She tries to lengthen her strides, tries to escape them. They look like her children, but full grown, how she had imagined they would turn out. Beautiful as they were, they still pursue her, terrify her, force her to avoid their accusing voices and heartbroken eyes. “Neglected! Abandoned! Forgotten!” They taunt her, play on her feelings, and she just can’t seem to escape them.

The stallion, her handsome Virga, snaps at her heels, like a wolf out for blood. The midnight-forged mare, stunning as Ki’irha ever could have dreamed, reaches for her neck, her own teeth snapping beside her neck as she gains ground. The thunder of hooves, though the vibrations seem somehow slower than that of the galloping hooves of her twins, seem to shake her down to her core. It seems so real.

She feels breath upon the arch of her neck, feels the softest tug, a gentle brush, the opposite of the bared teeth of her daughter…

Her eyes quivered beneath their lids, and slowly they open. It is then she realizes that the touch, the feel, the hoofbeats, they seemed so real because she was no longer alone. Gentle lips brush against her neck as the thief steals his prize from the curls of her mane. Her eyes roll, whites like crescent moons pressed into her face, the steely irises flashing and shifting like the darkest of thunderheads, and her nostrils flare, lips curling. But as she begins to drag herself from the dirt, something happens.

The stallion shifts and stirs and transforms, and she’s so caught off-guard by the incredible site that she almost forgets she needs to move the hell out of the way. “Holy shi-“ was all that she was able to choke out as she scrambled backwards, moving with the grace of a newborn filly, as a whole freaking elephant tore out of the stallion who had stolen from her. A scream ripped from her throat as she her rear hoof became caught on a root. She tripped during her attempt at an exit, and she tumbled backwards into the river. She splashed and sputtered for a moment before she was able to claw her way upright. Her mane was slicked to her coat, which shone with the slick sheen of a fish, and her ears twisted back. The expression on her face was an exquisite mix of anger, terror, and disgruntlement, and she tossed her head to shake the wet forelock from her glaring eyes. She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel as she stared the full grown bull in the eyes. First he stole from her, then he almost crushed her. What next, was he going to grab her with his trunk and shake her around like a rag doll above her head? Or was he going to sprout wings and fly away? At this point, anything was possible.

From an outside perspective, it would have probably been a dramatic and hilarious display, seeing the two face off in an epic stare down.

A booming voice escaped the wrinkled leathery beast, and if her jaw hadn’t been clenched so firmly in anger, it probably would have fallen slack. "Apologies? Seriously?” she managed to growl. But beyond that, he knew her name, and something about that voice seemed so familiar. She racked her brain, trying to think of where she knew it from. Her lack of words was helpful in this situation, as it gave her time to play the words on repeat.

It hit her, then, and her brows furrowed, ears turning forward, voice moving from furious to confused. She knew that voice, but she would never expect the gentle giant from the Threshold to steal from her. He was always so kind and warm, and wasn’t he the king of some place? Couldn’t he find better means to obtaining treasure than stealing a trinket from a sleeping woman? “Tembovu?” For a moment after, she stood sopping wet in the river, staring at the elephant with an incredulous look. Suddenly nostrils flared, ears turned back again, and she gave a quick shake before stomping out of the river right up to the multi-ton creature. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? What is going on?” She stopped paces away from him, within trunk length, staring up at him. Eyes glanced for a moment at his tusks. She didn’t feel like being gored today, which was most of the reason that she didn’t send an electrified elephant rampaging towards him, though she doubted the effects would even penetrate his leathery skin. So instead she stood and stared and fumed, wondering what the excuse could possibly be for such an unpleasant meaning.