A Court Of Moondust And Shadows (Azrielxoc)

Just a visit

Rayna felt Azriel arrive before she had seen him, even hidden by his shadows, she recognized him. She hadn't realized how familiar his scent had become to her in the last month. 

  'Good evening, Rayna.' He greeted. 

 Her hands froze for a moment and her lips suddenly felt dry. He had never said her name before. It was dangerous that some part of her wanted him to say it again, again and again because it sounded so damn good coming out of his mouth. 

  'So formal today.' She paused her baking and turned to look at him. 'Good evening, Azriel.' She greeted back in the same manner. 

 Her saying his name like that seemed to have the same effect. His eyes darkened for a moment. 

Rayna watched him standing by the door, not coming in yet. She took in his tense jaw and straight spine. He looked...almost nervous. There was a bag in his hands. Her eyes flickered with curiosity. 

  'I am here to map the house...for um...you know...the Queens.' 

 She nodded. 

 'I'll show you around.' She offered.

 A small smile appeared on his lips and Rayna didn't even think he realized he was smiling. 

  'You are very kind.' 

 Rayna stilled for a moment too long. Kind, she hadn't been called kind before. Kind...what a strange word to describe her, a wrong word. Her eyes adverted to her physicaly clean hands without realizing. Would he still call her kind if he would know about the blood staining them? If he knew of all the horrors she inflicted on people...

  'I brought you something.' 

 His voice brought her back from her dark thoughts. He didn't meet her eyes as he handed her the bag he had been hidding behind his back. 

 Azriel watched her like a hawk,    waiting for her reaction, trying to read every little change in her expression as she took the bag. He wipped his hands on his pants, his palms sweaty. It was absurd, embarassing, 500 years old male nervous like that. 

   Rayna took out the stunning dark flower, her expression of curiosity turing into a soft surprise. 

   'It's a...' 

  'Petunia Velvet flower.' She finished for him. 

  Rayna's fingers gently stroke the petals as dark as night. She recalled her conversation with Elain, a petunia velvet flower was the exact shade of her original hair color. But he didn't know that and yet somehow he picked it.

    'It's beautiful, thank you.' She smiled, putting the flower on the table. 

 Azriel would have given her a thousand more flowers, hell even hunt down every single one of petunia velvet flowers that existed in this world if it meant she would smile at him like that again. His chest warmed with emotions he swore he never felt before. Something about this woman made him feel, just feel. He had been numb for so long with nothing in his life making him feel anything. He had been in survival mode for so long he forgot what it felt like to live, to be alive. And yet this woman, who he had spoken with about such mundane things had reached inside him and lit a spark long lost. She made him feel alive, he realized. 

  'Shall we start?' She asked.

  Azriel didn't trust himself with a replay so he only nodded before moving out of the doorway to make room for her to pass. 

  As Rayna went to walk past him she paused. She titled her head to the side watching him. Killian's voice sounded in her head, telling her how stupid she was, how selfish for risking the future of so many people for a few shared moments with a shadowsinger. Rayna had always hated it, the way her pretend husband seemed to force her onto this pedestal. A hero, but she wasn't a hero, that would have been Luke. She wasn't a hero, she just had been angry... 

 Screw Killian, she thought as her eyes met Azriel's hazel ones. She noticed the way he made himself smaller under her gaze, wings tucked, shadows sent away. It was so she wouldn't be afraid, she realized. He was terrified she would fear him. 

  He went to hide his scarred hands behind his back too, but she caught his right one before he could do so. She saw herself  everytime she had was around Nesta and Elain or any other person in her life. The need of making yourself seem less out of fear of rejection. 

  Shadows danced around their joined hands, Azriel's eyes never left hers, too focused on her to notice. She titled her head back as he was taller than her. 

  'Never. Never make yourself smaller for me or other people.' Her tone firm, no room for argument.

 Azriel's eyes flickered with surprise. He didn't realized she noticed, she knew and saw more of him than most people did. He forgot, what it felt to actually be seen by someone and while the vulnerability was scary it was everything he ever wanted. 

Slowly he released his wings, allowing them to spread out in all their glory. Shadows followed suit as he straightened his back, now much much taller. 

 Rayna didn't back away or scream in fear. Maybe he thought himself a monster, but she had seen and known true monsters and he wasnt one of them. 

   'Your beauty will never ever scare me.' She gave his hand a squeze before letting it go completly and stepping away. 

   Rayna walked away and it took him a few seconds to regain his composture before following her.