LIQUID SMOOTH

Absinth smirked at his mirthful response, an ear flicking away the topic as it passed through the air. The topic of promises of that nature was strange to her as well. But she knew she was not a whore like her mother. Beyond that, she had no true reference for what any relationship beyond enemies and opportunistic friends meant. He had the privilege of being her first true friend, or at least that was what she supposed. Regardless of the intimate nature of it all. Without that, she felt extremely close to him whether he could sense it or not. It wasn’t every day she let her guard down around another soul after all.

As Aresenn reassured her of her good choice in sending Karaka away, Absinth felt a bite of irritation that she might never see the girl again. If anything, her beauty was something so worthy of viewing twice- or thrice. From her birthlands, none had ever been colored other than charcoal and soot or gray. Every new soul she met of other colorations and mutations were a wonder to her in terms of beauty. But as she thought that, her eyes ran up and down Aresenn’s coat - and she knew he attracted her eye the most even still. Just as she mused that within her mind, his gaze met hers and he spoke again.

Amber orbs fleeing her as he confessed his own Karaka. A girl by the name of Andromeda. Daughter of the Warlord.  A friend that he desired more with. Absinth regarded him carefully, not interrupting as he continued on. Though her gaze may have been amused at best, jealous at worst. The corners of her lips twitching as she shared a crooked grin. The girl was charming, but frustrating. A pure soul of strength, so nothing to be looked down on- but still fragile and naive by his word. Absinth tried to muster up a face to the personality, but of course she could not.  He explained that Andromeda believed him better than he was, more righteous. Absinth couldn’t help but think of a knight in shining armor, come to save a princess with romantic whimsy in her head and nothing else.

Her hackles bristled slightly, but it could have been the cold, of course. The cold also caused her eyes to gleam intensely as well. “You believe she romanticizes you, right? It sounds like it from what you describe. But.. Do you like it? Or does it fill you with guilt? Ah. Do you wish she would see you as you are? But you fear the response of showing it at this point. Rightly so.” She was mostly musing it to herself at the end, emeralds flickering to him waiting for his gaze to come again. She did feel a relief that he was still here, not in the Armada that she knew so little about. With this girl that thought of him better,  not the true him she knew.

He went on to explain the finality in their relationship, that it would most likely end due to the differences in their moralities. Yeah. Absinth couldn’t see someone like what he described surviving along with the Saxe’s. That or they would flee the depravity of it all, unable to see past the bloodshed, unable to turn a blind eye and see the strength growing... He was right to worry. Right to know the result. She would have pitied him, but Absinth didn’t do pity. She merely looked on at him, his gaze coming to meet hers as he flashed a weary grin. “I’m sorry for the inevitable, if it means anything. But I will say you shouldn’t get any more attached. You can take a pound of flesh from me if you must, with a fight- but you’re a fool if you continue to pretend. You split yourself further, given your.. condition. Do you want to be a good man, or is it a fleeting fancy from your youth, before you knew yourself fully? It is not selfish to cling to the past, or the illusion of it all.”  Even Aresenn knew it. He knew this Andromeda was seeing him under falsehoods. Selfish? Absinth waved off his previous statement. It wasn’t selfish to indulge in fantasies outside of reality, but to let that grow further was a dangerous- destructive game. Absinth sought his gaze, hoping she had not offended him, but willing to take the fight for him to understand her thinking. Emeralds aflame with her own resolve it was easy for her to separate fact from fiction.

wormwood