Anath’s eyes are gentle on the blanketed mare. Once she may have thought she was getting soft… now, maybe it was a little easier to show affection. The warmth didn’t quite drain, but it wavered and hid some as Mouse appeared. No, wouldn’t want to give the impression that she was going to be kind to everyone today. The mare was about to open her mouth and say something about the comment, but it was cut short. The glint of humor from the politician was enough to put Anath at bay. Instead she shakes her head, lets go a dry chuckle. Sometimes she has a sense of humor. Sometimes.
“Then I congratulate you on your win. I wish I could have been there to see it.” Anath’s mind works like a machine when it comes to a battle. She can analyze everything if she’s not the one fighting. Things happen so quickly, so damn quickly she can hardly get a handle on it. She enjoys the learning aspect of things when it’s in an academic situation. Watching others spar could be a beneficial process, and she’s learned over the course of time that it’s worth it. Anything can be worth it if you put the time and effort in.
The mare tenses a degree or so as Mouse appears. She’s not comfortable with the little mare. There’s a foal at her hip, as well, and it throws the general off. Anath has a poor history with children, what with the ones she’d had and all. Too reckless. Too loud. Doesn’t care enough. Anath has to feel some loyalty to something to care about it. She cares about her women more than she does her children—loyalty means the world to her. Anath should know plenty about questioning loyalty, but in her mind it all makes sense. Why can’t it be so clear to everyone else?
Styrke’s name wasn’t one Anath had heard before, but she listens anyway. Everyone has their turns to speak and to listen, but she feels strikingly like an outsider in her own home. The two mares and the foal stand close together, like that of a family unit. The champagne mare has separated herself, left plenty of distance… not too much. Wouldn’t want to have to shout in polite conversation. But there’s enough room to show the division. The General has been on her own too much lately, but it’s fine. With her dark green gaze, she seems to see everything that lays out before her.
Impa’s question comes back to her, and Anath comes back down to earth. She chuckles lightly at the mare, her silvery muzzle quirking in the corners. Her posture shifts slightly, brushing at an itch on her shoulder as she speaks. “You forget it’s my job to keep up to date on the challenges. Wouldn’t want one slipping through the cracks. Have to say I was surprised, though. Didn’t peg you for a fighter.” Anath watches the blanketed mare carefully, trying to figure out just what had happened. It may not have been of much importance now, but the idea that the Peak may have an enemy when she’d been out trying to reunite the islands… she had to wonder.
Out trying to reunite the islands could have been a laugh. Anath still smelled of the dust and the sand, the Salem holding fast to her coat. Yes, she’d been out. Technically it was a politician’s job, but they’d simply laugh. No, the notion she’d had was a very personal one. The champagne mare offered no explanation to the fact that she hadn’t been around much. This conversation wasn’t about her, anyway.
Anath "HEROES GET REMEMBERED LEGENDS NEVER DIE " |