When shadows recede - Printable Version +- HELOVIA || The Way to the Sun (http://helovia.com) +-- Forum: Out of Character (http://helovia.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Archives (http://helovia.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=11) +--- Thread: When shadows recede (/showthread.php?tid=17191) |
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When shadows recede - Arrane - 01-06-2015 The death and decay that the stallion had witnessed from long ago had shaken him up for many more seasons to come. Nightmares would wake him at night, replaying the images of friends and herd mates transformed into zombies long ago. He would would jolt awake, shaken up with a sheen of sweat on his coat, and wide blue eyes staring into the night. Gritting his teeth with anger, he would wish to kill every single one of the zombies that had hurt someone he cared for. For a while, it was a never ending plague for shadows danced at the corners of his mind all the time. Arrane felt as if he would never get a break of the paranoia after he disappeared for a while. Time passed though, snow came and fell, flowers bloomed, the hot sun beat down on his back, and the cycle went around until he found himself standing in the threshold again, though he didn't know it. It was safe for Arrane to assume there was nothing left of the malady. After wandering many miles away, confused, depraved of company and food he realized it had all ended, or so he thought. As he walked through the woods, lively with the touch of Birdsong, his ribs poked out from his once muscular body. Though the ivory stallion wandered about emaciated and confused, he had not lost his spirit of fighting and of honor. He was finally getting over horror he had witnessed, and decided to let his guard down for once, and eat a mouthful of the fresh green grass shining in the sunlight. As he walked towards the good mouthful, Arrane realized this particular place gave him deja vu. Stopping shortly, he looked around closely observing the place. Looking at the tall woods surrounding him, with birds and butterflies flitting about, he realized this was the Threshold! This was where he decided he would join the Foothills and serve as a soldier. Rearing up, Arrane gave a joyful nicker, wondering if the Foothills still existed...that if there was some way he could be reunited. Happily, he consumed his grass, for once forgetting about the plague. The euphoria masked whatever fears he held, and this no longer was a dark place, but one of hope. //381 //The last time I played Arrane was about 8 months ago during the "zombie" age of Helovia... So sorry if I'm rusty, and major time skip! ^^" RE: When shadows recede - Kipling - 01-06-2015 Somebody has to go polish the stars
A lively walk carries the chestnut colt through the woods that bordered his new home. Kipling likes the Threshold; the forest provides him with ample stimulation. Truthfully, he mostly enjoys watching the strange beasts that pass through this transitory place. He could talk to them if he wanted to, but he prefers letting them wander on uninterrupted. This way, he can conjure up countless wild tales and backstories for them without ever having to subject his imaginings to the mundanity of reality.
Some small nicker nearby catches Kipling’s fickle attention, and he finds himself pulled in its direction. A gray figure appears through the trees, rearing up proudly. This is certainly not the most unusual creature that the colt has seen in these woods – for all intents and purposes, he seems like a fairly typical equine. No wings or wild horns or extra appendages adorn him, and because of this, Kipling is particularly intrigued. This horse seems more relatable… more approachable, more real.
Kipling watches the display of rearing curiously. Before he knows what he is doing, he bounds forward excitedly through the trees and slams to a halt close to the gray. The striped chestnut mimics the display of rearing, although his own gesture is rather unbalanced and he does not reach such impressive heights with his forelegs. He lands with an ungraceful thud and looks eagerly into the stallion’s eyes, grinning proudly. “Hello! I’m Kipling! What are we rearing about?” He tilts his head and stares at the silver-haired horse with wide, hopeful eyes. Let’s be exciting together! More calmly, he adds, “Who are you?”
OOC: @[Arrane] Would you like to be tagged? =) Kipling RE: When shadows recede - Africa - 01-06-2015
(ooc: Vail you beat my post :) Africa will join in anyway) RE: When shadows recede - Arrane - 01-12-2015 The fresh air, blowing about brought the ivory stallion hope. There was time for healing, and for the damaged to be repaired, he pondered as he hurriedly ate. Arrane’s ears pricked up when he suddenly heard branches rustle after prolonged silence, and saw a dark chestnut stallion break through the trees and halt near him. A smile graced his lips as he reared up, flashing his freckled flanks as he reached for the air, awkwardly and unbalanced. The rays of sunlight filtering through the trees caught his golden horn, giving it an impressive gleam. Instead of startling Arrane, the unicorn made him smile, as he faced the younger boy. He seemed to be stuck in the body of a youth, which gave him an appearance of curiosity and innocence. Arrane knew this wasn't someone out to hurt him…it was a friend who answered to his call. “Hello Kipling!” Azure pools watched the boy’s eyes intently, seeming to see straight to the boy’s cheerful soul. “I am overjoyed. I have not been in Helovia for seasons, after the darkness forced me out”, he seemed to finally exhale, releasing the stress that has choked him for so long. It was truly relieving, being able to talk to someone after so much time alone. Kipling makes Arrane’s smile widen, as he observed the stallion’s perpetual inquisitiveness to be amusing. Kipling was an interesting character indeed. “I am Arrane of the Foothil-“, stopping short he realizes the Foothills might not exist anymore. If it still did, they might not want him back. “Just Arrane, sorry”, chuckling he looked at the stallion. “Where do you hail from?” The ivory stallion questioned, wanting to know more. Before he could keep on talking to Kipling, a faint, feminine voice delicately floated through the trees. Pricking his audits up in the air, and turning, Arrane locked his eyes upon the form of a pale grey mare, nervously swaying with one wing attached to her body. Her neck was greatly bent, in such a peaceful manner, Arrane couldn't help but to feel a surge of sympathy and protectiveness. It was obvious someone had cruelly wrenched a wing from her in the past, and he would not forgive who had done it, though he would not ask of it now. It would be impolite, and may even hurt her feelings. “Good day,” a kind grin played on his lips, as he dipped his head in reverence. He didn’t’ know what else to say. It felt so strange, socializing after so much time left in silence. Something about this mare though, had struck him, urging him to dig to the recesses of his mind. She seemed familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on who she was, for he had never met her…but maybe, just maybe he had seen her in the past. Words// 472 You can tag me if you want, and sorry for the wait and post!! ^^” RE: When shadows recede - Kipling - 01-13-2015 Somebody has to go polish the stars
Overjoyed? Well, that was a perfectly lovely reason to rear. To be honest, Kipling had almost immediately ceased to care about his initial question. He nodded with distracted agreement, far more intrigued by the mention of ‘darkness’. There had been signs – occasional blips in idle conversation, words of forboding – that a more astute animal might have pieced together by now. Not Kipling. Big picture thinking was definitely not his thing. Every time it came up, it stunned him all over again. “Darkness?” He gasped, not bothering to elaborate on the vague question.
They got to the niceties of exchanging names. Again, Kipling remained perfectly obtuse and did not pick up on the stutter step in Arrane’s speech. The colt was too excited to talk about the Hidden Falls, and his whole body trilled with barely contained enthusiasm. The concept of ‘home’ was still so novel to him, and he wanted to talk about it all the time, to anyone (or any thing) that would listen.
Before Kipling could rocket off into his spiel, his new acquaintence seemed to notice something. The colt, absorbed in his own excited thoughts about the Falls, had not heard the soft word spoken nearby. It was not until Arrane replied his own greeting that Kipling finally looked in the mare’s direction. Kipling leapt back, clearly startled, when the one-winged gray form suddenly came into focus by the trees. It was like she appeared out of thin air (and not at all like he was just totally oblivious)! “Oh!” He contributed. Such eloquence.
Kipling relaxed again as quickly as he had been surprised. He recognized this mare – he had seen her at that herd meeting at the Falls. She had managed to escape without the pleasure of conversing with the youngster. He rested a hind hoof in an exagerated display of relaxation - I’m cool, guys, totally cool, it’s all good. He took a deep breath, then babbled, “Hi! I’m Kipling and this is Arrane and he just came back here because he was gone for a long time and he was asking where I’m from and I’m from the Hidden Falls and I saw you at the meeting so are you from the Hidden Falls, too?!”
Speaking directly to Arrane, he concluded with perfectly unaware redundancy, “I hail from the Hidden Falls. Have you ever been there? It’s the best!”
OOC: @[Africa] @[Arrane] No worries! Apologies for the mid-thread tense leap. =)
Kipling RE: When shadows recede - Africa - 01-19-2015
@[Arrane] & @[Kipling] RE: When shadows recede - Arrane - 01-25-2015 The young stallion's intrigue and jovial attitude let the smile on Arrane's maw linger even longer. At the mention of the darkness, the boy seemed confused as if trying to piece a large puzzle together. The word sent a shiver along Arrane's spine, but he was slowly healing from the trauma. At least now he could utter the word without stiffening up and preparing for a fight. "Darkness held dominion over these lands a few seasons back, and I had left...but I am back now, for good." Arrane gently spoke, carefully choosing his words. He realized that Kipling was somewhat newer to Helovia. The gears seemed to be turning in Kipling's head when he was startled by the quiet entrance of the pale mare. A laugh rumbled from the ivory stallion as he saw the youngster wave his hoof as a sign all was good. The energetic adolescent was clearly entertaining to the company. The stream of words that flowed from Kipling broadened Arrane's grin, and reminded him of one of his little sisters from long ago. The thought lingered at the back of his mind, until Kipling broke him from his trance once again. "Hidden Falls?" He questioned. "No, I have never been, or heard of it." His azure eyes shone with curiosity towards the foreign herd name. The mare watched them both carefully, seeming somewhat galled by Kipling's waterfall of words. Finding the scene before him comical, his mind dispatched once again, as he carefully observed the mare while she focused on Kipling. Arrane tried to pry his eyes off her one, almost feather bared wing, feeling a bubble of anger within him. Intuition gave him the sense that someone had wronged her, and Arrane would not forgive whoever it was, even if she happened to be someone he just met. He would feel the same if it were Kipling, or anyone he happened to stumble upon. He bent his head once more acknowledging her greeting. She paused once again to see if Kipling had his share of speaking, and smiled as she offered him hospitality. Trailing warm, blue pools in the direction she pointed her wing, he saw the narrow path leading off in the woods. "Yes, I do indeed", he trailed off and bowed again with reverence towards the both of them. He has had far too long of a journey and yearned for a place to call his once more. "Thank you for your kind offer, I will come along as you will," a kindred spirit arose within him, as he asked one last question. "By the way Miss, what is your name?" Arrane felt it only polite to refer to the dappled mare by her birth title. Word Count: 453 //I'm so sorry for the wait! RE: When shadows recede - Kipling - 02-17-2015 Somebody has to go polish the stars
This was the best. Not one, but two living, autonomous souls were paying attention to Kipling - at the same time!
Well, okay, the amount of attention they paid him could be debated. It was not really like they were hanging on to his every word (whether or not hanging on to the verbose colt’s every word would even be possible might be the more productive debate).
The less obtrusive dappled mare guided the conversation back to Arrane gently, steering their little ship deftly out of Kipling’s choppy seas. Although the pearly stallion accepted the Falls’ duo’s invitation with neutral ambivalence, Kipling responded with disproporitionate ecstasy. “Yes!” He whooped a joyous victory cry, hopping excitedly in place. “Come on, she can tell us her name on the way. Let’s go!” He bolted recklessly in the direction of the Falls, then rapidly arced back in a swooping circle as somewhere in his vacuous mind it occurred to him that Arrane was not in much of a state to be galavanting through the Threshold forest just yet. Kipling drew down to a more leisurely pace, although the jaunt remained firmly in his step. He grinned thinly at the others. “Or we can walk. Walking is good, too.”
Nearby, squirrels twitched their tails irritably and glared from the underbrush while birds resettled on their perches, chirping their disapproval at Kipling’s disturbing of their peaceful home. The colt was oblivious to the creatures’ admonishments, a blank smile stamped across his face. His tail swung loosely with every relaxed step, and he reveled in this newfound delight of not being the one who was totally out of the Helovia loop.
OOC: @[Africa] @[Arrane] Poop I am so sorry this took a lifetime you guys. I had some family health stuff I had to deal with but I really wanted to get this thread wrapped up for you before I had to disappear and it didn't happen. <_< I'm really, really, really sorry, I feel so bad for bailing like that. I'll start an intro thread in the Falls today. Kipling |