and some by virtue fall; any

[Kushiel]

Kushiel had a rough week. He’d just gotten back from the Deserts after tangling with their god forsaken magician, been roughed up by their rotten hound, been interrogated by do-gooder Shahrizai and assisted in the delivery of a foal.

He was not in a good mood.

For all his faults, Kushiel was almost always in a good mood. He enjoyed life. He enjoyed standing beneath his kingdom’s tree, he enjoyed leering at his queen, he enjoyed baiting the other kingdoms. He did not like being threatened by a god damn bunny killer. During her initial charge, he’d been so flabbergasted, so taken aback that he had actually ran. He scooted away from her like one of those unfortunate rabbits. That thought nettled him, it hurt his pride. His confusion, and the fact that he had to deal with a certifiable lunatic, pushed him over the threshold of sarcastic and grumpy and into the world of flat out pissed.

Kushiel bared his teeth. In what was perhaps the first show of real aggression he’d ever mustered, he stalked towards the captain, danger and fire glinting in his eyes. With each step his flames rose a little higher until he was an inferno, until his mane was ablaze with fire every bit as bright, and far more deadly, than the tree's. His fire would burn. He’d just have to apologize for it later.


What was the saying? Better to ask for forgiveness than permission?

Screw that, Kushiel wasn’t going to ask for forgiveness. This was self defense. This was defense of his delicate, squishy pride that he kept hidden beneath layers and layers of bullshit and lies. He got closer and closer to Shaytan, as close and she would let him, and damned the consequences.

“Look, girly," He said, his voice low and deadly.

"I’m going to count to three, and then I’m going to light your ass up so bright they’ll assume a second sun has risen.” He was, perhaps, being a little dramatic. Anyone who expected anything less from Kushiel was a fool who didn’t learn from past experiences. He wasn’t going to be chased away by some silly woman who couldn’t be reasoned with. He wasn’t going to intimidated by a bunny killer.

No, he wasn’t built for manual labor. But, who said anything about labor? This was going to be fun.