Note & Sabel

@[Cheveyo]

Life is not simple, the bay understood that much. But why did it have to put him through hell? Once he thought that his imperfect life was building up to be something enjoyable, it fell apart in the blink of an eye. Note's eyes went glossy at the thought, tears threatening to plague him once again. He was trying to be strong, he really was, but it's just not that easy. This pain was different from the type of torture he had endured as a soldier. Those wounds were easily healed - this wound could not be so easily mended by magic or a bandage.
Note's hooves made a signature clacking noise as he travelled through the caves. He was still slightly scrawny, ribs showing through his pelt, but he was gaining his strength. The stallion no longer needed support from Sabel to stand, yet an occasional spell of dizziness came upon him at times. They had been wandering the caves for a few hours now. Or maybe it's been days. Or weeks. He lost count, it's not like time mattered anymore. Note had discovered that flames could replace the feathers upon his wings. It was a nifty-looking illusion, for it didn't harm anyone or anything. With the new magic, he had stopped talking to Sabel so much. He preferred to ponder the meaning of life and admire his flamed feathers.
'You're being ridiculous! Talk to me, please, Note,' Sabel whimpered, padding next to her bonded in the dark of the caves. The lynx was having difficulties distinguishing her feelings from the waves of emotions that poured from Note. Sabel wanted the stallion to feel something other than the pain, just so she didn't have to feel it either.
Note stopped in his tracks as Sabel's words echoed throughout his mind. Him? Ridiculous? The bay could feel electricity rippling through his coat, his emotions slowly spiraling out of control. 'Oh, yes, of course. After almost dying, then basically having my heart ripped to shreds with a mere sentence, I'm easily seen as the ridiculous being here,' Note's words dripped with anger, a scowl appearing upon his gray lips and flames licking off his dusty feathers.
'No, that is not what I was trying to say. What I mean is - you must move on! I'm here for you, Note. You will always have me,' Sabel promised, stepping between his forelegs and purring vigorously. She looked up at his sharp green gaze, a pleading gleam in her sightless orbs.
Note knew Sabel could not see him, and never will, but she was there for him anyways. He took a shaky breath, shutting his eyes and regaining control over his emotions, stopping most of the electricity he could feel in his dusty coat. 'Me and you, Sabel. Me and you. Forever,' Note replied, softening his gaze and leaning down to nuzzle the lynx. She had matured from the last time they had ever spent time together. Perhaps she would grow to be decent company after all.

Note & Sabel

A soft click-clack of hooves beat upon the ground behind Note, the noise echoing in the caverns; slowly growing closer and closer to the dusty bay. Dread filled every ounce of his body. What if this being was Gaucho deciding to kill off Note anyways? Or Sohalia coming with a confrontation? No, no he wouldn't be able to even breathe if he had to face either one again. The shame of being rejected by the mother of his very own daughter was sickening.
Speaking of his daughter, where the hell is she? Soh mentioned nothing of the child. Note silently prayed the being would be his little Skysong, although he doubted it.
As the steps grew closer, Note's body tensed and his wings blazed with fire. Maybe that would be enough to tell the newcomer to get away from him. After all, Note had come to the deep caverns for a reason - to be alone with his companion.
THUD!
The being had not only completely ignored his hostile body language - it had ran right into him. Note skittered to the side in alarm. He took a deep breath, incredibly scared the horse would be Sohalia. But, no. It couldn't be. This horse had felt much taller as it collided with his pelt, obviously more bold than Sohalia as well. This horse had run right into a stallion with wings of flame for heaven's sake!
Note took a deep breath and turned to look upon the soul who had interrupted his heart-to-heart with Sabel. It was a mare. She had a coat of apricot splashed with white at her legs, stomach and face. Her pelt was coated with scars and paint, an exquisite combination paired with her pink orbs. The mare was captivating, really, obviously a warrior. Now that's his type of horse.
The girl looked ridiculous flailing around on the ground, though. It was as if she had found her inner whale.
Note's wings opened, ceasing the fire that had consumed them moments before and revealing their true hawk-like existence, as well as the large scar that was still prominent on his side. He laughed, a genuine laugh, something he hadn't done in a while as he gazed at the mare. A half smile painted his gray lips, amused by struggle of the painted fem before him.
"Are you okay?" He asks simply, taking a step forward, his green orbs soft. It was quite hilarious to watch the girl flail, but he had to make sure she was all right. He's a gentleman. Sort of.
Sabel scurried to the side of the mare, purring in amusement. Her hearing was better in the caves, and she heard every second of that fall!
'Can we keep it, Note?!' Sabel asked excitedly, turning her head to look at her bonded with a pleading look in her sightless eyes. Note ignored the lynx's comment, for the most part.
He wouldn't mind having a friend around like this warrior, though. If she stopped running into him, that is.

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ooc: @[Cheveyo] psh it's fine! lol I'm loving them so far hehe.

Note & Sabel

Note studied the mare. There wasn't much else he could do. She was able to laugh at the situation which had to be a sign that the girl wasn't hostile. Right?
Amazingly enough, she was able to pick herself up off the floor without assistance. As soon as his words left his ashen lips, the mare took a step back as the stallion took one forward. Her ears pinned, and head lowered as she gave a terse reply. 'Well, then,' Note thought to himself, bringing his head up and leaning back on his haunches.
That's when the pain started to seep in. His side had been numbed by the prior events, but the insensible feeling was fading. Now the stallion just felt sore. It ached, making him want to just curl up on the floor with Sabel for a while. Would it be rude to lie down in the middle of a conversation? Probably. But their exchange didn't seem like much of a conversation.
'Still rude,' Sabel added, reading her bonded's thoughts. 'What an annoying little - ' Note's thoughts were cut short by the mare's next words.
"Your wings were on fire."
Note gave a weak smile to the painted mare, turning his head to admire his large wings. "A new ability of mine, really. It's quite entertaining," the dusty bay spoke, the ends of his wings catching fire as he spoke, his face almost emotionless. He paused, flicking an ear towards the mare before fully turning to face her. A glimmer of uncertainty crossed his features before deciding to speak once more. He was terrible with words, these would most likely be foolish to say, but he the stallion had nothing to lose. "The fire isn't real. You could touch it." Note said, averting his eyes to examine his companion that had caught the eye of the mare.
Sabel had been busying herself with sniffing the new mare, reaching one of her paws out to touch the being. Her appendage groped blindly in the air, hoping to touch the leg of the mare at one point. Being sightless is such a hassle.
After she was done with that activity, the lynx padded back to her bonded, sitting quietly by his left side. His wing brushed the cat's back, the flames having no affect on the lynx.
The cat remained silent for a moment, deep in thought. She decided to conclude that Note would always be her sight, but it be so much nicer to have vision of her own. 'What does she look like?' Sabel questioned referring to the mare before them, her voice barely a whisper in the mind of Note. He did his best to send her an image of the mare, paint and all. A cat-like smile appeared upon Sabel's lips at the conception.
'She's...what's the word? Enthralling. But what is her name?'
'Good question, Sabel...'


--

@[Cheveyo]

Note & Sabel

A flicker of emotion crossed that mare's features as she shifted her ears forward, allowing a gentle smile to grace her rosy lips. Note had never felt more pleased with himself for making someone smile - even with Sohalia and Skysong. Their smiles were in sheer relief that he was even there. With this mare, it was a genuine smile. She seemed to actually enjoy his company, rather than just long for it in egotistical pain. That's the thing about missing someone - it's selfish. Even when you cry about a death, you're crying because you'll never get from that someone what they had given you for so long.
So far, this encounter had been fairly strange, why, the fellow he had ran into (well, ran into him) had pink eyes! It got even stranger as the paint-embellished mare began to apologize to him. Somewhat of an apology. The words made him acutely aware of the pain flowing coursing through his side. Note was used to others causing him harm, it happens. Those beings rarely apologized, though. Then again, none of them had pink eyes and were covered in paint. He could only nod at the words, shooting the mare a half-smile once again. It was no big deal, he hoped his nonchalant attitude could relay that. Then again, his words and actions rarely ended up doing what he wanted them to.
A smile was flashed at the dusty bay once again at Sabel's actions. He would simply have to remember to scold the lynx later, now was not the time. The mare advanced, reaching out her rosy lips to feel the flames that enveloped his wings for herself. His appendages tingled at the soft contact, the feathers igniting slightly.
Note found himself staring at the golden locks that fell from her nape, the paint that adorned her pelt, the way her eyes illuminated by the light of the fire, his fire. It was enchanting. She was enchanting as she stepped away. Oh how he wanted her touch to linger just a moment longer..
And in that moment, dread filled every inch of the stallion's body. This was wrong - everything that the acquaintances (if that!) were doing was so terribly wrong. Note had fallen in love once, that could not happen again. This mare was charming the hell out of Note, the being who had been so reluctant to emotions in his early days. The stallion was reverting back to that stage in his life, for he felt as if he had to protect himself from the disastrous fate of love before it begins. The only way to do so was to seclude himself from others, from this enchanting mare..
The stallion began to grasp different scenarios of what was unfolding in front of him. Maybe it was his lack of Sohalia. Maybe these emotions were just made up in his abandonment. Maybe he just wanted that mare back, the petite angel who had stolen his heart, to be the one grazing his flaming wings. Rational, yes?
The preposterous thoughts were cut short as the mare spoke once again. "That's...amazing." came her voice in a delicate whisper as her orbs found their way to his features once again. And what lovely orbs they were.
"My apologizes, I am Cheveyo of what was once the Foothills. It's a pleasure to meet you even under the circumstances." To Note's recollection, the Foothills had been seized by a band of mercenaries, their allies being the Throat in the battle between Outcasts and herd for a home. A noble group to be of, he supposed, considering the mercenaries had been so victorious.
Note took his time to ponder the words, his sharp green eyes flickering to the ground in thought. '...of what was once the Foothills...' she, Cheveyo, had said. No more Foothills? Had all the herds failed?
Well, yes, that seemed somewhat reasonable. Why else would all these signature herd smells be found in the caverns? There had to be a reason for the horses's hiding, but Note did not care to know. That would mean he would have to actually engage in a conversation. Scary. He decided to just stick with introducing himself.
Note's sharp gaze returned to Cheveyo's, a small smile leaping to his lips. "Same to you. I am Note, Warrior of the Dragon's Thr-" the stallion stopped himself there. His usual greeting was inaccurate because of so many reasons now. Note tore his eyes away from the mare, turning his head to the front of his body. He shook his head in his flustered state, a puff of laughter at his own ridiculousness escaping the stallion's pipes as dark gray tendrils of mane snaked down his nape. "Sorry, I'm just another outcast now."
His tone was somber, the smile as small as it was disappearing as every heartbreaking moment of his banishment replying in the stallion's mind. The emotion, the pain, the anger, all of it slipped into those words. Note tried to recover as quickly as he could, gathering up the remainder of his strength to glance at Cheveyo, stealing a look at those pink orbs that held a glimmer of comfort in this dark time.
Note grinned once more, holding his head up to reveal his true height. The stallion tucked his wings, the flames dying down once again. He moved forward, the appendages close enough to brush the side of the ivory and sorrel colored mare's side. The stallion longed for the touch, but he had to keep moving forward. Being with such a captivating mare was like taking three steps backwards.
Sabel followed in her bonded's wake, flashing a smile at Cheveyo. Note paused about a length from the mare, turning his head partially to gaze at the mare one last time.
"Goodbye, Cheveyo. I truly hope we will have a meeting consisted of less..pain..in the future," Note's tone was almost playful, the lively grin retaining it's magic on his features. With that, the stallion's silver hooves moved him forward, leaving what was left of his heart behind to dwell with the painted mare.


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@[Cheveyo]
aaaannnd Note's out unless Chev wants to ask some questions or something x3
(sorry for the thousand-word post, I accidentally stuffed a load of feels into this one)