i am the mace, the map, the fall and the high
Though Cheri houses a gentler spirit than Reave can claim, they are unmistakeably related in their desire for more. She might pretend otherwise, but the bone-clad stallion can see the truth beneath far more clearly than she might have cared for. There is longing tangled deep in that restraint, a hunger seated deep in her very soul.
It is that which had attracted him when they were children, and it is that which keeps him intrigued now.
She says nothing in response to his sharp reprimand, but Reave can see the understanding she doesn’t speak. There is a deep well in his cousin - one she had barely begun to tap into. Perhaps she wishes to avoid digging too deep lest she become a selfish creature, but Reave has no such compunctions. He is undeniably a selfish creature, one who has never hesitated to plunder the richest depths of his own abilities. And he would not hesitate in helping her to find her own.
He laughs when she smoothly turns his words back on him, blue eyes gleaming with appreciative mirth. “Don’t worry, I’m quite capable of looking after it,” he quips, grin widening to an almost dangerous degree. But then, he already has a very good idea of the pitfalls awaiting them. This visit with Loess could be just what he needs to settle all the pieces into place.
When she continues, Reave tilts his head curiously, wondering briefly what had inspired her to ask that question. Until he realizes that perhaps she doesn’t know the true story of how he had risen to become the Guardian of Nerine. He recalls the day with a sharp clarity. He had said yes, it’s true, but there had never really been a question. He had been there that day with the intent to do almost precisely what he had done.
He had always been a player in this game, even then.
Smile still at the corners of his lips, he peers at Cheri with a keen intensity. “Because it is what I wanted to do,” he replies with an impish artifice. Still, it is as much the truth as any other answer he might give. “I could just as easily ask you why you said ‘yes’.”
reave
@Cheri