She walks with the confident, at-ease trudge of a soldier on patrol. She’s working tonight, as the rest of the court is carousing (some with joy, some with sorrow, most with a mix of the two) and blissfully trying to shed the worries and concerns of their daily lives. Money is flowing in the marketplace, all manner of goods and services being bought and sold. Magic flows too. He feels the familiar spark-crackle-buzz of it in his knees, in his chest, in his blood.
She knows he’s following her.
He senses it in the subtle tension that flares in her movement. She almost seems happy. Excited. A cat, living among mice, finally given an excuse to flex its claws. Or maybe he’s reading too much into the spring in her step and the arch in her neck. He doesn’t use his magic, not yet. He might not use it at all tonight. Ever since the kidnapping, these large gatherings make him nervous.
She doesn’t look back, but she stops to investigate a merchant selling flowers. She’s waiting for him. Or, she has a sudden interest in purchasing flowers.
Eik approaches casually and looks at the flowers with interest. “One of those, please. Just a single one.” It’s a white lilly– he doesn’t know the name of it. He floats a coin to the merchant and gently ties the flower to his mane. For Isra, later.
And then he turns to Antiope, who stands there with the dangerous poise of a lion. “Hello, Regent. May I walk with you?”
there is no smell of war in me
but why else would this feel like madness
art by Footybandit
@Antiope <3
Time makes fools of us all
