Seneca does not often venture to this side of the island. He's grown quite accustomed to the desert, and keeping his pride safe and cared for means rarely leaving it for long, and almost never traveling too far to spend more than the day away from it. But there are a few faces that flash across his memory now and then, and so he's found himself with a curiosity to seek them out. It's @Aarani that he is more interested in finding; he hasn't seen the prior Oasis queen since she'd left, and the strangely bittersweet goodbye has lingered with him. The afternoon is mild and temperate, sunspots dappling through the canopies, though the air is heavy here as it always is. Quite unlike the dry and arid warmth of his desert home. There are faint trails here and there that suggest she has been nearby, confirming his prediction that she would have sought out shelter under Cupid's banner. Sooner or later, he's bound to run into her.

image by k'sariya, code by koi

For the first time in what felt like months, Aarani feels light enough to sing. Her voice is rough from lack of use, but she feels the reverberations of her vocal chords like the warm embrace of an old friend. The priestess has no particular reason to be out and about that evening other than the need to stretch her legs, and so she entertains herself on her stroll by simply being. She sings softly as she goes, wishing it was enough to bring back those who had left her behind. Dior had always loved her voice, so what were the odds she might hear and come back home?

Low. Nonexistent. In the negatives.

The lioness loses herself in the chaos of her mind, letting herself drift on the breeze like the lost little leaf she is. It is only when she nearly bumps into the familiar form of @Seneca that her voice hitches in her throat, a note that goes flat as she gasps in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry, I need to pay more attention." She offers a sheepish little smile, stepping aside to offer him more space.

table by ferus, artwork by grav3wolf

Seneca notices her long before she does him. The soft lilt of her crooning voice drifts across the underbrush, bringing the desert lion to a standstill. He doesn't think he's heard her sing before, but it is unmistakably @Aarani, confirming his suspicions that she lives nearby. His ears perch curiously upon his skull, and perhaps it's his stillness that brings her not to notice him, or just the depths of her own thoughts -- but either way, she only narrowly misses running directly into him. A brow piques, and a somewhat bemused half smirk flashes across his lips. "Probably," he concedes, an undercurrent of humor lacing his tone. It's reflexive -- the way he takes a singular step forward when she takes one back, and he remembers himself a moment later, stopping before he ventures further. "I was looking for you," Seneca admits, leveling his gaze upon Aarani and finding himself curious to know what she'll make of that.

image by k'sariya, code by koi

Aarani shifts her weight as @Seneca does the same, almost hesitant to approach her as though they were strangers. Ironic, she thinks, considering the first time they had met had been in rather close quarters. If she thought hard enough, she could almost remember the feeling of his muscles beneath her toes. It hadn't been pleasant at the time, but now, she had to admit it was the last time a man had touched her.. at all. How pathetic was that? It was enough to make her blush, but he is quick to distract her with his words.

He had been looking.. for her? She blinks. "Why?" What on earth could Seneca Miroslav ever want with her?

table by ferus, artwork by grav3wolf

There's always been something about @Aarani — something fierce, a candle that only needs a match to light it. Seneca had seen it in her the first time they'd fought, and in fleeting moments afterwards, but he had been...respectful. As gentlemanly as a Miroslav can be, despite the way she pulls him in like he is just a moon in her orbit. "Come now, Aarani," he chides softly, venturing another step closer — testing waters that he hadn't ever considered setting foot in until she had been leaving, and he had been faced with regret for doing nothing about it. "You didn't think I would forget you so easily, did you?" A slight quirk of his brow is offered, a mild tilt of his skull, the tease in his tone unfurling an underlying current of want.

image by k'sariya, code by koi

Aarani is not foolish enough to assume that @Seneca has anything but pure intentions. Certainly if he had wanted her, he would have made that clear by now. The gentle nuzzles and touches she had offered him previously were thought to have been indication enough that she felt.. something, but they hadn't been reciprocated. If anything, Aarani assumed he felt burdened by her existence -- perhaps that she was even a blemish on his reputation for having bested him in combat the one time.

She sees none of that now as he steps towards her, his voice laced with intent. Her brow furrows as she studied him, neither taking a step back nor a step forward. "I wasn't concerned you had forgotten me, Seneca," she murmured, eyeing him beneath a curtain of curled locks. "I only asked why you were looking for me. Do you need healing? What can I do for you?" Before she reads in to anything, Aarani must understand what it is he wants from her.

table by ferus, artwork by grav3wolf