My privacy was not my own for long, shattered as one of the shadows began to creep closer with delicate steps. A vaguely feminine scent filled my nares, but it was her voice that sparked the memory in my mind just before she revealed herself to the moonlight. My little Shadow had returned after all these moons had passed, her laughter a surprisingly welcome song in my ears. How long had it been since our meeting? I had long since abandoned the Aurora Basin, the land in which I had left her. By the smell of it, she still called the icy hell-hole her home. There was more to her scent though, more than the chill of the snow and the crispness of the mountains. More than just her intoxicating proof of femininity that sent a flaring heat to my loins, a scent that immediately pinned my ears against my neck.

My muzzle scrunched up with a snarl, dark eyes blazing down on her with a burning disapproval as she stepped even closer. She fucking reeked with the musk of others, my lips pulled into an accusing snarl just as she touched her horn to my back. Just as I had traced her with my own deadly weapons on our first meeting, sealing the agreement of loyalty with the threat of destroying the other, she ran the tip of her horn along my body to send shivers down my spine. Little Shadow was wasting no time with her flirtation this time around, taunting my most primal desires without any hesitation. Her stupid little shortening of my name did nothing to ease my bitterness towards her, and I would be sure to rectify her of that. Without much warning, I lashed out to snap my teeth shut just shy of her ears, not giving a damn about the risk of her horn being driven through my neck. "Do. Not. Call me that." The tone in my voice carried acidic venom in the words, a sadistic undertone that promised that she would regret it if she made that mistake again.

I didn't even bother with answer her question on whether or not I had missed her. Why would I possibly miss her? We had but one encounter that had mentioned that she should remain loyal to me, and even that loyalty seemed like dust in the wind at the moment. Hell, I hadn't even marked her body as my own as I had with Morphine, so why should I possibly miss her? Perhaps my pet name for her had been more fitting than I initially intended. You could not hold a shadow, you could not capture it and contain it for your own pleasures. In the darkness, it grows wild and rampant, while it dies off with the light. I had left this mare to the darkness, allowing her more free reign than I ever had with any other pet.

With a snort, I turned away from her to flick my tail against her chest and step a few feet away from her. Now was the chance for her to redeem herself in my eyes, prove whether or not those loyalties had been severed. I didn't care if the scents on her coat were from platonic friends, chosen mates or even one night stands. Hell, it could have even been from running into some pathetic schmuck just before she ran into me. That wouldn't stop me from testing her, wouldn't stop me from questioning her advances. "The scents on your coat betray you, Little Shadow. What do you want?"