It's said she's made of storm cells
and a wild wolf's hungry heart

“King Tembovu?!”

The shout of her father’s name was enough to get the filly’s attention. She had been out exploring seeking her brother in his lost absence. She had felt a piece missing from her life, a sunken hole in her heart that could only be filled by her lost brother. And in her searching, she found herself coming into the Threshold – a familiar place that had claimed her as its winner in the Basin’s own recruiting contest. So this was nothing new for the child – the woods were growing ever more familiar, her trips were less and less exhausting over the days, and she had actually managed to thrive despite the constant need of her parent’s presence, slipping away as they slept upon stupid little pine needle beds. It wasn’t the same as the Basin, but it was a place she’d have to call home. She still hadn’t gotten used to the fact she had more siblings running amok around the Edge, but for now it would have to suffice. The thought of Khairi nearly biting her half-brothers face was enough to crack a smile across her pink splattered lips.

And so, the filly bounded to the commotion. From her standpoint she could see an intermingling of three equines. From Khairi’s distance in a nearby tree, he relayed their faces. There were two unfamiliar to her, but the third was the ever known Albrecht – the old bones and grump of the Basin. And yet, the words that slipped past the stranger’s maw had her snow rimmed ears perked in interest. “Nyoka.” She knew that word. Her gaze danced across the mare in curiosity, wondering if the mare spoke her father’s language – though after remembering her question of the actual man himself, she felt as though it would be brilliant chance to show some people up.

Ink dipped legs carried the filly to the center, her dark head bobbing in hello’s to Rikyn whom she hadn’t met yet, until her oceanic gaze drifted to Albrecht where she offered a devilish grin. She purposefully placed herself in between the badger woman and the old man, turning her attention onto the stranger that was caked in dirt, blood, and burrs. This was her kind of woman. She smiled to her quietly as Khairi dove from the trees to land upon her withers, his talons digging into small little scars along her gilded appaloosa pelt. The flames across her back danced as griffons and lions, prowling and flying in a heatless fire erupting from her spine. Khairi’s attention was more focused on Albrecht and Rikyn as Kiada focused on the Dorobian stranger.

“Si kuua nyoka, rafiki yake tu ana.” She didn’t carry the exact pronunciations that came from those native to the land, but she was learning and was growing ever more fluent with it day by day. She grinned to the woman, tilting her horned head slightly as her oceanic gaze softened on the woman. “Jina langu ni Kiada. Mimi kuishi katika Edge. Tembovu ni bambo yangu.” She beamed brilliantly at the woman, in an effort to try and sway the woman to her side. Then, she paused for a moment to turn to Albrecht and Rikyn. “Hello Albrecht. And hello to you too, I’m Kiada.” Her tiny voice raised to the men in confidence before she turned her attention back to the badger woman. “I can take you to Tembovu, if you’d like?” Tilting her snow marked head, she shifted her stance as Khairi’s rapturous gaze danced between the two men.

"Talk."

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si kuua nyoka, rafiki yake tu ana - don’t hurt the snake, it’s his only friend.
Jina langu ni Kiada. Mimi kuishi katika Edge. Tembovu ni bamboo yangu. - My name is Kiada. I live in the Edge. Tembovu is my father.

that she's learnt the lightning's secret—

to ripping darkened skies apart.

Kiada