My ears snap up as the shifting of wet grass and branches announce the arrival of someone else. Can’t they tell I’m trying to brood in peace? I pull my nose away from the smoothed stone, squeezing my eyes shut, and consider simply ignoring him until he goes away. I decide against ignoring his existence, but I don’t turn yet. If whoever this was had been attempting to be stealthy, they had failed, and the proof was in the smooth rumbling of his voice. “So, what you’re saying is, you’ve been here before?”
I turn my head, casting my gaze over my shoulder, to see the stallion who has so rudely interrupted me. I am nonplussed by his appearance. All it garners from me is a raised brow. “Bizarre,” I muse, scanning his physique. Iron red dips down his sides, and it’s nearly impressive that he’s so mobile after receiving such an obvious ass-kicking. I turn, brow still raised, and I face him head on. I stand taller than him, leaner too, and it’s almost disturbing that he feels the need to wander around looking such an absolute mess. “Though, if you’ve been here before, shouldn’t you know that no one lives here?”
He was so plain. It was nearly obvious that he was not native to these lands with his bland coat and obsidian horns. Yet he adorned himself with jewels and gold, all meaningless trinkets that would be lost and tarnish as everything else did. “Shouldn’t you seek a healer or something? Walking around like that, you’re going to attract every predator within five miles of this place.”
My eyes fall upon the fur he wears around his shoulders. There is something familiar about it. Something so familiar. A stone falls within my gut, sending ripples across the surface of anger I had finally been able to calm, and my jaw clenches. However, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, so I relax my face, eyes sparkling within their blackened sockets, and my skull face smiles. “To answer your question, no, I do not live here. I am simply visiting.”
I think of Delia, a snake hidden by a horse’s body, and I know we have many of the same tricks. I step closer to him, a smile upon my lips. My body sways, movements sultry and gentle, as I move closer. “What a beautiful cloak,” I say, eyes seeking out his steely gaze. I stop several paces, cocking a rear hoof, relaxing into an easy stance. “It suits you.” My words come out with a warm coy laugh, and I tip my head, black locks spilling over the sweeping arch of my neck. “Where did you get it?”
I stand before him, and I know how I look. I am lean and beautiful and strange. But I am listening closely, more interested in his answers than he may ever know. |
Siren's Summit
Mortuus Nox
