What does honor have to do with it?! Phaedra wondered, as Circe snarled insults her way. Therein, we should realize even if these two cannot, the fundamental differences between the two mares. Phaedra has always done what was necessary to survive - and if that meant being the pet of another stallion - a charge she recently laid upon Circe - well, what of it? There is no honor amongst the dead, it is merely a term the living throw around to justify their accomplishments. At least, that's the extent of it in Phaedra's mind. With Ophelia gone and the herd now run by the military might of Ktulu and Archibald, what place did honor truly play? Was it honor that was driving Circe now, to attack her herd-mate? Is that what being in the Grey amounted to now?

"I think your brain is rattled, sugar. I only called you a pet - you became a dog once you decided to attack one of your own!" Phaedra scoffed, too fueled by adrenaline and misplaced anger to feel the full weight of what Circe had said. What pride was there to speak of? Being forced to fight for the enemy, and returning to a broken home? What pride could there be, with her golden body bruised, and Circe's unmarred by the war?

Stella's wings beat feebly against magic that out-powered her avian muscles. With a trill of fright, her body was swept downwards towards the ground - an easy target for the executioner. As Circe's hoof connected against Stella's bright white chest, a horrific and primal cry issued from Phaedra's throat - a sound that intermingled in a painful harmony with the secretary birds' own cry of pain. Tears immediately welled in Phae's no-longer confident gaze; this was madness. It was a simple fucking question! A legitimate one. Why wasn't Circe in the Invasion? Why had she been sent? How had it become this? Circe's words rushed by her, but Phaedra barely noticed. Already she had begun to rush towards her companion's crumbled body, failing to see Circe's dark form move towards her in the dim light. Mildly Phae became aware of dust and debris shooting at her as the darker mare slid to a stop, but it was only once Circe's hoof struck the left side of Phaedra's chest, a painful encore to the wound Circe had already inflicted there, that her attention was removed from Stella. A cry of pain escaped Phaedra's lips as mud slapped against her neck; her eyes blinking away large tears to look upon Circe in horror. It was all suddenly too much.

Being sent into Battle.
Resplendence throwing sticks at her.
Archibald letting Circe stay home.
Stella.

Stella!

"YOU BITCH" Phaedra roared, her svelte body suddenly lunging forward. Her hooves fought with the moist soil beneath her to try and force her into the taller mare. With ears against her skull, Phaedra thrashed with her front hooves, trying to hit any bit of Circe that she could reach. As gravity pulled her back down, her teeth snapped towards the left side of Circe's face, and then her shoulder.

Now empty of both adrenaline and rage as all four legs reached the ground, Phaedra feebly moved with an unsteady apprehension towards the unmoving body of her companion. Tears poured from her gaze, as her legs finally buckled as she neared Stella's side. Phaedra's muzzle dropped, to lower onto the birds chest - coating the black and white body in tears and sweat - while checking for signs of life. "It was only a question-" Phaedra muttered incomprehensibly under her breath, as she nosed her companion whose eyes remained firmly shut.

Phae's heart pounded in her golden breast - painfully aligning with the pulsing of her wounds. Breathing shakily, the turned to look at Circe from her knelt position. "It was only a question." She said, her voice barely louder than a whisper now. A question. And now Stella was...

...Light...

Phae's head immediately moved back to her companion. Her mental word had been so faint, that already the sound was fading from Phae's mind. "Light? Sugar what light?"

...Pretty. Stella...go?

Horrified, Phaedra snapped her gaze towards Circe. "Get Apollo!" She ordered, her sing-song voice now having risen with her hysteria. Turning back to the bird, Phaedra nickered softly into her downy feathers. "No sugar, you stay." She sobbed, as she wrapped her wings forward to shield her companion. As if her star-lit feathers would somehow keep away death.

You stay! She mentally reinforced, holding her breath and praying that Circe would just do as she asked.

How did it end up like this?


It was only a question....



[WC: 798
Attack: 3/3

Stella takes the hit squarely in her chest and flops to the ground. Phaedra rushes towards her, totally ignoring Circe until Circe's hooves strike her shoulder, and the mud hits her neck. She lunges forward into Circe, trying to hit her with her forelegs, and then bite her on the way down. Rushes towards Stella, and demands Circe go get Apollo.

After your closing defense, continuation thread mehbeh?]

Join the waves in the ocean?
Or let my soul fade away, in the dark?
Cause I've gone astray,
& all my flowers turned to dandelions.