Bane does not hunger for violence, as her mother had. No, there was an anger deep inside the woman that couldn’t be sated, and thankfully it wasn’t hereditary. Generational trauma was something different, but that was a different story for a different day. Anath had hungered for blood, for victory, for something to make her mark on the universe-- not always in the best way. Bane wouldn’t make excuses for her. Bane wouldn’t be her.

Oswin too, speaks of the influence of Black Heart Machine. Bane thinks of the way the mother spoke of the woman, the reverence that Anath rarely shared. She knew of their love for each other, as well, something the years couldn’t have taken from them. It’s a tale as old as time, after all.

The mare before her speaks of a war that had been struck while Bane had been away. Maybe that’s why she looks so hardened, so battle tested. Field worn. Wars like that, they change people. They change all of the ones who live through it… she’s not surprised. Oswin speaks of a friend as well, and Bane has to work to hide her smirk. The love affairs strung between the Peak and the Lagoon-- those too, a tale as old as time. My sisters voted me to be their Prime Minister and I took the responsibility very, very seriously, Bane’s tail flicks at her own haunches for a moment. It sounds like a campaign speech already.

All good campaign speeches ended with a call to action. That’s what Oswin did, where she stood on the ledge beside them. While Bane enjoyed the history, the catching up, she shared her mother’s distaste for politicking. Yes, they would continue their crusade together. Bane agrees with that much, at least. She’s quiet for now though.

The more I learn of the Peak, the more similar we sound to the Lagoon. Bane nodded softly, listening to the young mare speak. Her gaze settles on the barely grown woman’s face, studying. She wasn’t wrong. “What’s just has also changed over the years. Our ideas of right are always changing, and developing.” Bane sighs deeply, thinking as her gaze drifts outwards to the rest of the Peak. “The way we go about getting change sometimes needs to be drastic as well.” War is hell, after all.

Bane is comfortable here, at least. She was grateful for that. Though Roisin asks Oswin directly, Bane answers first. There’s a coarseness to her, but it’s not unkind. “We install some sort of leadership. After that… look for injustice, and end it as best we can.” Her words are even, gaze not leaving the horizon. There’s a likelihood that Bane looks for the general’s position, she decides. Maybe the choice was spur of the moment, but she didn’t care. There was work to be done, after all.

Anath x Thane