[Continuation —]
The night air was thick with silence. Valkyrie's heart pounded so hard it drowned out everything else — even the whisper of the river nearby. She blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the shape before her.
And then, as the figure stepped into the pale wash of moonlight, her breath caught.
"…B— Ball?"
The angel froze mid-step, her expression flickering between surprise and guilt. Her red braided hair shimmered faintly beneath the light, strands falling across her flushed face. For a long moment, neither of them spoke — the tension between them almost surreal after what had just happened by the riverbank.
Valkyrie's brows furrowed. "What—what are you doing here?"
Ball let out a weak laugh, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. "Uh… I, um—was just—" She crouched slightly and offered Valkyrie her hand. "Here, let me help you up."
