oh yeah I'm an ugly mess, not in the face, but in the head (any)

[Kushiel]

Kushiel liked funny things. He liked especially liked it when people did funny things. The more absurd the better. Gryffen had always been good for a laugh. Usually, the laughs the Master of Whispers invoked were of the uncomfortable kind. But hey, Kushiel hadn’t held that against him. Uncomfortable laughter was better then none. There was that one time, when the white stallion had violated the Gate’s queen they kidnapped. That laughter had been very, very uncomfortable. So uncomfortable in fact, that Kushiel was disappointed he hadn’t been able to witness the family reunion when the resulting spawn was born.

Apparently, this was a day of second chances. The boy was all grown up, it would seem, and prowling around. Truly, it was impossible to miss who the boy’s father was. White coat, red eyes. Who else could that possibly be? Of course, Kimber seemed to not have gotten the memo. The gray stallion chuckled heartily, catching their conversation as he approached. As he had hoped, it was already hilarious. This was going to be excellent. Unafraid of interrupting a conversation already in progress, Kushiel casually sidled up beside them. He looked the boy over with a wide smile.

“If anyone set you on fire, they would have to contend with me. Fire is my territory.” Kushiel grinned roguishly, laughing at his own, rather poor joke. It was true, however, most of the fire setting around here was done by him. His smile turned to Kimber, inviting her to share the joke though it was rather bad.

After a moment of self congratulatory laughter, Kushiel turned his attention back to the boy. He was still young, but hey, kids were the future, right? As far as the stallion was concerned, it was better to start them young, when their minds were still moldable. The real question, however, was what caste the Gryffen hatchling intended to join. Kushiel had no use for solider boys. Better let Warship deal with them. Soldiers were all alike and almost always boring. Gryffen however, was not boring, so perhaps there was some hope for his son yet.

“So, kid, if I don’t set you on fire what caste did you want to join?” Despite what your mommy may have told you, there was a wrong answer to this question. Maybe, if he didn’t choose Kushiel’s, they could go find Shaytan and let her eat him. After all, they couldn’t turn Kimber into a liar.