- ━━━━━━━━━ ｌａｒｋ ;;
- ________lark was quite surprised to have gotten through his wordy speech uninterrupted, the entire time june allowing him to preach on and on without a comment. she never interjected, allowing silence to overwhelm her as he got some things off of his chest. most of what he said seemed to cause some confusion, as it had to come as a shock for a villain's child to have such remarkable character traits. yet she was an excellent listener, which shouldn't have been too surprising. most goods were rumored to be exactly that, as every bone in their body had been raised to love and respect those around them. it was in their instinct to subconsciously love, while for lark it was to subconsciously hate. truth be told, they both did a rather fair job at exactly that. they fit into their cookie-cutter stereotypes just fine... almost. so long as you didn't include the fact they were communicating unbelievably freely, which was the opposite of what they were "supposed" to do. in the princess's presence, he should've projected only intense hatred. his words should've spouted with cruelty and mischief, not with sincerity and hope. but there he stood anyways, defying whatever laws that insisted they couldn't befriend one another. they acted as normal human beings, and there wasn't a thing wrong with that. unless you consulted either of their parents, who were bound to be extremely displeased if they ever were informed of their children communicating. but since when has lark been the sort to follow the rules?
________he wasn't certain how he felt about the princess's fingers interlaced with his. of course, it was prominently abnormal. forget the fact they were intentional polar opposites, but their hands were like puzzle pieces. they snapped into place, their palms squished together in perfect unison. somehow, it worked. despite the fact his was much larger than hers, and hers was so much warmer than his, they uniquely balanced one another out. lark had little to no experience when it came to hand-holding, but he felt he could grasp a gist of it. either hands fit, or they did not. turns out, spontaneously enough, theirs worked awfully well. how he was meant to respond to such a thing, he couldn't be positive. his mum had taught him to disregard and despise physical contact, especially from ghastly people like goods. but in his current situation, those rules didn't seem to apply. juniper was becoming something like a special case, and it was one of the strangest things he'd ever experienced. since when did he and anyone else get along... at all?
________etselle darted across their path, causing june to release an unnecessary screech. she shot backwards, momentarily forgetting that she had a cat to look out for. the fiendish animal kept running after he startled the princess, acting as if he had accomplished what he'd sought out to do. lark bore no reaction, instead quizzically glancing at the princess as she attempted to brush the situation off of her shoulders. his hand felt awfully empty after juniper abandoned it, instead focusing more intently on ensuring there were no more etselles around to frighten her. after she'd officiated that she was, in fact, perfectly safe, she scurried the remainder of the way into the kitchen. as she set to work on fixing him what she saw fit, he settled down into one of the chairs before the counter top she'd stationed herself at. he carelessly placed his chin in his hand, pressing all of his head's weight into his elbow. the two of them had fallen silent for a few moments, as if neither of them could pluck up the courage to continue their conversation. it was an unusual one, that was why. he'd opened himself up to her, and whether he'd done too little, just enough, or far too much, he couldn't tell. for someone who never pried on his own pages, he felt he'd revealed too much. it was a rare occurrence that he'd allow himself such emotional discharge, and for others under any label to sincerely "get to know" him. whether they were the proper good sort, or they were the most vicious creature under the setting sun. lark didn't open to anyone, so the fact he'd done so to juniper, of all people, was pure insanity. surely he was losing his mind! why on earth would he entrust her with such delicate information? he was meant to be the evil prince, not the thoughtful one. he had a throne to withhold, and he wasn't doing such a swell job at that. his logic was falling short of reason, and there was nothing left to do other than repeatedly question himself. alarm bells should've rung somewhere in his head as juniper began to list those foolish traits about him, as it was her hoping he'd correct her. he had, and then gone as far as to keep it going. lark wished he could take every last word back, but it was too late. juniper was already sitting on them, deciphering them and deciding how she felt about them. it was almost disgusting, seeing someone silently judging him for being this humanitarian as a villain. yet, unfortunately, there wasn't any going back now.
________the princess's sudden comment shot him back to attention, forcing him to remember what all he'd voiced from within himself. he had told no one, not even his own mother, how little he genuinely liked himself. he wasn't exactly "insecure", but he'd never gotten along with his own mind. he despised how his real self constantly intervened and questioned his instinct, and how complicated that made his everyday life. without real lark, then perhaps he wouldn't have ever approached juniper in the first place. he might have never rescued roya, or sought out a typical relationship with jazz. he wouldn't travel through the good forest in the hopes of stalking someone, wishing to learn from afar. he wouldn't even be the same person without his gentler traits, so wishing they weren't there was like wishing he hadn't been born. but he still hated himself because of those things, as he felt it made him a disappointment in the eyes of maleficent. the very last thing he'd ever wish to be was a failure, and especially to his mother figure. she was the queen of villainy, so of course he'd hope to please her. if he was ever to inherit her throne, he had to replicate her actions. he had to advertise that he was everything she'd ever hoped for, and not something that she should've rid her body of. lark queried he wasn't doing too swell in that department, and it made his self-confidence rocket straight downward.
________"i have my reasons," the dark fairy snapped, as if a bit taken aback by juniper's brash response. he'd sat back in his seat, attempting to put as much distance between him and the princess as possible. she'd gotten awfully close to him once more, so his defense mode went up instantaneously. "well, yes, i know i have to be my biggest supporter. my own mum doesn't care if i come home or not. but it gets difficult at times. i make plenty of mistakes, and they're infuriating because as a prince, i shouldn't make a single one. my biggest mistake has to be beginning to communicate with you," he admitted rather sourly, averting his gaze about the time juniper did. she trailed away from him, putting distance between them, which he was relieved about. "it's risky business, me sticking around here. i don't even understand why i do it. i hate myself because i can't catch onto my own emotions, because i don't even understand myself. how does my mind function? hell if i know. i make no sense. i want to hate you with every fiber in my being..." he trailed off, nibbling on his thumb, "but i don't."
________lark didn't lift his gaze back up until juniper started speaking again, still attempting to sift through all that he'd said. she wanted to understand him more, which was refreshing. most could care less about him as a person, and only wanted him imprisoned. they didn't wish to learn about him, his feelings, his backstory, or his hopes for the future. they didn't enjoy him one bit, as their only impression of him emerged from his infuriating instinct. if only they could keep digging, and then perhaps they'd work to assist him rather than chasing him away. but they'd never do that, not so long as he kept killing the innocent like they were his lives to conduct. a prince or not, he had no right to end those people without rhyme nor reason to his doing. prison was where he belonged, but he didn't want it. lark feared it, and he feared being betrayed and ultimately placed in it. he shrouded himself in false confidence, insisting that he wouldn't ever be obtained. he was much stronger than the humans, so they could only dream to compare to his power. but people had their ways, and there was a such thing as learning from your past mistakes.
________"i enjoy the sky every moment of every day," he replied, gazing up at the ceiling wistfully. the sky was his shameless pleasure, and anyone who was anyone ought to figure that out. he spent so much time in the trees, it should've been extremely obvious that he adored it as much as he did. lark, at last, looked at the princess once more. she was peering at him too, and their eye contact felt terrifyingly robust. her words were powerful, despite them being uttered out of the mouth of a good. he was doing his best to forget that aspect of her, instead wishing to see her as simply "juniper". she wasn't the good princess, nor was she a threat to him and his freedom. she was someone willing to listen, and that was supposed to be enough.
________she crossed the barrier of personal space they'd formed once more, this time taking his hand again. she held it gently, her warmth pulsating into his frosted fingertips. he was naturally pale, cold, and must've resembled a wilted flower. she was so lively, and... good. her words were the same, speaking to him on a level that he couldn't comprehend properly. june was offering him the bitter truth, and although he wished it weren't real, he knew it had to be more than fiction. his mum had convinced him that emotion was weak, and becoming a void was beautiful and natural. who knew that that was horribly inaccurate to what the rest of the world knew? lark felt behind, as he was on the verge of adulthood and still hadn't been made aware of these things. he was like a toddler first learning his abc's, an expression of wonder on his chiseled features. why hadn't anyone told him these things before?
________the brunette refused to admit that he'd originally started this mess out of his mother's influence, not his own. sure, he'd approached juniper because he was curious. but he also had maleficent echoing about in his poisoned brain, and her plots of snatching cinderella's throne. he'd predicted if he took advantage of the princess, then perhaps he could assist his mum in her devilish schemes. yet, he hadn't. he hadn't even admitted that he and juniper was talking, nor had he informed june of his mother's ideas. he was caught in the middle, and being dragged in both directions. whose side should he select? was the choice even his own to make?
________"well, whether emotions are weak or not... i dislike them. they're too complicated. i try not to question them, as it's easier to go with the flow rather than attempting to decide whether or not i approve of them. maleficent is the one who makes my decisions..." he frowned, glancing down at the counter, "disregarding her wishes is like charging directly into battle without weapons, armor, or knowledge."
________the dark fairy's chocolate gaze twinkled in wonderment at juniper's comment, insinuating that she'd protect him from harm so long as he remained there. her, among all people? he'd had his own back for his entire life, as his mum and dad hadn't cared enough to do so. yet now, a good princess, a female, someone who was meant to be his mortal enemy... she wished to do what maleficent had never done? he watched as she crouched before etselle once more, offering the obnoxious animal some kindhearted scratches. somehow, simply seeing that made lark question everything he'd thought previously about june. even after the damn creature had given her the equivalent to a heart attack, she loved it dearly. she was the master of forgiveness, and that took no magic to conceive. she was a marvelous person, and lived up to her good title.
________"although i'm likely to always find it difficult to trust you, or anyone for that matter, i appreciate the generosity." the words tasted foreign on his tongue, causing him to wrinkle his nose slightly. "i protect myself more than anyone wishes to protect me. despite the fact i've killed so many, and you've watched me do it... you're still very quick to see past it. how? it's practically illogical, and goes against everything you mum must've taught you. where does the courage to defy her originate from? because you're braver than even me in that regard." lark fastened his gaze on etselle, who had become a content, purring mass of white fluff. "you're unbelievably kind to a cruel monster, prin- i mean, juniper. i, um... well... it's... em... thank- thank you. i think. for not sending me away the moment you knew who i was, and for being so quick to forget that i'm nothing like you."
