Zircon watched Iouri's expression with a discerning eye as he looked to the stars. Was the way his posture changed when he sighed indicative of contentment or caution? Was her gesture causing him stress or bringing him peace? Reading people was always a challenge for the lieutenant, but especially so for the starry-eyed man in the blazer, who somehow managed to always scramble the thoughts in her tidy mind. Iouri was a curiosity to her, a weakness, an old scar that she couldn't help but examining from time to time.

The chaos in her told her that she needed to cut him out and rid herself of such vulnerabilities. However, the overwhelmingly human part of her allowed herself this one indulgence, after everything else she had given up.

When Iouri looked to her she sharply turned her glance skyward, as if she was afraid to be caught snooping. "No problem," she responded, though not as strongly as she had intended. Her cool facade was crumbling, and it left her with a shaky feeling in her gut that she didn't like. Her lips pouted, and she put a hand to the back of her neck, turning away. She had to remove herself from this situation before matters got any worse.

"Anyway, I just thought you would like it," she murmured, and before she could risk one more look at his face, his goofy smile, she took a step away, and then another, a jog, a run, and then a swift bound over to the next rooftop.

Never mind how Iouri was going to get down. Zircon had to figure out how to stop feeling.

Silverah
And that's a wrap!