I am the daydream, bring you faith and conviction
I am the nightmare you've been crawling through

She finds herself back to where it all started. The very shore she first met a woman of gray who turned out to be a kelpie. One who Lu pissed off so much that she was dragged down into the ocean and turned.

It feels like ages ago that she was someone else. A mere mortal with a broken wing who would never fly again. She was still trying to find a purpose in this new land and had just reunited with Abraxia. The dragon nuzzles her side now and she can feel her longing through their bond. She knows Lu is called to the sea now instead of the land or the sky, but unlike Lu, she misses the old days.

Back in their homeland, they would fly together and look down at the world below them. They both felt powerful then. Yes, there are some days Lu misses that too, but things are different now. She loves Abraxia with all her heart, but she's not sure if she would trade this new life for the old. The taste of blood is too sweet for that. She is a predator now who enjoys the thrill of the hunt. Surely the dragon must feel that too and can understand.

It only seems fitting that she finds Anandi here again. Not surprising at least, since they are near the outskirts of her Court. Maybe Lu came here on purpose, maybe it was their bond, maybe she will never know.

She remembers being pulled down into the ocean. She remembers her body being constricted and water filling her lungs.

She remembers being left to die.

As Lucinda approaches along the shoreline, Anandi's head is turned away from her and she notices a mark on the woman's neck. Maybe it had been hidden before by her mane, but her hair has fallen just enough to the side that it's visible. She knows Abraxia had tried to save Lu before and it had not been pretty. There's no doubt in her mind that it's a scar from that encounter. It makes her laugh.

"You will always remember this, won't you?" she asks, her voice sickly sweet. "When you left me in the sea… and now you have a horrid scar on your neck." Her laugh only gets louder at the irony of it all. Next to her, Abraxia watches with untrusting eyes. It's also fitting that Anandi is scarred, just as Lu bears the scars of her own past.

"Speaking."

I am the daydream, bring you faith and conviction
I am the nightmare you've been crawling through

The way Anandi says her name makes her heart beat faster. It's the feeling of tensions rising and that adrenaline rush just before a fight. It's a confirmation that she's struck a nerve and she's not afraid to keep going. She wants to keep going.

And clearly, the scar is a very sensitive topic for the kelpie. Like a smudge or tear in a pretty painting, Anandi is scarred forever, just as Lu had been during the ambush of her kingdom. She will forever be imperfect- they both will.

"Ooohh, temper, temper," she taunts, leaning in closer to her. Do it, I dare you, she seems to say as she watches the way her face contorts the angrier she gets. Her eyes are more wild too and it's then that she notices their eyes are a similar shade of green.

"I want many things," Lu goes on to say, pausing as if to draw suspense. Her eyes glow almost to compete with Anandi's and she can feel Abraxia growing restless. "But, I'm not sure if I want them as much as you," she says, pretending to look concerned and begins to circle the kelpie. Yes, maybe she is being a bitch for the fun of it. Why shouldn't she? Has Anandi tried it?

"Do you wish you killed me? Do you wonder how it would've tasted?" Because Lucinda does. She wonders how it might feel if she killed another. Even as she stands here before the other mare, she wonders how it would feel to kill her. It's only the bond that stops her now.

Part of her hopes it's not enough to keep Anandi from fighting back. Part of her wants another go at it, this time when they're more evenly matched. She can hear the low growls of her dragon, but Lu silences her.

No, this time, she wants to do this alone.

"Speaking."

I am the daydream, bring you faith and conviction
I am the nightmare you've been crawling through

Lucinda had wondered how long it might take for Anandi to snap. She so badly wanted her to. She wanted to see that rage again like the first time- that wild look in her eyes and the true sharpness of her teeth. She knows it's hidden under the "perfect, pretty, kind" facade she so carefully put together. No, Anandi is not all put together. No kelpie ever could be. There is something primal in them and Anandi knows it. She can feel it.

And she does feel it.

Yes!

When Anandi lunges, Lucinda takes the blow. She wants to feel the woman's rage as her teeth sink deep into her skin. Only this time, she is already turned. They are bonded, which Lu can feel more than ever now as the wound feels wrong. It stings in a way that's more than just a flesh wound- it's a wound in her soul.

And Lucinda is living for it. She can't hold in her laughter.

She kicks out her front leg towards Anandi's throat to loosen her grip on her neck so she can slip away for a moment. She would come back to it though. She knows the woman must be craving it now that the beast has been unleashed.

Abraxia stands off to the side watching with increasing worry. She knows her companion is more than capable of winning a fight, but that doesn't mean she likes to see her getting hurt. Lu gives the beast a side glance before turning back to Anandi with the biggest wicked smile on her face.

"Do you feel it now? How does it taste?" she asks, her eyes glistening. With a fluid motion of her own, she lunges back at Anandi with her jaw outstretched, hoping to give her a taste of her own medicine. And just to taste in general.

A taste of revenge.

"Speaking."