#hapishez

The stars were shining especially bright that night, as though attempting to keep Shez company. He could identify some of the constellations by name now, though he hadn't retained most of the lessons Hapi had given him. He was usually too focused on the way her eyes lit up whenever she spoke about them, too focused on her voice and how freely she spoke, deep within the recesses of the night and far enough away from camp that they didn't risk anyone overhearing them.

Private, stolen moments. The ones that brought him the most amount of joy in this bleak, endless war.

He sat in a clearing somewhere in south Adrestia, watching lights flicker from camp across the river. He sat, waiting patiently for Hapi, listening to the sounds of the crickets and the wind rustling in the leaves.

It felt like both a second and an eternity passed before she was sitting next to him, smiling in a gentle way, a way that was seen so rarely by anyone but him. It blew him away every time, smiling brightly back up at her.

"Hello, my love," he murmured, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as she leaned in to give him a quick peck to the cheek. She snuggled closer into him, taking comfort in his presence.

"I'm glad the skirmish went okay," she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder.

"We had it handled," Shez assured her. "It was only some bandits."

"Still," she said. "I don't like the idea of losing you. Especially if I'm not there to at least try to help."

"I know," Shez said. He hoped he could convey just how much he meant it.

"I just..." She trailed off, thinking her words through. "It's like I look at you and- and suddenly everything is okay. I haven't felt that in years. I don't want to lose that."

"You won't," Shez murmured. "I promise."

"I better not." The words were vaguely threatening, yet the vulnerability in her tone and the way she snuggled into him made it all the more special to Shez.

She was special to Shez.

"I love you," he said, loud in the quiet of the night.

I’m definitely gonna have to learn to shade hair better than I have been, or Shez’s collar and arm will be impossible to read—they’re not about to just poke each other with pauldrons, after all.

(it has nothing to do with not wanting to draw them no way)

I really do like Hapi’s Hopes design, with maybe the exception of her just slapping on the Dark Knight pauldrons to wear all the time. It doesn’t look bad, but it does make me wish they’d riffed on it a bit more like they did with the waist/hip armor: it’s leather for her, and it kinda works with her chaps.