Black gold

Hanako wished more of her encounters were like this, calm and peaceful without having to go through the motions of small talk. Sure, it had its place but going 'hey how are you, where are you from' over and over got old fast. If anything, Nolan felt like close old friend, as though they'd known each other for months not moments. The fact that he was clearly so at ease around her solidified that feeling and the warmth of his words rolled over her like sweet honey. It should have dawned on her that maybe she was leading him along, toying with his affections but Hanako-for as easy as she made it seem- had very little experience with matters of the heart. Not only was she still young and dumb but she'd never been given the chance to explore either,  having always been kept on a short leash by her Keepers.

"She's lucky to have you." Because if she was being completely honest, Hanako wasn't sure if she had the patience to do that. Or at least to keep it up as long as Nolan clearly had.

And then at Nolan's direction she looked to the night sky and her eyes shone with wonder, like stars reflecting off an frozen over pond. In typical Nolan fashion, his idea was as pretty as the night sky itself and Hanako's gaze roved over the horizon as she looked for the one. Only the biggest and brightest star would do, anything less and it would surely put the wish in jeopardy of not coming true. She hmmed as she looked for it, her eyes narrowing in focus only to widen when she saw it, lingering in the centre of the sky and shining as bright as could be.

"That one." She gently nudged his shoulder to get his attention then pointed it out with her front left paw.

Locking eyes with Nolan, Hanako dipped her head 3 times, silently counting down to one so that they could think their wish at the exact same time. She would have uttered it aloud but everyone knew that if you did that or told someone what your wish was then it'd never come true. She wasn't sure why it came with so many rules and stipulations, but who was she to judge the stars? The silence lingered on and Hanako was reluctant to break it, her ears tipped forward as she listened to the soft hiss of the ocean that was wonderfully accented by the flow of Nolan's breathing. In and out, both the waves and his breaths.

When she finally did speak her words were led by a smirk. "So when the day comes where will I find you? Or are you gonna hunt me down instead?"

Either way it sounded like fun, a harmless game of cat and mouse.