought that someone of the opposite sex would have earned such a high place in his heart, more so, he never thought that someone would have captured him in the way that Aurelia had. Sure, at his core, Danya was still himself… but, he had to admit… Aurelia changed something about him that he could not begin to understand. More so, she changed the way he acted towards her, in ways that Danya had never thought possible.

”Nothing, really,” Aurelia answered his question.

”If you say so,” he said quietly, glancing towards the motion of the waves. He didn’t believe her, but he would not press the issue if she did not offer the information so willingly.

”We should probably head back soon.”

”Probably,” Danya answered. But part of him did not want to. He was relaxed here, as odd as it felt… he didn’t want to give that up, but the blind woman was right in her sentiment. They had things that they had to do and enjoying something that had become a bit of a leisure day was not something that could last forever. Not when there was business to attend to.