Alexander Macedonia

when I walk into the room there's nothing you can do
To stop me from making moves
I'm coming for you

How potently that curiosity seemed to tug at the mind of his ivory steed. Alexander could hardly blame the stallion, however, the Dark Hunter often ill inclined to mention more than a passing word of the family he long since lost. It was rarer still that he mentioned a syllable of that makeshift one he had forged with his Lieutenant, at least in front of the Cavalry Unit. Matteo had it difficult enough as the only fae amongst the ranks of the Hunters, the last thing his son needed was the additional favoritism of their familial ties lingering over him. As it was, Alexander so rarely fulfilled that fatherly role any longer, the Frenchman had long since outgrown any such need for him in such a capacity. That is, beyond those torturous evenings when his son's visions for the future subjected him to the dreadful misfortune that befell upon the boy Matteo had adopted as his own. Alexander, however, was careful to turn his thoughts sharply away from those evenings that had increased of late, the Hunter ever aware of that mental connection between Frost and himself. Instead, Alexander merely offered the vague explanation that Matteo had his own children now. The last thing he had anticipated, however, was the bemusement that Frost seemed to draw upon the idea of himself as a grandfather.

His stallion's immediate amusement at the ridiculous notion of being called 'Poppy', however, prompted a roll of the Macedonian's oceanic eyes. "They are not five, Frost. Dorian is five hundred and sixty four...and yes, he is a fae." Effortlessly, the fallen King could recall the exact year the now resplendent Italian Monarch had been born, even in spite of all the time that had passed. He remembered the look on Matteo's face when he'd held his first fae child. When he had held her child, even if the Frenchman had been forced to give up his fatherly role. It was the second of his grandchildren, however, that he was certain would catch Frost's attention, the Hunter purposefully using that name he knew Aiden preferred outside of their family unit. "Tetradore is thirty two...and a were." He was more than willing to let that realization of just who his grandchildren were linger upon Frost's mind. After all, the stallion had met both of them, though he had hardly made the connection of either at the time. Neither of them, after all, were terribly prone to those familial titles, even with their own father.

The pair, however, fell into an almost comfortable silence in those moments after as they climbed the first ridge of that endless journey that looked down into the depths of a valley. The elevation, however, provided a brief, albeit valuable view of their competitors ahead - the lead horse still close enough for them to catch, should they make it across the river before the downpour started. Already the clouds were heavy with the promise of rain, their dark undersides nothing short of utterly concerning. Frost had only begun his descent into the valley when a distinctly feminine voice came from behind them - Alexander's name echoing upon her lips. It was a gentle press of his heels into his steed's sides that prompted Frost to continue onwards as the warlord shifted into his saddle to glance at the two approaching women. Their mounts were more than eager to catch up, their gait forced to increase to keep up with the long, heavy strides of his own draft. Eventually, however, the pair found a pace on either side of him, their cheeks still red from the chilling wind. The news they brought, however, hardly pleased Alexander in the slightest. His grip upon the reigns in his fingers tightened in a subtle display of his own agitation, even though he saw fit to provide women with little more than outward concern for his groom. Admittedly, Alexander was concerned for Matteo - though he too expected that the Frenchman would hardly be outdone by one of Khan's assassins. The fae had been at his side long enough that it would take far more than some mortal man to bring about his son's demise. Still, that Khan dared to strike at his own family was an insult he would not forgive.

Those details he was provided were hardly satisfactory though the involvement of local authorities failed to perturb him in the slightest. Matteo, after all, would be shortly released from any sort of jail the moment the police discovered just who he was. That low profile the pair had wished for surely would be ruined and yet, it was too late to concern himself with that. Rather, it was the fate of Khan that pulled most potently at his thoughts - causing his own inattentiveness as Jocelyn inquired after both Alexander and Matteo's relationship status. His response to the woman was little more than half-hearted, though he failed, for once, to note the underlying desire behind such an innocent query. It was that change within Frost's pace that truly pulled his thoughts from the Mongolian, the large Draft horse's quickening prompted Alexander to pull back on the reins in his grip in a wordless warning. Though he had come legions with the once unruly stallion that had once so diligently sought to unseat him, the Alpha within his mount was still too prominent to allow even the slightest hint of rebelliousness. Thankfully, Frost failed to push him on the matter here and now, the steed quickly easing back as they approached the banks of the rushing river. The silence assurance that he had little desire to ride with the pair of women for the entirety of their route seemed enough to momentarily still the urge to hurry within the stallion - that is...until the distinct absence of any bridge at all filled their view.

Splintered wood bobbed downstream as the pieces of the bridge literally floated away before their very eyes. The oceanic hue of Alexander's own gaze fell upon the very man he found himself near seething to even consider. Khan, however, seemed little more than smug as he turned his back upon them - the skies opening up within the man's very wake. That muttered curse word within his head hardly described the sort of rage that filled the Dark Hunter and yet even he was unwilling to brush off the happenstance as mere coincidence. The ignorance of those women behind him was almost to be expected and yet, it was their despondency of riding the extra miles that furthered his irritation. Khan wished to further the distance between them and yet, how Alexander disdained the very idea. Frost, it seemed, shared the same sentiment, the equine momentarily pacing along the bank with the clear intention to find a way into the water. A soft word of warning seemed to prompt the stallion to pause and yet, for as much as Alexander hesitated to allow Frost to step into the quickly moving current, so too did he desire to find his way across. It was the women's presence alone that stopped him from reaching for his own powers, and thus a safer way to manage the rising river tide. His stallion, however, cared little for either of the women nor any concerns Alexander held at being swept away by the undertow. Ever headstrong, the ivory draft waded into the depths of the river, the height along prompting Alexander to draw his own legs upwards in some effort to stop the freezing river from flooding his leather boots.

The sound of both Maddie and Jocelyn's voices above the pouring of the rain and roaring of the water seemed to prompt his stallion to pause. Alexander's oceanic gaze turned towards the duo as they so looked upon him with genuine concern. He was quick to brush aside any ideas they had of following him into the depths, the man instead ushering them onwards to the next bridge with the certainty that they might find some shelter from the storm if they hurried. Those words of reassurance were accompanied with a rare simper - one that failed to meet the hardness of his eyes and yet, they seemed quick to seize onto his words, the pair swinging their mounts around only to hurry upstream as the rain all but strove to soak through their clothing and to the very bone. Alexander's command to get them out of the river, however, was met with little more than a dry response - the very words only furthering the scowl that settled upon his lips all over again. "Frost." The singular word was laced with a clear hint of his own short temper and yet, it seemed enough to prompt some sort of movement within the steed as Frost waded towards the other side of the river bank.

That freedom from the depths of the water hardly mattered, truly, with how torrential the rainfall had become. His shirt was soaked, sticking to the Greek's toned physique. His once curly hair quickly fell in strings around his firm features, his pants once khaki color had turned to dark tan with the dampness that had assaulted them too. Both horse and rider had befallen the same ill fate and yet, unlike Frost, Alexander could hardly shake himself free of the dampness in quite the same way. Rather, it was only once the pair had picked up a steady pace again that Alexander temporarily resituated himself within his seat, reaching for the bag that Matteo had packed and the rain jacket so carefully and neatly folded in a tight square within. Alexander pulled the jacket over his shoulders, flipping the hood up as Frost continued his canter through the near oppressive valley. The jacket hardly helped his already soaked figure and yet, he appreciated the barrier between himself and the rain all the same. The wind, however, cut through even the vinyl material, prompting a shiver through the Dark Hunter though Alexander said distinctly little of it. The cold, after all, would hardly kill him, as uncomfortable as it was.

The Dark Hunter fell back to that silence as the pair continued onwards, having distinctly little desire to pause more than necessary within the confines of the valley. The last thing he desired, after all, was to be caught in such a small place should the heavens open with a vengeful flood. Thankfully, Frost seemed to share his sentiment, the steed continuing on near the base of the mountain. The quietness between the pair was broken only by those thoughts that filled Alexander's mind - thoughts of Jocelyn and her wanton desires. The very suggestion that it was a missed opportunity, however, prompted a soft snort from Alexander. "It is hardly missed, Rixon. I am sure she will make her desires known again at the end of this race when Matteo and I might be better capable of fulfilling her and Maddie's desires." It was not above him to enjoy the bosom of a woman within the presence of his son and yet, with a war still to be won, Alexander was ill inclined to allow himself to be distracted by the affairs of the flesh. Their conversation, however, ceased abruptly as the trail ahead of them suddenly forked. Their own gait momentarily paused at the base of that branch, providing Alexander a moment to contemplate both those options provided to him and too, afford him at least some knowledge of the ongoings of their competitors.

It was hardly difficult to discern the route that Khan must have surely taken - the path less traveled clearly far more dangerous and yet so too was it far more direct. The time they had lost in the initial dash could be easily made up here and now. Without any further consideration, Alexander guided the stallion towards the heart of those mountains, the Hunter more than certain of both his own capabilities and those of his steed's. A narrow, slippery path, surely, was within their capabilities to traverse. The pair trudged ahead in silence as the cliffs alongside them began their steady ascent upwards. Soon, the very mountains themselves seemed to power over them as the path narrowed dangerously underfoot. The rain, however, continued its neverending assault - the vinyl of his jacket hardly helping in the slightest as it pelted his face and chest, even with the hood raised. He hardly forced Frost's speed any faster, however, the mud and muck combined with the narrow slope as they wound their way upward required certain diligence that he was not willing to risk, even with his own impatience.

It was Frost's sudden inquiry, however, that drew Alexander from his own thoughts, the Hunter straightening ever so slightly in the saddle as his oceanic gaze scanned the valley below and the path ahead. "I don't know, I don't see anything." He responded, his own thoughts momentarily reaching for those memories to see if he could place the sound with his own infinitely long past. Surely he had experienced this before, had he not? It was too loud, despite the distance, to be a single rider. A stampede, perhaps? But what would stampede this deep in the valley on such a treacherous slope? Either way, it hardly boded well and so, with a gentle press of his heels, he encouraged the now still Draft onwards. "Come, Frost, the sooner we reached the top, the sooner we can be out of here." He insisted, though the stallion hardly seemed to listen. Rather, abruptly, the steed wheeled backward, only to pause again, the action uncharacteristic enough to prompt his own fingers to tighten slightly upon the reigns though it hardly perturbed his steady seat in the slightest. "Frost?" He inquired in the silence that seemed to follow, a single hand reached out to stroke the beast's nape. Though the stallion hardly seemed...nervous, per se, even Alexander was aware of that precipice at which his mount stood upon.

He was hardly prepared, admittedly, as the sound drew ever closer. Those puzzle pieces quite near falling in place at the last moment as Alexander's gaze drew upwards. That ancient Greek echoed upon his lips in a vague curse as he abruptly encouraged Frost further back still, the steed hardly requiring his coaxing as the horse scrambled out of the way of those flying stones that slid down the mountain right in front of the - the avalanche all but taking out the ridge they had moments ago been standing upon. His heart thudded heavily in his chest, adrenaline racing through his veins as the avalanche continued further downwards - only to still several moments later, the path entirely impassible. Those thoughts of what must have surely occurred, however, stopped ceased abruptly as the far more familiar sound of hooves entered their ears, drawing both the violet eyes of his ivory steed and his own oceanic gaze upwards. His eyes narrowed at the very sight of Khan and that magnificent dun, though he too was equally as quiet as the pair merely stared at one another in passing. God, how he hated that fucking smile upon the Mongolian's face. The smugness only furthering the conqueror's anger. A soft snort left Alexander's nose though he hardly had a moment to respond before that distinct sound began all over again. This time, Alexander's gaze remained upwards as he so sought to direct his steed away from that impending avalanche. "Frost we need to move, now!" His feet so pressed into the horse's side, encouraging the steed ever closer towards those rocks that had just fallen before them as another wave pressed down behind them, effectively cutting off any further means of escape. That, Alexander was certain, was never good. Khan did not mean to merely slow them down, oh no, he had trapped them on the side of a fucking cliff and already, Alexander could hear that distinct rumble that spoke of the demise. Khan would clearly bring down the whole mountain upon them if he had to!