The water gave her clarity as it swirled around her muzzle and up to her eyes. It even offered a small respite to the pounding in her head, a rhythm created by the marching of her thoughts. She sighed in relief, air bubbles breaking the surface of the moving water with audible pops. It brought back a flash of a memory; a small blue and black filly playing at a lake's edge, surrounded by family. Her mother was there of course, and her grandsire and granddam. There were uncles and aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews... all of which may not have shared her blood, but were ones she called family all the same. Happiness permeated the time then.

What was different then, from now? The Dragon's Throat was supposed to be her family, but why then did she feel like she had to pretend among them? She had never felt that way when she was younger. Was it just the ignorance of childhood, or had the family itself been different? They had not always shared the same land as it was here - borders and territories did not exist. Perhaps freedom itself was the answer, but that seemed far too broad to encompass something as intimate as family.

Ampere pondered for a moment, blowing more bubbles as she continued to drink, and then it dawned on her. With an excited gasp, one that nearly caused her to inhale water, Ampere flung her head up. Water droplets scattered from the edges of her muzzle which widened with some coughs, but all the while it stretched with a grin. Not freedom itself, she realized, her thoughts so excited they tripped over themselves. "Freedom as an idea!" she exclaimed, unable to contain it any longer. That's what she needed - horses who shared her ideals.

Maybe here the Throat and the Sun were supposed to be ideals, and that's what was intended to bind them together. Ampere certainly shared those beliefs, to a degree, but she could not deny the one that beat strongest in her heart, and not just the companions. They were at the forefront to be sure, but the principal behind them ran strong in many of Ampere's choices. If she could find horses that shared that principal, slowly but surely, she could build something like a family. From there, who knew, family helped you accomplish everything.

Before her epiphany could continue any further, a sharp voice cut through it, throwing Ampere so off that she visibly flinched at the curt words. She felt like she had been standing for a day and a night, chasing her own tail within her mind, but it had really only been seconds after she pulled out of the water that Tandavi came. As such, Ampere's clarity was easily muddled. The headache that had submitted to the back of her skull crawled forward to rest just behind her eyes. Ire set in the lines of Ampere's lips, even more frustrated at having been chasing something only to lose it, than simply wandering.

"I live here," she snapped back, more on edge than she intended due to the hostile approach she was given. It was not surprising to her when her gaze turned to settle on Tandavi. The voice was too memorable, the anger in it especially so. Truthfully Ampere did not retain a grudge with this mare. The sun and moon girl was but one of the many enemies Ampere had acquired in her crusade, and she was certainly not the most annoying, nor threatening, of them. Yet Ampere went defensive at the tone, choosing to fight fire with fire, as she so often did.

Had she more sense she might have recognized the greater depths of Tandavi's heated nature, and just how dangerous they could prove. Instead Ampere only felt her headache and the need to stand her ground, wings ruffling along her back and her rump as she glared down her darkly marked nose. On a different day she might have reacted better, but all her frustration was coming to a head and this selectively ignorant girl was the perfect scapegoat. "Or have you failed to notice that too, like the truth?" Ampere hissed, her head dropping parallel to the ground, ears flicking back in anger. The insult wasn't much of a fair one, considering Ampere hadn't been aware Tandavi lived her either, but that hardly mattered in a cat fight.

@[Tandavi]