[PRP] Hesitant Heart (Leon/Gemma)

[Talencia]

Leon's first thought on the 'price' made him blush hotly. Highly embarassed by his thoughts, he hastily rushed to assure her otherwise. "Oh, no, I wouldn't hear of it!" He stumbled over his words, he spoke so quickly. "You can have one, by all means!" In fact, he was in such a rush to nab one from his own tail that he didn't take the time to place his hooves and bend his spine. He just kinda threw himself at his own tail... which resulted in him turning in circles. He spun slowly several times before he realized how foolish he must look, chasing his own curly tail.

He stopped and ducked his head, clearly abashed. "Maybe you should pick one instead." Still warm-skinned from his blush, he leaned his mane towards her in offering. "Your choice! A lovely rose for a lovely mare." He flushed hotly again as the words escaped him. Why did his tongue keep betraying him?! He was glad for the excuse to keep his face covered with his mane, so she couldn't see how mortified he was at his slip of the tongue. It didn't occur to him how sincere the words truly were, and that they had come out because of how much he meant them.  

[Kyribird]

Gemma blinked a few times as the stallion began to...chase his tail. Oh, she tried SO very hard not to laugh, but she couldn't help herself! This was hilarious! The gemling's laugh poured from between her lips and she shook her head, a smile plastered on her face. Oh, she very much liked this male. Very much.

Taking a step, the mare plucked a rose from his mane lightly with her teeth and offered it to him, "Maybe you should put it in my hair, since I can't exactly reach." The compliment made her all fuzzy inside, her entire body tingling. What WAS this?

She liked it.  

[Talencia]

He kept his skin from shuddering at the touch of her soft, gentle muzzle as she chose a rose. But as she held it in her mouth, asking him to put it into her own mane, his breath suddenly seemed to freeze into a solid, molten mass in his chest. Nigh on trembling, he leaned toward her, nostrils flaring wide to take in her sweet and sun-warmed scent. Gently, so very gently, he took the rose in his lips, not minding the sting of a thorn, for as he took it from her, their muzzles brushed briefly in an intentional caress. For a breathless moment, time hung still as he gazed into her beautiful eyes, his lips touching hers.

That one moment changed it all. He was not dreaming. He wasn't! She was looking back at him, and he could feel the softness of her muzzle. This was real. A protectiveness flared deep within him. He knew in his heart of hearts that he would do anything to protect this moment, this shared perfection in the midst of a painful world. He refused to let anything destroy it.

Time resumed its normal pace. Breath eased out of his lungs and back in again, as it should. The rose slipped from her mouth, and he raised his chin and tucked it into her silky mane, right behind her ear. After placing it, he softly nuzzled her jaw and stepped back. "Beautiful," he murmured, though his gaze was fixed on her eyes, with no thought for the flower.  

[Kyribird]

It was in that moment that the world around her seemed to stop completely and there was absolutely nothing but Leon, the rose, and her shaky breathing that caught in her throat. This was...This was not something that she was used to. This was new and uncharted territory and she wasn't quite sure if she could handle it! Gemma was generally pretty fearless. But that was when it came to duty.

Leon was not duty. Leon was a wonderful, wonderful surprise that she didn't quite know how to handle and it scared her and thrilled her at the same time. It was when time returned and Leon's silky voice touched her ears that she finally was able to find her breath again and calm her rapidly beating heart.

"It is," she agreed breathlessly, "But I'm afraid I...I have to go." She had to think. She had to talk to her mother. Without knowing she was repeating the exact same thing that Hienna did to Zaphiro, the mare brushed her muzzle against Leon's in a quick show that she wasn't running away from him she turned tail and fled.  

[Talencia]

Leon stood, watching the most enchanting beauty he'd known, dream or reality, fleetly dart away, mane and tail rippling behind her lithe body as she ran. His chest flet on fire, and the place where she'd returned his affection burned with a pleasant heat. He simply stood, looking after her even when she had already disappeared from sight, gulping deep breaths of a stallion starved for air. For a long time he remained there, breathing hard with eyes full of the sight of his love as he'd last seen her.

It finally took a pinecone thunking his head to wake him from his reverie. He screwed up his face in a comical reaction to the mild pain, ducking hs head and glancing upwards. A squirrel in the tree above chittered, though it seemed more laughter than scolding, before scampering into the depths of the tree branches. Bemused, Leon shook his head, unaware of his mother's run-ins with similar varmints. Turning for home, his eyes didn't even take in that the sun was turning the clouds into brilliant shades of aerial fire. All his eyes saw was the smiling face of of a pretty purple mare.