What was he even doing here? The golden stopped. His twin horned head turned to look about him. There was no one. A tingle ran down his spine and he shifted uncomfortably in place, the wolf hide on his back slipping and falling to the ground. It spooks him and he jumps to the side. Haldir, stopped and looked up with dismay. He didn’t know why they were here either, but he was always glad to tag along. The recent edginess of the golden though was something he had never seen before, and he was not sure he liked it. Mostly it just confused the fawn, but especially now it almost irritated him. They were just walking through the forest right?...The gold was never afraid, he charged a faradrim [hunter-Saffron]! He could not be afraid right? Right?! The golden snorted at the fallen hide. Reaching down he picked it back up and tossed it across his back. It was not the one he had carried throughout the harsher winter, but he had outfitted it in the same manner. Its legs tasseled to a vine which could be tide around the neck of the wearer. He wasn’t really sure why had grabbed it as he left his cave. The gold just felt…it was needed. Looking down at the fawn beside him he sighs. The small creature was showing the passage of time right before the gold. The babe’s black spots were fading into a darker fur now. His back was near black. It had been far too long, and this matter had weighed far too heavily on the back of his mind. So the golden moves on and keeps going. The damsel queen. How perfect a title it was. She was a damsel, but not by any power she could see. Kahlua had been in grave danger each time they met. Not by an army or guard, but by him. He held her pity captive. It was an easy thing to do. The first time they had met she practically wrote it out for him. Yet, ever since the golden had moved uneasily about the situation. Especially that last meeting…The first summer storm had reminded him of it. Shaking his head the golden stops. He had gone as far as he dared. He didn’t want to attract a lot of attention. With his young fawn investigating a dandelion not far over, the golden inhales deep. Why was he here? “Kahlua….” His voice broke the hum of the forest. This was such an odd feeling, and the oddness of it made it all the worst. It was terrible to be caught like this why was he here? What was this going to do? Cloven hooves lifted to leave and forget the whole matter, but a hard brick in his chest held him there. He couldn’t let this go on. Innocence in its purity should remain so. "talk talk talk" OOC:: Identity Index:: None TAG:: @[Kahlua] Thranduil His words are clever and bright

Credits: Image by Schwartze @ DA

Like a swollen beach ball, her skin stretched taut over muscles pushed out much too far, the queen waddled along the border. She had taken solace here near the wall lately because Kaj was not near the wall. Or perhaps he was, flying overhead and looking down upon her, but never stepping near. At this point, she was torn between wanting to apologize for their fight, and wanting to wait until he bothered to apologize to her. After all- she hadn’t done anything to him, right? She had never asked him to stay loyal to her, had never asked him to love her. She had told him to go, told him to live his life because she couldn’t give him what he wanted. He wanted foals, a family, unity and closeness that she could not provide. She wanted freedom, a child-free life. Now she had neither. Stalking the borders, pacing only because it was too uncomfortable to stand still for very long, the queen wondered how long it would take for this child to enter the world. In some ways she wanted it to hurry- the sooner it arrived, the sooner she would be free from its clutches upon her abdomen. But then, the sooner it arrived the sooner she had to take care of it. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine herself as a mother- a happy foal bouncing by her side and the Sunshower herself reaching down to coddle the babe. Her mind was blank. The image was not one that existed in any mind. She was not made for mothering. So it was that she was standing when a quiet voice sounded out over the gentle music of nature around her. She knew that voice- a friend whom she had only met a handful of times but who had touched her heart. Why was he calling upon her here? Perhaps the nomadic man was finally ready for a home. Regardless, the painted woman waddled her way past the glass wall, trying to remember where she had heard the voice come from. Her memory served her well enough, for she found him sooner rather than later. “Thranduil,” she cooed kindly, a genuine smile finding its way to her face. Her expressions had been rather dull as of late, it was nice to see an old friend. For a moment, her blue eyes moved away from his face to look at the wolf hide that was draped over his back. It was a curious thing he had there, rather unlike anything else she had seen anyone wear. She also noted another change- a companion at his side that had not been there previously. Absently, her eyes then traced to the sky, looking for signs of the feathered blue. For a moment she caught sight of him circling overhead before he disappeared back into the treetops. Normally he was up for a game with any companion he caught sight of, but today he was occupied with hunting. Dropping her eyes back to the golden’s face, she added, “Welcome to the Edge, it’s so good to see you. What brings you here?” She had not forgotten the abrupt ending to their previous meeting. Would this one be so chaotic? Kahlua Here Comes The Sun

Schwartze @ Da

Noise rises from within the wall and those gold harks swing to catch it. The gold tries as he might to get a hold of himself. This was ridiculous. She was a mare. A nothing to him. Stomping a hoof he forcibly lowers his head and relaxes his back, but of course it all goes to shit as soon as he sees it. Earth eyes first only see her. Not a scratch on her since the craziness of the murders. Thank goodness-What the fuck. Her swollen belly told all. Horned head rose, and try as he might to have been ‘normal’ it quickly falls apart. She’s pregnant. She’s swollen pregnant. What the hell was he doing here? Haldir thought he knew. At hearing her the fawn quit nosing a flower and looks up with wide eyes. He was ready to see some large and powerful beast, so when a beautiful mare walks up he is quite thrilled. That little dark tail begins to wag and the babe creeps through the long grasses towards her. His large ears forward and eyes bright at the pretty lady. Her condition was noted, but quickly forgotten in the wonder of her being new. The babe was altogether unafraid. He had seen the faradrim and the darker beings, and she most certainly was not one of them. Her walk was swinging and gentle (babes usually only see beauty instead of the reality of a waddle), and her smile so kind. Stepping up to her the fawn reaches up as high as he can to attract the lady’s attention. She was so beautiful! Like night and moon swirled together! The golden was less sure of himself. He does however to manage something though. Bringing his head back down he lights a warm smile on his lips. “Greetings Kahlua.” The gold tries his hardest to get his act together, and nods. His act. Yes…that was why he was here. Still the damsel speaks and the gold finds the start of conversation to ease him into his nature ways of lies and masks. Still he seems to almost ignore her question. “I guess to….Congratulations are in order, to you and Kaj I assume?” He manages to smile, but it is weary and not as smooth as usual. Will she catch it? Did he intend the weariness to show? What the hell was going on with this golden son? Letting out a long breath the gold shifts gears, letting his smile grow. He was suddenly very glad he brought a something. Was it a gift or a distraction? “This will serve your sore bones well then.” Reaching back the gold grabs the wolf hide from his back, and for a moment he grips it in his mouth, just standing there. He should take it to her. But for the first time in all his born days Haldir is of use. At seeing the gold offer something to the beautiful woman the babe jumps over. His bright little face looks up with expectation and the gold lets it fall on the babe’s back. Thin legs give slightly at the weight, but his heart beamed so strong to be of accepted use that he carried the hide over to the beautiful lady with a grand happiness. Shifting the gold looks at it go. He never gave away things. What was he up to? It seems we were near to finding out. His genuine smile at seeing the gift transferred flickers before shutting off. “Kahlua…” How could he tell her? She needed to know, but how could she ever understand? The woman could not even see the weights upon him that demanded the action, and yet she was to have it. Now the gold remembered why he chose his profession. Lying was so much easier. It had to be done. Innocence is precious. Idiotic. Pathetic. Useless. But precious. The girl that saw nothing but gold on him, should not be shackled in it’s cold touch. “I am the Thief of the Basin.” Tell her. “A spy.” A coldness began to fall around his chest. It was familiar, oh how familiar. He remembered the bottomlessness, the steely touch of his own life. He remembered he doesn’t like it. He remembered why he didn’t do this. “The day….the day at the Rotunda….” God how long ago was that. “I not exactly…Illynx wanted…” Earth eyes look for the first time straight into hers. “I’m very good at my job.” Oh good job. That’s cold comfort. And she didn’t deserve the lies. Say it. Tell her why you need to confess. What happened to all of that about innocence, and the good of the world need protecting not crushing. Where did the whole arguments of proving your goodness by coming clean go? Looking at her swollen belly…it didn’t seem as important. Tell her what you almost did that day in the storm under the pines. Tell her how close your skin came to hers when she looked down to cry. Tell the girl you’re not made of stone. “I’ve never-“ Never what? Lied? No sir you’ve done that. You’ve stood there and lied like it was just another day’s work. Never meant to hurt her? Oh that’s rich. You laughed. What are you going to say? That you’re sorry? Are you really? If you’re going to apologize for lies, don’t do so with another one. So the gold can say no more… "talk talk talk" OOC:: Identity Index:: None TAG:: @[Kahlua] Thranduil His words are clever and bright

Credits: Image by Schwartze @ DA

Life had been rather gray for her as of late- colors muted and sounds a little less vibrant than they used to be- but when little Haldir creeped over to her it was all the queen could do to contain herself. Slowly, for the deer seemed like it had the potential to be flighty, she reached down to let her nose meet his raised one, if he would let her. A gentle swirl of air brushed from her lips, and the queen murmured softly to Thranduil after he had returned her greeting, afraid that the little creature might bound away if she spoke too loudly, “He’s adorable, what do you call him?” However, what little happiness she had found in the cerndyr was quickly robbed from her. Withdrawing her nose from the small creature, the queen looked to the golden with sad eyes, hardly having noticed the strange way his sentenced seemed to morph in the middle. “Me and Kaj?” she said distantly, as though she hadn’t really heard what he had said. Of course she had, but her mind was already jumping back to that fight they had gotten into. So much yelling, and for what? For their pride? It was stupid, but even though she knew it was stupid, she couldn’t bring herself to apologize to him. “No… Kaj is mad at me. It’s the Earth God’s…” trailing off, she also faintly muttered something about “restoring balance”. Perhaps a smarter queen wouldn’t have revealed that the monarchy of the Edge was fighting, but Kahlua was not a smarter queen. At least, it seemed, they were both ready for some distraction from the topic. Cocking her head to the side as he offered her a gift, and then watching the cervid bring the wolf hide to her, the queen hardly knew what to think. “Thank you,” was all she could muster at first as she reached down to take the hide from the little deer and slip it over her neck. The warmth upon her back was not unwelcome, even in the summer heat. “Wait here,” she suggested to Haldir as she began digging on the ground. She could, of course, have carried what she was looking for to Thranduil on her own, but the cerndyr seemed to be having so much fun that she thought she might give him a chore to do. While she was digging, she listened to what Thranduil had to say to her, her ears pointed towards him but her eyes cast downward. The rock she finally settled on, for that was what she had been digging for, seemed to suit the golden prince perfectly. Flat and moss covered, she had almost looked over it at first, but something about it seemed to scream Thranduil’s name at her. Infusing it with her magic, feeling the warmth radiate from her body into the stone, Kahlua smiled as the rock began to glow gently and light the area around her, the yellow light taking on a green-ish hue as it reflected through the mossy coating. Nosing it towards Haldir, she looked up to the golden and spoke. “A token of my gratitude,” she insisted as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to say back to him. “Congratulations on your appointment,” she decided finally, her face showing her confusion. He had come all the way here just to tell her as much? With his incomplete sentences, the girl was once again concocting stories to fill the void between what he had told her and what he was trying to tell her. He had promised at the Rotunda that he was being chased by Illynx, but then… things change. Kahlua had been being chased by Illynx too. Now the Basin and Edge were, if not allies, at least on friendly terms. She could not fault the golden for finding a home with them. For surely, in her mind, he had not been of the Basin on that day that they met. “I’m glad you’re good at your job,” she added later, still not sure where to take this but her mind once again wandering back to the second time they had met. Waddling closer to him, if he did not turn to run from her approach, she chatted on pleasantly enough. “Are you ok, my friend? You seemed so… I’m not sure. You were having a bad day the last time we met… Are you better now?” It was so long ago, surely he must have moved past whatever had ailed him, but she couldn’t help but check. Reaching her nose out, she offered a welcoming touch to his own if he only extended his own, waiting to see what other conversations this curious meeting might shift towards. Kahlua Here Comes The Sun

Schwartze @ Da

Haldir as always stole the show. The little fawn was most delighted to have the pretty lady’s attention. At her warm touch the babe breaks into a smile. The small fawn let her continue her conversations and he kept looking her over and taking her in. So pretty! Watching her touch the small nose of the fawn made almost a bitterness rise up within him, but it was broken by her soft voice. “Haldir” Came the automatic mumble. The fawn looks up in a great deal of happiness to hear the gold call his name. He never tried to hear it. With wide eyes he looks back to the pretty lady and then trots over to his bonded. He hadn’t intended to make her smile fall so quickly. Her distant mumbling made his tasseled tail twitch. She was too far away though for anything. That’s the way it should be though. There needed to be distance for this. Still the news did darken his mind. The gold had assumed the damsel and her king were a perfect match. Having seen them at their party so long ago on the floating isle. Then again, it was so long ago. Still the Earth God? It was a whole train of thought that was lost on him. Another matter for another day, the gold’s mind was spinning and jumping far too much to keep such a deep thought in mind. Any connotation he had for this moment was lost on him as well. Was it because he didn’t care who the farther was? Was it just the fact that there was a father in this picture? As I said, too many thoughts. Haldir of course saves the day. He was being more instrumental in this than his little mind could ever imagine. The babe though could not process the woman’s tongue and so though she said to wait he turns to leave. His was unused to the tongue of these larger creatures. The golden was so distracted by how own thoughts he barely remembered the word. “Haldir….Dar” The fawn looks, then freezes. His attention is quickly grabbed back by the pretty lady. She pawed in the dirt and the babe’s ears swivel back to her and are caught in her actions. His little hooves carry him back to nearly stand on top of her hole as she works. The golden speaks his peace while the damsel works. His words burn in his throat slightly as his mind spins and spits at him for them. Still as it yells at him his frustration grows at her continued persistence to work. So much so that by the time the babe brought the rock to him the gold was completely lost at where the damsel was in the conversation. His head had risen and harks flare back. Haldir, carrying the stone in his mouth did set it down with caution, unsure of the gold’s reaction. He had done well right? The golden continues to stare at the soft glowing moss covered rock. She was giving him a gift?! He didn’t deserve a gift! He LIED to her. Took advantage of her trust! Why was she giving him a gift! Congratulations?! Snorting the gold now considers her in the same fashion. What was she talking about? Why didn’t she get? How could she not get it? Was she so naïve that this escaped her? Was she so trusting that she could not accept his exposed treachery? He wanted to yell it at her. For it seemed his discretion, his anxiety, the buildup of nerves was for nothing. It was as if he put himself in this spot for nothing. It angered him. He angered him to be put in such a spot. For her to tell him as she did his troubles were pointless. She would see this point! She would understand! Wait, what is she doing. As she walked closer the gold’s head rises and harks fall back. He didn’t want to be close to her. He wanted the distance. He couldn’t trust himself with her at close quarters. Haldir was most excited for the pretty lady to come closer. He could not read her more serious face, and so when she came closer his dark little tail wagged and bright eyes gazed up with happiness. The golden was not so certain. He steps back one, but stops. Was he running, again? She begins to ask him about that last time. His eyes fall to confusion. What was she talking about? Last time….under the pines? In the storm? Why was she talking about this? This wasn’t what they were supposed to talk of. “Damsel listen to me!” Haldir jumped. It wasn’t shouted. It was charged and low. It rang out and broke his tornado of thoughts. He could breath. He wasn’t here for that discussion. It wasn’t time to discuss that now. She needed to understand. Of all the things she needed to understand this one thing she must know. “I have always been a thief. I have always been under orders of Illynx. I never was on the run from Basin. And I have always been the enemy to you.” He steps back as he says it. The gold wants the space. Space made it easier. He couldn’t reach out to her, if he couldn’t reach her. The chain was broken too. What concrete bound chains tied him to this place was now broken. He could leave in the assurance that he told her. But then he couldn’t. The golden stops and waits. Last time. It still rolls in his mind. Last time he had run. It’s the bitterness that brought him here in the first place. So he looks with more gentleness. “I am sorry Kahlua.” Did she get it though? Or would this be another failed attempt. Another lost cause. That’s what that night was in the pines. A lost cause. Still it nagged him. What did she call it? A bad day. Bad day was almost a laugh. It was not just a bad day. Bad days are for scratches, lost trinkets, and stomach aches. This was much deeper, much harsher. It was terror and depression. Suicide? Perhaps. Overall it was something no one here must know. Look at her, swollen with child, waddling where she once had danced in a nature’s song carefree. It twisted his stomach once more. Would she understand? Were parental hormones pounding so hard through her swollen body she could burst? It had been when she was pregnant too. Could they understand the loss? Or was the deity’s blood too guarded? Horned head shakes awake he had been staring at her swollen sides. He looks with a calmness not seen in his eyes since their first meeting. A deep inhale grabs him. It was so guarded. So safe inside his soul. The golden son could carry it for centuries….he thought. Yet if that is what she wanted to know. Still wanted to know. “Do you still wish to know the answer to your questions now?” He would tell her. If she could accept his truth, he would give her another. If she did not run, run for her own safety from him, he would give her a real story to run from. For the first time since it happened. A real story. "talk talk talk" OOC::I'm not really really sure I like his emotion at the end, so it might change up a bit in the next post. I feel like he should freak out a bit more. But there it is. =] He's tired of freaking out, of lying to her, and of not being able to answer her questions. Identity Index:: None TAG:: @[Kahlua] Thranduil His words are clever and bright

Credits: Image by Schwartze @ DA

The sound of the golden’s voice, thick and heavy, demanding, wrought with emotion, made the girl jump uneasily, shifting on her hooves, until she had almost forgotten how excited she was about giving him the rock. Her ears laid half-back and her skin began to twitch. She was growing uneasy, unsteady, trying to figure out what she was doing, how she was supposed to react to this sudden change in his demeanor. Had she upset him somehow by giving him a gift? Above, Khan circled restlessly as well, watching the golden with narrowed eyes. He was used to swinging, fleeting emotions, having been bonded to Kahlua, but he was not so used to them from other horses. Most were so steady. What was wrong with this one?

Even so, she managed to calm herself slightly during the pause, and then stop her motion altogether when the golden continued on. Always a thief? The words were a shock, to say the least. Trying to process what was going on, trying to make sense of what had happened and what these new words were that were coming from his mouth… He had lied to her? Her blue eyes began to moisten, as they always did when she grew emotional. She had trusted him infinitely, thought of him as a friend and a confidant, but he had lied to her. “What?” she managed to choke out barely, softly, just a whisper on the wind. In some ways she was glad when he stepped back. At the same time, though, she was not. She wanted to run towards him, to kick him in the shin, to yell at him and make him take it back. He was lying now, not then. He had not always been a thief. This was a game of his, it had to be… she narrowed her eyes.

Even so, there was no denying the seriousness of his tone. “You’re not my enemy,” she whispered again, trying to make some sense of this. Even if he had been an enemy, was he still so? He had come here with a gift for her, the wolf coat that lay heavy over her back, heavier with each second, the scent of thranduil on the thing like a mocking reminder that he was there… always there. “I forgive you.” Her response to his apology was weak, if heartfelt, her mind distant as she tried to understand what she was feeling about all of this. And though she really did want to know the answer to her question, to understand what had been wrong with him and to try and make things right between them, she could no longer stand here. She needed… what? Fresh air? She was in the woods.

She didn’t understand that she was feeling the need for space, for distance, for separation. Her priority was always to go to people when she was hurt, but Thranduil was the one hurting her now, and she needed to separate herself from him, not go to him. It was like Kaj, whom she had looked to for support, and been forced to separate from. Two friends, too soon. This pregnancy was ruining everything, this land, this Helovia, this position as queen, this responsibility. Her mind ran too fast with too many thoughts, and she began to shift again, looking up to Khan, trying to find some comfort in his flight, or the sky, or the birds. “I do…” she began, her eyes finally trailing back to Thranduil. “But I think… I think I need to be alone… to process… but I forgive you. And I will find you again…” Broken words, but a heartfelt promise, fell from her lips, and she began to step back.

“I’m sorry,” she said more insistently, as though this were her fault and not his. She had failed him somehow, perhaps… But whatever it was that she was thinking, whatever it was that she didn’t understand, it would have to wait for him to know. She backed a few more steps, and then turned to waddle back into the forest, presuming that he would go on his own time. She didn’t care if he came into the forest, really… would he really hurt her? She wanted to scream, there was so much to think about, to know, that she could not know, and too many hormones in her body to make sense of any of this. Perhaps some communion with the waves on the North end of the land would help… nothing else seemed to be.