'Someone comes,' hisses her dragon, 'someone from sand.' A trembling breath shook her ribcage as she tried desperately to regain her composure, sibilant voices from her youth deafening her with clamorous demands: 'Head up high. Chest out. Move your hair out of your face. Arch your back, child.' She tossed her mane, a shower of flowers and petals falling slowly around her little figure, praying she looked well, praying she was enough.

The lady held her breath as a stallion slid into her vision. Her eyes rolled over his body, lips falling apart ever so slightly as she studied him. She didn't flinch at his appearance, but to say he hadn't startled her would be a lie. He towered above her, his hide kissed by death, a sapphire dragon perched upon his back. She decided the man was built for battle, meticulously pieced together by the god of war himself.

Yet the sandy stallion smiled at her. Her head fell to one side, she furrowed her brow, and sniffled a couple times before she found it within herself to return his smile with a weary one of her own. Hero momentarily stopped his affections to peer curiously at the fellow reptile, holding back a trill of amusement upon seeing her bristle. Agnodice flicked an ear back at her companion, glancing at him as he tugged her hair to gain her full attention. 'Baby dragon thinks she's big,' he commented, deciding it best to ignore the little blue. He promptly returned his attention to his bonded and pressed his cheek lovingly back into her neck.

Agnodice's eyes slid back up to the stallion as she listened to his introduction and watched his expression turn to concern. Oh. Was it really that obvious? She held her head up even higher, trying even harder to bury her heartache, but that only made it hurt worse. 'It's okay to feel sad,' Hero offered. His words felt both comforting and terrifying.

The duchess's eyes fell to her hooves as her facade slowly fell apart. She batted her lashes, blinking away the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. She took a few quick breaths before looking shyly back up at Astarot. "I've been through a lot to be here is all," She smiled weakly.

One of her pale, curved ears strays from it's partner till the maiden's whole head has turned to look upon the stranger, a small gasp escaping her ebony lips at the sight. It's a unicorn, a softly dappled mare with crimson dipped horns crowning her skull and littering her tail. A particularly intriguing marking of a silver dragon wound it's way around her leg and part of her shoulder. Agnodice didn't know what to make of this mare, either. She was both startling and captivating. She looked to be another formidable, battle born child of the war god, but like Astarot, she wasn't hostile. The dainty maiden offered the unfamiliar mare a feeble smile and nod.

Silence settled momentarily between the trio until the maiden realized suddenly she had to introduce herself, a presentation she had almost forgotten about. Everyone in Atemae knew her name. "Oh, I am Agnodice of th—" she choked on her words, eyes flicking down to her hooves, "formerly of the Hidden Falls, and before that, of Atemae. Now I am of nowhere." Her voice trailed off into almost a whisper. It hurt to explain. All that comforted her in that moment were the soft trills, purrs, and rubs of her dragon.

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@Astarot @Wessex <3

agnodice & herophilos