10-09-2015, 09:22 PM
and death shall have no
DOMINION
It didn’t take long for the Jungle to provide her with the company she sought. Nish had been right about that, apparently. The kingdoms protected their own, to some extent at least. Not in the way of a raging mother bear, roaring and slashing and destroying those who dared to threaten their young. No, the kingdoms protected more in the way of a wise elder, letting the young ones make their own choices, make their own mistakes, and giving gentle nudges in the right direction. Maybe there were perks to kingdom living after all.
The company in question emerged from the shadow of the trees with a quiet rustling, and the crackling of light that danced along her skin. Intriguing. She was something between flaxen chestnut and a bay whose black had been turned to white, light where a normal bay was dark, and those metallic gold eyes studied her with interest. Curiosity. Dominion studied her right back, green eyes following that crackle of light across her skin.
Dom was taller, broader, heavier than the other mare, not that she made the mistake of thinking that meant she was more powerful. Beqanna held all sorts of strange wonders, and she wasn’t about to underestimate someone based on appearance. Aside from the fact that she’d stopped aging somewhere along the line, Dom was fairly normal. Well, that and the starlight that sparkled along her skin, constellations of a sky long dead tattooed on her body during an incomplete mission for Beqanna’s dark god. Aside from the starlight, she was fairly average in appearance, strong and well-built but nothing particularly fancy. The breadth of the old drummers, the spotted coat of the tigers, a bit of refinement from other tribes whose bloodlines ended with her, but nothing remarkable.
“Does the smell still linger?” she asked, a wry grin playing at the corners of her lips. “And here I’d hoped it would fade during the journey. I only just settled in. I guess it sinks into the skin even deeper than the cold does. Ah well.” For Nish’s sake, she would smell of ice and snow and raging testosterone. For now. “I? Well, I’m shaking things up a bit, of course. Training any girls born there, any women who wind up there. The fact that the kingdom’s androcentric doesn’t mean the women should be weak.” Frankly, from Dom’s point of view it was all the more reason to give them the tools to stand up for themselves. “Hell, it means they need to be strong. And that’s where I come in,” she added, letting that grin spread across her face. “At least in theory. Depends on who actually steps forward and accepts my offer of training.”
Oh, hello. Well then. A gentle tingle started low in her belly, spreading across her skin. Oh, it had been a good long while since she’d been flirted with. She’d almost forgotten what it was like. “Dominion.” The name came out with a bit of a purr, her grin turning just a little bit wicked. “You can call me Dominion.” Wait. Pause. Right, she and Nish had just declared their...arrangement moments before she’d left. Formality or no, she wouldn’t do anything to betray him.
With a bit of a sigh, she added, “Unfortunately, I’m here on business, not pleasure.” Dammit. Oh, she loved Nish. And there was no denying she was attracted to him, always had been. She’d make their union a hell of a lot more real in a heartbeat if he’d ever expressed so much as the slightest interest. But she was at least reasonably sure that he wasn’t in the same place she was, and she wasn’t the type to throw herself at someone who didn’t want her. Or…or perhaps didn’t want to want her. Either way, it had been a damn sight too long since she’d had a good flirt. Or more than a good flirt. So if they hadn’t just formalized their partnership by speaking it in front of the entire kingdom he sought to rule, well. This trip might have just gotten a lot more interesting.
“Tarnished, my mate,” she explained, her smile tinged now with a hint of apology, “who depending on how his meeting went may or may not be one of the kings of the Tundra, and his likely co-king Hurricane, are interested in renewing an exchange program between our fair kingdoms. I would be in charge of training our daughters until they reach age two, at which point, should they be interested in joining the Sisterhood, we would happily send them to you in even exchange for your equally trained and equally interested sons. Is there someone in particular I should talk to about the idea?”
The company in question emerged from the shadow of the trees with a quiet rustling, and the crackling of light that danced along her skin. Intriguing. She was something between flaxen chestnut and a bay whose black had been turned to white, light where a normal bay was dark, and those metallic gold eyes studied her with interest. Curiosity. Dominion studied her right back, green eyes following that crackle of light across her skin.
Dom was taller, broader, heavier than the other mare, not that she made the mistake of thinking that meant she was more powerful. Beqanna held all sorts of strange wonders, and she wasn’t about to underestimate someone based on appearance. Aside from the fact that she’d stopped aging somewhere along the line, Dom was fairly normal. Well, that and the starlight that sparkled along her skin, constellations of a sky long dead tattooed on her body during an incomplete mission for Beqanna’s dark god. Aside from the starlight, she was fairly average in appearance, strong and well-built but nothing particularly fancy. The breadth of the old drummers, the spotted coat of the tigers, a bit of refinement from other tribes whose bloodlines ended with her, but nothing remarkable.
“Does the smell still linger?” she asked, a wry grin playing at the corners of her lips. “And here I’d hoped it would fade during the journey. I only just settled in. I guess it sinks into the skin even deeper than the cold does. Ah well.” For Nish’s sake, she would smell of ice and snow and raging testosterone. For now. “I? Well, I’m shaking things up a bit, of course. Training any girls born there, any women who wind up there. The fact that the kingdom’s androcentric doesn’t mean the women should be weak.” Frankly, from Dom’s point of view it was all the more reason to give them the tools to stand up for themselves. “Hell, it means they need to be strong. And that’s where I come in,” she added, letting that grin spread across her face. “At least in theory. Depends on who actually steps forward and accepts my offer of training.”
Oh, hello. Well then. A gentle tingle started low in her belly, spreading across her skin. Oh, it had been a good long while since she’d been flirted with. She’d almost forgotten what it was like. “Dominion.” The name came out with a bit of a purr, her grin turning just a little bit wicked. “You can call me Dominion.” Wait. Pause. Right, she and Nish had just declared their...arrangement moments before she’d left. Formality or no, she wouldn’t do anything to betray him.
With a bit of a sigh, she added, “Unfortunately, I’m here on business, not pleasure.” Dammit. Oh, she loved Nish. And there was no denying she was attracted to him, always had been. She’d make their union a hell of a lot more real in a heartbeat if he’d ever expressed so much as the slightest interest. But she was at least reasonably sure that he wasn’t in the same place she was, and she wasn’t the type to throw herself at someone who didn’t want her. Or…or perhaps didn’t want to want her. Either way, it had been a damn sight too long since she’d had a good flirt. Or more than a good flirt. So if they hadn’t just formalized their partnership by speaking it in front of the entire kingdom he sought to rule, well. This trip might have just gotten a lot more interesting.
“Tarnished, my mate,” she explained, her smile tinged now with a hint of apology, “who depending on how his meeting went may or may not be one of the kings of the Tundra, and his likely co-king Hurricane, are interested in renewing an exchange program between our fair kingdoms. I would be in charge of training our daughters until they reach age two, at which point, should they be interested in joining the Sisterhood, we would happily send them to you in even exchange for your equally trained and equally interested sons. Is there someone in particular I should talk to about the idea?”
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;