i thought i saw
the devil this morning
looking in the mirror

She came - a slight little thing, malnourished and pitiful to look upon. Kaj momentarily wondered at her, questioning why and how she had let herself fall into such a state. The grass was plentiful; losing her herd would have done nothing to cause such starvation. Was she sick of the mind? Was that why she had pursued him so uselessly? It was almost disheartening, to see what a lack of an opponent she was. It would be no fight. Kaj feels almost ashamed of her, for whatever childish emotions had driven her to foolishly target him. He had offered her shelter and family, and though she’d turned away from it as many others had, she had also deigned to spit in the face of his proffered aid. She had slighted him ever further, and so he would not feel pity for her state. It was one she had brought upon herself, and so he would not encourage her or her destructive ways.

Instead he awaited her, body tensed and primed for action and reaction. His eyes never wavered from her form, Maskan’s voice still ever whispering in the back of his head. Kaj doubted it would ever leave, but it gave him comfort in that moment nonetheless. Yet she did not advance. Instead she paused, hesitated, fully stopped. Kaj grunted his annoyance aloud, uncaring what she thought of his brutality. She was a grown mare, and she would not be granted the forgiveness that a true child’s mistakes would have brought about from the newly named Czar. If she had the mind of a child, blind to any and all consequences, then he would rip that veil from her eyes and make her see.

Perhaps she already was, faced with imminent destruction physically before her.

The nameless maiden fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable and Kaj felt a frustrated sort of amusement at the intimidation that was plainly inscribed on her features. Good, let her stew in her mistakes. Let her feel the rapidly heating water of the soon-to-be-boiling pot she’d thrown herself into. For Kaj would have little patience with her antics. Not when she’d made an attempt to take him from his new, unstable family. It was as sinister as stealing away a father from his young, sickly foal. So Kaj would treat it as such, his love for his new Falls family already so great in its magnitude. If anyone had been the worst possible candidate to target, it was the Storm Bringer.

As her lips parted to speak, Kaj’s eyes further narrowed. Speaking from a hide once as chestnut as Evangeline’s, it was like staring into a reflection of his once-beloved Emissary. Except the girl who stood before him had only half the spark the Pure did, and apparently half the brainpower as well. Her words did nothing to inspire him, and the guilt he honestly anticipated to build up was surprisingly barren. Evangeline may have preached peace but even she knew that there was so much more to war and battle than what his foe apparently thought. His disappointment only grew into a greater, yawning pit.

“If a warrior stupidly steps into a healer’s tent and someone dies because of his mistakes, then he is punished. And so a healer and storyteller shall face the consequences and be just as firmly punished for stepping just as foolishly in the realm of the thief. You brought this down upon yourself. You let your emotions carry you when we offered you everything you already had. Do not hide from your mistakes like a child, for I will not treat you as delicately as I would a real foal,” he growled, ears half-mast and eyes narrowed. If she thought him a mindless beast then he would show her exactly what she misunderstood. Kaj had battled Evangeline verbally too many times for her pitiful attempts to waver his conviction.

“You have two choices. Submit to me now, unharmed, or fight for your freedom,” he snapped, punctuated by gnashing of pearly teeth. Bulky body never once relaxed even an iota, prepared ever still for her to make her choice. It was her only chance.

---

@[Dröm] - I couldn't tell if she would submit or not, hope you're not bothered by another round of posting first!

Word Count: {692/800}
Attack: {0/4}