You shine brighter than the stars

Remus mused along with her that the night would certainly be lovely. The way he looked at her when he said it had Ike wondering if he only meant the weather as she had noted. The fire was brought to life and light emanated out from the hearth. Shadows leapt out but the colors of the sky were far from muted. Their nook seemed much more private and tucked away now, like a warm blanket of darkness settled over them as Remus took the chance to settle in close to her. She could feel his nervous energy, which was a complete oddity coming from the brave man she had come to know.

As he pulled out their dinner she found herself easily distracted and she relaxed into the furs he had laid out as her attention was brought to something else he brought. Her eyes widened in surprise as he revealed a wine skin, and admitted his ignorance to her own preference. She could feel her own nerves more readily than his as they gripped her at the thought. Ike was officially an adult, she could partake in alcohol if she so desired, but so far in her life she had not. The prospect of doing so now with Remus was exciting and nerve wracking. She nodded along curiously, not even able to bring the words to her lips that she wanted to drink it with him.

He uncorked the bottle after sampling a couple of berries. Ike wasn’t sure her stomach could handle more than a couple berries herself, especially as he spoke again after a few minutes of quiet as he settled beside her. She fluttered her eyelashes bashfully as he told her how much he appreciated her coming out on this not near run of the mill adventure. Ike felt like she could follow him on any adventure, this one was no different in that regard. There was an unmistakable difference in the atmosphere of this trip, it would be starkly different from all the ones before.

"I am too,” She confessed softly as he brought his gaze to hers. Ike felt the blush rise in her cheeks as he did. "You don’t have to do anything special for me.” She tried to tell him, but she couldn’t help the way her heart beat faster as he said it. She was certain he was about to say something else when he turned his attention back to the berries in front of them, and Ike took the opportunity to relax as well and popped a couple of the fruits into her mouth.

She watched from the corner of her eye as Remus tipped the bottle back for his first swig. She couldn't deny the uncertainty hanging around the beverage but he assured her that it tasted pretty good. If there was any presence she felt safe indulging in it with Remus, so her mismatched paws took it and grabbed her own drink as well. She didn’t know what she was expecting but it went down much more roughly than the fruits she had just eaten. Ike sputtered as she swallowed, making her inexperience obvious. "Yeah, not bad.” She gasped with a chuckle as she recovered from choking.

"Kiyohime Shuriken Ōritsu Abraxas"