The fire and the flame
Lilah seized the opportunity of inspection and allowed her eyes to skim quickly upon him. One thing was for certain, this man was definitely not one of the king’s guard. A breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding escaped her. Relief washed over her in an instant. The unfamiliar scent that shrouded him was akin to a refreshing swell of brisk water. Dismissing the worry that gnawed upon her composure, it had instead quieted the internal panic ravaging her thoughts and permitted her gaze to linger another moment longer.
Perhaps a moment too long.
Hasty silver gems quickly flicked up and down the smooth, earthen kissed body of copper hues that melted attractively into the surrounding lighter fur. Muscles protruding from the edges and large angles of his form held her attention a beat before her scrutiny would rake across the defined contours of his stocky build. Light streaks resembling warpaint adorned a masculine face, and above them, two pale dual-toned eyes strikingly soft and tender. Following his every scar like a roadmap across his body, she mused silently of the stories he could tell.
Despite the matted unkept pelt that had been tarnished by a grisly mixture of mud and blood, he hadn’t been unpleasant to look at. Not that Lilah would ever attest to it in any way ever conceivable to anyone living or dead, but the man was somewhat undoubtedly handsome.
A subtle grimace rounded upon the sharp edges of dark cheekbones. He was probably ill tempered or possibly mentally insufficient. The enormous and aesthetically pleasing ones always were. Mother nature had apparently struggled with divvying up all the satisfactory and compelling genes into one heavily loaded pot. Lilah stared this one down, as if this fascinating specimen of a man may have been the only exception to the rule. Then he spoke.
“Do you take me for a fool?"
A sigh escaped her lips as the fantasy shattered and crumbled before her, glimmers of disappointing glass that glittered to the ground. Check to the first demerit.
A soft chuckle of amusement bounced effortlessly from off velvety dark lips. Watching him appear to speak to the trees around himself was painful enough. Revealing herself shamelessly upon the next breath, she quickly put an end to the obvious lack of knowledge he held for her true location.
“Depends,” A coy and feline like smirk hung off the corner of her mouth in anticipation. “are you going to play the part?” She shrugged carelessly, easily rolling her shoulders forward, entirely unbothered by the concept of offending anyone— much less the random stranger who had stumbled into her path.
