The golden yearling is young enough to not recognize manipulation when it is being pressed upon him. With a mother as feared as Nyimara and a reserved father such as Asmodeus (absent for a large part of his early year thanks to the witch queen), Cahyr has never felt its force or learned to recognize the signs when they present themselves.

The stiffness of Asmodeus’ tone slides over his head, invisible to his understanding as the breeze that twisted and wound its way through the desert. The only thing that his bright sea-green eyes recognized was pride. Pride shown deep beneath the darkened layer and the grim expression on the chimera’s face. Pride warms his heart and swells his small chest as Asmoedus affectionately ruffles the tufted ends of his growing, lopsided mane. All exhaustion and defeat that he had felt only mere hours ago is forgotten under the watchful eye of his father. Creamy ears tilt backward as he snorts his indignation and gives his small head a toss, trying to resettle his mane properly as he had watched Nyimara do more times than he wished to count. However, unlike the silver-haired queen, his mane is not quite long enough to lay comfortably on one side of his neck or the other and so the result is not much different than his father’s affectionate administration. Playfully he bumps his muzzle against Asmodeus’ blazed brow, his eyes glittering in a challenge.

But as quickly as his attention is on the possibilities of rekindling the bond with his father through games and roughhousing (let’s be honest, Nyimara has never enjoyed his invitations for play and there were only so many games that Rota and he could enjoy together before they both grew annoyed and tired of one another’s company), it vanishes. ’...You must have seen so much with your mother….. What did you see?’ The stallion’s intentions fall on deaf ears. Cahyr sees it only as his opportunity to fill Asmodeus in on the many months of their journey and quite possibly play up his own bravado to ensure that proud gleam remained in the chimera’s eyes. Growing alabaster tail flicks excitedly against his lanky rump as the pale colt prances excitedly on dancing hooves. ”Oh yeah…. We did see a lot! I got to see a bear once when we were traveling through the mountains. Amma and Kara told Rota and me that they were dangerous but all it did was lumber around a meadow. It was soooo slow Abba! I know I could take it but “mother” wouldn’t let me try.” he says unable to hide the taste of disappointment even now as he thinks back to the large shaggy beast. Not like they had anything remotely close to that here on Salem for him to taunt and torment. Maybe with Rota at his side, he would feel brave enough to give the coyotes another try.

He shakes his head, shuffling the idea back into the recesses of his mind for later. Although he doubted Asmo would find his pranks and games as unbearable and annoying as Nyimara did, he still didn't exactly see his father willing to allow him to edge a potential threat. Instead, he continues on, completely oblivious to his sire’s motivations. ”We did get to meet some strange horses. Amma said they were family but they didn’t look like it. They were….. strange.” he finishes as his voice trails slightly at the memory of the skeletal stallion with patchy fur and lifeless eyes. Cahyr could not deny that the memories of that creature had taken up residency in his nightmares as of late. What he could not understand was what was more disturbing to him, the knowledge that the stallion was still…. Breathing (because Cahyr could not be certain he had been alive) or the fact that the elder was his great grandsire. ”Mother made us stay with them for a little while, she spent a lot of time in the cave talking to the stallion…” he continues pausing to draw a breath. ”And then one morning she said we could come back home! I was so excited Abba! I kept asking her when we were coming back and she would only ever tell me soon!” he grumbles, stomping his front hoof onto the hard ground in irritation. Amma had done a lot lately to thoroughly irritate Cahyr and for once, he was glad of the distance between them. When she did finally find him, however, he was almost positive he would wish she had not. But it would be worth it to at least be able to prove her wrong. He HAD made the swim and done it all by himself. He hadn't even needed Rota to keep him company. ”And then Kara and Rota got separated from us in the swim but Mother and I made it to the islands. She led me to the meadow and we got a drink of water and then she told me to stay put and left. I told her I could go on but she didn’t believe me. She is gonna be mad though…. When she gets here…. Won’t she?” he murmurs, blinking up to Asmodeus with hopeful eyes. Of course, he knew Nyimara would be furious with him. It was not the first time he was on the receiving end of her anger and frustration. The only difference this time is that Asmodeus is here and perhaps, just maybe, he would intervene on his son’s behalf.

CAHYR

firebringer son of the Desert sands