Abruptly the newcomer left, evidently upon seeing the draconic presence of her beloved mate. The short speech highlighted the mares shameful lack of manners and expertise with the local language, but her point was made; she was one of those, ignorant and judgemental creatures who took things only upon the face value. At least she extracted herself from the scene – it was good she hurried, for annoyance dared to flare up in the mare, as she metaphorically leapt to the stallion’s defence, irritated that some unknown bitch would assume that her chosen lifemate was not worthy of her attention or time. But the shadowy one had some restraint, and merely took a sideways step to close the gap that had been generated between herself and the titanic form of Vikram. Leaning her shoulder subtly into his bulk, she silently wished to convey all that roiled within her; the annoyance, the want to comfort him, the want to hurt one who would be so blindly judgemental.

Akaith, however, was unable to show such restraint. Such uninhibited happiness had been the dominant emotion through the golden one previously, it now turned to scorn, as she growled angrily at the retreating form, her scales standing on end, her wings stretched out and ready to take her bodice into flight after the buckskin minx. Smoke trailed from her nostrils, but then soothing internal melodies sounded from the shadowy mare that was her bonded, and the queenly one settled, the happiness of the moment dampened slightly by the negative undercurrents of an ignorant fool. It was time to then focus upon the positives; the colt was alive, and he would be raised with the healthy notion that strength came from within, that one was not made by what they were given, but rather by how they used their gifts. Yes, the Qian would give him ample opportunity to realise this, he would be protected and yet exposed to what life what really about at the same time.

“It does not do well to let our minds rest too long on the thoughts of those too blind to see what truly stands before them.” Ailith had indeed, just destroyed most possibilities of ever gaining alliance with the Qian, and Mirage’s connections were many; she would make sure those she cared about knew what to look for should the buckskin deign to show her face again in public. There were of course, ways to make reparations, prove that one’s manner of thinking had altered – but Mirage knew well enough that it was nigh impossible to make a leopard change its spots. A deep breath was held, a sigh, and then exhaled, the rich aroma of the Forest breezing its way through her nostrils and maw as she did so. With the exhalation, came relaxation once more, a refreshed mind and a return of the smile that so artfully traced its way along her lips.

“If there was a way I could fortify borders of this land so that only our allies might enter it, I would – fortunately the numbers of the Qian are growing and will provide its members with the promised protection.” The mare so longed to give her family a homeland, to truly and properly start a herd on the same notion that she had begun the Qian. One day, one day.. She chided herself; patience she had, but sometimes she did forget. There was safety to be found in numbers, but those numbers would indeed benefit from having a land to call their resting place, she knew. The Deep Forest was accommodating for now, she would have to do more thinking on the ways to escape this predicament. Fondly, the mare watched the interactions of the colt with the other young mare, hoping that Kiara would soon lose her fear of the male gender, but also understanding that such things take time, and Mirage could hardly control them by her will alone.

[ Sorry for skipping over Vik & Kiara, muse struck me and I figure will give you more to play on anyway? xP ]