KAHLUA

Oh, how the queen wished she could have taken back her indifferent attitude towards the location they were to explore. The caves. She shuddered. If the Edge was the queen’s prison, the caves were the home of every nightmare she had ever envisioned. They were a torture chamber designed to make the nomadic Sunshower go mad at their very mention. It wasn’t just that she had been trapped down there for months on end (although they did play a large roll in her distaste)- it was the idea of the caves, the memories that accompanied them, that made her grow nauseous at the thought of them. It was the memories of her days as a monster, the reminders that she had attacked those she called friend and family, that she had wished to maim them… or worse… that made her grow weak at the knees and really display her cowardice.

However, for how ill the mere mention of the caverns made her feel, Kahlua was too enamored by this new friend to disagree. So, while her face very clearly said ‘no,’ her mouth offered quite the opposite. “That sounds nice.” She justified her decision to herself by thinking of all the pretty colored gems that lay on the ground (she had yet to electrify one- would it create a colored light?) and she tried to forget her fears by rambling about the subject for a moment. “I used to collect stones there, when I was Glazier. Have you seen any of my creations? I made a glass statue for each of the herds. They all have colored eyes…” The one for the Basin she had also tried to color blue, with stunning results, but she didn’t think it important to mention.

Following the white mare away from the Edge, Kahlua gave one last longing look to her basket and the music box. They would be safe where she had left them, she was certain, but Ulrik’s creations had become her companions as much as Khan was and it hurt her to leave them behind. In fact, on a whim, she danced back to the basket just long enough to let the scorpion toy climb up her forelock to settle between her ears where it so often did. Bouncing and splashing her way back through the mud, she arrived just in time to hear Ophelia speak.

Now, the silly queen did not know what Ophelia meant by calling her different, for Kahlua felt very much that she was the same as the rest of her herd, but she did not object. Instead, she focused on trying to clarify why the Edge was both her home, her love, and her prison, all the while oblivious to the fact that Ophelia had been one with herd mind already. “I didn’t ask to be queen. I was just the Glazier, and then when we were forced underground and Mirage disappeared… Well, the moon Goddess selected Kaj and I to lead the Qian. It’s not like I hadn’t thought of it… the respect people get, the power they have, when they lead…” she sighed in confusion as she recalled her childhood. She had grown up believing that power was the highest honor she could long for. It was one thing of her past, hate it though she did, that she could not seem to rid herself of.

“I guess I just didn’t know how much work it was. I like to explore and make friends- adventure makes me happy- but when I’m gone Kaj has to do all the work. I used to come home and see him so stressed and tired. He never looked like the Kaj I remembered. So we talked, and I stay home more now… I try to be good and help him. Still… I can’t help but stand by the borders sometimes and wonder what I’m missing out on.” With a frown, she caught Ophelia’s eye, wondering what response might come out of her wizened mouth.

@[Ophelia]

the sunshower