[private] grey mist on the sea’s face & a grey dawn breaking

[Oceane]

for the call of the running tide

"I'm sure you will have your reasons if I do," she says with a playful grin at his aspiration: let's hope you never see me quite so angry, "though hopefully that reason will not be me." She dips her gaze away from the painted stallion to dote over opaline feathers as her lilting voice falls quiet, allowing him to speak candidly about trust and betrayal.

Nau-Aib's king had often spoken about loyalty and trust. He had spoken more frequently on the subject of betrayal in the presence of Oceane; she had grown used to the conversation, though she had no choice, for her own existence was a betrayal to the king. Here, in Beqanna, she hopes to never fall victim to that same script again.

So as she pledges her loyalty to Castile, her desire to build trust between them voiced aloud with nothing less than pure authenticity, she forms a self-promise simultaneously: to learn, to grow, to adapt, and to serve for the sole benefit of Loess and Castile. The years she'd spent as an exiled nomad had finally led to this.

Oceane wonders if the heat between them is a figment of her imagination, a combination of the tension she feels and her desire to touch the painted King, or if their bodies are truly generating heat based on their chemistry. If only, if only...

She is glued in place, muscles taut with anticipation, as she breathes in Castile's musk. Oceane follows his movements with molten amber in her eyes.

And then he steps back, relieving some of the heat but none of the chemistry. He clears his throat gruffly, forcing Oceane to turn her head away to hide the small grin twisting at the edges of her lips. It's replaced with incredulity when Castile speaks again, her eyes flicking back to meet his with a near-slack jawed expression. "That's a generous offer, Castile," she says coarsely as her surprise gives way to appreciation, "If it comes to that, you have my word and my allegiance. Any territory I might potentially lead would be loyal to you."

Oceane laughs warmly, nodding her head as she says, "Here's to your good instincts." She, too, has been increasingly pleased with her residence in Loess. And it's all thanks to Castile's unscheduled visit to the Field, a place that the opaline woman has not seen him venture since the day he'd brought her home.

She'd been intrigued by the adventure and knowledge he'd promised her, but also by that lopsided grin. The same one he wears now.

His drawl asks her for her third wish, a plethora of options fighting for the forefront in her mind but none just right for what is to be her final wish. Maintaining intense eye contact with Castile's mismatched irises as her tongue brushes the back of her blunted teeth in thought, Oceane finally comes to a decision and offers the Loessian King a mischievous smirk:

"I wish... that you will be there to protect me when I need it, and that you will forgive my lack of battlefield prowess whenever I need to invoke this wish. And in return, I promise not to seek out trouble that would force your hand into helping me." Her smirk has turned sheepish, and could she blush, she would.

"And maybe, in time, you can teach me to fight. But that is more of a request than a wish, in case you're still counting." Oceane laughs warmly before tossing her glimmering forelock from her amber eyes.

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@[Castile] | speech