04-30-2020, 02:27 PM
and underneath the layers, I find myself asking what's left
a hollowed out form, the skeleton of a ghost, the pitiful echo of what once was
a hollowed out form, the skeleton of a ghost, the pitiful echo of what once was
Castile listens to her – a new skill he is building on – but his eyes cast down in deep thoughtfulness even as hers steady on him. Oceane’s gaze pierces him, stabbing into him like smooth, polished knives. The corner of his mouth twitches, but no grin ever makes it to his face. In front of her, he is somber. One by one, he sifts through his memories until one suddenly sticks and forces him to meet her stare. ”You know,” he pauses to swallow, his voice gentle, ”my mother made enemies when she took over Nerine and tried to collect lands beneath her as sub-kingdoms. She didn’t want to get close to any man or have any children in fear they would be used against her. Eventually, she fell in love and I was born. I was kept locked in Nerine because, again, she didn’t want danger to befall me because of her surrounding enemies.” A moment’s pause allows him to reflect on his days huddled in the caves or standing ankle-deep in the ocean, staring out at an open and limitless sky. ”I can’t get out of my head that I put you and our son at risk just for being close to you, and for being Alcinder’s father – that it was all my fault that you both were in danger. I failed my promise to you,” Castile noticed her dismissive smile moments prior and he matches it with another step back as he internally wars with himself.
”No, I’m not coming back,” he owes Loess everything, or at least he had. During the years spent on the throne, he removed threats and kept many of his friends and family safe; unfortunately, in his last year as King, primal instincts eclipsed his better judgment. That’s what everyone will remember. They will see him as a stain in Loessian history no matter what good he brought there first.
Maybe, this is how fate works. Maybe, this was all in the cards.
For years, Castile never pictured himself leaving Loess. This could be the sign he needed to move elsewhere, to take a step back and breathe.
Swiveling his ears contemplatively, he tries to envision a life elsewhere, but comes up with empty hands. ”I’m not really sure,” he admits with a resigning shrug. ”Perhaps, I’ll be nomadic for a little while or maybe one day return home… to my first home,” but even as the idea skims past his lips, he isn’t entirely sure if he wants to live tucked in the Nerinian caves again. Only time will tell, he supposes. With a slow lift of his chin, Castile reads Oceane’s face with mounting curiosity, wondering her reaction to his decision. ”Lepis and I are at odds, so it would be best I’m not there.” He doesn’t tell her that this is the first time, that this altercation is a painful thorn in his side that he wants plucked out. Instead, he just lets the statement hang there, idle, as he mulls over recent happenings.
”No, I’m not coming back,” he owes Loess everything, or at least he had. During the years spent on the throne, he removed threats and kept many of his friends and family safe; unfortunately, in his last year as King, primal instincts eclipsed his better judgment. That’s what everyone will remember. They will see him as a stain in Loessian history no matter what good he brought there first.
Maybe, this is how fate works. Maybe, this was all in the cards.
For years, Castile never pictured himself leaving Loess. This could be the sign he needed to move elsewhere, to take a step back and breathe.
Swiveling his ears contemplatively, he tries to envision a life elsewhere, but comes up with empty hands. ”I’m not really sure,” he admits with a resigning shrug. ”Perhaps, I’ll be nomadic for a little while or maybe one day return home… to my first home,” but even as the idea skims past his lips, he isn’t entirely sure if he wants to live tucked in the Nerinian caves again. Only time will tell, he supposes. With a slow lift of his chin, Castile reads Oceane’s face with mounting curiosity, wondering her reaction to his decision. ”Lepis and I are at odds, so it would be best I’m not there.” He doesn’t tell her that this is the first time, that this altercation is a painful thorn in his side that he wants plucked out. Instead, he just lets the statement hang there, idle, as he mulls over recent happenings.
castile
@[Oceane]