Ring a round a rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down

Torasin with his good manners, flash and noise confused him.

The peaches and cream stallion no longer seemed completely confident in his mission, soothed and lulled into a state of false security by his faith in the gods. The trepidation exposed in those verdant eyes as he looked between the cinder beast and the frost king, proved that he had a good grasp of the danger he was in, yet the fool refused to surrender and retreat before he crossed the line. Cineviam imagined he could hear the stallion and his bonded’s hearts beating, a fast, rabbit-like flicker.

Did Torasin see his death in them?

“I have little interest for the Sun God – or His anger” he replied with a rasp like silk drawn over a whetstone, unconcerned in the face of the outsider’s threat. Retrospect is 20/20 and perhaps Cineviam would have chosen his words more carefully had he known that a large portion of his home would be torched or the ordeal he would face at Thistle Meadow. Might have been more cautious but no doubt the sentiment would have remained the same. Screw the Sun God…

Maybe He needed to get laid.

During the rest of the speech, he hovered hither and thither as though he were made of nothing but soot and a dark cloud of damned noxious substances that polluted the air. His ashes that were previously clumped together in a pile at his hooves – meaning wait – started to come to life. They crawled like serpents, on their bellies, claws digging into the soil toward Torasin’s hind legs as if to shackle him in place. The manic gleam in the blue depths of the Frostheart’s eyes and the cat-that-caught-the-canary smile upon his pale lips made Cineviam’s blood sing in anticipation. He remembered the king’s final words regarding Sun Follower’s during the Blood Order meeting – show them no mercy.

He was on the move when Mauja put a question to Torasin – giving peaches and cream little opportunity to focus entirely on one threat or the other. Slow, measured steps are careful not to bring the snow and charcoal behemoth within his target’s kicking zone as he slipped out from behind him. A few moments later he halted again, he hadn’t quite moved 90 degrees from his original position. Cineviam was faced toward golden flank and haunch instead of silken off-white tail. Perhaps he only wanted a better view.

However, the moment Torasin seemed to concentrate more on the abominable snowman – the king deserved one’s undivided attention, especially when he asked a question – Cineviam took that as his opportunity to dart in. Chin tucked to his chest and horn lowered, he originally meant to carve a “C” into Torasin’s golden haunch so everyone would know who gave it to him. He had also considered an “M” so they’d know which leader Torasin had crossed but while he launched himself at the outsider he decided to mark him with a “S” so everyone would know him for what he truly was – a Sun worshipper.

Knowing retribution would follow swiftly he was too concerned about getting a stride or two back between them that he didn’t know if he his endeavour was successful or not. But, if his king allowed it than Cineviam was just getting started.