keep a little fire burning; provoke, any

[Smoak]

Keep a little fire burning;
however small, however hidden.

Smoak is unsure how much time has passed since he had last seen Joaquin and Joplin. He's sure that, at this point, his younger half-siblings are nearly considered adults and thus have lost the innocence of childhood (an innocence that had been removed from all three of them, when their parents had been abducted for Carnage's entertainment), but he still likes to think on the newborn versions of them, when they had been carefree and full of laughter and endlessly inquisitive.

The cotton candy filly reminds him of them as she plops her rump upon the soft earth, her ears haphazard and mane askew as she regards him with boundless curiosity that only children seem able to master. And, much to Smoak's amusement, the young girl seems quite comfortable now that he has assured her that she is not on the dinner menu ─ her questions spill in quick succession, giving him no more than a millisecond between each, and so the bone-armored stallion laughs good-naturedly but waits until her lungs have expelled all of her breath before even considering responding to her questions.

The filly stands back up, her lavender tail waving this way and that as her face breaks into a wide, sweet smile as she introduces herself finally. He nods his head to her playfully, mane falling over his hazel eyes, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Provoke," the champagne stallion offers with a quiet chuckle, "My name is Smoak. Sometimes I like berries, but I have to be in the mood for them. Apples are pretty good, too."

He pauses, thinking back on her questions, the corners of his lips upturned. "There's nothing wrong with looking funny! Sometimes I forget that the bone is there," he shrugs, "but it comes in handy if I bump my head on a branch or if someone tries to bite me. I was born in Tephra, where the big volcano is, but now I live in Hyaline, with the big crystal lake. Where do you live? Who is your mom?" he inquires, throwing more questions back at the cotton candy girl.

"And yeah, you're pretty cool," he chuckles again, "and it looks like your mane and tail turned purple from sneaking too many berries when your mom wasn't watching."

Smoak

@[Provoke]