07-08-2017, 02:24 PM
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
Nayl's voice echoes in his head even now, days after she had demanded Iset be removed from the throne of Hyaline. In his fury, he had agreed with the painted Empress, but now his heart aches for his sister and for the feeling of betrayal that still suffocates him in the middle of the night. Amet stands statuesque beneath his charred wisteria tree, amber eyes turned unseeing towards the murky lake. It is still clouded with ash and the corpses of deceased fish have all floated to the shoreline with the ebb of its gentle waves. The air is wretched still, but the gilded king remains firmly by the water basin. It is still his home, more so than the Dunes had ever been, and he will not abandon it.
He is even without Castile now, thanks to Amet's own distraction and Ivar's well-timed intrusion. Hyaline is silent as it licks its wounds.
A loud call draws the dragon king from his catatonia and he wonders if he should greet whoever stood at their -- his -- borders, or simply let them wait until they decide to venture in further or turn around to leave. Ultimately, his diplomacy wins, and Amet moves his slender metallic frame from beside the gnarled wisteria trunk and towards the outer border of his home, where the burned forests turn to shale mountain crests.
He moves swiftly as his flared nostrils note the scent of Tephra on the breeze. Warrick, he thinks gladly, hoping that the navy-pointed stallion has come to see Tang. But as the Akhal-Teke nears, he sees that he is nearly late to a party where Warrick, Nayl, and Molotov have all gathered. His amber eyes find Warrick's companion, a commanding-looking stallion with scars that remind him of Iset's, who smells of brine and sulfur and appears to radiate heat the same way he used to see it curl from the summertime sands of his childhood home.
He sees, too, the way Molotov eyes the black stallion with something akin to aggression and can only assume that she has found something in his head that she doesn't like. His gaze finds Warrick as uncertainty rises in his chest, but has faith that his Tephran friend would not bring a companion to Hyaline with ill intent, and so the gilded king decides that he must put a damper on whatever Molotov may be leaking into the black stallion's mind.
His practice with the telepath, and his practice outside of Hyaline, would come in handy today. He takes a deep breath and feels his mind reach out to the group, a subtle blanket that will diminish any traits that they may hold, but not completely suppress them. He concentrates most of his effort on Molotov as he comes to a halt beside the telepathic mare, his nihilism creating a barrier between the mare and Warrick's companion so that she may not speak into the other stallion's mind, but only into Amet's. The dragon-scaled stallion bumps his hip into hers.
Molotov, his thoughts coax her to read into his mind, I need you to play nice.
After a brief moment, the young king turns his attention to the other three who have gathered. He nods to Nayl, thankful that she has decided to remain within Hyaline for the next few days, and then allows his gaze to find the Tephran stallions. "Warrick," Amet says warmly, though fatigue still plays at the edges of his words, "Thank you for coming." The sentiment is genuine, even considering the unexpected additional company.
"Welcome to Hyaline," he offers to the immense black stallion, making sure to keep his own head raised proudly, "My name is Amet. I hope that the news I brought Warrick reached Tephra in time for you to increase security," he offers under the assumption that Warrick has brought Offspring to him, the King that his blue-pointed friend had mentioned just following the attack. "The last thing I want is for Hyaline's misfortune to reach the other territories of Beqanna." A dismal frown follows when Amet is no longer able to suppress it and he falls silent, just now curious why Warrick has brought the King of Tephra along for the journey.
Amet
@[Offspring] @[Nayl] @[Warrick] @[Molotov]
Note: Basically, Amet used his trait negation to put a damper on the group, so Offy's exoskelly will be a little easier for him to hide ;), but mainly he blocked Molotov from telepathically communicating with anyone but himself ♥ at least for now. This will remain in effect for the duration of the thread, unless otherwise stated xD