can't look in on one way eyes

Erik gave her that debonair smile of his, lopsided and charming and so quintessentially him, and gods dammit it made Ember so sickeningly happy to see him again! She tried to remain impassive and act like she was still mad at him, but she couldn’t help the subtle wag of her tail behind her betraying her innermost thoughts and feelings. Erik was special to her. He was her viking prince, rough around the edges and damaged by cruel fate, but he was hers to fix someway somehow. Em gave him a dramatic leer complete with squinted eyes and everything, wanting him to squirm a little and think that she might actually be mad at him. This couldn't be farther from the truth of course, and after only a moment, the young fae's facade broke with a slowly growing smile that matched the to and fro of her braided tail. She understood his family had been going through rough times and he'd been busy acting as the glue that held them together. She couldn't say she wouldn't have been the same way with her own family; she understood.

Ember gave a dramatic exhale and rolled her eyes for show, fixing him with a lopsided smile. "Weeeeeell, I guess that absolves you of any fault. And seeing as how my pack did thrash yours in the raid, I suppose we can call it even." She shot a teasing grin up at the tall brute, just happy to be near him again. Had he always been this tall? Or this built? Or have all those rugged features? Cool eyes holding the smoldering fiery ones of her bastard prince, Ember quirked a curious brow when he mentioned an apology gift. He produced a bottle of something, and judging by the roguish smile on his lips Em guessed it wasn't something her parents would approve of her drinking. That just made it all the more enticing to the teenager in the midst of her rebellious phase! "I hope that's to share," she teased him, motioning with a tilt of her head for him to follow. She might not be able to sneak him into the castle right now, but she knew a couple quiet places they could hide out to drink some beverages of the alcoholic variety. Nothing could ruin this moment!

That is, until Erik said the words that stopped Ember like a scratch on a record. Ember paused, paw lifted mid-stride and looked back at him, her smile gone. "What...?" He was moving north? Back to Heiðinn? That wasn't unusual. He'd mentioned going back and forth between Heiðinn and Tojo-kai, but this... this felt different. More final. More absolute. "You don't mean for the summer, do you...?" she asked, her voice trailing off. She didn't move away when he took a step closer, her attention fully locked on his face, his words, him. She didn't ask the question aloud, but the look in her eyes did it for her. You're moving away for good.

"Ember Carpathius" | "Carpathian"