we need love, but all we want is danger; any

[Kushiel]

Kushiel’s head tilted to the side like a strange, confused doll. There were several things he had not been expecting to witness today. An unexplainable appearance, a family reunion and a falling out were all high on that list. He was, clearly, very out of the loop. That much, at least, he was comfortable with. He tended to be out of the loop. He did, however, have enough tact not to interrupt the sisters for an explanation. This seemed like one can of worms he didn’t need to root around in. He quickly wore out his limit of skepticism and the gray stallion’s attention began to wander.

Saving the world, yes very good. Unexpected was an understatement for their family, yeah he could see that. Kushiel was still nodding along half-heartedly when things got a little more heated. The gray stallion’s mouth popped open when Lucrezia made her bold declaration about Straia. She is only capable of breaking promises and forgetting you exist. The already large stallion seemed to grow even larger and he huffed angrily. He fixed the girl with a withering look, the fire on his mane popped ominously.

“Now wait just a second, missy —“ He huffed for another moment, looking between Lucrezia and his queen. He couldn’t allow that kind of disparagement, could he? He had forgotten for a second, and then quickly remembered that Straia could take care of herself. He was now in the awkward position of defending her honor, knowing full well he was probably not the best man for the job. Still, he was already offended, and in this moment, at least, Kushiel was keen to finish what he had started.

While the Chamber’s Governor marshaled his thoughts, the women traded several heated words. Kushiel’s face went from confused to rather pained. He would never admit it, he had a reputation to protect after all, but somewhere along the line he had developed something similar to loyalty. He sighed gratefully when Straia gave him an opening. He nodded smartly and puffed himself up again.

“I think that’s a good idea. Here we go —“ He stomped and huffed around Lucrezia, attempting to herd her to the border without actually touching her. She was Straia’s family after all, despite whatever may have occurred. He swished his tail, stamped, and generally tried to look intimidating.

“Thanks for stopping by, please don’t come again.” More stomping and bluster. Kushiel couldn’t help but think of his own sister, and wonder if there would come a day when she came around accusing him of all sorts of travesties. In his case, they would probably be true, but he couldn’t help but hope she stayed cute and naive forever, at least as far as her opinion of him was concerned.