the Rift


[OPEN] More than just fairy tales [Herd]

Africa the Starry-Eyed Posts: 727
Deceased
Mare :: Pegasus :: 16 :: 6 (Tallsun) Buff: NOVICE
Silas :: Common Zephyr :: Roc Riven
#1
After spending almost an entire day exploring the strange and beautiful island which had quite simply just appeared, floating above the Veins of the Gods on a flimsy white bed of clouds, Africa approached the waterfall which spilt down from the lush valley; the one that she’d seen when she’d so astonishingly arrived. Her sense of direction was skewed quite dramatically (perhaps she was just tired, giddied by the blissful atmosphere there), so it seemed to her to be the most logical point to exit- and as she dithered by the periphery of the hovering land-piece, soft powdery cloud began to gather on cue.

White knees locked again, pointed ebony hocks stiffened. There was just nothing normal about such flight, and though for many years (and more recently in parrot-form), she had soared sky high with wind tousled feathers, not exerting herself at all and achieving the same was horribly unnerving. Her nest of cloud carried her carefully and safely down through the twirling warm breeze above the Veins, and as the blue lava neared, the Starry-Eyed braced and leapt from its grip towards the worn path weaving through the molten pools. Sound, neat hooves clicked on collision and joints braved the impact dutifully. The dappled mare paused, drew a long breath and glanced with bewilderment back up towards the lofty island.

Silas, who had followed her unique mode of travel with growing uncertainty, plunged down behind. He clucked affectionately, talons gripping the loose silken cloak draped along her back, and clawed his way towards her withers- setting aside all reservation for the flames licking through her mane to be certain all was well. Your God is a generous one, he told her finally, settling to rest weary wings briefly while she pulled herself (and her thoughts), together. Africa nodded with a bright, smile. Isn’t He just! A second later, the Roc spread apart his wings and the mare lunged forward beneath, the wind from her sudden propulsion gathering against his wingspan and pulling him into the air.

They travelled quickly, skirting the ocean, picking careful passage through the precarious rocky cliff-top outcrops- the shortest route home.

As pounding hooves fell at last upon the first gravelly sands of the desert, the Starry-Eyed called as loud as she could to the followers of light and fire. "Come, everyone!" The young and tender note of her voice wavered, and her lungs nearly imploded, purging all trace of the deep breath before taken. She had to pause then, heart thundering through wilting ears, to recover.
Image | Table by Silk



[OOC: Africa has returned with news of Caela Insula and will lead a group back]

Sikeax the Sea Soul Posts: 355
Outcast atk: 4 | def: 9 | dam: 6
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16 hh :: 5 years HP: 64.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Hobgoblin :: Common Rougarou :: Water & Seoul :: Plain White Dragon :: Toxic Breath Zuno
#2
Find a way to believe in fate


Sweet, weak, rhythmic caress of the cool grasp of water, the breath of the desert awakening the oasis with a low call. Shut down, facing a blurry, warm mass of sleep, all that she had been searching for within the past days came when she needed it. As desperate as she was to learn, her napping periods were neglected with all the commotion. Something new had came, yes, but Cera and her had.discovered it together. Their time together left her tired.
Volumes faded, the songs of birds less deafening, now a distant whisper that her ears had no need to in accepting. Aware of the voices of her herdmates, their numbers small and easy to keep up with, the one that shattered newfound bliss was one she knew better than to ignore.
Fluttering as if they were built from butterfly wings, the pastel dilutes of her lanterns gave sparks of pain when sunlight struck them with a harsh style, blurring the view of the area closest to the oasis. Heat became more noticeable on her skin, begging for the feeling of relief that the aqua bath had given it. There would be no more today, and as she drug herself from the water slowly, beads dripping with rapid paces from her hair, Sikeax had, for once in her lifetime, wanted the true feeling of freedom that would not have her at the call of a signal soul. Africa had always been an exception for her, but as she groaned, shaking water and spraying the surrounding landscape, her leader had fallen into the common ranks by a surge of sleep-induced crankiness.
Her pace was slow, taking pleasure to a slow trot after stumbling about with her joints trying to unkink themselves, and have a feeling of blood flow again. How long had she been laying? Not long enough, it seemed.
As to be expected, Africa and Silas were waiting. They seemed in high spirits, one that Sikeax could not find in herself to get into as well. Though, she was a loyal subject. She was not to be rude, whether her friend needed it or not. In a more private setting, she may of shown her true side, but it was hidden away into a shallow corner of darkness by a thin smile paired with ears pressed forward with attention. No others had arrived, and she did not doubt that her other family members would be fast to answer the call.


Image Credits
Table by Imi <3


you were angels,
so much more than everything

:: please tag me
:: minor force and power play allowed


Kari Posts: 52
Outcast
Stallion :: Hybrid :: 15.0hh :: 3 years Buff: NOVICE
Wanderer
#3
Kari

The little colt slept alone in a dense copse, the low growing foliage and drapes of aquis pine concealing easily his tiny, insignificant form. Beneath, he’d nestled into a bed of thick cushioning crimson tide and over the course of the week (time passing far faster than he could have imagined, with still no fruit for his labour), it had come to be his hideout; a place where he could become completely invisible. That was important to Kari. He’d constructed around it a little rough wall of sorts, sandstone and rock all tumbled and held together by the magical art he’d discovered and been practicing; and because such a thing might have drawn the eye of those passing by, the clever colt had pulled down the thick vines to dress it. Since coming to Dragon’s Throat, his frail mind had been bombarded with confusing events, memories of times long gone- all of which he neither wanted nor understood.

There was a shrill call borne along the warm wind, and it startled Kari to wake, bleary eyes searching for a moment. His sleep had been so deep this time that he had not readily recognised his surroundings, wondering why the cave had grown so bright, though within seconds the reality of his lonely situation came tumbling down around him. There was an urgency in the call, but not so frantic to install fear. It was laced with excitement, a vibrancy that he would preferred just as much to ignore. During those seconds after, the world seemed to pause and the little colt’s ears twitched as curiosity began to swell through his mind. The owner of the voice wasn’t someone he quickly recognised; it was family, yes, but no face danced through his mind to match it.

The scrabble of hooves on rock and falling water drew immediately his face towards the lake. Its glistening surface loomed beyond his little nest, and the light brown, groaning figure of another of this herd passed before it. Kari ducked quickly though there should have been no chance of detection, and waited, watching until she’d slipped by. Long gangly grey limbs extended cloven hooves from underneath his light mass, and he teetered forward, rising across them. His still undernourished waist swayed for a moment as thin blood surged to flood each appendage, the small unused wings also, which stretched pointlessly upwards. His attention was distracted though, wandering away with the horned stranger, and as his small pale face followed her departure, limbs began to move along the path she’d taken.

The day was hot, a quality of this baron plain he was yet to appreciate, and sweat began quickly to bead along the bony pitches of his dull, dark canvas. He was a fine creature, lithely built anyway and without the budding muscle mass of others near to his age. Kari’s semblance was more alike to deer-folk than to the equine type species. The mare ahead broke into a trot and the colt cursed her silently, driven to pursue because he was sure she was answering the call moments before, but bothered by the energy required to keep up. By then he was less concerned about being discovered, and more caught up with safe travel; navigation through and between the dry-land scrub which seemed hardly to hinder the gait of the other.

They left the cool shady comfort of the oasis to trek before streaming dust clouds, the parched land hard and unforgiving beneath bouncing fetlocks. Pools of blue opened though quickly when the silhouette of another formed through the rippling haze of heat ahead of them, and when finally he was near enough, Kari saw with a flickering half-smile that it was the dapple grey, one-winged mare from the cave. The champagne stranger stopped close by to Africa, and the colt paused with increasing interest still the same distance between that had been maintained the whole journey. He wanted to know what the fuss was about, but felt uneasy in their company; like without Shadow, he did not belong.


Image by Ina

BronzeHalo.deviantart.com HP:42.5
Helovia Hard Mode
Permission granted at all times to use magic and violence on Kari

Alija Posts: 58
Absent Abyss atk: 4 | def: 8 | dam: 7
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.3 :: 4: Tallsun HP: 64 | Buff: NOVICE
Sara95
#4
Alija had been moving through her desert home wondering how many of her new family she had yet to meet when her Mistress called her. The doe knew very well that Africa did not like being called Mistress, but she was the leader and deserved a title befitting that leadership. There were two things in her mind that left an odd twang in her mouth; that her leader did not want to be called mistress and that there were members of her family she had yet to meet. Picking up the pace to an easy lope she moved steadily towards where the call had sounded. Smiling as her antlers swayed tall and proud above her pink purple and white cranium as she moved on.

It wasn't to long before she found her mistress along with a young stallion she had just met, and a new filly she had yet to meet. Her smile widened as she gazed over her family in front of her. The filly was a pleasant amber shade with a bright blue horn that seemed to pulse color. She also had and odd blue spot on her rump that bled softly slightly into a few of her tail hairs. Her smile spread as she moved into the group confidently. Her warm honey voice bubbled forth, "Hello everyone! It's nice to see you again Mis..." She halted the word before it escaped dipping her head embarrassed slightly before continuing, "Africa. It's nice to meet you too, I am Alija a new healer in this family." Happiness filled her up from muzzle to tail, antlers to hooves as she gazed upon her newest family members.

"Speech" 'Wonderings'
Words: 276
OOC: Hi I'm Alija and I'm addicted to healing lol



[Image: 53a4c3e87d453]
Please tag Alija! All magic and physical force is acceptable to any degree besides killing her.

Sacre Posts: 274
World's Edge Emissary atk: 5.5 | def: 8.5 | dam: 5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 5 Years HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Inari :: Red Fox :: Heal & Ríona :: Common Kitsune :: Electric imi
#5
S A C R E

Sacre was artfully making his way back down from being on top of a canyon. Together with Inari, they had set off early to travel up one in their quest to look out across all of the Dragons Throat and view all of its glory. Their prize upon reaching the summit had not been disappointing and both souls had admired the place in which they were living from a new height. From then they had spent the day exploring the rest of the canyons, being careful not to step too close to the edges, Inari was significantly more nimble than his dark coated bonded and often left Sacre in sticky situations in order to laugh at him from a distance. The colt had scowled and had slowly righted himself before his set of lobes caught the call from Africa that was meant for the whole herd. Sacre had looked quickly for Inari and together they had made haste down from a raised point and onto more even ground.

Now their steps were bouncing along together at a brisk trot, the colts mane rose and fell in clumps of inky mess. The older he got the thicker and more troublesome his long locks appeared to become. His beloved red arrow was only barely visible through the tangles of tail hair that swished wherever they pleased to the rhythm of his bubbly gait.

After sometime the pair finally came upon the gathering called forth by Africa and, although small, it was filled with faces he knew. Sikeax was there, her familiar pale body a welcome sight to his roaming blue eyes and he quickly skidded to a halt beside her. Inari winding around one of his black legs. Also there, to the pleasant surprise of Sacre, was the grey looking hybrid yearling whose name he had yet to learn. They had met once only in a brief moment of joy back when they had been subject to living in the caves. Together with another bulky looking colt they had played a game together. It was a bright moment in an otherwise dark time. Of course there was Africa whom he bowed his head to and another girl who he had never met before, her coat filled with vibrant colourful hues that made him stare a little longer than perhaps he should have. He smiled at her regardless as she announced herself as Alija. A face surely not easily forgotten.

Together with Inari, Sacre awaited the news from the Sultana.

Whispers in the dark
Steal a kiss and you'll break your heart



There's something wretched about this
Something so precious about this

❚ Force permitted!
❚ Please tag me!

Tandavi The Fire Dancer Posts: 245
World's Edge Nurse atk: 6.5 | def: 9 | dam: 4
Mare :: Equine :: 16.1 :: 5 HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Natraj :: Plain Kitsune :: Fire Charks
#6

Tandavi</style>
the frenzied pace of the mind inside the cell.</style>

They aren't on any great adventure when they hear the call. In the summer fever the oasis has been a pleasant temptation, a welcome respite from beating sun and burning sand, hot winds and the arid atmosphere. Despite their relative comfort in the heat, there comes a time when inclination drifts away from the usual and toward the strange. The waif and her brother are creatures of fire, but this does not stop them from seeking solace in damp, sighing their pleasure as liquid courses down angry throats and settles heavy in their narrow waists.

So it is lazily that they approach, bloated with water and content in their weight. Africa's voice is a beacon in the static; it draws her and others to its source, beckons them closer with the sweet sincerity of its melody. Others have beaten her, denizens of the Throat arisen from the sand, wraiths and apparitions called forth by their queen. Jet eyes drift from form to form as the pair hovers, hesitant, judging the crowd. Africa reigns, the center of them all, but four others have arrived in in the absence of the pair: an unknown girl of champagne and horn, and three more she knows, with mixed emotion.

It is the garish mare who captures her first, fuchsia and gold wreaking alarming war upon the hide of the lilac draft. The girl remembers a fallen form, prone on the earth in the wake of uninvited power. Alija, a healer, They arrive in time to hear; and the firechild feels a wrench in her gut, a sinking sensation of oh Sun God, why?

The next form brings emotion of quite another type. When last she saw Sacre, the boy was a mess, swooning, enraptured, his mind a toy caught unknowing in her hands. Again, her magic had run from her will, wrapping up someone and laying them bare. Her gaze flicks uncertain to the bloodstained boy, fleeting and wary, again and away. Guilt is undercut by anger and pain, hurt that he would fall for the opulent stranger, envy for the attention she knows he would never pay her again. If ever they were friends she knows now that they are not, that what tenuous ties of affection he has held for her must be broken by her misuse of power, her betrayal of trust.

Endless gaze darts from the red-eared boy to the antlered mare. The outlines of a pattern are beginning to emerge, and how they reflect on who she is is unsettling, at best.

It is the third she approaches with a tentative smile, the little grey colt who hovers like she, not a part of the crowd but neither a stranger. "Kari," she smiles to the younger child, willing plasticity into her face. It has been months since they met in the dark of the caves, two lost children and the unknown void. She is far greater now, nearly full-grown, and his diminutive size stirs a fierce protection from deep in her heart. She strides to the side that is furthest away, unconsciously placing him as a shield against her sin; one more glance at Sacre before she turns to the youth, black eyes gliding over slate-grey form.

He reminds her of a newborn child, who she tried so to help but succeeded in loosing; her reminds her of her many mistakes, and she uses these memories as fuel for her fire. She does not touch him for fear of herself; she can feel his magic, taste the grey and thyme in his soul, and a secondary current of incense and ice. Instead she tells him "I missed you," though it may be a lie: she has thought little of the boy she met once, yet in her brief thoughts of him there has certainly been longing, a curious wonder as to where he had gone. Not a lie, she tells herself then, but something perhaps he will be happy to hear. She is learning, though she does not know, that sometimes words can be told without truth; that a smile is worth more than the comfort of silence, and that an offering of kindness can go a long way.

At her hooves, her brother pines to play with his friend, but the girl's upset keeps him pinned to her side. Instead he calls to Inari in his vulpine speech, conveying a greeting across the soft sand. He thinks they are foolish, the horses they own; and he wonders if the one-tail agrees, or if he has yet to learn just who the wise one in a bond really is.

image by tambako @ flickr.com</style>

o. pixel pony credit to tamme
o. permission granted to use force and magic on Tavi
o. only tag me in opening posts, please!


Africa the Starry-Eyed Posts: 727
Deceased
Mare :: Pegasus :: 16 :: 6 (Tallsun) Buff: NOVICE
Silas :: Common Zephyr :: Roc Riven
#7
The mood of Sky Island lingered within her, even after her journey back to the Throat. Light-golden eyes sparkled merrily beneath the glory of Tallsun’s brilliant sun, and each step taken barely seemed to graze the gravelly, sandy desert’s surface as she passed across, calling out, dancing forward again to meet those who came.

The first were Sikeax, and trailing her Kari, both of whom the Starry-Eyed felt fondly towards. The young horned mare’s expression remained stoic, a tone that almost unsettled her wholly cheerful mood. “Sikeax... Sister.” A tender smile was offered, and velvety nose extended in friendly greeting nevertheless, before her thoughtful gaze swept down to the frail-looking colt some way off still. “Kari, it’s good to see you home.” She cooed gently, warmly, lifting the lone wing from her flank to motion encouragingly should he want to come closer. Africa knew he had returned a while ago, but alas time had been slim. She could see by his hesitation that her delay in finding him had been detrimental to his confidence, and her heart sank with well hidden regret.

Not far behind, the gentle loping of the large, antlered mare Alija broke through the shimmering desert haze across the horizon. The one-winged grey responded to her hearty greeting with a soft murmur, nostrils fluttering curiously as the jingling trinket tangled through her grand head-dress came to rest. The vividly coloured creature waded between her peers, apparently in high spirits also, and introduced herself appropriately. Again the Starry-Eyed offered forth pursed lips to bump in salutation, a thoughtful smile lifting through her pallid features.

A cloud of rusty-dust betrayed the arrival of the pair who approached at a swift trot, sliding to a halt near fair Sikeax. “Scare, Inari,” she greeted them together, with a respectful dip of her face and affection lulling the pitch of her tone. She was glad to see the young stallion and his fox companion again; they had become fine contributors, active and motivated. Gaze softened graciously as it danced between the crystal blue eyes and her smile grew still brighter.

The fire-child approached with far less urgency then those who had arrived before, and Africa smiled easily. She glanced down to greet Natraj warmly (the Kitsune seemed not the slightest bit interested in any but Inari mind due), before searching for the strange black gaze of the filly as she settled to stand by the side of young Kari. Warmth not unlike that of the golden orb above seeped through her core.

“A piece of Helovia has broken away!” The Starry-Eyed began all at once, passing her focus across each face present. She wondered about Sohalia inwardly, but knew that her white-dove sister had an enormous amount going on; plans for their future, a baby that needed nurturing. “It is adrift, airborne above the Veins of the Gods, and many have gathered in the lush valley through its middle. It could only be a miracle, a gift from the Sun. They are calling it Sky Island.” A giddy excitement was stewing through her voice.

“We can go now together. There is an oasis girt by sand just like ours, and a tent marked by the metal of our land. Come! I want to show you.” Then for a moment eyes hastened towards the sky and she spoke alone to the zephyr, wait here, look for Sohalia... Silas veered high above the little group and began a gradual drift back towards the lush foliage and the lake. Already Africa was stepping north. She was eager to share the wonderful discovery, with her family, her friends, but she was aware too of the youngest among them and trekked with the comfort of the group as a whole in mind.


[ooc: This thread continue this on Sky Island. Reply to all of the above in the new thread there <3 Any others are still welcome to tag along]
Image | Table by Silk


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