This girl is a gun, before you know it, it's done
And you'll be wishing that you crossed your fingers

smodeus' statement draws a bark of laughter from Marceline's lips, though there is no bitterness held within it. "I think you would be more likely to hang yourself with said leash than allow yourself to be chained by anyone, even pretty little me." She banters back. "But it is a nice thought nonetheless." She is not so foolish to think that anyone as headstrong and ambitious as Asmodeus would willingly submit to another, even if that other was the mother of his child and his future queen.

The sultry smile Asmodeus aims at her sets Marceline's pulse fluttering, a gentle heat rising behind her crimson coated cheeks and a breathy chuckle ghosting from her mouth. How odd a feeling it is, to have such a simple look affect her so.

'Can I not come see you just to see you and to meet our daughter?' he asks innocently. At this Marceline fixes him with a skeptical look, though the faint smile that lingers on her lips contradicts the seriousness of her expression. "I value your company too much to say no, darling. You know you are welcome whenever you wish." Still, there is a sense of apprehension that lingers within her mind. It would be easy to take his words at face value, to simply trust that he is being sincere in his declaration of desire to visit her and their daughter. Though there is a part of Marceline that wonders: why now? Why today? Why only when he had news to deliver?

But his talk of good news does pique her interest, and the warmth of his touch against her breast dissipates her thoughts almost as quickly as they had coalesced within her mind. His words are like the first rays of sun on a foggy morning, breaking apart the impervious grey cloud that hung above her head. "Please. I could use some good news right now." Marceline sighs, casting a weary glance towards the Peak where it rose imposingly above the swaying canopy.

She would gladly welcome any news he had, so long as it helped take her mind off the burden she bore or quieted the restless thoughts that had swirled through her head since the day she had ended Vane's life. Her transgressions against the Lagoon General had gone unspoken by the red queen since she returned with Khar'pern in tow, though she was quite certain the other Peak mares were talking at length about it behind her back. It rubbed at her pride in all the wrong ways, her wounded ego bristling beneath their seemingly ceaseless observations.

As her gaze flitted towards Asmodeus, fluted ears perked eagerly atop her crimson crown, she could not help but wonder what he would think if he knew what she had done. Would he be proud to hear that she had defended her sister so vehemently that it had brought an end to a Lagoon thug's life? Or would he look at her as her sisters did (or at least how she perceived they did) - with disgust and derision? The very thought makes her stomach twist, her throat clenching uncomfortably. For now, she thinks, he need not know. Ignorance was bliss, as they said, and she was determined to cling to any bit of bliss she could find in these ever-darkening times.