Zaya opened her eyes, her antlers glowing, she focuses harder and shuts her eyelids again. Her mind is clear as dandelions in a field of freedom, hopping along her hooves touching the grass as she bounces.

She opens her eyes again, the daydream going away as fast as she became surprised, her antlers dim in the glow of them before diminishing completely. She sighs.

But her attention is caught elsewhere for the meantime, watching as Dragon's Bitterweed, chained and bound but not to a wall, his horns clashing with the great antlers of another Fiadh, both of the stags are dealing non-lethal blows for they want to practice in the dungeons since they cannot do anything else other than awaiting their verdict.

~-~

Akuji watches in the shadows of the three Fiadhs business, Zaya tried to practice a spell but could not successfully do it correctly and ended up diminishing fast and Dragon's Bitterweed is fighting another Fiadh for practice.

Akuji feels like he should turn and leave, leave the three Fiadhs to their business, but he doesn't move nor make a sound, just watching the Fiadhs in their own element--even if they are not in their natural element, they are in some type of element of comfort--a feeling he finds fleeting to other prisoners.

He continues watching as Zaya suddenly got up and turned to face Dragon's Bitterweed practice fight with the Fiadh, the doe's sudden attention makes the two stags stop and turn to face her; her big, innocent, knowing and wise eyes on them now. They both take in collecting a deep breath, then exhale very quietly.

Akuji watches in disgust? Dismay? Confusion? An awkward silence hangs over him as he watches the two male Fiadhs pause their fight before beginning again, this time to keep Zaya's big, bored, innocent, attention on them both, trying to impress her when the other stag knows her heart belongs to Dragon's Bitterweed anyways. Akuji narrows his eyes.

~-~

Meanwhile, Espresso is hanging a flower over a cauldron before dropping it in, the flower crumbling up as a substance swallows it up whole in it's last living hour, Espresso pauses and trembles before continue her spell-making.

Pouring in a bottle of Hibiscus, a sliver of Teardrop Dust from a jar, a drop of Lover's Mark, and a dagger shaped in a broken heart from a long-dead soldier who gave up his life for a corrupt king. One that the soldier respected highly. Espresso watches as the liquid mixes together automatically, her eyes going wide in admiration.

Then she grabs a spoon, her horn activating magic as the spoon is lifted up in the air, her magic surrounding it gracefully. Then she stirs the mixing liquid, the aurora colored swirls whispering and moaning in agony from the gentle stirring motion. Only a bit more.

~-~

Zaya turns around in her chains, the links connected to a ball that was buried into the dirt leaving only the chain links free from the burial, her hope fading as she feels Dragon's Bitterweed nuzzle her for her comfort, knowing how she feels.

Dragon's Bitterweed sighs and huffs into Zaya's ear, making her neigh at him for doing that, he only nickers before nipping at her hair playfully, Zaya just rolls her eyes and nickers back in defiance at his playful colt ways. As if they were back and free in the new fields her herd had found, all her herd's doing, her new home. Gone.

Zaya glances at Dragon before nipping at his bony snout, making his back up and sound out a hollow click-within-a-neigh, it makes Zaya's fur crawl at hearing that creepy noise. But she flicks her small tail at him. Still defiant.