Joy filled the youthful belle's face as the white one returned her greeting. No amount of exposure to dragons could even begin to dampen the adoration she held for the more ferocious half of her blood. The bond between dragon and equine was written into the history of the very creation of the world, and it was celebrated upon the bodice of Amaris - and her sister, Semira, and their father, Vikram. The girl loved those who shared her draconic half, having met only a few of them in her father's homeland who were less than savoury. But the same could be said for those of equine descent - it was simply a matter of filling life with only those you wanted to influence you.

The voice that spoke her name, and the touch upon her cheek, brought her out of her admiration of the companions' play. Her eyes held his while they were in this close vicinity, and for a moment, she felt warmth travel to her cheeks, a flush that had her skin been thin enough to show it, would have coloured her cheeks. The youth hadn't spent any time near a stallion aside from her father, as well as the male dragons she had encountered while at his birthland, and nothing like this had ever swelled up within her. Her eyes glowed with the shy happiness as she lipped at his muzzle, low wuffles growing at the back of her throat.

Then he spoke again, and though she knew he was complementing her, one word seemed to echo through her body. Child, he said, he called her. It was the truth, and that was perhaps the part that stung the most. There is no shame in being a child, a draconic hum sounded in her mind, the cunning little blue who danced with the red and White laughed a musical note even as he comforted the girl. You are but a child, do not let the label take away that which growing up steals -smile, little one. Earnestly the little blue insists that she accept this, that Lace did not mean it in a derogatory way, that he is indeed a full grown stallion while, she is but a mere child discovering that she possesses the body of a mare.

Had she changed all that much? She wondered if Lace was speaking entirely the truth when he said he never would have recognised her. A smirk quirked at the corner of her mouth as she found that very doubtful - how many dragon hybrids did Lace know, anyway?

How long have you been back? The question weighed down on her. Physically, she had been back in Helovia only as long as Lace had, but mentally? Had she ever truly left?

No, she thought to herself, for as long as her heart yearned to be here then surely she had never left. "Long enough to know I never should have left." Her words were given with tones reminiscent of her mother, smooth and rich, with a honey-like texture. They weren't overflowing with emotion, but neither were they completely vacant of it -Amaris knew Lace well enough, trusted him well enough to know that even if she attempted to hide anything from him, he would probably be able to see through it anyway - particularly if he knew her mother as well as she suspected he did. Amaris looked at him as he seemed to peel away from her, and even though she had just admitted to herself that it was pointless trying to hide anything from him, she tried to hide the hurt in her eyes from his subtle, small action.

Was she, a mere child, that abhorrent to him?

"Everything is different." A small voice murmured now, the girl pulling her eyes away from the stallion, to watch with an unfocussed gaze, as the dragons danced and played across the otherwise romantic atmosphere.


@[Lace]