#wog

Seconds ticked away. His hand still stretched out to you and now he wore a sincere smile on his lips. It blew the wind out of your lungs. He was friendly and gentle towards you - no threat to be seen. When you arrived, he was reserved but it soon changed into a friendly atmosphere. When you summoned your illusions you detected his prescription as he attacked the versions you created. Probably he was afraid that you hid behind one of them. The general didn't show any sign of trying to hurt you in the first place.

You couldn't resist his good looks either. Even when your mind told you to hesitate, your body was eager to rely on him. You weren't the ambassador of your court without reason - you were curious, not afraid of new things and good with words, hulling messages in well arranged metaphors if necessary. But when you gazed at him the atmosphere changed.

Nonetheless you knew no one in your court that was ever able to explore the sky. It was a sphere that no one knew due to the incapacity of flying - the beautiful but crippled through the heaviness of the wings would send you to the ground instantly and smash you like a fly. The storms of the Glass Court were your favourite - whenever the wind blew against your window, you opened it to stretch your arms out the window to pretend that you were flying, like your ancestors once did. The tips of your fingers tingled in anticipation and after long seconds you took his hand, allowing him to take you into the night.

“Yes.” You answered in a whisper and without a warning he scooped you into his arms and with a soundless thud, he took off into the dark void surrounding you. 

A screeching yell escaped your lips as your arms slung around his neck to hold on tight. Cassian chucked at your cry and tightened his embrace. With only the tepid night air around you, you gazed around in awe, taking in the snow capped mountains that stretched along the horizon. The last orange sunbeams crashed into the purple and inky sky above, the first stars glittered above as he drove the two of you further upwards.

The ground fell away too quickly, and your fingers dug into his shoulders as panic clawed at you. “Cassian!” you gasped with a trembling voice.

“I’ve got you.” he said, reassuringly even though you pressed yourself further into his embrace. He soared higher and the view was breathtaking, the distance to the ground inestimable. The Moonstone palace in all its glory sitting in the beautiful darkness of the Night Court. Thousands of stars shone above, leaving the unsettling feeling of being too small for such an expanse to grasp. Holding onto Cassian's huge frame just reinforced that sensation. Suddenly the beauty of the landscape was forgotten as your world shrunk down onto him - massive and soundless wings, wild and windblown hair and a face so handsome that it must have been formed by the Mother herself.

“I can feel you stare.” he remarked cheekily, his eyes fixated on the horizon, just briefly flicking down at you.

Your heart skipped a beat at the grin that tugged at the corner of his lips. “I was just admiring the stars above.” it was a weak attempt to hide your embarrassment. “They’re beautiful.” you added for good measure.

“They are.” Cassian whispered as his gaze locked with yours. Your gut turned itself in knots and a hot shower ran down your spine, suddenly your palms were a bit too sweaty and you couldn't remember how hot to breathe properly. Hypnotized by his stare you didn't notice that he landed on the balcony again and set you down cautiously.

Your hands didn't unwrap from his neck as you gazed at his sharp jaw and the way his eyes twinkled as he still held you around your middle. The darkness concealed the redness that had crept into your cheeks as you fantasized about how his lips would feel on yours, how his calloused hands would trace the skin beneath your dress. 

He pulled you flush against him and leaned in. His eyes fell shut as he drew closer to your face.