been tryin' hard not to get into trouble | RAMIEL - ANY

[Ramiel]

ghost king of the dale >>

He doesn’t forget pleasant conversations or the face of his companions. So when the early summer breeze carries the ashy, crisp scent of the burning Valley, Ramiel moves swiftly towards the source. Her face is an easy one to remember. Mostly, he remembers her sweet, genuine smile when he’d teased her about her chosen homeland. He remembers, too, how pretty she’d been in the soft light of springtime – similar to now, but several years prior. He is not the same man he was, even those few short years back. In the time since he last saw Everdeen, Ramiel has come closer to death than he ever wanted to – not his, but the end of his recently-recovered brother. And even though he welcomes his own death every time he changes (even though he has come to relish the cold feeling of the reaper’s thin hands) he hadn’t wanted it to touch anyone else, most of all his kin. The loss still pulls him down. He thinks that, even if Everdeen waits for him with her charming grin and her easy words, it won’t be the same this time for him. Despite this, he hopes it is her waiting on their borders.

And the grey stallion is still glad to find that it is.

Perhaps she can pull him back up and away from the downward spiral of his grief. “Hey you,” he says, whickering warmly as he comes upon her. She has remained at the tree-line of their eastern border, and for this simple courtesy, he is grateful. It improves his mood as much as it can be improved upon these days, though his smile is still strained. Even if Tiberios hadn’t died, he couldn’t fully relax. Not anymore. Not when their world hangs on the edge of chaos, totters precariously on the lip of a war-trap. Everything is converging at once, it seems, and it is hard to prepare for all of it collectively.

A red-bellied robin darts over the mare’s head, and his golden eyes trace its path in the sky for a moment before they fall to Everdeen once more. “This isn’t the Valley, I’m sure you are aware.” A ghost of a grin starts on his face, though he tries to contain it as long as possible. She had garnered his full attention last time with her patchwork beauty and easy nature – this time, he thinks he’ll make it a bit harder on her, if only for their slight familiarity with one another. “Unless you’re here to draw from an already-parched well for more information?” Ramiel steps closer then, extends his neck towards her as if to touch noses before he pulls back. Women are still such a mystery to him. He’s never sure if his advances are welcome or if they seem clumsy or predatory or completely off-base.

Sometimes he wishes he was a mind-reader - of mares, if nothing else.

“Or have you come to your senses and left that god-forsaken hole-in-the-ground once and for all?” The best possibility, of course. He can’t say he would mind if Everdeen were here to stay. He also knows it is unlikely, that she is probably on yet another diplomatic mission for the once-evil kingdom and wants only to be on her way once their conversation ends. But he can hope his instincts are wrong. The sooty stallion smiles openly now, unable to hide his pleasure at her company for any longer. When the day is agreeable and the company even more so, it is easier to see past the shadows.

 

ramiel