[private] it's all up in the air and we stand still

[Aela]

If Aela had been raised by Lilliana, she might have recognized the warning in Gale's handsome smile. It's the same one that lead her mother into temptation. But all the palomino (can barely) see beneath the dim glow of starlight are the curves of a smile that echoes her own; a devastatingly attractive feature that Aela has learned to use just as much as her slender neck or her rounded hips.

But none of her physical attributes have any purpose here.

So the gold-striped mare looks up at the stars when Gale does and her blue eyes glance towards the East, where Pangea (the place she will always consider her home) waits, and Aela wonders more about the stars on Skandar's skin than the ones above the pair of siblings. Will he still be there? And even if she can convince him to come to the Pampas, what then?

Aela always has a plan. And she has the beginnings of one in mind. The Pampas Prince is driven more by lust than ambition but she can use that to fuel discontent in the South. But there is still more to do - Skandar hates his birthplace, Tephra. Perhaps they might ignite the volcano? She glances back to her half-brother, the blue-brindled shadow beside her, and contemplates asking what kind of chaos to bestow upon Hyaline.

(It is coming and wouldn't it be a kindness to tell him, to at least give him a choice?)

She's still trying to get a gauge on his mood but there is nothing. There are no memories lingering clear enough in his mind for her to see. How had he learned to be so guarded with them? Her magic is still trying - probing and searching for any crack it can find - because Aela is a persistent creature. The shield that Gale has holds and so the golden mare has no choice but to turn their father's smile towards @Gale and try another tactic.

Aela has always been intrigued by the abilities of others. What powers they have and how they can wield them. What their weaknesses might be (having spent time in the presence of magicians such as Straia and Eight and Beyza, Aela has learned that they exist). "Go ahead," the young mare says, thinking that perhaps whatever Gale does might give her the answer that she has been searching for.