His composure was unnerving, irritating, and mostly unsettling. The string of insults I’d been preparing had all but touched the back of my teeth and now that I was faced with only quiet confidence, I was suddenly less incensed (if only marginally so). Each time I tried to fix my captor with a shallow, hostile stare, I was always deterred by his inability to be shunted or off-put. Instead, I found myself contemplating the tribal marking that appeared across his shoulder under the soft rays of bright moonlight. It appeared to reach up toward his withers, though I couldn’t be certain because it bled into the darkness of his coat beneath a thick, unruly mane. When I had traced the marking up and down the length of his side, from chest to shoulder to chest, I busied my thoughts with ideas about the dark wolf perched just beneath the stallion’s lean stomach. He too possessed the tribal marks down along his front, left leg. For a long time I studied the pale lines until they blurred beneath the intensity of my focus, but I adjusted my attentions when my captor again broke the subtle tension- his accent again enthralling and repulsing me simultaneously.


For a time, my jaw went slack and my tongue felt unnaturally dry. I couldn’t decide if the stallion had offered me a backhanded compliment or if he was somehow possessed by a peculiar longing to fluster me. Either way, I couldn’t hide the disgruntled scoff that aided my silent, albeit agitated, response. The skin prickled at the base of my neck and slowly inched down to the tip of spine … for the first time in a while I was completely and utterly speechless. However, as if his first innuendo were not enough, my captor proceeded to taunt me with what appeared to be genuine praise. How I intended to receive said acclaims was still up for debate, but until the jury could reach a verdict, I remained at a loss for words.

“That’s not surprising,” I interjected. Well, almost at a loss for words. Sometimes it was hard to deny the fact that I did not face him his equal, but instead a trapped animal not to be trusted. I lifted a single back hoof to remind myself of the foul creatures the Basin had proven to be… and for a moment I was convinced I’d been right about their incentives- at least until I wasn’t. Age had obviously changed me, transformed me into a creature that even I was unsure of, but this was different. My beliefs about the Basin had been as deeply rooted as my devotion to the Gods… They had always been the enemy, the horrific bedtime story meant to right rebellious foals… Yet, this stallion –though I hated myself for having to admit it- had offered me another route, a course of action that defied my stubborn opinions.

However, so many years of stories and nightmarish rumors about their kind had tainted me… even now. I tried to hear the reason in his tale and I tried to find it within my heart to not only protect myself and Romul, but to thwart my impression of this stallion, for he was unusually intelligent and judicious. Needless to say, my captor was not what I had imagined of the Basin Unicorns, not at all, and had we been anywhere else –met under any other circumstances- I would have sympathized with him and his losses. I too suffered from a loss of sorts, estrangement yes, but a searing hurt all the same. Whether or not that sharing of information was the moment that changed my mind was uncertain, and whether or not he was smart enough to tug on my female emotions was just the same, but I caved on a hearty sigh.


For a moment, I was quiet while the stallion continued his argument, or story rather, and when he paused I was again careful to study his face. It was still too dark to see anything other than the pale glint of the moon in his eyes, but I detected no malice and no underlying trickery. The wolf at his side had remained quiet as well which led me to believe that maybe, just maybe, he was telling the truth. I had performed to the best of my ability in order to assault them, so perhaps I owed them this much… If my captor wanted me to visit the Basin… then I would visit the Basin. Of course, there would be terms to this agreement; I was not that foolish. “I hope that, for your sake, you are telling the truth. I’ll come and I’ll witness your Basin firsthand, but on one condition. If I go willingly, I go a free animal,” I asserted with a lash of the tongue. “But before you make any decisions, you must know that there are surely reasons Midas refused your offer. I serve him, his Sleuth, and I am devout to his reign. Show me what you will, but understand that your showing will come at a cost. I don’t want your sugar-coated version of the North- I want the real thing.”

essetia
ONLY YOU CAN COOL MY DESIRE
I'M ON FIRE