Falls

Her demure nature incites the beast in his breast and it growls hungrily at the buffet she offers. What better canvas upon which to paint himself the villain? She was all but asking for him to take advantage of her good nature, with the sweet way that she turns from him at his indication, and then warms beneath the warmth of his attention. Like a small fresh flower bloom, not even yet fully opened, she promised joy of some kind or another. Half of him cried out for metaphorical blood, but the other half of him, the part that carried the wounded remnants of his heart after this most recent betrayal, hungered for her companionship in other, gentler ways.

As she confesses to her birthplace, and to her lack of worldliness, he smiles but does not take his gaze from her. It was almost as if the world had carved the most delectable piece of bait and set it before his eyes, begging him to take advantage of it without remorse. Still, he held back. Even as shyness steals across her face, he does not look away, cannot look away. His grin broadens as she chuckles nervously and then dismisses his compliment and he shakes his head in response, batting away the deflection. She was beautiful, and it was ever more clear to him that no one had said that to her in a way that made her feel it before. If he could just do that, then he was certain that she would be his.

Playfully, he narrows his eyes as if in appraisal, even going so far as to tilt it sideways and scan her lithe figure before breaking once more into a smile. "No, no, I think I've got it correct."

It feels just as good to touch her as he had imagined it would, her girlish nostrils fluttering against his as they exchanged breaths. She smelled of warm summers and saltwater, fresh and clean and beautiful. It made him want to crush her against him in an embrace again, if only to forget what had happened only hours before. Of the way his mind could not help but think of Rougaru's scent all over his beloved Cicek. Of the way she turned to Rivaini to comfort her instead of him. Or of Rougaru using her and casting her away like unwanted flotsam.

Of the child that was not his own that nursed at her side like some improbable alien.

The golden girl tears him away again, forcing him back to the must more pleasant present as she introduces herself. "Ayiana," he echoes, not loud enough to interrupt her, but taking the time to roll it pleasantly on his tongue. "I'm glad I've met you too," he offers as he takes a step closer under the guise of gathering himself, only to cock a hind hoof in relaxation. Chuckling, he allows his eyes to glitter with mirth before answering her. "I will take that as a compliment, I think."

"I am from the Cove, on Tinuvel," he says after a moment before deciding to up the ante. If he could impress her, sway her, enchant her, he was certain that he could have her. "Where I am King of the whole island. Have you ever been? To Tinuvel, I mean?" He allowed his gaze to dance back to the falls to grant her a small reprieve from its intensity before affixing on her. "It's not like here - it's colder and it snows more often. On winter mornings, when the sun rises and the sky is pink and gold," he nods toward her pointedly, "it turns all the lower meadows the same color. It's my favorite time of the day."

He hoped the compliment therein was obvious enough, but he also had a feeling that she was new to flirtation in general. "If you saw it, you'd see what I mean." Again, it is not quite an overt request for her company, as he only wanted to plant the idea in her head now. Let her think about it first before he asked her to upend her life and join him. "What is Luthien like? It's the one island I've never been to."

Solomon