i'm on the wrong side of heaven; atrox

[Warship]

come back with your shield, or on it

He had never really given his “extended family” much thought. Certainly he knew they existed, and possibly in an innumerable amount. Despite his rock-hard façade, his father seemed to have a way with the ladies, and this was the one footstep of his sires that he had never had an urge to follow. His parents hadn’t been in love, or anything even close to that. He, Warship, had been created in much the same manner that Erebor had been created- for the good of the Chamber. Maybe his dam had loved his sire, or at least in her own way. If she did love him, it would have been for what he could do for the kingdom and not for who he was.

But the news of his brother being general of the Gates was interesting indeed. It didn’t change the way he felt about the light kingdom- they were still a sniveling bunch of lightweights, whining and flouncing in place of throwing hooves and teeth. It also didn’t change the fact that he would down him on the battlefield if possible, but it certainly added an extra bit of flair to the impending battle. He wondered whether his brother had inherited that same war lust from their father that he had, or if he was built from more of an even keel. If they have that particular bit of their sire in common, then heaven help them all.

“Call it a wild guess.” he said wryly, cocking a hind leg as he relaxed. It would be odd to passers- by (if there were such a thing in the Chamber) to see a stallion relaxing in the presence of a panther, but to Warship it was entirely normal. But the panther doesn’t last long, and soon the panther becomes another black stallion. Wilder in some ways than Warship himself, lacking the refinement in the skull he had inherited from his mother, certainly more scarred. “No brother of mine would serve the Gates.” he said ruefully, shaking his head. Of course, he didn’t mean brother in the literal sense. They may have shared blood but that was where their similarities ended. “The Gates is pitifully weak. All you hear from them is sniveling and whining about what they would like to do and very little of actual doing it. I almost feel bad for the Chamber attacking them.”, though he said this with a smile. Of course he didn’t feel the least bit bad; if anything, his appetite had been whetted. Brother or not, the Gates would have their war.

-warship