#etfc

His hands are rough. Essek expected as much, the marks of one who plays with fire are visible even from a distance. Essek had watched those hands craft complex equations spinning the fabric of reality into something knew. Essek knew the way they held a quill or chalk. He knew their careful placement at the edges of a tome. He knew their anxious scrapings through orange fur. But this, this was a feeling he only dreamt. The flame marked fingers trailing warm against his neck as they clasp a protective amulet. He finally knows the touch of those hands and the desire in him ignites.

Caleb’s hands linger on bare shoulders after the necklace falls into place. He’s soft, not nearly what the wizard would have guessed. He hesitates a moment longer. What is this, anymore? In that moment his hand are covered by those of a deep grey. The thin fingers, soft and ever so slightly shaking.

Essek’s head slowly turns until, turquoise eyes stare into deep pools of brown. He’s only inches from the other wizard. The one he set out to undermine, to spy upon, his enemy, a threat to his own safety. He shifts closer but Caleb turns away.