Shadewood that's not my name

Nero does not expect verbal response from her for she is a mute of her own will …and perhaps something else: an injury to her vocal chords that he cannot visibly see, surely. Predictably, Tacita does not speak — a small head tilt and wag of her tail is all he receives. For Nero, it is sufficient. Irises of imperial jade take her in slowly, appreciatively like a maestro studying artwork that is not his own but that he knows is infinitely more beautiful than anything he could ever produce. He appreciates the supple, softened curves of her body in a much different way than he appreciates the hard muscles and Adonic body of his own sex; but both strike him and ignite him in different ways that are, at their core, of the same vein. “You linger here still,” The Macedonian muses aloud, surprised to find her in the same territory that he first met her. Though he is not sure if it is her being here or himself that surprises him most. Already, he knows his intentions were to head north and then east if only because he lacks direction of what to do with himself. He has not thought that far ahead and it is unlikely that he will. Even the most meticulously laid plans can be upheaved by a small twist of Fate, after all. He’d known his future once. It had been contingent upon whether he could take the life of Manakin or watch him suffer until he eventually gave up his fight; Nero’s issue had been that Manakin was not a small, broken and wailing newborn but rather an almost adult. He had voice, he had fight. He had a choice and the runt of the his littermate had not wished to die. Not by his defects and certainty not by the teeth of his protector.

He shuts the doors to those thoughts firmly (rather slams them closed in the hopes they will not resurface), seeking distraction by the infernal nymph before him. He closes the distance with purpose and seeks to press his nose to the junction of where her jaw meets her throat. He does not hesitate but she has ample opportunity to deflect his touch if she does not wish for it.