I admire that, he said, and Amaris had to wonder just what was so worthy of admiration? When they were younger, he admired her for what she was, the dragonscales upon her hide, the queenly status she had played with, the stories of her conception and birth. What was it that held his admiration now? That she would walk away from the 'legacy' of her mother's life and live for herself?

Amaris wondered at how little they knew of each other. She remembered meeting him for the second time, at the Veins, remembered him speaking of what little family he had, a sister and a mother. She remembered connecting the dots of the puzzle, deciphering that his mother had been taken by her then-leader - the information had laid dormant within all this time. She hadn't done anything about the information back then, and what was there to do about it now?

Volterra was son of the World-Eater, son of the cretin, the demon-woman who had tormented all of Helovia. She wonders, as he made a note of admiration towards her decision to write her own history, whether he intended on doing the same - or did he intend on following in the footsteps of his mother, and becoming wholly hated, despised, conspired against to capture and keep imprisoned until he either fled the lands or died?

All these thoughts and more rolled through her cranium, even as the dragons attended them more closely again - Amaris' spirit friends seemed to give her warmth in the stallion's absence by her side. She did not feel a pull back to his side, no matter how much she had enjoyed it when she had been there - somehow, she knew that while their futures would likely involve them crossing paths (however frequently or infrequently), they were meant for different things.

Or, maybe they were the same after all, and Amaris was in denial over her underlying queenly nature.

What will you do next?

The question hung in the air, and the dragonmare allowed the silence to fill in the time between it and her reply as she considered it. It wasn't really something she had to think about as far as the answer went, more, how to say it.

"I will live, and explore the realm, with my cousin. I may seek out the comforts of a herd again at some stage.. I will see where the world takes me." It was a simple reply, given with care and yet coloured by the draconic lilt that sometimes entered her words. She wondered if he would still hold his admiration for her after her words, and turned her tiara towards him, golden eyes lit up with curiosity, brow raised as she voiced a query back to him. It was time she learned more about her friend, the once-colt-now-stallion, who certainly had the potential of the world before him.

"And you, Volterra? What are your goals for this life we live?"

Amaris