Young Writers Society

Calfuray chuckled once again, not even trying to stifle her amusement. Now she just found the hound endearing- he was trying so hard to impress Orpheus.

Without asking permission, she scooped up the book he had closed and set it on her own lap, flipping through the pages slowly. Now that she had remembered her plan to run away, the descriptions and exciting magical jargon on the pages only made her melancholy.

She wished she had thought to bring Lyse with her.

He was glad that Calufray was enjoying his selection of books, but still felt uncomfortable about the situation with Kynan. He wanted to let Kynan know that it was alright not to understand how to read. But if he did so, then Calufray would overhear and probably poke fun at Kynan, which would lead to the hound growing increasingly more embarrassed and uncomfortable.

Orpheus sighed and went over to his nightstand, grabbing the book from atop it and joining the two several moments later.

Eugh, now it was a little too quiet. That should've meant that nobody was paying attention to him, but he couldn't be sure of that. Maybe Orpheus was faking. Maybe Calfuray was too. He didn't like it - there were always too many words in a silence.

"So, uh," Kynan said, glancing up at Orpheus. "What is it that you do? Besides reading and wandering around the castle and stuff."

He looked up from his book.

"Sometimes I sit in on council meetings," he said. "Kartiel wants me to become king after him, so he's been trying to teach me basic etiquette. Some of is hard for him to teach because Telorum's been so secluded these past years, but the council meetings are the one thing that have stayed constant."

He glanced down at his gloved hand. "When I'm not doing that, I'm trying to get better control over my magic." He clenched his hand into a fist. "There's...There's someone I need to see again, but I can't let her see me like this."

"What kind of etiquette?" said Kynan, amazed that he knew the word (he'd been around Eremia for too long, he decided). "Is that using fancy words and standing in the right places in meetings and-"

The hound paused on looking up and noticing Orpheus's clenched fist. Kynan reached out a paw and set it over the hand. It was instinctual, and he immediately regretted it, but he could sympathize with prejudice and needing to hide.

"That sucks," he said. "But you're getting a hang of that magic thing, right?"

Orpheus looked up when he noticed that Kynan had placed his hand on his own, his hood falling back ever so slightly to reveal the grateful smile dancing across his lips.

"I am," he confirmed. "I've made my wings disappear, and I think that's supposed to be the hardest part. I just have to learn to hide the rest. Then she won't be afraid of me. I'm sure of it. She'll-She'll think I'm a god still, but that's alright..."

"What's wrong with that?" Kynan said, a little bit relieved that Orpheus wasn't upset at him. "Um, unless that's rude or obvious or anything."

"It's not," Orpheus quietly reassured him. He shifted uncomfortably and twirled a strand of his hair around his finger. "...I'm just...I'm just not a god anymore. I'm a fallen, and humans are scared of fallen...So I know it's better for her to think that I'm still a god...but I don't want to lie to her..."

Something wet slid down his cheek; he furiously tried to wipe away the traitorous tear with his sleeve.

"I'm not sure what to say," Kynan said. He reached out to wipe a tear from Orpheus's face. "Lying isn't great, but it isn't always bad, and it sounds like you care about her a lot. It sucks that she can't accept you for who you are, though."