Iskra
Follow me when it's dark out
Taken off guard by the abrupt arrival of candles in his face, Iskra initially flinched, his head jerking away and his half-completed stride jarring backward awkwardly. Iskra shuffled to regain his balance, nearly trampling the dog at his side as he did so. Goose skittered out of the way, ears set back in displeasure and he glanced over with a scathing look that went unnoticed by the woodcutter. "Wha-?" was all Iskra managed to get out before the bundle of kindling in his hands, unable to endure all the jostling, spilled a few pieces onto the ground. As if taking arrow fire, Goose's hackles lifted and he gave a short series of low barks as he dashed away from the two of them, fucking off to a safer place down the way to stand.As Iskra recovered from the unexpected mugging he just survived, a broad grin settled naturally and he laughed, half at his dog for cussing him out, and half at the boldness of this stranger. He ignored the firewood clutter at his feet - he couldn't leave her waiting any longer (even if the chaos had taken mere seconds to unfold) - and bowed back towards the candles with an eagerness that burned on inhale.
"Hmm," he mused loudly and with unnecessary emphasis, scrunching up his face in thought. Without waiting he leaned in for a second sniff, this time more gentle, digesting the first inhale of one before tilting to do the same to the other. "I think," he said while setting his weight back on his heels, "I need to know their names first." The grin he'd held this whole time (except for the deep-thinking posturing), crept into a playful smirk now, suggesting he'd gladly take more names than just those of the candles. "You can tell a lot about a name you know," he edged, "I'd be remiss to choose without knowing all there was."
She was like an embodiment of sunshine and that was most welcome in this darkest and coldest season.
