09-01-2015, 03:24 PM
" I'd Rather Die Young , "
Oxy does not consider himself one of the fallen, though he supposes everyone else will look at him as such. He had abandoned his kingdom, after all… but he had also brought it back from the brink of total death. Frejya had been slowly poisoning the Valley with her silence and he (and Kindling) had rescued it from her. She had tried to fight them for the right to the crown, but she had no hold over the kingdom anymore. It had been theirs for the taking, and taken it they had. They had breathed life back into the kingdom; they had saved her.
He had promised fire to the people of the Valley; she is known as the burning kingdom for a reason. Some had seemed to be unhappy about their takeover, but no one tried to stop them. They belonged there as much as anyone else and Kindling’s mere name had suggested that they would set the Valley ablaze. She was destined to burn and Oxy was just making sure to fulfill an unspoken promise. Had they succeeded in stoking the flames? For a while, they certainly had. When Smolder came along, the Valley smoldered as well. The flames started to die out and so did Oxy’s ambition to help their burning. He had tried to restart the fires by himself but it was useless. Kindling had taken every bit of motivation with her when she vanished. He had grown too dependent on the little grey mare.
His younger self would scoff if he knew what had befallen the still young once-King. A fall from grace? No way. His destiny was far too great for that. As a colt with no name and no family, he had promised himself greatness. It was what he deserved for having no one to raise him. Greatness was his entire mantra.
Falling in love? Having children?
Nonsense.
He is quite alone when the woman finds him and he watches her with a cautious eye. He is not afraid—he has no reason to ever be afraid of anyone—but it has been a long time since he has felt the desire to communicate (but he must have returned for a reason, no?). She carries herself with a sort of regal air that he would expect of a Queen, but she also smells faintly of the Jungle and he knows that Scorch is still Khaleesi there. Former royalty? Perhaps, but she looks too young—Scorch has been Queen for as long as Oxy can remember (probably longer than that, even!). But what does it matter? Maybe she was a queen once. She is just looking for a conversation, too.
A brief moment passes before he remembers to be courteous and respond. “I have been alone for nearly a decade, my dear,” he tells her with a wry smile. His voice has deepened with age and he doesn’t sound the same as he did six years ago. He likes to imagine that he’s matured mentally as well. Pffft. “It will be nice to have some company, no matter how brief.
“I’m Oxytocin.”
oxytocin