Moth flopped down on a secluded bench in a shaded alcove at one of the edges of the dome. He trailed his hands over the stony texture of the seat beneath him, his finger tips catching on the rough surface. He took a moment to breathe before he realized that his cheeks were wet from a trail of tears, with a small sniffle he wiped his tears away and glanced around the area. He found himself sitting on a short stone bench that was shrouded in tree cover with vines snaking around the area and flowers dotting the ground all around him. Large bushes and ivy plants surrounded him, hiding him from the outside world. It was a spot that he would've liked to take Lane to considering that it considered it to be rather romantic.
He stewed in his own feelings of loneliness and regret before trying to gather himself and his thoughts. 'I shouldn't have left him, even if he was out of line, he's really sick right now, I should be there to take care of him.' He got annoyed thinking about Lane's words again, he groaned in annoyance as he fiddled with his hands, waving some threads together to calm himself down. "Stupid Lane." He mumbled to himself as he picked up a small smooth rock, placing it in a box of threads he webbed together. He fiddled with it for a moment longer, weaving some more threads around it and looking at it in boredom.
"What did that brute do?" The deep voice startled Moth, causing him to tighten the threads he'd strategically placed around the rock just a little too much and the threads sliced through the rock with absolute ease, cutting it into small cubes. Moth looked up at Dorian who was staring down at him with a sympathetic smile and a small book in hand. He walked towards him, gesturing to the seat next to him, "Can I sit?"
Moth nods, brushing off the stone cubes and shifting a little to make space for him. He slumps down on the seat next to him, crossing one of his legs over the other and resting the book on one of the armrests and leaning back to look at the sun between the gaps in the leaves. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Dorian finally asked after a few moments of silence, Moth's mouth tightened in discomfort and he lifted his legs onto the bench, hugging them and resting his head atop of his knees. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"...He wants to leave." Moth finally says in dejection.
Dorian glanced over to him, "Did you want to stay?"
"No." Moth states definitely. "I just want him to prioritise his health before his animosity towards you or his want to leave."
Dorian nodded thoughtfully. "That seems reasonable. You want him to get better before you plan your escape." Moth turned to look up at him, raising an eyebrow. Dorian shrugs at his expression, a small smile coming across his features. "Of course I know you want to leave and that you are planning an escape. Do you want me to stop you?"
Moth shook his head, turning to look out into the scenery. "No, I'm just surprised you are so relaxed about it."
"I don't want to force you to stay here. If you are so upset with your environment that you are desperate to leave, then I must be doing something wrong."
Moth listened to his words with deep contemplation, watching as leaves fell around them. "I've thought about your offer." Moth finally responds after letting out a long sigh. Dorian turns to him, intrigued about the person's next words. "I'll take you up on it. Lane deserves to have a normal life without me around to drag him down… When I was first taken, I realised that I didn't care about anything that happened to me as long as my loved ones were safe. And I still want that now, even if Lane is rude to me. I'll stay so that he can leave. But can he take all his medicine first? The last two doses?"
Dorian responds readily, almost too quickly and with too much excitement. "Of course. If that is what you want me to do I'm more than happy to oblige." Moth didn't match his excitement, a somber look on his face. Dorian immediately takes note of this and calms himself down a little, matching his tone. "Sorry little moth, you are upset right now. I got a little caught up in my own excitement. I assume you don't want Lane to know about our agreement?" Moth nods, wiping his eyes that felt itchy from crying. Dorian watched him for a moment before speaking again, "Why don't we do something to distract you?"
Moth glanced up at him, a little bit intrigued. "Like what?" He mumbles dejectedly.
Dorian smiles a little at his reaction as he takes the book off of the armrest, gently placing it into Moth's hands. He glanced up at him, slightly confused but also silently asking Dorian for permission to open it. Dorian readily nods watching with soft eyes as Moth opened the book and flicked through the countless pages of sketches of plants, insects and people, all of them as strikingly beautiful as the last. Some of the sketches were diagrams of plants, analysing and scrutinising every detail in a black pen or pencil. While others were drawings of butterflies and people that were streaked with bright watercolours and stained with dripping ink. "They are my drawings." Dorian said simply, as if unsatisfied with the book.
"...They are beautiful." Moth whispered as he carefully turned the pages, looking at each drawing with intense interest.
"Hm. I suppose. However, I think I could do better… with the right subject." He states, clearly looking at Moth, before changing the subject while leaning into him. "Would you like to try drawing something?"
Moth's eyes darted up to him in surprise. "What? No, that's a terrible idea, I'll ruin how beautiful it is."
"I doubt that. Whatever you draw I will be happy with because I know you drew it." He hands Moth a pen from one of his coat pockets. "Just draw whatever you like."
Moth glanced up at him, still not wanting to, but Dorian encouraged him. Moth hummed for a moment as he thought of what to draw. He started to sketch something in as he talked, "This is one of the only things I remembered from my life before the apocalypse. It was the last thing I saw before I turned." Dorian leaned over his shoulder as he watched him draw, his pen strokes were rough and wobbly but slowly a picture starts to appear. An image of two moths dancing together in a ominous fog that looks as if it is about to consume them. Dorian's lips part slightly as Moth shows off the drawing to him, "Do you like it?" He asks.
A smile forms on Dorian's face, "Of course I do. It's a beautiful scene. I might paint it myself one day, I suddenly feel very inspired."
Moth laughed a little, his laugh made Dorian feel slightly giddy. "You are exaggerating."
"I would never exaggerate. I feel very inspired by you in general, that is why I love having you around. Painting was my hobby before the apocalypse, it's the only way I feel somewhat normal again."
Moth stares up at him with an unexplained expression, he seemed surprised by the somewhat human side that he had found of Dorian.
"Would you like to draw my wings?" Moth asked, surprising himself and Dorian with his question. "If it'll give you inspiration, I can stand still for a few minutes."
"That would be amazing." He quickly scrambles to open a new page and prepare a pencil to use. As he took Moth's hand in his and pulling him up from his seat he was practically beaming. "Please just stand here a moment and stretch your wings out, I'll try to be quick." Moth was put in position in front of the bench as Dorian sat down to look up at him. He looked uncomfortable for a moment before he stretched out his wings, turning his back to Dorian to give him a better view. "Your wings are incredible. You are doing well." Dorian complements trying to soothe Moth's insecurities. "Just relax. Why don't we talk to make this easier?"
"Sure… Can you tell me where you were during the start of the apocalypse?"
He heard a low chuckle from behind him that relaxed Moth, as he was unsure if the question was overstepping his boundaries. "I was actually here."
"Here? In the terrarium?"
The person out of his sight hums as a yes before continuing. "Well it wasn't a terrarium at that time. It was a butterfly house."
Moth glanced back at him over his shoulder, seeing that he was intense with focus. "What's a butterfly house?"
"A place where they keep pretty butterflies and moths like you so that they don't get hurt. I was there to find inspiration for a new artwork, I wasn't anywhere close to the gas but this city was soon attacked by walkers. I survived because I was in here. Then I started to rebuild this area and gained support, which is how I got into the position of a noble."
"So you've lived in here since the apocalypse?"
"No, I have another home. I'll show you it one day soon." He finished sketching in his notebook before he looked up at Moth. "I'm all done, you can move now."
Moth let his body relax, his wings flowing to the ground. "Can I have a look?" He walked towards him trying to peer at the notebook but it was quickly closed.
"Not yet, I want to do the colours before I show you it." He smiled up at the person who was peering down at him and gave him an apologetic glance. Moth didn't really mind either way so he just sat down beside him mumbling a version of 'Alright.'
"Do you feel better?" Dorian asked.
Moth glanced at him before plucking a leaf off a nearby vine and twirling it around his fingers. "I don't think better is the right word. My head still feels foggy and I still feel all these negative emotions swirling around inside me… but I do appreciate the distraction, Dorian." Dorian grinned at him, his expression became brighter than Moth had seen before. "What?"
"Well, it's just that I think that was the first time you called me my name."
Moth tilted his head, maybe it was but it still didn't seem like something to get excited about given their situation.