Helios has often wondered what it was like to be so alive- to burn as bright as Soltera’s sun with flames licking at your heart. He felt it sometimes- when the wind was beneath his wings, the sun upon his back and the ground far, far below. A different kind of alive filled his veins in war, the kind where he felt like he might explode with power at any moment- alert and dangerous and ready to spill blood. He wondered what it was, however, to feel alive in a place like this; to bathe in the victory of beating another opponent into the ground to the cheers and calls of a hungry crowd. Here, Helios only felt calculated, cold, little more than a fighting machine. Such control kept him alive, that the russet man was aware of, but sometimes he envied that raw fury and fire that he saw dancing in the winged woman’s eyes.
The crowd seems to deem and quieten in comparison to the glowing woman as her wings ensconce them slightly in privacy from the crowd. Helios can feel the warmth of her skin as she closes the gap, taste Soltera’s sand in her scent upon his tongue. The lick of flames in her eyes makes the controlled stallion glad he’d only had one drink as he feels her chaos crawl down his throat rush through his veins. He does not move as she reaches out to the silver collar at his throat and the russet man wonders what she is thinking as her lips near its cold surface. Did she see him as most others did- the symbol of Soltera’s oppressed past? Or a truth the citizens did not want to admit? Did she see him as beneath her, little more than a servant despite his freedom now? But all thoughts are chased from his mind as her breath dusts his skin and whispered words barely permeate his audits. “Why?” He asks a little lamely, the question falling unbidden before he can think of anything better to say.
The more he beheld the striped woman the more he felt intoxicated by the chaos in her eyes, or perhaps it was the adrenalin still barrelling through his veins. As her lips brush against his cheek the soldier cannot help but wonder what he was getting himself in for. Perhaps a second drink might be a good idea, if only to chase the embarrassing awkwardness from his person. Her wings unfold them from their little corner and the yowls of the crowd break through Helios’ focus but he does not miss the words she speaks. A shiver crawls up his spine as, for but a moment, he feels that secret, cold thrill he always got before a battle. He swallows thickly and dips his head in affirmation. “I will,” he confirms, attempting to regain his stoicism.
@Amaunet <3
