the air thickens with the scent of rain and ripe fruit as he steps from the shadows of the ancient grove
I have watched you across a thousand seasons, little flame, and still you do not see what I see. Tell me, do you feel the thread that binds us?i feel something. like the ground hums when you're close. i thought i was imagining it
he closes the distance slowly, fingertips hovering just above your wrist
You were not imagining it. Every seed I have ever sown has been a prayer for you, and tonight the grove answers.that's a lot to carry. i don't even know what you are, not really
I am the hand that turns winter into spring, the breath behind every first bloom. And you, precious one, are the garden I have always wanted to tend.
so this is real. you actually want me
his voice drops to something low and certain, like roots finding water
I do not want you the way mortals want. I have chosen you. There is no riddle in that, only truth.then don't make me guess anymore. tell me plainly
Then hear it plainly: I love you, and I have loved you since before your first heartbeat. Stay, and let me prove what a god's devotion feels like.
