I try to respond to the woman standing before me, but nothing comes out.
She doesn't say anything either.
Reina just... stays still. Her eye reading every part of me, maybe making sure to herself that she isn't going crazy.
She takes a step closer to me, still gazing into my eyes, focusing on me.
A second step. She's taking her time to approach me...
She may be shorter than I am, but there's something I sense with her presence. Something intense.
...Or am I just going crazy?
I can already feel my heart beating in my chest, unsure of what to do right now. I'm frozen in place.
Her third and final step only separates us by a few inches; her hand already rising to touch me.
...Does she not believe that I'm here?
Her hand lands on chest first, keeping it there. "You're... really here?"
"Yes." I say simply. "Sorry if I look like a statue to you."
...Was that really a good time for a joke?
She softly smiles at the comment nonetheless. I feel her hand reaching higher up my shirt, almost touching my neck.
...She stops herself. Retracting her hand, returning it to her side.
"It's alright..." She says in a exasperated tone. Was she not intending to do that?
Some kind of realisation rushes into her, and her expression changes slightly. "...Do you... have time to talk? Right now, I mean?"
"Right... Now...?" I suddenly regain my composure, snapping out of the trance. Remembering what I was trying to do in the first place.
I quickly glance over to where I lost Galan.
I can see him in the crowd, trying to get through it, to where Cassandra and Mary are. Reese is already shaking hands with Gabriel.
I could probably get back to him...?
I look back to Reina. Her soft expression already showing concern for me. I can already tell that she'd rather prefer that I stay with her.
...Nope. He'll be fine.
"I have time." I say, quicker than I probably should have. "...Let's go."
...
We're at the entrance of the gate leading to vineyard. Chairs have been set up for guests to rest and sightsee the view of the residence.
But that's not what I'm here for.
Not what we are here for.
I take time to look her. At Reina.
Her black hair has been cut into a wolfcut, barely reaching her shoulders. One side is more prominent on her right.
Is she trying to hide it...?
Or maybe it's just a stylistic choice, and I'm thinking too hard about it.
The black eyepatch does blend in well her hair though...
"Seraph?"
"Y-yeah?" She immediately catches my attention from the use of my name.
She seems unsure about something, momentarily looking looking away from me.
Unsure of what to say to me maybe? I wouldn't blame her; there's probably hundreds of questions going through her head.
'How am I alive', 'What happened to me', 'Why am I here'.
YOU ARE READING
Volatile Shadow
Misterio / SuspensoAfter 10 years, A man returns to his homecity seeking revenge to those who wronged his family. He returns to the home he once knew, now under threat of a bloody civil war between the city's mafia families, threatening to destroy everything in it's p...
