There are the obvious things about Leilan that draw the eyes - his frosted scales, sharpened teeth, that intriguing gaze that changes colors. And then there are the less obvious things, these messages he conveys without saying them out loud. He brings news of one life-changing moment that alters her path and somehow in the same conversation, he offers another way forward. He points her in a direction she would have never considered.
(For all that he is ice, he ignites a spark of imagination.)
There is an inquisitive tilt to her head as she peers up at him from beneath her copper forelock and her blue eyes brighten with curiosity again. That inquisitive tilt is held in place with all these unsaid things, to the in-between places that they do not go. Leilan shakes his head and regards her again before his answer sends a ripple of disappointment through her. It makes sense, of course, his answer. Where something is given, something else has to be taken. She knows this - it has been told to her several times. She has been reminded that no matter how much she gives, she will eventually take in return.
(Or maybe someone takes for her. Who knows how the universe works, she won't give any pretense that she understands any of it.)
There is forced exhale of air, a huff that emerges in plumes of silver smoke between her and the draconic stallion. "Any advice then? On how to be a somebody to Heartfire?" Heartfire, who remains as much as a figment of her mind like Windskeep or Ichiro was, who gives sight to the unseeing. Who threatens and sees and knows. Magic was proving to be rather infuriating in the ways that it did or did not manifest. Of the horses who could wield and how they chose too.
Leilan closes that part of the conversation with another one of those knowing looks - where he tells her something without actually saying it.
And then the conversation moves again, backs to the familiar that they both know. A conversation where nothing is given and nothing is being asked. For someone like Lilliana, it is a beautiful thing and relief softens the angles of her face. Her expression had begun to turn to exasperation and the chestnut had started to turn fire-eyed.
But Leilan has offered a reprieve and the chestnut throws him a mischevious smile, a gleam of white emerging from her dark maw. "The succulent ones are hard to find this time of year. I'm afraid the current population is rather scrawny." The smile curves as she tilts her head, "Are you any good at squirrel herding?"
He laughs at her questions and she's glad he indulges her. For all her earlier hesitance with him, she is glad to discover they share a similar sense of humor. He serves as a reminder that first impressions aren't everything and that there is always so much more than what meets the eye. The roan stallion grins and Lilliana laughs, unable to help herself. She had tried to keep a straight face to his description of "usual" but she finds it impossible.
"And has this winter been a profitable one in terms of gold? Or just eating the least profitable of your endeavors?" Lilli shakes her head and playfully raises her brows, "You? Scare children? Irritating others? I find that hard to believe."
@[Leilan]
but it's all in the past, love
it's all gone with the wind