ENGINEERS CREATE THAT WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN

She was not one for subtlety, apparently. He could feel and watch her green gaze slide up his form, and he raised a whiskered brow, smirking. Obviously from her lingering gaze, she had found something redeeming in his appearance. Ulrik had never thought about his masculinity as a positive trait, as he was more of a creature of the mind, but he had drawn the royal flush of the gene pool. He came from a frosty land, farther north, where he was lightweight among his warring and somewhat simple herd. The stallion's obsession with mechanics and machinery was often mocked by his stupid brothers and sisters who spent their time foolishly butting heads and yelling like dogs. Ulrik's talents and skills were unappreciated in his home, so he left.

Her eyes squint to settle on his creation, and thus he grinned. Even with the heat damage, his metallic cat was glorious and complex. Any creature with half an intellect could see this. The glowing, red eyes flickered with the failing circuit board, but the machine still approached slowly, claws flexing in the snow. It stood next to its master and whirred, leaking oil every now and then. Ulrik turned his face to look down at the cat, frowning slightly and displaying his two, crooked horns. He let her name slide from his lips, and his current irritation was made known as well.

Ulrik was highly amused at the tiny, furry creature's pathetic attempt at defense. The little, white claws were about the length of his lashes and could do little damage, and the way its black fur stood up made it look like a hairy dome. Something changed the demeanor of the thing, and the stallion furrowed his brows. Obviously there was some link between the two, and he asks about the cat.

Bonded body and soul. Were he any good with the more arcane, medical arts, he would desire to dissect the two and discover the source of this bond. Perhaps then he could replicate the part and link himself to one of his metal machines. The technology was there... all he had to do was create the artificial component. "Fascinating," he muttered, looking over the tiny creature with narrowed, analytical eyes. Her words drew him from his thoughts, and his bronze gaze slid back to her emerald one. The stallion respected her opinion on the matter. "Perhaps I am premature in my anger as I have not had an unpleasant run-in with a hornless in our herd yet either," he mused. "I would hope he has a good reason, but I cannot see one."

Father? He looked down at the slowly dying machine with no expression of emotion. Creator? Yes. Engineer? Yes. Mechanic? Yes. Father? That word created an interesting dilemma. If he was the father of this thing, then he was a murderer of his own children; when they got old and useless, he destroyed them. "In a manner of speaking," he replied. "I created it. It has served well, but the heat has been unkind to the circuits." The metal cat laid down in the stillness of the cave and seemed to be listening with interest. Ulrik knew that the creature was incapable of being interested by anything. The stallion's bronze gaze snapped to the mare. "You too are a follower of the Earth?" he asked.