That was . . .
Zhi bit down on the word that wanted to come out of her, on the feeling itself that bubbled up and made her want to glare at him and stomp back inside the city. She didn't want to admit to herself why she was getting angry, much less admit it to the lalafell, but once the notebook was back in her hands she didn't exactly have many options.
She looked down at it, hating how stupid she felt. She took out the grease pencil, pressed her lips together and glanced back at Lalataru. No help, there. All that open space, and she was still trapped as good as if she'd been penned up at the end of a dock.
Her first try failed. That made her more angry. Her lines became erratic and crooked, prompting another five failures. She was pretending she didn't care by the seventh, and had stopped paying attention to what she was doing by the thirteenth; she was wondering how long he would stand there watching her before he stopped her when something rippled along her fur and buzzed over her spine. It snapped out of her, away from the notebook, careening upwards at an awkward angle and splatting against the rock with a sound that was almost pathetic.
Zhi fell back on her arse, her eyes wide and her mouth open wide. She felt as if something had just punched through her gut, leaving her feeling empty yet strangely euphoric. All traces of the act had been wiped away, leaving only Zhi to turn her shocked expression on Lalataru. She didn't say a word, just gaped at him.
Zhi bit down on the word that wanted to come out of her, on the feeling itself that bubbled up and made her want to glare at him and stomp back inside the city. She didn't want to admit to herself why she was getting angry, much less admit it to the lalafell, but once the notebook was back in her hands she didn't exactly have many options.
She looked down at it, hating how stupid she felt. She took out the grease pencil, pressed her lips together and glanced back at Lalataru. No help, there. All that open space, and she was still trapped as good as if she'd been penned up at the end of a dock.
Her first try failed. That made her more angry. Her lines became erratic and crooked, prompting another five failures. She was pretending she didn't care by the seventh, and had stopped paying attention to what she was doing by the thirteenth; she was wondering how long he would stand there watching her before he stopped her when something rippled along her fur and buzzed over her spine. It snapped out of her, away from the notebook, careening upwards at an awkward angle and splatting against the rock with a sound that was almost pathetic.
Zhi fell back on her arse, her eyes wide and her mouth open wide. She felt as if something had just punched through her gut, leaving her feeling empty yet strangely euphoric. All traces of the act had been wiped away, leaving only Zhi to turn her shocked expression on Lalataru. She didn't say a word, just gaped at him.
