I am flying today. The crisp Autumn air feels wondrous as it courses through my white feathers and streams from my sweating back as steam. Rigorous, strenuous, the activity forces all my young muscles into overdrive as I approach my home once more. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, go golden flecked feathers in the sun.

I knew I should be going back to the Veins first to see Father. Even more so, I should be moving about until I find my Dam or Granddam to let them know I was back. However, I was interested to see how the land of my family had changed over the time we'd been gone. I had no other reason for going really, aside from feeling drawn to the land. The thought suddenly occurs to me that I might be coming back to nothing at all, for the lives of mortal horses vary so greatly in short lengths of time that a long length could mean nearly anything. Not that I wasn't mortal myself, I was.

My voluminous mane, lifted by a rogue wind, smacks me in my face in time to offer me a warning not to miss my destination. I circle around once before I land upon the drying grass at the edges of the land. Crystalline white and dashed with gold, I know I do not need to preen, for no dirt ever sticks to my hide, even with the perspiration I have from my long flight back. From my tall, 17.2hh perch, I cast my blue orbs about in the search of somehorse to speak to, but alas, finding none in the immediate area, I take a moment to gather my breath before I call for someone to greet, "I request an audience with the lead of this land please." my deep voice rolling from my tongue in waves until the words cease and my regal stance is all that remains to move amongst the air.

Crimson orbs watched from a distance as a pale pegasus descended into the Foothills territory. Pale, silken tail twitched in annoyance that she did not know who it was that felt it appropriate to just land all willy nilly in her land. Eytan had not brought her any images of any pale pegasi that had joined the Foothills and he was usually on top of his duty of keeping her informed of the newcomers. Ktulu had already begun walking toward the pegasus when his voice finally reached her ears, confirming what she already knew. He was not one that had been invited into the Foothills, but was blindly bumbling into a land that he had no business in.

Eytan was close at her heels as Ktulu approached the pale stallion through the fading grass. Crisp autumn wind lifted her pale mane from her muscled neck and blew her forelock back, revealing her blood red gaze as it locked on the pegasus. Moments later Ktulu came to a halt before the stallion, her head raised in a manner that would not allow him to mistake her for anything less than a leader of the Foothills. Beside her stood Eytan, his caramel eyes curious as he looked upon the stallion who was rather pretty, in his opinion.

"I am Ktulu the Constrictor, Chieftess of the Foothills." She stated just in case the stallion was too dense to identify who she was just by the airs she carried. "Who are you and why do you trespass on Foothills territory?" The tone of her voice left no doubt that she would not take kindly to any lies or excuses that might spew forth from the pegasus' mouth. She only wished she had her sister's ability to experience his memories to know what his intentions might be.

My deep blue orbs do not have to wait long before a fierce, though angry looking mare, gives them purchase. I think, as she slithers forward, that I rather feel a twinge of fear growing in my gut. All this for curiosity.She has in tow with her an Ursus arctos horribilis, or the common grizzly bear. A fine looking( though somewhat young) specimen of the species too, I observe. Though he was not necessarily a native of this particular land, the hunting appeared to have been good for him. Or her, I scold myself. One must never be gender discriminatory.

The mare, annoyed, speaks with the youthful confidence of a god and I'm suddenly quite keen to go, for such horses were never ones for idle chat. But then I hear her name,Ktulu. The harsh, spoken syllables trigger a memory and, suddenly, the fear drains from my body and a deep, rumbling chuckle, mirroring that of my mentor, bubbles up from my throat. "Ktulu, you say?" and for all her firm demeanor I cannot help but smile brightly. "Well, Ktulu the Constrictor. I am your cousin, Eios, and I am most pleased to finally meet your acquaintance." and I offer her a dip of my head as my rumbling voice trails off. My orbs, turning a bright blue, crinkle at the edges as look at her happily. My demeanor is friendly and brotherly, begging her not to be too upset with her at my joking. Oh, what luck to have met her., my first extended family member! Granted, I shan't assume I'm completely well off yet. Though I was certainly happy that I had come now, regardless of her reply, for I had gotten to meet some of my family today.

There was no hint of amusement on Ktulu's stony face when the young stud began to grin and laugh. Was she really funny or was he stupid? Did he know how much danger he could possibly be in should she deem him a threat to her territory even though even thinking him a threat was a joke in itself. Pretty stallions were usually that. Pretty. They were only good for making pretty babies that were just as worthless as their daddies. A snort escaped her when he finally announced himself as her cousin. It was possible, she supposed. Her parents had both come from rather large families and she was almost always discovering new siblings. Why not a new cousin? "Cousin or not you have no right to be here." She said cooly.

A slight turn of her head and a tilt of an ear in Lakota's direction was all the greeting the blue roan got at the moment because Ktulu was still trying to decide if this Eios was one she could take her eyes off of. When Lakota spoke it was then that Ktulu assumed that she had heard the stallion's laughing and found it as disrespectful as she had. "You should know the answer to that, Lakota." Only then did the hint of a smile curl the edges of her mouth. Everyone with the exceptions of the members of The Grey bothered her.

Eytan, however, was more vocal in his greeting of the blue roan that had entertained him when he was a cub. His greeting to her was grumbled low in his throat and he ambled over to her. He batted her tail once before nudging the little polar bear that had bonded to the roan. He began to nudge him away from the mares who might decide to attack the intruder at a moment's notice since he seemed so set on putting his hoof in his mouth.

Almost as soon as the smile appeared it was gone and Ktulu's focus was back on Eios. "State your business or leave at once." She said, her voice losing the warmth it had held when she addressed Lakota.

Oh, dear. My humor had not been met kindly. She was highly lacking in trust, this cousin of mine. What had hurt her to make her thus, I wonder. A blue roan approached then and was impossibly rude to one whom she knew nothing about. I had been so naive in assuming that simply because I was blood to this mare that she'd be interested in meeting me or befriending me. Did family really mean so little in the real world? I'd dreamed about meeting Kulu and Ophelia as a foal, all holed up in his home of molten lava and bickering gods. Father Earth had been kind of course, but the only outside contact he'd had had been with his mother and her stories of meeting her older sister and about the twin fillies who were just his age. Those fillies who were so free while I was stuck inside. There were others I longed to meet of course, but how sad that I'd met some of my family only to learn of their cold hearts.

This was not what I had been expecting. This Ktulu was so...so harsh. She seemed to be not too interested in me at all. I was nothing. My bright blue eyes swirl darker as a heave a great sigh. "Hmm, my purpose. Well, I came here because I was raised in a rather...sheltered...environment. I was away from my mother from my very first day upon this land. I have never met or known any of my other family except for brief visits with my mother. I came here because this was the last place I knew as being associated with my family. I came to meet you, cousin, for I remember stories of you and your sister Ophelia from my mother Enheduanna, your own mother's sister." and I begin to slowly back away, readying to take flight. "Though I see I'm not wanted here either, so farewell dear cousin. I am sorrowful I was not able to learn to know you as Sister, though you may count on it that I shall not bother you again, dear Ktulu."

My eyes stare deeply into hers for several heartbeats. While I am sad that I could not be her family, I will not disown her for her childish hate. I dip my head and bunch my muscles, readying to take to the air, and fly away, never to be seen again.

"Am I supposed to feel pity for you?" Ktulu asked incredulously when her 'cousin' began his speech about his childhood. Did he really think his childhood was so bad that he had to complain about it? At least he had been sheltered and had not seen the evils the world could produce at such an early age, but at the same time it handicapped him. It made him soft and a soft stallion was nothing if not completely worthless. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth pressed together as she listened to him. "I've never heard of your mother." A touch of anger laced her voice as she spat the words. "My mother never troubled herself with mentioning your mother or you."

He had heard stories of her and her sister? From Enheduanna? She had never met her mother's sister in all her life nor had she even heard her name mentioned. Aside from her father's sister, Giselle, she had only met her Grandmother and even then Eios and his mother had not been mentioned. She did remember, however, that her grandmother had been emotional, much like the stallion that was trying to worm his way into her life and her herd. Much like like a stubborn young foal she balked, set her hooves, and stood her ground.

When Lakota spoke the look on Ktulu's face eased if only slightly and when she spoke again her voice had returned to its usual cool, emotionless state. "Whatever stories your mother told you are flawed." She said cooly. "She knew not of who she spoke." And how could she? She had never even bothered to make herself known in her nieces lives, but that mattered little. Ktulu had had Ophelia growing up and that was all she needed to make her happy.

"Leave now." She then said. "Get off my land." White tail lashed against her hocks as she watched the pegasus take to the sky.

"I didn't know you had a female cousin, Ktulu. Tell me, do you gossip over the latest Helovian news with our dearest pigeon?"

"You insult pigeons, Lakota." Ktulu said gruffly as she turned her head toward the poisoner. No one in their right mind had ever joked with her the way Lakota did in so bold a manner. It was quite refreshing even if it did annoy Ktulu that she would be the butt of one of Lakota's jokes. Still, it was all in good nature and Ktulu had always been one to roll with the punches, be they physical or verbal. "Has anyone ever told you that you laugh like a girl, Kota?" Her tail flicked as she turned and began to walk toward Eytan and Ao.

At the sound of Lakota's voice one of Ktulu's ears rotated in her direction. "If I allowed you to poison everyone who annoyed you we would have no one in need of contracts." Still, she grinned. "One day." She promised moments later. "Maybe if you steal one of those Assassins Ophelia talked about."

Eytan stopped his play and looked toward Ktulu when he heard her approach. He grunted toward the polar bear cub before he began to amble toward his bonded, who had halted half way to him. She stood with one hip cocked, her hoof resting on its tip as she waited. Eytan circled around her, batting once at her snowy tail before making a bee line for Lakota. She'd always been one to indulge him more in his play than Ktulu had, especially now that he was growing up and should be becoming more serious in his role as Ktulu's companion.

"No, I don't believe so. I'll try and be manlier just for you, darling."

Manlier? Darling?

If Ktulu hadn't been paying attention to Lakota before she certainly was now. Her head turned and she looked at the blue roan mare, a quizzical look on her face. Quickly she schooled her expression back to its usual one, though it didn't stay long before she was grinning once more. "You seem to forget I was with a God." She said. "How do you propose to be more manly than the God of the Earth? Of course I wouldn't mind seeing you act manly." Ktulu laughed quietly as she looked at her poisoner.

It was only on rare occasions that Ktulu ever let her guard down and usually that was only with Ophelia and Hototo. It felt good to finally let loose and laugh and be the part of herself that she repressed for so long. It would only last a few moments before she slipped back into her usual indifference.

"Maybe if I try hard enough, I'll be able to seduce you and we can run off into the hills together singing songs and professing our undying love to each other for eternity."

"I suppose we'll have to see about that." Ktulu said in mock thoughtfulness. She flicked her tail and began to walk once more. "Or perhaps I'll be the one doing the seducing..." The barest hint of a flirty tone was present but Ktulu said nothing else as she continued to walk away. Eytan stopped playing with Kota's tail and began to run after his bonded, grunting to himself. He didn't know what was going on, why his bonded's emotions were not as they usually were. One day he would figure it out, but today was not that day.

Ktulu heard what Lakota said next and stopped in her retreat. She looked back at the other mare, sighing softly. "There is no place for us in a peaceful world, Lakota." She said ruefully. "No place at all."

"I bet you I could do far better than any God, Ktulu."

Ktulu laughed quietly at Lakota and gave the slightest of shakes of her head. While she appreciated the compliment, whether it was given jokingly or not, the reality did not escape her. The Earth God could have chosen anyone he wanted and he'd chosen her to carry his child. He could have chosen a far better mare to be a mother to Hototo than she and she'd come to realize that long before she'd even given birth to her precious son. "Quiet, Lakota, lest you tempt the Earth God to swallow you into the ground." Another flick of her tail was given and more sway added to her step as she continued to move away from the blue roan.

The black dun exaggerated a shiver when her poisoner used her title of Chieftess. Head turned and she looked back over her shoulder at the other mare, another grin curving the corners of her mouth. "I love it when you use my title. Say it again." More laughter came shortly after and it left the dark mare wondering what the hell had gotten into her. It had been a long time since she'd smiled and laughed and never had she openly flirted with anyone let alone another mare.

The mood, however, turned somber quickly and as Lakota began to speak again the darker mare turned her body toward the other, ears tilted forward as she listened. "The Deep Forest will always hold a piece of my heart, but we could not survive there, Lakota." She pointed out. "Food was scarce during Frostfall. The borders are near impossible to defend. It's no place for a herd." She had never expected that she would be the leader of a herd or that the Grey would grow as large or as quickly as it did, but it had and she'd done what needed to be done. The misfits had gathered and bonded and formed a family.

The poisoner was soon turning away from her and that made Ktulu close the distance, her neck stretching as she reached to shove her muzzle into Lakota's shoulder. "Your loyalty means a lot, Kota." She said, using the shortened form of her poisoner's name. "But I promise you this world is far from peaceful. You've heard the saying 'the calm before the storm', haven't you?" Another grin cracked her face, though it seemed forced. "Welcome to the calm."

Ktulu swished her ivory tail from side to side when Lakota admitted to enjoying the view. "Why wouldn't you?" She asked in mock seriousness. "I'm quite stunning." Did she really believe that she was stunning? No. Ktulu still felt herself the less attractive sister when compared to Ophelia. Phi was the definition of elegance while she was nothing short of brutish. Whatever it was that the Earth God had seen in her and Midas saw in her was still unknown to Ktulu and would probably always remain unknown. The dark mare allowed another exaggerated shiver to ripple through her body when Lakota used her title once more. "Ohh, that's nice." she purred, a coy grin curling her lips as she looked to Lakota once more.

Dark ears tilted forward when Lakota began to speak of her loyalty, which Ktulu found touching. The only one she'd ever really known to have any sort of loyalty to her before had been Ophelia. Now she was gaining the trust and companionship of others and it was a new and very strange feeling. "I don't know what I've done to gain loyalty like yours, Kota." Ktulu began. "But I appreciate it."

Crimson eyes blinked in surprise at the touch of Lakota's muzzle against her forehead and the kiss that followed. Her eyes widened and she felt that she might have the look of a young starstruck foal. Her stomach did a little flipflop and she snorted softly then blinked again and gave a minute shake of her head, as if that would make her snap completely back to reality. Vaguely she could hear Lakota's voice again and that gave her something to focus on.

"I nearly murdered the vile creature that had dared to harm you when we invaded, I do not think I can ever hand my loyalty over to someone else. You've grown on me, you little minx."

Ktulu's teeth ground together as she thought back to the invasion and the fact that she'd fallen early on. It was something she did not like to look back on or be reminded of. "If you ever have the uncontrollable urge to use your magic, you can use it on her." Ktulu said. "And make sure she's dead." There was obvious bitterness in the way she spoke, but why should she not be bitter? The mare had been nothing short of a nosy loud mouth who had no business being in the invasion.

Ktulu snorted again, her ears rotating back to lay against her head, but then Lakota was changing the subject. A quiet chuckle rumbled in her chest when her poisoner proposed to start up a few storms of her own. "I have no doubt that you couldn't stir up a few storms, Kota." She said. "And I don't doubt that you can handle yourself." She side stepped a bit and eyed the other mare. "All those muscles... mmh, you can definitely handle yourself." She added on with a wink and a grin.

As Lakota turned, Ktulu did as well, though her body faced the opposite direction. "Fire?" Ktulu laughed and flicked her tail toward Lakota's face. "I think you may be mistaken, sweetheart." She shot back as she began to trot away.