the Rift


Enemies, Wars & Broken Hearts [Lace]

Torasin Posts: 132
Deceased
Stallion :: Equine :: 16.1 :: 8
imi
#1
by the time I noticed; you were already g o n e

Torasin drifted into the Thistle Meadow, his mind pondering a broken heart and the meaning of life. All things he had painstakingly thought about before and he didn't really understand why it surprised him now. The world was crumbling before him as first of all he was convinced Rishima hated him, his lover had left him and now the drums of war were slowly beginning to sound. His twin sons had grown to fodder for themselves and Torasin saw them only on occasion, they were lucky. Abel and Nym. His sons had each other, two pairs of eyes were better than none. Still, he worried about them. The paint was convinced the only thing that kept him sane was the growing dragon that lounged on his back, flicking his tail whilst dozing off. Kiba was used to his friends outbursts of depression, the brown remained near at all times until his bonded had regained his composure enough to walk by himself.

The thistles moaned as Torasin stopped in the middle of the meadow, mossy oculars roving across the land as he remembered the sound of the twins playing. The harsh scolding from their mother and his precarious teaching of proper manners. Torasin sighed and wished to be so young again. To start anew.

He straightened himself and began to move again, thoughts turning to the impending battle before him, Mirage and the Qian. Tor wanted the land so much for the bonnie obsidian femme, she had worked so hard for it and truly deserved it. Now was the time the magic he had worked for would come into use.


neverFading-stock.deviantart.com | lumibear.deviantart.com | art by titaniumsun.deviantart.com

Lace the Silverthorn Posts: 459
Deceased atk: 5 | def: 9 | dam: 5.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 15.3 hh :: 14 HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Fajira :: Plain White Dragon :: Fire Breath Chan
#2

LACE

Who, in his mind,
has not probed the dark water?



A tension was arising in the air. He could almost taste it with every breath, felt it seep into the muscles; unwelcome it made his heart race. It wasn't intentionally that the stallion arched his neck and lifted the knees higher and higher for each step until he all but danced forth on his path, with black-tipped ears slicked back against the steely neck and nostrils flaring around sharp bursts of exhalations. He even disliked the readiness that made the amber eyes scrutinize the surroundings and take in every rock and crevice, weigh every square meter before his feet in search for traps, roots to stumble over or holes to trip into. It came unbidden to him, and yet he didn't attempt to lower the guard or stop his bonded from darting off now and then, leaving the safe perch on his whithers for the perilous task of scouting ahead. He followed her flight when he could, when the small shape of the dragon didn't disappear into the light of the sun or flew so high that his eyes could no longer see her.

There was a tension lowering over the lands of Helovia, and he knew the source of it only too well.

War.

It was coming, and Lace was torn between cursing the black mare that initiated it and a wish to toss himself into the fray at her side, repay the debt he owed her through the only thing he was sure he could do and do well. His attempts at talking Mirage out of it had been in vain, and he wasn't going to say anything more on the subject. They could argue about it however much they wanted to, her arguments for the needs of the Qian weren't going to change and his own claim that there had to be another way had been rejected. He had a feeling that she wanted to agree with him, and he wanted to believe that she meant it when claiming that she wasn't a warmonger.
It was just... words and actions were walking separate ways now, and somehow it made the grulla feel powerless.

He paced across the meadow, too worked up to stand still and graze. The honey-colored gaze traveled over the horizon, soon catching the sight of a horse in the distance. Lace ignored it at first, but as the silhouette didn't seem to move at all between the times it came into view, it quickly began to tease on his curiosity. With a restless jerk of the head he lengthened the stride into a flowing canter that engulfed the distance between them, uninterested in the fact that his approach might seem threatening.
The closer he came the more he could see of the stranger, and when he managed to make out the color and markings of the other he realized that they might not be as foreign to one another as he first had thought. They were of roughly the same built, and while the other might be slightly taller than himself, there weren't many inches that separated them. Lace slowed down to a trot, then shortened the steps until he all but jogged in place; stretching the legs out once more, he walked over and fell in beside the golden tobiano with a powerful stride, caused more by unrelenting tension than any real wish to show off.

"Is something eating at you, brother?" he asked with deep but low voice and raised the black-masked head to meet the eyes of the other stallion, making sure to match his pace with the other. He remembered without saying anything the time when they had raced against one another across the plains of the Heart, surrounded by many others. He hoped that no hard feelings lingered from that time; it had only been sport, but some weren't too good at accepting even small losses, and it must have been grueling to loose a third place position to a mere stranger in such a manner.



Credits
BronzeHalo.deviantart.com
♦ Permission granted to use magic and violence on Lace and Fajira
♦ Only tag in new threads, spars and if it's urgent
The Store | The Warden

Torasin Posts: 132
Deceased
Stallion :: Equine :: 16.1 :: 8
imi
#3
by the time I noticed; you were already g o n e

It was getting harder to hold this facade now. He could hear them, the screams of battle, the blood, the hate... The sheer malevolence of friend and foe alike as they fought for what they believed was right. Did they now know? You kill one and claim revenge from another. Violence breeds violence and war breeds war. Ones pain was another's victory and one's sorrow was another's gain. There was no good and evil in this world, just ones opinion of right and wrong that clashed with another. Would it ever end? It was like being in a never ending rain shower but the only problem was, Torasin wasn't sure he could soak up anymore.

The gilded steed was about to allow himself to fall deeper into the depths of complete misery when Kiba trilled from atop his back, warning him of an unknown horse in the vicinity. The paint allowed his gaze to travel across the meadow and into the golden pools of another and, to his surprise, vaguely recognized the steel grey stallion, who had strange markings on his face. However what was puzzling Torasin more was his brown's keen excitement, the sort of excitement he showed when another bonded creature came near. Keenly curious now, the tobiano steed turned to greet the stranger but wasn't quick enough as he spoke first.

"Is something eating you, brother?"

Damn it. Torasin inwardly cursed himself for letting the steed see him in such a weak state and quickly covered it up with the same old optimistic expression. The one Mirage had slowly broke as he had broken hers and of course, the cover up that kept him sane. Beaming happily away Torasin's exceedingly polite vocals answered the question of the oddly familiar stallion. "I shall be fine, Sir."

Suddenly a memory appeared from the race across Helovia, where the equines ran for Olympic glory. He had fallen at the start and this was the stallion who had taken advantage of his blunder and passed him. The memory made him laugh as it was something that only he would do and laughed even harder when he felt Kiba's embarrassment. The poor dragon must of felt like burying his head somewhere to be bonded to such a fumbling idiot. It was times like this that Torasin longed for the day they could speak in each others minds and he could hear the brown's thoughts. He sighed as the laughter drained away, realizing he hadn't actually laughed in a while. The paint gave his fellow competitor an apologetic face.

"I'm sorry, Sir, it's just I remember you from the race. My name is Torasin and this is Kiba, perchance what do they call you?" The brown bonded trilled in exuberant greeting, scattering a flock of birds with the sheer noise whilst flicking his long tail. Torasin rolled his eyes, he'd always been like this.


neverFading-stock.deviantart.com | lumibear.deviantart.com | art by titaniumsun.deviantart.com

Lace the Silverthorn Posts: 459
Deceased atk: 5 | def: 9 | dam: 5.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 15.3 hh :: 14 HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Fajira :: Plain White Dragon :: Fire Breath Chan
#4

LACE

Who, in his mind,
has not probed the dark water?



A sooted ear twitched slightly at the formal speech that was shoved in his face. Had he been to casual in his speech? Perhaps, because it was hard to miss the transformation of the stallion from brooding to beaming of politeness and cheer. It was so fake that Lace was tempted to point it out. He didn't though, instead allowed the other to believe that he had the grulla fooled. He smiled along carefully as the other laughed, then dipped the head in a polite greeting as the gilded tobiano introduced himself and the young dragon that rode atop of his back.

"T'is a pleasure" he mumbled, his mind quietly summoning Fajira back towards him; she hadn't managed to fly off all that far, and her warble sounded curiously through the air when he told her of the other dragon. "I am Lace, and this", he turned the head and nodded towards the gleaming pale form of the White that dived down and elegantly landed upon his back, "if Fajira."

She let out a trilling sound that was almost as loud as Kiba's and studied the Brown with undisguised curiosity, the tail swaying from side to side with the wings only half folded against the pristine back. Lace followed the trailing emotions that coursed through her lithe body, from wariness to excitement and finally settling on a rather unusual shyness. Amused he saw her began to preen the talons, outwardly appearing cool and almost indifferent towards the young male; though her mind was a mess, with thoughts focusing mostly on what the brown would think of her.
You're looking absolutely stunning he tried to reassure her, but found that he once again was talking to deaf ears; a tree would give more of a response. Sighing faintly, Lace tried to put up a friendly and inviting appearance as his attention returned to the one who had introduced himself as Torasin. The stallion had caught his interest, and this close up he realized that the pale-coated stud carried along a scent that was beginning to feel rather familiar. Perhaps.. But there was no way to find unless he asked.

"You seem to be troubled by something" he said, attempting to start up a conversation by jumping right onto the subject of interest - hopefully it would work better than to tip-toe around, Torasin looked like he was rather good at avoiding touchy subjects. "Has Mirage been telling riddles again?"

Amber eyes watched the other from beneath the white strands of the forelock, looking for any kind of reaction that might reveal if he had guessed correctly. The mare sure could get under someones skin, he knew it only too well; but even if she wasn't the cause of this persons troubles, Lace was still interested in finding out what kind of relationship he had with the shadow queen.


Credits
BronzeHalo.deviantart.com
♦ Permission granted to use magic and violence on Lace and Fajira
♦ Only tag in new threads, spars and if it's urgent
The Store | The Warden

Torasin Posts: 132
Deceased
Stallion :: Equine :: 16.1 :: 8
imi
#5
by the time I noticed; you were already g o n e

Torasin watched in awe, like he always did when he met another's dragon, as the pale form of the metallic steed's bonded appeared at her introduction. An emerald ocular twitched to look at Kiba, who was busily hoping up and down his back. A brown tail flicked in sheer excitement and curious golden eyes roving over the white female. Torasin wondered if the brown would be better when it came to romance than he was. The paint gave a short snort, anyone would be better than him at it. He turned back to Lace as he spoke once more, leaving Kiba to his own entertainment.

"Has Mirage been telling riddles again?"

His gilded head turned to one side in surprise. How did this fellow know about Mirage? Or was it just a lucky assumption? When had he met her? All of a sudden his mind was invaded by a bundle of questions until Torasin gave up and decided the best way to find out would be to answer the question. "Mirage and her riddles-" he smiled fondly as an image of her from the first time they met appeared in his thoughts. She was mysterious and it was fascinating to find out more about her. To find out that in the end, she wasn't all that different from he. Although her bond with dragons was much more profound. "But actually it is war that bothers me... Among varies other things, Sir." A great deal of matters bothered Torasin night and day. Of war and love and friendship. He couldn't think of one aspect of his life right now that was truly enjoyable. It was not a healthy way to live and the depression was hard to fight.

A flash of brown caught his eye followed by a stinging pain as Kiba slapped his bonded's cheek. Thanks he muttered in the vaults of his mind knowing the dragon would hear it. Apparently the paint's increasing despair had been felt by his companion and the slap in the face was a reminder to keep his composure. Torasin sighed and turned his vibrant oculars on the steel grey, there was no way he would of succeeded in hiding his emotions. Not this close up. The paint cursed that he had been found in such a state of vulnerability although so far he rather liked the steed named Lace.

"You know Mirage?"


neverFading-stock.deviantart.com | lumibear.deviantart.com | art by titaniumsun.deviantart.com

Lace the Silverthorn Posts: 459
Deceased atk: 5 | def: 9 | dam: 5.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 15.3 hh :: 14 HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Fajira :: Plain White Dragon :: Fire Breath Chan
#6

LACE

Who, in his mind,
has not probed the dark water?



Huh, so he had been correct. It was rather pleasing to find that his sense of smell hadn't begun to fail him yet. For each year that passed the steed felt more and more paranoid about getting old adn was happy for every chance to convince himself otherwise. Fajira helped too, by constantly claiming that he shouldn't be allowed to leave his mothers side yet. She could be so endearing sometimes...

Lace watched the paint with curiosity as the mask of politeness dropped and emotions began to play over his face. Had he been as obvious to Mirage when he'd tried to drive her off by pretending to be rough and brutish? The thought was unpleasant. Perhaps he would have to hone his theatrical skills somewhat - himself and Torasin alike. Though perhaps it had more to do with the familiar signs that he believed to have noticed within the stallions expressions. A bitter tint over the smiles, a voice that held a tone of darkness and listlessness. Paired with eyes that sometimes drifted off into thought, only to be snapped back into focus - he could just as well be looking in a mirror. Be it that their circumstances probably differed greatly, Lace still felt compassionate for the obviously depressed horse and wished there was something he could do for him.

"Yes.. Or rather, I've spoken to her. I wouldn't dare claim to know that lady, not in a million years." He raised an eyebrow as he noticed the slap of the tail the brown young dragon dealt, but chose not to comment on something so intimate. Instead the masked grulla grinned a little, rather pleased to have found someone to discuss the kind but sometimes frustrating WeyrLeader with. "She caught us as we passed through the Threshold forest, and since then I can't shake the feeling that I'm being stalked. The number of times we've come across one another is a bit suspicious, if I may say so."

He rolled his eyes, amused but with a certain degree of affection in the voice as he spoke of the shadow queen. He wasn't going to deny that she had managed to nestle her way into his mind, and probably found a place in his heart as well. It was still fragile, but a certain degree of friendship was sprouting between the two of them - much thanks to the stubbornness of her and the friendship between the golden dragon and Fajira.

"May I ask, are you a part of the Qian?" It could explain the lingering scent of the lady and also his concern about war. The thought made his ears begin to twist back towards the neck, but were intercepted as soon as the vagabond noticed it.

War. The word always carried the same bitter taste and could puncture the mood as easily as a needle to a balloon. The thought of bringing the flames of combat into this so far peaceful land wasn't pleasant. The more he thought about it though, the more Lace realized that he mulled it over like he already was a part of the events that were going to unfold. Not just because he knew about it, but also because his only friend in a long long time was going to start it. Could he afford not to be involved, to simply stand on the sidelines and wait until it was over? He thought not. Thus remained only a vague feeling of resentment towards the whole concept, that wasn't easy to shake.



Credits
BronzeHalo.deviantart.com
♦ Permission granted to use magic and violence on Lace and Fajira
♦ Only tag in new threads, spars and if it's urgent
The Store | The Warden

Torasin Posts: 132
Deceased
Stallion :: Equine :: 16.1 :: 8
imi
#7
by the time I noticed; you were already g o n e

Torasin smiled at the grey's reply, it grew wider as the spider faced steed mentioned the 'stalking' of Mirage. A low chuckle escaped his lips as he knew the feeling all too well, he honestly believed that if she wanted something there would be no force in the world to stop her from getting it. The day he first met her was followed by many others and their friendship seemed to grow into fondness until his painted disaster returned. It left a bitter taste in his mouth that he didn't try fight for her although the odds were heavily stacked against him. He was genuinely happy, just being around to help her was reason enough to not do something rash with his own life.

"It's a common affliction to those fortunate enough to be called her friend. If you find yourself possessing two shadows instead of one then that's a fair sign she's there. Ever watching." Torasin flicked his tail and lifted his head a little higher. In the company of Lace it appeared the older stallion had managed to lift the dampened spirit of the gilded boy. A company he would be sure to seek out again after this day, Torasin already considered Lace a friend.

A surprised flicker crossed his face as the Qian was mentioned, green oculars searching the pools of the steed who stood but a few inches smaller than he. It was entirely possible that Mirage had told him her band of compassionate horses, had she also told him their plans? Torasin mulled the question over in his mind wondering how he should answer. Deciding that if he had met Mirage and knew of the Qian he would already know most of the details there was no need to be so cautious in his answer.

"We are. We have been part of it since Mirage set down the first meeting and probably before that. We were never really given a choice in the matter." His voice held tones of humour towards the end and Kiba chirped his agreement. Without a single question of consent the Weyrleader had roped him into her plans for a more righteous land. Not that he minded, maybe without even realizing it Mirage had given him a purpose to live.

Curiosity took over his features as this time he posed a question to the friendly chap. His gentlemanly voice lifting with his mood, "did you decide to join our cause?"

[over a month late but still -hides behind a rock- ]


neverFading-stock.deviantart.com | lumibear.deviantart.com | art by titaniumsun.deviantart.com

Lace the Silverthorn Posts: 459
Deceased atk: 5 | def: 9 | dam: 5.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 15.3 hh :: 14 HP: 65 | Buff: NOVICE
Fajira :: Plain White Dragon :: Fire Breath Chan
#8

LACE

Who, in his mind,
has not probed the dark water?



He hummed quietly in acknowledgment of Torasin's words, and thought for a while before finally sighing and nodding. "Well, I suppose I have. Though I'm not sure Mirage would approve of my reasons, if I told her. She helped me with something see, and I can't shake the feeling of being indebted to her. I don't yet know her well enough to know if this is the right way, but perhaps by joining in with her ideas I can be of use somehow..."

Lace turned his head and gazed forward, eyes appearing to search for something along the horizon, something that he still couldn't see.
"Maybe I shouldn't say anything, seeing as we've just met and all" he continued more quietly, "but somehow I get the feeling that we're somewhat similar, you and I. We both have our burdens, but also have great friends and allies to help us manage."

Fajira stopped preening for a moment and looked up, warbling softly in response to a quiet thought. The slender head then turned, gazing directly at Kiba for a moment before she leaped up into the air, wings working to lift her higher. A trill invited the Brown to join, before she made a loop and took off across the Meadow to hunt.

"Perhaps we should both try to be a bit more honest, don't you think?" The grulla smiled wryly, knowing the advice applied to himself as much as the gilded paint with the polite mask. It had taken some time, but finally the thought of following Mirage was beginning to feel better than to stay behind. Who knew what would come from joining such a group; miracles had yet to happen, and perhaps this time it would be different.


[ooc: Ugh, sorry for the shortness. Do you want to keep going, or should we close it? We can always make a new one, more up to date.. :) ]

Credits
BronzeHalo.deviantart.com
♦ Permission granted to use magic and violence on Lace and Fajira
♦ Only tag in new threads, spars and if it's urgent
The Store | The Warden


Forum Jump:


RPGfix Equi-venture