03-02-2022, 07:57 PM
Lillibet
No promises, he says with that same guileful grin she has grown to covet and Lillibet returns the expression with a small, dismissive shrug of her shoulders. “You never know, I might like it.” But it’s the last coy thing she will say to him, at least for now, as her mind decides to take a turn to something heavier. Something she usually shies away from. But there is an intimacy in their meeting, in the dark of the night that is illuminated only by their glow and his circling, roiling flames. Despite her early statements to the contrary, there is something about Fyr that makes her feel safe. Perhaps it is only because they share some of their trauma, but she will take what she can get.
Her confession goes unanswered for a time, but Pangea’s sovereign does not rush the leopard-spotted stallion. Vulnerability is not easy for either of them, this much she knows, and even voicing what she had feels like a lot. When finally Fyr responds, his voice quiet and just for her, she takes another sidestep closer to him in camaraderie and comfort. Not close enough to be singed - though now, when only smoke spools up from his dorsal, she thinks she may be safe - but close enough to feel the heat of him against her ivory side.
She suspects that their conversation will end at his confession, that they will linger in silence and dwell in the feeling of missing those they love and find some sort of catharsis in it. But it doesn’t, and Fyr’s question catches her off guard. For a moment, Lillibet’s lips purse and her ears flick to half-mast, but she pushes through her own instinct to avoid the question and eventually finds it in herself to speak of them.
She starts with Oceane and her undying desire to promote peace and safety, her dedication to diplomacy, and Lillibet’s own desire to be involved in nothing of the sort. She confides in him about the moments she had shared with Oceane when the former Loessian Queen would speak with the wildlife and tell Lillibet of their lives, whether they be a serpent or rodent, or one of the wild dogs who’d called the foothills home. She tells him next of Ledger and her father’s sweetness despite the rugged way he looks on the outside, of his dedication to teaching her to fight despite her lack of magical ability, and about the loyalty with which he always stands by Oceane no matter where her decisions may lead them.
Mostly, though, she avoids talking about their abilities. She does not trust that, even now, she can speak about the magic her family holds that she does not without some form of bitterness taking hold of her voice.
“Link, though,” she tells him as her throat catches, “Link has always been my best friend. I would say we are pretty similar. He, um….” She clears her throat and returns her gaze to the river before attempting to blink away the tears from her golden eyes, “Well, he’s always been there when I’ve needed him. I couldn’t ask for a better brother.”
