We are separate entities
for as long as the wind blows in from the East.

Through every war
and conflict, in pairs
your strikes will never be mine.



Thought perhaps Ashamin would always fail to notice all that Lochan did, he was still perceptive. And he took note of the upstart's tone, even as it settled down. There was something there--contempt, maybe?

The Haruspex wasn't sure. But he knew this was a more tense situation than most. And for some reason, standing atop that incline looking down at the cave dweller, Ashamin felt dominant. That had never been the case before, not in his childhood and not once since coming to the Aurora Basin, either. He even struggled to feel in control of his companion, most days.

But it was this fellow's impudence, really, his unwarranted pride, that made Ashamin feel that much bolder. Oh, so his mother had lead before? That was good, impressive--for her. This boy had played no part in it. Ashamin let his long tail lash with obvious irritation behind him. How often did this young stallion use his mother's old rank to make himself feel stronger? He was nothing but a bully riding along on the coattails of his ancestry.

Fool.

It was rare for Ashamin to have such a temper, but there was something in this spitfire's lack of resolve that rubbed the paint the wrong way. He wanted to seem tough, but his only achievements belonged to others. He wanted to give off a sense of ownership of this place, this situation, but he wavered even in his anger--couldn't maintain a level of rudeness before letting himself be so easily shamed into veiling it. He wanted to prove his own worth, but all he could do was put down Ashamin's own stature.

The paint was glad this creature's mother was no longer in charge of the herd--he wouldn't have found it easy to respect anyone who had raised such a brat.

He would have walked deeper into the cave, but he would not abandon his manners even in the face of one so unrefined, and Lochan's careful touch held him back, too. He exhaled, slowly, his breath turning a hot white in the air before quickly diffusing in the wind of the storm that raged at his back.

He would have gone closer, would have shown this fellow the two angry scars that draped elegantly across his hindquarters. If you didn't know what they were from, the mistake that had led to their genesis, they served as a threat. Ashamin didn't intend on telling this one anything about their origin.

"The resolve to defend honorably has nothing to do with appearance," Ashamin said smoothly, curtly. "But if that's how you think the matter is best viewed, then by all means, consider me by your own standards. It's true, I haven't been here as long as some others or long enough to see your mother's accomplishments, and perhaps I have misinterpreted this herd's soldier's code," the Haruspex went on, fueled by the embers of spite. Lochan, nervous, started pacing and hung his head as he moved to stand under his bonded and out of the snow's direct path. The sting of that cold air was growing stronger, now.

"I would like to hope otherwise, however," Ashamin ended, his eyes once trained on the ground flashing up to meet the younger stallion's. There, in the black, a calculated frustration grew.

ASHAMIN