The bronzed gaze of the stallion tracks my movement, I can feel him absorb my figurine, but he was a stoic one, only when a strange sound started clicking away deeper in the cave did his façade crack to shape his handsome lips into a smile. I take the opportunity of silence to run my own eyes over him, adapting to the darkness in the few seconds. I notice the tribal markings that run up his foreleg and shoulder, and openly I admire them, just as I see him peer at my own. I wear the marks of the Earth God with pride, despite the flag of my realm being that of the Moon – it wasn’t that I believed in her less, or wasn’t also grateful to her, it was simply that as a child I was raised to worship the Earthly one, and such things linger with you through the ages. I was young, compared to this steed, I could tell, though I did not waver beneath his glare. I let him observe me, and watched him in return. He was a fine specimen, his rich masculine scent very different to the flowery composition of my own. That metallic twinge still lingered in the atmosphere, and the strange noises from before seemed to shuffle and grow some more.

It was dirk who spotted the metal contraption, he sent me a mental image of what he saw with questioning undercurrents through our bond. It was a fascinating concept, this bond – being able to feel and experience what another feels, even a child’s mind such as Dirk’s was captivating. I turn my gaze to view this, squinting to focus in the dark, the rough outline of a cat – though not a cat like my Dirk – becoming evident. The stallion’s own scent was brassy and earthy, like the metal contraption before me, and slowly I wondered if it was he who had constructed the creation. Delight and interest was shown for a moment as I considered it, for it was Earthly magic if ever I saw, even if it was Earthern magic mixed with another, like my own, there was still that aspect of similarity. Before I can speak of my delight however, he seems to come to a conclusion about me, and at last my petite flutes capture his name within their grasp. His speech reminds me of Mauja’s way of thinking, the supremacist view that Unicorns were better than their hornless counterparts. Despite the time I had spent here, even with a few hornless creatures wandering the Edge, I was yet to come across one, and so I had for the most part, reserved my judgement of them.

But then, so many saw those who lacked horns as evil, perhaps there was credence to their opinions? I mulled the thought over a moment, deciding that while I will hold my judgement for now, I certainly did not have high expectations of the unhorned ones. He leans over me now, and I sense Dirk’s tension building, the hair upon his back rising, his tail growing fluffier, in a cat’s reaction making himself seem larger. His little lips raise and while some tendrils of my mane drift over him, flashes of ivory teeth are shown. Though he could cause little damage to anything right now, he would grow, and so too would his damage capabilities. A small hiss sounds out, a mere nervous warning, and I do my best to soothe him through our bond. He means no harm, little one. I think gently, having learned that the kitten can hear and respond to my thoughts. I radiate calming tones through the bond, and feel him relax, slightly, though his fur still stood on edge. Politely my voice ventures forth from my lips, and I explain my companion to him, though the knowledge is still quite new to me.

“He serves to keep me company, and though he is young and small, he will grow older and stronger soon enough. He is my companion, we are bonded by mind and soul.” I answer his query of Dirk first, wondering if he would be able to comprehend such a thing. I struggled to at first, and still do wonder at the possibility of it all, but I would not change what had happened for the world. “I can’t say I am a fan of the recent changes; though I’ve had no trouble from a hornless creature yet.” Commenting absently on his remark about the other species, I dully lean towards agreeing with him. “Surely our King would have made the decision for a reason?” Perhaps he was drawing his enemies closer to him, to make it all the more easier to crush them? I sighed, my questioning eyes roaming to the figure of the mechanical feline once more. “Are you the father of such a creation?” I indicate with the inclination of my tiara towards the creature, my curiosity unable to be held within.