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The stallion removed himself, sliding off of Ktulu's back, front hooves hitting the ground with a thud and a small tremor to the ground from his magic. The stallion grunted and moved his body, aching and bloodied and bruised but somehow still on fire and invigorated, to look at Ktulu's face fully. The fireflies danced around her as the night approached them, the coolness biting at the stallion's underbelly. His golden eyes were warm, but swimming with some cold darkness, reflecting no emotion and yet still a well of feeling. Archibald's white forehead wrinkled as his brows knit together, lips pursing as he watched the mare in silence, several minutes passing between them after her question passed his dark ears.
What did he see when he looked at her? He did not know how to answer the question at first because in this moment of brutality and lust, so much had changed between them. Once, Ktulu and Archibald had been indifferent to each other. After he joined the ranks of the Grey and lead her army they had become friends. The years that followed had twisted the two together into some semblance of family. He was once her General, she now was his Champion. They had danced around each other in rank--leading, following, leading, following. Archibald had seen her darkest sides, pulling her to the ground as a bear with stone bones to keep her from killing Fiore and Note. He had seen her softest sides, glancing her way on his patrols as she nestled her foals into her sides and groomed them as they nursed. He knew the force and fire of her ire and he knew the depth and brevity of her compassion.
This was all fucked up, he realized now as he stood there, staring at her in some statuesque fashion with eyes like frozen fire narrowed slightly before her.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, Archibald sighed and looked beyond her, to the stars that dotted between the thick canopy of trees above them. "I see Ktulu the Constrictor. I see a warrior, a dancer, a mother, a leader, a fighter. At times I see a foolishly stubborn vixen. At times I see a carefully woven tapestry, each thread as wonderful as the next no matter how broken, pulled, worn. All of it glorious. I don't know what you are, but I know who you are and have been and how that has made you see the world differently." He stopped, letting his words sink in. He straightened his shoulders some, bracing for impact. He knew Ktulu could take his words two ways, and one of them would be him feeling that ire through the strike of her hooves again.
Golden eyes moved down slowly from the stars, closing for a moment before finally resting on her raging crimson pools. "And what you of me?" |
@Ktulu
