The longer I spend in Annubis' company, the more I can recognize that he is more like myself than like Lucifer. It's a mark in his favor to be certain, but I wasn't particularly worried about tallying his favor. Once Izumi was settled, the only interest Paradise held for me was to be reserved for later. Just because it didn't have anything worth taking now didn't mean that that would always be the case.

The silvery brute wastes only half a moment before turning his attention and rough charm onto Izumi, who seems to promptly quell beneath the weight of their attention. I didn't bother suppressing the tired eye roll, but I was hardly the focus of their attention anyway. Even though Lucifer was looking at her like she was a particularly distasteful piece of refuse, Annubis seemed to have an opposite opinion, as I imagined most red-blooded stallions would.

I didn't understand Lucifer, but I figured it wasn't really my problem. I hadn't understood his campaign in the Lagoon nor did I understand his sudden push to be a herd stallion without a herd but hey - still not my circus and still not my monkeys. As the massive shadow takes his leave - spitting a few insults out apparently just for the heck of it - I watch him go, a sneer wrinkling the pink skin of my muzzle.

"Charming," I finally answer, my dark eyes following him until he's invisible and then turning back toward Izumi and the roguish buckskin. "I suppose that settles it then, girlie. Annubis it is." Turning slightly toward her, I offered a half-smirk, finding myself strangely compassionate for the fear on her face. Normally I drank that shit up like the exquisite cocktail it was, but Izumi was kind-of-sort-of-okay-not-really a daughter or something. Ish.

"Don't worry Izumi, out of the two? You're definitely getting the pick of the litter." Flicking my tail across my haunches I took a pre-emptive step under me to gather my weight and returned my attention to the Paradise lead. "Take care of her, yeah?" The or else lingered in my expression, and my mind danced back to the original trading of insults we'd offered. Placing Izumi here was a favor to Hiyori - not Annubis, he was merely the lucky bystander, but it would be silly of me to not use this little gift as leverage for later.

Stallion - Young Adult - 15.2 - Brown Overo