Oh how she missed him.
Dark eyes roam freely over the familiar curves and contours of the chimera’s muscular body, relishing in the freshly awakened memories that stirred a deep seated hunger in her loins that has lain dormant since his abandonment. Asmodeus is as much the chink in her armor as Bjorn has been albeit with far less to lessen the sting of betrayal. Seeing him now, tall and proud with his head lifted to catch the billowing zephyrs is enough to wet her tongue. He may have cut the leash that bound them together but the fact of the matter is still the same. He looked GOOD in the Desert. A fresh drink of water amid parched sands and hot stone. A mirage? Of that she has little doubt, but that does not stop her from wanting to reach out still for a sip.
’Cahyr is more than capable…’ he begins, turning his fierce gaze to their son and breaking the spell that pulls at her. Paper-thin nostrils flare as she exhales a derisive snort and shifts her own near-black ooids to their pale son. Despite her attempt at genuine pleasure, the smile on her lips feels almost forced as she greets the boy with an approving nod. ”Of course he is… I raised him after all.” she coos, turning her cutting gaze back to Asmodeus as the smile transforms into something a bit more… malicious. It was a low blow, considering she had up and left and taken Cahyr without a word…. But he had done the same thing had he not?
’...I already know you’ve replaced me.’ The bitter taste of his words furrow her brow as a flash of confusion ripples across her gaze. That is, until he finishes his words with a less-than-gentle stab of his sharpened dagger.
Helios.
”And that’s MY cue.” Cahyr replied before any remark or understanding could pass between them. Affectionately he reaches out to brush his ashen muzzle against Asmodeus’ shoulder ”I’m gonna go find Natyre for you.” he murmurs, brushing between the pair with a brushing touch to mother’s hip in passing. He did NOT want to be present for whatever was about to come next. Learning about his half sisters all at once had been enough of a rude awakening for him without adding to the trauma. The least he could do was give the pair a chance to duke it out with their proverbial gloves off before Natyre became victim to the bloodshed.
Nyimara watches Cahyr go, using the moment of silence that his departure opened up to allow the confusion to disappear. When her gaze turns back to Asmodeus, her eyes are burning embers of lust and anger rising like a phoenix from the ashes within her. Raven-tipped ears flexed, disappearing beneath the silken threads of her silvery mane as Nyimara took a pointed step forward, lifting her finely dished muzzle proudly. A coquettish grin slips easily across her velvet lips as she leans even nearer to the tall stallion’s tense frame. ”Jealous?” she coos, her words heated and heavy as the amusement that mixes into the honeyed flavors. Pale lashes blink slowly as her lips stretch forward to tug at a straying strand of his darkened mane. ”Helios does not crawl darling.” she says, drawing out that irritatingly pleasant pet name that he used only moments ago on her. ”He is much farther on his way to becoming king of Salem than you ever were.” she snaps, circling around him close enough to brush against his hip and shoulder a bit more forcefully than necessary. With any luck, Marceline would have quite the pleasant surprise waiting for her, and Asmodeus quite a few questions as to why her scent hung so heavily on him.
He mentions Natyre, and inwardly Nyimara recoils. She wanted to keep at least one of their children away from him. One that he could not twist and contort to his whim as a better parental figure. She had not missed the unspoken accusations in Cahyr’s eyes or the lack of warmth in his touch as he sped off. At least until this point, she has been able to train the girl to believe they had been abandoned.
An exasperated sigh escapes her lips as Nyimara hides once more behind the mask of indifference. ”I suppose telling you now that she died in childbirth would be of little use since clearly Cahyr has informed you of her existence….” she murmurs, bending her dished muzzle to rub at an invisible itch on her extended foreleg. She uses the excuse to think… to drum up a reason… any reason… to deny him access to their shared prodigy, but none, not a single one, would put her in a positive light with their children.
”I will grant you access to her this one singular time…” Nyimara murmurs finally as she lifts her head to fix Asmodeus once more within her near-black gaze. ”But you abandoned Salem, and we have no love for a weak heart here. If Natyre wishes to visit you in the future, I will allow it. But you will not come here unless YOU wish to be the one crawling for me.” she purrs, glancing pointedly at his strong, solid hooves. By the gods would she love to see him do just that.