Her thoughts falter when she hears his greeting. The honeyed tone of his voice is mostly unwelcome, but her face holds steady and never betrays her distaste. She has never been one for conversations with stallions, but the need for conversation is overwhelming. After having been alone for nearly months Nayl finds herself almost desperate for conversation. Their three leaders have been missing and their numbers are near extinct. They haven’t been flourishing as promised and their over-eager queen seems to have melted into the shadows. There is no one else here and so Nayl shrugs away his sweetened words and replies in a more flattened tone, her face beautifully fierce. ”Well, then welcome back home, I suppose.” A grim smile creases her statuesque expression as she suddenly looks past him toward the empty landscape, then back over her shoulder where still nothing stirs.
”I haven’t seen Naga in more than half a year,” she states plainly although her thoughts stray to disapproval and mistrust, ”but you are always welcome, nonetheless.” They assume her coldhearted, that she is a representative of the old ways, but she will prove them all wrong one at a time. Perhaps they will all trust in her words, in her visions. ”The Amazons have changed, perhaps for the better, by letting in stallions.” The truth behind this remains untested, but Nayl still is hopeful. Males have purpose and they have their uses. If she ascends to royalty, then she will see to that.
Underneath his eyes she finds herself searching for words, hungrily groping for conversation. She had never been extremely talkative, but desperation has been eating away at her. ”Yes,” she finally murmurs while nodding her head in the direction of the waves, ”I’ve always been a part of the sisterhood.” It’s the only life she has ever known, the only life she has ever wanted for herself. Generations of Amazons course in her veins; leaders, soldiers, diplomats. They’re with her every step along the way. They are the ones she can thank for her passion and fiery soul.
Turning her head, Nayl’s autumn eyes search his. ”You never told me your name,” she adds as a second-thought, almost forgetting before asking a question far deeper. ”What do you hope to see from Nerine? Do you have any visions for its success?”
|
