Help me out before I drown
Save me now before I give up
Her laughter, her true belly laugh, is loud and wild and pure. For a second her regal and controlled demeanor slips into something else, something softer and kind and alluring. She regains her composure quickly but he finds himself wanting to hold onto that laugh, wanting to tuck it away in his cold crystal heart for the nights when sleep is elusive. When the ghosts fill up his mind and the world is a little too dark. He misses her sigh, the little sign that perhaps he had imprinted on her in the way she had on him. Instead, he watches her settle back into her cool and confident cloak, she wears it well like a second skin.
“Disappointing.” He huffs softly, pretending to be slightly wounded. “Perhaps I should give you some pointers, for future reference. You can thank me when you get promoted.” Of course he has no idea of the invisible crown that rests on her twilight head. However she holds herself with an assurance that reminds him, unfortunately, of Ellyse. Just a bit. Ellyse had been a natural born leader and Oceane… Oceane shares that same trait. There’s a sour taste on the back of his tongue and he fights it back. No, not now. He doesn’t want to think of her now. Instead he reaches for that laugh, that wild laughter that had fallen around him like moonlight and penetrated the crack of his heart with it's brightness.
“So you’re from Loess.” He finally says, aware that he’s been silent for a moment. Aware that his firm grasp on reality is vaguely slipping, the familiar sensation of anxiety slowly creeping through his stomach and up his chest. The beat of his pulse becoming slightly frantic. Resisting as he takes a slow deep breath in, trying to focus on just Oceane and her words. Trying to fight back the sudden overwhelming feeling of panic that threatens to settle in his breast.
Loess wasn’t one of the territories he had ever been that familiar with. He had always meant to go, when he had been Tephra’s Ambassador. Alas, fate had other things in mind. It's becoming hopeless, trying not to dredge up past memories but unable to avoid the many triggers that lay hidden like snares. Still fighting against the suppression that threatens to smother him, he latches on to her quip. He still hasn’t told her who he is. “Ledger.” His voice is softer, his smile a little strained, almost choking on his name as he tries to keep himself present. “My name is Ledger.” His good eye looks around the Meadow before he forces himself to return to her. “As for my home, your looking at it.”
He knows he must end this charade, as nice as it had been. He needs to release her and her laughter back to the world of light that she belonged to. “I would love to visit your home Oceane but it’s probably not a good idea.” He hesitates, the explanation of why becoming lodged in his throat. He can no longer take the scrutiny from the pools of golden amber that leave him feeling suddenly confused. There’s a flutter in the weird cavity of his chest, as if something stirs within the encasement of glass. It’s neither pleasant nor painful, just strange. Uncomfortable. “It’s been a pleasure but I won't keep you from whatever business you were attending.” His tone almost dismissive as his gaze becomes hidden within the messy tangles of his snowy forelock, the pressure from his anxiety building. It's because he finds her company so pleasurable that he needs to distance himself, needs to rebuild the bricks that had suddenly loosened on his wall.
Ledger
@[Oceane]