I'll Lead...And You Must Follow(Otho)

Medarmeth

The small stallion flicked his hooves at a mare as she tried barreling into him, sending her limping painfully back to her young colt, who watched him warily from between his mother's legs. That one would be a fighter one day, he knew, and considered snapping the little grey colt's neck, then and there. Then again, perhaps he would choose to become an adversary of his own kind, much like the weakling Lowe hellions and their allies.

He followed Candra, staying just to one side of her, and his head slightly behind hers as they strode through the sweeping grasses, the giant trees shrouding places where he could just make out a she-wolf in her den, growling softly at them as they invaded the land, infecting each creature they passed with an overwhelming fear.

A black flash moved at the corner of his eye, and he snapped his head around to look. Nothing was there though. Shaking himself mentally, he continued. At Candra's question though, he smiled slightly, just the barest twitch of his mouth. "I haven't been in a place like this since... Since I first met Exile... And Omera." he said, remembering the night like it was yesterday.

He and his two companions had traveled long, and came upon a young unicorn fae, who had just given birth to a hellion colt. The three attempted an attack, wanting to show what happened to half-bloods. They hadn't reckoned on the sheer power of the young mother though, and in a flash of brilliant crystal light, their flames had receded to nothing, replaced with thin coats of cool hair. She had warned them then of the curse she placed on them, before searing pain blotted everything out as marks were burnt into their very flesh, leaving a clear message to others; do not trust them.

When he awoke, a white fire was blazing where the unicorn had stood, and as the red stallion rose, so too, did the flames, forming into Exile...

With a snort, Medarmeth brought himself back to the present, in time to answer Candra's question. "Because, not all stallions have lost all they once knew. Not many have changed from freedom to servitude, and most have never accepted their roles as they come to them." he said simply, before he stopped as something black moved at the edges of his vision again. He didn't say anything though, but kept a look-out, his dark eyes scanning carefully around them. If any were to attack Candra, they would soon learn why, even as a fallen hellion, no one picked a fight with him without regretting it.

The red horse took the fae's compliment in silence, but as she continued to the more pressing fact of being followed, he nodded. "Whoever, or whatever it is, has been following us since just after we entered." he agreed, looking at the various places a creature could hide. It would help, he thought, if he knew what he was looking for.

Just then, a dark head popped out from around the nearest tree as Candra spoke, and was soon followed by a distinctly reptilian body as a lanky black filly came out, looking mildly sheepish. She was only about a year old, with silver eyes that had reptilian slits for pupils. Her skin was leathery, with scales running along her spine and covering her muzzle and forehead. A grey mane and tail were the only marks that she was, in fact, a horse, and not some strange new breed of salamander. Small, jet-black wings were held tightly to her sides, the bony structures covered with dark grey scales.

"Hello," she said quietly, bowing a bit. "I'm Véronique-Noémi." she finished, and although her body suggested that she was a young horse that didn't have any idea what she was doing, her voice radiated a calm, confident, and coldly calculating manner, as if she had only chosen to speak with the two because she deemed them worthy of being in her presence. At the sight of her, other new mothers fled, pushing their newborns as fast as they could go, whinnying in anger and fear.

The tall filly held herself regally as she waited for a response, looking at Candra expectantly, although she ignored the small red stallion entirely.

The filly accepted the red fae's greetings without a word, although at the mention of her bloodlines she snorted derisively, pawing at the ground slightly in amusement. "My mother is a pathetic scrap of existence. As was Corus." she said decidedly, before cocking her head slightly, as if contemplating what next to say. A small, dark aura seemed to surround her, radiating intense heat as she did so, before it disappeared. Her flames were getting harder to manage, she thought in annoyance. Of course, it used to be that she didn't have any, so perhaps she was too quick to judge the flames.

She shook her head slightly, still trying to decide what to make of the two companions, the small red servant, and the tri-colored princess. While she did so, Medarmeth took a step towards her, curiosity getting the better of him for once.

The filly's head jerked upright, her reptilian pupils widening, and then she vanished in a blast of warmth.

The red horse looked at where she had been, surprise etched plainly on his features. "I've never seen anything like her..." He muttered, more to himself than to Candra. "I do believe she has invisible flames... Definitely a powerful hellion, although she seems to lack control..." He trailed off, musing on her strange behavior, and also wondering in passing whether or not he was about to be berated for his actions. He doubted it; Candra had less of a quick temper than her mother, but it was still entirely possible, and - thought he with an inward grimace - he probably deserved a chewing out. Young ones were easily startled no matter what; it would have been odd for her not to have reacted in some such manner.