Kristoffer had opened his mouth to say something – sly, witty, lewd; he wasn’t sure – to her, but he didn’t have the chance. As if he were some petty thief or attacker, she pointed her wand at him before he had time enough to blink.
The next thing he knew, he was on his back, cobbled street digging into his backside and aching more as he came to, out of the spell. He groaned. And here was Poppy, her face swimming above him like it sometimes did in the early morning when he thought about her, half between sleep and waking – usually irksome and alluring and comforting, somehow, all at once.
It was much the same in this moment, only Kristoffer greeted her with a whining groan instead of anything more eloquent. “What are you doing, trying to kill me?” he hissed, although the annoyance didn’t make it to his eyes. Hopefully it was still too dark, in the early morning shadows, for her to see them soften. He was – supposed to be – angry at her, generally. “Is this what you’ve been doing in Paris, hm, attacking people willy-nilly in the streets?” Grief could give people some liberty to be a pain, but that seemed a little too far.
If he didn’t answer her question directly, it was because he realised he didn’t have any good answer. I wanted to see you wasn’t any excuse at all.
The next thing he knew, he was on his back, cobbled street digging into his backside and aching more as he came to, out of the spell. He groaned. And here was Poppy, her face swimming above him like it sometimes did in the early morning when he thought about her, half between sleep and waking – usually irksome and alluring and comforting, somehow, all at once.
It was much the same in this moment, only Kristoffer greeted her with a whining groan instead of anything more eloquent. “What are you doing, trying to kill me?” he hissed, although the annoyance didn’t make it to his eyes. Hopefully it was still too dark, in the early morning shadows, for her to see them soften. He was – supposed to be – angry at her, generally. “Is this what you’ve been doing in Paris, hm, attacking people willy-nilly in the streets?” Grief could give people some liberty to be a pain, but that seemed a little too far.
If he didn’t answer her question directly, it was because he realised he didn’t have any good answer. I wanted to see you wasn’t any excuse at all.
