[private] give my all just to watch you fall; Nashua

[Nashua]

(and it's harder than you think)
telling dreams from one another

"I'd show you more," he says with a playful shrug of his broad shoulders. He - like @[Titanya] - feigns a serious expression and the facade only cracks when Nash shows off a glimpse of his charming smile. "But a man can't go and just give away all his hidden talents," teases the striped pegasus before the smile broadens into a bright grin. He nearly barks out a laugh but the warm look he gives to his former opponent speaks loud enough for him; the laughter is burning in his green eyes as they meet hers.

They flick down briefly, noting the two V marks on her chest.

"And you?" he counters, curious what her time on the Plains had given her. The Alliance had marked all of them (though Nash's speckled wings normally hide the blood-red mark on his left side). The young stallion is curious if they had rewarded the shifter and if they did, with what? Was it a gift she had even wanted or would she have attempted to battle a reward as well?

She doesn't seem impressed at his speech of fighting for Gods and Glory (and he understands; Gods can be as fickle as the Fates and glory, much like his mortal life, is fleeting). Kingdom life isn't for everybody and certainly, a Court that situates itself on a lonely rock isn't going to inspire most into a life of service. "A few." He explains good-naturedly. There is the familiar brine of Ischia on her skin and having visited Ischia a few times, he almost imagines that he can smell the sunshine on her dark skin.

Nash takes a moment to explain the Isle of the North, the furthest point a Beqannan can travel before the world falls away beneath the blue-and-green polar lights. "If you ever feel up to it," the chestnut banters, "the swim there is quite the challenge." She seems like the type to attempt to scale the Tephran volcano, he thinks. Just as likely to take a perilous journey through the Northern currents just to say she conquered them.

He takes a moment to consider her next question before answering, "Lonely." Nashua looks off towards the shadows and his confident smile slips before he looks back to the sabino mare. "I came into the world with a twin," he says as if this would explain it. He makes it sound as if he just isn't accustomed to being alone so much. Most of his family is in the Taiga, he tells her. "But I made a promise to the leader, Leilan, and I intend to keep it." He explains, speaking of oaths and loyalty. He explains that is not all so bad, though. There are things to be found and sights to be seen at the edge of the world, things and sights that wouldn't be found in the heart of Beqanna or even on the mainland. He found a purpose in a place where most horses couldn't find grazing.

As she speaks of how she found herself in trouble, the half-smirk comes back. He tilts his blazed head towards her and wonders how to tell her that it is a feeling he understands. As a youth, he had always found trouble within or outside Taiga (and worse, he often dragged Yanhua into it). There had even been a few brawls with the other colts on the Isle, who learned that Nash's easy-going demeanor could be broken by a prodding remark about the circumstances surrounding his birth.

It's what she says next that he doesn't understand.

"So you merit your worth by what the Fae decree?" he asks her. There were those who - like her, had more experience - had more powerful magics, had the advantage of different terrain, of different hours of the day (or night). Nashua doesn't doubt that whoever wins the Alliance will be a skilled fighter, but much as in life, he thinks there is a fair amount of luck to go along with it. "What if the Mountain crumbles and Magic leaves Beqanna and another Alliance is never held?" (What if the sky turned purple or the sun stopped shining, he chides himself.)

Or is she just needing an arena?

NASHUA