Hephaestus woke up and blinked sleep from her eyes. She felt immense relief as her vision adjusted to the gray dawn light - weak or not, the light was there, and she was grateful the sun was rising at all, let alone as though nothing was out of the ordinary. As if the night had not suddenly decided to engulf half of the previous day the way that it had. Though Phaes found it hard to complain considering the events that had resulted.
Speaking of, the second thing the dust and leaf colored lioness noticed was the warmth of the large body pressed against hers. Impikelelo, her new friend from the darkness. The thought brought a smile to her face. The two strangers had stayed up presumably late into the night talking and laughing and bonding, and had eventually curled up together to fall asleep, the large male wrapping himself around her. It occurred to Phaes that the pale dawn provided her with an opportunity to finally see what Kel actually looked like. She shifted, intending to turn and regard her companion, and a hot throbbing in her hind paw reminded her of that damned hare's warren she had stepped in. Leaving her curiosity to fester for a little longer, Phaes inspected her injury gingerly. A little swelling, some tenderness, but all in all it wasn't bad. Satisfied, she twisted around to finally get a good look at Kel and found pale blue eyes staring back at her.
The sunrise's pale light had roused Kel too, but he had decided against admitting it. Sure, he was also incredibly appreciative that the sun had returned to the sky, but it only allowed him to thoroughly enjoy his company without distraction. Besides, he wasn't looking forward to Phaes waking and deciding to leave and go back to her family. And so, he lied there grinning, basking in the warmth of her pelt against his stomach. Unfortunately, his plan didn't last long as Phaes started stirring, and so he reluctantly opened his eyes. For the first time, he caught sight of the lioness he had been with for the last several hours, his grin widening at the brightness of her mint accents, even brighter against the subdued clay color of her pelt. He watched her as she checked out her paw - making a mental note to do so himself, and thoroughly, later - and then turned to face him.
Blue eyes met blue eyes; as stark a contrast existed between them as between the sky on the most beautiful of days and the sky when a thunderstorm was brewing. Silence as each regarded the other, eagerly drinking in every detail they could find, every curve, every scar, every last tiny marking that may be hiding. Several heartbeats passed this way before either of them spoke.
"So that's what you look like," Phaes joked nervously. She hadn't wanted to be the one to break the quiet, but she couldn't stand it any longer.
"Yes," chuckled Kel. "It's odd to feel as though you know someone so well when you haven't ever clearly seen their face." He paused, shy and unsure, then dared to venture, "Though you are just as beautiful a face as you are a soul."
Phaes felt her fur grow hot and quietly cursed herself. Such simple words should not be able to make her blush, especially not after they had... "spent the night together". They should be long past such giddy nonsense. Yet, here they were, with her flushed like a kit. In lieu of continuing to struggle for words, Phaes allowed a brief purr as she bumped her head gently against Kel's and rose to her paws.
Shaking the dust from his pelt, Kel followed, dreading what was coming and hoping to put it off a while more.
"Would you care to go hunting?"
Phaes carefully put some pressure on her twisted paw, happy to note that, while it hurt, the pain was slight enough not to hinder casual movement. But hunting... She seriously doubted she'd be able to manage that fast and heavy pace. Forcing a sad smile, she shook her head and turned to respond, but before she could speak Kel interjected.
"Then let me hunt for you. I'll be quick, and we'll both get a fresh meal, and then... whatever happens next." Kel looked at her pleadingly, not ready for this to be over. Not certain if he ever would be.
Phaes hesitated; she knew that she needed to return to her sisters. They were undoubtedly worried about her, what with that strange blackness, and she was worried about them. However... It was only just reaching a full day that she had been gone, and she had been gone longer than that before. It wouldn't hurt to stay a little while longer. Her smile, genuine now, lit up her face and she nodded. Kel padded up and brushed his cheek against hers before excitedly racing off.
True to his word, Kel was back fairly soon. Phaes had taken his absence as a chance to groom herself. When he came back, a large hare in his jaws, she was lying patiently in the grass with her hurt paw slightly extended. She smiled warmly and blinked happily at his return. He attempted to return the expression and effectively made himself look silly with his eyes closed and a goofy grin around the rabbit in his mouth. Phaes laughed aloud and Kel's ears folded back sheepishly, though his smile remained firmly in place.
The two thoroughly enjoyed their meal, and their animated conversations from the night before continued as though there was never a break. After the two picked clean Kel's kill and had finished licking the blood from their whiskers, the silence stretched awkwardly as they both realized they couldn't put off Phaes' return any longer but neither wanted to acknowledge it. Finally, Phaes had to speak.
"I need to..."
"I know," Kel bowed his head sadly but smiled to show he wasn't angry. "I'll walk you back. As far as you'd like."
Phaes smiled back, genuinely warm, and the two rose and headed back towards the place Phaes and her sisters had been calling home recently. The distance was short, and the two didn't talk much, both regretful that they had to part ways. When they reached the point that Phaes thought would be best for Kel to stop following, the two exchanged nuzzles, a dejected goodbye and a hope that they would meet again. The dust-colored lioness turned sharply and padded away quickly before she lost her nerve and attempted to bring Kel back.
Kel watched her go mournfully and, though they had discussed splitting up, Kel wasn't so sure he wouldn't stick around for a while.
