03-19-2018, 04:06 PM
A gentle scoff leaves her before she can pull it back, incredulous at his chivalry. She does not anticipate his next action, the gentle caress where bruises should be raising a shiver of goosebumps. She flinches mildly, not quite pulling away. The last time he'd touched her, it had hurt fiercely. Granted, she had injured him as well... her elegant neck bent to the side, exposing the plane of skin and muscle his examination.
She barely hears his next words, suddenly aware of how close he's now standing to her. The taller stallion mentions the healing they'd been gifted, eyes burning a trail along the path her injuries had lain. "Me too..." She murmurs softly, uncertain. The smile is restored to her face as he speaks reassuringly of her home. Sylva had been a gift, one she was constantly trying to earn. It was what had driven her to sign up for the Alliance, despite her lack of battle experience. How could she call herself a queen of she did not defend her realm?
So much of her normal confidence was a guise, a defense against weakness. Perhaps it was the fact that they had already tried to beat each other to a pulp that allowed her to drop the act now. Vulnerability... It was a frightening thing. There was a reason she avoided it whenever possible. But it seemed natural at the moment.
When she brings up his alter self, his demeanor changes abruptly. Has he really no control over it when in his other form? Castile's concern when he speaks of the danger involved catches the breath in her chest, as he gazes at the exposed flesh neck before meeting her eyes. Danger, danger... he is a predator inside, for all that his exterior is a gentlemanly equine. The way his mis-matched eyes have been devouring her is testament enough to that fact. It is exciting, in a way she knows is probably wrong.
On a whim, she closes the distance between them. As he had touched her shoulder before, now she touched the same point of his anatomy. First with velvety pink nose, light as a feather, then laying her face against his neck. She did not know if she wanted to cry or scream or laugh, or simply vanish. It had been too long since she'd had meaningful contact with someone who wasn't her son, but it felt like the most natural thing now.
Face against the man's broad shoulder, buried in the dense blanket of his particolored mane, she breathed deeply for a moment to recenter. The violence of their first meeting had been survival, but the kinetic energy had not all been spent. "He's tearing you up inside, I can see it." She commented after a moment, recalling the hint of madness she'd seen in battle. "It's your safety I'm concerned about." She added, lifting her head to fix him with her cool gaze. A beast out of control was a danger to all, but particularly to the one who hosted it. They'd only just met properly, but already she could not bear the thought of Castile slowly being destroyed from the inside out.
@[Castile]
She barely hears his next words, suddenly aware of how close he's now standing to her. The taller stallion mentions the healing they'd been gifted, eyes burning a trail along the path her injuries had lain. "Me too..." She murmurs softly, uncertain. The smile is restored to her face as he speaks reassuringly of her home. Sylva had been a gift, one she was constantly trying to earn. It was what had driven her to sign up for the Alliance, despite her lack of battle experience. How could she call herself a queen of she did not defend her realm?
So much of her normal confidence was a guise, a defense against weakness. Perhaps it was the fact that they had already tried to beat each other to a pulp that allowed her to drop the act now. Vulnerability... It was a frightening thing. There was a reason she avoided it whenever possible. But it seemed natural at the moment.
When she brings up his alter self, his demeanor changes abruptly. Has he really no control over it when in his other form? Castile's concern when he speaks of the danger involved catches the breath in her chest, as he gazes at the exposed flesh neck before meeting her eyes. Danger, danger... he is a predator inside, for all that his exterior is a gentlemanly equine. The way his mis-matched eyes have been devouring her is testament enough to that fact. It is exciting, in a way she knows is probably wrong.
On a whim, she closes the distance between them. As he had touched her shoulder before, now she touched the same point of his anatomy. First with velvety pink nose, light as a feather, then laying her face against his neck. She did not know if she wanted to cry or scream or laugh, or simply vanish. It had been too long since she'd had meaningful contact with someone who wasn't her son, but it felt like the most natural thing now.
Face against the man's broad shoulder, buried in the dense blanket of his particolored mane, she breathed deeply for a moment to recenter. The violence of their first meeting had been survival, but the kinetic energy had not all been spent. "He's tearing you up inside, I can see it." She commented after a moment, recalling the hint of madness she'd seen in battle. "It's your safety I'm concerned about." She added, lifting her head to fix him with her cool gaze. A beast out of control was a danger to all, but particularly to the one who hosted it. They'd only just met properly, but already she could not bear the thought of Castile slowly being destroyed from the inside out.
@[Castile]