[table][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/tbIvwoy.png[/img][/cell][cell][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240504/7ea89157aa7490b85c1faa2a61df7e74.png[/img][/cell][/row]
[row][cell][sub]Location: Elara's Home[/sub][/cell][/row][/table]Despite the calm expression on Elara’s face, Kira noticed the way she gripped the doorframe and heard the subtle rise in her heartbeat—practically felt it as if it were her own—a betrayal of the composure the handmaiden was attempting to project. Ever the protector, true to her core.

Kira’s fiery orange eyes lingered on the handmaiden for a moment longer, the heat of her gaze both a weapon and a tether, her thoughts spiraling further. Her senses tugged at her like a thread pulling taut. [i]Urging her to step forward, move into Elara’s personal space, bare her fangs[/i]. It was maddening. That sound, that pulse that filled the space between them, called to something primal—a part of herself she had long fought to suppress.

Elara’s instinct not to trust Kira was right. She needed to leave. 

The logical part of her screamed that staying was dangerous, that she already stood too close to the edge. A gentle push could send her tumbling into depths of darkness she had clawed herself out of and tried so hard to avoid. Yet, a sliver of her couldn’t seem to pull away, caught between the past and the present, between who she wanted to be and what she had become. That beast in the dark was not her. It couldn’t be her. It had no claim on her.

Still, the effort to hold it at bay was wearing thin. 

Kira’s heart clenched when Elara’s question came, a pang of something sharp twisting in her chest. Her gaze stayed locked on Elara, drawn by those moonlit eyes that looked at her with guarded confusion. There was something soothing about them, a brief anchor against the storm raging inside, but the steady thrum of Elara’s pulse ruined it—taunting her, pulling her back to the edge.

Despite the decades spent burying emotions and mastering her mask, a crack formed. The faintest twitch of her lips, a furrow in her brow, and a flicker of sadness passed through her eyes before she could snuff it out. For a moment, Kira looked away, breaking the intensity of her gaze. The beast inside stirred, drawn to vulnerability, but Kira clenched her jaw and forced it down. 

It was better this way, she told herself again. Better that Elara didn’t remember her. Safer. Cleaner. The person Elara had been to her—the beacon of warmth and light that had kept her afloat—didn’t need to know the ghost Kira had become. 

She lifted her gaze again, her expression guarded once more, carefully neutral. [color=DC561E]“We’ve crossed paths before,”[/color] Kira said, steeling herself, her voice calm and carefully measured. She tilted her head slightly, as though she were recalling a trivial memory. [color=DC561E]“In the castle. A passing moment, really.”[/color] She shrugged, her voice nonchalant as if it were the most inconsequential thing in the world. The lie slid easily from her tongue, burning, but necessary. Safer—for both of them.

Before Elara could respond, Kira strategically attempted to shift the conversation, her tone softening just slightly. [color=DC561E]“Are you certain you don’t need help?”[/color] she asked, her words tinged with genuine concern despite her efforts to sound detached. She searched Elara’s eyes for the truth, though her heartbeat said enough. [color=DC561E]“I have healing herbs, or… do you need protection?”[/color]

Her eyes flicked briefly to the hand Elara still had braced against the doorframe. [color=DC561E]“The scene in the woods looked… grim. You’re not hurt, are you?”[/color] 

She already knew the answer. The scent of blood clung to the air around Elara, but it wasn’t hers. Her own blood pulsed just beneath the skin—tempting but distant enough that Kira was able to hold herself back. If Elara [i]had[/i] been hurt, Kira wouldn’t have been able to stay here.

Still, that didn’t mean Elara hadn’t been mentally shaken by witnessing such a harrowing scene. Kira had been trained to endure such horrors, but a handmaiden? She doubted Elara or the Princess were prepared for it.

As she waited for Elara to respond, the small silence allowed the sound of Elara’s pulse to overwhelm Kira’s senses once more. She could feel the beast stir beneath the surface, hungry, clawing for control, whispering sweet promises of relief, of release. Threatening to drag her under. Her own heartbeat skipped, and she was forced to steady her own breathing. 

Just a little longer. Long enough to make sure Elara—and the Princess, she supposed—were safe. Then she would leave. Find someone more suited for this. She had to.

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[sub][b]Interactions:[/b] Elara [@Qia][/sub]