05-31-2021, 10:02 AM
He does not realize that there might be a reason to wonder what she is thinking about in the easy quiet until she looks up and laughs in a way that feels far too gentle for this new world. He blinks, startled but masking it beneath the steadiness of his leonine gaze as he studies her more closely now. “No?” He repeats, and her grin is a lick of flame racing down his spine. “Then they aren’t all vulnerable moments?” He asks, and there is a hint of amused arrogance that slips into his question, muted only by the way his dark eyes shine at her. “Are you calling me chaos?” She wasn’t, but he delights in deliberately misunderstanding her, suddenly hungry to see more of her buried fire, more of her flame.
He is careful to note her remark about border crossing, and though that brow lifts again at the admission of trespassing, he makes no comment about it. There was no one here who would stop a girl from wandering where she shouldn’t, and certainly not for the reason of trying to save a life. Even that of this hardly relevant bird.
“Murder is senseless, and the only green things I eat grow from the dirt.” He says, and there is a chuckle in the low sound of his voice as his feet knead the tufts of grass beneath them. “And anyway, I have the sneaking suspicion that you are a little too spicy for my palate.” As if he would ever lay a single claw on her. As if he would ever let anyone else. He would rend them to pieces for even considering it. But he hides those truths beneath a smug kind of purr that vibrates from the broad of his tawny chest. “And for staying, hmm?” But he is a victim to his smugness, entirely far too pleased that she might actually prefer his company over his absence. It is no help at all the way her green eyes sparkle at him in a way that feels like an unspoken dare.
He rises without another word, and this time his armored tail curls up behind him, the barb flashing in the faint light of his glow. He wants to see her eyes go wide, wants to see how fear changes her or if fear can gain no permanent purchase on her lest it be burned away by her fire. The manticore moves close enough that he knows she must feel the heat of his breath, that if she wanted to she could reach out and touch him. He wants her to want that, wants her to try. But he will not be the first to bridge this strange gap between them, so when he lies down before her again it is only just barely nose to nose.
She will know every shade of burning auburn amusement in the shine of those bright leonine eyes.
“Is this better?” He asks, and his voice is something low and soft, far more dangerous than it had been moments before. The danger is to himself though, to the way he would like to conquer her fire and see it burn for him. To keep that which will never be his.
She is too wild for keeping, and he hasn’t the sense not to try anyway.
He watches her lean down to the bird - and though he knows the creature must be fighting every urge to be away from him, he cannot bring himself to be away from her just yet. He can see the way she works through her thoughts in the minute movements of muscle across that dark, delicate face. What he wouldn’t give in this moment to know what it is that races through the corridors of her mind. Her nose crinkles and his eyes are drawn there next, not even a second of his attention spared for the bird now. The expression makes him smile, a flicker of movement at the corners of his mouth that dances like silent laughter in his amber eyes.
She moves swiftly, her muzzle the conduit of power where it collides so carefully with the birds chest. Reluctantly he watches the legs clench and uncurl, but then she murmurs and his attention is elsewhere once more. “Of course it will.” He tells her plainly, his voice a rumble of indisputable certainty. He hadn’t for a moment doubted her, not this girl. But then something feline and mischievous wanders across his face, and he cannot stop the growl of laughter that rumbles in his chest, or the urge to tease more ire from those glittering green eyes. “Though perhaps it’ll go faster if you don’t punch the poor thing so hard.”
He is careful to note her remark about border crossing, and though that brow lifts again at the admission of trespassing, he makes no comment about it. There was no one here who would stop a girl from wandering where she shouldn’t, and certainly not for the reason of trying to save a life. Even that of this hardly relevant bird.
“Murder is senseless, and the only green things I eat grow from the dirt.” He says, and there is a chuckle in the low sound of his voice as his feet knead the tufts of grass beneath them. “And anyway, I have the sneaking suspicion that you are a little too spicy for my palate.” As if he would ever lay a single claw on her. As if he would ever let anyone else. He would rend them to pieces for even considering it. But he hides those truths beneath a smug kind of purr that vibrates from the broad of his tawny chest. “And for staying, hmm?” But he is a victim to his smugness, entirely far too pleased that she might actually prefer his company over his absence. It is no help at all the way her green eyes sparkle at him in a way that feels like an unspoken dare.
He rises without another word, and this time his armored tail curls up behind him, the barb flashing in the faint light of his glow. He wants to see her eyes go wide, wants to see how fear changes her or if fear can gain no permanent purchase on her lest it be burned away by her fire. The manticore moves close enough that he knows she must feel the heat of his breath, that if she wanted to she could reach out and touch him. He wants her to want that, wants her to try. But he will not be the first to bridge this strange gap between them, so when he lies down before her again it is only just barely nose to nose.
She will know every shade of burning auburn amusement in the shine of those bright leonine eyes.
“Is this better?” He asks, and his voice is something low and soft, far more dangerous than it had been moments before. The danger is to himself though, to the way he would like to conquer her fire and see it burn for him. To keep that which will never be his.
She is too wild for keeping, and he hasn’t the sense not to try anyway.
He watches her lean down to the bird - and though he knows the creature must be fighting every urge to be away from him, he cannot bring himself to be away from her just yet. He can see the way she works through her thoughts in the minute movements of muscle across that dark, delicate face. What he wouldn’t give in this moment to know what it is that races through the corridors of her mind. Her nose crinkles and his eyes are drawn there next, not even a second of his attention spared for the bird now. The expression makes him smile, a flicker of movement at the corners of his mouth that dances like silent laughter in his amber eyes.
She moves swiftly, her muzzle the conduit of power where it collides so carefully with the birds chest. Reluctantly he watches the legs clench and uncurl, but then she murmurs and his attention is elsewhere once more. “Of course it will.” He tells her plainly, his voice a rumble of indisputable certainty. He hadn’t for a moment doubted her, not this girl. But then something feline and mischievous wanders across his face, and he cannot stop the growl of laughter that rumbles in his chest, or the urge to tease more ire from those glittering green eyes. “Though perhaps it’ll go faster if you don’t punch the poor thing so hard.”
sorren
i'll take my heart clean apart if it helps yours beat
@[Cheri]