KNEEL TO THE CROWN       Claws gripped her rear, weight dragging her down. Keeping the one slim hope for diplomacy from escaping. The slippery fish, half-caught, gave pause. Heard the words and wondered. The Casimir's heart thudded painfully in his chest, blood roaring in his ears, as the silence lengthened. Then at her question, his head lifted to allow wild eyes to stare.       "Yes." The voice cracked with raw emotion. Anger and fear and hope and anguish all balled up so tightly they were indistinguishable from each other. "I want it all to stop. I want Pistis safe. I want my unborn siblings to have a chance in this crazy fucking world." The grip he had upon her tightened, as if he was clinging to the last right thing in the world.       "I know my father will never consider peace. I know your family won't ever let this go. But if I have even the smallest chance of making them see that not everything must be settled through war and bloodshed, I will take it. I have to take it." The expression on his face twisted with the sheer passion he was feeling. His body trembling from adrenaline. "I am not even old enough to lay with a woman, but I know that war has no winners. Even those left standing will have lost."       Claws flexed, rear limbs pushing in an attempt to bring his face closer to hers. "I understand that what I am attempting to do, by bringing you to Diuris in exchange for him to mediate a talk with your family, is futile in the end. That nothing will stop the fighting. But it is all. I. Have." Again, he would try to press his bloodied nose to her cheek. 288 words | @Amra STAND IN THE SUN hail to the king

The stench of his desperation was overwhelming, but the raw emotion in his single cracked 'yes' was true. And so Amra remained pinned where she was, not making the effort to remove herself, as he began to babble, uninterrupted. All his dreams and wishes, his worries and hopes.
Amra watched him carefully, searching for any falsified statement, but as far as she could tell, everything he said was from his heart.
The male's claws flexed within her skin, causing her to inhale sharply, but bear it. He dragged himself up her body, his face drawing closer so as to better get his point across. He was passionate, terrified, vehement in his pursuit of peace.
When this time he attempted to press his nose to her cheek, she allowed the contact. Though only just. She allowed it due to his currently hysterical state, fearing that if she were to make one wrong move, or to reject him the wrong way, that all may be lost.
But they were of a similar opinion in wanting the fighting to stop.
"I would like to work with you to try to bring if not peace, then civility between our two families," Amra began quietly, drawing her head back to attempt to meet his gaze. Her body shifted slightly, a silent request for him to get off of her. She would not run. Already she was thinking about what to say to Ambrosine. Amra had helped to calm her down once. Perhaps she could be the Dieudonné matriarch's rock once more in this shit show of a situation.
"Do you have a plan?"