It began as most afternoons did, sunbathing. Ampere was sprawled out on the edge of the oasis, recently bathed. It was one of the best things about Tallsun, the weather. The heat slicked her coat with sweat faster than any other seasons, but the water was warm enough to spend time in, the water working out the stains of work and the grit of dirt. The darkness of her damp coat shined in the sun, the hairs sleek and thin over the refined muscle she bore for her job. She took some pride in her appearance, but hardly vain she prized practicality above beauty. As it was the side pressed into the dirt would be stained an orangey red, and she had half a mind to roll over to the other side. The scratchy sand helped relieve itches when you rolled in it just right, and wet like she was it would cling to her like a fine shield against insects.

It took effort to turn over though, and she was slipping into a warm slumber, so she remained where she was. Only the hoof steps of someone approaching roused her. Lazily one eye opened, blinking away the sunlight as she spied the gold dusted body of Bucephalus approaching. A wry smile grew on her lips, thinking of what trouble they might get into today.

The longer she watched him though, the more she realized that something was distracting him. His nose hovered over something pale and small, so focused he didn't even seem to notice her. A frown marred her facade then, neck straining to lift before she rolled to her sternum. She had seen that look before on other horses, and she hated to see it in him. Gods no, she prayed, already feeling him slip between her feathers. Anxiously she roused the rest of her body to stand, making her way towards the Chancellor with intent.

"Bucephalus?" she called to him, trying to seize his attention, even if briefly. Meanwhile her eyes strayed to the object of his possession, confirming her suspicions. Fuck! "Where did you get that?" she asked seriously, body rigid with tension and slowly churning wrath. Not Bucephalus too!

She could tell by his tone that he had no full understanding of what he had found, much less what he was doing with it. In some ways that made this easier, but also pissed her off further. The fact that he would unknowingly ruin the life of whatever creature inside that egg, that his ignorance would enslave a soul, was almost too much to bear. At least most of the other idiots running around understood their actions, even if not the full weight of them - he understood nothing of them.

Her teeth clenched, a small sound squeaking out as they ground together; she imagined chewing on his head, rolling the black hairs of his coat between her molars. "Of course you couldn't," she hissed, black tail slapping her flanks with sharp anger. "How fucking kind of you to rip an egg from it's home and take it all the way back here with you, for you." She forced a smile, but it had teeth. "I'm sure whatever's inside will have no problems growing up in a desert, considering you found it in a cave. I'm sure whatever's inside needs your help to survive, doesn't it? What a good horse you are Bucephalus, so selfless."

She was handling this with worse tact than even she liked, but given the ordeal she'd just gone through with Gaucho, she didn't have the patience or the mental fortitude to hold Buce's wings through this. Like most things, if she'd handled it better she probably could have achieved results closer to what she wanted. Maybe the bond wouldn't have been avoided, it rarely was at this stage, but she could have taught Buce how to treat it with some ounce of dignity and kindness.

Now however she was almost tempted to just step on the egg and smash it.

She wouldn't though. So instead she heaved out a giant sigh, trying to restart, if it was possible. "You should leave it here. The sands will warm the egg, and fate will guide it. Surely you have enough to keep you busy that a strange egg is the least of your worries?" She paused, realizing she'd made such an ordeal he'd probably become suspicious. She needed to offer him an alternative that was more appealing than just walking away. "You can watch it hatch...over there, by the trees. With things like this though, it's best not to get in nature's way."

Unlike the gods.

His response at first startled her. Creature of flight?. She blinked, wondering if he had somehow already communicated with the creature being nurtured inside the egg. The egg in and of itself might have suggested a bird, but most animals did lay eggs, just not a lot of the fluffy ones (except with companions...).

The thought was pushed from her mind though as she attempted to convince him to walk away from it, but too late. Always too damn late. She grit her teeth, grinding them back and forth to bite down on her ire and keep it from lashing out at Bucephalus. Unable to watch this one more time Ampere averted her gaze, unwilling to see those chains gently churn and link one another together, slipping from the body inside the egg to the black breast of the Morningstar.

He runs to the newborn, so caring she couldn't stand it. What was it about companions that suddenly drew the good out of everyone? The guise of it anyway - they were so selfish they abruptly became selfless, willing to walk on fire to rescue an insignificant being if only to marge it with their existence. The very thought caused Ampere's chest to tighten, breath heavy and thick so that she had to force it out with each exhale and deeply suck in with every inhale.

The world staggered and Ampere with it. She turned away, seeking the support of the nearby tree she'd tried to take him too. She fought back the bitter, angry tears that welled in her eyes, just managing to maintain some semblance of composure. Bit by bit, she lost Bucephalus,

He named it, and he slipped away from her completely.

"You have to control yourself," she croaked after a bout of silence. Still unable to look at them, she tossed her voice to the wind. "Every feeling, every thought, it will pass between you both. Don't snuff out its life with yours... so young, so impressionable, you'll shape it, so make it good."

She could have drifted away in those moments, tugged by the current of the desert as it hummed in life around them. He wouldn't even have noticed, so engrossed by the hatchling which struggled to freedom from its calcium casing. She stayed though, rooted by this need to help even if it was past the point of saving. Gaucho had told her she had to do more than watch to change the world, and so had the gods. It was time to stop yelling and screaming and just expecting the change to come.

It could start here, with this awful, wonderful boy. He was still so naive to the world, almost unbearably so in this instance. Ampere could have laughed, but she was afraid the feeling would also elicit a sob, so she held onto tight to it until it fizzled out inside of her, seafoam and blood. His words extended out to her like a hand in the dark, but she shook her head, the gradual shift of her blue eyes the only return she offered.

"No," came the subtle whisper, falling with fragile strength from her lips. She shook her head again, more adamant now. She wasn't sure if it was better or worse that he didn't understand. "Bucephalus," she summoned, trying to get a hold on this situation. Her head turned, keeping him steady in the piercing intensity of her sights. "This, it is forever. The chick has bound to your soul and there will remain until one of you dies." Ampere grew quiet, the severity of her words, of his actions, leaving a somber air between them.

"You probably already feel it." She wasn't exactly sure what it was, having never bonded herself, but she knew enough about it to be disgusted. "You'll always feel each other now, connected intimately, eternally, irreversibly." Her tone saddened, once again overwhelmed by the injustice of this permanent choice. "It's powerful, so raise her like your own, if not better. Let her be herself, so that she can live, even if it's on a leash."

"Common sense most everyone lacks," Ampere muttered, unmoved by the firmness Bucephalus seemed to maintain that he would raise this chick well. She had heard it all before, but she knew the truth of the end result. This chick would probably fight for Bucephalus, carry his scars, his hurt, his everything. She would be forever weighted down by the horse she had chosen, her wings and flight a false sense of reach in a vastly shrunken world. It was a cruel thing in the most basic of forms, utterly limiting, confining, and self-serving. "There are many companions who suffer unhappiness, if not even abuse. Fighting with her is out of the question. She'd be easily hurt, sent to fight your battles which would never normally happen. Yet bonds are forged just for that purpose, to use companions as an advantage in any way possible. They're tools for most horses, if not slaves."

His naivety continued to wound her, though it was certainly refreshing compared to the assumptions so many 'learned' Helovians had when interacting with their bond. Still, her heart tore as she watched the chick and the stallion play in their own small ways, bound up in each other, as would be the case for the rest of their lives. It was hard to deny such closeness was desirable, if not fulfilling, when so many of them led tough and often lonely lives. Still, Ampere felt it was wrong merely on principle, unable to understand why the soul bond had to take place, or why it couldn't be reversed given all the power in this world she had seen.

In a cruel moment of selfishness Ampere wondered if she ought to reach her magic out and snuff out the connection between their bond. Maybe if she did it early enough it wouldn't solidify as well.. Thankfully Bucephalus' words distracted her. Besides, she didn't think her magic was strong enough to combat this.

"You'll see," was all Ampere could offer, having also been told more than one time before that the companions were still individuals. She understood that of course, we were all born with certain traits that shaped us, but how we are shaped also plays a great deal into our being. "What you say as a parent changes your foals a bit. This is even more involved. Everything you do, everything, you feel, everything you think, she will know, and it will affect her, intentional or not."

Ampere couldn't continue to just stand here and watch this. Sighing heavily she lifted her wings, ready to take her leave. "Just be careful, this is a serious connection you've accidentally forged." Turning away Ampere made to leave, needing to untangle her thoughts and her feelings.