Her answer is reasonable and yet it surprises him; perhaps in his dreamt-up version of her and the world, he never imagined her changing after the last time they’d met, and he immediately realizes how insane that must have been. Of course when she hadn’t heard much from him, of course when he only visited, she would choose another. If he could, she could too. Why not? She’s a nereid and a leader of a mostly-female herd, she can choose whoever she wants.
It was something however, that in the near presence of her he somehow forgot about quickly. So he nods, as to not have to look her in the eyes directly and see his naivety break. And she’d never expected it of him either, though he supposes that in the light of things, his own declaration might have been a bit of a shock as well.
So that’s what they were, and this is what they are now. But what will they become?
She tells him she used to think about that - if he might stay. He’d been too reckless and wild at the time, he supposes. So when she asks why now, he gives her a smile. ”I was forced to reflect, when Carwyn came to me for shelter.” He shakes his head - ah well, she’d known by now (however shortly) that he’d been with others. She might as well get a name. And Carwyn was with a certain other male - usually. The foals she’d conceived with Aodhán, in her eyes, weren’t safe if she returned to her home and her family with them. Perhaps, the shifter had thought, I could protect them while being there - and so he realized that being on Ischia ultimately meant he’d want to be with Eva again: that’s how quickly she popped up in his mind.
He lets his mane and tail shrink a bit, the water drawn out of it, letting the hair dry on the beachy wind. Looking to Eva’s golden orbs, he can’t help but feel himself slipping again, and so he interjects with words. ”But for me, Ischia is nothing without you.”
Because ultimately, even if he’d only do it for the twins Carwyn had borne him, that is what it came down to: he’d always be thinking of a certain purple nereid, and that would be a torture he could not bear.
from the ashes a fire shall be woken
@[Eva]