If Asterion knew Karou's story - the chase and the capture, the tale older than the world - how would he feel? The stallion was struck by Calliope from the moment the met her, captured as surely as the gazelle mare had been, but the how of it was entirely different. He knew the unicorn's strength and he knew her justice and he knew the way she made him feel, the hope for himself she put in his breast through words and looks, and yet he hardly knew her at all. He'd never had the chance to learn of Velius, of Fantome, of the short-lived war.

Likely that is for the best. The downside is that the things he believes are true only to him.

His ears swing forward to catch her words, slighter than the wind. He would flush, if he could, after hearing them. As it is a warmth runs through him and his feet shuffle uncomfortably as he searches and searches for something to say.

Eventually, he settles on the truth.

"I thought there was something familiar about you," he says finally, his gaze dropping from hers almost shyly. "I'm sorry I startled you."

Despite his words - as if they could negate his feeling - there's still something about her that feels like an itch to his mind. He can't keep his eyes off of her for long; they come stealing back again, taking in her strange markings, her delicate edges, the intangible wildness of her. Maybe it is the antelope features and maybe it is something altogether different, but his curiosity is sparked by her and it feels as though the world is closing in, heavy as fate.

"I'm Asterion," he breathes, his name like an offering, and the words leave a cloud of mist to fade behind them.

charlemagne*
we're hardly ever what we dream