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« No Damsel in distress, don’t need to save me. »
His words startled her, causing her to turn her warm chocolate eyes upon him. "I… I dont plan on hurting you either. I like you… possibly more than I could have imagined possible for one such as me…" She whispered softly, closing her eyes as she waited for him to spurn her words. For all of her bravado when it came to talking to others, the idea of rejection was enough to knock her back to a lonely filly.
His words regarding the change were wise, though there was a small, selfish part of her that wanted him to move in to the citadel where she could see him every day. "The house used to be the place where I hid from the world, the place I found when I came to dusk and became who I am. It still belongs to me, though I have no use for it. I plan on doing my best to avoid letting down my court… to avoid disappointing those that voted for me. You are more than welcome to it, I would prefer it used rather than left to fall apart." Her words were soft and she realized that they were completely honest. She truly had no desire to go back to that house at this point in her life. Uzi felt like she was where she was supposed to be for the first time in so many years.
His history fascinated her, drawing her eyes to the stallion and drinking in his striking features as he spoke. When he commented about being a colt and the small adjustment, she tilted her head. "What do you mean, if you could call yourself a colt? Not wanting to pry or anything, but the way you said it was curious." She asked softly, hoping he didn’t get angry at her question. She didn’t care about genders or anything like that… As long as she could get to know the other, she found herself blessed and lucky.
The rest of his history filled her with a myriad of emotions. The words regarding a lost love were a pang in her heart. "It seems that we have both been through quite the story. I cannot lie, I do envy you for finding love for what time you had it. I have spent so much time alone and feeling like it was something for everyone else… Yet that young filly in my heart kept hoping for someone to come along and make me feel like someone special. Someone like you." She murmured, unconsciously scooting closer so that her side was pressed tightly to his. The simple touch was electric, like she was dancing along lightning.
Uzi laughed softly, careful to keep her tone low to not bother the babies in the burrow not far away. "I didn’t really expect to find such a magical moment in time today… Not to say that I am objecting in any way. I am thankful to have found you and had the chance to speak to you. To let down the mask and be my true self." She murmured as she glanced back up at him. Yes, this day had gone so very different than she could have expected… but she was thrilled with the changes that had happened. As she rested against his side, she felt a curious bubble welling in her heart. Her heart felt warm, like the sun promising to rise over the cold terrain of night that had been her constant companion.
It seemed like an eternity in which the pair hadn’t moved from a top that little hill. The baby buns still tucked gently in to their burrow, unaware of the worlds cures and curses. They were all like that once, children but wandering about protected from time by their youth. For all their stories twists and turns, neither of them seemed to be able to hold on to that blissful ignorance. Things happened, the world did as it always had and changed. Though Liseli understood this fundamental truth he could sense yet another change on the horizon. He was enraptured with this sense as the mare spoke of him moving.
The house or the public? That was a choice that once would’ve seemed so straightforward upon a time. He liked his aloneness, but that was a given. It was however in his nature, and more so than usual lately to venture in to places he’d never been. To study the elusive equine like he’d done the so many other species around Novus. For that, the citadel would’ve been perfect. But, he though and let out a quiet sigh, he didn’t see the need to differentiate. He could come and go if Uzuri would allow him. The best of both, perhaps the travel to and from would satiate the direct need to wander as well. And he’d admit with a shy smile once again lost in his own mind in probably what could’ve been taken as stoic silence , he’d want to see her world with her.
"I thank you for your offer. I do like to sit in the silence, but there could be both. I am curious and eager to see your world in the citadel. Though the house may allow some space from my works as well. If you have no healer, I suspect I may be needed from time to time but some things are best kept to the world of privacy for some." Liseli was not a private equine. He was okay being alone and hid nothing from others, he was not devious or malicious. He just knew certain individuals craved that secrecy for one reason or another. This was the privilege of being a healer, to know who everyone really was in the throws of pain or fear.
When she asked him about the snippet in her story, his face contorted in a shy smirk. This was not the one of being lost in his head, no. This was the snippet of the life that was his. Maybe it was just the fact that he was a bit nervous around her, but it was also because he figured this was the reason he could have never given Niele what she’d always wanted, a family. The way he was feeling around Uzuri in all its similarity, it was different too. It tickled him and he felt uneasy, an unfamiliar thing. For he’d never been ashamed or worried, but in her gaze he was. With a polite cough he looked back towards the ground, shifting his antlers forward as if they’d hide him. "Well… our family, ancestors I guess they were of no one gender. They were both, or even there are tails of those who were neither at all from the beginning. This was the lore of my family where over time there were none that looked like our distant relatives. Until me. It came from my mothers side, but why there were lesss of us over time was because well, to be polite there were never many children." Liseli didn’t dwell on it, his butterfly’s interrupting his usual internal zen.
When the Uzuri flattered him, he blushed looking away shyly. He wanted to ask directly but had seen before equines were usually not so direct in their flirtatious practices unlike the creatures who ran about them and had little time to waste on more trivial dances. He appreciated this about her, but also it had been a long time since he was rendered shook. It was exciting. Though he had to admit something to her again, "You know maybe it was a kind of love. I cared deeply for Niele, she was essentially the only other soul I knew for a long time. But she never gave me the flight, in the end I think she was my best friend. You still do all for that kind of love, but it was to make only her happy." Liseli could be taken as cruel, but in the end he was only truthful. Either way, it all changed when she left.
It was when he was speaking that he noticed Uzuri touching him, pressed nicely against his side. It startled him at first, but he soon settled back to her, feeling the unfamiliar warmth of her body. This heat was something that continued to perplex him in a galant way, he’d spent so long alone and cold in the words that heat of any kind was one of his favorite things. He knew too that part of being equine was socialites, but he was odd in this way as well. When she giggled that was a different kind of warmth. When she spoke he flicked his ear toward her and dipped his head towards her chest in a more comforting gesture, careful not to hit her in the face with his large antler.
"It is good to breathe every now and then, les the waters catch you. But in that way if you were the river I’d be happy to drown." He’d meant it in a sincere way, maybe it was his attempt at flirting back with her. To show her that he too could feel something inside that was unfamiliar and even a little scary. Everything was so fast, it was nothing like how he’d felt around Niele. It was his house and she’d just waltzed right in like she’d been there forever.
"Speech" | TAGS: @Uzuri| NOTES: would you like to move this along to the citadel?
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« No Damsel in distress, don’t need to save me. »
There was a bubble of bliss that felt like it was surrounding their little world. It was peaceful and quiet, something so foreign for the mare that had been diving headfirst into her court and trying to become something that she had never anticipated. Beside her, the stallion was thinking. She wanted to know what he was thinking, but was also afraid to truly pry. This was all still so new, so fresh and fragile.
"You can do whatever you wish with the house. If you want to start a clinic there, you are more than welcome. I was holding onto it, afraid of letting it slip away and be forgotten like a dream. But I could think of nothing better for the building than for someone to step in and use the space to save lives or ease discomfort." She answered softly, pressing her muzzle to his shoulder and breathing in the scent that was unmistakably his.
The words seemed almost shy as he explained, though Uzi found that she was fascinated. "I think that is so special. To have a history that is so unique and different does not mean that it is something you should shy away from. That history makes you the amazing being that you are and should be cherished. Much better than my own history, to say the least." She said the last words with a soft snort, though she was still pressed to his side and enjoying his presence.
Uzi nodded as she listened to him. "I can understand that. I watched my brother go through life using others for his own pleasure and happiness. Not that he was cruel or intentionally hurting anyone. He just was not in a place where he could see another and feel that he could truly love them or the future they could have together. That changed when he met his mate, though he is still as vain and obnoxious as ever. With her, he went from seeking his own pleasure to being adamant that she be happy and fulfilled no matter what it cost him. He changed species for her even. At least that is how he says it. They went through a portal while exploring and they both came back as deer." She laughed softly as she thought of her brother. "I think that is the true undercurrent of love. To want the best for the other while it is reciprocated. To work together for the best possible future that you can have together." She murmured as she lifted her chocolate eyes up to his face and smiled.
Uzi nodded as she listened to him. "This has been the best day in a long time. The first time that I have truly felt like I do now." She beamed at him, feeling like she was surrounded by the bubbles of a hot spring. Her emotions were nearly effervescent as she got to her feet and reached down to nuzzle him. "While I would happily drown here with you, would you like to come back to the citadel with me?" She asked, taking a step that she would have been terrified to take before.
"Uzuri"
"Neema"
@Liseli Notes: We can definitely do that <3 I absolutely love them so much!
Credit: Character by Chaosy, Art by LizzArtStudios
