07-11-2016, 03:35 PM
i don't love you;
but i always will.
The heat slicked Riva’s fur down and made it a little more shiny than it normally was, but it was nothing like the patches of sweat beginning to darken Fayella’s skin. She seemed to bear the oppressive nature of the Jungle very well though and Riva was proud of her recruit and how she conducted herself thus far - smart, respectful, and already trying to become task-oriented to earn herself a place amongst the sisters, just like Riva was trying to do. Granted, she was going to suggest they spend the afternoon in one of the lesser known pools hidden like gems inside the Jungle, sparkling, blue, and cold…
(She purposefully ignoring the fact that she had leaned in close to the mountainous mare, that she was being rather amenable to someone for once instead of her usual caustic self that kept all but the Queen and one particular stallion at bay. Riva did not want to dwell on the subtle changes occurring in her character so she played ignorant, like she didn’t know what she was doing.)
“Good question, basically you must commit yourself to the Jungle first. Then recruit others to join us, and the like - ask to join diplomatic forays to other kingdoms, seek out those that will be your fellow sisters in order to get to know them. Lagertha, I believe, can better answer your questions than I can.” Riva bends an ear to the oncoming footsteps and smiles, “No doubt that is her now,” and sure enough, a glance confirms it - the gray is fast approaching and calling out a sassy remark that the paint grins at. “Perhaps, there’s a first for everything right?”
She does not pale beneath the incredulous look that Lagertha gives her, merely squares herself and eyes the Queen right back. “Sometimes, playing nice just might get you somewhere in life.” There’s a bit of sass in her own remark, the usual fire that Riva spits at every chance she gets but there’s a glimmer of mirth in her eyes. The paint has always liked that about the Warrior Queen - she does not expect them to do something unless she has done it herself, and for that, she has Riva’s undying respect (besides the fact that she saw something in Riva that she still doesn’t see in herself beyond her quest for retribution against the family that spurned her). “She really is pretty badass,” she echoes, laughter rolling along the edges of her statement - Lagertha really was a force unto herself and Riva had nothing but admiration for her.
That, and Lagertha gave Riva more purpose beyond the hate she has carefully cultivated over the years for her family and any of them that remain. It burns there, that hate, in the back of her eyes.
Riva