❛ it's a trap and a stupid one. ❜ Zack offers the observation as though he's bored, like it's all beneath him — like he didn't just almost trip headfirst into said trip. There's a slight red of his cheeks, repressed unease, but he meets Aether's gaze without issue.
aether's eyes drift from the crude snare hidden beneath the leaves to zack, lingering just long enough to catch the flush creeping across his cheeks. he says nothing at first. the silence stretches, not unkindly, before the corner of his mouth lifts into something too restrained to be called a smile.
❝ it is, ❞ he agrees. ❝ which is why i'm trying very hard not to ask how you nearly walked into it. ❞
the words are delivered without mockery, only quiet amusement. he steps past zack, crouching beside the disturbed earth. whoever had laid the trap hadn't even bothered disguising the tension in the rope properly; one tug with the tip of his sword sends the mechanism snapping harmlessly into the air. the bent branch whips upward, scattering leaves before settling back into the canopy.
aether rises, brushing the dirt from one glove. he glances back at zack, golden eyes carrying the faintest trace of fondness. ❝ next time, let me be the one who almost trips over the obvious bait. ❞
the remark is dry enough that it takes a heartbeat to realize it was a joke. he waits only long enough to see whether zack catches it before turning back toward the path, one hand already resting on the hilt of his sword.
