“Creepy, creepy, sneaky sneaky” she giggled to herself as she tripped and slipped through the undergrowth. Stalking nothing in particular she slithered her way through the shadows, making sure not to step out into the light. She was making her way to home-place of her so called family, and she didn't want to be spotted just yet. She was shimmering with rage, the points on her coat were glowing crimson and her horn looked as though she had just gored some pathetic half breed. Heat was emanating from every pore, causing the atmosphere around her to grow humid and stifling.

She had been minding her own business, living off the grid for some time now. But even living an introvert existence such as hers, you still heard things. And the rumours she heard disgusted her. The word that had finally reached her, on the outskirts of humanity was that of her sisters fall from grace. It had been told that she had become one of the hated, the half breeds. She snorted in rage and disgust, for she who deserved no name no longer held her crowning glory. Her spike had been removed from her garland and it sure as hell made sure that she was no family of Giselle’s. The mutt had gone into war as a heroine to their kind and come out about as much use as if she had died, bloody and battered on the battlefield. It was time for Giselle to finally show what she was made of, it was time for her to take her rightful place and to spit on the bitch in the process. Nobody who lost their horn deserved pity, only scorn and banishment.

She pushed herself forwards through the flora, pillars pulled high in a trot, dial swinging, a smirk firmly placed upon her maw. Her midnight and carmine pelt shimmered as the powerful muscles bunched and relaxed underneath as she snaked her way towards her goal. Her thoughts of entitlement and vanity tumbled around in her brain, causing her eyes to shine with excitement and a whole new level of blood-thirst. She knew what she wanted, and she was willing to spill as much guilty, or even innocent blood as it required for her to get there.

She finally reached the edges of the lands where her so called family now called home without her. The sun was slowly setting, causing the sun to look as though it was spilling its guts across the sky, turning it every shade of amber and crimson you could think of. “How very fitting..” her inner demon drawled in her ear, and she bobbed her cranium in agreement whilst licking her lips. She stood, shrouded in the darkness of the trees that surrounded the threshold to her new home. Silently taking it all in, barely moving a muscle, her pelt still shining vermilion. The occasional maddened chuckle escaped her lips, for it now her time and she was more than ready, for it had been such a long time coming. Oh, she was going to enjoy this..

Daydreams and fantasies of tearing and maiming half breeds and traitors tumbled around her messy cranium, causing a half alert state of bliss, and the vermilion on her pelt to glow even brighter, her pools glinting in the dark like rock hard rubies, almost pulsing along with her heartbeat. It was causing her to salivate and to lick her lips almost manically. It was time to stand up and be counted, and she could dream about it all she liked, but reality would only be that much better, for she obsessed and planned different ways about doing it daily. She wondered if her nameless kin was even still daring to show her face around here, with those that still held their crowns. She hoped for her own selfish reasons, that she did not. She was nothing but a nasty stain upon her family tree, barely even worth mentioning. The thought of her family’s fall from grace caused her maw to twist into an ugly grimace. She always knew that she was the one who could uphold their honour. It was just a shame that daddy dearest had had such different ideas. No matter, for he was gone now, and the bitch had fallen. Now was her chance, and there was no way she was going to squander it. She was so far away in her blood soaked dream state that she didn’t notice the pair that were drifting ever closer.

A glimpse of glittering gold flashed into her eye-line, and the sound of beating wings caught her attention, and something triggered within the very depths of her memory. The shimmering yellow held a significance that she couldn't quite remember. It set her on a high alert, ready to leap into action. Muscles coiled in anticipation, auds pinned back against her dial, teeth grinding. She had been prepared for this for such a long time. She scanned the land in front of her, and the sky above her to try and locate what she had only glimpsed through her blood soaked haze.

The bloody fuzz had lifted from her eyes now, she could see sharp as day through her crimson shot eyes now, and whom she saw stood before her filled her with an unknown emotion, a mixture of recognition, joy and hatred all rolled into one. It nearly knocked her for six, but not quite. She couldn’t let herself be so easily shaken by faces of her past, otherwise the mutt would let herself back into her heart and her morals would be dashed. But this one before her, she still held her horn, she was still standing proud. Giselle was struggling to recall her name, but memories were clouding her judgement. Of herself, the one in front of her, her sister the mutt and Paladin. Joy was starting to override all other emotions as she remembered the good times. As the golden one spoke, it finally clicked, for this was Illynx who stood before her. She had not planned for this in her fantasy of returning here and reigning destruction upon all. It left her distraught.

“Illynx, what a pleasure!” She lilted in a sing song voice, trying to hide how thrown off balance she was. “It most certainly has been age. Pray tell me, what have you been up to?” She needed to suss her out, to see if she still held the same principles, the same morals as Giselle. Otherwise she couldn't waste any time on her, as much as she would like to. She kept her stance and eyes guarded, trying not to show how much joy was seeping through her veins like syrup..

Giselle stood, still primed to launch herself at anything that may come her way. Auds flicking back and forth, pools roam over the golden one in front of her, the face of her happier times. Watching, watching for any sense of betrayal, no matter how small. She watched as a mask went up over her beautiful features, hiding her true intentions. Not that she could hold it against her of course, for she was doing just the same. She was ready to strike, but she got the feeling that Illynx was a kindred soul still, even after all this time. She would give her a chance to prove herself to still be true of heart. Her plans would work so much more effectively if she wasn’t alone after all. Imagine the amount of damage two of them could do. She pondered briefly, that perhaps Illynx wasn’t the only one of the superior race who felt the same. That would help her cause no end, but still, she was getting ahead of herself. She still wasn’t a hundred percent on the one who stood before her, let alone imaginary others.

The conversation topics were light, two old friends catching up, but they were laced with the beautiful stench of manipulation. They had spent so much of their time together manipulating others, it seemed a shame that they had to do it to each other now. But needs must, after all. She longed to ask after the fallen one, but she didn't want to show her hand too quickly. It didn’t serve to give away her weakness so soon, not until she knew where she stood with the shimmering one. As mistrustful as she felt, her heart was singing out with the joy of finding another who stood proud and whom she was pretty sure still held true to the one pure line, perhaps a sister to replace the other?

She watched as Illynx deliberated over her response, perhaps trying to suss out what she already knew, or what would come as a shock. She hoped that she didn’t still hold concern for the one who didnt deserve a name, for that would be a shame. She should have been forgotten as soon as she allowed her crown to be taken. Empress, indeed. Giselle shook her head in disgust. All she wanted to know is that if there other warriors like her within these lands, or if all the dirty work would be left to her. Mind you, that would be no bad thing, all the more blood spill for her. She chuckled to herself lightly as she nearly tripped back over the edge into her fantasy.

She was dragged back from the edge by the lyrics of the other, as she mentioned Pysche. Finally, some intel she was actually interested in. So Illynx was ruling in her sisters stead, that wasn’t such a bad thing, she seemed like she was up to the job. “For now at least..” her demon giggled menacingly. So there were more of them, at least enough for someone to be in charge of. Her heart leapt a little at the prospect. At least Illynx admitted that the mutt had left her in a mess after she fled the battlefield naked of her pride and glory. “Aye, I had heard a little. At least that she had become little more than a dirty half blood.. Perhaps you can tell me more at some point..?” She spat into the dirt in disgust at the idea of her family becoming tainted. “Well I can see that her abdicating has done you good, you’re looking well, so at least some good has come from it..” She chuckled. Her pools flashed and auds pricked a little as she picked up that Illynx wasn’t being entirely truthful, perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all. “Ah, me, you ask. Well nothing that quite matches up to what you have been up to clearly!” Her pools flashed in humour and she grinned a little. “I've been here and there.. but once I finally got wind of what had happened here, I had to come back and see it for myself..” She paused, observing her old friend closely, trying to get a hint of what she was hiding.

Could Giselle really be blamed for how much resentment she felt towards Paladin and the fallen Empress? Or even how much perverse joy it brought her to know that they had fallen short of daddys expectations. She, so far at least, was the only one who had yet to disappoint. But the again, she had yet to realise that the main reason for this, was that she had yet to place herself in the firing line. Sure, she had fought in battles, wars even. But that wasn’t the same as stepping forward and taking responsibility as Pysche had done so well for so long. She was naive and held such grandiose visions of herself. But again, one could not blame her for this. It was only a defence mechanism after all, for deep, oh so very deep down, she was still the impressionable filly that her father had broken into two. One day, probably not for a long time, she would come to realise this, and her world would crumble around her.

But for now, she felt that she was the one who could finally do daddy proud, so that his ghost would stop lingering behind her like a bad smell. If she could just show him that she was the one who he should have put his faith in, then she could finally let go. Perhaps. She was fragile behind that oh tough exterior, not that she would let anyone know it. Tolerance was never shown to her growing up, so of course intolerance was a massive part of her makeup. She had loved her sister dearly, but by falling from grace, she had let Giselle down. Intolerance was all she could show her, rather than forgiveness, for she barely understood the word, let alone act upon it. All she had been shown by her family was that failure wasn’t an option, so why had it been for her sister? She should have fought longer, tried harder. Its what daddy would have done.

Giselle watched the golden one before her closely, trying to figure out how she really felt about the return of a lost one, one so closely related to their old lives. Did she still hold the Empress in high regard, or was she dead to her as she was to Giselle? And if she still loved, could she be trusted? She had not expected to run into such emotions so soon into her mission. She needed to remain impartial, for feelings just got in the way. She watched as the glimmering ones eyes shimmered with tears. But what for? Was it the loss of the war, or the loss of her dear friends dignity and blade? Giselle prayed for the former, as she could understand the sorrow of war, but as for the sorrow for the fallen, she couldn’t grasp that. They only had themselves to blame after all.

She listened as the other spoke of the second side to the tale of woe that had been her sisters demise from grace. Giselle nodded sagely, but she was not particularly interested in the excuses and explanations that she felt sure were to follow. Perhaps one day she would be prepared to listen, but for now, not so much. Illynxs' perfect mask barely slipped, though Giselle could tell it was taking all her strength for it not to crack. She wondered how many times the broken pieces had had to be glued back together, for she knew that she could barely see hers for all the hairline cracks that covered it, it was only a matter of time before it shattered into a million irreparable pieces. “I am sure my sister holds a side of the story that I am yet to hear, as I am sure you do too, perhaps another time however..?” She choked a little as she spoke. “I can imagine it is a tale of many different sides that probably all deserve a fair hearing, and that along with forgiveness for my sister is not something I am ready for.” Empathy was an alien emotion for her, and her bloodlust rose because of it, to shake the uneasy feeling and to replace with something known. Lords knows that bloodspill was something that she knew a little about, she had been brought up with it.

Giselle followed suit as Illynx started to walk in the direction of the herdlands, rump swaying, banner swishing and pelt slowly returning to normal, the crimson fading. Anger had a place, and now was not the time for it. She would get more from Illynx if she let her guard down a little. Her rage would be sated soon enough, with others help or not. Perhaps now was the time to relax in an old friends company before she threw herself head-first into her fathers war, that she barely knew anything about. “Perhaps it was fate that we were meant to meet again, our destinies are set to entwine yet again. Tell me friend, what do you and your kind have planned for the future?” She was feeling impatient, she wanted to get going, before she lost herself, or perhaps even worse, found herself.

Giselle tried to think back to a time where bitterness and anger weren’t her go to emotions when she awoke in the morning. Shamefully, she couldn’t remember that time. She wondered if Illynx thought the same, or if she was alone, yet again. Not that it mattered, for as soon as she was done with this place she would be at peace. She couldn’t let herself forget what she was here for, revenge and essentially redemption from all that happened during her short life. She was after those whom she thought were responsible. Her mask could not finally crack now, there would be no time to reconstruct it, and everything would come crashing down upon her and ultimately take her out.

As the pair made their way forward through the threshold, to the basin Giselle assumed, she longed to take herself back into the shadows. Back to the darkness that made her feel safe and in control. Back to the cocoon of solitary living, where she was the one in charge, and nobody could deter her from her darkest fantasies. She squinted a little as the light shone in her eyes, daylight had become something of anomaly recently. She needed to stay on her current path to hell, bringing all others along with her, otherwise she would loose all purpose. She would drag them kicking and screaming, bleeding if she had to. They deserved to feel how she felt, it wasn’t fair that she was alone in this.

She dragged herself from her navel gazing, her self confessed pity party back into the present. Ambling companionably with someone so familiar, yet so unfamiliar felt oddly right, like a piece fitting firmly into place. Perhaps this really was fate, perhaps they were meant to join up together again and wreak havoc like the old days. Maybe she wasn’t meant to be alone after all. The shimmering one did used to hold the same principles as her once, maybe she still did. Excitement rose in her veins as she allowed herself to get carried away, thinking about how much easier it would be with the two of them, a family of sorts.

As the golden one piped up, she pricked her ears, eager to hear what she had to say. When she stumbled over her words, Giselle realised that she wanted to say more about the battle that caused the dethroning of her sister, in more ways than one. Did she really want to her more about it? She had already made up her mind that her sister was dead to her, did she really want to risk hearing something that might change that? It would divert her course, it would endear her to one who was nothing better than half breed with no horn. Giselle had decided that the Empress had died the minute she allowed her crowning glory to fall to floor. It was what daddy would have done, and she had to uphold that. “Another time Illynx, I don't think either of us are ready for it.” She spoke lightly but firmly, hoping the subject would be dropped and the other wouldn’t pick it up again.

Any hopes of a manic witch hunt for those that didn’t carry the purest of blood were dashed as soon Illynx spoke up again. Giselle listened in dismay as she spoke of keeping the peace between the herdlands, including those that housed skyrats and half bloods. What had happened to her? And who in the basin had agreed that this was the way forward? Her lips curled a little in dismay before she could even stop them. Not that really cared. Surely Illynx knew that this was wrong? This was not the way Giselle had imagined it would be, harmony between the lands?! It was insane, and simply could not go on.

“I see, and why must harmony prevail? I don’t mean to question your motive, but I must be honest, I don't quite understand?” She tried to tread carefully with her old friend, but she wanted answers. “Im afraid I cant see the point of fat sheep and restless wolves, let the wolves run free I say!” She chuckled slightly, blood lust pulsing again at the thought of all those timid little sheep roaming around this place. She needed to hunt one soon, sate her hunger and keep her seeming compliant with this plan of her friend, for now at least. “I am sorry for the pain caused to your own. It is never easy when it is our innocents are the ones who pay. But surely revenge and retaliation is what is needed here?” She knew she was pushing her luck, but right now she didn’t care.

The only acceptable answer to her right now, is that Illynx was playing the long game, and she had a plan in place, one that didn’t include at that peace amongst everyone bollocks. It was pathetic and quite frankly wasn’t befitting to the Illynx she used to know. That had to be it, there was something else at play here, something longer and far more worthy. Otherwise, she needed to take her old friend from power and put this messed up place to rights.. Even if she needed to hurt her in order to it, for restoration of the order of things was far more important..

Giselle breathed a sigh of relief as Illynx decided it was best to leave the subject of her sister alone. Right now, it was best if she carried on hating her, for letting her down and taking away another piece of their familys' honour. It was best that she carried on believing that she was right, that she really was the chosen one, bitter for the fact that nobody had seen it bar her. It didnt matter that her sister was the one who had put herself forward, put herself in the firing line, bearing that responsibility alone, whereas Giselle had only yet to remain on the edge, muttering under her breath but refusing to step out of the shadow that she had most probably cast over herself. She hadnt quite the foresight to see that Pysche had only failed because she had stepped up to the plate, and she had yet to do anything of note, yet to take responsibility for anyone other than herself and the massive chip on her shoulder.

Perhaps that was why she had remained a loner, skulking on the edge of humanity since their little group had disbanded. It was easier that way, it meant that she only had to care for herself, stand up for herself and fight alone. It meant that in most ways, she could not fail, could not bring disrepute on the familys' honour. It gave her the apparent right to mock her siblings for falling short of the massive expectations that she had still actually to apply to herself. She remained in her bubble of naivety and narcissism, believing that she was better than all of them, but with nothing actually done to prove it. There was no-one there to question her, to push her forward, to call her out on her bullshit when she only hung around with herself. Nobody there to pull her from the bubble, and that was the way she liked it. But perhaps now, perhaps with Illynx at her side, now was the time to step up and show what she was made of, rather than constantly blustering about it to anyone who would listen, which was normally just herself.

The one who stood before her could well be the one to call her out on all her bull. They could power on together, as equals. Giselle had always felt inferior to everyone around her, so maybe now was her chance to ride on into battle next to equals, to comrades, to allies. She deserved that very chance, surely? Of course, she felt she was entitled to much more, but that was for another day. For now, she had to get herself in with Illynx and her clan at the basin. Then there would be time for power hungry plots and backstabbing. Giselle smirked at little at this, for power turned her on greatly.

What was frustrating her greatly however, was the direction that the golden one was taking with all the power that she currently held. Come on, peace, really?! Tranquillity between all herdlands?! As if! She had to be stopped, put aside if necessary. She wouldn’t feel any guilt if she had to be one the do it, it would be for the greater good after all. Her blood was calmed as Illynx started to talk again, for it turned out that it was all part of a master plan. It was genius really, not something that Giselle could have ever hoped to have thought of. Long term planning was definitely not a skill of hers, as hot headed as she was. Act now and consider later and all that, and perhaps that was why she had yet to succeed where the others had failed, for she consistently fell into the same traps and never learned from their mistakes.

She nodded sagely as the other explained her plan, it finally starting to make sense in Giselles sharp, fast paced cranium, filtering its way through the constant need for blood spill and war. She listened carefully to every word, soaking it all up, wondering in awe at the craftsmanship of it. She paused for a minute or so, digesting it, before choosing to speak; “So this Regime you speak of, who are they? Forgive me, only the most tantalising of rumours made it to me, where I lurked on the outskirts.” First things first, she needed to know who they were up against. “I see your point about the fangs and the roses, for most of course would choose the roses. Though I must say, I cant say I would be one of them, sickly things them roses!” She chuckled slightly, maw twisting slightly at even the thought of the nauseating smell of flowers. “But if roses is what is needed, then of course I can provide some, though every rose will have its thorn and all that..” She paused slightly before continuing, taking heed from her friend and talking quietly; “Tell me, how many bodies do you have now in this fledgling army of yours, and how many more do you think you will require? Would you allow me to sing of roses and fight alongside you?” She watched in sadness as her old friend turned from her, the look of pain was evident in her shining pools. “I think that your are right, better lead the lambs to slaughter believing they are going the meadow, that way the meat wont be so tough and gristly!” She giggled, a little manically, but she couldn’t help it, for she could see how well this was all shaping up. “Aye, it is better to be Deadalus, with his ball of string, than to be his son with his melted wax. Always better to be able to find your way back than to have no way forward. What is it they say? Insanity is repeating the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It would be best that we learn from the fallens' mistakes and improve upon them.” Finally, Giselle was starting to see the logically in forward planning, and it was making her a little giddy. “I sincerely hope you will allow me to follow by your side, it would mean a great deal to me.”