A sound startles Ampere from her fitful slumber. No, she thinks as she rises hastily, sand flung in her wake as she moves with a groggy recklessness. Not a sound, she's remembering the noise as she runs, each stride a small wave of pain against wounds not yet healed. It was a cry, an alarm, a name- "a challenge," she mutters to herself as she crests a sloping golden hill and spies her daughter squaring off with the Gladiator below.

"Damnit Tae!" Ampere hisses between her teeth. There's still time, Ampere thinks frantically, her legs churning through the desert bog, carrying her down the slope and towards the duo that as of yet didn't seem to have engaged. Except, she didn't make it in time, each step seemingly too slow as the blue of her eyes watched the ghostly girl fade away and then move, sand and sunlight and hooves at her arsenal against a machine of hurt.

Ampere's heart beat rebelliously in her chest, pounding against her ribs with a mother's worry as she's forced to watch her daughter face something she's not prepared for. "No," Ampere exhales, unknowingly slowing to a stop at the sidelines. Inside she's kicking and screaming, running to the fray and flinging herself in front of the Gladiator, begging for his mercy, for his attention on her, but externally Ampere had more sense than the wild ideas rampaging inside. She knows she cannot; Tae made her decision, and one way or another Ampere would have to honor that or risk losing her daughter by forcing her to bend to her will.

If she feels guilt and worry for her daughter, then there is also some pride for her guts, her fire, her independence. "Watch over her, keep her safe," she prays under her breath, unclear if she begs it of the Sun or Gaucho, or both.

Meanwhile Ampere sends Kygo to watch over the other challenge that is underway, curious to know if Aithniel would be successful.

The Transcended's touch felt like a ghost passing over her, and in response she quivered. "Sohalia," Ampere greeted without looking, her gaze trained upon the small frame of her child. There was a touch of relief in her tone, a friendly greeting, a thankful one- but it was all edged with the tense worry she visibly carried and internally battled. The presence and show of comfort from her friend was certainly welcome, but there was nothing Sohalia could do, nothing either of them could, and that helplessness was a bitch. Still, Ampere was grateful, her body leaning slightly closer towards the pale mare, needing that support to keep her standing and sane.

As Ampere watched she contemplated all the ways she failed her daughter. Not just the obvious one when she left, but all the times she didn't train the girl herself, all the moments she laughed off her daughter's insistence to become a warrior and instead invited her to play or to bathe her wings just right. By the gods, when had she even become old enough? Time was slipping through her feathers faster than the wind and it was terrifying.

"Change," Ampere intoned in response to Nephele's question, again her stare unbreaking as the Warrior joined their audience. Ampere's teeth clenched tensely, while her tail slapped her irritation at her hocks. "You were not the only one seeking an end to Sikeac's absent reign," Ampere sighed as she finally turned and looked at Nephele. "Some means are just more direct," Ampere made something like a shrug as she turned back to watch the fight, her gaze skipping over to Maren first and nodding at the Diviner. She still supported the herd's voicing of support for Sohalia, but a second lead wouldn't have done enough to curb the failures of Sikeax, not in her mind. These fights were justice, she just wished it was her out there fighting that giant.

Ampere prepared to steel herself for a long and horrible battle, but visibly swayed as Kygo's response from his viewing came swiftly. "Sikeax didn't fight," Ampere nearly whispered to the group, disbelief choking her up. She blinked rapidly as she turned first towards her friend, Sohalia, searching for some explanation she wouldn't find, then turning her dumbfounded stare towards the other two mares. "She showed up," Ampere said, volume on the rise, teeth set harder against each other. "but she didn't even bother to fucking fight!" Ampere wanted to blame someone, for all of this.

She was the mare who couldn't save Gaucho.
She was the mare who let the thieves in.
She was the mare who wouldn't heal them.
She was the mare who left them.
She was the reason Tae was fighting Goliath, and for what!? A ruse, a show, a fake attempt at standing up and being brave and powerful.

"AITHNIEL IS SULTANA" Ampere screamed out, spat it at the fighting pair still working on the sands before them, both carrying significantly more heart than the skulky healer-queen had ever managed.

[idk if anyone else needs/wants to reply, I just wanted to wrap this up a bit!]