startraveler | Inbox

[ "she's back home, where she should be."

those words seem to resonate with him, and despite him normally being able to mask his thoughts quite well, he feels it may have unintentionally slipped. his lips twitch just slightly, before he course corrects. he fixes his eyes back on aether, as if nothing was amiss. ] Not gonna lie, this place is kinda...

[ ...

well, he doesn't have to finish that sentence. just like aether, he is all too comfortable with the prospect of letting this newfound topic overrule any of their present thoughts. instead, he wills his imagination, his thoughts already focusing on the lanterns. he can already picture the ocean without much help, thankfully. ] Funny, we have a similar celebration where I'm from, too. Do you decorate your own lanterns?

[Rafayel doesn't have to finish the sentence. Aether understands. There's so much needless cruelty in this place, even looking at their confinement, but thankfully the traveler doesn't get too much time to focus on that. Instead, his mind drifts off to the lanterns.]

Really? I wish I could see that. I wonder how different they are.

[His expression softens, like that thought alone is saving him from the fears and worries. The thought of celebrations in another world, their similarities, their differences. It always fascinated him, no matter how much he has seen in his life.]

You make your own lantern and then you write a wish inside it, before setting it off into the sky. I know how to make them... so maybe I could make one to show you.

[Maybe it's the drug wearing off, but he... feels calmer somehow.]

[ it's funny how a single question could lead his thoughts down so many different avenues, and how his brain travels through so many memories in the span of seconds. in turn, it softens rafayel's features for just a second, before he clearly shakes it off. seamlessly, he wears his usual mask of nonchalance with a touch of controlled whimsy. ]

What did your lantern look like? [ there's a lot you could tell about a person's preferences from how they create something, after all. with that thought, rafayel doesn't even notice that their racing thoughts finally seem to be slowing down in tempo with aether's own calmness. ] Like, what colors and decorations did you choose? [ and most of all... he wonders what he wished for? but, rafayel doesn't actually ask. intuitively feeling like it's something he shouldn't. ]

Inbox - Karteria

no worries!!! welcome back to us both ehe

♥

no subject