With all the care and grace of a pissed off bull, I make my landing on the red earth a few paces from the gathering. My wings sound like blustered canvas sails as they expand, slowing my descent, the ground clapping heavily as my hooves meet the red rock and dust below. My body had fallen, rather sharply, like a heafty stone from the sky. My wings unfurl at the last moment, keeping my sturdy legs from crumbling under the pressure of meeting rock so quickly. Still, the movement jarrs them still, but I do not really care at this point. Luckily for the unicorns, they had found a rested area on the outskirts of my territory. Were it otherwise, I might have to chastise them for intruding, as well as making ridiculous requests like returning those we had rightfully stolen. I hold my wits about me, taking a deep breath, inhaling small particles of red dust that I had become accustomed to following me just about everywhere. The desert was beautiful, but it was messy.

Quick movements bring me forward, a trot bustling my form forward while wings fold against my side cleanly. I note that Azzuen has insinuated himself between Elizabeth and the black mare with a crimson mane, and I am thankful. You could not give me a thousand amulets to get close to that childish wench, unless it was to cleanly smack her over the head with a forcible wing. I come to stand, instead, on the opposite side of the bay colored mare that had spoken. Her honey eyes are warm, while my dark blue oceans are frigid. Azzuen speaks as I come to a halt, wind whistling through my mane as I take in our company.

One stallion looks with murderous eyes at my General, and when I glance at him, I can see his nostrils flare with a violent breath seeping through. "If being in the presence of my kin bothers you so, stallion, perhaps you should have stayed at home." My words are harsh, cold, and called his bad manners out onto the table immediately. I want no sly words to be played here; let no mask hide the true intentions of these unicorns with guarded eyes, asking for gifts they have no resources to barter for.

"Welcome to the Dragon's Throat," I say, turning my attention back to the bay mare, the calmest of the gather. "I am Kri, though I believe we have met briefly before." Upon my return of Sno, the eldest child of the Frostheart, I can recall her sweet disposition from amid a crowd of angry souls. Even to an outsider who knew little of Mauja's band of unicorns, Lena had stood out as being different. "I do not wish to see the relations of our herds worsened, but Azzuen is right. What reason do we have to release those we hold captive? Your request is not enough."

I could roll my eyes, but I feel as though that would only put me in a bad light instead of the circle-talkers in front of me. I regret speaking to the bay almost immediately, though she has calm words that are eloquently put in a respectful tone. She grabs at old wounds that have no relevance as of this moment, and that will have to be quickly ended. I do not nod, just hold her gaze and wait for her speech to come to a close. The other unicorns around her do not seem pleased by my words or presence, but smug as she speaks. It is the same biased glass they peer through. I do not claim innocence in terms of bias, but I noticed when things were relevant and when they were just fodder for my ears.

I nod once as she finishes but not one that signals agreement. The movement is a precursor to the words which slip out of my mouth. "Your words are facts that I cannot ignore, but you view them in a light that would paint my herd as the ones at fault while placing your own as completely free of responsibility," even tones, yet they are cutting in strength along with my cool gaze that reigns from my dark toned eyes. "I had personally returned Sno to her father, and the Frostheart had deemed that action enough to offer forgiveness. D'Artagnan was taken strategically to avoid his aid during the invasion of the Edge for our allies, and the attempts to capture King Mauja were the same. D'Artagnan was released as soon as you came to collect him, and Mauja was never held prisoner in this lands. Your bringing up healed wounds does nothing to prove to me our prisoners should be freely returned; in fact, it does the opposite.

"You may not hold any who find a home in the Throat, but my allies are my family as well. Your capture of Mirage and several others, along with the attempted ambushes, forced my hand when it came to planning to capture a few of your own ranks. Were it not for your band's barrage of ambushes, failed or not, we would never have taken your members prisoner here." I look at her for a moment, allowing my words to sink into an unusually thick skull. They had planned the same evil as my herd and I. They were not innocent. Aurelius and Elizabeth themselves had attempted stealths of my herd and allies. What other action should we have taken? "Again, I will ask. For what reason should I release prisoners of my home to beggars who have nothing to offer except a rehash of settled issues and falsely placed blame?"

"You cannot call forth the settled past to defend spontaneous aggression," I say as she speaks of our former barrages. I would not stand for her lies or impudent view of two completely separate situations. Their recent string of stealths had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with ours launched previously. The only defense they held was that of past transgressions on our part. Apparently, in the face of these idiots who would not know the a spark from the flame, it was the same matter. However, it was not. "Aurelius and Elizabeth came to remain within my borders after we attempted to defend ourselves from becoming captives in the Basin. For your logic to work, I would have been expected to stand idly by as my allies and herd were put in danger by your kin to remain upon neutral terms with the Basin herd." My voice grows into one dangerous tone as I look at her. "To stand watch as my beloved family is thrown into danger to keep a false face of neutrality is unacceptable and complete horse shit. Surely you will at least agree with that."

Sweet, honeyed words could only carry one so far when the message is fractured and incomplete. I need not walk away blameless, but if it was anyone's fault for Basin members being held within my borders, it was the thieves who had taken my allies and tried to steal my very family from behind my back. I bore no ill-will toward this brave girl who spoke to try and free her comrades, but annoyance was beginning to flush through my skin, ears slowly tilting back as I fight the urge to gnash my teeth at the redundancy and nullity of her argument. Finally, the mare cuts through some of the crap and gets to a point I can actually agree upon. We are both weary souls, tired of fighting. "Aye," I say, my voice quiet and calm. "We are tired." No matter how tired, I was still doomed to continue fighting. If there were no immediate threats, however, perhaps I could catch my breath.

Lady Psyche. My ear flicks back uncertainly, as I think that surely Psyche would be the one who would be the most unwilling to make a truce. However, I had a feeling that Lena did not come here without the queen of her land knowing. The mare with the red mane speaks next, and I nod at her words, my face contemplative. I look toward Azzuen, who still stands stark between Elizabeth and the others. "Gather Aurelius," I say to him, my voice solemn. "The prisoners will return to their home with their kin and me." My dark eyes flicker back toward Lena's face, voice steady. "I will speak to your Lady. I believe the return of your brethren should melt any iceberg on her shoulder to a manageable size."

A gruff, masculine smile on my lips, perhaps the most friendly expression the bay mare will ever see from me.