The Monokeros man waltzed down to the forest, his mind on Apollonia. He hadn’t seen her in a while, and that was driving him crazy, for some inconceivable reason. He had no use for women. Apollonia was of no interest to him. Right?
He had heard tell of many happenings; most of it was drama within Tarben. Death; betrayal. The same old, dull stuff. How truly yawn-inducing.
These days, he felt less of a hatred for his mother than a dull ache, a forgotten wanting. He couldn’t even remember the smell of her anymore.
The Firefly Forest felt right to him tonight. He couldn’t explain why. Maybe Apollonia was there?
As he entered the forest, he kicked himself. She was. Not. Interesting. Then, his paw landed on a stone shining with bright light and pain shrieked up his back. He let out a yell. Khasinau was down on the ground in the next moment.

“Marital advice from you, wonderful. Like what, don’t betray your spouse?”