Hazy Shade of Winter

As seasons had changed and time went on since their last meeting she'd often wondered what it would be like to see him again. Wondered, for a long time really, if he would ever stop and think of her and what he felt if he did. Now it was winter and countless days had passed, the world had experienced rebirth and decay, but which of those things would the two of them experience? Caelum worried that this was where the season of their love would be decided. She didn't know which way she wanted this to go. Her heart pleaded for them to get past their problems and rekindle their relationship, but her gut was convinced this was at best unlikely. His touch though, it brought back the past like an avalanche, so powerful it almost felt dangerous. The good things suffocated the negatives and she desired only their continued closeness.

Without warning she'd find herself frozen in place. Only the warmth on her cheeks freed her from this, a warmth caused by Zephyr's attempts at lapping away the tears that had made their homes on her face. Thump! Her heart beat harder for a moment, the air exiting her lungs all at once. She was caught up in this moment like a fly in a spiders web. She never wanted to be released from it. He was just so... Captivating. From his lovely coat to his brilliant eyes, to the way he could narrow the world down to just the two of them. It was beautiful and she was caught up in it all so hard there would be no escape even if she wanted there to be.

He said he'd listen. Where did she start though? All her words had been falling out of her brain, he'd swept them from her mind with his intoxicating presence and touch and now she was sitting here lamely trying in vain to know where to begin with it all. A chilly breeze carrying a bounty of snowflakes would blow against her side, causing the ivory woman to shiver until it subsided for the most part. Stomach twisting, leaving her feeling ill at the thought of ruining their time together with the wrong words, mouth once more parted slightly while she searched for the right things to say, "I mean... Well... I think, or I hope at least that it's somewhat clear that I still care about you Zeph. I don't think that ever goes away, and I don't want it to." She sighed, pausing for a moment to gather the courage to go on. She didn't want to rehash things, but this was, in her opinion, what moving forward might look like. Sometimes you had to go back a bit and dig up the ugly mess you'd been leaving behind before things could go on. Otherwise it would resurface of it's own accord when you were the least prepared for it.

All the hope in the world seemed to gather in her eyes, sparkling with desire for things to be okay between them, though there was also a sort of tentativeness to both her body language and her voice that would betray her uncertainty and lack of confidence. She continued softly, "Something's changed though and I want to know what it is. Before... There was a time when we'd never shout, never hurt each other. Yet that was what happened last time and I want to know why. No, I need to know." Her voice was breaking almost as much at her heart.

After her words ended and some time passed she found herself thinking suddenly and a bit guiltily thinking about her time with Inverno. Though she didn't think she'd done anything truly wrong she was curious if Zephyr would be upset by the closeness she'd forged with the man, or the time she'd spent snuggling close with him when she'd felt so unhappy before. She couldn't find the strength to bring it up yet though. Not yet. But when?