As Ashteroth studies Gecko, even as he becomes nervous under the pressure of her light question, she begins to realize that he reminds her of someone. Angel; the desert stallion that had always been by her mother’s side until the mournful day he had not been. Despite the many children Xiomara had that were not Angel’s, he had raised them with the devotion and love of a real father. As a young filly back then, she remembered the pain she had endured in his absence, and how broken her mother had become. He had not been all powerful or some King. But his love had clearly been enough for her warrior queen dam.


“The stallion I thought would give me children someday, did not deem me worthy enough to fight for.” she replied bluntly as her mind shifted from Angel to Loupgaru. When Ashteroth had left Tinuvel, she had expected him to follow like a bloodhound and drag her back to the snowy depths of their home. Even when they had clashed in the Commons, knowing exactly where she was, he had not come back for her. The fire that burned deep within her for his feral touch caused nothing but pain. A pain she refused to admit, and a pain she would always use to remind herself to stay strong. Mine he had growled, but clearly it had meant nothing at all. “Apparently I do not scream mother material either.”


The painted mare was quiet then, contemplating her next words. The lines on her dark face and the thoughtfulness of her blue eyes suggested such before she finally spoke. “What if we prove them wrong?” Ashteroth asked, her voice surprisingly gentle compared to her usual direct self. It was clear this was new territory for her, and she did not carry the same confidence that she usually had. “I could make you my companion, instead of a trinket, if that would suit you better?” The painted mare asked, before she felt heat rush across her face and she was forced to look away. A strange knot tightening in her chest as her heart beat quickened. “Or…. You could choose to leave now, before winter, if freedom is what you’d rather have.”




ASHTEROTH