Eclipse Child |✔|

|18|

If a dancer met a lover and stopped dancing, 

you'd question his/her choice. 

If you brought a flower inside 

and it stopped growing, 

you'd give it back to the sun. 

So tell me, if you're unhappy, 

why are you standing still? 

-Erin Van Vuren

***

The male watches me from the side, taking in my exercise.

"My rib is fine."

He only shrugs, but I can tell it is what he is thinking about.

I continue.

My side does hurt. I know it is slowing me down. But I let the pain focus me.

I fall beside him, letting my head rest back as I take in the sky.

A week had passed. It was almost time to return.

"Are you ready male?"

A long sigh leaves his mouth as he nods. I close my eyes and smile, letting the sunlight hit my skin.

I don't open them as I feel his hand slowly trace my face.

Almost instinctively I turn to him. There is no sight. Only sound and sensation as his fingers press against my neck, going up behind my ears before stroking the uneven edges of my hair.

"I should probably cut it," I whisper.

I open my eyes and look up to see an intense expression upon the male's face.

"I did it before I left."

It had grown out a little. The length almost reached the end of my chin. But the uneven edges were still jagged. Clipped and creating a rough looking appearance.

He stands and holds his hand out. I let him pull me up as he leads me into the house.

The parents eye us as we pass them. I want to get away from them.

I wonder if that was why the male stayed with the wolves. If that was why he shifted and chose fur.

Because it was an easy excuse to not talk to those around him.

He leads me into the small room I had been sleeping in. His room.

He had refused to sleep in it with me.

Instead, he left each night.

I could only wonder what he did.

Though I had a vague theory that he snuck away and slept in the woods wearing fur instead of skin.

"What are you doing?"

He leads me into the small bathroom and sets me down on the edge of the bathtub.

I watch as he opens a drawer and pulls a pair of scissors out.

A smile spread across my face as he climbs over the rim and bends his knees- letting himself be level with me.

"Are you cutting my hair?"

He answers my question by doing just that.

The smile on my face widens.