Paradise

If he were to be completely honest, the limping form of the injured chimera stallion does bring his own personal beliefs into question. It would no doubt be much easier to best the stallion in his current stthan if the sterling beast were to wait for health and vitality to return to the muscles beneath the patchwork pelt. The temptation was strong, stronger than he wanted to admit. After a lifetime of waiting in the shadows to claim what he perceived as his birthright, to only have it ripped from his hooves before he had even begun to make his mark on this world. Lesser stallions would have not thought twice about the cowardly decision. But he was not like most stallions.

Hymn had changed him. Her gentleness. Her kindness. The softness in her brown eyes and the wisdom that sang in her voice. It had faded now, lost with the daughter that never was given the chance to live among them. Like a melody haunting the back of his mind, it still remains. He could not risk seeing disappointment or hurt in her eyes and he would not hide the truth from her. He was a wolf of the jungles of Atlantis, not a coyote stalking the weak and wounded. A creature of nobility and loyalty, not backhanded cunning and hidden daggers.

So even when Asmodeus closes the distance between them at a slow, clipped pace, Annubis forces the predatory flash from his eyes with a blink, focusing instead on calming his breathing for what this meeting would entail. A cocky smirk ghosts across his ashen labrums as the chimera stallion opens the conversation with the usual tones of dry humor and sarcastic banter. Forelimbs shift back and forth as the beast cracks the joints along his shoulders to keep them from stiffening up. ”Can’t really blame you. I would have done the same if I were not so…. distracted.” he muses, choosing to keep the information of Hymn and Izumi and the rest of his small herd quiet. The wolf did not need to give the chimera any reason further to stay, especially with his off-handed remark about keeping his claim….. short.

Raven-tipped ears pitch forward amid the tangled tumble of his obsidian mane. Multifaceted eyes of golden hues glitter in the bright sunlight that shines down upon them without much mercy. A coy smile replaces the cockiness that had moments ago settled upon his lips. Wolfishly flashing his yellowing teeth before once more hiding them behind dark lips. ”Probably the same request as the last time you visited. Blah blah blah…. Monarchy….blah blah blah…. One king… power….blah blah blah. That about sum it up?” he asks, the snark of his tone dipped in humor. But he can’t contain himself, not that he ever really truly tried to in the first place. Curiosity has always been his biggest flaw. ”What would you do if I decided to just take back my crown? Hmm? In your current state? Could you really put up that much of a fight? Almost seems like a strong wind might blow you off your hooves.” he asks, tilting his crown. Of course its an exaggeration but well, his pride is wounded and why not pick at the wooden fences where he can.