Somewhere in the distance, a little bird opens its beak and sings, orchestrating an entire symphony with chirps and trills. Some may call it cute, others would claim it beautiful. A symbol of spring, of the name; birdsong.

Lakota? She called it annoying as fuck.

The fucking moon was out, what kind of bird was up and about singing his praises? Grumbling to herself as she was pulled out of sleep by the bird that just so happened to be perched in the tree she had been dozing at the base of. Lifting one leg she kicked the trunk irritably, and the bird squawked indignantly and took wing. Lakota glanced around with drowsy, glazed violet eyes. Judging by the lack of a warm neck curled over her withers, Ktulu was off on a patrol, and had slipped away in the night as Lakota had been sleeping. It made her heart swell with love, to know her mate would go to any length to ensure Lakota was guaranteed at least an hour or two of rest rather than being lonely.

Stretching languidly beneath the pale beams that played tricks and shadows through the fluttering leaves, she pressed a tender kiss to her slumbering prince's forehead and set out on a journey of her own. The fresh greenery whistled and sang the softest of lullabies, a warm wind playing over the canvas of her sapphire coat and letting her orange beads clack together gently in her mane and tail. The paleness of her spine was reminiscent of the moon that hung pregnant and beautiful overhead, and as she wandered goalless and complacent through the forest it played tricks of welcoming on her skin, illuminating her colors with every stray thread of light that slipped through the canopy overhead.

A soft, noteless hum gathered in her throat, breaking the tentative silence and filling it with warm music of the night. "Me, I fall in love with you every single day," she sang softly, snippets of disconnected lyrics falling at random from her coal lips. There was no reason to fear judgment, for there was nobody awake. It reminded her of when she and Ktulu had come together one night beneath the moon, when she and Aodaun had been tussling in the snow. It still made her heart skip to remember, brought a smile to her face.

As she curled her body sinuously around one of the trees, her quiet singing shattered into a surprised gasp as she abruptly stopped, a mere few steps from Apollo's body. "Polly?" she squeaked, fear suddenly gripping her at his stillness. She quickly maneuvered around him and dropped gracefully to her knees, inspecting his face with worried violet eyes. From Zola's purring and the soft rise and fall of the Merciful's belly, her fears were unfounded. To be fair, Ktulu and Archibald accused her of always having unfounded fears, her mother-hen worrying something they had grown fondly tolerant of.

"You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days," she laughed softly. Lakota made no motion to stand, merely rocking to a more comfortable part of her side and laying there contently with him, gazing down at him. "It is late, Polly. Is your mind not silent?" It is soft, understanding. Hypocritical of her perhaps considering she was wandering about at the odd hour as well. But she recalled vividly when they'd met in the meadow after he'd disappeared alongside herself, the scar on her spine warming as if reminding her why she'd run away from him and Ktulu so long ago. More importantly, she could remember the tears that had consumed him, the sorrow she had been unable to lift. Could she now? Belatedly she began to lift herself, wondering if she was the right one for this conversation. "Maybe...I should fetch Ktulu?" A bitter part of her stung, remembering her own doubts, her fears that they loved each other more than either of them loved her. But she did so slowly, unsure if he would call her back to his side. If she deserved to be, sure her mere presence would taint the gold of his soul.

@[Apollo]

Lakota

The Poisoner