Bucephalus was creative, she had to give him that. As far as speed was concerned they were pretty evenly matched, even with Ampere's experience of the land. As Bucehphalus sunk into his second dive however, his velocity increased, granting him the position that he sought just behind her. Haughtily Ampere threw a glance over her shoulder, swerving suddenly to her right as she dripped down on her wing and fanned her tail to the side. The tips of her tail swayed in the air currents, reaching out gently towards Buchephalus' face before snapping away to follow Ampere as she dropped beneath him.

She didn't fall far; it'd end their game far too soon if she let the ground grab her again. Besides, she needed to prove to him that he wasn't the only athlete in the wind. She laughed, though the sound was yanked away, as she straightened out and slipped into a corkscrew spin. The world went dizzy and her head spun, but it gave her a light and happy feeling, so she persisted. It had been a long time, far too long, since she had last played like this. Her heart felt as if spring had arrived, shedding its dark and weighted winter coat. Beneath her dust and debris shifted into life. The organic matter seamlessly transformed into raw energy, energy which balled up into itself and chased after Ampere. The blue sparks were like a gown of dancing stars trailing behind her. For once the magic was inspired by her happiness, rather than her wrath. It seemed to make it all the more beautiful.

As with most things however, the moment did not last.

Coming out of her turns, Ampere noticed the fiery shapes. Her breath caught in her chest, already heaving with the exertion and the excitement of the flight, but stilled even further by the awesome appearance of the eagles. Ampere should have felt defensive, or somewhat worried, yet she could only gawk in appreciation. Perhaps the glee had addled her senses of survival, making her giddy and foolish, or perhaps she had grown accustomed to fire as she rolled beneath the most wild of it in her fantasies. Whatever the case, Ampere noticed the eagles did not approach with malice, in so much as intent can be gleaned from emblazened fabrications.

They neared, and she did stiffen, but her smile only grew. Below her the sparks had finally gathered and without much thought they took shape as a trio of falcons. The electric birds split up and flew to each inferno wrought raptor, content to drift beside and playfully harry the flames. The warm hues of his birds complimented the cool tones of hers, creating something more, something better than his alone.

Suddenly a warm embrace tucked around her, holding her, lifting her.
"Gaucho."

The words fell like a breath, finally released from her lungs, only to be snatched away by the air stream. She turned her head, just to be sure, but there was no mistaking his warmth. It radiated into her and caused a flush to grow in her cheeks and beneath her tail. Her blue gaze connected with him just as he called her name. The heat intensified inside her, burning through her body as if all her natural electrical impulses were replaced with flame and fire. To a certain degree, it hurt.

Her heart beat. She noticed it, almost as if it had stopped for a second or two. In that time the warmth passed, quickly chased away by the numbing tingle of static. The surprise in her gaze, likely too far for him to see, yielded to rising ire. Why is he here? she thought sharply, turning abruptly on her wings to meet him in the sky. She had not shirked her duties, so they had no reason to speak. Certainly Sohalia had need of him?

Ampere shot past him, flying close by overhead, a flash of blue and black. As she went she tugged at the collar on his neck, guiding it with the invisible hand of the energy which flowed inside it, and all things. "Gaucho!" she hailed as she went, taking on a voice too sweet to be true. "Meet Bucephalus," she exclaimed as she turned sharply on her left wing, aiming to settle into flight somewhat near the bay beast. It was best for her to keep her distance, lest she reach out to try and bite him, one for driving her wild even after all this time, and two, for being here to drive her wild. "He's great, isn't he?" she smirked, gaze sliding from the Wildfire to the daredevil in gold and black. After this bullshit, she'd definitely need to fuck his brains out to help her sleep tonight. She hoped it'd be enough to chase Gaucho out of her dreams, even if just for the night.

Unlike his name, the stallion was cold. It was not a side of him Ampere had seen. It made her curious, a sensation which crept slowly through her anger, like a shadow growing longer under the rising sun. He didn't play. It crumbled her show; a castle built of sand falling beneath a passing foot. She fell quiet.

For the first time Ampere realized she did not know Gaucho.

Most of their time had been spent chasing one another, filled with their absences, instead of their presence. Had she made him into something more, something greater with every glimpse she saw, but spent alone? Had he become a dream in the night, fun to lay into in the cold, dark hours, but revealed as something else entirely upon waking in the daylight? The thought was like a raw slap.

She turned her gaze away, as though struck.

Some wild part of her wanted to leave. Her wings held a sudden itch to move. She did not want to be near him. She did not want to see him, to hear him, to smell him. She did not want to know him, not as he was, but as he had been.
She licked her lips.

She stayed. She wanted to know the answer too, or at least that's the excuse she gave herself. She could still go, could still fly off and leave them be. After all she didn't want Bucephalus, she wanted him. Bucephalus was a distraction, but like all of her other ones, he didn't work for long and definitely not when the fire burned beside her.

All the more reason to go.
Running away had always worked for her before, why not now?

Gaucho's blunt acceptance would not normally have riled Ampere, but today she found it like a bad taste in her mouth. She shot him a look from the corner of her eyes, evaluating him. Was he being his usual self, and she was more critical because of the tension between them, or was he being more terse than usual, due to the heat between her and Bucephalus? Either option seemed likely, if not a mixture of both. She supposed he could certainly be more unkind, so settled with her continued silence.

Silence had never been Ampere's strong suit though.

As Gaucho suggested the life of a work horse for Bucephalus Ampere balked. She caught the Wildfire's gaze, but only saw in it what she wanted to see - that eh was purposefully stuffing this sexual threat into the mines, hiding him, removing him from Ampere's line of work. His eyes could see plain as hers that the gold and black brute was well suited for battle.
"Don't you think we have more need of soldiers than frivolous arts and crafts?" she asked, her tone thin, but held in check. To Ampere crafting was a new vocation, along with some of the others here. In her homeland survival was the game and the best two careers for that was fighting and stealing, if not a little bit of both (as she had dabbled in). Anything else seemed like a luxury, a price too high for their growing herd which sorely lacked a strong army. Gaucho knew this, so what other reason could he have?

Or did he know Bucephalus heart better than she, at first glance? Had she seen in the strange stallion something more than was there?

She glanced back at him, openly staring as she regarded what he had to offer.
She decided she did want to fuck him after all, when this was over. Maybe it'd help stop all the tumults feelings raging inside her and help her focus on one, feeling him.

The wind stuffed into Ampere's mouth, perhaps trying to shove the words back in for her, but too late. Still, mouth agape, she consumed the air currents, such was her disbelief as Bucephalus explained he had no interest in the fighting arts anymore. She had read his body, but not his heart, and for that she felt foolish.

Angrily (at none other than herself) she turned her head to the side, eyes burning a hole in the horizon as Gaucho and he concluded their business. She ignored anything else the Wildfire had to say, only returning her attention to the black and gold stallion when she noticed the bay one slipping away beneath her.

The act of flying, blissfully absent of Gaucho's presence, helped soothe Ampere once more. Still, she was guarded when she looked back to Bucephalus. She supposed she owed something akin to an apology, but she had never been good at those. "There is more to fighting than destruction," she said at last, quiet, so perhaps he may not have heard over their flight wind. "If you'd like, I can show you some day, but I suppose you'll be... busy with crafts for a time. We have not had many things made recently." She wasn't really sure if anything needed to be made, other than soldiers. Africa might have known, and perhaps Sohalia, but then they were mares that did not grow up as she had.

"Come on, let's rest," she said, some playfulness returning to her voice as she reached out to nip Bucephalus before flying off, intent on leading him to her preferred roosting spot.

[I thought we could end it here?]