Amaris was not sure what bothered her more, the fact that the black beast had stolen her away from her everything she had ever known… or the fact that now he seems to show no interest. At least on Salem (and as he drove her towards the Bay) he seemed to only have eyes for her. He had been so intent on separating her from Raegar and driving her into the ocean that it seemed as though nothing else on this earth mattered to him. However, it appeared that once her hooves stepped foot onto his herd lands, that has all changed. What the hell.

Auburn eyes never waver from his dark form as he plods lazily from the foam-capped waves. The golden figure remains tense, anticipating the warlord’s next move. Surely he intended to drive her further inland, push her away from the shoreline, and any attempt to flee his reach right? WRONG! Fluted lobes tilt forward as the obsidian beast trudges through the wet sand in the direction of the treeline and whatever lands lay beyond it. She was not even important enough to keep playing the part of the determined band stallion.

Increduously, Amaris watches, craning her next to allow her shocked gaze to follow the dragga until the shadows of the forest and mist devour him. He acted now as though he had done what was required of him and that was that. Seriously?! Ash dusted lips peel back as a feral threat lingers in her throat. All that effort, all that wasted energy and for what? Again she stomps her hoof down onto the malleable sands and sends the forest where he disappeared to a snort of disgust. If only she could remember some of those nasty words that Velahrn used to shout at Rafe from time to time, this was surely a perfect opportunity to use them.

Thoughts of the bay mare soften her gaze. She turns away from the forboding forest and lets her sorrowful eyes cast a roaming scan over the black-blue ocean. Even if she wanted to make a break for it, she doubted that she could get very far in her current condition. Although she made a show of fury and anger on the beach, already the adrenaline of the afternoon excitement was beginning to wear thin and her slender legs felt like heavy bricks that would surely sink her to the bottom of the sea. Even if she did somehow manage to make it off this strange island, how was she to know exactly which direction Salem lay? Or where the Badlands were. In the midst of all the excitement and her own intent to avoid the black stallion’s biting teeth, Amaris had not once thought to memorize the pathway she had been forced onto. ”Damn it.” The words fall in hushed tones from her lips. She should have paid more attention. Her ears fall sideways in defeat as a heavy sigh exhales from her nostrils. Whether she liked it or not (and she surely did not), she was stuck here for the time being, or at least until Raegar came for her. He would come for her, that much she is certain of. Raegar has always been her guardian and her protector, there is no way that one misfortune would stop that now.

The shuffling sound of hooves and scattering pebbles draw her from her distant thoughts. Aurelian ears snap backward against her skullcap. So, he was back was he? Dark eyes narrow beneath the thick veil of her alabaster forelock the cold wind whips across her face as the defiant woman turns to face her captor once more. Only this time, it is not her captor who approaches.

For a brief second, confusion lightens her stance. Dark eyes blink rapidly beneath long lashes as she tests her vision for facts. Instead of the grumpy, voiceless stallion that had driven her onto this beach, there is his mirror in his place. Maybe not quite a mirror. Fluted lobes pitch forward as she examines his languid approach with cautious eyes. There is no denying a relationship between the stranger and the black beast, however, there are some subtle differences to be certain. He does not encroach upon her personal space as the battle-scarred stallion had done. Instead, he halts his approach a few lengths away. ’Rafe or Raegar?’ he asks. The question immediately draws her curiosity and her ears flicker. This was not a first occurrence? Well, that was not necessarily surprising. She was young enough (and naive enough apparently) that the ongoings of herd management did not interest her in the least. Despite stealing as much of Raegar’s attention as possible, she spent most of her days wandering the sandstone canyons with Ayiana away from the little band of mares that Raegar had collected in the past year.

’ He doesn’t bother anyone these days but those two….he’ll let you go in a few days..’ The stallion’s words draw her from distant thoughts and once more she blinks in surprise. Let her go? Simple as that? Part of her could not help but to be offended, was she really not that important? Once more she feels the silent snarl growing in her breast but this time she does not have to work as hard to silence it. ’I’m Koh… Fell is my father.’ Koh…Fell. These are new to her and though “Fell” as Koh called him, could go kick rocks for all she cared (especially with this new bit of information); Amaris cannot help but feel her suspicions and reservations begin to slowly peel away.

In another time and place (the Badlands preferred), Amaris would have found it hard not to be drawn to Koh. He is talkative, and chatty even in ways that Ayiana and Raegar were not. His eyes are friendly and despite her own prickly expression, it does not seem to phase or lessen his attempt to make her feel… welcome? Welcome? No she did not want to feel welcome here or even like it here, even if the company had improved drastically. She shifts the weight of her lean frame, readjusting herself on the sands to prevent comfort (and the cold) from settling into her exhausted bones. ’ Would you like me to show you the hot springs?’ Koh asks. Once more confusion lights her delicate features as she blinks up at him from beneath furrowed brows. ’ You can warm up and rest a little.’ A thoughtful suggestion. But perhaps he just happened to notice how cold she was becoming. Cold is rarely registered in Salem. There were nights during the dead of winter when the sands would freeze or a light crusting of ice would gather in the early morning hours. Cold was not a foreign concept to her, but then again, she always had Ayiana and Raegar to keep her warmly nestled against them. She would have no such luck here.

Once again the weight of longing tugs at the recesses of her mind but Amaris shoves it aside with a shake of her head. Despite her determination to be an obstinate thorn in Fell’s side, she could not exactly stand here in the open and wait for Raegar to retrieve her. She would be a frozen statue by the next morning light if she tried. Already the icy chill of the wind was beginning to pull at the tendrils of her remaining energy. She needed to warm herself and what better way than hot springs? I mean hot is in the very name isn’t it?

Pressing her lips together in a firm line she nods her head stiffly, still not entirely sure she can trust Koh and yet wanting more than anything to believe he is trustworthy. Gingerly she takes a stiff step toward him, waiting patiently for him to lead on and trying her best to hide the excitement in her eyes…