I let a shy smile perk up on my features as I see the horned being amidst familiar faces of the Throat. It vanishes well before the gathering is close enough to view my features. I continue to stand, much like a statue in the middle of the desert. As the crowd gathers near me, I notice her legs have stopped. I look at her with passive blue eyes for a moment, then look at the pegasus at my right hoof. "Thank you," I say calmly, "I can manage from here." Again, quite calm, stolid patience taking grips of my heart and holding it still. So many accusatory insults I would like to slam into her arrogant face, but I resign myself to being civil - at least for now.

"So you made it, Elizabeth." The desert floor painted a bright orange red, the spring blue sky above endless. "I am Kri, Leader here in the Dragon's Throat and your personal guard." A moment passes, my face viewing the much taller mare with harsh, judging eyes, waiting for her to speak. She likely would not, by the stubborn view of her face. "I intend to keep you here, you see, as I do not take kindly to forked tongued brats trying to take my kin and allies for prisoners." A smile, poisonous in intent, graces my masculine features as I watch her, quite a distance between us, in quite contempt.

"I doubt you will be of any trouble," I say, a falsely sweet voice taking over my gruff voice. "And you can try to escape or fight for your freedom. However, I assure you that you will remain here until I am damn well ready to release you."

You will be released when you die.
""

Chains? No, no, little Elizabeth. I hold you down with something much more frightening than metal. Instead of allowing my face to warp into rage at the pathetic creature calling me a bitch, I smile pleasantly. Without warning, I begin to pull and tug at my magic. The air around the unicorn is far enough away from to to remain unaffected by the patterns about to be altered. I focus upon her for a moment, the space filled with air, and suddenly the weight begins to intensify. Gravity increases around the mare, the pressure of the air around her increasing slowly, but noticeably. My smile remains amused, and I crack my mouth open to speak before I increase the pressure like the slam of a hammer.

"Were you capable of doing what you wanted, you would not be in my home, you oaf," I say callously, the pressure increasing rapidly and pushing downward. Movement would be made heavy, the pulling would clutch at her less solidified areas, perhaps pushing upon her barrel and moving the unprotected organs uncomfortably up toward her diaphragm. Who needed chains when you could simply silence someone under an invisible weight?

Air could be moved into such pressures as to crush her like a leaf under my hoof. It could be used to crush innards without spilling blood or stop the air from a creature's lungs. Deadly power had been granted to me, and I knew how to use it. Of course, what good was a prisoner if she was dead? "You may not like me, Elizabeth, but you would be wise not to test my patience." I release my clutch upon the air around the smokey mare, looking at her rather contemptuously for a moment. "Do you understand?"
""

Her laugh is misplaced and makes one of my ears tilt back upon my skull. If there was no way to threaten her, than the expenditure of my energy on magic was wasted. The weight is removed and we are left standing; a pair of enemies amidst a red desert stage. It is then that she speaks, moving her position in this verbal battle into yet another position for me to usurp easily. One thing I knew for certain now about Elizabeth; she really needed further training in the art of intelligent banter. "Do you really believe the mundane task of collecting a brat like you needed my personal attention?" I say quite callously, looking at her with a serious expression and tilting my head slightly in amusement. "Don't flatter yourself. It's unbecoming."

Looking at her as she regains her breath and returns to the spirited bitch of a mare that she is, I wait until she has collected herself enough to spit venomous words at me. "Your choice," I say quite neutrally. It would be easier for her if she chose to just comply, rather than struggle during her stay, but I could not make someone behave without beating their face in. If she did not fear death, than likely the idiot would still struggle afterward. I would just have to learn to ignore her attempts at insults and rebellion, if I didn't want to waste my energy with pointless scuffles. "It will only serve to make your stay even more intolerable, as I am no stranger to violence."

Glancing over my shoulder for a brief moment, I note the Oasis in the distance. "Come," I say to her, motioning back in the direction of the lake. "You may be a prisoner, but I can't very well have you dehydrate in the desert."
""