From the dark jungles a stallion equally dark - before the sunlight touched him and shone reach, deep chocolate across his coat - emerged, and Oswin lifted her bald-face and watched him quietly. There was a sudden pressure in the air, a presence the silver-haired male carried in his aura that was speaking to that fierce part of her that's always stood on alert. She felt the hard beat of her heart in her ribs and the excitement that crawled over her skin, rushing through her veins, whispering the promise of a fight.

But, no. She had not come here to add more scars to her coat. Oswin was trying to do things differently than she always had. The Peak’s Prime Minister looked to her sisters, to the Code Breaker and the General, and although things between her and Róisín were currently… rocky... she still drew strength from them standing with her.

Paradise’s king spoke coolly and Oswin swallowed the heated retort that wanted to fire from her mouth in response. He was keeping his head and the test was for the Peak mares to keep theirs. They were here to assess the level of threat Rougaru and his Paradise kingdom were, especially if the war the Tinuvel king promised was set to come forward. To see if he was truly the villain Oswin had set out to drag into the light and vanquish for good.

Follow me.

Was this some sort of trap? Oswin’s blue eyes glanced briefly to Bane and then to Róisín as Rougaru explained he would bring them to shade. Her discomfort in her pregnancy made her want to cry out in relief - the beating sun on her back was drying the ocean salt crystals to her coat and making it itchy - but Oswin only pressed her pink lips together and grunted with a small, quick nod. She moved forward first, following after the dark stallion as quietly as he led them into his territory. Oswin had only seen the briefest of glances of Atlantis, but she didn’t let her attention wander too far from Rougaru to appreciate the sights.

The cool shade fell across their backs and Oswin suppressed the relieved sigh that she wanted to breathe out. Instead, she flicked her cream tail and shifted her weight, struggling briefly to find a stance that was comfortable for her with the extra weight she already carried. What an annoyance…

Now… perhaps you care to tell me why you are here invading my shores?

She couldn’t help it. Oswin grinned as her blue eyes slid to lock with his greens. “This isn’t an invasion, Rougaru.” A brief pause rested between them, though not long enough to drag. Oswin started to speak again, her voice even, chin lifted with the same sort of pride and stance he held himself. The Prime Minister would not be cowed. “We just came to meet you for ourselves and see if the rumors we’ve heard of you are true.” Might as well be forthcoming, right? “Stories can always be twisted for personal reasons…I’m curious if others have been making up lies about you or if you really are the villain they claim you are.”

The words dropped as evenly, as boldly as her others had. Oswin’s dark eyes stayed level to his and she watched, curious what his reaction would be to being called a villain to his face.

oswin
this is as brave as I know how to be.
I know it’s gonna hurt you, but please… be a little proud of me.