Although Warlight knows nothing of the way that Tephra burned while she was in the afterlife, the name, Lepis, brings back clouded memories. Recollections of a grotto full of children and the way mothers would speak quietly to each other as the night was winding down. They spoke of boring things, or at least that's how she perceived it at the time. She had been waging war on her brothers, everything else was boring.
It was a name she hadn't heard or thought of in years, but as Islilya says of Loess, Will suddenly has a clear mental picture of the blue and cream mare and all her ruffled feathers. Isilya's watchfulness would be rewarded by catching a fleeting look of recognition, but little more. Warlight's knowledge of the horse in question is limited. She hadn't paid much attention to the politics of Hyaline when she was a filly running wild on the mountainsides with Thati, Clay and Velk, but there are enough foggy memories to place a hint of suspicion in her tone.
"There's some value in keeping your opponents in the dark," she muses, knowing that her leader seems to see the world in a different light. But maybe that was why Will was there, to see the world that way so Isilya didn't have to. "although, I'm sure you would prefer not to think of them that way, as opponents."
She leaves room for Tephra's queen to weigh in here, now taking her turn to watch carefully. She would far rather train up Tephra's own then sharpen the steel of other kingdoms.
"But there's also value in practice... and playing nice... I suppose." Her easy, almost-flirty smile comes back to rest on her speckled lips. The perpetually pleasant mare before her had managed to keep Tephra safe and quiet for the entirety of Will's time there, and that was a feat that commanded respect. "So If you think it is best to connect with Loess in this way, you may offer me as a participant in these mocks."
— soul as sweet as blood red jam —
![[Image: Warlightpageddoll1.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/NMPHtrtV/Warlightpageddoll1.png)