I burst into the outer lair as fast as I could. “Are you guys alright?” My gaze landed on the group of kirins that had gathered around the pond, looking to be attending to their injuries. Without slowing down, I galloped straight at them. Though to my surprise, instead of groaning and complaining, they started to purr when I’d gotten close enough.

“We did good, didn’t we?” Ocean Sky half purred, half asked. He approached me and stretched his head out to allow me to either pat him or scratch him between the ears.

“Yeah, we were great!” Raising Ebb agreed cheerily, despite the seemingly painful scratch running down one of her sides. “We stopped your dad!” She then offered me her head as well, competing with Ocean Sky for my attention.

For a moment, I was bewildered, but when I came back to my senses, I quickly agreed. “Yes, yes of course you did! I am very happy with you guys!” I took the opportunity to give them a closer look before letting my gaze wander over the others. “No one is seriously injured? Right?”

“We are fine,” now it was Wind Root’s turn to join the conversation, purr, and rub his head against my side . “Though, your dad has a good throwing claw. If he would’ve used any more strength, I would have flown all the way back to The Peaks Of Peril.”

“I don’t doubt that,” I agreed and ruffled his mane with one claw while my other was busy caressing the others. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks to the lovely bushes you grow down here. Though, I’m pretty sure a few of them didn’t fare so well by comparison.”

“The plants down here are used to dragons,” I giggled, relieved no one seemed to be too badly hurt. “A few flying kirins are nothing they can’t handle, so don’t worry about them.”

“If you say so,” he retorted, then looked in the direction I’d come from. “Is Autumn Blaze alright? I mean we slowed him down, but your dad still seemed furious.” His gaze then wandered to my side, and a little growl formed in his throat. “You look like you got hurt?”

“Yes, she is fine.” I wasn’t able to stop a bit of growling from slipping into my voice as well. “She is with my brother in the inner lair. We fought over who had the right to claim her as our own.”

Wind Root looked at me a bit concerned. “You sound like you’re not happy about how it went?”

“I’m not.” The surprise in his eyes caused me to realize how that sounded, and I quickly corrected myself. “Oh, no, I’m happy that Autumn is safe. It's just-” I sighed “- I could have won, but dad decided that my brother has more of a claim to her than me.” I snorted in frustration.

Encouraged by my negative emotions, I felt Raising Ebb rubbing her head against my side. “Don’t be sad,” she said, “we’re still here for you.” Quickly, the others joined in with a purr or other sounds of approval. “We belong to you.” Her affection for me became more eager.

Claim them!

And there was the voice in my head again, telling me what to do.

Claim them, they are ours! They want to be claimed!

I must confess, there was the urge to do so, in fact, it’d started the moment I ‘d gotten close enough to do so. However, these were kirins I’d known for years, so I had my reservations about just claiming them.

Stretching my hoof out, I caressed Raising Ebbs head, which she showed she approved of with a loud purr while taking a seat next to me. A little shiver ran down my spine. It would be so easy, so quick. I just needed to reach out with my own aura to collect them as my subjects.

I let go of her and approached Wind Root again. “Well,” I circled around him slowly, “I may have to give up on her, but, like Raising Ebb said, there are still others to replace her.”

“Uhm, yeah.” He laid down. “I mean, we’re all ready for that, though…”

“Though what?”

“It does feel a little weird, but right at the same time. You know, accepting you as our new leader.”

Show him where his place is! Doubt can not be tolerated!

I shook my head, getting rid of that line of thinking. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” I gave him a little smile. “I am a bit unsure about this all too. Claiming you all as my subjects, leading you to Shakirin-La… I mean it’s what I am supposed to do, and it is not like I have much of a choice, but still.” I sighed. “Anyway, maybe it is easier with a friend?”

“Maybe,” an unsure smile spread across Wind Roots' muzzle. “Let’s just get it over with then, I think.”

“Uhm, yeah, sure.”

“Anything I have to do?”

“I think it will come to you by itself, at least that's what happened with Autumn and me I suppose. I touch you with my aura, you open up your mind, letting me see into your thoughts and emotions, and then, well I don’t know.”

Wind Root had been quite calm up until the point I mentioned I would be able to see his emotions, for some reason, that made him quite uncomfortable. He rose to his hooves, stepping away slightly. “You know, by second thought, maybe we should wait with this a bit.”

I presented my fangs out of reflex for a second before I could suppress it and speak in a calm tone. “Come on, Wind Root, we both know you’re bold and careless, so don’t chicken out now.”

“Uhm, sure, I,” he stepped back further, “would love to of course. Just…”

Ours! The voice in my head got a little impatient. So I decided to reach out with my aura for him. Not entirely forcing him to submit, but giving him a little push in the right direction. Hesitantly, he stopped his retreat and laid down again. Better. Now I took my time to engulf him completely.

Just like with Autumn before, when I reached his horn I was able to see partly into his mind, splinters of his thoughts and emotions, his…

…

…

Ponyfeathers!

Wind Root kept his head low while raising his flank, wiggling it and his tail while growling at me. Oh, not an aggressive growl, or a challenging one, that would have been much less of a problem. I would have actually preferred that, no, this was his attempt at flirting, seducing me to be exact. To get behind me… literally.

Ponyfeathers, Ponyfeathers, Ponyfeathers!

This was not only absolutely awkward, but rather embarrassing. I’d more or less brought this on myself. No wonder he had been shy about me claiming him! Sure, he knows I am with Illu, and therefore would have never dared make a move. Though, with me practically breaking into his mind and looking into his secret desires just now...

Panicking, I took a step back. What should I do? I couldn’t even roar at him, put him into his place, since it was my fault that we were in this situation!

Ponyfeathers!

***

“She’s put herself into quite the funny situation,” Aphrodite giggled, playing with her wine glass for a moment before rising from her divan. She walked closer to the little pool she and Fortuna used to look into the realm of the mortals. “You know,” a little smile played across her lips, “if your godchild would just be a little more open minded about polygamy…”

“I seriously doubt that will ever happen,” Fortuna giggled and shook her head. “She has too much of her mother for that.”

“How unfortunate.” The grin on Aphrodite's face became cheeky. After a flat look from Fortuna however, she quickly moved on. “Anyway, your godchild is in for some more naughty surprises.” She looked at the pool again and smiled. “What do you think will happen next?”

“She’ll move to Shakirin-La.”

Aphrodite sighed. “Yes, sure, but besides that?” She turned to Fortuna and made a circle gesture around the pool with her hoof, “Like, right now.”

“Mortal stuff, I suppose,” Fortuna said. “They will gather what mortals need to travel, leave a few creatures behind to guard their home and stove, perhaps the young too, and then move out.”

“You’re doing this on purpose,” Aphrodite threw an accusing look at the other goddess.

“Fine,” Fortuna spread her forelegs and then rose and joined Aphrodite at the pool. “I can only guess of course, but knowing her, Fiery Leadership’s going to be shocked to find out that every male kirin her age will attempt to mate with her since she’s not officially engaged to her batfriend.” She took a sip from her own wine-glass. “And this will lead to problems with said batfriend of course. Mortals these days are very picky about that. Furthermore…”

She was interrupted when the huge double door at the end of the hall they were in swung open and with a loud bang, Ares, the god of war, entered.

“Ah, tis the fine Ladies which mine eyes so verily needed to gaze upon!” With a vigor that in no way had reduced over the millennia, he more danced than trotted down the stairs, coming to a halt in front of them. “Fortuna,” Ares smirked, giving her the charming smile of a young god. “I findeth thine title a most suitable living for to supp’rt mine notion of how the things which come to be should develop.”

Fortuna just raised an eyebrow. “That dialect ran out of style nearly four thousand years ago, Ares, and doesn’t mesh that well with modern language anyway. If you want something, speak modern with me.”

For a moment, Ares made a sour face, but then bowed his head with a smile. “As you wish, Fortuna, it is always a pleasure to be of service to such a lovely goddess. Now,” he made a wide gesture with his forelegs, “since I’ve already done you a favour, perhaps you could reciprocate the act?”

“Speaking modern is just a way of being polite, not a favour, Ares.”

“Then I did you the favour of being polite,” Ares grinned and quickly went on before Fortuna could object again, speaking with a level of conviction only a god could. “That lovely godchild of yours, my heart desires her, you must help me to win her mortal heart!”

“So you’re already assuming that your plan of entering her dreams and charming her will fail?” That statement earned her a giggle from Aphrodite.

“Ahh,” Ares flicked a hoof dismissively and began to walk around Fortuna in a tight circle as he used sweeping gesticulations. “A mortal's heart these days is so full of mystery and wonders, not even a god can know how it will turn from one beat to another! Being a god, more so the god of war, of passion and of spontaneity, should be enough to get her to forget any mortal in an instant!” He sighed theatrically and slid to his knees with one hoof stretched out into the air. “Yet here we are, me without such an interesting mortal at my side, and her still bound to this batpony that somehow won her heart!”

“The god of passion and theatricality more like,” Aphrodite giggled while she took another sip of her wine.

“As if,” Ares rose again, his voice more forceful and with a hint of aggression now. “In the old times, that batpony would have stepped aside in an instant, or I would have simply killed it in battle to win the ladies heart! But… “ he sighed, “these days that would only cause more trouble and cause her to drift further away like a leaf down the river Styx!”

“Times change,” Fortuna agreed. “Though, killing one's favorite should have never really worked in the first place. Creatures were very primitive back in the days.”

“You are surely right, oh wise Fortuna,” Ares quickly agreed and bowed, “forgive a younger god his past immaturity! Though, that's exactly the reason I need your help! Just a few words to your godchild would show her what an excellent choice of a mate I would be!”

“And what kind of mate would that be?” Fortuna took a last sip of her wine and placed the glass back on one of the side tables. “What does Ares, god of war, have to offer for my godchild that makes him so worthy of being her mate?”

Now, Ares was speechless for a moment. “Well, I am god obviously!” he finally spat out.

Fotuna just waved him off. “Sure, and so am I, Aphrodite, even Heracles is one. And he was once a mortal too.” She placed her hoof on her chin. “Let’s see, Heracles is stronger than you, Apol is more beautiful, Hera is more clever and, not to forget, Poseidon and Hades produce better offspring than you. The only thing you are famous for is rage and slaughter, oh, and bringing ruin to civilisations and empires.” She shook her head. “Which, my godchild is going to form, actually. I don’t see how an engagement with the god of war would benefit the future empress of Shakirin-La.” With a snort, she continued. “War was the reason Shakrin-La got destroyed the last time, wasn’t it? Its people scattered and its glory and power thrown into the void, lost to time and all but the memories of the azures and those old enough to have witnessed it.”

“It was my influence that made them great to begin with!” Ares was outraged. “I turned the kirins from a few forsaken villages in the middle of nowhere to an empire, ruling over the land, sea and sky from one side of the continent to the other! It was I, Ares, who made that!”

“And it was you, Ares, who caused thousands of them to get killed. One campaign after another, till there were none left to refill the ranks. Their homes and families, defenseless against those who sought vengeance, or just grabbed the opportunity by its tuft!” Fortuna moved right in front of him. “You couldn’t care less of course, they had served you well enough already.” She made a gesture like throwing away a piece of refuse. “You just moved on, leaving them to their fate.” She turned around and inhaled deeply. “No, Ares, you are not fit to be my godchild's mate at all. You are careless and unreliable!”

“How Dare you!” Ares roared, drawing his gladius from his left side. Or more accurately, tried to. As soon as he pulled on the grip, the handle separated from the tang, leaving the actual blade in the scabbard. “What?” He first stared at the useless handle, then at his scabbard. “That was my favorite gladius!” He released the handle and swung his hoof at Fortuna instead. Though the goddess only smiled while he slipped, and, forced by his own momentum, crashed into the divan and fell into the pool with it. When he rose to the surface again, with loud sputtering, he inhaled to yell at Fortuna, only to stop halfway and exhale slowly. “My apologies, Fortuna,” he said instead before climbing out of the pool. “My emotions got the better of me for a moment.”

“I noticed,” Fortuna replied with a raised eyebrow.

Ares took a second to shake himself like a wet dog before he continued as if nothing ever happened. “What prize would you ask for, so that I might acquire your help? What can I, the god of war, do, to help the goddess of Luck?” He started to pace around the room again, leaving a trail of water as he went. “Tell me, what is it that you desire? Oh, I know, what about a new temple? I know you always had an eye on Seven Waters and it's beautiful silver waterfalls. How about I conquer it for you and the main temple on that marble hill will be shared between you and me? Hmm?”

“I don’t think that Anubis would like that,” Aphrodite threw in. “You know our jackal headed cousin of the sands is a bit nit picky when it comes to his territory.”

“Details,” Ares waved off. “But fine, maybe Golden Shores instead? That Island would be perfect for a temple of yours, Fortuna. And the inhabitants, once converted, would make fine followers of the goddess of luck!”

“I doubt they would consider themselves very lucky after being conquered by you, Ares.” And besides, I am in no need for a new temple right now.” Fortuna replied.

“Well, you can never have enough followers! Just think of all the sacrifices they would offer you!”

“Not interested.”

“Okay, how about some mighty artifacts then, I have…”

“No.”

“You are hard to please, Fortuna.”

“And you don’t seem to accept a no, Ares.”

“Of course not, everything has a price my dear, even if it is only the effort you need to take it.”

“If temples and followers are all you have to offer, then…”

“What about our firstborn!” Ares suddenly yelled. “Your godchilds and my first child?”

“I… am listening.”

“A mighty hero…” Fortunas eyes narrowed. “... I mean, herald, yes herald of Fortuna! Son of a god and the empress of Shakirin-La, the mightiest of all half gods! Aware of his heritage, completely loyal and bound to you, Fortuna! He would spread your name in all corners of the mortal realm!” Ares jumped on a table and stretched his hoof out towards the horizon. “Just think of all the heroic quests and adventures he would go on in your name!” He jumped back down and approached Fortuna. “You always had a liking for those seeking their fortune... adventurers! You godchild comes from a family of them, these Do’s. What would be better than keeping their family tradition alive in your name, with the help of a god of course!”

Fortuna hesitated with her answer.

“Oh, it seems you are on the right path, for a change, Ares,” Aphrodite said and leaned closer. “A half god herald seems very much to be to Fortunas liking.”

“It does have a certain charm about it,” Fortuna agreed.

“And another huge advantage is that as soon as she accepts my offer, the rules no longer forbid me from directly intervening with her life and her attempt to claim the throne of Shakirin-La. Isn’t that great?”

“So that is what you are really after,” Fortunas nodded. “And for a second I thought the lust really had gotten the better of you again.” She turned to the pool and resummoned the view of Fiery. “My godchild is just an aside for you, isn’t it? What you really want is the throne of Shakirin-La.”

“I…” Ares started, but Fotuna shut him up.

“Spare me your false averments! I know about your protege.” She stomped her hoof on the ground. “I was wondering why you were supporting a champion of your own in his attempts to claim the throne if you were truly after my godchild. Why allow a hero of the god of war, a male one, to go after the throne when you were interested in mating with my godchild anyway? You can drop the farse! You wanted your hero on the throne all along!”

“Fortuna, I assure you…”

“Shut up!”

“If I may,” Aphrodite piped up. “I’m not really following, Fortuna. Ares offered you their firstborn, so wasn’t your godchild getting the throne the plan all along?”

“No, not at all.” Fortunas gaze locked on Ares. “His plan was far more mischievous. He would have mated with my godchild, and then stopped her from getting the throne with his new, now legit, right to interfere. And after he had his fun, he would have dropped her like an old toy. Maybe pairing her up with his hero, if at all.” She snorted and moved a few steps away from him. “The plan wasn’t that stupid at all. He would have got what he wanted, fun with my godchild, maybe some offspring, his hero would be emperor of Shakirin-La, de facto making him the god of all the kirins and therefore, endless war for generations to come. Or did I miss something, Ares?”

The enthusiastic and relaxed mood vanished from Ares’ face like an old crumbling mask. “Thou woundith me with thine accusations, my dear goddess. Thoust art seeing spect’rs in a house yet settled.” He smiled. “However, thine foresight tis not lacking. Thou must admit, mine own plan wast of a specious and insidious sort. Most assuredly, the first of our consort wouldst been a herald of yours, pacta sunt servanda after all.” He shrugged. “His fate merely wast planned as a shadow of his allotted potential. But alloweth us return the nature of the proximate offing. Mine hero shalt find rest upon the seat of the throne in mine name. And given thine reticence in acceding with such a matter, later fortunes willst find thine godchild,” he paused and stepped over to the pool, “ill situated apropos a bedmate to her emperor.” His smile became wider. “Despair not though, thou serving as embodiment of fate's whim, I hold certain thy capacity to secure her my eye as relates the issue of bedding. Mine mind and nethers still respond favorably to her visage and demeanor, else prior activities wouldst have found their expiry following our nascent tryst.”

“I doubt she will be interested after I have a little chat with her, not that she was in the first place.”

“Thou needest not resort to such excesses,” Ares grinned. “Upon the revelation yond a refusal to recline upon mine sheets necessitates a forfeiture of the continuance of her mortal being, rest assured, as is the nature of any pet, she shalt unquestionably come to heel and willingly present to mineself her raised tail.”

“If you touch her…” Fortunas voice deepened and carried with it a threat not even the god of war could ignore. But Ares just shook his head quickly.

“Oh not at all, my dear, not at all. The rules forbid that anyway. Just as they prevent you from protecting her properly. I’m letting my hero do that for me, mortal against mortal. Speaking of, I really should go check on how he’s doing.” Ares bowed his head. “Always a pleasure.” And with a ‘poof’ he was gone.”

“Quite mischievous for a god of war,” Aphrodite said in surprise before leaning back on another divan. “What happened to the good old brutal and direct approach, living in the moment to the fullest extent, with lust and passion? I must say, I miss that attitude.” She sighed. “I really prefered his predecessor.”

“That's because you slept with him.”

“I deny nothing,” Aphrodite giggled. “That wild and passionate attitude was really refreshing. Anyway, what are you going to do now? Knowing our wargod, I think your godchild may need your help now more than ever.”

“Indeed,” Fortuna took one last look at the pool, to the view of Fiery and her family preparing to leave Mount Tail-Tip. “She will need all the support she can get now. I will have to speak to my High-Priest, Ares is in for a surprise if he thinks he is the only one who can play by the rules and still help his favored.”

Aphrodite wanted to reply to that, but just like Ares before, Fortuna was gone in an instant.

“Well,” Aphrodite grabbed her wine-glass again. “Seems like all the gods and goddesses have their hooves in the game now.” She looked down at the pool and smiled. “Maybe I should talk to my priests too…”

Author's Note

Edits : Schattendrache
Pre-reading_:Queen Chrysalis Forever
Artist: Little Tigress