There was so much more to life than there had been in the lagoon, if the prairie was any indication. Not only did the flowers smell sweet, they were nice to look at. There had been plants in the lagoon, even some flowers, but Zira had found them ugly; and she certainly hadn't put her nose close enough to the muck to sniff any of them. The lagoon was ugly. And dark. And smelly. And she was so happy to be free. At least for now. A part of her still wanted to stare out to the sea and make sure none of them had followed her. Another part of her wanted to drop everything and rush deeper into Luthien, to hide away in the distant trees.
The part of her that won was the innocent child that was still trapped inside her. Zira was grown now, an adult by all standards, but she'd never gotten a chance to simply be a young girl. She had no friends. And if you asked, she didn't have a mother either. She hadn't spent time galloping down the beach with siblings or chasing butterflies with other children. Instead, she'd paced the lagoon endlessly, and alone.
"Entrust it to you," she tries to hide a scoff as her eyes narrow ever so slightly, though not unperceivable. "He would give it to you." There is a bitterness in her voice, and a hint of jealousy. Not so much for the ownership of a territory, she doesn't know if that's something she would ever want. But simply a longing for a proper home. She screamed and cried and dreamed and fought, and cried some more, and she'd been left on that godforsaken shore. Why had she deserved such a fate? Some might take her by the shoulder and tell her how it made her stronger. She didn't want to be strong.
She had wanted to be safe.
She reluctantly flicks her gaze back to him when he speaks of spring and wildflowers. Despite the expression on her face, Zira wanted to hear more. She thinks, for a moment, how nice it would be to lay in the grasses and hear tales of the wilds of Luthien. But the smile never comes. She doesn't ask for more. She doesn't know how.
He smiles, though, and and it's playful, and a little bit charming, if she had to admit. Though she won't. Instead she sighs, flicking her ears out to the side. "If you find this autumn charm, be sure to show me," she says dismissively, and turns away to hide the small smirk. It wasn't a smile, but at least it wasn't a frown.
"I don't know what a pomegranate is," Zira admits shortly, as if Castillon should have known without asking. He shouldn't. She knows he shouldn't, but she can't keep the venom from her voice, once again refusing to meet his gaze. Maybe it's shame, or maybe it's distraction, as she blinks up at the sky.
"Show me," she says, finally. |
| ATTICUS X VITANI | 17.1HH | PALOMINO | THE WILDS | KIWI |
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