All Hail the Shifter King
Title: It's a Nice Gesture
Word Count: 446
Author's Note: For the record (or for anybody new to this), Kat and Ryder are not a couple. Well. Not in the traditional sense.
When she opened her eyes, the sun had set and the Jeep was parked at the edge of the forest. Yawning, she rubbed her eyes with one hand as she clumsily unbuckled her seatbelt, sliding out into the humid night air on wobbly legs that threatened to dump her to the ground. It took a moment for her to spot Ryder - he was sitting on a boulder in the shadow of the trees, so still he she could have walked right past him if not for the glow of his cigarette in the darkness.
"Why did we stop?" she asked, stretching her arms as she stared up at the sky, awestruck as always at the swirls and splashes of stars. It was the one thing she loved the most about working in remote locations, the way the sky looked at night.
"Just needed a break," he said, flicking ash onto the ground. The night creatures buzzed and clicked and murmured, but only from a distance - as usual, the immediate area was silent in Ryder's presence, and she found it both fascinating and unnerving. Still, she boosted herself up on the rock beside him and leaned against his shoulder, smirking a little when she felt him stiffen awkwardly.
"Relax, scaleface," she said, slinging an arm around his cool shoulders. "Sooner or later, you're going to get used to this."
"Not likely," he replied, but there was a smile in his voice, even if she couldn't see it on his face. They sat in companionable silence for a while, her looking at the sky and him lost wherever his thoughts took him, until she finally pointed up at the heavens.
"You wanted me to wake up to this, didn't you?" she asked. He blinked a few times, his eyes shimmering with their odd light as he came back to himself, and when he looked up at the sky he shrugged slightly.
"You always talk about how you love the stars," he said, as if it made perfect sense. His thoughtfulness made her smile, even if he wouldn't admit to it, and she slid her hand down his arm until she could lace her fingers in his. He tolerated it for a moment before he pulled his hand away.
"I love you, too, you know," she mentioned.
His odd-colored eyes darted to her before he jammed his cigarette against the boulder, flicking the ruined stump into the darkness. He slid to the ground in one fluid motion, landing silently and straightening his t-shirt before he reached out to her, offering his hand to help her down. "No, you don't," he told her. "But I appreciate the thought."
Word Count: 446
Author's Note: For the record (or for anybody new to this), Kat and Ryder are not a couple. Well. Not in the traditional sense.
When she opened her eyes, the sun had set and the Jeep was parked at the edge of the forest. Yawning, she rubbed her eyes with one hand as she clumsily unbuckled her seatbelt, sliding out into the humid night air on wobbly legs that threatened to dump her to the ground. It took a moment for her to spot Ryder - he was sitting on a boulder in the shadow of the trees, so still he she could have walked right past him if not for the glow of his cigarette in the darkness.
"Why did we stop?" she asked, stretching her arms as she stared up at the sky, awestruck as always at the swirls and splashes of stars. It was the one thing she loved the most about working in remote locations, the way the sky looked at night.
"Just needed a break," he said, flicking ash onto the ground. The night creatures buzzed and clicked and murmured, but only from a distance - as usual, the immediate area was silent in Ryder's presence, and she found it both fascinating and unnerving. Still, she boosted herself up on the rock beside him and leaned against his shoulder, smirking a little when she felt him stiffen awkwardly.
"Relax, scaleface," she said, slinging an arm around his cool shoulders. "Sooner or later, you're going to get used to this."
"Not likely," he replied, but there was a smile in his voice, even if she couldn't see it on his face. They sat in companionable silence for a while, her looking at the sky and him lost wherever his thoughts took him, until she finally pointed up at the heavens.
"You wanted me to wake up to this, didn't you?" she asked. He blinked a few times, his eyes shimmering with their odd light as he came back to himself, and when he looked up at the sky he shrugged slightly.
"You always talk about how you love the stars," he said, as if it made perfect sense. His thoughtfulness made her smile, even if he wouldn't admit to it, and she slid her hand down his arm until she could lace her fingers in his. He tolerated it for a moment before he pulled his hand away.
"I love you, too, you know," she mentioned.
His odd-colored eyes darted to her before he jammed his cigarette against the boulder, flicking the ruined stump into the darkness. He slid to the ground in one fluid motion, landing silently and straightening his t-shirt before he reached out to her, offering his hand to help her down. "No, you don't," he told her. "But I appreciate the thought."