the Rift


[OPEN] Centuries past

Katerina Posts: 37
Outcast
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.1 HH :: 97[8 in Helovia]
ShadowMare
#1
You do not know heartbreak
Not until you've lived as long as I


The world's edge is your home. The world's edge is your home. Katerina kept repeating to herself, the taste of home not feeling anything like it used too. She missed the blue sponge soils, the scenery of stars, of moons, of the constellations that meant home. Now, it felt like her youth had quickly escaped her and now she was dumped with a responsibility that she was only shown how to deal with, but never actually had to deal with. 

A sigh escaped her lips, the lady in silver looked upon the stars tonight. It was the closest thing she had to keeping in contact with her parents, her family, her life. Helovia was going to mean good things for her, she was sure of it, but her wound had not sealed just yet, bleeding with a sad crimson. She hadn't ventured across the lands yet, being wary to experience all the things this world offered. Nothing was similar it seemed, even the damned stars that she loved so much, weren't the same. For weeks she had only wondered in the walls of the edge, keeping to herself and not bothering any. It appeared to her that everyone at the edge was always busy, always working to reach some goal, and in this night of twinkling lights, she felt a motivation to become, to be. If not for her, at least for her parents. They would be proud. 


OCC: yeah it's short, but intro's are just a pain and I don't have much to work with her yet
@Tembovu


"Talk?"

image credits

Tembovu the Elephant Posts: 805
World's Edge Captain atk: 7 | def: 9.0 | dam: 7.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 18hh :: 10 HP: 77 | Buff: SWIFT
Mbwene :: African Elephant :: Ashen smitty
#2
the happy ending depends, of course...
Somehow, someway, the smallest sound of the slightest sigh drifted and funneled into the black-rimmed ears of the Elephant. It was a sigh weighted in melancholy, which perhaps is why it sank into his ears rather than floating away into the night. Such sighs are meant to be heard by someone, so that they might attempt to assuage the sadness. Or, at least, provide company so that the sigher is not alone in their nightly, woeful reflections.

So, stirring from his light slumber, her raised his head and flared his thick nostrils, sampling the night air to pinpoint the source of the sigh. The evening bouquet held the crispness of Orangemoon and all the ripe flavors that accompanied the season. His eyes cast sideways, interrupted momentarily by a misty and condensing form. Was that a mongoose forming from the mist?! Indeed it was. The giant shook his head, blinked, and stared, before reaching down to nudge the creature.

But his nose passed through the ephemeral form. He snorted in confusion, and the mist scattered. But then promptly reformed as a mongoose. Shaking his head again, he turned his attention toward the source of the sigh, long legs and strides carrying him towards where he had thought the sound was.

Sure enough, there was Katerina, the beautiful mare of constellations he had met with Mauja. That seemed like a lifetime ago, after everything that had transpired. Choosing to ignore the misty mongoose that nimbly weaved around his large hooves, he focused on the rather morose, yet still captivating, face of the celestial mare. “It’s a beautiful sky tonight, isn't it?” His low voice quietly rolled into the evening’s peace, his eyes not leaving her face despite speaking of the heavens above.
...on when you end your story.
image | bckg

@Katerina

Please tag Tembovu.

Katerina Posts: 37
Outcast
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.1 HH :: 97[8 in Helovia]
ShadowMare
#3
You do not know heartbreak
Not until you've lived as long as I



It had seemed that world paused for a slight second, that the steps echoing in her ears, nearing her, had paused in their pursuits. Her expiration must've been loud, carried with the wind far enough to bring the attention of another. A single ear tipped back, listening with a vividness and wariness that she never had to use before but encompassed her now. Her body was stiff, muscles coiling and tightening under the amount of what ifs (what if I am in danger, what if I should run, what if...?) that plagued her mind. Safety was guaranteed for her in Isisi, she did not have to live in fear, the feeling itself was one that she never would've recognized if the great trees did not tell her in her ventures to lands forbidden and forsaken. She was at least thankful for that curiosity, it allowed all the new things and ways of life to not seem so new, for if Katerina had stayed within the walls of her castle, Helovia would be the death of her. 

Deep, masculine baritones awoken her travels in the stars, her silver gaze turning to the striking one of Tembovu. She remembered their meaning, her questioning, and of Dorboo, as well as his own question, one that she didn't get the chance to offer, but promised one day she would. In the little time that she had taken residence here, Tembovu had been promoted as lead, but as he spoke, she did not feel the self-absorbtion and self-inclinement that royalty gave so many. He spoke to her with no masks, no veils, but rather like who she was, a horse. 

A small smile drifted on her lips, soft but still weighted with change. Katerina assumed that she didn't do well with change, considering that she had never experienced it a day in her 94 years. She would be alright though, in time that was. She felt his eyes on her own, the attention not unwelcomed, but rather unused too. Her words fell out silky, the slight french in her accent lacing with her english. "Yes, the new skies of Helovia are quite captivating, I must say." She spoke, glancing once again at the new stars and constellations that twinkled above the king of creams and the mare of silvers, both of foreign descent but both managing in a world they weren't born in, perhaps they weren't that different at all.

Turning her windows back to the azure gaze of the man, her lips parted again, her intent to answer his question not escaping her thoughts. "The pattern you see upon my skin is named after me, Katerina Stella." She paused, unable to look at him in those moments that her real name floated between them. Gathering the strength that she knew she had, Katerina turned her crowned head to look once more into his vibrant blues. "Over time, it was to expand as I did, and so would the stars in my sky. When I was young I was taught how to read the stars, and each constellation allowed me to read the story of the one who bared it. I marveled in the new teachings, it appeared that the stories of my brethren helped make the blank blacks of the sky not so empty." It was true, without the onyx's of the heavens the stars that glittered could not glitter, could not be seen, but the stories that did glitter on all that darkness, made it bearable. Katerina loved this idea, and as a filly she wanted to have a story worthy to shine in the sky, and to this day, although much had changed, that had not.


OCC: whoops, I sorta got carried away LOL
@Tembovu


"Talk?"

image credits
[/color]

Tembovu the Elephant Posts: 805
World's Edge Captain atk: 7 | def: 9.0 | dam: 7.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 18hh :: 10 HP: 77 | Buff: SWIFT
Mbwene :: African Elephant :: Ashen smitty
#4
the happy ending depends, of course...
Her bright silver gaze meets his own, inquiring azure one. Where his eyes darkened with the evening, hers seemed to glow in the starlight, captivating his sight just as her quiet, accented voice trapped his ears and attention. But he lost her lovely gaze as she spoke of the constellation that painted her coat, and his own eyes drifted to her stellar-marked skin. Vague confusion swamped his mind— until he recalled that he had asked about it when he last saw her.

His eyes traced the starry pattern as she spoke, starting at her shoulder, skimming up her neck, lingering at the corner of her bright silver eye, before ending on the edge of her jaw. He felt her gaze return to his own moving eyes as her lilting words wove a story of an extraordinary world so different than any he had known.

Nearly bewitched in the rhythm of her accent and the ethereal light of the night sky, even the misty mongoose at his hooves had stopped its energetic sprints to stare up at the mare of thick, curly locks. Tearing his eyes from her marking— which seemed to glow like its brethren in the heavens— he turned his great head back to meet her gaze.

Nostrils quivered at the sudden impulse, the sudden need, that bloomed in his barrel to trace the constellation with his muzzle just as his eyes had. He even found his neck starting to stretch out towards her—

But a stomp of his thick leg, tickled by the misty clawing of his mongoose friend, broke the spell that had been woven in the clearing between the two silver bodies. He retracted his slightly extended neck, taking a deep breath of the cool night air to clear it of the spell.

“The constellation as lovely as its name, Katerina,” his low voice was quiet as it lolled into the night. “And your world sounds extraordinary, why did you leave it?” Though his question was probing, he floundered for more conversation so that he could control the urges that fed on the ephemeral light, dark evening, and Katerina’s silver skin.
...on when you end your story.
image | bckg

wut is she doing to him?! XD haha @Katerina

Please tag Tembovu.

Katerina Posts: 37
Outcast
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.1 HH :: 97[8 in Helovia]
ShadowMare
#5
You do not know heartbreak
Not until you've lived as long as I



She could feel his eyes, felt them wondering across her foreign skin. She could see his curiosity, flickering in those enthralling blue gems. She wouldn't have objected his touch, noticing the arch of the great stallion's neck as he reached out. Instead he stopped himself, the sound of his hoof crashing against the ground echoing in her ever sensitive ears. She wondered what stopped him, what force lingered above him that crushed his curiousness. She thought she understood the world, she thought she understood emotions, and equines, but she quickly realized that she didn't. Would she ever?

Maybe that was how the world was, not meant for interpretation. Not meant for the constant questioning and prodding that Katerina always found herself mixed up with. Shaking off the thoughts that was only expected to come with the turmoil that plagued her, she refocused her silvers on the creams of Tembovu. Stepping closer, Katerina stretched her neck out, the diamonds catching the low light of their sisters in the sky. "Touch, I do not mind"  She spoke softly, letting the words drift with her melodic tones.

His deep words whispered in gray drums, soft and soothing. He complimented her name, the sound of her identity on another's lips, Tembovu's lips, not as awful as she had imagined. "Flatterer." Katerina chuckled as she spoke the words, a joyed smile leaking through. A question spilled from rust lips, an answer not one that would easily be given. It wasn't that she wouldn't tell, but rather that she didn't know how to tell. Her eyes became glossed as seconds quickly slipped away before she was able to speak. She remembered her brother, her father, her mother, how happy they used to be. A true family it had seemed, one of royalty, of power, of closeness, of love. But nothing so true--so pure, was ever allowed to last. Her life was but a clock, waiting for the hands of destruction to sound it's ending of happiness and beginning of the terrors that was darkness. Her eyes had left his in her moments of recollection, but when she was brought painfully back to reality she glanced back to his capturing gaze.

"I did not want to leave." She began, exhaling with a deep sadness that she never wanted to think about. "Not at first. Is it not war, heartbreak, and death that brings so many to their knees? It seems that I was another to fall at their hands." She spoke, words beginning to wobble, their balance and flow shattering. Where was her strength? This was no way to act, she could not expose such weakness. Biting at the urge to break, she resumed. "I left after the passing of my brother, seeking an adventure unplagued by the sadness that had struck my home. You see, my brother, was the child everyone loved, I was the mere sister, I was not cared for, I was forgotten." She blinked then, closing her eyes, shielding the silvers from spilling over. Was she speaking to much? Would he laugh at her rawness, her weakness? She quickly stopped talking, fearing too much in this world so unknown so different.






"Talk"
OCC: I LOVE TEMB OKAY
@Tembovu


"Talk?"

image credits
[/color]

Tembovu the Elephant Posts: 805
World's Edge Captain atk: 7 | def: 9.0 | dam: 7.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 18hh :: 10 HP: 77 | Buff: SWIFT
Mbwene :: African Elephant :: Ashen smitty
#6
the happy ending depends, of course...
“Touch, I do not mind.” Her soft melodic voice began to reweave the spell that had bound him just before his crashing hoof. Her neck reaches out towards him and the slender muscles shift beneath constellation, making it dance in the starlight. Navy eyes, which had retrained on her silver ones (he had thought those were safer to look at, but their glowing and entrancing depths proved him wrong), returned to tracing the lines between the stars on her neck.

At her dulcet chuckle, he could refrain from his urges no longer. “Then, may I?” The question was merely a formality, for his pale muzzle and black lips were already stretching back to her coat. Lightly, nearly hovering above her skin, he traced the constellation, nostrils still quivering at the barest touches.

He wasn’t sure what he expected, but the silken coat did not spark or shock his velvet, whiskered muzzle. He stopped his tracings at her jaw, pulling his head away as she finished soaking of her home. The lilt became sad, the phrases breaking from their harmonious rhythm. He watched, along with his mongoose friend who floating and climbed onto his broad back. It watched, as captivated by the foreign mare as the Elephant was (though, perhaps the mist animal was just an extension of himself).

“I cannot imagine being able to forget you, Katerina,” indeed, the low rumble rang with truth in the small space between the equines, “Though I am sorry for your loss, I am glad we have gained you in the Edge.” Perhaps, coming from a different man, these words may have sounded callous. But the genuineness with which the King spoke negated any unsympathetic notions in his statement.
...on when you end your story.
image | bckg

@Katerina

Please tag Tembovu.

Katerina Posts: 37
Outcast
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.1 HH :: 97[8 in Helovia]
ShadowMare
#7
You do not know heartbreak
Not until you've lived as long as I



The heat of his breath swelled with her core, the warmth spreading across the onyx and diamond traced pattern. His whiskers tickled her neck, his touch, slight and gentle it may be, was exhilarating in it's alienness. Somewhere inside, a flame flickered, and Katerina wanted more. A hunger growing that wasn't going to be satisfied anytime soon. The touch of the King's lips had reminded her of the touch of the prince's. She had missed his touch, their adventures, the bond between brother and sister. It was so special what they had, the hates and differences between parental favoritism never taunting their friendship. She did not allow herself to wallow in the pities of his death though for it was a trip that never would allow her return. Breathing in, she let the masculine and earthen aromas of Tembovu bring her back to this world. He pulled away as he met her throat, the warmth and closeness of the giant already being missed. What was it about the man of deserts and creams that so interested her? It was then, that a desire to touch the skin of the desert man grew within her. She reached out, her manners escaping her, and neared his flank. Tentatively at first, to allow the evading of Tembovu if he so wished, she would let her soft maw drag across the rusts, tans, and ebonite's of his thick, muscled hide. Only when his body became out of reach would the silver lift her face from the desert man. What had overcome her, she wasn't sure, but Katerina felt no need to battle it's spell.

Tembovu's soft and deep words comforted her in the twinkling lights of the night. Perhaps, the idea that her parents brought about her, wasn't really who she should think she is. Perhaps there was power underneath the insecurities and curiosity that could be welded. Perhaps, just perhaps, Tembovu was right. She smiled at his words, if only he had been there to tell her parents such, maybe Katerina would've turned out different."You are too kind, Tembovu." She released another giggle, enjoying the taste of his name as she spoke it. She then let her brow rise, silvers questioning, "What of you, is there more to your story?" She asked, wanting to know more about the large man of single horn.

She didn't notice it till now, her attention being completely trained on that of Tembovu. But as her orbs drifted across his corded body that seemed to hint at a past of strength and power, she noticed some sort of misty animal looking thing. How she had picked up on it's foggy appearance before, she wasn't sure, but with inquiring eyes she seemed to ask, what is it?




"Talk"
OCC: opps
@Tembovu


"Talk?"

image credits

Tembovu the Elephant Posts: 805
World's Edge Captain atk: 7 | def: 9.0 | dam: 7.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 18hh :: 10 HP: 77 | Buff: SWIFT
Mbwene :: African Elephant :: Ashen smitty
#8
the happy ending depends, of course...
He had not expected the mare to return his caress in kind, so as her velveteen muzzle started tracing the markings, his thick hide twitched in surprise beneath her touch. Though, quickly, the taunt muscles gave way beneath the lingering strokes, his body unconsciously leaning into her inquiring muzzle. His ever present, but stoutly ignored, loneliness pushing a contented sigh from his chest. The stars, twinkling in silent observation, either rebuke or approval withheld in the monotone light, were lost to the stallion as his eyes drifted close, enjoying the feeling of touch. Reminding him that he could be intimate, he could be cared for.

Somewhere along his timeline his Helovia, he had begun to think of himself as a used man. A man good only for a job to be accomplished, not to be valued for any other reason. He was destructive force on many fronts, and often painful loss appeared wherever he was. But here, with the gentle caresses of Katerina, he was reminded that his legacy was more than a failed comforting shoulder or pair of pained, black-lined cerulean eyes.

So, despite the foreboding that manifested itself as a frantically circling misty mongoose on his haunches, he leaned into and encouraged the soft touches from the celestial-graced mare. Too soon was she pulling away, though a smile and giggle greeted his ears. He grinned in response, “I speak nothing but the truth, Katerina,” his low voice was amused as his lips then closed to gently tug her thick, curly lock.

He stilled, though, as she asked of his story. Gradually, he shifted away from her, silently contemplating an answer that would not spoil the ethereal light and soothing aura between the silver and golden bodies. In his silence, he followed her gaze to the mongoose on his rump. “That is a gift from the goddess, I believe. Perhaps a humorous one, for these misty creatures have begun following us since the turn of the season,” he answered her unspoken question with a slight, lopsided smile.

Though the smile faded as he returned to her question, “Yes, there is more, much more, to my story… Though I prefer to think it began when I came to Helovia, seasons ago.” His low rumble paused as he studied her, realizing it was unfair of him to withhold what she had so freely and easily given. So he internally acquiesced, “But, before Helovia, I lived in a land of dry plains, as far as the eye could see. Ones lucky enough to have two horns upon their brown, such as yours, were considered ‘gifted’ or ‘favored.’ Though, luckily for me, size was also valued in Dorobo, as I had only one horn, despite my parents’ both having two. My brother, though, had two…” His face darkened momentarily at the vague memory of Hasovir… An older brother with so much promise, squandered away by greed. “But greed overtook him, as it did the rest of Dorobo… I miss it at times, I don’t know why. Helovia has so much more to offer…” His low voice trailed off quietly, forlornly.
...on when you end your story.
image | bckg
@Katerina whelp this got away from me XD

Please tag Tembovu.

Katerina Posts: 37
Outcast
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15.1 HH :: 97[8 in Helovia]
ShadowMare
#9
You do not know heartbreak
Not until you've lived as long as I


It was gradual, the way she touched his skin, the way he leaned into her touch. The way she realized that each person had so much more hidden under the coarses of their cloak. She enjoyed the precious moments that the matters of the world, it's taunts and haunts, were void and the only thing that mattered was her maw upon the foreignness of his markings. She wasn't aware how much she wanted to care for and love someone. It was a desire to replace the love she had for her brother, to love again so closely, so lovingly. She had to swallow such urges though, the desires slipping down her throat like cotton. She couldn't love someone, not now(at least that's what she thought.) Did love exist in this world? Was it pure and untainted like it was in hers? She thought that something as large as love surely had to exist, surely had to be real.

But how would she know?

Silver eyes rested in with the layers of Tembovu's blue strands, his deep and alluring words flickering within her. Katerina reached out to nip his neck, it was playful of course, but she glared at him as if pulling her hair had annoyed her. She curled her lips in a smirk though, to scared that he would become afraid to touch her, because Katerina wanted him too.

The more air between them didn't go unnoticed as the cream shifted away from her. He explained the misty mammal and Katerina became even more wondrous, Helovia had goddess' that gave gifts? Maybe there was hope that not all of the other planets is spoiled by the rottenness that so many are. A regret was passed through her thoughts, perhaps digging wasn't what she should of done. Nevertheless, Katerina let his words soak into her soul as he shared a story not too unlike her own. The cream and the celestial became more alike as they went deeper into the layers of each's soul. It was when his words shifted from enthralling, soothing, to pained, lonely, did Katerina reach out once again to comfort him. Even though his massive size loomed over her, the mare did her best to embrace Tembovu, muzzle brushing his shoulder up and down. He could have not needed her, could have not wanted her comfort, but she offered it nonetheless. "I'm sorry Tembovu" She said softly. She offered because she knew, she knew that sometimes home was home and it couldn't ever be replaced. The people could, but the memories, the memories did not fade.

"Talk"
OCC: well
@Tembovu


"Talk?"

image credits

Tembovu the Elephant Posts: 805
World's Edge Captain atk: 7 | def: 9.0 | dam: 7.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 18hh :: 10 HP: 77 | Buff: SWIFT
Mbwene :: African Elephant :: Ashen smitty
#10
the happy ending depends, of course...
An amused snort pushed out of his nostrils at the nip her teeth playfully landed on his thick neck, muscles flexing away from the bite as her teeth closed around his thick hide. But the fleeting sting was welcome— arousing even… He swept the thoughts aside, burying them in the silver shadows of Katerina’s guileless gaze.

She listened, a perfect audience in the celestial light. Only when his words drifted to loneliness did she interrupt— and not with words, but with actions, which the Elephant so greatly valued. Words were so often worthless (Had not he turned his own words to make Dorobo fall? Had not a mare proclaimed to love him, only to walk away?); the simple action of her velvet muzzle on his shoulder spoke volumes more than her apologetic words.

And there was something in the rhythmic stroking, the simple comforting touch that once again stirred the primal, basic needs of the King. Perhaps it was that he had more often been needed as a figurehead lately, perhaps it was because it was so often that he was the one comforting others, or perhaps it was the ephemeral light that made the evening surreal (was this real?). The soft words spoken from softer lips brushed his thick, scarred hide, and he found himself leaning into and returning her effortless embrace. A hum of contentment rumbled, unbidden, in the back of his throat.

The empathy beneath the words of her apology drew his muzzle against her skin, aiming to trace the graceful curve of her shoulder before following the dark dorsal stripe down her spine. Gently he drew in a breath, exotic smells he could not name greeting his nostrils. His eyes drift close as he wills his mind to remain as still and silent as the night.

But it cannot.

Despite the inherent beauty of Katerina, her unknowingly sensual words and voice, and the exhilarating exotic nature of her past, he knows that his actions and arousal stem from his loneliness. It is unfair and selfish for him to love another only because he is lonely, not because he is ready. And this woman, this lovely and captivating mare, deserved either another stallion’s affections or his own, undistracted attentions at another time. Not now, not when his mind was searching for gold instead of silver and his nose was seeking sunshine instead of stars.

So, with lips aiming to linger and brush the middle of her back, he speaks, “Forgive me, Katerina,” and he begins to draw away from her, as he caresses her name, “I’m taking advantage of you, your newness to this world, and my position. I am glad you have chosen a home in the Edge, and if you need anything, please find me,” (even if you don’t need anything, find me) but this last thought was not spoken as he draws further away from the celestial mare to disappear into the shadows to face his woes alone.

Only now does his misty marmot relax, though a sad and lonely expression paints its face.
...on when you end your story.
image | bckg

@Katerina

Please tag Tembovu.


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