do you feel like a young god? nayl

[Amet]

if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes

Amet.

He almost misses it, the way the blood rushes in his ears, but then there she is. Nayl draws from the cavern and the dragon boy expels a quick sigh of relief, nodding at her introduction of the new Nerinian princess. Her brother, Castile, shoves his way back into Amet's mind and the Akhal-Teke frowns deeply.

"I'm sorry to come so late," the words rushed and unimportant now, but nevertheless, he had been taught manners in the Dunes. Amet searches the tobiano Queen's eyes, his own amber ones laced with worry. She immediately recognizes the expression on the young stallion's face and he is grateful, but anxiety still weighs heavy in his chest. He has failed to defend Hyaline tonight and, as a ripe little cherry on top, Iset had been involved.

The dragon king moves swiftly back towards Hyaline, the Queen at his bronze shoulder as he spills his jumbled words. "We've been attacked. They burned the trees and made the earth move, and used magic to kill the rest of the foliage. They..." he exhales and inhales again deeply, replenishing his lungs to suppress the feeling of hyperventilation, "they hurt Tang."

He falls silent for the briefest of moments, their hooves falling heavy as sand turned to rock, and then finally to dense forest floor. "Molotov, my friend, she's a telepath. She told me their names." He thinks of the way his flame-kissed companion had seeped into their thoughts, recoiling only once their identities had been discovered. She had deposited those identities nearly into Amet's own head, and he is in her debt for her immediate desire to help.

"Maugrim. Deathwish. Kolera. Levi." His limbs have gone cold and numb as the real confession is upon him, "And... Castile, he... he isn't hurt. He flew over the group and he saw... he saw that Iset was with them." He does not know his sister's involvement, but hiding the information from Nayl will do him no good.

"After they left," he continues, "I asked Castile to find Djinni, and I came for you."

Amet