Help me out before I drown
Save me now before I give up
“So you are recruiting me.” A brow raised but there’s a ghost of a smile playing across his dark lips. She’s more relaxed now, a finely curved hip shifting towards him and a gently sag of her body as she releases her tension. He doesn’t miss the way she’s constantly scanning the area around them, as if searching for something. Yet her attention never seems to waver from him even as her gaze flicks elsewhere. Her eyes are back on him now, searching him as she grins and he finds that he likes the way she smiles. The realization of that thought suddenly makes him wary all over again, even more so as he’s unable to avoid the smooth movement of the wing that follows her shrugged shoulder. Something darkens in his gaze but his features remain the same, the small smile still lingering.
“ Oceane.” He repeats her name, it’s clear and crisp as it falls from his tongue but soft in all the right places. “A name could absolutely be a dealbreaker, a name gives away much about its wearer.” He finally breaks into a loose grin, the spark glinting back in his molten flecks. “Lucky for you, I like yours. I’m open to hearing your recruitment spiel. Just keep in mind I’ve heard quite a few in my day so do try to impress me.”
He hasn’t spoken this much in years. The words hurt his throat, unused as it had been, but it feels good. Just to talk. Just to banter. Just to feel like a normal man for a few minutes before reality came crushing down around him again. The tattered wisps of his old self shine through and he grasps at them like water, knowing they would soon slip through his fingers and pool back into his darkness. It’s pathetic that he is suddenly grateful to Oceane, grateful for this beautiful stranger that decided to engage with him if only for a few seconds and brought the sweet relief of keeping his demons at bay. He hates the weakness of that feeling, hates the way it brings him to focus more clearly on the strange empty ache where his real heart should be.
He knows she’s waiting for him to reciprocate, to let his own name fall on her ears but he doesn’t release it. It’s meant to taunt, to continue this light hearted teasing they had suddenly fallen into. This buoy he’s clinging to so he doesn’t start drowning again as those wings sparkle with memories across her shoulders. So he keeps his brow raised, the good eye looking at her expectantly as he waits to be solicited. Waits to be drafted into whatever ranks she served and to hear about all the good and wonderful things her ruler was capable of, the promises that were sure to come to lure him into their fold. He had heard it all before but he's happy to give her a chance, hear what she has to say. Even if he would most likely deny her, knowing he was too unpredictable and therefore too much of a dangerous risk for any kingdom or herd to take on.
Ledger
@[Oceane]