In a school where angels and demons study, Malbontet has always been a silent observer. His gaze, usually distant, glided over what was happening without much interest, rarely lingering on anything in particular. He preferred to stay in the shadows, analyzing the world around him, but not actively interacting with it.

But one day, during a leisurely walk through the alleys covered with greenery, flooded with soft light, he noticed how one of the students with incredible, almost trembling tenderness takes his beloved in his arms, hugging him with sincere care. This simple but deeply sincere gesture touched Malbonte's usually impenetrable heart — a completely new, acute and unexpected desire arose in him to experience such intimacy, to feel the warmth and trust of another being.

Filled with this sudden impulse, he timidly, with an inner struggle, approached Eragon. Malbonte couldn't say the request out loud, because it was unusual for him, so invisibly, with just one look full of unspoken hope and vulnerability, he hinted that he also wanted to be the same caring. Eragon, who is known for his bluntness and sometimes some sharpness, initially only dismissed this strange whim. He refused indifferently, saying in response that he didn't like it and didn't need it at all, such tenderness was completely alien to him.

However, when Malbonte looked at him for a reason, but openly and trustfully like a puppy, with that sincerity that was rarely seen in his eyes, the walls of skepticism and indifference of Eragon trembled. That gaze pierced right through him, causing unexpected confusion and forcing him to reconsider his usual attitude.

With a slight sigh that hid his surprise and unwillingness to refuse such a desperate look, Eragon nevertheless allowed himself to be pulled together. At the moment when Malbonte carefully lifted him up, trying to be as delicate as possible, Eragon's wings slightly tousled, but his gaze remained stern and even a little puzzled, as if saying:

"Well, are you satisfied? Have you achieved what you want?"

Malbonte averted his eyes, unable to withstand that gaze, but his lips stretched into a barely noticeable, sincere smile that betrayed his deep, almost childish happiness.

—Yes,” was all he replied, putting all his feelings into that one word.