Welcome to Gaia! ::

Atropos jerked her head up in surprise. She had not thought that this stallion had heard of her, but perhaps she was mistaken. How else could he know?

"Yours, and those of every other creature that I lay eyes upon," she confirmed in a flat voice. She could only hope he would not ask her how he was meant die. If only she could find a way to warn him without telling him!

She snorted softly. Apparently, this stallion was more perceptive than she had given him credit for. "Your death will come all the sooner."

It was a delicate line to tread. She could perhaps give him hints, but if she revealed too much, it would be just the same as if she had given him the vision. If she told him nothing, then he would be left to his cruel fate. She could let him guess, perhaps, but even if he could guess his own death out of thousands of possibilities, she would not be able to directly confirm it.

"...Atropos," she said at last. It felt strange, to be introducing herself like a normal Azrein. She was not certain she had done anything so simple as this since she was a filly. She hesitated a moment longer before giving in to her curiosity. "What do you mean, your death sense?"

Surely he was not like her...was he?

((That's certainly a possibility. It would throw an interesting twist on things, too. I wonder if they'll be as compatible as we hope...))

Curious. She wondered whether it was as hard on him as her own power was on her. Of course, if she had seen such a death for him, she could not help but wonder how reliable his own power truly was. Perhaps, sometimes, death was simply inescapable.

"They only have another death waiting," she pointed out. It was as much for her own benefit as for his. Even if she could somehow spare Haides the death she had seen, there was no guarantee that the one he would face later would be any kinder. Was it really worth it?

((lol That's certainly true.))

She gave him an eloquent shrug that could mean anything or nothing. Even though she tried to spare herself the pain and fight off the madness, some part of her that was buried deep down inside knew that she could not remain detached from the world forever. Not entirely, at any rate. But she was not ready to admit as much to herself. So, even though his reasoning made a certain sort of sense, and even though she had already resolved to at least attempt to save those in front of her, she could not manage to take so optimistic an outlook. Not yet. Perhaps someday it would be different.

"It is true that you do not know. Perhaps the world will be all the worse for it."

The mare shook her head. They could go in circles with this argument forever, but she would not argue with him about it. If she saved anyone, it would not be for the betterment of the future or the potential good deeds that the Azrein might do because she had saved them. It would be for her own selfish benefit, to assuage her guilt about leaving them to hideous fates. Attie was not altruistic, just damaged. There was nothing more to it.

"You have your answer. Surely you need nothing more from me." She cared not about his salvation.

She owed him no explanation, but she knew the pain of rejection. "All living creatures are...uncomfortable. They bring me closer to the abyss."

This was one of her better days, to be sure, but she was growing more agitated the longer she was in his company.

Her ears flattened as a wave of irrational fury overtook her. How dare he presume to counsel her? He knew nothing of her! She bared her fangs, shuddering with the effort it took to restrain herself. The effort it took to plant her hooves firmly in place and not move forward.

As suddenly as it had come, it evaporated, and she stood there, shivering with unused adrenaline. "Be ware who you keep company with, stallion. Not all are so friendly as you might think."

With that last message, she turned and, with a flick of her tail, disappeared into the darkness.