[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/1U4bQ50.png[/img][/center][hr][sub][color=lemonchiffon]Location:[/color] The Sun Temple[/sub][hr][hr]

Doubt crept into her mind as Gadez reached around her to close the door fully, and invited her to sit on her own bed. All the while, his gaze was still gossamer soft as he wrapped her in his words. She was safe with him – but his lack of boundaries had always been a bit disorienting. He was forward in ways that mostly seemed harmless, but Tia now found herself wondering if she should’ve been firmer with him. If perhaps… he misunderstood their relationship.

But he met her eyes with that smile that was so [i]tender[/i] – like she was something to be protected and nurtured. It sent her heart rate skipping. 

Tia hesitated, her back to the closed door, her eyes watching him as he moved about her room like it was his own. She didn’t know what to do – so she defaulted to following orders, as always. Tia walked to her bed and perched herself on the edge of the mattress, too nervous to relax into it. To her immense relief, he did not join her.

Still, there was that feeling of standing at a precipice – of waiting for something to push her over the edge so she could finally stop this balancing act and welcome whatever shattering impact was awaiting her. He held a spoonful of soup out to her, an act both intimate and infantilizing. But Tia was too off-kilter to protest. Her hand raised to grab the handle of the spoon, her fingers brushing his. She tried to focus on the flavor of the broth, the tenderness of the meat and vegetables, so she wouldn’t have to think about how very [i]warm[/i] she suddenly felt. Then he released the spoon and turned away, and it was like she could breathe again. Tia swallowed the soup down. The ceramic bowl seeped heat into her palm.

And then he began to talk.

And [i]talk[/i]. 

Tia could only sit on her bed, trapped by his words that seemed to wrap around her like binding cloth. They layered themselves over her, tight and heavy, constricting her. The world seemed to muffle. Her breathing quickened. Tia’s mind spun in a frantic buzz of confusion with each bold new claim.

Her scar was evidence of the Goddesses’ existence. 

She’d been sent to Dawnhaven so the Arch Priest could be rid of her.

The blight was divine.

She housed the soul of [i]Aelios[/i].

She was a Seer. 

The blizzard had been an attack on her rather than an act of nature.

He was the bastard son of King Auric.

The blight needed to persist.

[i]He wanted to depose the Aurelian King.[/i]

Tia’s heart stopped. What he was saying… nevermind the outlandish nature of some of his claims, he was suggesting [i]treason[/i]. Tia could barely make sense of the flood of information he’d dropped at her feet like a cat with a rat carcass. 

But most perplexing of all… he swore to protect her. This was the second time today that a man had looked her in the eye and declared that she was someone who needed protection – that she was [i]worth[/i] protection. And again, the same question echoed in her mind: protection from [i]whom?[/i]

Tia stared up at Gadez – [i]Halcyon[/i] – with wide, helpless eyes. She suddenly felt that she didn’t know him at all. Flashes of their week together darted through her mind. The stories he’d told her. The way he’d enjoyed startling her as she read, only to offer her a cheeky smile and a steaming cup of tea. How just this morning, he’d placed a hand against her cheek with a touch so gentle and warm it might’ve been an embrace. 

He was bowing to her, still looking at her with those ghostly eyes. Only the crackling of the fire filled the space around them. His request hung in the air – because this had all been a request, hadn’t it? A declaration of his intentions, so that she might give him an answer he longed to hear.

Her heart beat in her chest like a frantic bird struggling in a too small cage. 

Moving was like forcing herself back to life. She placed the soup bowl and spoon, barely touched, onto the bedside table. The movement was too jerky. Soup splashed over the side, dripping on her hand and the wood. But Tia didn’t notice. She was on her feet and stepping towards the man, whoever he was. She closed the distance with a desperate hand reaching out to touch his arm. Tia didn’t understand what was happening, what had led them to this point, but she needed to –

The door to Tia’s room slammed open, the impact like a crack of thunder. Her hand snapped away from him, to fist in front of her chest. Tia jumped, spinning to look. A figure stood in the doorframe, all shining armor and eyes that burned with blue fire. Tia met Dyna’s gaze, confusion and panic still clear on her face. 

But this wasn’t her little sister – this was her [i]Champion[/i]. And apparently she had decided it was time to get to work.

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[sub][color=lemonchiffon]Interaction:[/color] Gadez Paladice [@Dezuel], Dyna Soleil [@Queen Arya][/sub]