Welcome to Gaia! ::

Allowing his eyes to adjust to what little light there is, he presses her closer still, as if she's something too precious to allow to hold out too far. That, and the indication of the temperature difference affecting her - he'd long forgotten about this, having rarely noticed the change himself - causes him to pinpoint a decent landing area.

Below, nothing but open field half covered in snow greets his eyes. It'd have to do for now, but unfortunately it's still so close to civilization, threat, danger.. home.

"Don't worry yourself when my wings give out," he assures her, pressing his fingers deeper into her lower back. "It's just easier to land if I cushion myself with my wings. The drop in altitude'd be killer if I didn't, since I'm not really, y'know, a bird or nothing."

Keeping his eyes on a targetted area, he begins to slow down.

"A'right. As long as you trust me, you'll be fine."

He meant that on two levels, but wasn't about to explain either. He doesn't come to a complete stop, but rather his shoulderblades, slightly sore now, relax and bring his wings in tight against his body. A few feathers might have touched her hands, but for now they're out of the way completely.

And so, they fall.

The wind whizzes by as the pair rapidly dives down, staying upright as they do so. Clothing offers little resistance, merely pressed against the skin of those falling to their apparent doom.

Within feet of the ground, the wings behind Elijah's back burst out from their hiding, rising clean above his shoulders at a height he hadn't experienced them being at before. Though, given the added weight, he had expected something of the type, as was shown in his decision to force them out as parachutes earlier than he would have if it were only him landing.

A much softer fall now, after the mere 20 seconds of exhilerating and fate testing plummeting, his feet touch the ground first with a soft but solid thump.

Standing with two feet on the ground now, he moves a hand to her head and pulls his fingers through her hair, affectionately giving her a lopsided smile.

"Sorry if that scared you," he murmurs, kissing her forehead before releasing his other hand from her waist. He doesn't mention the tearing pain in his wings he feels from the aftermath of the flight, having been his own fault anyway. Not strong enough, he blames himself silently.

The complete dread of what he suspected to be Tobias soon creaps back into his mind. He could very well have noticed Elijah was missing, and is very capable of hunting him down, even in the dead of night. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, his guardian does hold a shadow of control over him.

Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he proceeds to whisper into her ear regretfully. "I hope that was enough for t'night. Tobes'll completely have my head on a platter if he catches me sneaking back in, but I don't want to go --"

He's cut off in mid-sentence, apparently listening for something she can't hear, but trying not to make it obvious all the same.

When she releases from him, he feels the sense of loss immediately. Too much fogs his senses, too much to pay attention to. Closing his eyes tightly, he flashes them open to endulge in another look at her.

"It wouldn't be good if y'did that. He - I failed to mention anything about you, so he just thinks I've been doing this as means of defiance against his authority rather than for a real purpose." He has since shoved his hands into his pockets, fingering the pendants with one hand while keeping the other in a fist.

His eyes wander to the left momentarily, catching onto another sound. "I should go," he admits with a pained tone.

Elijah doesn't hestitate to comply. Completely aware of probably how long they'd be separated after this fiasco, and making a mental note after noticing her reaction to his not telling Tobias, his lips are on hers no faster than he can manage it. Whether from the lust of the situation or passion for her, his hand guides up her side to a compromising level before breaking off for air.

He doesn't move away, rather he presses his forehead against hers and watches his breath as it puffs out into the now-frigid night air. His hand slides down nearly to her waist again.

"No.. I'm sorry," he hisses slowly, almost breathless. "Y'damn don't deserve this, me being as flighty as I am.." With another intake of air, he pulls away from being so close to her face in order to look her into her eyes, his own pained with regret for ever putting her in this position with him.

Elijah straightens up slightly, figuring he'll adopt her frame of mind for the time being. "You're right, but he's the one that makes the rules that I've gotta follow," he states with a slight glance to the side.

Kissing her gently but hurriedly, he breaks off and takes a few stumbling steps backwards without looking.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Zanna," he blurts out, kicking off into hesitant flight. He stays there, above her head, his sore but rested wings doing the work. Truly devistated to leave her out here alone, he doesn't find the strength to tear away from the scene immediately.

Elijah flies so his face is level with hers, though he isn't upright or on the ground again. "Don't you go frowning, Zanna, you're a ton prettier when you're smiling."

He reaches out and taps her on the nose, falling backwards through the air to be pressed up against his wings in their protest. Giving a look over his shoulder, he waves to her in finality.

"Take care. I -- I really care about you, so don't let anything happen while I might be gone."

Gaining altitude, he waits until he's out of earshot, admitting something inaudible.. perhaps it's not the time for her to hear, but it felt right to say, even if she couldn't hear it. And with that said and done, he's merely a spot in the sky before the darkness swallows him.