The Lady rose triumphant over her Corporal, but it left an ashen, bitter taste in her mouth. Disappointment. It was no battle to crow over, nothing to impress her, but at least Sialia had shown up unlike the other bottom-dwelling maggots that masqueraded as her soldiers. Her arrogance certainly needed to be capped and reworked, but at least she had some measure of pride, Hotaru snorted to herself as she stood staring down the dark lass. Whether anyone still stood around watching did not matter to her, armor sliding peacefully across her skin like a whisper of conciliation, of triumph as it collected back into the tiara nestled behind her horn. Regarded Sialia quietly, the words gathering like fire and brimstone on her tongue, preparing to lash the woman. Bring her low with shame and then build her back up into the Corporal the Basin needed. The one they deserved. In creation there was destruction, equivalent exchange, and she would use the ashes to create the phoenix that Sialia deserved to be.
 
“Arrogance is unbecoming,” she began sharply, standing proud and triumphant before the Corporal, eyes shining like cold stones. “I fight you here, before our brethren, so that you may feel the shame of your defeat. So that they may see that I am their Lady, and deserving of their title!” It whips out, lashes against all ears, and her magic gives a high, discordant whistle as the winds pick up around her in a show of power that settles only once she believes it has been firmly understood. This was a demonstration not only of Sialia’s power, but of Hotaru’s. If the Lady did not feel comfortable or confident enough to challenge her Corporal before them all, then they would doubt her abilities on the battlefield. And there would never, so long as Hotaru lived and breathed, be doubt cast upon her skill.
 
The demoness struck forward across the snow and tundra, a prowling cat, eyes flinty and mouth curled disappointedly downwards. “You must work, constantly, to deserve their title. It may fall to your name, Sialia, but it does not belong to you. It is the Basin’s. You are lifted by their voices, bolstered by their spirits. That is what a herd means. You protect them, and in turn they bestow upon you their trust. And nothing is more important than the implicit trust of your people.” Alice snarled as she advanced to Hotaru’s side, regal and obedient, hellish in her otherworldly lupine relations. She was wolf but distinctly not-wolf, eyes hell-black and jaws still dripping residual acid. Hotaru calmed her with a stray thought and the bitch tucked herself to Hotaru’s shin, imposing but controlled. A team, a pair, a working machine.
 
“Everything is a challenge to your title and worth, Sialia. Never regard this as a mere spar. If you win, I am seen as weaker in my position as Lady. And the reverse could be said of you if you were to fall to one of your soldiers. Never slack, and always respect your opponent. This, today? This was a challenge. And you passed.” Alice huffed softly at her side even as a sharp, dazzling smirk grew upon Hotaru’s pretty visage. Oh, Sialia may not have won physically, but she’d impressed Hotaru. That was what she’d been looking for all this time. Passion. Dedication. Power.
 
“You’re a capable Corporal, Sialia. But our soldiers are faltering. I want your help to fix this.” As if Hotaru would allow that kind of failure in her herdlands. 

Set after their spar!

(No need to be responding super fast to this, I just have a lot of Hotaru muse!)

She remains stoic and unmoved, and while Hotaru may have commended her for her silence and resilience, it rankled that she saw no passion in the mare. This was her Corporal? She was disappointed, though far more upset with the fact that their ranks were so few these days that even if Sialia left, they would have nobody to replace her. That she was reliant upon anybody with no spark and no drive was a dagger in her side, making a mockery of the excellence the Basin was more than capable of. And they had proven it time and time again through the grit of their soldiers and the cohesion of their forces. They were a pack, not a herd. A den of wolves, with different views than the herds of Helovia, and the might of an untouched, unchallenged empire. Hotaru would not let it fall with her, because of her. And it started here, with every individual, until she was satisfied. 

Hotaru had rarely been satisfied in her life, she anticipated it being a lengthy process. 

But when Sialia speaks...Hotaru listens. And then she laughs.

It is a loud, continuous sound. Mocking, disparaging, throwing Sialia's words back into her face without regret. And her eyes glimmer with something sharp, her smile more befitting a grinning wolf than the beautiful mare of her species. 

"You make demands when you know nothing of what is going on behind the scenes, Sialia. You are so blinded by your simplistic duties that you mock your leaders for efforts you don't care to concentrate upon." Alice snarls at the impunity where she stands at her side, far less lax than Hotaru when it came to undermining the rightful power Hotaru held with her title. To Alice, Hotaru was Alpha. Sialia was Delta. And disobedient wolves were punished, with a swift and righteous fang. Hotaru was going to do exactly that, however, and so her teeth were not shown, the only sign of her displeasure audible for the time being. 

"Do you think Helovia can be traversed in a day's journey, to haggle with herd leaders that are constantly changing? To try and form alliances? And you think with the Rift and the God battles that we would have the time to call you all to one place? You do not know our plans, but trust that we see the same weak spots that you do." The triumvirate was no blind to the fact that the Basin was lacking in a few specific areas, and they all intended to rectify the situation, but it was not Sialia's place to question their timing when they had so much more to deal with than her petty problems. Problems that lay beneath her station for her to take care of, not them. "Hmm...and you say you cannot punish those beneath you, but I don't recall ever saying you could not." And her smile is something wicked, something taunting, something powerful. Her head tilted attractively to the side, simpering beneath Sialia's cold stare, unbothered by the retaliation. At least there was some glimmer of passion, though she would demand more in the future. 

"Punish them, then. Hold them to a higher standard. Do your job, because you're right, there isn't a General to do that. So take it upon yourself, don't blame an empty slot, a ghost. We are awaiting you and Ki'irha to prove yourselves, to see who will rise to become General. So do it yourself, if you want to rise in these ranks. They look up to us more than to you? Make them respect you. They may answer to us, but they answer to you first, and you answer to us." As if she and Deimos and Thranduil were not watching. Always, eternally watching. d'Artagnan's disappearance had repercussions that they had to deal with, but they could not randomly promote someone in his absence. They were not so foolish as that.

But then she questioned Hotaru's leadership, and the mare's eyes narrowed as Alice's snarl grew louder. "Silly mare, you are far more blind than I thought. Who rose to the top of the sleuth ranks? Who kidnapped our greatest enemy, Confutatis, when no other could? Who captured the untouchable Midas the Gallant? Who secured the hidden entrance through the manipulation of a Falls member? Who prompted and helped orchestrate the invasion and downfall of the Hidden Falls? You want proof of what I can do, what I am capable of?" The wolf queen laughed, a joyous sound that did not belong in her mouth with how sharp and dangerous it was. 

"Honey, all you had to do was look around. I made this. I have crushed every opposition, just as I crushed you. Next time, find something better to complain about than my abilities." Her tail thrashed against her hocks, smiling like something jagged and amused. This was nothing. This was child's play. She had earned her title, whether Sialia had bothered to actually pay attention in her idle life long enough to realize how important Hotaru had been in the Basin's machinations. But Hotaru had always held the power of being underestimated, and it had led to the downfall of far too many foes. Sialia could place herself among their ranks if she desired, but she would be corrected as swiftly as the previous idiots had. 

No worries! Hotaru is a super-bitch too x___x don't take any of it personally, it's just how she is lmao. We can end it wherever you'd like! I'm not sure what else Sialia would want to say/ask/etc