Umbra arrived exactly on time, next evening.
"I brought this." He said as he took out a bottle of wine from his robes. "I thought it might ease tension."
"Good thinking." Raziel tried to sound casual but failed.
They sat together. Nyx sat on the couch, Raziel on a chair positioned where he could observe, and Umbra on another chair maintaining distance from both of them.
The silence was excruciating.
"This is awkward." Nyx said.
Umbra poured wine for all of them.
"We're attempting something none of us have experience with. Being awkward is fine."
"How do we even start?" Raziel asked.
"Lets start with conversation, getting comfortable with each other ." Umbra sipped his wine. "We've interacted as teacher student, as political allies, as people with complicated feelings for each other. But never as relationship partners."
Through the bond, Nyx felt Raziel's hypervigilance.
"Raziel, you're projecting anxiety so hard I can feel it from here." Umbra said.
