Ni'Srilan: The Desert: Your lips tremble but your eyes are in a straight stare ; strandwolf

Hypatia follows the ebb and flow of his mind. She thinks how alike her warriors are. All proud and “I just wanna fight for me!” But they’re all soft inside. She thinks of them almost like brothers, like those younger boys who are a girl’s closest friends. They teach her to play rough and never take no for an answer. They make her laugh, even when she can’t see them. And through it all, for some reason, there is a loyalty built, a trust that is inevitable.

She wonders if Fenris or Saphira have boys like this. She hopes not.

The Naphtha watches Kail and Strandwolf a moment longer. “Yes, they are much too similar. Baraqel, and my Kail.” Hypatia snorts, and ash falls into her lion’s mane. She looks pleased at Kail’s resulting glare. “Familiar’s appear out of no where. They kind of just pounce on you one moment.” Well, hers had. Literally. “You used to only get them when you were an Oracle.” She had been alone, missing that part of herself that was Kail, for so long. “But Althea will receive hers when she is a Seer. The Elementals have realized the need for familiars sooner.” She nudges Kail with her hoof. “They are too special for a scholar to have so late.”

It’s my fault Ahriman’s not here. Strandwolf’s mind echoes across her and his features quite easily. “No, it’s not your fault, Strandwolf. And if he is upset, then he does not deserve to be General. He should be proud for you. He should work himself harder.” But the Queen was sure that this was not the case. Though she could really use Ahriman about now.

As she walks, her face grows serious. She had two Golds, but one had disappeared into a fiery ball. Her Silvers, she had once had five. Now she has two. Prisoners were being taken from her, but never given to her. She needs them to bater. She needs to let them go. “We must get another Gold.” She’s getting desperate. She’s eyeing Kurai. “I want you to fight for prisoners, Strandwolf.” She knows that this could mean losing him though, too. “Pick strategically, but test yourself.” A smile tries to come forth, but it only curves her mouth a little and does not light fires in her eyes.

It. It is everything. It is fear. It is hatred. It is power that knows only greed. It is war. It is death. Her vision goes black, and she feels blinded except for the presence of Kail’s mind near hers.

“It is hell.”