❝ Longing. Longing to capture the sparkle in faer eyes when they smiled. Longing to gaze into the emerald depths forever. ❞ . . . The carpet is plush beneath my paws as I stare into the crackling flame. I am not alone, but I feel so lost in my mind that I cannot help but feel as though nothing is at my side. A lie, of course. Dominic is there, and he forever will be as my noble companion. He seems worried, an emotion I have never yet before witnessed along his features. The canine is forever my protector, and my friend from the first time I met him. I can see his maw move when I turn my head to face him, yet I do not understand the rumble that escapes his throat. I do not speak his tongue, an unfortunate thing for a cat who has been surrounded by felines who have traveled the world. When my eyes find his, careful to watch for a shift in his expression, I can notice where he stares. A fiery gold burns within their depths as he watches the flames over my shoulder, seemingly trying to place why I had been so invested in its burn. It was because I could not suppress the burn in my own chest, the feeling I had not been able to escape. Three days it had been since I last got a chance to see the beautiful, vibrant emerald that had captured my thoughts longer than they should have. The eyes that I saw when I closed my own, unable to escape the distraction tugging at my chest. Three days. I never felt distracted, never over a color even as delicate as the sage green that seemed to capture my mind. Or by the scent of strawberries I wished I could always find. Or perhaps even by the smile I would do anything to lay my eyes upon again, even from a distance. A tug in my chest such as this was foreign, and a name for it could not be brought to my tongue. Something felt wrong for all the same reasons it felt right. I fail to describe how my heart began to flutter when I saw them smile, or the way my face felt flushed at the way faer eyes seemed to sparkle when they looked at me. The sage green depths that seemed to look at me as though I was a treasure. I had never before been gazed upon as though my presence was a gift. Never... like one could get lost in just admiring me. I had opened up to them... told them what else held my mind in a hold. I told them about my sister. The sister I had lost without a chance to say goodbye. The sister who was a member of their Clan. I felt as though I was falling. I felt as though I was a shell of myself. And I chose to tell them. Chose to open one of the greatest wounds I bore, because they were the one cat I trusted more than I was willing to admit. I could have waited until it had all subsided. Waited with Dominic until I knew I could face the forests we longed to visit together again. But I turned to them. This was worse than falling. I've already fallen. Fallen for a wildcat, a Clan member who risks getting caught by another cat's housefolk, or even my own, just to be at my side for a moment. Fallen for a cat I knew I could call a friend. Fallen for Timelessparadox. . . . ❝ It felt like falling... perhaps it is a peaceful thing, unlike what some cats described it as. The showcats called it dangerous, or reckless, or perhaps a distraction. ❞
