out of the black —

[Kezz]

“ AND IT TORTURES SLOW, NEVER LETS YOU GO
DEALS A CROOKED HAND ”

Her eyes matched the pale eggshell blue of the overhead sky - dawn had broken hours ago now, but still she had not moved from her lonely post high in the mountains. Words unspoken, body unmoved. The cold sank through her fine copper skin and into her sparrow bones but she didn't mind; it reminded her of home - she'd always been a girl of white peaks and tight northern air. The wind whistled to her a familiar alpine tune that matched the beating of her heart (made from gossamer and old, unforgotten scars) and Undine replied - lifting her head, the corners of her lips curling into a nameless smile. Solitude shadowed her small frame. She couldn't remember what it felt like anymore - the feeling of not being deeply, unconditionally alone - but this did not frighten her, not now. Not today.

▼SPACED. Sorry it's not much but i'm taking it slow with her, need to get a feel! Set in diamante mountains, AM.

[▼SPACED.]

---

His behaviour was scattered, coming to terms with settling here in Tathra. He had adored the burnt rock canyons and scorching deserts, feeling the sting of heat upon his high ridged cheekbones.. and yet now he had travelled to the snowy ranges to feel the opposite. Both appealed to him - thrust into extreme cold or heat, somewhere far from anywhere regular where others thronged and mingled. Nandalie simply couldn't justify (or stomach) the proximity, the high-charged atmosphere or the falsity of "normal" life. 

A half hearted sigh seeped from between velveteen lips as the cold air stung his lungs. Solitude was a familiar drumbeat inside his chest, and in a way it was what he preferred - in a way. In truth he was tired of the loneliness… tired but not ready to give it up. He couldn't go down to the warm, comfortable spring grounds and make idle conversation with anyone there, pretend to be someone without guilt or terror. 

It took him a little time to notice her, so lost within the vastness of the mountain range was he. Once he did, though. Oh, once he did. She stood out against the snow, a reserved, quiet shadow that sent a clamour through his icy muscles. He stood a little above her on a snowy outcrop, far enough away that he would have to yell to get her attention. He watched her smile, staring unabashedly. There was the possibility he simply wanted her because she was there when he was lonely - and surely this had happened many a time before. That nameless smile sealed it for him and he lifted his head, letting out a high pitched whistle into the cold mountain air.

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ooc; Kezz I'm still getting a feel for him too so we can develop them together! Sorry it dragged on a bit, it just looks long because it's only like 200px wide haha <3

[Kezz]

“ THE WHISPER OF TWO BROKEN WINGS
MAYBE THEY'RE YOURS, MAYBE THEY'RE MINE. ”

Undine's silhouette was stark against the pale mountain - skin of dark russet, hair of finely spun auburn; she was a lit candle, her body set aflame for all the world to see. But inside her avian frame there was no forest fire, there was no deep burning red like that which wrapped around her bones; there was only ash and the dried up remnants of a drunken woman's loss. Oh, yes, she'd danced with liquor for years; drowning her anger and woe in endless bottles of rum. But those days were gone - ugly knotted memories hidden away from prying eyes - for truly what was there left to drown, now?

The anonymous smile was dead.

And the sound of a stranger's call came upon her all too suddenly. Undine jerked forward, her small hooves slipping on the ice underfoot to slide her closer to the nearby precipice: desolation called from the misty chasm below. The woman's breath came in three short gasps as she stablised herself, though her legs still shook from the adrenalin thundering through her fragile veins - and then she was still. Faded blue eyes darted upward pointedly, searching for the man who had so abruptly interjected himself into her seclusion. There - there he was.

Beauty, was her first thought. As a young girl Undine had always experienced a certain sort of borrowed happiness from the observation of beautiful objects, people, places. But life, in its perpetual inexhaustible manner, had drained such out of her, and now she did not smile at the sight of a blooming rose or eyes carved from glittering galaxies, now she simply stared - empty, barren of the ability to understand anything but the broken darkness between her teeth.

"Morning." Oh, damnation. - her voice was soft and it was lost immediately on the breeze. Undine sighed. She was unpractised; it had been so long since she had conversed with another. He was too far away and she was too... too what? Uninterested? Tired? Shy? There was no hint of animosity or displeasure to be found in her gaze, mind; that wasn't her nature. Undine was a gentle soul, one with a sharp mind and a maze of broken glass, intangible scars and unwritten poetry between the outside world and her heart but one who smiled at the right moments and gave her name with a certain unpolished ease. This occasion would be no different.

▼SPACED. OK IDK WHAT HAPPENED BUT I FOUND MUSE? doubt it'll last, eep. pls don't feel like you need to do the same !!

[▼SPACED.]

---

Her cool acceptance of his presence was somewhat soothing to his heated brain - and though he had no idea what could have been going on within her (her peace and sanctuary had been rudely broken) he immediately desired more of the peace she had so unknowingly bestowed on him. Nandalie wasn't foolish - he didn't think he'd fallen in love, he didn't think he'd magically found the one… he just wanted a moment of tranquility in the ice cold with someone that didn't hate him. Someone who didn't spoil the mountainside, but blended quietly into it. 

He replied with a muted "Morning" of his own, though it seemed doubtful she would hear it clearly. Instead, he began to look for a way down to be closer to her. He moved gracefully, a slight stiffness in his step because of the cold in his muscles, his hair pushed back with the slight breeze. The feeling of dawn on his face paused him for a moment, his breath sucking in chilled air and letting it trickle down his throat gently. As he drew closer he moved slower, not hesitant, but searching for the perfect position. He settled close, but not too close - enough so that he could speak comfortable, but didn't have to feel obliged to touch her. 

Up close she was even more lovely - a painting of delicate earthen hues… no, not earthen - like a galaxy, a universe. He studied her, his eyes intense but calm. There was nothing predatory about him, though many were unsettled by that gaze. He didn't look away as he spoke, instead staring at the dainty lines of her eyes, her cheeks, her lips:

"Dawns my favourite time of day." He paused, "I don't often share it with anyone."

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ooc; Kezz fffff I totally understand if you want to start a new thread or something because it's been so long (so sorry my love!) but if you're still happy to continue this thread with them I am too!