Such was Prosper's conditioning that even moments after his outburst, he could feel the recoil of dread lashing hotly through his core. His face had gone tight again with tension, his hands clenched beneath the tablecloth. But whatever reaction he had expected from Ryo, the sight of the god grinning and inviting Prosper to hate him had not been it.
The longer Ryo went on, the more Prosper felt himself at a loss for words. He... didn't understand. He couldn't understand. Moments ago, before the mood of the dinner had soured, he had thought he was finally gaining some semblance of an idea about what motivated Ryo, but since then he had felt it slip away, replaced by a vaster chasm than he had previously been aware of.
He hadn't lied--- what he felt for Ryo wasn't hate. But everything had changed too quickly, and he was... He was overwhelmed. He stared at the key as it formed in Ryo's hand, trembling; and trembling, he lifted his hand slowly to it, as if not quite daring to believe it was being offered.
As soon as his fingers closed around it, he snatched his hand back. He rose, and ran from the room, down the stairs and past the flustered waiters; out of the restaurant; into the cool of the night air.
He didn't stop running until he was several blocks away, and the burning in his legs and lungs were no longer so easy to ignore. Slowing, he caught his breath, focusing on the quiet rhythm of it. For a moment he did not allow himself to think at all.
He wasn't running away--- at least, not as he had threatened. He had taken the key, and he meant to return to Ryo's home eventually. But for the moment... He slumped back against a telephone pole, resting the back of his head against it, closing his eyes. He needed to think. And he needed to be away from Ryo's scrutiny to collect his scattered thoughts.
As his heart rate evened out, he turned the events of the day over in his mind. Now, under the glare of the street lamps, his reactions seemed foolish. Everything had been perfectly mundane, from the breakfast to the clothes and dinner. Inna's visit was the only oddity, and it already seemed as if it had happened weeks ago, rather than just this morning.
Taken at face value, many of Ryo's actions had been... kind. Kinder than Prosper deserved, considering how little he had done. But then there were the things Ryo had said, the other things he did... Their conversation over dinner replayed itself in Prosper's mind, and he had to fight down another hot surge of fear flooding through him.
Ryo had said... Ryo had said he wouldn't harm Prosper. And thus far, he hadn't. That much was true.
Maybe Prosper could trust that, at least a little.
He was silent for a moment, staring at his shoes. Shoes they'd purchased today, he remembered. He hadn't come to a real conclusion, but it was already late, and Prosper felt that he had gotten all the answers that he was going to get from himself, as he was now. There was just the small matter of finding his way back... He'd been a fool not to ask for an address.
A shadow passing overhead made him shrink back, but his eyes widened as it resolved itself into a form that he knew.
"Hiya, Prosper," said Inna, perched atop the lamp-post like an overgrown bird. The lamp guttered beneath her for a moment, before going dark. A faint glow lit the skin of her throat then receded into her body, and her eyes were bright and owlish against the dark backdrop of the sky. "What's the matter? Are you running away?"
Well, he supposed that was what it must have looked like. He smiled, ever so slightly. "No," he said. "I'd like to go back now, actually. Inna, you.. said you knew the way before, didn't you?"
"Yup!" said Inna, grinning cheekily back. "I memorized it, so I can come visit you later." Prosper frowned at that, but he tried not to dwell on it, to let it alarm him. He knew that he needed to address it, but now wasn't the time. "Did you want me to show you the way?"
"I'd appreciate it," said Prosper.
First Inna's eyes widened, and then her smile. "Whoa! You're asking me for help! That's never happened before," she said, laughing. "Okay, come on! I'll fly real slow, so you can keep up." Nodding, Prosper followed as she darted down the street.
It would... It would be alright. Maybe. Somehow.
Unbeknownst to the two of them, however, a larger shadow passed in their wake, staying in the deep dark where it wouldn't be seen. It watched them go, and pale eyes narrowed beneath its cowl. It waited a moment, then took wing, trailing white sparks in its wake as it flew steadily higher...