Ariane:
The stars were so close here, shimmering like frost above me, hanging in the velvet darkness that seemed to breathe in and out with every sigh of the universe.
I sat on nothing and everything—some celestial ledge made of stardust and time, suspended between the heavens and reality. “The stars mentioned you might need company tonight. May I?” Seris’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. Yet, there was an undeniable weight, like a subtle command hidden within the kindness.
“Only if you promise not to disappear when I blink,” I replied, my tone laced with a bitterness I hadn’t meant to show. The memory of his sudden vanishing today choked me out now that training wasn't there as a distraction.
“I’m sorry for leaving without a word,” he said, the apology sincere, but with an edge of
