kid

Mother agrees to allow Sabre and I time to explore the surrounding areas, but dare we get too far and our punishment will be severe. My cheek burns as a fellow reminder, and my side cries out from the recent out lash I had received when mother told me to stop drinking yet I continued to take and take. A king needs to be strong, and I cannot be strong if I do not consume and grow, I must to be stronger and better than the rest. So I did what an greedy shit would do, and ignored her fury until it struck me solid to the side, leaving me gasping and choking and trembling with fear. Mother was displeased with me, and I would accept that as her hoof left my skin and returned to the earth with a solid strike. She scolded me harshly, almost hitting me again before I submitted to her will and took her words to heart. 

She walked to the tree line, looking down at me with a twinge of pride before motioning my release. Here she would stay, hidden but watching like a hawk to its prey, steel sights trained upon our hides. I dash into the light, my legs thundering against the ground while my eyes are alight with some sort of joy, hooves crashing to the earth as I test my limits and leap into the air. I look back to make sure mother is within sight, but it's all a blur along the horizon and a mess of colours clashing and colliding in my vision, cleaning up closer to me. Odd, but I don't pay it any mind as I spin around and rush forward. 

I see two blurs that slowly begin to grow more detailed in my approach, bubblegum eyes blinking as I near them enough to make out a little figure and a taller one. The taller one has red eyes like that lady who visited us a few days ago, and a flashy bronze coat with white spots. He's like me, an equine of pure blood and relations to my bloodlines. I prick my ears, stepping forward and looking at the girl. She has weird things at her sides, feathered and weirdly magnificent. "What are those?" I ask, eyes wide and curious. 

"Talk."

kid

She's behind me, a barreling ball of excitement as she runs, long legs carrying her towards me with intimidating speed. She takes her time getting to me, bucking around with careless ecstasy while I stand waiting, simply watching the grasses bend in her wake. She's gleeful, taking enjoyment in the freedom we'd snatched from beneath Mother's nose, stealing away like bandits with wind combing through our tufts of mane. We both knew the consequences of our actions if Mother caught us, but neither would voice any concern or regard for the punishment for which we would receive. Instead we pushed our boundaries and left her line of sight to explore, my enthusiasm for exploration overwhelming in the sense that it was all so much to take in, that the open world before me was something of an opportunity. I am alight with a passionate fire, determined to break through the world with a solid strike, to dig deep into the roots and take heed, to control what I could and rule beside Sabre in a dictatorship with us at the top of the food chain. 

I watch her puff out her chest, taking pride in the way she carries herself, my own chest flung out and head raised while I settle into stride with her. I wanted to begin giving off an aura of confidence and power, already I wanted to be feared, simply by the way I carried myself. I would be like Mother, with an attitude and stern stare, intimidating not by size but by force of will and compact strength, a surprising opponent to battle against with a thick figure but shorter stature, I would not let my full height be a disadvantage to me (I have yet to realize how unlucky I got in terms of height). 

My eyes trail over the dappled girl's wings, the way they sprouted from her shoulders, a disease that had a physical aspect. Could they be removed? My cotton candy eyes wander, thoroughly reviewing each and every feather with close attention to the direction in which they grow. My nose wrinkles at the sight of them, how odd they looked blooming from the shoulders of something meant to stay grounded. I turn to Sabre, looking displeased at the sight of what lays before us, because we both seem to share curiousness of what the hell we were looking at, but similarly we shared a common disgust towards the foul thing that we had run across. It was something unnatural, something weak, something I did not understand and therefore did not agree with, something that could not be within my kingdom. I do not want parasites spreading through my subjects, because what king wants to rule corpses? I reach over, whispering into Sabre's ear with a rather expert movement, subtle and quiet as I share my opinion with her. "She's icky." It's straight to the point, and I retract with a look that already shows my displeasure at even breathing near anything that looks so unnatural, a mongrel that makes me sick. 

The laugh in response to our blunt questions makes me want to stomp my feet, to demand respect from something so undisciplined. How dare she mock a king! Once I get bigger, she will see what I really am, she will understand why this was a fatal mistake on her behalf. I hope Sabre shares similar feelings, that together we can punish the fools, to discipline the idiots who dare step beyond their boundaries, who cross the line with their mocking laughter and light-heartedness. She does answer, spreading them open to display all the individual feathers, bubblegum eyes tracing each feather while I have the opportunity, curious as to what would happen if I pulled one, if I took one between my teeth and yanked. Would it come easily? Would it stay? Would the owner cry out or remain silent? Does it hurt? My expression remains unchanged despite all the erratic questions jumping through my mind, a sickening sense of curiosity ensnaring me. She speaks out of turn, my ivory brows narrowed at how gross it is to think she has a right to speak when no one had asked her anything more, she'd already answered my question, I didn't need more from her. I reply bluntly, a harsh answer from such a young child like me. "No."

She doesn't answer Sabre's question either, not entirely. She answers with who she is, but not what. I flick back a colourless ear, single brow rising in questioning against her response. I wanted to speak out, to correct her, but this was not my question she was misunderstanding. Her lack of respect for the future powers brought a bitter taste to my tongue, I wanted to raise my voice against her, but my smaller stature and the other stallion nearby prevented me from doing such. I instead kept my lips sealed and frowned, pink eyes flicking to my skull-marked sibling before back to Areli. I didn't want to answer her question, she had no right to ask anyway. 

I speak instead to the roan male who lingered, nearly forgetting his presence. He was a much more comforting and relatable, lacking any abnormal growths from his body, he was accompanied by a shinier reptile than aunt Nymeria's, this one more enticing to me than the plain black one our death-faced aunt had. I look at it with excited eyes, opening my lips to try and voice my joy in seeing the spectacular winged lizard. "Like a-aunt Nee-meria." It wasn't a pretty sentence (no one is born with the ability to speak fluently, so I can't be blamed), but it was enough to show I was more excited about the dragon than the deformities growing off of the ebony girl. I look to Sabre to see if she too was enticed by the companion, eyes bright with something akin to greed, an unruly desire to have my own flighted reptilian. 

"Talk."
this is so much longer than i intended oh boyo