let them eat cake.

Tony no more than managed to close the distance between their bodies before Nyimara was whirling to retaliate, launching jagged hooves at the girl's spotted body with far more practice and grace - even exhausted - than Antoinette had managed to learn. The blow lands squarely on her chest, halting her forward momentum and knocking the wind from her lungs. The impact stalls her, and she struggles to keep her footing against the waves, though she does not lose her customary scowl as she glares at Nyimara like a landed fish: her ribs heaving with the effort of regaining her breath.

The mention of sharks does not daunt the Shore-resident, who has grown accustomed to their fins undulating beyond the reef, but the reminder that she was stuck, does. Though it is impossible for her pert ears to pin any further, her tail illustrates her mood, snapping against her haunches with the same sass that Nyimara's does. She does not give voice to the curse that rises to mind, but there is no doubt: it starts with an F, and ends with a you.

She stalks forward begrudgingly, fury still radiating from her slender figure. "I can manage on my own." She snaps, marching past the mare with her head held high and her chest still throbbing with pain. In truth, Asmodeus' stories about the Desert were few and far between and what little she'd managed to glean about surviving here came from stories she'd eavesdropped on from Cahyr. Nikki had loved pestering him with questions and Tony loved Nikki, so she often got roped into listening whether she wanted to or not.

Regardless of whether her knowledge was sufficient or not, she had no intention of letting Nyimara know how unsettled she was. Her mother might have forced her to go to the Shore, but that was wholly different from a stranger forcing her to a strange land in which she did not know anyone.

Tony didn't want to admit it... but she was terrified.

A thought occurs to her, even though she doesn't really want to acknowledge it. Cahyr was supposed to be here. Asmodeus had sent him home a while ago, and while she didn't exactly love her half-brother, he would at least be kind to her... for Nikki's sake. "Where is Cahyr?" Her tone was imperious as she spun back to face Nyimara, chin lifted defiantly and jaw set.

daughter of marceline.