the rain that falls upon your skin
it's closer than my hands have been
Genuine display of emotion had once been a rare thing for the dun pegasus. Lepis had learned control at a young age – too young, perhaps – and most every expression that flits across her face in adulthood is as much a mask as the collected politeness it reveals. There were exceptions (when she was tired, when she faced insufferable fools, when she or her loved ones were in danger), but it feels as if the entire last year has been one exception after another.
First Bane, vanished into the fog of Taiga for nigh on six months. Then Heartfire’s threat, followed by raising their youngest son alone. And most recently Wolfbane’s return, their subsequent argument, the realization that he has been unfaithful. Worse, that it has been with a woman she’d thought might be a friend, and worse still that the cause of this is the curse that has afflicted his family for generations. And very worst of all, that niggling fear that perhaps it was not all the curse after all, and that what had passed between them was truly Wolfbane and not the cursed creature he has become.
Lepis has experienced so many emotions in the span of the last few months that her grip on them grows tenuous.
So when she faces Aten with a frown but without anger, the mild frustration that shows on her golden face is a reflection of what she truly feels. Her patience is vast, and for all that Aten has relentlessly questioned her every move, she cannot say that she would not do the same if a stranger were ever to take the reins of Loess.
“I will not bow my head to Heartfire.” She says simply. Perhaps the simple answer will not be enough, but that at least is something, at least it is the truth. “And for the same reason, I do not bow to Castile. I respect him, but I have no master, and Taiga no mistress but me.” Aten has made the same assumption that they all do, that she will meekly follow the rule of whomever Taiga allies itself to. Of late, she has begun to consider setting Taiga apart from them all, but Castile’s offer has thrown an unexpected wrench in those plans, as has the rather spectacular explosion of her personal life.
Lepis sighs, and glances once more over her shoulder to where she had been heading a moment earlier. She is clearly eager to leave, but speaks again before she does. “Whatever trust there is between us, I hope it is enough that you do not doubt I act in Taiga’s best interest.” What those acts might be, even she is not certain yet. The dun mare presses her wings a bit more tightly to her sides as she tuns to leave, but pauses and glances once over her shoulder. “One last thing. If you see my former husband, I’d suggest steering clear. Wolfbane is not himself of late.”
And then she is gone, slipping into the fog and the unknown.
lepis, comtesse of taiga
queen of loess | queen of sylva | queen of the south
lover of wolfbane | mother of pteron, marni, tiercal, eyas, gale, celina, and elio
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