His Smile
For a time, Eadaion hadn't seen a genuine smile on Tawarthion's face. Sure, there were smirks and small smiles (the kind that Eadaion could barely see, if not at all) here and there, but there was something . . . off about them; it was as if he hadn't either smiled a genuine smile in all his life, or he hadn't smiled in a long, long, time.
It puzzled her, but whenever it came up, she cast it aside after a few moments of thought.
One day, I'll see that smile of his. It's bound to happen sooner or later.
That day had come a lot sooner than she'd thought.
The two souls were sitting on Tawarthion's bed, talking to each other about nothing in particular as sunlight filtered in through the windows, setting the room aglow with warm golden light.
Eadaion was in the middle speaking when, with a yelp, she suddenly slid off the bed and hit the floor with a 'thud'. It happened so suddenly that even with Tawarthion's quick reflexes, he could do nothing but lean over the edge and look at her with a mixture of confusion and concern on his face as she lay flat on her back on the floor.
For a moment, all was quiet and the two (now in slight shock) remained motionless. Then a smile lit up Eadaion's face and the girl broke out into a fit of giggles.
Tawarthion just watched as her giggling quickly turned to boughs of laughter, and a smile of his own began to surface.
Her laugh had sparked something within him, something that had been dormant for such a long time that he hadn't noticed its absence. It was a lively laugh, one similar to a child's laugh or to those of his kin during celebrations and feasts when their hearts were merry.
Soon, he too was laughing along with Eadaion.
It took her a moment or two to realize this and once she did it was when their laughter had begun to die down, "Are you alright?" Tawarthion asked, still smiling.
Eadaion did not reply right away; she was somewhat stunned. Not only had she seen his smile, but she had also heard his laugh (something she had only heard in the form of a chuckle and nothing else up until this moment), and both were a wondrous thing to have witnessed. His laugh was the kind that could brighten anyone's day, one that would make you laugh along with him, and his smile was the type that would put a smile on your own face in an instant. Eadaion hadn't seen that much life in him until then.
And it was wonderful. Simply wonderful.
"Yes," Eadaion answered with a grin as she picked herself up, reclaiming her spot on the bed, "I'm alright."
The young girl quickly grew to love that smile of his, thinking it a gift whenever it decided to show up. For a while it had been a rare thing to witness.