{"sf1_id":null,"sf2_id":"1YA2jO01","title":"Ash and Song Chapter Seven","author":"Mithrilix","words":2139,"posted_at":"2026-05-28T01:57:38.000Z","tags":["Anthro","Dragon","Dragonborn","Fantasy","Gay","Human","Love","Romance","Sweet"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1YA2jO01-ash-and-song-chapter-seven","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/1YA2jO01","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"In the quiet village of Grovehollow, a dragonborn warrior named Toryn is trying to learn what it means to stay.  \n  \n Scarred from a life of battle and burdened by the belief that he is meant only for steel and solitude, Toryn never expects kindness—least of all from a soft-spoken human healer with golden hair and hands gentle enough to steady the fiercest flame. Cassius Ordo is shy, earnest, and quietly brave, tending wounds both seen and unseen. When he fusses over Toryn’s injuries with tender insistence, something long locked in the dragonborn’s chest begins to loosen.  \n  \n --  \n  \n My first story on here!  \n  \n I'm mostly aiming for something sweet and fluffy. Perhaps expect spicier stuff in later chapters.","content":"The days that followed settled into something soft.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNot courtship.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNot quite friendship\u0026nbsp;anymore either.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSomething quieter.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSomething growing carefully between them in the spaces neither man quite knew how to name.\u0026nbsp;\n\nEach morning, Toryn arrived at the forge before sunrise, shoulders broad beneath soot-dark work clothes, scales catching faint copper in the dawn light as he helped Master Hallik haul coal and prepare the furnaces.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe forge became brutally hot by midday.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHammer strikes rang through\u0026nbsp;Grovehollow\u0026nbsp;from morning until\u0026nbsp;dusk,\u0026nbsp;sparks spraying gold through the air while iron screamed beneath the anvil.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe work was hard.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHonest.\u0026nbsp;\n\nTiring in the best\u0026nbsp;possible way.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnd sometime around noon now—without fail—the forge door would creak open just enough for a familiar pale face to peek cautiously inside.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass never entered fully. Not once,\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn noticed that\u0026nbsp;immediately.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe healer lingered near the doorway\u0026nbsp;instead,\u0026nbsp;one hand curled around a basket or wrapped parcel while heat and noise rolled toward him from inside the workshop. The clang of metal still made him tense sometimes. Raised voices from the workers could make his shoulders tighten before he caught himself.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut he came anyway.\u0026nbsp;\n\nEvery day.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThat mattered more than Toryn knew how to explain.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“There he is,” boomed Master Hallik one afternoon before Toryn even looked up from the horseshoe he was shaping. “Your little songbird’s here again.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nHeat crawled up beneath Toryn’s scales instantly.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“He is not my anything,” Toryn muttered.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHallik barked a laugh loud enough to shake the rafters.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Aye. And\u0026nbsp;I’m\u0026nbsp;a court dancer.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe other workers snorted.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn glared across the forge while trying—and failing—not to glance\u0026nbsp;immediately\u0026nbsp;toward the doorway.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass stood there clutching a wrapped cloth bundle to his chest, visibly uncertain beneath the attention now turning his way.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe healer offered an awkward little wave.\u0026nbsp;\n\nGods.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn abandoned the anvil\u0026nbsp;immediately.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You could ignore him,” called another smith from nearby.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBram.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBroad-shouldered and curly-haired, with burn scars up one arm and a grin permanently threatening trouble. Bram had taken to\u0026nbsp;pestering\u0026nbsp;Toryn\u0026nbsp;almost as\u0026nbsp;enthusiastically as Hallik did.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Could,” Toryn growled.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“But won’t,” Bram finished smugly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHallik crossed his thick arms over his chest. “Strange. Never seen you move that fast for lunch before.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn considered violence briefly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass looked horrified by the teasing. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt—”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You didn’t,” Toryn said\u0026nbsp;immediately, reaching him at the doorway.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHis tone softened automatically near Cass in ways that no one at the forge was\u0026nbsp;failing to notice\u0026nbsp;anymore.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBehind him, Bram made exaggerated gagging sounds.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHallik smacked the back of his head.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass’s mouth twitched despite himself.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You brought food again,” Toryn said quietly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass nodded, holding out the bundle. “Well yes.\u0026nbsp;I’m\u0026nbsp;assuming you forgot breakfast this morning.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn blinked.\u0026nbsp;\n\nGods.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe cloth bundle was still warm when Toryn took it carefully from his hands.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe scent hit\u0026nbsp;immediately.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHoney.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCinnamon.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn stared down at it.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Honey cakes?”\u0026nbsp;he\u0026nbsp;asked.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass looked suddenly shy. “I made extra.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Extra!?,” Hallik repeated loudly from across the forge. “Curious how the extra always\u0026nbsp;ends up\u0026nbsp;with Toryn.\u0026nbsp;He’d\u0026nbsp;better share if he knows what good for him.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass turned pink instantly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBram leaned against a nearby worktable with wicked delight. “Oh, leave them be.\u0026nbsp;It’s\u0026nbsp;sweet.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn shot them both a murderous look powerful enough to flatten lesser men.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNeither smith looked remotely intimidated.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIf anything, Hallik seemed delighted.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass hid a smile behind\u0026nbsp;one\u0026nbsp;hand.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn nearly forgot how to breathe.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You should eat before it cools,” Cass said softly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn unwrapped the cloth carefully.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe honey cakes were golden brown and slightly uneven around the edges, clearly homemade. Still warm enough for steam to curl faintly into the air.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe took one cautious bite.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnd\u0026nbsp;immediately\u0026nbsp;understood Hallik’s obsession.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe outside had the slightest crispness while the inside stayed soft and rich with honey sweetness.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn stared at it in stunned silence.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Well?” Cass asked, trying not to look too hopeful.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn swallowed slowly.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“…I understand why Hallik threatens murder over these.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass laughed softly,\u0026nbsp;bright\u0026nbsp;and surprised.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe sound hit Toryn directly in the chest.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“There it is,” Bram muttered dramatically to the others. “That look again.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“What look?” asked a younger apprentice named Fen.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“The one like he’d fight a dragon for him.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“I\u0026nbsp;_have_\u0026nbsp;fought dragons,” Toryn muttered absently before realizing what\u0026nbsp;he’d\u0026nbsp;admitted.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe entire forge burst into laughter.\u0026nbsp;\n\nEven Cass.\u0026nbsp;\n\nGods help him, especially Cass.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe healer lingered only a little while longer near the doorway while Toryn ate. He spoke quietly with Hallik about salves for burns, accepted thanks from Fen for fixing a cut on his hand earlier that\u0026nbsp;week, and\u0026nbsp;carefully avoided standing too close to the roaring furnaces themselves.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn noticed all of it.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe subtle caution.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe measured distance.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe way loud hammer strikes still made Cass flinch faintly when he\u0026nbsp;wasn’t\u0026nbsp;expecting them.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut the healer\u0026nbsp;stayed\u0026nbsp;longer each day now.\u0026nbsp;\n\nLittle by little.\u0026nbsp;\n\nTrust built slowly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nLike repairing cracked\u0026nbsp;stone.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThat evening, as\u0026nbsp;with most lately, Toryn found himself walking the familiar path to Cass’s cottage after work.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe healer greeted him from the garden this\u0026nbsp;time,\u0026nbsp;sleeves rolled and dirt smudged lightly across one pale cheek.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn stared\u0026nbsp;perhaps a\u0026nbsp;second too long.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass noticed\u0026nbsp;immediately\u0026nbsp;and flushed.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“What?”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“There’s dirt on your face.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Oh.” Cass\u0026nbsp;rubbed at\u0026nbsp;the wrong cheek instantly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn stepped closer before thinking.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Other side.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass froze.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSo did Toryn.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe moment hung strangely between them.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThen, very carefully, Toryn reached out and brushed the dirt away with the rough pad of his thumb.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass went utterly still beneath the touch.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn could feel the warmth of his skin for one impossible heartbeat before he pulled away again.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“…There,” he said roughly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass blinked at him.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBlue eyes wide.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Oh.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn\u0026nbsp;immediately\u0026nbsp;turned toward the broken section of porch railing\u0026nbsp;he’d\u0026nbsp;promised to repair because suddenly looking directly at Cass felt dangerous.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBehind him, he heard the healer trying—and failing—not to smile.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe sound followed Toryn all evening while he worked.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnd later, after supper, when Cass played quietly beneath lantern light while Toryn repaired a loose cabinet hinge inside the cottage, the Dragonborn found himself realizing something terrifying.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe had begun measuring his days by the moments he would see Cass again.\u0026nbsp;\n\n-\u0026nbsp;\n\nBy the time Toryn left the\u0026nbsp;forge\u0026nbsp;one of those\u0026nbsp;evenings, the sky had already begun to soften toward dusk.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe village market was\u0026nbsp;closing\u0026nbsp;for the night.\u0026nbsp;\n\nVendors packed crates and folded cloth awnings while lanterns slowly flickered to life along the crooked streets of\u0026nbsp;Grovehollow.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn rarely lingered there.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCrowds still made him restless.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut tonight he stopped.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBecause\u0026nbsp;Toryn remembered Cass talking about\u0026nbsp;flowers\u0026nbsp;he’d\u0026nbsp;wanted\u0026nbsp;and the thought\u0026nbsp;hadn't\u0026nbsp;left his mind since.\u0026nbsp;\n\nDelicate things with blue petals\u0026nbsp;and silver\u0026nbsp;veins\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;only\u0026nbsp;fully\u0026nbsp;opened\u0026nbsp;at night.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSo now he stood awkwardly in front of the flower vendor with soot still dusting his arms and enough muscle and scars to frighten half the marketplace.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe elderly\u0026nbsp;half elf\u0026nbsp;woman behind the stall eyed him cautiously.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“…Can I help you?”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn stared at the flowers like they might\u0026nbsp;attack\u0026nbsp;him.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“The blue ones.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“The\u0026nbsp;moonbells?”\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe nodded once.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“How many?”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn frowned.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHow many flowers was one supposed to give someone?\u0026nbsp;\n\nGods.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Enough.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe woman blinked.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“…Enough for what?”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn considered simply leaving forever.\u0026nbsp;\n\nEventually he muttered, “A bouquet.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe woman’s expression shifted slowly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThen softened all at once with unmistakable understanding.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Oh.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nWhich somehow felt worse.\u0026nbsp;\n\nTen agonizing minutes later, Toryn left clutching a carefully wrapped bundle of\u0026nbsp;moonbells\u0026nbsp;while the vendor wore the most knowing smile he had ever seen in his life.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBy the time he reached Cass’s cottage, twilight had settled fully over the\u0026nbsp;forest\u0026nbsp;edge.\u0026nbsp;\n\nWarm lantern light glowed faintly through the windows.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut the front door sat slightly ajar.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn stopped\u0026nbsp;immediately.\u0026nbsp;\n\nEvery instinct sharpened.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Cass?”\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo answer.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe Dragonborn pushed the door open carefully.\u0026nbsp;\n\nInside, the cottage was empty.\u0026nbsp;\n\nA kettle still rested warm over fading coals.\u0026nbsp;\n\nOne book lay open on the table beside Cass’s abandoned reading glasses.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHis satchel remained hanging near the door.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn’s pulse quickened.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Cassius!”\u0026nbsp;\n\nStill nothing.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe flowers bent slightly beneath the tightening grip of his claws.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe stepped back outside, scanning the darkening\u0026nbsp;treeline.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo signs of struggle.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo blood.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo overturned earth.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut unease crawled beneath his scales anyway.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass would not simply leave his door open this close to nightfall.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn inhaled slowly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnd caught the scent\u0026nbsp;immediately.\u0026nbsp;\n\nLavender soap.\u0026nbsp;\n\nRiver water.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCassius.\u0026nbsp;\n\nFaint but unmistakable\u0026nbsp;on\u0026nbsp;the evening breeze.\u0026nbsp;\n\nRelief hit first.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThen\u0026nbsp;irritation.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn followed the trail through the trees with quick, silent steps.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe deeper forest dimmed rapidly beneath the thick canopy overhead.\u0026nbsp;Crickets\u0026nbsp;hummed. Leaves whispered softly in the wind.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe scent grew stronger near the river.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThen he heard it.\u0026nbsp;\n\nWater moving gently over stone.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn slowed.\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnd stepped through the final curtain of branches.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe sight before him stole the breath straight from his lungs.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass stood waist-deep in the river beneath the fading violet sky.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNaked.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSilver-blue moonlight spilled across pale skin and wet golden hair while the current curled softly around him. His head tilted back slightly as he rinsed water from his face, utterly unaware he was being watched.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn forgot how to breathe.\u0026nbsp;\n\nGood\u0026nbsp;Gods.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass looked—\u0026nbsp;\n\nBeautiful was too small a word for it.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe river shimmered around him like liquid glass. Droplets\u0026nbsp;traced slowly\u0026nbsp;down the line of his throat and shoulders. His hair clung damply to pale skin while the last light of evening painted\u0026nbsp;him in\u0026nbsp;silver and blue.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn’s entire body\u0026nbsp;locked\u0026nbsp;up.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHis gaze jerked away instantly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThen back despite himself.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThen away\u0026nbsp;again.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHeat flooded violently beneath his scales.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe should leave.\u0026nbsp;\n\nImmediately.\u0026nbsp;\n\nInstead\u0026nbsp;he barked out, far rougher than intended:\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Have you completely lost your mind?”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass yelped so hard he nearly slipped beneath the water.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Toryn?!”\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe human\u0026nbsp;whirled toward\u0026nbsp;shore\u0026nbsp;with eyes wide in horror.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Toryn, what are you doing here?!”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“I came to your cottage,” Toryn snapped, already striding toward the riverbank. “Your door was open. You were gone.\u0026nbsp;It’s\u0026nbsp;nearly dark.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass\u0026nbsp;immediately\u0026nbsp;sank deeper into the water until only his shoulders remained visible.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHis face was scarlet.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“I was bathing!”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“In the middle of the forest!?”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“It’s a river!”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“It’s dangerous.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass blinked at him. “Dangerous?”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Yes, dangerous!”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn was fully angry now, though most of the anger came from the cold terror\u0026nbsp;he’d\u0026nbsp;felt finding the cottage empty.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You came out here alone,” he growled. “At dusk. Without telling anyone.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass stared at him incredulously from the water.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“It’s ten minutes from the village.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“That means nothing.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Toryn—”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“There are wolves deeper north. Wild boars near the eastern ridge. Gods know what else after dark.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass crossed his arms over the waterline defensively. “I have been bathing here for years.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“And that\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;reckless.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass’s eyes narrowed slightly now, embarrassment beginning to give way to irritation.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“I did not realize I required supervision to wash myself.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn exhaled sharply through his nose.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“That isn’t what I’m saying.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Then what are you saying?”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn opened his mouth.\u0026nbsp;\n\nClosed it again.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBecause the truth sounded dangerously close to panic.\u0026nbsp;\n\n_I thought something happened to you._\u0026nbsp;\n\n_I was afraid._\u0026nbsp;\n\nInstead\u0026nbsp;he gestured harshly toward the trees.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You leave your door open, disappear into the woods alone, and expect no one to worry?”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass froze slightly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe anger in Toryn’s voice cracked just enough for the fear beneath it to show through.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe river fell quiet between them.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn looked away first, jaw tight.\u0026nbsp;\n\nOnly then did he remember the flowers still crushed awkwardly in one massive hand.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass\u0026nbsp;noticed\u0026nbsp;too.\u0026nbsp;\n\nBlue eyes widened.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“…Are those\u0026nbsp;moonbells?”\u0026nbsp;\n\nGods damn it.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn followed Cass’s gaze downward.\u0026nbsp;\n\nTo the crushed bouquet still trapped awkwardly in his hand.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe\u0026nbsp;moonbells\u0026nbsp;looked significantly less romantic now that he was standing at the edge of a river barking at a naked healer like an angry guard dog.\u0026nbsp;\n\nFor one horrifying moment, Toryn considered throwing himself directly into the river and allowing the current to take him.\u0026nbsp;\n\nInstead\u0026nbsp;he held the flowers out stiffly.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“They’re for you.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass blinked.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe irritation lingering in his expression vanished instantly, replaced by startled softness.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“For… me?”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You said you liked them.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn could physically feel how inadequate that sounded.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass stared at the bouquet in complete silence.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe pale blue petals had opened further now in the deepening dusk, releasing a faint sweet scent into the cool evening air.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You brought me flowers,” Cass said quietly.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn cleared his\u0026nbsp;throat roughly.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Yes.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nA pause.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThen, because\u0026nbsp;apparently his\u0026nbsp;pride had not suffered enough tonight:\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You still should not be out here alone.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass made a strangled sound halfway\u0026nbsp;between a laugh\u0026nbsp;and disbelief.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Toryn.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“It’s reckless.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You give me flowers and then resume scolding me.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You can be pleased about the flowers and safer in the\u0026nbsp;future.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass\u0026nbsp;actually laughed\u0026nbsp;then.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSoft and helpless and beautiful.\u0026nbsp;\n\nGods.\u0026nbsp;\n\nToryn was beginning to suspect he would survive neither the laughter nor the flowers nor the river\u0026nbsp;and especially\u0026nbsp;no\u0026nbsp;the gorgeous naked man\u0026nbsp;infront\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;him.\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass shook his head slowly, wet hair clinging to his shoulders as amusement warmed his features.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You sound like an overprotective parent.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“I sound reasonable.”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“You sound impossible!”\u0026nbsp;\n\n“And you sound reckless.”\u0026nbsp;\n\nCass smiled despite himself, blue eyes bright in the fading light.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe sight of that smile loosened something tight inside Toryn’s chest.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThen Cass hesitated.\u0026nbsp;\n\nHis gaze flicked once toward the water surrounding him before returning carefully to Toryn.\u0026nbsp;\n\nA faint flush crept slowly across his cheeks again.\u0026nbsp;\n\n“…Would you like to join me?”\u0026nbsp;","series":{"name":"Ash and Song","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/ek5KYLQn-ash-and-song-chapter-six.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/nAMOyJvn-ash-and-song-chapter-eight.json"}}