Divide and conquer, what a way to live. Solanine tried to abide by the saying but often found herself distracted by forces beyond her control, such as beautiful women. Not that she found them comparable to male lovers but, it was nice to admire them all the same. With her recent acceptance into the Basin, the darling shadow wasted no time in getting comfortable. Spring was upon them but unlike the rest of Helovia, her winter wasteland appeared unchanging. However, she preferred the immaculate snow-capped swells to sweltering summer heat, hands down. The Aurora Basin was the perfect oasis for a creature so partial to life devoid of warmth; things couldn’t have worked out any better.

Solanine smiled to herself as she moved effortlessly across the barren tundra toward the northern reaches of the Basin. She sought to find the infamous hot spring and take a dip in the soothing waters, relax. With her performances on hold, the mare was more than ready to rest her weary feet. She had travelled a great many miles to find Helovia and now that she was here, it was as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Now, if only she could start planning the future…

After some time spent searching the pale land for the spring, Solanine began to grow quite irritated by her lack of success. Her muscles were tense and she wore a callous frown upon her thin, black lips. But she certainly wouldn’t be giving up anytime soon. She’d look in every nook and cranny of the damn Basin until she found her destination, even if she had to badger someone into helping her.

With her tail lifted up and off to the right of her hocks, the little actress stopped mid-step in order to wait. Surely someone of interest would be willing to lead her to the fuckin’ hot spring. Black eyes peered out from beneath long, gloomy lashes as the mare looked around hesitantly. Suddenly the girl was not so black and white, so hard and uncaring.

Black lips were pushed outward in dismay and her shoulders were slouched and tucked forward, the picture of a naive damsel in distress... But of course, the spider had only to wait for a single, simple insect to get stuck in her web. Perhaps she wasn’t meant to retire from the show business so soon after all.

Solanine

You've been sanctified

For a brief moment, Solanine is convinced that she will have to scout the Basin alone as previously thought. That is, until heavy footfall draws her guarded gaze back over her shoulder. She offers no smile or delighted greeting, but instead inhales the creature’s masculine scent, calculating. Her black eyes are unwavering and perhaps a bit intrusive as she stares openly at the second animal she has had the pleasure of coming in contact with since arriving in the Basin. However, he is not as amiable as sweet Ophelia and the little actress instantly misses the gorgeous mare with all her fine features and multicolored eyes. Her Lady was certainly something of beauty, crafted by the Devil himself to tempt weakened beasts such as her.

However with more pressing matters afoot, the mare shifts around to address the tall black male who had been kind enough to acknowledge her plight. He is a hard animal, clearly not amused by her feminine antics as he bores down upon her with cerulean eyes. But it does not unsettle her and she nods coolly to him, too selfish or too vain to recognize his fatigue. “It looks like your right,” she replies casually. With what she considered to be “introductions” come and gone, Solanine allows herself a moment to study the man unabashed. Like she, his coat is dark and uninterrupted aside from a scattering of white stretching up from his underbelly. There also resides a long, jagged scar across one icy blue eye and this draws her attention for what feels like an eternity.

Though he is not traditional in appearance, he is quite traditionally male in demeanor and personality. For Solanine, that means the show is off. An audience is always appreciated, but a receptive one is more exhilarating… and the mare is certainly not feeling very exhilarated presently. With her performance stricken down and disemboweled within only a few minutes of curtain call, Solanine is suddenly disinterested. But of course that does not deter her from seeking the hot springs.

Her resolve to soak her weary legs has not faded even if her curiosity for the tall man has.

“The hot springs, where are they?” she relents after a lengthy pause. Her attention is scattered now as she peers about, marking off various routes that had led her to where the tall man has found her. When she finally comes back to face him, she is impatient and unfocused. It is only then that she takes note of his wary face and tense posture, but it is only a passing thought.

Then she pondered the idea of encountering Ophelia at the springs. Oh how a dip with her Lady would entice…

Solanine

You've been sanctified

Solanine is everything but considerate and tends to bend any and every situation to her own will. However, fate would see her rewarded this day, regarding the tall man anyhow, for he too sought the comfort of the hot springs. She smiles slightly at his admission, failing to note anything other than his intentions to help. He too has been agreeable enough after a moment of deliberation concerning Solanine's own character. It appears as though he is a no-shit kind of man, but of course Solanine will find a way to verify that with certainty. She enjoys puzzling things together or picking them apart, whichever seems to strike her fancy on any particularly given day.

With all reasoning aside, the massive stallion moves away from her but is diligent enough to allow her refuge at his side upon their departure. Solanine is no stranger to civility and often finds herself behaving as any proper female might, but it is frequently out of context, a fabrication of her own personality. However, with fatigue weighing heavily on her mind she cannot force excessive amiability… The tall man would simply have to acquire a taste for her. As selfish and demanding as she is, Solanine is perfectly content with herself and has no qualms with expressing her needs should they arise.

One way or another she will find a way to achieve her goals- with or without the tall man.

“Thanks,” she quips lightly, now more focused on the conversation at hand. With her desires met, she is quite jovial and relaxed. “I know but two ladies here in the Basin and only one of note so I can assure you this is the first I’ve seen of you. I’m Solanine and quite freshly picked from your Threshold in the South. Strange little set up you’ve got going on here,” she muses absently.

The tall man covers ground fast with a lengthy stride but Solanine is content to trot ad weave alongside him given changes in their route. At times she ponders Ophelia and at others she envisions the soft sheen of silver coins. With an errant mind such as hers, Solanine is often preoccupied by her own fantastical imaginings which is why she is quite surprised when the tall man announces their arrival to the hot springs.


He moves quickly to the steaming waters and immerses himself just as fast. However, a hesitant mare is slow to follow. Never has she visited such a landmark but her curiosity eventually wins out over her reluctance. Moving around to the right of the pool the Phantom places one hoof gingerly into the spring’s warm depths. Her eyes swing upward to the tall man, now Torliek and yet still “tall man” to her, before forcing her way in. “I could certainly get used to this,” she murmurs to no one particular.


With her legs submerged and the water rising to greet her shoulders, Solanine focuses once more on the tall man. The silence between them is welcome and she wishes for it to remain but she is still unsure how to maintain his company without creating an obvious rift between them. He is a quiet, steely animal more made for enterprises of a different sort, but alas the tall man is stuck with her, the thieving little devil hell-bent on all things beneficial. “What is it you do for Lady Ophelia?” she questions benignly. She has yet to meet any other of equal importance and therefore broaches the only topic she knows- Sweet Ophelia.

Solanine

You've been sanctified

She had no relevant past and no promising future to deliberate in the quiet. Solanine lived for the moment at no fault of her own. Days past had been hard and certainly not worth remembering- but wait, wasn’t that considered a common woe? Perhaps that was why she did not consider it, did not let emotions consume and disarm her. The mare, much like the hundreds before her, had struck out on her own at a young age only to find her nature turned from amiability. She was selfish, that much was true, but she was not heartless. Without proper guidance she had resorted to philandering and thieving in order to sustain her opulent proclivities.

Even now, she was no better than a child seeking to fulfill her desires and live just as freely as her ever-changing attentions. To condemn her for her behavior would be the equivalent of clipping the fragile wings of a bird yet too young or too dumb to fly. Yes, she was an intelligent creature and one adaptable to various occupations at that. But without anything other than greed to direct the wayward child, she was nothing but a lost soul, a broken record doomed to repeat past mistakes until shattered.

With a midnight gaze trained on the tall man and no words hanging upon eager lips, the mare nodded absently at his loose promises. The future was not ever guaranteed and Solanine, though pleased by his admission, had grown to know better. “Torleik, it has most certainly been a pleasure,” she offered vaguely in reply. But with topics so palpable and her mind so easily changed, Solanine was quite enthusiastic to explain her first few nights in the Basin. “Ah yes, I’ve never seen anything like the… sentinels? Forgive me, I’m unaccustomed to this way of life,” she trailed off quietly.

After joining the tall man in the hot spring Solanine had been quite content to revel in memories still fresh and new. Ophelia had been the first to deem Solanine worthy of company and home and had the Gods given her fortune the mare would have controlled the words that rolled so easily from tongue. Had she been less driven, less determined to seat herself upon a throne of victory and self-preservation, maybe she would have cut the shit and felled her walls. But they remained intact, a force unyielding to even the mare’s own pleas.

However, the tall man did not see her that way. He saw only the façade; the veil long ago stitched by her own hand to conceal soul and self alike. But he had ignited curiosity in the young woman. With wide, inquisitive eyes Solanine fixed a serious gaze on Torleik before questioning softly, “And what does your Lady desire?”

Solanine

You've been sanctified