Lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all
_{But lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall}

Sleep had yet to grasp him, so he lay with his eyes closed, listening as the sound of hooves approaches him. A familiar scent finds its way to his nostrils, pale ears twitching, straining to hear her. She whispers to herself, or to Aodaun, about how she had become Chieftess. This was no news to Locket, he had heard her mention it when they fled to the Sanctuary after Ktulu was attacked. Pride swelled in his heart as he thought of Lakota, standing tall and proud before a loyal herd. She mentions love, making his ears prick with a desire to hear more, eyes still shut tight. Locket dares to peeks, seeing Lakota face first in the fur of Aoduan, who dozes between the two.

He smiles gently, raising his head to peer down at her kneeling figure. "You are of worth, Lakota dear," he murmurs, smile having been toned down as his green eyes gaze upon the blue bodice. "And love makes us all weak, does it not?" His tone drops, his heart shuddering memories from its surface. He would not torture himself with the images of Lakota and the Constrictor embracing. No, he would wipe his slate clean, free of these nightmarish thoughts. Instead he focuses on what happens now, trying to resist the urge to comment on how beautiful Lakota appears beneath the faint glow of the leaves. The words drift on the tip of his lips, frustration finding its place within him. He shouldn't go about flirting with a heartbroken woman, especially a women his former Chieftess loves dear.

A gentle huff escapes the pale lips of Locket as he struggles to fight the urges within. He would not tell her how beautiful she appeared beneath the soft lights, how fragile her roan form appeared when bathed in dazzling lights. He swallows hard, tongue twisted into knots as his stomach squirms about, heart thudding loudly against his chestnut breast. There was no hesitation when the moment came, the words simply... were an oops, shall one say. Locket was captured in a trance, mind unable to process what he says. "A beauty beneath pale lights," he murmurs, green eyes sweeping over the Poisoner. "You've tainted my blood, Poisoner." His compliment becoming something of a joke, a tease in his mind. The last sentence is tainted with a playful tone to it, his gruff voice softening as he gazes at the roan and her bear. He swears to himself when he comes to, realizing what he's done. She's likely still in shock from the events of Ktulu, and here he is nearly shouting to her "HEY! LOOK AT THIS! I'M SAYING YOU'RE PRETTY! AKA I LOVE YOU!"

Oh what an idiot he was.

"talk talk talk"
[oh clumsy locket]