no bite marks, no scratches | warship, any.

[Kushiel]

Kushiel didn’t do well in his own company. He’d heard the saying, “never less alone then when alone,” and thought the person who said it must have had a very happy, very dull childhood. Kushiel tended do things he regretted when left to his own devices. Dramatic shows of bravado took on a morbid twist when your own two eyes were the only ones there to witness them. His pounding headache and scorched mane could testify to the morbid twists he had taken last night.

Like every night since his first in the Chamber, Kushiel had dreamt of fire. Whether those flames had truly been a dream was anyone’s guess. Sometimes they blurred together, the flames of his dreams and the fire of reality. Under the large yellow moon, beneath the Chamber’s enterally burning tree, it all looked the same.

Still, in a commendable show of social responsibly, Kushiel had passed out beneath that tree, rather than another. When he burned he made sure he did it with fire that wouldn’t spread. You couldn’t set an eternally burning tree on fire. That ship had long since sailed. As tolerate as Straia was, he didn’t think she would appreciate the ritual burning of her kingdom.

The large gray stallion, dappled with soot and ash, struggled to his feet. He was awake, ready, and of the opinion that the greatest show on earth needed an audience. He found it, or rather her, talking to Warship. He hadn’t met her, and that in itself, was reason enough to butt in. Really, it was just the friendly thing to do.

He heard the last snippets of her conversation as he came closer. He sidled up to her shoulder and grinned broadly and with familiarity.

“If I know Straia at all, I think she would decree that there are to be no sullen girls in this great kingdom.” Truth be told, he didn’t really know Straia all that well. He could, however, hazard a guess that she wouldn’t waste breath on such a decree. Kushiel would, however, and that was all that mattered. He continued magnanimously.

“In her absence, I’d be honored to help carry out her wishes.” Again, not her wishes. Still, surely she’d want her subjects to be nice to each other. That’s what Kushiel was doing, being very, very nice.

Kushiel

some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall