Circe could feel the lingering presence of her sons behind her, and knew they wondered at their mother’s rather strange, abrupt behavior. For the time being, she didn’t care; the shadowmere was pulled to the Pegasus’ answer to her question. Guarded eyes of blue-steel regarded the tiny black-and-blue mare; Circe’s expression remained impassive as she processed the words that floated to her on the soft winds of the skyward meadow.

Slowly, a brow lifted as her eyes remained on the Pegasus, who called herself Ampere. “Circe,” she replied, prompted to civility as she continued to observe the smaller creature. Ampere…wanted to play a game? Circe sized her up; Ampere was short, yes, but the fullness of her curves and the musculature in her chest and thigh indicated womanhood. The paradox tickled something in Circe’s mind, for although it seemed unlikely that an adult would be as fully fascinated with games as Ampere claimed to be, nevertheless Circe knew the possibilities with a particular intimacy. The shadowmere herself had been hard pressed to grow up; even as a young woman she had retained many of the mannerisms and tendencies of an adolescent, and it wasn’t until her own mother’s betrayal that she finally sobered up, becoming acquainted with the harshness of life’s tribulations. As such, she fully understood and believed Ampere when the black Pegasus had confessed to searching for a means of play.

However.

The motherly obsession that had compelled Circe to charge in front of her sons and out of harm’s way now shook its head with suspicion, glaring upon Ampere with a skeptical light. “What game?” came the dry inquiry, cutting across the useless blather that followed the explanation, her brow still arched even as her body began to relax by a few more degrees. “Play it with me first.” The authorative tone was perhaps a little misplaced with the frivolous nature of the request, yet Circe firmly and shamelessly stood her ground. Ampere was still a stranger—a blunt, tiny little stranger it was sure, but a stranger all the same—and just as Circe had tasted the apples in order to protect her sons, she now insisted on playing with this stranger before she got any closer to her precious children.




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