Dawnlark Plains I'm so sorry. I thought you were the waiter.

No need to match the length ...I got a little carried away ... xD

A crease of Skagos' brows followed Citali's words; the information that Tezcacoatl was dead. Skagos might have held nothing but disdain (and perhaps a deep seeded hatred) for his nephew but this information did not settle easily into his chest and he knew that he would not be the one to break the news to Quetzalcoatl. He was his sister's chosen messenger because of his loyalty, because she trusted him despite Cihuacoatl's adamant protests. Cihuacoatl — or the old queen as the Gladiators knew her as — had insisted with her daughter that he stay, that she send a female in stead, especially after Five coming back to them on his belly, unable to function in the world outside of Coatl's Rise. Five had not been curious of what lay beyond, but there was something in Skagos that was curious. “I see,” Skagos responded to her statement with a heavy inhale before he let it out. “Queen Quetzalcoatl had assured me he was alive and well if not confused.” Quetzalcoatl had came to these Wilds, leaving Xiuhcoatl in charge during her brief absence, but that was some time ago. "This changes things.” If there was a silver lining for the Doctore to find it was in the fact that he wouldn't have to deal with Tezcacoatl and his false title. It was a boon, if not a bit bitter.

“The Queen was still pregnant when she sent me here, though she was close to giving birth. I heard her telling Five that she thought there was at least two females, something about women's intuition...” But Skagos didn't understand it and therefore put no stock into it. How could intuition possibly determine the sex of the children she'd been carrying? Or perhaps, he realized, she'd just been hopeful. How lucky Five was to sire not one litter to Quetzalcoatl but two; though Skagos hoped that his friend kept alive long enough to see it to three. Five was softer than Skagos when it came to training, more jovial to Skagos' stone-cold seriousness. Skagos' lack of empathy and sheer cruelty in the arena (and training grounds) he shared with his mother, apparently. He would have shuddered to think that they were more alike than he (or she for that matter) cared to admit; but Five was a beast in the arena and wouldn't hesitate to kill for Quetzalcoatl, which was why he harbored the respect (or as much respect as he could be given) that he did, friendly disposition forgiven. Still, the same male siring two litters to the same female was something that was almost unheard of in Coatl's Rise; and just another goal to strive towards for Skagos. Another notch that Five had in his belt already full of notches for experience. 

“I didn't ask, my lady,” Skagos admitted in a respectful murmur. “It is not my place to question Queen Quetzalcoatl, only to be obedient to her.” They had tempered him into exactly what they needed him to be: their entertainment, their servant. They made the unwanted castaway of Cihuacoatl strong, though his potential was high to begin with, if the stories he'd heard of Six were of any indication; but to him his father was only a myth and his mother ...hadn't ever been a mother. He was lucky she hadn't killed him, ate his body like she'd been rumored to do to any other male she gave birth to. Someone needed to replace Six when she'd killed him, and she was too old now to have any more children so he supposed she had no choice but to make him suffice. He hadn't even strove for her affection knowing that she barely afforded such a thing to her daughters (or perhaps it was just Quetzalcoatl for defying her), but he'd sought only her acknowledgment: at least that he existed, that she could brag that one of the Doctore's was hers. This was wishful thinking, dangerous thinking, the whims of a child that no longer existed; and he exhausted the thought of it just as quick as it came.

“I'm sure she's had daughters.” Skagos offered in some sort of consolidation, though he wasn't sure if it worked or not. Even one daughter would be better than none. He fell silent then, eyes lifting to level at the curve of Citali's chest (having previously been fixed upon her dirt smudged paws), not daring to look any higher, holding his submissive pose, as he would until she told him to rise ...if she told him. Sometimes, they didn't and he was forced to be sunk to his belly until they were finished speaking with him.