Snowstorms and Hazel Melodies

A Rare Amount of Words

To the stars through the thorns
-Unknown

Neither of them had the most basic of idea on what to say or do as the rest of the Inner Circle left them both alone.
Traitors, all of them.

Raina stood up, setting her wine glass on the table in front of her. She felt terribly bad for the Spymaster who had been nothing but hospitable and polite to her. In fact, she was hoping for some form of friendship with a male who seemed perfectly decent. Now, if Azriel had any similar hopes, Raina bet they vanished the moment he was burdened with the task of being in her company. The shadowsinger made no movement except watching her get up intently.
"Listen, we can both just go back to our homes. I'll say you gave me a lovely tour".
A part of Azriel felt relieved that he didn't have to spend time alone with the female in front of him, with moments filled with awkwardness and the unsureness of what to do. Moments like this for instance. Though, when she offered the option of not going at all, his shoulders slumped the slightest bit. It even stung a bit, to face the fact that this gorgeous, powerful, High Fae didn't want anything to do with him, let alone spend 'quality time' with him.
"Of course. That's fine".

Rai nodded slowly, her eyes wandering everywhere except his face which was frustratingly unreadable. He shifted, turning to walk towards the exit now, back to his own residence. The move made her watch his back with an expression of regret. It was clear he wanted to be far, far away from her.
She couldn't stop her mouth when it said, "Unless".
That was all it took for the Illyrian to whip his head around quickly. Azriel had not meant to look so needy, it happened in the spur of the moment but in truth, he was craving for her to retract her statement of not doing the tour.
"Unless, you don't mind. I would like to see the Night Court a bit. We could do an avian tour".
At that, her wings spread a bit and shook slightly. For some reason, Azriel grinned at the gesture because he found it undeniably adorable. After all, who was he to turn down a request from a female like her?
"I don't mind. At all. We can take an avian tour", he replied and mirroring her gesture.

The smile it elicited from her was worth whatever awkwardness they had to bear through.

Taking off on the balcony, their wings flapped in synchronization against a night chilled breeze. Clouds whizzed past her tresses and the stars winked around her figure. The silence they shared was a welcome one, Raina didn't seem to mind it one bit and Azriel appreciated it.
"I'm terribly sorry that Mor trapped you into this. I'm sure you had better things to spend your night with", the peregryn murmured beside him.
Azriel looked over to her, eyes laced with confusion, "Why would you be? Sorry, I mean".
"I think it was a scheme or something, Mor can be an A-class busybody at times".
Both of them chuckled at the truth, until Azriel looked at her with the ghost of a smile on his mouth, "You'd be right, Raina. It was a plot of some kind. Cassian did very little to hide it too".

Her name off his tongue sent shivers down her spine. Azriel saying 'Raina' with so much emphasis yet ease at the same time. It made her feel like everyone has been saying her name wrong and he was the first one to ever say it correctly. The female tilted her head at him, trying to shut out the loud thoughts in her head, all of which concerned the male flying by her side, "A plot? Really?".
The shadowsinger nodded slightly, "Rhys told me, mind-to-mind", he knocked a finger on his temple before quickly placing his arms away from her line of sight, "That Mor and Cassian thought we should get to know the each other, or something. Claims to have caught us looking at the other person multiple times. At least, that's what Rhysand said ", Azriel shrugged nonchalantly, but his eyes twinkled with mischief.
A warm flush adorned her cheeks and Raina thanked the Universe that it was dark. Was she really that obvious to the others? Did even Azriel catch her looking at him? And what did he mean about both of them looking at each other? These thoughts ran wildly with no filter or blockage in her mind, taking so long to respond that Az looked at her with slightly creased eyebrows.
"I'm sorry, what do they mean, 'looking at each other'?".
The shadowsinger could help the laughter that rumbled out of him by the sound of her flustered voice, her blush evident even under the cover of the night, "Relax. I'm sure they're being the insufferable idiots I know them all to be".
"Right", her shoulders loosened up and her mind quietened enough for a playful grin to bloom on her mouth. "So, there's no figment of fact in their...observation?".
Azriel's head whipped around, eyes widening a fraction to hear her query before narrowing them exasperatedly, "I don't know, is there? Before you answer that, remember that I always know when eyes are on me". As he said that, his shadows flowed around her head, as if saying: 'we're the reason why'. Raina rolled her eyes at his proud statement and turned her head away from him, her pale face almost as red as rubies and roses realizing she had been caught.
"In my defense", she cleared her throat, causing Az to set his amused eyes on her, clearly enjoying this. "You're not a fae that I run into everyday. Besides, it's not like you can talk, shadowsinger".
The last part caused Azriel to raise a brow, his irises gleaming like fresh honey, "Oh?".
Rai nodded in a matter-of-factly manner, "You're not the only one who can tell when people are watching them".
The softest pink hue appeared on the bridge of his nose as Azriel suddenly found the land passing beneath them very interesting. Satisfied, Raina looked at him with a smug and entertained expression. But Azriel wasn't finished. He continued to cast his gaze downwards but his voice was filled with playfulness, "I'm not a fae you run into everyday, you said. What caught your fancy, ice wielder?".
Rai rolled her eyes dragging a chuckle out of him, "Don't flatter yourself. It was purely your shadows that intrigued me. What's your reason to have been looking at me throughout this night? Never seen a peregryn before?".
"Of course I've seen peregryns. Mainly from the Dawn Court armies but peregryns of your...colours is a new thing to me. You say it was simply my shadows that you noticed?".
The peregryn smiled, almost proudly at his notice of the blue she so adored in her wings but thought very carefully before replying, because she was coming to realize the shadowsinger was especially good at turning your own words against you.
"I'm not the biggest fan of the Illyrians and by that I mean no offence. Cassian and yourself seem to be fine males by character, however I have always kept a distance and never worked for or with any. Not that they'd want me to, anyways. So, I suppose seeing an decent Illyrian and your siphons, of course, were also... intriguing".
Azriel gazed at her once more, drinking in the moment and conversation. He found himself wanting to never stop flying with her, to never reach land and face all of the problems and business waiting for him on the ground.
"Don't worry, I'm not the biggest fan of them either. They are difficult to deal with and I've never met an Illyrian who I don't want to punch... except my brothers. Even they aren't exempted at times".
This made Rai laugh, the sky around them almost seemed to light up at that sound. Azriel felt a strange sort of pride at making her laugh, his pupils shining at her the corner of her eyes crinkling. He was coming to hope this female's holiday in the Night Court would last more than a year.