[➳ T e c h n o ➳]

Nemesis watched as many others offered their congratulations to King Damocles. Some were reasonable, and others borderline groveled. Her frame was not as well toned as it had once been. She'd given birth to twins not long ago. She was restless and bored with social gatherings like this. Thomasin was drifting in her gaze, almost as often as the commander thought of the dark queen.

She didn't belong here, and least of all she needed no king. But that was not her decision to make. Nemesis waited for a lull in those gathering around the royals before she decided to make her move. In some ways, she was more like her father. When she wanted something, almost nothing but self preservation could deter her. Combined with Sly's tutelage, she was a force to be reckoned with.

Nemesis cut through the crowd with ease. She feared no soul here as she came to stand before Thomasin again. "Thomasin, can I speak with you alone?" The commander asked as if it were an invitation. In some ways it wad, but in many others it was not. She'd never been one to kowtow to anyone else.

Nemesis didn't wait for an answer from the queen this time though. She simply disappeared toward the edge of the coronation. Again she cut through the crowd with ease. While she may not have recovered from giving birth yet, she was still relatively agile. The twins were tucked away safely within toxin raj. She wouldn't allow another event like her mother's death to fall on her shoulders.

The dark bay mare swung her hips and turned around to face either the empty space or hopefully Thomasin's face. Nemesis wasn't nervous, but she also did not expect anything to change. As much as she wanted Thomasin to join her and the Helkaer, she doubted it would happen. They seemed to be on different paths in life.


But she couldn't bite her tongue anymore. Not after seeing multiple useless men throw themselves at Thomasin and claim they were worthy of being her equal. They were beneath her by several degrees. Why was it that the dark queen could not see that? Sly had taught her to be self reliant. To take what she wanted without remorse.

She did find it strange to be following in Respira's footsteps. She had been mates with that vigilum mare while she was commander. Nemesis bit her tongue at the thought. Though she desired the dark queen, she didn't believe that the appaloosa would ever be hers.

A z z y

[A z z y]

The night hag watched the disappearing rears of her father and Selven, the strange and haunting image carved into her grey matter for all eternity. What had she done? His absence had taken a form of its own, a ghost beside her during the nights she spent in solitude, what difference would it make now? Now he could truly haunt her. As the distance minimised their statures, Thomasin inhaled slowly, her nares flexing outwards before collapsing slowly, awaiting the tidal wave of agony to break upon her, but it didn't. It loomed over her, casting a deep and unending shadow upon her now. The wave would break, at some point, but when she did not know. She had expected the loss of her first born twins to consume her, to ignite her wrath in such a visceral way. But she had not expected that... she had not expected what had just come to pass to ever cross her mind. Now, she was hollow, a noticeable void in her chest where her heart should have pounded it's war drums. The void that lingered within her now had consumed her mercy, her empathy, her rationality. It had strengthened her resolve, her ire and, most of all, it had reinforced her notion that if they were not of her kin, they were the enemy and would be treated as such.

Slowly, the witch queen turned on her hocks, her limbs heavy as she turned her crown to face the direction of the coronation once again. Was her absence even noticed? So many doubtful eyes had been ensnared by Damocles that she briefly considered disappearing herself, returning herself to the wilderness so the binds of politics would release her. There was an eerie stoicism to her features, once so vivid and full of expression, there was an absence of all emotion. A coldness had ensnared her, it had gripped her mind and soul alike, and now she must go through the motions. Each step was forced, her mass moving through the undergrowth as the sounds of conversation began to grow louder within her lobes, so loud they were almost deafening. It took all her will to not have her lobes sink into their graves atop her atlas, to not peel back her voluptuous lips across her incisors in a feral snarl. No, the show must go on…

As if she had never left, she moved into the position she had been in when Selven had emerged, some eyes dancing across her curiously before returning to engage in whatever conversation enraptured them. Damocles was speaking with Rianne, a task she had no doubt the silver brindle could handle. Belial however was engaged with Xerxes, a more worrisome meeting given Belial's attitude and Xerxes’ known lack of tolerance for such. Let the painted king jeopardise the relationship she had worked so hard to forge and maintain. Her scrutiny did not linger upon them for long, for the movement of another approaching equid pulled her golden attention away, those molten optics landing then upon the familiar frame of Nemesis. She appeared tired, physically, in the same way Thomasin had done after birthing twins. It was a criticism she kept to herself as the Helkaer Commander now stood before her. "Thomasin, can I speak with you alone?” The Dark regent nodded silently, her mass moving into step behind Nemesis confidently. If the helkaer woman wanted a repeat of that night they had shared, all she had to do was ask. The witch queen would be lying if she said she had not allowed her thoughts to wander to that particular night, wondering what may have happened if she had chosen to not return to The Keep… Her gaze briefly danced across Rasa and Cadence as the two women whom they'd endeavoured to put down were once again in each other's presence.

As the Commander came to a halt in a more secluded area than that of the main coronation, Thomasin followed suit, her knives digging into the soft emerald blades as she looked to Nemesis from behind the veil of her obsidian locks. Could she sense the shift in the dark queen? The coldness, the absence of her heart? Could she see the carnal desire burning in those golden eyes, the need for retribution becoming an entity all of its own? The night hag held Nemesis in her gaze with ease, her scrutiny heavy, intense, but her features were almost blank, bar the subtle curve of her kissers. What is it, Nemesis? She asked the other woman with ease, her barbed tongue concealed from the wraith before her as she waited in silent anticipation of her response.



TAGGED - ➳ T e c h n o ➳
WORDS - 767
MUSE - good!
NOTES - 💜 slight edit made 24/10 due to a change in the Selven plot
Speech

[➳ T e c h n o ➳]

Nemesis

tear the whole world down

Nemesis could feel the mahogany woman's golden gaze upon her back as they moved through the coronation. When she had rounded to face the regent, she found those familiar eyes peering at her. Beneath the surface, Nemesis knew what a capable and volatile individual Thomasin could be. It was a shame she belonged to the throne and not to the Helkaer. The dark bay listened as the Appaloosa asked her what it was she wanted. It was more terse than that, and the commander merely smiled slyly for a moment. "Why have you gone and found another man to stand beside you? Do you not grow tired of the ways in which men will disappoint you?" She asked with half-sarcastic tones. It was hard for her to keep the jealousy from her voice. Jealousy was not a familiar emotion to the commander. Nemesis allowed herself to glance away from Thomasin for a moment, as if she were righting herself for her next diatribe toward the king. Her lips felt suddenly dry and her tongue slid along them to keep them comfortable.

Her violet gaze soon found Thomasin's once more. "Leave them, Thomasin. You don't need them, and you certainly don't need a man to stand beside you. You are more capable... you are simply more." Nemesis fell silent as she regarded the queen. Would she take these words as criticisms against her choices, or would she be able tos ee through to what Nemesis meant by that? "Thomasin." The commander started gravely, and the sarcastic and volatlie nature disappeared from her demeanor for but a moment. "Stand beside me.. be mine and leave this behind you. Imagine the freedom you will have. We can be more. What can they give you that I cannot?" It was still cryptic, but the message was clear. This was as close as the dark bay wench could come to truly confessing her attraction to the queen.

It was silent then, even if only for a few moments. She still fully expected the regent to reject her outright. All Nemesis had ever known her as was someone who belonged to the throne, despite the fact that she could be so much more. Her nares inhaled the scent of the golden eyed witch. She stood in contrast to the rest of the gathered bodies behind her. The din of the gathering barely reached Nemesis' ears as she waited for Thomasin to respond. If she were rejected, then Nemesis would take her leave. Not out of spite, but because the only way she'd handle it is by putting distance between them.




"speech can look like this with this"

A z z y

[A z z y]

The mahogany Commander turned on her axis to face Thomasin, surmising her with ease, drinking in her image. Did she know what she had done? Did a kingkiller know its kind when they stood eye to eye with one? Thomasin swallowed, her mouth dry as she kept her gaze levelled upon the woman before her. As Thomasin quizzed the mare, she noticed the subtle curve of her lips, the dangerous shimmer in her eyes as she appraised the queen. "Why have you gone and found another man to stand beside you? Do you not grow tired of the ways in which men will disappoint you?” Thomasin felt the accusation in her words, albeit sarcastic, the guilt bubbling up within her until what was said sank in. You are as much a victim of tradition as I, she replied easily, her words a silent jab at the feud forced between the helkaer and the royals of generations long ago. Long such a vengeance had continued, against thrones and the individuals who sat upon them, yet usually without any other reason. There was an absence of emotion in her words, no jest, no scathing wrath, just a void. She was numb, the crime, the sin she had just committed… she was now no better than the witch who stood before her.

Her mind wandered to the last hour of her life… of what she had done, without consciously realising she had done it. His pain, her ire, the soothing presence of The Surgeon. If it had not been for him… no doubt the situation at hand would have been entirely different. Still, she wished she could turn back the clocks… to feel him, to love him. To not have let the seering agony she had endured to blindside her into committing such an atrocity. "Leave them, Thomasin. You don't need them, and you certainly don't need a man to stand beside you. You are more capable... you are simply more.” Nemesis’ words pulled her focus back to the present, her gilded eyes and obsidian lobes twisting to face Nemesis in unison. The witch queen wanted to laugh, she wanted to bask in the hilarity of what she had just heard for it was true, so true in fact she had disposed of the one man, aside from her father, that she had ever truly adored. But Nemesis was right, she didn't need a man, and they did not need a killer in their midst. Perhaps the Helkaer was the best place for her after all…

"Thomasin. Stand beside me.. be mine and leave this behind you. Imagine the freedom you will have. We can be more. What can they give you that I cannot?” It was a good question, and one she did not necessarily have an answer for. Her obsidian cords twitched against her fetlocks as she levelled her gaze upon Nemesis once more, her features stoic, beautiful, yet perhaps different. Blank? There would have been a time not so long ago she'd have gloated, rubbed it in the Commander's face that here she stood, begging like a hungry dog for a scrap of meat from the dark royals, but she didn't. Not this time. Her enamels grappled at her bottom lip, chewing absently on the bottom labret before she looked to the mare once again. What would you do, she began, her tones calm, even, before continuing If I came to you with such an offer? Would you leave the Brotherhood to be with me? She was not refusing Nemesis, if the two were smart such a union of their ferocity and her wrath could be devastating for their enemies… smart they may be, but they were proud, stubborn, steadfast. Two factions that could not coexist harmoniously for long.



TAGGED - ➳ T e c h n o ➳
WORDS - 629
MUSE - good!
NOTES - ❤️
Speech

[➳ T e c h n o ➳]

Nemesis

tear the whole world down

Thomasin remarked that the two of them were victims of tradition. Nemesis regarded her silently, her face was unchanging as she contemplated that thought. The bay Helkaer disagreed with the sentiment. All she needed men for was the ability to procreate. It that wasn't necessary, she'd do away with them in their entirety. Not to mention she'd never let anyone tell her what to do. No man, nor woman could bind her in such a way. Sly had always and would forever be the only exception to that. "You are only a victim if you choose to be. Or if you see yourself that way... But we can create things in ways that they cannot. We can live without them, but it's not the other way around." Nemesis responded to the queen. While it might be true that their species would cease to exist if all mares suddenly decided to discard the stallions, the stallions had no other way of carrying children. "And Thomasin, you are no victim. You are not weak." Nemesis answered her. It was one of the reasons she desired the queen.

Then there came the silence after her question. The commander's violet gaze remained fixated on Thomasin's ochre and ivory form as she contemplated what was asked of her. There was hesitation in the Dark monarch's expression. Nemesis prepared for rejection, but it did not come. Instead, Thomasin began with a question. It was cut in the middle as if she had to think about what words she was choosing carefully what words to offer the Helkaer. Thomasin flipped the question on her. Nemesis knew the answer, but she wasn't sure if this was Thomasin rejecting her. It was her turn to remain silent as she peered at the Queen. 

Her expression didn't change, and her demeanor didn't falter in its consistency. "I would not. Where you may see equality between the Helkaer and the Dark Kingdom, I see law and restriction. I was not made to live among those who are slightly civilized. I do not wish to play the political game so carefully. I do not desire allies. I want only power, reknown, and to have you by my side in those goals. I am a wolf, and I have never hidden that, nor would I ever. But you, are you not forced to play the political games? Carry out as if you are a diplomat when beneath the surface you may wish and desire to tear their throats out?" Nemesis posed the question to Thomasin.

Perhaps the way they viewed the world was quite different. Nemesis still did not have her answer, and it was likely she would not get it. The bay woman did not want to wait for Thomasin, but she would. The commander would not freely admit such things. "If you are rejecting me, I will not sully our alliance and suddenly raise the herds beneath you." That was at least partially true. Nemesis was petty enough to do such a thing, but for now at least she viewed Thomasin alone as favourbly enough that she did not want to burn that bridge. 




"speech can look like this with this"

A z z y

[A z z y]

The night hag watched as Nemesis stood before her, her features unwavering as Thomasin spoke of tradition. Perhaps the Commander had misunderstood her, perhaps the sentiment had been lost. It was only as Nemesis spoke, did Thomasin find her deliberations to be correct. "You are only a victim if you choose to be. Or if you see yourself that way... But we can create things in ways that they cannot. We can live without them, but it's not the other way around.” A single lobe flicked upon her atlas, ensnaring the words of the harbingers as a wry smile curled her lips. No truer word had been spoken. "And Thomasin, you are no victim. You are not weak.” These words caused her gilded optics to hone in upon Nemesis, as once again she spoke truth into the void between them. No, she was not weak, not now. Perhaps when she had first left the dilapidated mansion her father had ensnared her in she had been weak - her spine still soft as it found its place within her. But now… now she was almost too strong. Too strong to rely upon or trust anyone else. Would you consider Sly a victim? Thomasin queried Nemesis with ease, genuinely curious as to her response. Was it common knowledge that Sly had been one of Thomasin's greatest inspiration? Whilst she could not wield flame like the helkaer, she could be as intimidating as the crimson witch… it had become a secret little goal of hers.

Thomasin turned the proposition on its head, curious as to whether or not Nemesis’ desire for her was stronger than her desire for power. It was not. "I would not. Where you may see equality between the Helkaer and the Dark Kingdom, I see law and restriction. I was not made to live among those who are slightly civilized. I do not wish to play the political game so carefully. I do not desire allies. I want only power, reknown, and to have you by my side in those goals. I am a wolf, and I have never hidden that, nor would I ever. But you, are you not forced to play the political games? Carry out as if you are a diplomat when beneath the surface you may wish and desire to tear their throats out?” Thomasin heeded her words then, digesting them carefully as she considered her response. Equality? No, she began, her crown shaking slightly in disagreement. I see wasted potential… she admitted, her slender shoulders rolling in a gentle shrug. It was true - so long they had been at each other's throats, and for what? Perhaps queens of old had been too uptight, too regal, for the helkaer to see them as anything else but a target. But Thomasin was not like the queen's of old… Thomasin was her father's daughter and her father had been a helkaer, he had led a coup against the royals even when he had gained lands beneath their rule… he had raped a queen which is how the night hag was able to stand where she did now.

We have the same goals, the same enemies, the same allies, for the time being… she spoke confidently now, I am not my mother, nor my sister, did Nemesis know she was of royal blood, descended from Akroma? But I am my father's daughter - he who was a helkaer, a monster. He who turned against the royals and then, when he was not satisfied with their rule, raped the Queen… she smirked then, whilst it was no smirking matter, the strange twists of her history that had gotten her to where she was now was not lost upon her. I am not here to maintain the order imposed upon the Kingdom by royals of old, no… she smiled, the smile of a tyrant, of a killer, of a King slayer. I am here to reignite what this kingdom should be, should have always been… I see no value in alliances with the lights or the neutrals, I do not want to stand beside men who are not worth the shit stains that they leave upon the lands… there was a predatory edge to her words now, a shimmer in those golden eyes as they locked onto Nemesis’ fiercely. "If you are rejecting me, I will not sully our alliance and suddenly raise the herds beneath you." Thomasin did not respond, but instead stepped forward nonchalantly, pressing her atlas under the crook of Nemesis’ jaw, where her neck met her dome, silence falling over them for a moment. So tired she had grown of just being the queen, of falling into stereotypes forced upon her... I can play the game as well as the next, as can you, she murmured, Yet if I told you that Selven lies dead because of me, would you believe it? If I told you that I cut his throat with the jaw bone of a mare he murdered long ago, would you think any differnt of me?

After a moment, a small huff of amusement left the witch queen, finding too much comfort in the embrace of who should have been her enemy, she took a step back. With her lashes blinking, she turned her golden eyes to search Nemesis’, danger flashing within them. If the King that was presented to you all was indeed the King, perhaps this conversation would be different, she acknowledged. However, let's say hypothetically, he isn't, and the true King she spat the words viciously then, Is playing a game, to protect himself… despite having bred with a helkaer already, what would you do? She sliced her obsidian cords against her fetlocks with an audible swish-thwack, the intensity of her scrutiny boring into Nemesis relentlessly. Would she see her now for what she truly was? Would she believe that maybe, just maybe, Thomasin was not a royal queen, no pretty princess so soft and gentle… but in fact was no different from Nemesis herself. A savage, a mercenary, a conduit for war and bloodlust… the crown be damned, she had bigger fish to fry.


TAGGED - ➳ T e c h n o ➳
WORDS - 1000+
MUSE - good!
NOTES - sorry not sorry...
Speech

[➳ T e c h n o ➳]

Nemesis

tear the whole world down

Thomasin remained quiet but Nemesis could see the slightest change in her eyes and relished in the smile that her words had earned. However, the commander did not show it. Nemesis knew that Thomasin understood her, and that smile told her everything she needed to know. Yet the queen's question was something she hadn't expected. Did Nemesis consider Sly a victim? That question was interesting and her initial reaction was anger, and yet it was Thomasin. So she did not show her anger. If it had been anyone else Nemesis would've torn their throat out. "I don't consider her a victim. But I do consider that she will need to be avenged and that those who ended her life will pay." The dark bay answered. It wasn't an ideological statement, Nemesis had meant it as a promise. When this war was over, she was going to go scorched earth and punish those in Wild Equines who allied with Utopia, who murdered her mother, and those who killed Sly. The wolf-queen surprised her again and disagreed with her sentiment on equality. She stated she saw wasted potential within her own domain.

That was an interesting take considering the stories she'd heard about the history of the Helkaer and Dark Kingdom. Nemesis hummed in curiosity to indicate for Thomasin to continue and share her thoughts on that. Thomasin did expand on that point, by stating that the Helkaer and that her regime had the same goals. She stated that she was her father's daughter, her father who was a Helkaer. Nemesis tilted her head slightly because she was not aware of who Thomasin's father was. She also alluded to a lineage steeped in nobility. It made sense, but it was also interesting to know how differently Thomasin viewed these things. 

The bay queen sought no allies with those who were deemed 'good' or even 'neutral.' Thomasin spoke of rewriting what the Dark Kingdom was, what it always should have been. "Back to the time before the Helkaer split off from your kingdom?" Nemesis asked her without animosity.

Nemesis remained quiet and observant, and the queen again surprised her by gently tapping the commander's throat which ended in an embrace. Her skin was hot, but this felt right. Nemesis was capable of melting, and it was Thomasin who had thawed her to a degree. Thomasin murmured to Nemesis of horrible deeds and that was the very moment that she knew what love meant. Twisted or not, Nemesis was hooked on Thomasin. "If you told me... that this was how Selven met his end... I would not feel differently. It would thrill me in the very same way your presence alone does." Nemesis spoke honestly.

But what she said next was curious. The king that Thomasin presented was a false king and her real king was trying to hide. To protect himself because he'd slept with the Helkaer. "Is he hiding because he thinks we will come and burn his hide for fornicating with one the members of the Brotherhood?" Nemesis asked as she was pressed close to Thomasin for a moment. "I would probably expose him to his enemies and let him squirm with the consequences." The commander answered honestly. "Passive retribution."

That being said with the proximity to such a feral queen and her misdeeds, Nemesis had begun to feel a certain type of way. "Thomasin... would you join me somewhere more private than this? I want to breath in your existence." 




"speech can look like this with this"

A z z y  lololol not Nemesis inviting her to sneak away from the coronation for "fun"