kid

I looked at the dragon and then at the mare, assessing her lack of a response in the facial region. What I wanted was a reaction, some kind of response from her. It was frustrating not to get anything— no surprise, no confusion, no anger, nothing. Not getting it was frustrating, but I bit it back as she finally responded to me. It was a male dragon that settled with the girl, like that changed anything. And I never mentioned any desert (or did she mean dessert?). Her question confirms my sneaking suspicions that their brains must be smaller, that they must not be as smart as us. That or she was hard of hearing— probably the former. 

"I didn't say anything about dessert..." I rolled my eyes and gave a huff to show my annoyance. I felt like I was trying to talk to a completely different species (oh wait, I am).

I look at her, frowning further as she keeps talking (did I even say she could talk?). "Well— I don't need your magic to practice either." I spit, subtly trying to mimic the way my mother spoke to me. It still needed some work. But with the amount of trouble I get in, I'm sure I'd eventually get a hang of it. "And yeah I need more practice, I know that. I'm not stupid— unlike some of us here..." My sentence ended with the last bit falling into an annoyed mumble. Whether she heard it or not all depended on whether or not she decided to actually start hearing. But her words made my huge ego shrink down at least two sizes (I am very aware my magic sucks right now! She doesn't have to rub it in...). 

She didn't look hurt when I insulted her, she didn't cry, didn't look offended, she just sat there stone cold. She didn't give me the response I wanted, and that frustrated me. How could she just sit there and listen to me say such mean things about her (they were mean, right?) Maybe she was still processing what I said (I did say a lot, her little brain probably needs another minute). 

She drops her words, and inside I'm outright terrified shocked. This new knowledge of this issue running through blood, not being some disease— well it just about shook my whole existence. Sure, this meant that I couldn't get sick from her, but it made me think. Does this mean her parents were icky too? Now I pitied her more. She couldn't get rid of it! She had to suffer like this, even if I took her wings and her horn, she'd still be infected. I look at her like she's some pity case, not offering real sympathy for the inferior girl, but offering more of something mocking, not serious. Sucks for her (sarcasm), forced to be ugly and gross for all her life. 

I paused as I ran back over her words. What was.. tribrid. I look at her suspiciously, raising and eyebrow and questioning whether I should even ask her or not. I decided to keep my mouth shut, because whatever information she spewed probably wouldn't be correct. 

"Well, you should be ashamed. Doesn't mean you have to. But I think you should be—" I cut myself off because telling her she should also keep her stupid mouth shut just doesn't seem to fit well with that sentence. Maybe at another time. But she questions what my family is like, telling me what hers is like without me even asking (totally uncalled for, I didn't even want to know). But now I know what tribrid means. Her mother was an equine, and I guess her father was... super icky. "Well that makes your mother stupid. Didn't she know your father was icky?" I snorted, raising my head as if that will somehow show off my clean pedigree without me even having to say anything. "My mother is an equine, and my—" Well, father doesn't seem like the right word. He isn't, he's just... Volterra. A name, no face, no position in my family, not even a special label to mark our connection. "Volterra is equine too." I say bitterly, hushed, glancing to the sides as though Mother might spring out to kick me square in the face (a very real threat). 

"Talk."