Zami turned away from the door and looked about the unlit room. His gaze quickly caught on the open window, where the moonlight was streaming in. Mythene was leaning against the windowsill, staring out into the night. Zami's breath hitched as he looked at her. If she looked pretty under the glow of sunlight, then she was nothing less than radiant under the light of the moon. It almost seemed to caress her lavender face in a soft white glow, and it made her silver hair sparkle like diamond.
And then Zami noticed what she was wearing. Or rather, what she wasn't.
Her leather vest had been removed and set neatly upon the foot of her tiny bed, beside her white linen shirt. Zami immediately backed up against the door, worried he'd caught her in a state of undress. At this, Mythene's ears twitched and she glanced back over her shoulder.
"Zami?" She perked an eyebrow, probably noting his panicked expression.
"Uh, I was just, uh…" Zami mumbled, hastily feeling for the doorknob, "D-Didn't mean to disturb ya-"
"Hm, no, it's alright," Mythene sighed, turning away from the window, "I'm sure you were just concerned. I suppose I was acting rather strange..."
Zami blinked upon noticing she was still dressed, just that now she was wearing a sleeveless linen undershirt. He sighed in relief, leaning back against the door again, and Mythene perked an eyebrow once more.
"Hm? Why do you look so…" Mythene trailed off, glancing down at her shirt curiously.
She scoffed in amusement, glancing over towards her shirt on the bed, and then looked back at Zami.
"Ah, I see," She chuckled, "Well, I suppose now you understand why it is considered rather rude to intrude upon a woman's chambers unannounced."
"Uhh, yeah I-wait, what?" Zami cocked his head to the side, "I knocked. Like four times. And I called ya name too…"
"Hm? You did?" Mythene rose her eyebrows, "I must not have heard you."
"Got somethin' on ya mind?" He asked slowly, leaning away from the door.
"I suppose you could say that," Mythene sighed again, turning to lean on the windowsill one more.
Zami approached beside her and she scooted over slightly, tacitly signalling for him to lean down beside her. He did so, smacking his head on the top of the windowsill as he did. Mythene chuckled at his expense, resting her chin on her hand, before looking out to the night sky.
"What are ya lookin' at?" Zami asked as he rubbed his tender forehead.
"The moon, I suppose," Mythene shrugged a little, "It helps me to think."
"Bout what?" Zami asked in a slightly quieter voice, setting his hands against the windowsill.
Mythene sighed, tapping her chin with her fingertips as she rested it upon her palm.
"My father said something very strange tonight," She said with a frown, "As we were walking home…"
"Hm?" Zami furrowed his brow, "Did he make ya cry again? Cause I can-"
"No, no, nothing like that," Mythene shook her head slightly, "He… apologized."
"For?" Zami asked suspiciously.
"For everything, I think," Mythene pursed her lips, "For, as he implied… breaking me."
"Huh?" Zami scowled, "What in da name of da Loa does that mean?"
"It doesn't matter," Mythene said with a sigh, "But I can't stop thinking about it."
Mythene sighed again, just staring up at the moon. Zami glanced over at her, trying to focus on being sympathetic. Mythene was more important, after all. Though he still couldn't ignore his growing annoyance at Caserion. That guy was really getting on his last nerve…
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Mythene mumbled, still looking up at the moon.
"Yeah," He agreed, still looking over at Mythene.
Mythene glanced over at him, going to say something, but her words died on her lips as their gazes caught each other. They stared at each other for a moment, their faces inches from each other due to the proximity of both leaning in the windowsill. Then Mythene began to lean forward. A sudden burst of insecurity made Zami back away. As he did, his tusk caught on Mythene's cheek, scratching her face.
"S-Sorry," Zami mumbled, slinking back further.
"It's alright," Mythene said as she brought her hand up to her cheek, covering it as it began to bleed, "It was an accident."
But despite her words, Zami only felt even more anxious. That he injured her only made him all the more uncertain, and he moved away from her.
"I, uh… I should go," He mumbled quickly, ready to sprint for the door.
"Wait!" Mythene called after him, "Thero'shan-"
"Sorry bout ya face," He quickly muttered as he reached the door, instantly regretting that particular choice of words.
"Would you just wait a second?" Mythene sighed as he grabbed the doorknob.
He tried to turn it, but found his hand had become much too sweaty for some reason. Quickly wiping his hand on his trousers, he then grasped the doorknob again and turned. But as soon as the door had opened, it closed again. He looked over beside him, seeing Mythene's lavender hand pressed onto the door, holding it closed. Zami dared to give her a quizzical glance, immediately frowning when he saw the slight trail of blood dripping from the scratch at her cheek.
"Zami, wait," Mythene said as she stared up at him with a determined look in her eyes.
"Sorry," He mumbled again, leaning away from her on instinct.
"I need to know," Mythene frowned, keeping her hand firmly planted on the door, blocking his escape.
"Know what?" Zami looked back at her, panic beginning to rise inside him again.
"What did she look like?" She asked, barely above a whisper.
"She?"
"Elune."
Zami froze, staring back at the pleading look in her eyes, and it clicked what she was talking about. He felt like he could breathe again and he sighed softly. In response, her arm warily lowered from the door.
"Well…" He began slowly, his hand squeezing the doorknob tightly, "I remember she was real pretty. Da prettiest thing I ever saw."
"But what did she actually look like?" Mythene asked impatiently.
He thought about it for a moment. He looked down at Mythene, with her long silver hair framing her beautiful face as her white glowing eyes bored into him, determined and defiant as ever. And as he looked at her, he realized that-as true as it was-he couldn't say it to her face.
"Uhh, well, I dat guess she..."
Suddenly his free hand gently pushed back against Mythene's chest. She took a step back, so that she wouldn't lose her balance, and at the same time moved out of the way of the door. Zami didn't hesitate to open the door, and stepped outside into the hall before she could react. He held the door closed as she tried to open it, and waited until she finished trying to finish his sentence, a warm blush gracing his cheeks.
"...She looked like you."
