Bloom settles on the forest floor with a sigh. Through the bushes he can still faintly see the flickering of the party's fire where they've set up camp for the night. It's a warm, comforting glow. It speaks of safety and of company.
Zorro curls up next to him with his head on Bloom's thigh. Bloom starts scratching behind his ears absentmindedly as he lets his thoughts drift. They play for a moment, or two, with inconsequential things, the birds, the weather, the coming day, before settling on what they always seem to come back to, lately.
"You know, Zorro, I keep looking at him. All the time. I don't know why. And when I'm doing something else I still think of him. It's so strange."
Zorro doesn't respond but he wags his tail a little as his master's fingers glide through his fur.
"And the thing is. He's so kind. He has this way of making people feel at ease and heard and safe. I just want to open up around him. And it should scare me. I should be terrified by it. I've got secrets to keep! And I'm sure if they were only my own I'd have already told him. I've no idea why I can't make myself care about that. But I really can't."
Zorro nudges his hand and gives a small whine.
"Yeah. I know. But still. You know! He's so good. And at the same time. He'll turn around and just absolutely unleash hell on anyone that crosses those he cares about."
(To think Bloom could be part of that category…)
"You've seen him fight. He's a storm. He's a force of nature. And somehow he makes the brutality seem so beautiful. His movement, Zorro! It's really not fair."
There is a pause as Bloom just breathes. Looks up through the trees at the sky. At the stars. They seem brighter tonight. It might be the completely cloudless sky. It might be the new moon. It might just be Bloom's mood changing his perception.
"He's strong as well. He throws men around like it's nothing. There's a part of me that wonders…"
Bensai touching him. Holding. Pinning. Hands on wrists, torso… what would it feel like to have that dark glint his eyes sometimes get directed not at an enemy but at him? To be the centre of that intense focus he's capable of?