[she doesn't know that the world is turning just for her]

Skill: [none]

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Euphemia, though she was not a maiden literally, was still quite virginal in almost all aspects. She had yet to know the touch of genuine want, borne of deep love and appreciation. A union that was a celebration, rather than a devastation.

No, Euphemia knew nothing about that.

She did not know about what could blossom between two lovers, staying up so late at night together that they were nearly made of moonlight. When they uncovered vulnerabilities so deep that the only thing they could do was heal – together, and grow upwards intertwined, becoming one being.

She didn’t even know such a thing was possible, because love and appreciation were double-edged swords. Euphemia had learned that, to receive it, she must pay a commiserate price. Nothing came for free, unfortunately. Not even true love.

However… Adonis did not make her feel bad or less-than, in ways she might feel the need to repent for. She felt quite innocent around him, convivial even. She was not preoccupied with her worth to him. Euphemia just was.

In fact, the storyteller was unlike any other she had ever met. He was funny and spoke of such serious things in lighthearted ways. Mother had never spoken of the stars in the way Adonis had, never in positive and glorious reverence! As if everything they had, everything they now held beneath their clasped hands, was owed to them.

And for that, life was beautiful.

Nothing was dark and dreary, because Adonis’s light was there to guide the way. The woman so wanted to be that for him too, and not for a moment did she fear she would leave him unfulfilled. To learn of his family, his culture – his background seemed so high-brow, his intelligence so profound, that Euphemia knew she had found her match.

For a moment, Euphemia allowed herself to muse on the sadness – the mere possibility – that Adonis hadn’t felt the same as she. That he did not yet recognize the love that bloomed between them. Oh, the mere possibility of it was enough to rend her heart into two!

To imagine, if it hadn’t been Adonis with whom she would end her days…

Euphemia then desired to bury herself in the thick fur along his collarbones and chest (this desire was becoming increasingly common) but she resisted, and stood tall, meeting his poetry with a little of her own.

I will show you incredible peaks, and the most amazing crevasses, she said by way of agreeing with him, her smile so wide that her pink tongue threatened to poke out from behind her teeth. If the man wanted adventure, then she would give him adventure. She had spent the last few years of her life mapping this small corner of the world – and now it was his too, and the sylph was eager to share it with him.

Euphemia, too, was blind to the cold. The silverwoman siddled up close, snaking up along his side, finding it was not close enough to satisfy. The crown of her head ran along the pulse-point under his jaw. Forget anything else, she quipped, suddenly knowing that even the grandest vista would pale to how she felt in this moment.

I only want to be with you forever.

She sighed and looked upward, narrowing her gaze for a moment at the brightness of the sky. It was true, there was no darkness, no twinkling lights yet to see – and Euphemia only saw it as an opportunity to pass more time by the starchaser’s side.

There was an elevation that suggested a high plateau. Not a mountain, not a hill; the river and its flame had been at the foot of it. He desired to follow her, did he? Euphemia was keen to press him on that one.

The glimmer in her eyes matched the skip in her step as she darted away. Higher, Adonis! She tossed the words over her shoulder as the sprite trotted away.

We’re not high enough!

By the time they were done, the stars would be ready to listen.

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