The shouted challenge might not have interested her as much if it wasn't for two things: one, she had been thrust suddenly into the spotlight, and as such felt a responsibility to be at anything of import going on in the herd; and two, the voice screaming a challenge was far too young to be seeking a fight with Volterra. Gods, he was a massive stallion, even by her standards (which were, after all, quite high after her years as Gaucho's mate), and the tiny voice - Tae's, if she wasn't mistaken - belonged to a similarly tiny filly. At least, she was small in comparison to the Gladiator. The pale lady cursed eloquently under her breath in her deceased mate's native tongue, pushing herself into a gallop as Astraeus flew ahead to gauge the status of the fight. Perhaps if she got there quickly enough, she could halt this farce before -

-- Sikeax! -- Astraeus's voice rang sharply in her mind, and her gait stuttered for a moment as she paused, a sharp intake of breath accompanying the resultant shout through their bond. WHAT?! Sure, the Sultana hadn't really been around - but this? This was dangerously close to a gods-damned coup! But her concern for Tae overrode her confusion about the current state of their herd, and she found herself continuing on the trajectory towards the more mismatched pair. Sikeax could take care of herself, after all - and if she couldn't, she didn't have any right to name herself a militaristic Sultana. If she'd only been around... the ivory dove thought darkly, this wouldn't be happening. Astaeus shrieked his agreement before breaking off to join Kygo, who was observing the primary challenge.

The pale lady's approach had come too late; Ampere's form stood tense and motionless on the sidelines, seemingly more alive than she had been in some time. Sohalia came to stand beside her, moving carefully and quietly so as not to distract Tae, who was just beginning an attack. She reached to touch the blue's shoulder, hoping not to startle her. Words would not come; what could one say to a mare watching her daughter square off against a beast of a stallion twice her size? Besides, there was no need to ask for the reasoning behind this travesty, not when Aithniel's battle cry had sounded so quickly after Tae's. No, all she could do now was watch and wait, offering her silent support to her friend and the filly that she could almost think of as her own daughter.

"talk talk talk"

Brighter than the northern lights
Want to live to feel the daylight