We do what we must,
Because we can.
There is so much to discuss, so much to talk about between the two of them, Camrynn knows that these questions will need answering, and she hopes that the answers are good enough. Pevensie is one of few horses in the world to whom Camrynn would prefer not to lie. There is something so good about the mare, so sweet that she just can't bring herself to do it. She would, if necessary, for the good of the kingdom. But she wouldn't ever do it capriciously.
She moves across the sand like she is born for it, her black body flowing smoothly across the vast expanses. She knows where to look for her adoptive mother, finding the places where the light bends to reveal the milky buckskin. True to her word to Yael, she is older now, black as night, no markings on her slender, pretty body save for the one placed there by the Deserts. The crook and flail stand out even more proudly against the darkness of her skin, a sharp gold against dark black.
When she spots her fellow queen, she dips her head in acknowledgement. Her eyes today are gold, gold like Yael, like the Deserts sand. "Pevensie." she greets with a gentle smile. It was actually habit to greet her as "Mama Pevensie" and Camrynn has to force that back. She is a grown up now, remember? Her voice is all adulthood, smooth like velvet and delightful to listen to. She wraps them in a gentle cone of magical silence, ensuring that no one outside will see or overhear their conversation. "Congratulations." She touches her fellow queen lightly on the shoulder, hoping that she isn't overstepping her boundaries. No doubt the woman would have a million questions for her, but she hopes it's not enough to make Pevensie mad enough to shy away from her touch.
Along the dune line behind them, Gumby frolics in his pleasantly puppy-like manner. There is a butterfly fluttering just above his reach, and he is trying his darndest to play with it. It's quite adorable, really.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the Amazons before the meeting. I know they'll be coming to discuss things, and I wanted to bring it to the kingdom as quickly as I could." she speaks the truth. "When Scorch came to me with her offer, I never had any intention of accepting on her terms." She sighs. "You saw those gods. If I'd been aligned with the Amazons, would they have let me proceed?" She knows that the answer is no, because she knows that they'd ejected Shahrizai.
"I don't know what you saw during that competition," she begins, and it rushes in front of her eyes, the room of Isis, Osiris' underworld, the boxes of Thoth. "But I was tested by the gods at every turn." it is a flat statement of what happened, not prideful or boastful, because of course she knows exactly what happened. Pevensie tends to wear her feelings and thoughts on her sleeve sometimes, and Cam can hardly help but pick them up. "It only makes sense for that to have some lasting effects."
And now the ball is in Pevensie's court, to ask any questions that might be on her mind. Perhaps she'll think that Cam means her appearance and her little trick with Gumby were all from the gods. Or perhaps not. Camrynn doesn't intend to deceive her, oddly enough.
C A M R Y N N
Why? Because I can
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Nothing much has changed yet. She is still the same horse, going about her daily business... but just with more responsibility now. Whereas normally she might have ventured off to the field to recruit, Pevensie instead has decided to remain within the boundaries of the kingdom, until things have settled. She expects that there must be a certain resentment, if not uncertainty, from the resident horses of the kingdom that two relatively unknowns have taken charge. They might perhaps be worried, and rightly so. If the roles were reversed, I dare say the little buckskin mare might feel the same way. Their concerns are only natural. So she decides to stay close, stay visible, provide some reassurance she isn't about to jot off on a jolly anywhere else.
The pony-mare is sunbathing by the cool of the oasis. She might have thought to go to the garden, off somewhere in the distant pink sands for more solitude, but it did occur to her that a member of Vanquish's family might still be there wanting privacy. It is not her place to intrude, not when the grief is still so fresh in their hearts. What a terrible thing it is, the loss of a family member.
She is disturbed from the peace by a black shadow approaching. Pevensie already knows who it will be, for it Camrynn had not sought her now, Pevensie had in mind to have found her later. Both knew they needed a private meeting. There were many questions left unanswered, but not from Pevensie. She rises up onto her feet, rather reluctant and cumbersome. The sand had made such a soft, cosy bed.
The black mare nods respectfully to the buckskin, and in turn Pevensie gives her a smile. She has never bowed to royalty, and she doesn't expect anyone to bow to her now she has a title. Poor Flintfoot would turn in her grave at the thought of it all and old habits die hard. "And to you too," she returns the congratulations, bumping muzzles with her adoptive daughter. She might be confused, a little disturbed even by the rapid changes in Cammies' appearance, but these thoughts stem from the concern of a parent, an inert kindness that radiates from the sun-mare. In the back of her mind though, she isn't fool enough to rule out something more sinister. Really, she has no idea what to think of it all.
Camrynn thinks first to address the Amazons, whilst Pev listens quietly. Her gaze drifts off to find Gumpy, digging a hole in the Desert sands. She isn't quite sure what to make of the strange creature yet, still uneasy gazing into human faces like his. Looking at those eyes makes her bright white scar on her chest seer as though pierced with a white-hot blade, makes her ear throb like fire. Yet, he seems fairly harmless. It'll just take getting used to, having him around.
"I've seen the magic of Beqanna do many things. I don't doubt that even the oldest magician would be no match for the faeries or gods of old. I have no intention of angering either, and I would strongly advise that you do the same. They chose to save me in the past, but equally as easily they might have killed him, or chose to do nothing and let me die," she says, closing her eyes and shuddering softly at the painful memories. However, she isn't here to dictate. If Camrynn chooses to betray the Deserts, she has a heavy price to pay in turn. Pevensie cannot make that choice on her behalf, for she firmly believes that people will do what they want irrespective of nagging. Actually, she's seen nagging push them into bad choices faster many a time.
"Before you entered, you were a yearling. How is it that now you are not?" she asks, a more than a little worried. She steps back, to eye Camrynn up properly, drink in the sight of her changed appearance. She's known the faeries to change colour before, to alter age less so. Aslyn had wandered into one and been changed purple, but they had not made her an adult. She frowns, uncomfortable with not feeling like she knew her daughter any more, sad that her childhood had been robbed from her by responsibility and meddling gods.
"As for the Amazons, there's something about Scorch I just don't trust. She was always fickle, even when I knew her years back. I can't condemn someone for not being approachable though, and I certainly can't condemn her loyalty. She will serve the Amazons with only the best intentions I am sure, but those intentions that are good for the Jungle might not be so good for us,"
We do what we must,
Because we can.
Does Pevensie know exactly how spot on her words are? Camrynn wonders how much Pevensie suspects about who, and what, she truly is. The black mare finds herself in an impossibly odd position: she wants to tell Pevensie everything, to confess her magic, and perhaps even her deception, but she doesn't want to hurt her adoptive mother.
The buckskin mare speaks of magic and gods, and Camrynn knows the truth of her words too intimately. They had both had their souls laid bare by these gods, had their very essence examined and found sufficient. She doesn't know what Camrynn has wagered against her loyalty here – that she stands to lose the thing most precious to her if she does not maintain. She notes with interest the way Pevensie speaks of prior experiences, of something before this trial, and she wonders what happened in the buckskin's past. She gets flashes of what Pevensie is experiencing, emotions thrown so forcefully that she simply cannot help but catch them, but she will never pry into this mare's mind. Unless she is invited. "I have no intention of betraying the Deserts. Not just because I don't wish to anger the gods, but because I intend to give it my all to make us stronger." She pauses for a moment, her eyes sweeping over the pink sands, catching a glimpse of Gumby and his hole off in the distance. "This is home." and she means every word of it.
Pevensie asks her directly about her increased age, and Camrynn must now face the question of how much to tell her head-on. She'd been a little bit vague before, and like a good mother, Pevensie had called her on it. She now faced two choices: lie outright, or tell the truth. She settles on a mix of both. "When I went through the trials, I conducted myself like an adult," she explains. "And if the gods were to have me rule, they wanted me to look like an adult." she pauses here before speaking again. "My eyes changing color wasn't the only thing that's a little…different about me." those eyes drop to the sand as she speaks, before raising to meet Pevensie's again. "I'm not really sure where the edges of my power even are." and it's true, that's part of why she lives, to push the boundaries of her power, to discover what magic really means. "All I know is, I haven't really found anything that I can't do yet." she speaks quietly, and every word is the truth. She describes her magic honestly, although she doesn't give it that name. But she is sure Pevensie will understand, will put the pieces together – Gumby, the accelerated growth, perhaps it will all make sense.
Pevensie turns the conversation back toward the Amazons, and Cam is grateful for the relief. She wants things to be easy between her and Pevensie, an open line of communication, something that will be vital for their reign to be a success. She just hopes her words have been enough to accomplish that. Goodness knows she's bared dramatically more of herself than she'd ever intended to when she entered that competition.
"Scorch wants to build an empire." she says, speaking with certainty. "Or at least, a network of alliances strong enough that it would functionally be an empire." She pauses. "Like you said, good for the Amazons, but not so good for us." She sighs. "I think we're right to not trust her."
She thinks of what she knows about the Valley, about what Eight has asked of Warship, and she pauses for just a moment, reinforcing the magic that makes it so they can't be overheard. She decides to throw caution to the wind. "Part of my gift is that I can know things, without having been there." She sighs, hoping that honesty was the best decision here.
From what I've heard we aren't the only kingdom a little…uncomfortable with what the Amazons are doing. Actually, from what I saw when I'd go to the jungle, there are even those within the Amazons who aren't too sure about it." She sighs. "I know that other kingdoms are thinking of moving against them."
"But where does that leave us in all of this?" And really, that's the million dollar question, isn't it?
C A M R Y N N
Why? Because I can
Image copyright MariannaInsomnia
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