Lucinda has been waiting for her.

At first, she had gone looking for the other kelpie. After hearing rumors that she lived in one of the Courts, she set off to Terrastella, but was completely disappointed. Not only did the trip suck, but Anandi was nowhere to be found at the time she arrived. At the least, the rumors proved to be correct. The woman is a complete hypocrite.

She remembers their first meeting like it was yesterday. Not only because it was when she became Changed, but because of their conversation. It had started off innocent, if not like bonding. The two women shared their disgust for the Courts and their citizens. Then somehow it got weird and ended with Lucinda blacking out in the sea and waking up a kelpie. She still laughs that the woman didn't have the heart to kill her. Either that or Abraxia wouldn't let her.

The dragon is near- Lu can sense her with their mental link. Nowadays, since she can't follow Lu by land or sky, she will circle around the sea where she knows her companion is nearby. Abraxia keeps a close eye on any dangers that might arise along the surface or by the shore. This is how Lu is alerted to Anandi's presence from the ocean depths.

She waits. Just like she said that very day, Lu answers to no one but herself. She will not follow some kelpie cult where Anandi is their leader. She may technically be the maker, the one who caused the Changing, but that is just a small fact. It means nothing in the grand scheme of things. They do not have a connection and never will, Lu will make sure of it.

So why is there a pull? She can feel it, even though it's faint, but it's there. It's similar to the way the sea keeps pulling her closer and closer any time she's walking the shoreline. It never likes her being away for long. But that is a connection she can understand and accept. She wants nothing to do with the other woman.

The only reason she decides to show herself is more for her own satisfaction. Lu has been waiting for the chance to call the Emissary out for being just that. Even if she might be a spy in the end, she can't understand what benefit there is to being in the heart of it all. The money can't possibly be that good.

And for someone who seems so tied to the sea and their kind, why drift to the swamps to live among the regulars? To feed off them and make more of yourself? Was it that worth it?

When Lucinda finally emerges from the water, she's still in her underwater form. Her eyes glow bright green and her long, wavy mane is tangled in what appears to be seaweed. Her coat that used to be ebony is covered in a sheen of shimmering blue-green similar to scales. There are sharp pointed fins on her back and sides, but one is not able to see her beautiful tail as her hooves reach the sand. In the blink of an eye, she's shifted to her land form with all four legs, but some of her kelpie qualities remain. Her fins have shifted back into her wings and her eyes have dimmed their glow, but there is still a wickedness in her smile.

The sea seems to rage around her as she glares at Anandi. Abraxia breaks through the clouds with a loud cry to land by Lu's side. The dragon too is glaring at the other woman, flexing her sharp talons so they make marks in the sand. They have not forgotten what happened here.

"Anandi," she hisses, her eyes flicking her over in a judgmental stare. "Or should I say, Miss Emissary?" She spits the title out like it's poison. Lu does not say that she's expecting her or that she went out to find her. Instead, she laughs.

"Clearly you didn't have the heart to kill me. Unless-" she gets closer to the gray mare, flashing all of her new sharp teeth. "You've come to try again." It's a dare and one that she almost wishes Anandi would follow through with.

Oh, the things Lu could do to her now. How lovely it would be (and taste).


"Speaking."

Anandi's smile is disgusting and infuriating. It makes Lucinda want to lean over and rip it off her face. Of course, the woman would likely enjoy it all too much, so she does not move. Instead she listens to her talk and cringing at being called honey. This must be her game- give her all these gestures and remarks until Lu snaps.

Unfortunately for her, Lu has a lot of patience.

But it seems maybe, Anandi is the one to snap first. She shows her teeth when Lu speaks of killing and it seems she's been insulted. Lu smiles back, her own sharp teeth appearing. She's ready for a fight and to taste blood on her tongue, but is disappointed to see the tension ease off.

Coward.

It takes a minute for the kelpie to get her words out, but when she does, all Lu can do is laugh. It's a loud cackle that she tilts her head back for because the statement is just too hilarious. Anandi wanted to know if she was alright? Here is the woman who had not too long ago had her jaws around her throat. Who dragged her down, down, down, into the dark abyss of the sea. Who wrapped her sea-form around Lu like a snake until she could barely breathe. Who left Lu at the bottom of the ocean to fend for herself. It's a relief Abraxia had been there or else maybe she wouldn't have made it back to the surface.

At least before Anandi disappeared, Abraxia had made some kind of mark on the woman's flesh. Some day, she'll have to look to see if her talons left a scar.

The dragon is growling by her side at the Emissary, but Lu brushes her head with the tip of her wing to calm her. "You are quite the good liar, I have to say," she finally says, her stomach aching from all the laughing. "Sharing in my disgust of the Courts, but it turns out you're one of them and living in the luxury of being Dusk's Emissary. Now you're worried about me like a detached friend or family member?" The only one who truly cared about Lu is her brother, Diaval. And of course, he is nowhere to be found.

"You're something else, you little witch," she adds with a wicked smile. There is something deeper now, as if she's no longer laughing at the situation and a darkness has come over her. It's like hunger and wanting. What would happen if a kelpie killed its own kind? Would she be marked a traitor to her species? It's a dare she would love to act on.

So, why doesn't she?

"Obviously I'm not dead," she growls, her green eyes glowing. Abraxia's muscles tense and she takes a step forward when Lu does as if to narrow in on Anandi. "If that's what you were so concerned about."

“Speaking.”

The angry tail flick does not go unnoticed. It's clear the woman is getting annoyed and it only makes Lucinda smile more. After all, she's not here to please (or at least not anyone but herself). How many more buttons can she push? She wonders. It's a kind of adrenaline rush. Lucinda's already been Changed by her, so would she be capable of killing after all?

"Child? Please," she answers with a laugh. "I'm old enough to be your mother." Anandi's remark had been amusing, but it's true that Lu is much older than her. She's seen many things in her lifetime. The gray kelpie wouldn't have lasted for more than a few seconds during the battle back in her kingdom.

The smug look on her face instantly disappears when Anandi starts speaking of a bond and a pull. It makes Lu stop in her tracks. Is this the feeling she has deep down? Is this the reason she feels the need to get closer? Is it not a hunger, but a bond?

The thought disgusts her, but it makes sense. She hates that it makes sense.

She quickly looks away, half wanting to turn and rip the girl's throat open in one swift move. Would that break the bond then? Lu didn't ask for this.

There is mild panic setting in, but she doesn't let it show. Instead, she turns back and narrows her eyes. The woman is offering to leave forever if Lu admits she feels nothing. It seems too easy for a way out and like she should expect a catch. Or it's all a lie anyways since Anandi is so good at it.

Still, all she wants to say is no. Yet for some reason, she can't bring herself to utter the word.

"Never again?" she asks. Her tone makes it sound like she's highly considering it. Abraxia tilts her head with curiosity. "But then we wouldn't get to have this lovely banter we're having, would we?"

There is a fight within her that wants to get rid of Anandi forever. To not have any ties to the woman anymore in any way and to be free. That's all that Lucinda has done, go at things alone with only her best interest in mind. She's done doing things for others. She's done caring.

So why on earth does she care now?

“Speaking.”

As Anandi laughs about age, Lu raises her brow unamused. While she's far from elderly, she has seen much more and lived through many more things than the kelpie could dream of. She considers herself wiser in this sense, therefore making Anandi the child. She's naive, perhaps even afraid of the true capability of their kind. Stupid, even, settling herself within the safety of the Dusk Court when she could be freely roaming the sea. There are no chains out there and that's exactly how Lu likes it. No tethers to stupid rules or customs the Courts love to hide behind. Maybe she will never understand it.

It's likely she won't ever understand what this is either. There is tension so strong it could be cut with a knife. There is desire, to be more, but mostly to kill and get revenge. While Lu enjoys her new form, Anandi still left her to die and for that, she will always be bitter.

But yes, she would miss the banter if she completely got rid of this mare. For that, she hates it and herself. She growls silently out of disgust and refuses to admit anything.

Her eyes lock with Anandi's when the gray kelpie gets closer. She doesn't step back, even when she feels the other woman's breath. Lu can smell some of the sea on her, but there is too much muffling it like swamp and woods. Her eyes narrow.

She is about to snap (or maybe she's not), when Anandi surprises her with an offer to go hunting. What the hell is this?

"I suppose that depends on what you had in mind for this hunt," she answers gruffly, although she's not entirely uninterested. She very much enjoyed hunting, more so for prey than anything else. It would be even more fun if they were to search out another to turn, but there is something about Anandi that says that would be unlikely.

Still, she could always hope. There is more thrill in a chase when fear is involved.

“Speaking.”

Hearing the woman's laughter brings a smirk to Lucinda's face. A kind of wicked look that, in her own way, is a form of fondness. As much as Anandi makes her blood boil, there is something else going on here. Something like friendship, but not entirely. She does not completely trust the other kelpie and it's likely Anandi does not completely trust Lu either. The two are at odds, yet feel the closeness of their unexplainable bond.

As Lu follows behind the other kelpie, the sea gladly welcomes her back. The waves brush against her legs like a caress and she does not hesitate to dive down deeper. With the magic that came with her turning, she sheds her land form again with her legs and wings turning back into fins.

Her eyes seem to glow brighter down in the depths of the sea. This is her home - their home. They are the rulers of the world down here. It's a power that gives Lu meaning.

And so the hunt begins.

“Speaking.”