Shiro wrung his hands together, avoiding the wood elf's gaze. "So... What do you think?"
A heavy silence hung in the room. After a few pounding heart beats, he heard Nailah let out a long sigh. He could hear the strain in her voice. "If you think it's for the best... Ok. I'll do it."
The cleric perked up. His friend sat beside him, picking at her slice of cake. He noticed her fidget slightly, eyebrows furrowed. "Will... You be ok?" She asked as she finally met his eyes. Her own were cloudy with worry.
Shiro's ears lowered ever so slightly (not exactly a perk of being a full blood). "To be honest, I don't know. But... If Yuri's right, it might."
Nailah gave a strong nod. "Alright." She still seemed nervous. She was nervous. Sure, her father occasionally partook in hallucinogenics, usually non poisonous mushrooms or fairly harmless herbs, but this "dream mist" seemed to be an entirely different animal. The way Shiro explained what would happen to him scared her. What if she failed him? What if it ended up hurting him? Could she really live with that?
A hand on hers jolted her back out of her head. Soft brown eyes met peridot as Shiro smiled gently. "I trust you Nai."
The warrior gulped, turning her hand so that their fingers interlocked. She squeezed and he squeezed back.
"I want to move on from the past. I don't want to be the same Shiro that left Neverwinter..."
"You already aren't."
Shiro balked. He stared at the young woman beside him. Ferocity gleamed in her eyes. "What you've told me... About "White Rabbit". That Shiro is not you. Not anymore. The Shiro you have told me about... Would he have ever run blindly into the desert for me?" No... He wouldn't have...
"Would he have stayed up all night translating an old, falling apart story book for me? Into common and Elven?" No... He would've been too out of his own body.
Nailah brought their hands up between them. "The Shiro you are now is not the Shiro of Neverwinter. You are Shiro Ada of the Dust Dragons, the Songbird of Thoth." She brought their hands down, holding out the pinky of her other hand. Her smile was soft and warm. "I will always trust you. I will follow you to the ends of the world and the planes beyond."
The desert elf was stunned, frozen in place. His heart ached, but not in a pain he was used to. This was a pain he could deal with. One that made him happy, but he might not admit it. Not yet anyway.
His own face mirrored her smile, and he wrapped his own pinky around hers.
She had mentioned once that her father called her his sunflower. He could see why.
____________
Needless to say, this week's Dust Dragons session with my girls @lady-ragnarok-draws and @chika-ann was interesting. What was supposed to be a day to relax and celebrate Nailah's birthday turned into a hodgepodge of reveals and chaotic shenanigans, with the biggest reveal being that our informant is the step brother of our guildmate Gar-tah, and that he previously had encounters with Shiro's personal demon. And it seems the only way for our beloved cleric to finally move on with his life, is to accept himself, with the first step being... exposing himself once more to the drug that ruined his life.
With all of this information, it's safe to say that our White Rabbit is coming for the Red Queen's head
