It was a substantially sized bonfire. Pallas watched as Maude led their followers through evening rites. The followers gathered around them like moths to the fire, and Maude spoke softly as if they were addressing only one of them. Yet the disciples all heard in the way that when Maude opened their eyes, they were all seen. Each individual beings, not this mob that Pallas thought them to be.

He decided to focus on his dinner, in an effort to avoid looking at Maude, and to avoid the throbbing pain in the still healing wound on his eye. The dinner had been served to him in a plant leaf, he hadn’t seen anything quite like it before, and the meat itself was drenched in some kind of thick sauce. His mother always used to tell him that meat served with sauce or marinated was usually of a poor quality. Pallas couldn’t have disagreed more with that statement. The meat likely cost more than anything she had ever made him.

“Stars to Pallas, can you hear me?”

Pallas blinked, looking up to see Maude standing over him. They had thrown off their robes and were dressed only in the thin, light colored pants they wore beneath. Pallas needed to look away but couldn’t think of anywhere to else to look.

Maude smiled, baring their fangs a bit. The sight of them put Pallas’ instincts on edge. Fangs meant fighting, they were used to draw blood. Pallas did not like it when people bared their fangs at him.

Maude reached their hand out and Pallas resisted the urge to smack it away.

“Dance with me!”

Pallas blinked, “what?”

“Dance with me,” Maude said, now tugging Pallas up from where he had been sitting, “it’s part of the evening rites.”

“I am not one of the faithful.” Pallas said helplessly. He thought, momentarily, that he would have preferred it if Maude attacked him.

“Then dance with me because I want you to.” Maude said, their voice lower than Pallas expected. Pallas had forgotten the pain in his eye, he was too focused on the rapid beating of his heart.

Oh.

Pallas demurred, even when Maude pulled him closer, their hands intertwined. It was far more intimate than it should have been, what with the flames licking the air behind them as some monks took up their instruments and others took the hands of their partners.

“We can’t do this.” Pallas said quietly. He wanted to though. Stars he wanted to, he wanted what Maude had offered him, but he didn’t think he deserved it. Not after he had failed so spectacularly.

Maude didn’t say anything, they just touched Pallas’ chin and brought him down into a kiss.

And if anyone saw them kissing they wouldn’t admit it.