Her eyes were drawn to him yet again. For the fifth night in a row, Diana had been sitting upon her secret spot, high on the rooftop of the broken down Ionian temple. She didn't know why she had come here to begin with. After her exile from the Solari, and the bloodbath she had followed it up with, she had headed her Ionia. And here she was. She didn't live here, not exactly… But this was where she came to spend her nights, meditating under the moon's silver glow.
And for the fifth time, she opened her eyes at the presence of another. Glancing down, she saw him again. He had always come here every other day. He never noticed her, never looked up at the rooftop to see her standing there, watching him. He simply walked out into the ruined balcony of the temple, the one which her perch oversaw, and sat down on the bottom steps, staring out into the horizon, where the inky night sky met the indigo expanse of water. I watched him as he stared. He was an odd one. He wasn't exactly human, that was obvious. He was covered in some kind of black, purplish… furlike substance, that also seemed very liquid in form. It covered his arms and the lower half of his body. His hair was stark white, his skin pale. She knew who he was. What she didn't know was why he kept coming back here and doing nothing.
"It's peaceful here, wouldn't you say, Lunari?" He said, or rather, he spat. His voice, albeit none threatening, was curt and cold, like he resented saying anything. But she was surprised that he knew she was here, watching him.
"Did you honestly think I never noticed your presence?" Varus asked, turning his head to the side to stare at her over his shoulder with one eye. He had pale violet irises, and Diana had to blink to rid herself of the surprise.
She jumped down from the rooftop, landing quietly upon the floor, at the top of the stairs. She wore the armor of her ancestors, yet did not carry her blade. Likewise, she did not see Varus' bow on him, though she was sure he could form it if he chose. But Varus made no movement aside from his eye following her as she descended.
"Why do you come here?" Diana asked.
"Am I not welcome?" He asked, his voice dark and filled with venom, but Diana could tell it wasn't intentional. She had heard of his story, the corruption in his veins. She could bet that he didn't intend to sound so aggressive or bitter, yet his bitterness spoke volumes about him. It connected to her in an odd way.
"You are. Anyone is. This temple does not belong to me." Diana said.
"But would you welcome Solari into the temple?" He asked. Diana stiffened as her silver eyes hardened a fraction.
"No… I wouldn't." She answered.
"Then you should be careful of how you phrase yourself, Lunari." He snarled at her as Diana narrowed her eyes, her patience wearing thin.
"If you simply came here to insult me, I would suggest you leave." Diana said as Varus stayed quiet for a few seconds.
"That is not my intent." He muttered darkly as Diana crossed her arms, looking down at him. He went back to staring at the sky.
"They say the moonlight can heal all wounds." He said, and his voice was, at that moment, so tender and vulnerable that it completely threw Diana off.
"Yes… It can…" Diana said, feeling the words hit her deep within as well.
"Have you healed, Lunari?" He asked.
"Have you?" She retorted.
Varus simply shook his head. "I can take a vase and shatter it upon the floor… And even if I piece it together, it will never be the same." He then looked up at the sky. "We all hurt, Lunari. And we all have our ways to cope with the pain."
Diana felt an ache in her chest as she slowly walked down the steps. Varus seemed slightly surprised when she sat down beside him, judging from the way he tensed and glanced over at her. But then he slowly relaxed as she brought her knees up and hugged them, staring up at the moon along with Varus.
"That doesn't mean we have to cope with it alone, Varus." She said quietly.
Varus stayed silent, and so did she. They said nothing else for the rest of the night, simply choosing to stare up at the sky, lost in their thoughts and bask in the gentle caress of the full moon. And Diana had to admit… The company felt nice after such a long time of solitude.