stillwater;

[Nayl]

She spun the stars on her fingernails The want in his eyes has dimmed and the hunger has been suppressed. There is nothing now when she searches his eyes except for a stagnant pool of water. What inferno had been dancing between them is suffocated by her inability to overcome her largest obstacle. Corded muscles flinch when he turns his cheek. Her jaw clenches, her eyes lit by a sudden, inner animosity. Enough. The sting of his voice soaks through her skin and cuts deeply into the crumbling fortifications around her mind and heart. Unable to deny him, and realizing how precarious they are, she takes a step to her left and away from him. With each breath, they spread farther apart. When she glances over her shoulder, she sees him still standing there, a statue that has endured her rollercoaster of emotions. There isn’t much more that can be said or done. Their walls, even as their eyes meet, are rebuilding. Nayl’s expression hardens and her head inclines as she latches desperately to her pride and dignity. ”I certainly have,” the alliance, she reminds herself with a roll of her shoulders. The diplomacy has been properly forged, a relationship between kingdoms devised stealthily. But they, Nayl and Stillwater, are far worse than the state of their homes. ”You’re stupider than I thought by asking that,” although her voice is level, poison saturates every word. She had come here for their homes, but more for him (but she could never admit that). Her dismay is concealed, her regret choking her for one last moment before she shakes her head. A longing glance peers through the trees in the direction of Nerine. Her home is calling for its Queen back. This time, without hesitation, Nayl glides from from Stillwater’s reach. Somehow, she can still feel his hot breath caressing her even as she drifts farther and farther away.; but she does eventually pause. Nayl pivots and looks back at him with a dismal face to mirror the ice freezing across her. ”There’s no need to rush back to Nerine,” not that he has expressed any interest to return, ”You have no need for that cave anymore.” Malicious, angry, and spiteful, Nayl grins and turns away, finally - for once – taking Stillwater’s advice and leaving. Nayl covet and myrina's creation