“She is beautiful, although I haven't the slightest idea where she got that from.” I glance at Namaah who is looking up wide eyed and curious at Cress. Even at the filly's young age she is all delicate lines and curves, with bright dark eyes and a winning smile. Gods know she didn't get it from me. I'm not unappealing, I'm simply unremarkable, and perfectly all right with that. Body issues do not plague me now and never have. I wonder if that has something to do with never desiring a mate. There was only one who interested me, and even then I enjoyed our relationship far too much to fuck it up with, well, fucking. Despite being an unrepentant hedonist, carnal pleasures are not my thing.
Cress, though. I give her a gentle knowing look. She will find somene someday, no matter what her scarred heart tells her. She is simply too sweet and exactly the kind of mare someone will want to protect. (she'll have to kick his butt, of course, but men can't help it. Protecting is their instinct.)
A haunted look comes over the mare's face. I flinch mentally, her thoughts a beacon of despair. My heart burns with her pain and I think darkly that perhaps Carnage has gone too far. There are those willing to be marked by him. It is too much to take the unwilling and break them. I wonder what Cress would think if she knew my sweet daughter comes from such as him.
“Don't be silly, Cress.” I say brusquely. Empathy comes easier for me with mind reading, but it is not a feeling I am entirely comfortable with. I nudge her companionably. “You are a part of the Valley as surely as any of us. I will protect you as I would her. And between you and me, Demian doesn't think sometimes which can make him an idiot. It isn't his fault. He was born male.”
He's a decent king (more, if I'm being honest but I'm not and no one is reading my thoughts, so there) but his one flaw is that he isn't female. Sexist, you betcha.
A twig snaps nearby but I don't swivel my ears. My mind, however, snaps to attention.
“For what it's worth, he didn't intend to hurt you.” I add gently. She needn't doubt me. I have seen it in Demian's mind. He cares about this girl. "And no one will burn you as long as I am here."
Suddenly, I turn my head and sigh, exasperated.
"Okay, Arise. You might as well come out because I know you're there. Your thoughts are doing the equivalent of heavy breathing."
Tact? Well, let's just say I skipped that day of lessons.
G A L L O W S
We must all hang together or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
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