9/4/2024, 9:53 PM
![[Image: dasj6kh-fcc362f4-4eae-4ea0-ab51-566d0609...VRtQg5FHd0]](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/dc92adb3-a0c8-44d8-a700-f82686783b80/dasj6kh-fcc362f4-4eae-4ea0-ab51-566d06091b70.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2RjOTJhZGIzLWEwYzgtNDRkOC1hNzAwLWY4MjY4Njc4M2I4MFwvZGFzajZraC1mY2MzNjJmNC00ZWFlLTRlYTAtYWI1MS01NjZkMDYwOTFiNzAucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.rNDHj-ycuC0jySblHh1U5lqpZDv-L4XVkVRtQg5FHd0)
His smirking confirmation had the Parthenon rolling her eyes, so terribly un-ladylike but then she wasn't always such a lady, was she? Her laugh bubbled on her tongue as she hummed,
to others,she settled for a compromise. If she had genuinely caused him threat, she would... well, Kairos wouldn't quite like it. She was like fire, it was true, and she could often burn others but she only desired to warm him, not burn him.
At his jibe, Kairos fakes a gasp of offense as she glances up at him.
Not all of us can be as tall as a tree,she pouts back at him but her laugh soon follows, the sound warm and quiet amongst all of the chaos that happens around them.
What will you do, hm? Should a strong breeze in fact sweep me away?Kairos would tut, but it was plain as day just how much she was enjoying herself amongst their quick-witted banter.
She was a lady and a wayward spirit all in one, and within his company, even amongst fire and ash, Kairos felt comfortable enough to be both without feeling like she needed to hide one more than the other.
Despite the way she hated that she had been made to feel like she had no identity outside of the traits of her parents, she was... proud, to have both of their spirits within her veins, to hold them so dear amongst what made her, her. According to Alaric, there was no her, though, only the ghost of a woman she would never be.
As he angled towards her, elegant features in her line of sight, Kairos fell silent and waited to hear his accented tongue. With him, there are no shackles of expectations or ghosts. When he speaks, Kairos is seen, and before her, he lays out her freedom in the face of acceptance, and all but begs her to see it too. He has raised her above the heavens upon a skilled hand, and pleads with her to reach for the stars he has laid out for her. Kairos swallowed thickly as his words settle upon her like a comforting shroud, and once more, she feels more like she is Kairos, and not the daughter of Keres, the ghost of an almost, and the evidence of a mans heartbreak, created by two wolves who had only acted out of love.
Here, she is Kairos.
His words burn into her skin, and within her chest, her heart aches, because she knows if Keres and Sindre had been here, gods, they would have adored the man before her. Something selfish in her feeds at the way she's glad that for now, they weren't. Here, she could have him to herself, and not need to share — but then she hates the way she thinks it, because goodness, she misses her family and feeling like she belongs. But she does, doesn't she? She belongs here, feasting on the way he doesn't hesitate to be so open with her. More open now than he was on their very first meeting, but still room for the door to open more, she thought.
You... I do not understand,she murmured,
how you can think so highly of me when I am but a new chapter in a book that has so many more before me.
His comfort feels like she has known it years.
He cannot promise. She had been... hopeful, to think he could, because truly, it wasn't within his blood to not hurtle in the face of danger in order to try and save someone. For all that she calls him a Groundskeeper, he is a Knight. His sword and shield always at the ready, should he need to raise them for justice.
Francis...the very thought that he might perish one day for opting to come to her rescue, because for all that she was, she was also a terrible danger magnet. A lady with a reckless streak indeed, and he... he might come into the line of fire because of her.
My choice is always you,the Parthenon told him.
For you to remain safe and alive,but it was not one she would be granted. He would promise to always try and succeed in coming to her aid. Kairos' heart was in her throat, her blood in her ears and she thought she might stop breathing when he whispered his apology into the cusp of her hair, the soft downy fur bending against his breath.
Unshed tears glistened, making fire and ice sheen.
Then I will do the same,she said, voice a raspy whisper as she tilted her head up to him.
I will come to your aid, Francis. You aim to protect me, and I in turn desire your safety.She won't let him convince her otherwise. For all that she was, she was independent too, and if he ever needed saving, then Kairos would throw caution to the wind and jump into whatever fray so that she might have a chance to help him.
Her mother had been quiet in her protection of her siblings. She had played the part of dutiful trophy wife. She had taken the hits and rotten duties so that her siblings wouldn't have to, but Kairos would be loud with hers. She would be loud and fierce and blazing with fury.
I will hear no argument of it,she told him in afterthought, lifting her chin stubbornly as she waited to see if he would try and convince her otherwise.
