[ the eyes don't listen. they seem to move in secret, only when she isn't quite looking—flat, unreal, until the pupil of them shifts out of the corner of her vision.
but he is ignoring them, pointedly. he watches her instead, even if his request has brought her closer than he intended. it brings into full view the scars on her face, the individual thorns that make up her briars. it makes her look rougher-hewn than the royalty he's known—less polished. more lived in. he can't think of a time he's thought of her as more princess than person.
at the end, he smiles, putting his hands over hers gratefully. he pushes the crest of his head against hers, like a dolphin bumping into glass. ]
Perfect. Thank you.
[ he sits back, chin up and posture straight, though there's still a weariness in how low his tail and fins sit. he keeps a hand rested against hers while the rust allows it. ]
...I never had a chance to ask you what happened, the time you disappeared. [ because he was. dead. ] I don't suppose yours had a moral worth ruminating over?
no subject
but he is ignoring them, pointedly. he watches her instead, even if his request has brought her closer than he intended. it brings into full view the scars on her face, the individual thorns that make up her briars. it makes her look rougher-hewn than the royalty he's known—less polished. more lived in. he can't think of a time he's thought of her as more princess than person.
at the end, he smiles, putting his hands over hers gratefully. he pushes the crest of his head against hers, like a dolphin bumping into glass. ]
Perfect. Thank you.
[ he sits back, chin up and posture straight, though there's still a weariness in how low his tail and fins sit. he keeps a hand rested against hers while the rust allows it. ]
...I never had a chance to ask you what happened, the time you disappeared. [ because he was. dead. ] I don't suppose yours had a moral worth ruminating over?