have you got colour in your cheeks? - anyone

[Kreios]

kreios don't you tame your demons, but always keep them on a leash I hear the shift of sand before I see movement, and though I am somewhat surprised I am not startled enough to jump. There is nothing this dangerous so far inside the borders of the kingdom. Even the venomous snakes and scorpions seem to have realized that they are better off in other parts of the Desert, and the jackals have never had hope of felling prey as large as I am. I am no more or less surprised to see Camrynn than I would be to see any other resident of the kingdom, and I nod my head in a respectful greeting as she comes close. Though I still have some concerns about her ascension to my Father and step-mtoher’s throne, they are now mostly borne from my worry that I have not seen Lucrezia since the beginning of the competition. Yael had not seemed worried at the kingdom meeting though, and so I have reassured myself that I need not fear for her well-being. Camrynn remarks that I smell of the Meadow even though I am downwind of her, but I am accustomed to the ways of magicians and it does not occur to me to ask how she knows. “Yes, I spent the day there.” I reply, by soft tenor voice nearly at odds with my massive size. My voice is not as deep as my father’s or my twin’s, even though I had the (small) advantage of height on them both. Dorne had told me that it was because I had learned to talk late, but I have not seen her in years, and doubt that she was so skilled to know such a thing. My late speech has made me careful, of course, and I have a tendency to speak less frequently and slowly still only because I want to be sure that each words means exactly what I want it to. “I think I might want to start a herd,” I say instead of answering her question. That is not entirely the reason I had gone to the Meadow, but since I do not have words for that other sensation I decide it is better to focus on that which I do know. “Do you think I could do both?” I ask, glancing up to meet her eyes. “Have a herd and serve the Desert?” My service is minimal – I am mostly a decoration. I assume that she knows that; everyone else does. What I am unsure of is if I might be expected to do more under her and Pevensie’s reign than I was beneath my father’s. I train still – if running countless miles each day is training – but I have no intention of battling if I do not have to.