09-06-2021, 07:20 PM
Besides the loneliness of his childhood, he has known nothing but her. He wonders if she knows this (revels in it, maybe, or even wields it against him), knowing that he was only a lost and wayward soul when she had come across him, meeting her bold flame with an emboldening fire of his own. She is all he knows, all he understands. She had whisked him away from the confines of Tephra and what it meant to be merely a shadow there - did anyone truly know his lineage? Did his family - if they can be called that - wonder about him, ponder his absence at all? He knows the answer and Skandar does not allow the sharpness of it to pierce his armored heart. All he knows is that Aela notices their time apart, even chastises him for it, and it is why she alone mattered.
She alone is worthy of him.
Even though something like jealousy (tepid and aching) strikes hard in his chest, Skandar cannot find anywhere to place this anger and blame - save for Obscene himself. He likes to imagine that the black stallion and himself would have gotten along quite well had the circumstances been different; now, however, he merely sees him as a mortal who has no business even thinking that Aela could be his. Like Avelina, the Pampas Prince is tied to earthly chains - feelings and the like. Emotions will only cause hesitation and weakness, something that Skandar did not have time for.
Emotions would leave him incapable of executing all of Aela’s desires and he would despise himself if he ever were to fail her.
There are no lines with Skandar - everything and anything will be crossed, blurred beyond recognition. It is never personal, not really, for it is all a means to an end: his (and Aela’s) name burned across all of Beqanna. It is why the thought of killing Obscene fell from his lips so casually, though perhaps only Aela could sense the way his vocal cords had tightened with anger. It is a reasonable response, he figures, as now the one they serve has an apparent weakness - a weakness that would certainly cause ruin in their grand scheme.
She smiles at him and though he in no way was looking for approval, there is the slightest twitch in his lips to match that same mischievous smirk. She laughs because she knows he would do it in an instant, without hesitation. He listens as she mulls the different strategies he might use, finding amusement surprisingly on his own face as his brows rise and somewhat soften the sharp features of his face. She must have been thinking about it also, with the way she lists his options so casually.
He is maybe about to say something to her and maybe it would have matched the jest in her own voice - a softening of his appearance and maybe, just maybe, he would have found himself drifting closer to her in that small, golden pool.
But it never comes. Aela sighs, lowering her head into the magical waters almost absentmindedly. He watches her (as he always does) with a gentler gaze, something quiet and thoughtful. The smile that barely grasped at his lips has already disappeared, giving way to a thin line of his lips pressed together tightly. Not Obscene, she deems, not yet. His eyes flare red for a few seconds, enough so that the idle hum of its glow echoes the dead, silent jungle. She lifts her head, the coolness of the water dripping onto his skin. He blinks, returning his eyes to their normal orange gaze.
The stars swirl on his skin, but the healing waters do nothing else.
Loess.
The suggestion sounded promising; cloaking himself as Obscene would easily allow his eyes and ears within the kingdom. Skandar doesn’t know Obscene too well, but he could easily pull off that distant brooding - something that he finds himself doing rather often.
Skandar is still watching her, his brilliant gaze settling on the slender gold of her cheek. He blinks and his skin begins to peel apart, fluttering like feathers against each other. The deep indigo and orange fade into the pitch of black, gold splashing across his chest and his orange eyes turning into that violent red. He is Obscene: tall, brooding, pensive. Nothing reveals that he is none other than the Pampas ruler, especially when the tall onyx stallion steps closer to Aela - something he is sure Obscene would have done.
“Do I look the part?” comes the heated reply, low and venomous. Practice makes perfect when it comes to Skandar’s shifting, though he does not deny that his now red eyes search hers for any sort of reaction that may reveal her true thoughts of Obscene - not just a memory. Thoughts paint his vision red, adrenaline pulsing wildly in his veins. Is who stands before her now what she desires? Will she allow her lips to draw across the darkness of his cheek now that he wears a different skin?
Why did he care so much?
She alone is worthy of him.
Even though something like jealousy (tepid and aching) strikes hard in his chest, Skandar cannot find anywhere to place this anger and blame - save for Obscene himself. He likes to imagine that the black stallion and himself would have gotten along quite well had the circumstances been different; now, however, he merely sees him as a mortal who has no business even thinking that Aela could be his. Like Avelina, the Pampas Prince is tied to earthly chains - feelings and the like. Emotions will only cause hesitation and weakness, something that Skandar did not have time for.
Emotions would leave him incapable of executing all of Aela’s desires and he would despise himself if he ever were to fail her.
There are no lines with Skandar - everything and anything will be crossed, blurred beyond recognition. It is never personal, not really, for it is all a means to an end: his (and Aela’s) name burned across all of Beqanna. It is why the thought of killing Obscene fell from his lips so casually, though perhaps only Aela could sense the way his vocal cords had tightened with anger. It is a reasonable response, he figures, as now the one they serve has an apparent weakness - a weakness that would certainly cause ruin in their grand scheme.
She smiles at him and though he in no way was looking for approval, there is the slightest twitch in his lips to match that same mischievous smirk. She laughs because she knows he would do it in an instant, without hesitation. He listens as she mulls the different strategies he might use, finding amusement surprisingly on his own face as his brows rise and somewhat soften the sharp features of his face. She must have been thinking about it also, with the way she lists his options so casually.
He is maybe about to say something to her and maybe it would have matched the jest in her own voice - a softening of his appearance and maybe, just maybe, he would have found himself drifting closer to her in that small, golden pool.
But it never comes. Aela sighs, lowering her head into the magical waters almost absentmindedly. He watches her (as he always does) with a gentler gaze, something quiet and thoughtful. The smile that barely grasped at his lips has already disappeared, giving way to a thin line of his lips pressed together tightly. Not Obscene, she deems, not yet. His eyes flare red for a few seconds, enough so that the idle hum of its glow echoes the dead, silent jungle. She lifts her head, the coolness of the water dripping onto his skin. He blinks, returning his eyes to their normal orange gaze.
The stars swirl on his skin, but the healing waters do nothing else.
Loess.
The suggestion sounded promising; cloaking himself as Obscene would easily allow his eyes and ears within the kingdom. Skandar doesn’t know Obscene too well, but he could easily pull off that distant brooding - something that he finds himself doing rather often.
Skandar is still watching her, his brilliant gaze settling on the slender gold of her cheek. He blinks and his skin begins to peel apart, fluttering like feathers against each other. The deep indigo and orange fade into the pitch of black, gold splashing across his chest and his orange eyes turning into that violent red. He is Obscene: tall, brooding, pensive. Nothing reveals that he is none other than the Pampas ruler, especially when the tall onyx stallion steps closer to Aela - something he is sure Obscene would have done.
“Do I look the part?” comes the heated reply, low and venomous. Practice makes perfect when it comes to Skandar’s shifting, though he does not deny that his now red eyes search hers for any sort of reaction that may reveal her true thoughts of Obscene - not just a memory. Thoughts paint his vision red, adrenaline pulsing wildly in his veins. Is who stands before her now what she desires? Will she allow her lips to draw across the darkness of his cheek now that he wears a different skin?
Why did he care so much?
skandar
i want to be the bullet
that brings you to your knees
@Aela