Since the arrival of the Basin delegation at their borders, the golden King had ruminated over the possibility of an entourage being sent to reaffirm neutrality and potential allies among the newly fleshed herds. It had been long enough for numbers and travelers to settle, and he sadly admitted to being rather consumed with the Captain tournament, not having enough time in the day to plan all that he desired to. But he had taken comfort in the promotion of his herdmates, in the filling of the Seer and Captain positions that he had so desired to see active. Yet it seemed that, once again, they would be the ones visited instead of the other way around.

A voice curled out through the trees, clear and melodic, a whisper through loose-leafed boughs on a hot summer's night. It is no trespasser, resounding from the borders to his harks on the warm morning air, but it is also no soul desiring a home. Frowning softly to himself the King rose above the scraggly tips of the budded trees and dropped his gaze to the wall ahead. Morning scouting was habitual for the King, an overall sweep ensuring his flock was safe for another night, and the blood queen had caught him airborne in her calls.

He does not keep her waiting.

Kahlua precedes him, and her naively happy vocals echo up to him as he nears. Massive span collapses and he hurtles down to land with a solid collision of hoof against earth, jogging to Kahlua's side to shake the momentum from his stride. Blues have gone cold and flinty as they sweep over Aurelia's form. Notes his Seer's feathers in the mare's mane, the bedraggled state of said pegasus not far from his sight. The caller's frame is regal, not quite a Lead but ranked in some fashion. The coals of anger and suspicion begin to burn in his belly. What has Aurelia done to warrant a ranked officer to escort her back to her home's borders?

"Kaj, King." Gaze sweeps over Aurelia once more before stepping forward to engage Eris in conversation. "What has occurred for Aurelia to be escorted back to her borders? I assume you have some position of power to be granting such information?" For now he does not speak to Aurelia, more intent on Eris than on his Seer, and hopes that the news is more favorable of the supposed Wise One than he suspects.

Kiara

"What has occurred for Aurelia to be escorted back to her borders? I assume you have some position of power to be granting such information?" Just in time. She could answer that. As the Earth Medic, she was concidered a high ranking Falls member after all. But so was Eris as one of two holding the title Legatus. However, Kiara found herself speaking first as she slipped in to stand close to Eris. "She entered the Falls without permission, then attacked several members of the Falls herd with fire magic." She was late, but before heading out from the Falls the roan girl had wanted to check on her children. She was sweaty from running the distance to catch up. It was only then, she realized she had not given her name. "Forgive me, I am Kiara the Earth Medic."

She had noticed the broken state of the glass wall both the last time she had traveled here. Things were very different from when Mirage had been the lead. Different time. Midas and Seele leads now. Keiran's voice was strong in her mind. Yes I know. Her eyes turned to the three who had gathered from the Edge herd. The stallion she knew by sight but not name. The other two, the mares she did not know. You safe. Eris not let you get hurt. Think Ghost coming too. You safe. Keiran's words allowed the roan to relax. Thank you. You always know how to keep me calm. I do wish you were here. She knew her babies were safe with him. Babies come first. You said so. She held back a smile, trying to stay serious. Yes I know.

"Talking"

((OOC: hope I make sense, kinda on pain killers at the moment.))

E R I S

The Blood Empress

The yapping of her prize was ignored, while the winged mare remained her toy, she would be whatever Eris wanted her to be. The blood from her burns still dripped down into the grass or was it the burns that caused the blood to spill from her body? Eris could not remember now if it was her blood or not. The little bird was quick to correct her about the material that made the wall, it was not stone she said, it was glass. Frowning and looking upon the wall, The Empresss tested the word against the image. "Glass." Contently smiling and continuing in her journey Eris went back to ignoring her little prize and her prancing movements. If it wasn't for The Blood Empress she wouldn't be able to prance. After her call for the leaders, the first to arrive is a painted black and white mare. Introduced as 'Kahlua', The Blood Empress studied the naive air about her. Making a mental note to watch her more closely and find out what game she was playing, Eris opened her mouth to begin answering her question. Yet the sound of wings could be overheard, so the vermillion queen paused and waited. Chaos' mistress was not disappointed. The winged stallion arrived in buckskin colours, his strong body was imposing and quick to catch the azure gaze of The Empress. He claimed to be King? They would see. "Kahlua, Kaj." The arrival of another was not graced with a glance from the vermillion queen. She did not speak, she did not need an answer. "Eris, The Blood Empress." That was a title they were not like to forget, turning slowly to the left, Eris exposes her burns to the leaders. The melted and charred flesh, not a single hair clung to her shoulder. It was disgusting but it was proof, she would have to allow Kiara to heal away the scars or let time work it's magic on her. It did not truly matter, Eris was no stranger to scars. Looking directly at Kahlua, she spoke to her first. "Gift number one. Aurelia returned alive, healed and in good spirits." Her blue eyes gazed unblinking at Kahlua, but where turned away when she introduced her companion. "Kiara, saw to Aurelia's hurts." 'I would have seen to her heart.' Yet she offered the medic a fond smile, while she had not known the gifted medic long she had come to respect the quiet mare. "Thank you my lady." Facing the leaders once again, The Empress sighed as she released her new toy. Hopefully the rewards would outweigh her games and fun. "Gift number two. My forgiveness." Her eyes now flickered over to Kaj. "I am the leader of The Asylum, we make up the majority of The Falls. I am also a General of The Hidden Falls. So yes, I hold all the power I need." Turning to gaze to Aurelia, Eris narrowed her eyes. It was time to put the key into the lock and turn it, hopefully opening up a brighter future for The Asylum. Kiara spoke up first and Eris nodded her agreement; confirming the words that were being spoken. Now turing her head to stare directly at Kaj, Eris let her anger show for the first time. The deathly chill in her gaze, her bold and unmoving body and the sickly sweetness in her voice. "Your little bird here attacked us first! In our land! We did nothing to her, other than asking her to leave. Then she crossed the border and called upon her fire. She has no right to hurt my family! She had no right! It is not a crime to defend our borders! Breathing heavily, Eris nodded to where she stood; on the border of The edge, not in their land. Then she looked at the three Edge members, standing before her and defending their home, keeping her from entering and hurting their family. That was all Eris and her warriors were trying to do. "You are currently defending your home from me." An evil smile lights up her face. "Notice how you are not under attack and I am not in your lands? Aurelia did not show us the same kindness." Slowing her breathing and shutting out her anger, Eris turned to the female guard. "She burned my family, a little filly, my warriors defending our borders." Me, my friends, family and sister. It was time to seal the deal, turing to the friendly Queen, Eris bowed her head in submission to the painted mare. She wanted to appear as their servants for a short time. "Kahlua, Kaj, we must return and fix the damage your little bird has done." Yet not without something in return. The wounded had been healed but now peace and security had to be established again. The rodent had tipped the very delicate scale between safety and her family sharping their hooves for war. "We are neighbours however, so I come hoping to smooth out this little...bump in a possibly beautiful friendship." As only a General of The Falls she could not extend an alliance from them, but as leader of The Asylum she had all the power she needed. Looking over to her medic and taking in a deep breath, Eris allowed her mind to take control and truly calm her. "Gift number three. The offer an an alliance with The Asylum." Nodding towards the little bird, Eris moved in to present the final part of her deal. The mad could be trusted, the only thing this Edge member had lost was a few feathers to Eris. She was wearing them in her mane, no lies, no slight; they could ask her about the feathers if they wished. "We have numbers, strength and honesty." Looking at the three that now stood before her Eris bowed her head at each and then waited for their response.

One day you will,
Learn to love me,
One day you will,
Thank me, you'll see,
If I can't have you.
No one can

There had been a call for the leaders of the Edge. That meant that Res's sister was bound to be coming to the border soon. Gentle limbs carried her lithe form closer and closer to the destroyed glass wall, however she was quite a few moments late. It seemed that the crowd had already gathered up around the border.

Valiance was circling ahead, but per Res's voiced instructions before appearing he was only doing that - not getting near any of their faces. I came upon one who was granting 'gifts', however what she was describing had Res looking towards the pegasus who was protesting with wide eyes. Her limbs shaking as she cut in - "It would be best if you stop talking, miss." Her jaw was tense, ear pinning back a little in disdain. One was not meant to whine in such a manner. Besides, one was also not meant to have two foals at the age of two. However, as the red haired one continued to speak the edge pegasus did not stop either. Protests continued to fall from her lips. Speaking about how she didn't have any friends, didn't have the family, how she was worthless. An anger Res never realized that she possessed was flooding through each crevice of her trembling frame. "Shush! You have a family - do you not see us here? Worthless horses do not reside in the Edge!"

How could she? How could she even dare to think that she was alone? Res had thought that at one point - but she had legitimately been alone in a forest, by herself. Someone cares, somewhere. It was sickening how much this one refused to accept that she was a part of the Edge and was now suddenly.... gone.

Hold on. She was gone? Was that even possible. Panic sets in as Res shuffles in closer to the painted mare she calls her friend. This wasn't normal. This wasn't normal at all. Horses didn't just disappear. Deep, shaky breaths go in as she looks toward Kaj, "Ka-Kaj... where'd sh-she go?" she whispers, barely audible to anyone there, though hoping that Kaj will actually hear what she said.

But the confusion didn't last long. For, only a few steps away from where she was originally, the mare is upon the ground. Muscles spasming as she convulses and begins to sweat. Her name falls from Kahlua's lips and I am trotting forward at a brisker pace, against the desire to curl up against a tree and stare, dumbfounded at this entire situation. "Someone! Hold her wings so she can't break them!" I call as Valiance attempts to help, too tiny to do too much, and I attempt to keep her neck from thrashing around too much and breaking. "Valiance! Chamomille!" she calls with anxiety lacing her voice, wanting to use the herbs if she can get her to eat it. She would, after all, have to use her magic if the mare managed to break anything as she convulsed upon the ground. So, Valiance takes to the sky, jetting off towards the herb box in order to get what was necessary.

A clearer mind is given to Res, as she lays down beside her - willing to take hooves to the chest and side as she wraps her neck around Aurelia's and tries to hold it in place with all the strength she can. It had to have been some magic, but she didn't know anymore. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that her neck didn't break... that they didn't have a dead horse on their hands...

"Darling. You are not worthless..." she whispers through gritted teeth to the mare having the seizure before her. No one is worthless...

Why were we doing this again? The goldass had tried to burn us, hurt our family, yet Eris returned her to the Edge? Yes, we had followed her. Dezba was by my side and Circuta followed right behind me as we had seen both the redheaded equine and the fiery filly leave the Falls. We lost them on the way though, and took some extra time to find them again. When we did find them... Well... There was trouble.

I peeked out from the darkness right in time to hear the pegasus filly speak. "She's not a filly! She's my age! I'm TWO! I'm TWO and have TWO kids. I was looking for Rostislav! I didn't even eat your grass!" My ears flicked back and I rolled my eyes. A filly is a filly until she's four years old, it doesn't matter if she has foals or not. We watched as the conversation flamed on and when the one-eared equine had spoken, we stepped forth.

My round belly rocked from side to side and I could really feel it hurt my spine. This foal was heavy, yet it was easier than it had been with my two previous and I was even thinner than before. Still... I looked like a walking ball. "Filly is what you are, Firewing. It doesn't matter if you have foals - that just makes you a teen mother." As I spoke, I realized my voice was really hoarse. I wasn't getting sick, was I? Dezba walked up by my side and gazed upon the horses there, just like I was. So many unknown faces. "Name's Delinne, sneak of the Hidden Falls. I was there when your herd sister here trespassed and attacked us." As on cue, I turned my head to Aurelia and gave her a glare that could be translated to 'I'm disappointed'. A typical look that a mother would give her naughty children.

Dezba huffed quietly and stroke herself against my leg as she walked in front of me, apparently deciding to sit on my other side. She was ready to defend me, ready to defend us if anyone tried anything. Most usually were scared of her, even though they had no reason to be unless they hurt me or my family. Or my friends. I looked over at Circuta, smirking slightly. It was time for her to show how to fancify this situation with pretty words and hidden meanings.

"Found a thin red line of madness."

ooc: Delinne stepping in with Dezba and Circuta :D Pre-birth. Permission from Aeolle to powerplay Circuta.
word count: 406
tags: (i think i dont have to tag anyone but @[Circuta] )

The Storm Bringer had never been more thunderous, a typhoon whirling in his eyes despite his granite features and motionless, hulking form. They come like roaches from an infested log, far more than he'd been anticipating, and as their numbers grow so does his wariness. He is on edge, and if he were of any feline or canine descent his hackles would be slowly bristling. Briefly he longs for Ink and his calm atmosphere, for the brave but silent sleuth that had seen so much more in Kaj than he thought he'd ever be fitting of. The gold-hearted Lion he'd created in his lifelike images. Would he still stand beside Kaj, if he were to still remain in Helovia? Or would Kaj be where he was at that moment, facing down a troop of angry herd members with sly tongues, nearly alone? A brief glance is shared with Cheveyo, an unspoken appreciation for her presence, before everything begins to go to hell.

Words are spat from acidic mouths, poison dripping from foe and friend alike to sear and soil the ground at his hooves, a line he must navigate with the utmost care. Aurelia is screeching from the background, and Kaj's ears slash backwards, eyes narrowed at her harrowing howls. Accusations and self-degrading sentences spew from her muzzle with no care for what Kaj or Kahlua have to say, though the King is a silent boulder the hurricane whirls around, the teapot containing the tempest. Resplendence comes then in a snap of words and flurry of injustice, resounding the thoughts crowding in Kaj's head, wild and placeless. With every second that ticks by his eyes narrow further, magic coiling along his hide, a silent warning to those who stand nearest to him and can potentially feel the static of electricity pulling on their hide. Briefly he sees a flash of orange in his peripherals, subtly slides his gaze to spot Tallis clutching a nearby branch, surveying the scene. When he doesn't move, Kaj turns back to the matter at hand, feeling slightly calmer with the knowledge that Eva was somehow there.

Aurelia disappears in a display of magic that Kaj had helped award her, and rage boils in his chest, blood running hot and fast. Resplendence staggers into him and even with the devil in his eyes and patience clearly close to snapping and revealing something far darker than the golden prince is assumed to be, a feathered wing reaches to comfort the brindled lass. He will not brush aside his family in favor of impressing a crowd of strangers, especially when they were as tricky as they appeared to be with their cutting words and emphasized sweetness. "Sleuth rank magic," he murmurs to Resplendence, hoping to calm her even as he struggles to reign in his anger, his magic. It's of no consequence, for she flees from his side in moments to cradle the seizing mare, and screaming and pounding words are all that continue to shove themselves into his face. Aurelia's grand display grates on him, shreds the last bits of his patience until the fibers snap.

The Storm Bringer's porcelain cracked, the teapot spiderwebbing all across the surface, and he exploded.

"ENOUGH!"

It is a roar, a bellow deep and loud like ominous thunder as it cracks down upon the group vengefully. Electricity explodes from his frame as his wings expand to their full massive length, magic unable to be directed and so pressing upon the Falls group with lesser but present intent, harmlessly static but a useful attention grabber as he struggles to control his instincts. Instincts that demand he punish and exile Aurelia for her stupidity and lack of care for her herd, to chase away the intruders that dared to say he was the one defending against them when they are clearly outnumbered. It is only his honor that keeps him from calling for his own warriors, to show them the might of the Edge that Aurelia could never emphasize, to show that he is no cowering bitch of a dog beneath Eris's hoof. But the explosion of magic is sure to be enough for that.

Blue orbs are pale and sharp like ice daggers as they sweep across those gathered. Kahlua and Resplendence are knelt by Aurelia, the medic well in her area of expertise as she commands her dracon. Eris is the first he pins beneath his gaze as his wings settle and the dregs of magic fade away. This is no attack, and he will make sure they all know it well. "Now that we have ceased acting like squabbling children, and Aurelia is silent," he rumbled, ears half-masted, "let us speak." Eyes flash to Cheveyo, gesturing her closer with a flick of the tip of the wing closest to her, and he advances one step, two step across the border towards the company he has somehow gathered. The blood-maned is once more beneath his vision.

"You need not cry and wail to make me understand her wrongness. It could have been interpreted as an act of war, I am no fool to what she has so stupidly done." The wind is chilled as it sweeps through his wings and stirs up his mane into a frenzy, an imitation of the lion that stalks inside his ribcage. Numbers are taken into account in a sweep of his eyes before they turn to the leader in charge. This is his battleground, a bladed dance he's woven through his entire life, and he feels no shame nor arrogance in excluding Kahlua from this. The King would have none of the foolishness from his Seer, but he would not be played upon either. "We defend nothing, Blood Empress, that you have not pressed upon us in number. I do not call for more because you are right, Eris. There is no bad blood between us that does not exist beyond the actions of a single mare." It is a stretch in his eyes to call Aurelia as such, at her age, but he does it regardless.

Eyes close and a deep breath shudders in his lungs, releasing only when he was ready to continue on, lashes parting to look upon them all. Belatedly he realizes Tallis is no longer viewing them. Idly wonders where he went before focusing on the more important matter. "One of my flock has done you wrong. Rest assured she will be fitly punished in the best manner I can conceive. As King of the Edge, you have my personal and most sincere apologies for her actions, and I urge you to not judge the entirety of our herd by them." His crown dips briefly to show his apologies ring true, letting Kahlua's magic wash over him, calming the storm that had broken in a fit of impatience with the squabbling crowd.

"Your offer will require time and deliberation before an answer will be presented to you. Trust that I hope and desire for nothing but peace between our homes, especially while we are contemplating your alliance. This bump shall be smoothed, we will redeem ourselves from the actions of our kin, and perhaps we can find strength in a tie of friendship or perhaps more." Eyes cut towards Aurelia briefly, but she is concealed by the colorful hides of his Queen and Moon Doctor. Sighing he shakes his head and squares his shoulders, tries to find the words that will free him of this mess long enough to think over everything that had suddenly been dumped upon his plate.

"When the moon is full and pregnant in her sky, return to our borders. I will have your answer for you personally, Blood Empress. May this deed lay buried. You have returned Aurelia to her home- for that you have my gratitude. As it is, I must ask you now to return to your home. Let us deal with this treachery, this foolhardy act of threat and war, in the privacy of our own lands. She will not go unpunished for endangering the entirety of her family, family that trusted her to uphold our name and neutral ties. She will face her crimes for attacking you and breaking herd law, for harming your family in your own home." The passion of his words declared his sincerity, his utmost concern and devotion to his family, for that is what the Edge was. A family, a connected tree of relationships and kinship that was unbreakable even in shifting allegiances. Aaron briefly surfaced in his thoughts.

"Cheveyo, collect Aurelia. She is to be kept under watch at all times until your Queen and I decide upon her fate. Let her roam, but not without guard. She is no prisoner in her own home, but she will not flee from her responsibilities." It is a direct command, to restate his power and authority in the presence of these potential threats that smile behind false sweetness and offer tempting bonds of support and trust. He is not sure he trusts them, but they have returned Aurelia to the Edge, and have given no incentive not to. His gut would have to be quieted for now.

"Let us meet again under better terms, proud warriors of the Hidden Falls. Be safe in your travels." He gives a diplomatic smile, surprisingly easy, and awaits their answers and preferably departure. He desires to turn his attention to Aurelia, but he will not do so under their gazes. This was a personal, intimate matter, and the family would decide what would happen to the Seer that had nearly caused them war.