She, too, finds reassurance in knowing that he will endure time as well, and that they could stand together and watch the world spin while they remain forever young, forever strong. Simultaneously, however, she realizes that even immortality won’t save them all the time. There are still ways that they can die and that their souls can fall into an abyss, screaming with futile effort to be saved. She knows that there are more horses than have seen decades, perhaps centuries, but are no longer among them. They left on their own, retracting within themselves and disappearing from the world. Nayl can’t help but wonder what will happen to them – to her and Magnus – or if they will truly be walking across Beqanna even centuries from now, like eternal guardians of the land.
At the sound of his humorous tsk, Nayl smiles and tosses her head so that her forelock falls messily to the side of her eyes, framing her pretty face. A smile touches her lips and a light brightens her gaze. ”I’m terrible at being a lady,” there were so many others that encompassed the term, but she avoided it like a plague. She had never been a graceful child with the mannerisms of a princess. It was never her nature to be so eloquent.
But she laughs – a short-lived but lively sound – and she playfully tampers with his humor, feeling the ice melt from her self-constructed shield.
His company allows her to briefly forget the stressors surrounding her, to simply enjoy these moments as the sun hangs high overhead. Its reflection on the water’s surface is peaceful to watch as it glitters and rolls. She never thought she would see an ocean, or even appreciate it, but it has enraptured her with time much like the volcano has begun to steal Magnus’ heart. Nerine has been a place of new beginnings for her, a refreshing start after a long, boring hiatus. These sandy shores awakened something deep inside her that she never knew existed, but she is ever grateful. It will never be enough to erase the memories from the Jungle, but her life thrives now more than it ever had.
And so she weakly smiles when he suggests that he has earned stories from her. Nayl considers it with a placid nod, her eyes drifting from the restless waves to Magnus. A curious hum rises through her and she accepts the offer. ”What would you like to know? I doubt I’m as exciting as you are.”
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