he’s surprised at how quickly he manages to get himself comfortable; soothed by the warmth of the sun and her peachy-keen fur, he’s lulled to sleep rather quickly. maybe he should do this whole sun-bathing thing more often, huh? still, it can’t last forever and eventually he feels her stirring at his side; sooner than he would’ve liked, but still it’s been longer than he would’ve thought.

sleep fades away as quickly as it’d come; he’s left feeling sated and warm, but still his eyes are heavy. it’s not until @Giulia speaks that he finally stirs, cracking open a quicksilver eye to peer blearily up at her. his very eloquent huh? says all it needs to — she’s all bright-eyed and peppy all ready, but he could probably sleep for another two hours. ughs, naps were rough.

it doesn’t seem like she’s going to let him go back to sleep — and he probably shouldn’t, either. he’d come all the way up to the lookout for a reason, after all! i think i did, yeah. gimme — he starts to say, but is interrupted by a yawn — his jaw cracking with the effort. swallowing it down, his expression turns sheepish as he finally shakes the remnants of sleep from his eyes. c’mon!

bounding from the boulder, the wolf-prince is equally uncoordinated - and he has to pause to give a biiiiig stretch, but then he’s off. hopefully with her behind him!

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It takes a couple of minutes for @Virgil to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Giulia bites back a giggle as he stretches his long legs out before leaping downward off of their perch. She grins, happy that he's still willing to escort her up the mountainside. She follows closely behind him, using his large pawsteps in the earth as a guide. "So what's it like up there?" She murmurs, eyes glancing around them every so often. She cannot help but feel relaxed with him, even if they had just met one another. He seems to know the area pretty well and so it is easy to just fall in line behind him. "Perhaps I could show you around off of this mountain sometime.." She offers, thinking that it might be nice to spend some time again with him after all of this.

ART BY YUMPY

it’s a good thing that @Giulia is Giulia and not, like, some lioness from an enemy pride because there’s very little on his mind aside from having a good afternoon. the little snooze did him some good ( though, always, he feels the tugging fo sleepy lingering far longer than it should ), and it’s given him time enough to gain a second wind. his legs are still sore but he grins and bears it with practiced ease, hardly even noticing the twinges of pain that ricochet up his legs when he steps the wrong way. the air grows thinner the higher they go, but he keeps his pace even, slowing down only a smidge as they round a particularly steep corner. up, up, up they go -- filling the space with easy conversation.

it’s great! he says, unable to help himself. she’d see for herself soon enough, but he vibrates with excitement now. you can see the whole island from up there! well, he’s pretty sure you can — if the weather holds out for them, and it isn’t obstructed by clouds and shit. at her offering, his ears tilt forward — pausing for a moment before his smile widens. oh, yeah? that’d be great! do you have a favorite place? he certainly did.

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It's great! You can see the whole island from up there! Admittedly she was excited to see the top of the mountain. From all of the hype @Virgil was giving it he made it sound like it was one of the best places to be. It's easy for her to fall into stride alongside him, allowing his much larger paws to carve an easy path for them as they continue to climb upward. The air is much thinner the higher they go, it takes some getting used to but Giulia wasn't about to pause; she was determined to make it there. Oh, yeah? That'd be great! Do you have a favorite place? They pause for only a moment and Giulia replies, "The gardens, they have flowers all over the place. It's really beautiful when they bloom." She offers to him, though it would certainly be different than the mountain he was used to. Eventually, they make it to their destination and Giulia stares out across the vast expanse of island. Virgil had been right, it was breathtaking. "Wow you weren't kidding." She says softly, glancing over at him to offer him a smile. "I don't think my gardens could beat this."

ART BY YUMPY

it’s a bit of a trek, but it’s worth it.

of course, he’s a bigger fan of the view from the summit — but this will do just nicely. espesically because he gets to share it. he looks away from the breathtaking view, opting instead to glance at @Giulia — enjoying the way her face lights up and goes soft at the edges.

it makes him feel warm, like when they’d laid in the sun.

fortunately, he doesn’t have long to dwell on that particular emotion kicking around in his chest. instead, he focus on her words — equally soft, fond like a whisper. aww, don’t say that, he says, the words rumbling through a little laugh. i’m sure your gardens are just as cool! it’s a little bit of a lie but, like, whatever. he’d lie a little more to make sure she stays smiling like that. still, he feels proud that he was able to show her this; he feels a little responsible for the awe in her eyes, and it’s a good feeling.

one that’s best shared.

and speaking of —

hey, giulia — he says, voice quieting a little, flexing his toes into the soil below. maybe you should show me the gardens, huh? that felt fair, right? it certainly didn’t have anything to do with the fact that he wanted to see more of the island with her.

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It was very easy to get lost in the scenery around them, to ignore the mountain scent on @Virgil's fur as if they weren't supposed to be enemies. She had felt a connection with the fellow youth, something that she hadn't felt with anyone else. Perhaps that might even have scared her a little, to be able to feel something so natural and strong with someone else so quickly. Perhaps she was desperate for love and affection, for someone to understand that she was more than the family she was apart of. At his mention of her showing him the gardens she smiled, a true genuine smile. "I'd love to." She said to him with certainty before huffing out a sigh. "I should.. probably get back." She left out where she would be returning to, instead moving to wrap her forearms around him in a tight hug before releasing him. "Thank you for today Virgil. Take care of yourself." She says softly, casting one more glance at him over her shoulder as she makes her way down the mountainside. Back to home, back to the darkness that would shroud her until she could leave again.


exit.

ART BY YUMPY

i’d love to she says, and he grins — pinky promise, cross her heart! they’d swap the mountains for the gardens, but hopefully keep the naps. it was nice meeting you! he says, chirpy and chipper, beaming to her as she leaves. a shame that their time together was ending, but that was okay! it just made room for them to meet again, later. suddenly looking out over the island alone didn’t feel appealing at all; the silence feels more oppressive than peaceful. with a sigh, the wolf prince gives himself a big shake, trying to soothe himself before starting the long trek home. it'd take him awhile, and it was going to be a long walk.

exit

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