this is your kingdom; this is your crown

Avantika found that Thorn had kept his neck covered with his head fairly well, and he also pivoted away quickly to further avoid her planned nose touch. He was a fast kid. But Avantika kept up with him, not being so old herself, and pushed her nose forward again as far as she could without untucking her neck. She'd stay there for a moment, gently nudging at Thorn's cheeks or shoulders on both sides to check that he was fully covering his neck, using various speeds but never trying to actually overwhelm the boy.

After that, she would intentionally give him an opportunity to win by reaching farther forward than she should have, inevitably untucking her head a bit. It was up to him if he'd see it and go for it in time, as she would pull herself back in about a second or maybe even two. She fully expected him to. He seemed the clever sort. He was mostly correct before when he said earlier that it would be difficult for him to touch her neck given the restrictions of the game and their different sizes, and so she would almost definitely need to give him a chance to win, regardless of his drive and skill.

"Speech"