[private] There's the rub [Warrick]

[Warrick]

like the sun swallowed up by the earth

She gasps as she turns to face him and for a moment he allows his mind to let him wonder if he’s perhaps too forward, too intimate with the young girl. But the thought is quietly pushed aside, and he tells himself that just because she is young, does not mean he should treat her differently than he would anyone else. She is smart and she is clever - she is the daughter of Offspring, after all. He is completely aware of the fine-line they are dancing around but he knows not to cross it - the fiery girl before him, despite her womanly figure, is still just a girl and he quietly reminds himself of this.

Ceara falls silent, swimming methodically with him as his powerful legs keep him afloat, his cobalt eyes watching her the entire time. She glances at him after a few moments, her flaming gaze meeting the coolness of his own, before turning away with a sheepish smile and continuing to focus on swimming, or on whatever else was going through her mind.

As he watches her, Warrick realizes he likes her - she is fiery (yet shy) and she is lovely, a creature he wouldn’t mind seeing more often than not. The thought causes him to press his lips together gently, a certain feeling stirring in chest; he’s busy with the politics of the kingdom and has many friends to keep him company, but the man within him longs for a closeness he has not had in a long time, for quickening pulses and the warmth of another that is not at all platonic. With a sharp tug in his chest tightening, he is now frightened that he is pushing all of this onto her; a pressure that she must certainly feel is mounting as they swim, as he had traced the soft ebony of her cheek…and guilt begins to weigh heavy on him.

Her voice nearly startles him, and with brows raised he meets her gaze. The thoughts in his mind scatter and disappear, fully focused on Ceara. He is surprised with her interest suddenly in kingdom politics, and is slightly disappointed that the subject has changed, but with a smile he answers her.

“Tephra is already at its best. I only wish to sustain it and bring it even closer to greatness.” But will you be here for that? he doesn’t ask, gentle eyes watching her. With a smirk, his tone light and teasing: “What are your plans for Tephra, Ceara?”

Warrick

@[Ceara]