"Where brilliance is good and madness is better..."
Helovia Info
Helovia opened in February 2012! We are an active fantasy equine RPG
Where once the world narrowed into naught but gray dust and desolation, the gods called for life. Wielding the elements of fire and light, dark and wind, earth and water, spark and time, they have created Helovia. The realm is set within the mythical globe of Loorien, a planet rich with all variety of creatures and blessed with all manner of magic. Originally populated by nomadic, tribal characters, they've since grown into massive empires saturated with culture and history. Separated into four distinct segments of Helovia, called "The Regions," each band of horse strong enough and capable enough, took up the power and responsibility of leadership. Unicorns, old, wise and mysterious, took to the north, hidden in forests of mists and shadows and rarely making themselves known beyond their cliffs of the World's Edge. Equines, vast, organized and militaristic, split into two, one group went north to the Windtossed Foothills and the other group went south to the Dragon's Throat. Pegasus remained nomadic, making their homes in various parts of The Wilds in a migratory manner. For many generations, the land was peaceful and calm, but peace was never the way of the gods. With a clash of argument, war and bloodshed massacred Helovia, and in the aftermath, the realm was eerily quiet. Now, as newcomers sweep into this land, they are met with the lingering bitterness of the gods and the struggle to reclaim what was lost. Nothing remains safe or certain while sorcerers and soldiers alike brood and bide their time for revenge, honor and glory.
Site Wide Plots
Kaos :: The Beginning of the End ☼ - 6/2017 - Kaos placed Helovia in a time-bubble for a short period of time, but the Helovian gods are fighting back. But Kaos is powerful- far more powerful than anyone thought. This may be the beginning of the end of Helovia as we know it.
Kisamoa :: A New Kind of Kaos ☼ - 3/2017 - Kisamoa asks Helovians to help him restore the Spectral Marsh. Which side will you choose?
Invasions :: All Out War ☼ - 5/2/16 - New layout and the brand new invasion rules are up! Thank you for your patience and we look forward to getting started with this new adventure.
The Rift :: Gods Do Die ☼ - 8/2015 - Helovia Gods are saving the Rift from corrupt gods! Can Helovians band together against these foreign deities?
The Literal Ship ☼ - 2/8/15 - Oh no! You have to pair up for Valentine's day!
Sky Island :: Murder ☼ - 10/25/14 - Vesta has been found dead on the island, and the gods have called to you to solve the murder!
Sky Island :: Peace ☼ - 7/7/14 - An island has appeared in the sky! Clouds carry Helovians from the Veins to the sky.
Restoration :: We Welcome the Dawn ☼ - 9/21/13 - The sun has finally risen on this day, giving the land new light, but the Time God and the Sun God have yet to be seen.
Endless Night :: Broken Magic Plot ☼ - 8/30/13 - The earth god has returned and is walking across Helovia to heal the land. Every area can now be considered lush and prosperous, but the sun has still not risen.
☼ - 7/19/13 - The moon has risen in the sky, heralding the return of the Goddess of the moon. Lamp trees which light the paths have grown brighter, moon flowers which grow in dark places have begun to grow and prosper and the world is brighter, filled with a new hope.
Endless Night :: Dead Magic Plot ☼ - 6/22/13 - The gods of Helovia, in order to protect the world, have disappeared into the rift, leaving the world sunless, moonless and magic-less in their absence. Only the herdlands have a source of light, but lamp-trees with glowing leaves and branches sporadically line the popular roads and paths from place to place.
Doppleganger Plot ☼ - 6/20/13 - The God of Time is still struggling to close the rift though which the dopplegangers have come. He has requested that his brothers and sister assist in closing this hole, but without knowing why it opened, the task is proving difficult. Magic still remains faulty and hard to control, but the herdlands continue to be places of refuge for those who are fortunate enough to call these lands home.
ORANGEMOON cools off the lands with a a viscious force. Colder than normal, a sign of things to come during Frostfall, Helovia is bathed in a rich tropical lushness - albiet a cold one. The coastlines of the Dragon's Throat are pelted constantly by tidal waves, and the desert climate is humid but chilly. Ice begins to form early in the Aurora Basin leaving the winding trails slick and dangerous. The mists of the World's Edge coat everything in a glistening crystalline shine which encourages mould to grow everywhere. The Spectral Marsh is the only area which remains fertile, blissfully temperature and lush.
Cotm
Character of the Month for
June, 2017
WEAVER, Corporal of the Aurora Basin, is a relatively recent addition to Helovia and has taken it by storm. Branded with the seal of Death on her chest, intrigue and interest follow both her past and present. Though she is assuredly beautiful, her sometimes sharp personality reveals that there is more to this uni-peg hybrid than meets the eye. Proving herself able on the battlefield in the Basin’s warrior ranks, we can’t wait to see her test her mettle against the looming Kaos happenings! Congratulations!
Helovia RPG was created by Tamme and Blu and coded by Tamme also known as Schwartze. All coding, palettes and imagery are copyrighted to the website and are not for use outside of Helovia. Thank you to our ServerMaster for hosting Helovia. A special thanks goes to Neo for all of her coding help and fixing Tamme's errors, Boom, for her loyal service and creation of the Time God, and to Ali for her consistent contributions and dedication.
All Darwin knew was that it was getting cold. It had been awhile since he had been in Helovia to remember the chill of Frostfall and it definitely began to crawl under his skin. If it weren’t for the warmth from Antaa, he figured he probably would have froze. So he travelled further south, away from where he remembered the Windtossed Foothills to be – a place of which he avoided at all costs just on the off chance of stumbling across good ol’ Archibald. Though as time moved on, he began to realize he couldn’t afford to be too picky with his stops anymore, now that he had a companion to take care of. Something he never thought he would get to experience in his life. Now that it was here, he was struggling. What did Phoenixes even eat anyway? He had tried to help her by getting little mice and shrews in the woods, but now that they were here, there weren’t any woodland animals to even attempt to find for the poor chick.
Antaa crooned to him, her stomach obviously quite upset. Her talons clutching to his mane as they flew over a land that Darwin had never seen before. Full of desert and water, warmer than the northern lands but also more open. Though sacrifices would have to be made for the survival of a creature that had wormed her way into his brain. He couldn’t think without feeling a pull from the phoenix. She was curious about everything, this life of hers already very short but so full of life. Darwin had spent much of the time alone so coming across others were something that got Antaa quite excited. Meanwhile, Darwin had begun to feel some fatherly emotions when it came to the little chick. She looked up to him with bright eyes every time he transformed. What was better than a phoenix taking care of a phoenix? The perfect disguise. But the shift was painful and Darwin had felt the need to endure the pain, not knowing that the feeling of exhaustion transferred to his precious bonded.
He breathed in the salty humid air, flattening out his wings to descend from the sky. The pale Pegasus carrying the flaming bird upon his back as she clung to him with an ever growing growl of a stomach. Upon landing on the sands, he looked around him taking note of all of the water that surrounded the various islands in this land. He chose one of the biggest ones, hoping that he land carried a bit of life for his companion to eat. He was sure the water had to carry something, but he was never really much of a fisherman. Though if he found nothing, he knew he’d have to succumb to the chilly waters to make sure Antaa even lived.
The Phoenix then began to slide down his wing as he lowered his plumes to touch the ground. The chick chirped to him almost as if it were a thank you from her exhaustion. Darwin chucked to himself briefly before nodding. “I know you’re tired. I’ll try to find something, love.” He spoke almost as if he was trying to assure himself, heavy blackened legs reached out before him to lift a bush to search for any kind of vermin that might reside beneath it. Though these sands seemed to have a variety of things that weren’t at all what he wanted. Meanwhile, Antaa decided she was going to sit in the sand, brushing them up to her sides as if she made herself a small nest, reaching her head around to place her beak gently into the crook of her feathers to sleep while Darwin did all the hard work. She was still young, and he understood that. But it grew difficult for him at times – it grew quite exhausting all the time.
He attempted to be sneakier while he searched for something, avoiding giving his large shadow away from what he was preying on. Lowering his head he could smell that there was something living within this particular brush. He straightened himself up a bit, pulling up onto his hind legs and striking down on the bush with his large hooves, aiming to hit the creature that lived under the brush. Though his attack had failed him as he aimed for the ground. The creature had lived in the higher branches of the bush – a bird nonetheless – that immediately took flight away from him. Grumbling to himself, he relaxed his wings letting them fall to drag across the sands. “Goddamn it.” Cursing under his breath, his stone eyes caught sight of the waters and the vibrant movements beneath them. Perhaps a mirage? Darwin wasn’t great with failure and so he chose to try not to take any chances.
She returned, as she always did, to the Riptide Isles. Forever seeking, forever searching, for a way back to the Rift. She had done it, she had found a place safe from the evil Vjanta; Vjanta, that evil Tigress, had been conquered! She needed to tell them, to save them, to lead them to Helovia.
But, in the browning of trees and freezing of nights, she had failed to find a way back to the Rift. She had searched, she had combed the dry and desiccated lands, looking for a portal, a pathway, something.
But there was nothing.
So she returned to the Riptide Isles again, failure and grief weighing heavily on her mind as she ascending the slow up-sweep of the ocean floor. Even the waters became colder here than they did in Akvo— there the sea was forever a temperate degree. Slowly, with puffs of coarse sand at her webbed hooves, she broke the surface of the waves. The sea was gentle today— nothing like the tempests she had seen earlier in the season. But the air was cold, despite the southern latitude.
Wallowing inside her head and failures, it was only the sudden crash and angry squawking of birds that brought her attention to her surroundings. Sharp teeth bare, scaled ears pin flush with the ridges of her neck, too-large eyes narrow as she crouches, ready to attack or defend. The ringed gaze finds the grey, winged stallion, and a warning growl tore from her throat.
Those with wings were often predators in the Rift.
But this man— his wings drug dejectedly in the sand. And he clearly was no predator— as his prey still circled above with angry, insulting squawks. Narrowed gaze leaves him for a mere second, seeing a hatchling nestled in the sand behind him, before jerking back to his bright, line-accented eyes.
“What are you doing?” Her growl demanded above the gentle surf.
Antaa shifted under the swift uncomfort that Darwin began to feel. His frustration caused her restlessness and he began to wonder if taking on such a creature was even a good idea in the first place. She was so needy and he lacked the skills to make sure she got what she needed. Was it spoiling or just life? He wasn’t sure, but he could tell through their brand new connection that she needed food, and she needed it now.
“What are you doing?”
A growl came toward him and caught him by surprise considering he had been distracted by the angry squawks of the bird he had tried to kill. In a swift reaction, he pulled his wings into himself, carrying them strong upon his back as his stone eyes gazed across the water where he had thought he was delusional in the possibility of seeing something. Evidently, his sight was better than his mind – but the creature he saw emerge from the water was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Raising an eyebrow to her, he watched her for a few moments unsure of how to even answer it. Honesty? Or not? Perhaps this aquatic beast could keep a secret?
Darwin sighed to himself briefly. “I don’t want trouble. I’ve just recently started taking care of this –” He began, swinging his heavy bearded head to the direction of the flaming Phoenix chick nestled into the sands. “She’s hungry and I can’t seem to find any rats in these stupid sands.” His ears flattened briefly to his skull, angry at himself to revealing his problem to a stranger. But the more he thought about it, perhaps she could help. She appeared as though she could swim – something Darwin had never learned to do – and perhaps would be willing to help get Antaa something so she could stop pulling on their emotional line.
The phoenix then pushed herself up from the little sand nest and bounded over to her bonded, eyes bright and wide as she looked at the creature in the water with such awe. Her beak partially open as she literally gawked at the creature. Taking note of this, Darwin looked down to the chick with an almost embarrassed look. “Stop staring, Antaa it’s not polite.” He grumbled to her, hoping that the little chick of fire wouldn’t push away their only hope at food for her.
Slowly, scaled ears swivel forward from their pinning and teeth are covered by lips as he talks. He doesn’t want to cause trouble? Eyes blink once in disbelief, a single glance given to the now-retreating, insulted prey. It seemed that bird begged to differ from the stallion’s sighing explanations. But she remains silent, large eyes returning to their unblinking gaze. Though they follow his bearded gesture (her eyes linger on the beard for a moment, having missed it in her previous, aggressive response to the man. Were beards considered a sign of affluence or stature in Helovia? She certainly didn’t find it a appearing) towards the flaming chick.
At the sound of anger fusing into his voice, she stiffened again, ears beginning to tilt back as she shifted into a more aggressive stance out of habit. Anger in a flighted creature could quickly become dangerous to a horse of the sea. The ridges at her neck stand on end as the sharp fins around her face flare out in a silent warning. Though her teeth remained sheathed behind hairless lips.
Eyes, drawn to the smallest of motions, jerk to the flaming hatchling as it tottered beside the grey, winged man. She watched the flames licking from its skin— apparently not burning his skin? Her head cocked ever so slightly, though she stayed her questions, instead returning her gaze instead back to the pegasus. He called her ‘Antaa,’ and referenced some kind of manners that the chick ought to have. Staring wasn’t polite? All the militant, aquatic mare did was stare. She rarely blinked. That was rude?
Oh well.
“Who are you?” Again, her throaty words were a demand more than a question. “And why do her flames not burn?” Bladed horn motioned towards Antaa at his side. She took a half-step backwards, preparing to disappear beneath the waves once her questions were answered. The little, dependent creature needed food. And it was clear this man was inept at providing.
His heavy bearded head sat near the bird as she turned to look away from the aquatic creature. Her eyes wide and beak hanging partially open as she began to chirp at him as if to say that she did have manners and that he needed to learn some. All Darwin could do was roll his eyes with a sigh until the creature addressed him again. Lifting his head to gaze upon her some more, her stance seemed defensive – but he couldn’t blame her. Fire and water didn’t mix. He made a mental note to keep his magic from coming for the chance that perhaps Antaa wouldn’t be fed this day.
A slight shrug and bob of his head he offered her a small smug smile. “I’m Darwin. This is Antaa. And I can only assume her flames don’t burn me because she’s my companion.” He spoke with a nod. “That or I’m some kind of god.” A chuckle passed his darkened lips until he turned his head away from her again. Antaa’s chirps had died and she resumed her duties of watching the mare with a huge amount of curiosity. Her flames dying down ever so slightly due to exhaustion. The slight worry passed through their connection and Darwin’s brows furrowed slightly.
“So who are you? And what is this place? I was born in Helovia but have never seen of a place such as this.” His voice carried to her, a deep rich charm hidden beneath it in an ever longing hope she could help them.
02-09-2016, 08:51 PM (This post was last modified: 02-09-2016, 08:52 PM by Aquila.)
the tempest of an unrelenting sea
She stays her webbed hoof in the surf for a moment as he answers her questions. A companion? Overly large eyes dart between the two of them: the bearded, winged man and the gawking, burning chick. Though it seemed her flames were burning shorter and dimmer as they stood on the beach, and Aquila felt the importance of purveying food for the little creature.
But her eyes blink once more, as claims to be a god. Gods are not to be trusted— they can be swayed and wreak destruction. Ears pin flush with her ridges once again, eyes staring in a combination of shock, fear, and anger— only to realize that this winged man was joking. His rich chuckle brought a snort from her ridged nostrils— to joke about gods was dangerous business.
Further questions, carried on a deep voice riddled with charism, fell into ears that were already turning towards the sea. “I am Aquila.” was the only answer she gave before disappearing into the waves. The other questions could wait, the priority was feeding Antaa.
As she slipped beneath the waves, it felt good to have a task she could actually fulfill. There was no failure here, catching meals beneath the sea was natural for the fierce mare. She paused along some coral; squid, fish, eel? What to prey upon for the little hatchling…
It was not long before she was resurfacing, a large lobster stretching the limits of her jaws; it’s weight making her head hang level with her withers. It’s huge claws waved wildly around her face, open and searching for something to sever, but the mare’s hold on it’s body did not allow for those claws to grab her.
She dropped the writhing crustacean to the sand, a webbed hoof pinning one claw to the sand while her bladed horn deftly sliced the tail and claws from the body. “No bones,” she said by way of explanation of her choice. Many of the reef fish had small bones that could choke the slim gullet of Antaa. The sweet flesh of the lobster did not.
Sliding the tail and claws in the direction of the bird, she turned her unblinking gaze back towards Darwin, droplets sliding over her scaled skin. “‘This place’ is the Riptide Isles, from the Rift. I come from Akvo, a region in the Rift not far from the Isles— or it wasn’t until your gods closed the portal,” her throaty voice was matter of fact, until the end. Her staring eyes shifted, staring over the waters in the direction were her family had once been.
But no longer. They were lost to her. And she to them.
“Were you not at the battle?” Her demanding question returned her unblinking eyes to the winged pegasus.
@Darwin don't feel pressured to match my length, I'm just having a fun time writing her :D
Her appearance seemed to change as he joked about being a god. Fluted ears perked to her in curiosity. Wondering just how she felt about gods and what had caused her such hostility. The thought was lost however as she spoke her name and Darwin turned his heavy head back to the shrieking chick, full of discomfort and upset ever more so now. Yet, when Darwin returned his gaze back to the newly named Aquila, she had disappeared. The Pegasus huffed, looking away with a roll of his eyes. “Well that’s rude.” He muttered under his breath, his beard shifting with the movement from his jaw.
Moving his heavy legs closer to Antaa, he seemed to shrug to her, looking down with a small frown crossing his maw. Unsure what to do now that the only creature that could help them had vanished. It hadn’t occurred to the stallion that Aquila might be helping him. But instead he just figured she had gotten his hopes up ever so slightly and left for them to sit there. A phoenix crying of starvation and a stallion useless in providing.
Then a movement caught Antaa’s eyes and she cried with a more excited wail. The sudden change got Darwin’s attention as his river stone gaze trailed over to where Aquila had vanished. The aquatic mare appearing again and coming onto the sands making quick work of the lobster she had caught. It was a creature Darwin had never seen before – both Aquila and the lobster – and his jaw swung slightly open with how effortlessly she seemed to prepare the meal. Antaa bounded forward, shrieking with delight to the mare as she pushed the meal to her. No matter how much Antaa wanted to dive right into the meal, she allowed her crimson gaze to sweep over the mare, her beak parted in a smile of sorts. Darwin watching, filled with delight from both the amazement that someone hadn’t left him dry and the delight passed through his connection with the phoenix realized he had let his jaw drop. Slamming them shut he dipped his head to her. “She says thank you, I’m assuming.” He casted a quick look to the phoenix as she began to dig first into the lobster tail. Her thin beak making quick work of getting the meat from the shell.
Darwin cautiously took a step toward the aquatic mare, eyes glued to her with an ever thankful smile. “Thank you Aquila.” He spoke gently until she continued, asking about the god battle. He shook his head and tilted his head to her. “Sounds interesting. No, I wasn’t here. I had left Helovia when I was just a yearling. I’ve just recently returned, I guess after all of the excitement.” His lips pursed momentarily as his gaze dropped from the mare with a curious eye. “Your land must have been beautiful.” He admitted, gaze returning to her unblinking gaze. If the winged man hadn’t found her so exotic and beautiful, he might have been frightened. Especially by her sharpened teeth. But alas, he was curious over everything. Curious to learn more about what had happened while he was gone. Curious to learn how to make friends again.
Aquila ignored the slack jaw of Darwin— she was becoming accustomed to such looks in Helovia— though the smallest and most fleeting of smiles ghosted across her face as the thankful clacking and smile of Antaa’s beak. Round eyes leave the feasting chick for Darwin, as he guesses to interpret the obvious implication’s of his bonded’s motions. “You assume? You cannot speak to her?” The demanded inquiry was colored with surprise— slowly emotion was beginning to color the vibrant mare as her wariness of the winged stallion ebbed.
Though eyes whip to the cautious step he took towards her, glare lingering on his nearing hoof in the sand before snapping up to his bright gaze. Scaled ears tilted back, threatening to pin once again— but, at his gentle thanks, they twitch and sweep forward and she remains in place, rather than retreating away from the encroaching and dangerous wings.
She watches and listens silently, emotion once again flickering across her face as he mentions Akvo. It’s a sad, poignant look that fleetingly crosses her ridged face and too-large eyes. Her unblinking eyes glance down, then seaward, uneasy with the rush that filled her beneath the intent and curious stare of the stallion.
Though she does not shift or retreat. No, she is a soldier, and so she holds her ground and forces her gaze back meet his— though there is a new vulnerability behind the glassy, aqua and yellow irises. “It was. The coral was more colorful than anything in Yothea— Until Vjanta destroyed it,” she missed the vivid hues of her home. All seemed so dull here in Helovia, eked of color. “Helovians and their god killed Vjanta, the Tigress,” though, strangely, the mare did not feel indebted to the Gods here. Mostly because they sealed her from her culture— whom she had been charged with finding a safe place of refuge. “But I cannot bring my people here, now.” Her words, surprising in multitude for the militant mare, ended abruptly.
As she questioned him, he watched her curiously. He noted the fact that she seemed to be warming up to him even the slightest bit – which the Pegasus considered to be a small victory. He shrugged lightly, nodding. “She can’t talk yet, but I can feel her emotions. I can talk to her and she can respond by emotion and visuals. Like pictures? I can see images she sends me – like when she’s riding on my back while we’re flying. She likes to send pictures.” A chuckle escaped his bearded maw.
Though Darwin takes note of her shift in emotion as he approached her, but also happy in knowing that she didn’t move away from him. Instead she stood like a pillar, watching his every move like a hawk. Did she think he would hurt her? He had much better thing to do than hurt someone so kind as to help him out in his time of need. If anything, he figured he owed her a debt. Something he could hope to repay, but nothing quite set in stone. Instead he watched her as she spoke, listening to her every word as well as keeping a stone gaze on Antaa now and then as she divulged herself to the fullest, beginning to play with the claw.
“I’m sorry for you loss Aquila.” A small frown found the man’s lips. He dropped his gaze from her briefly before looking out across the endless mirror-like waters. “As harsh as it may be, sometimes liberation means losing those you trust and love the most.” His ear shifted in a way as if he seemed to be thinking heavily. It reminded him of his own family, his upbringing, his murderous brothers. So when he turned his head back to the mare, he offered her a small smile. “My mother was killed by my brothers just after I was born. I fled Helovia when I was old enough afraid they might turn on me. It was hard being away but it was for the better.” He began to conclude, his voice growing a bit heavier with the weight of his words. “I’m not back to see my siblings. But I am here because eventually everyone ends up back where they started.” He nodded to her, beard waving gently with such movements. “And one day I hope you will too.”
He hoped deep down that she wouldn’t leave. Part of him longed for the mare’s company and quick wit. Even though he had only known her for such a short time, he had already grown attached. Debts did that, he assumed. And he hoped that even if she got the chance to return to her beloved home, that perhaps their friendship would grow in the meantime and she would at least be able to tell him a goodbye before leaving him.
02-19-2016, 03:31 PM (This post was last modified: 02-19-2016, 03:31 PM by Aquila.)
the tempest of an unrelenting sea
“…like when she’s riding n my back while we’re flying. She likes to send pictures.” Scaled ears perk ever so slightly, head cocking somewhat. The little chick rode on his back? Large eyes leave his face, gaze traveling to the broad expanse of muscular back between his folded wings— what would it be like to fly?
Slightly curious, distracted gaze blinks abruptly, jerking back to his his face at his apology. A small frown on her own face mirrors his as she reins in the strange direction of her thoughts. She was an Akvian, a horse of the sea. Her place was not among the clouds; it was among the coral and currents.
Though she is not left long to dwell on the strangeness of her thoughts, as he continues with heavy thoughts. “‘Liberation’?” The four-syllabic word comes whip-like from her mouth. She spoke of her home for but second of her home, and suddenly he ‘knew’ she wanted to be liberated? Something dangerous washed across her angular features, ridges growing with her ire. Liberation was not what she sought.
But this man, ‘Darwin’, is continuing, spilling heavy words of a sad history upon sands that were both foreign and familiar to the mare. The dangerous gleam in her large eyes quiets, though her ridges do not shrink until he finished last utterance. “Eventually everyone ends up back where they started… I hope you will too.”
She watched the gentle sway of his beard (perhaps there was something redeeming about the hairy adornment). The flood of emotions wove their complex deluge in her mind— a mind that was more used to assessing risks than balancing a sentimental checkbook. And the severe woman huffed softly to herself, forcefully pushing aside these thoughts.
Instead, she shifted her gaze from his beard to his eyes, bluntly changing the topic, “When will she fly on her own?” Hmm, so perhaps not an entire change of subject— just a resurfacing of her early thoughts of flying on his back, in a subdued and roundabout context.
Darwin’s ears flattened briefly as she shot the spears from her lips to him. Antaa felt the discomfort that had gathered within his mind, chirping to him to try and relax him some. Instead, the Pegasus frowned briefly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed. The Gods have always been kind to me, so I believe I was under the assumption that perhaps they did it for the better good.” His voice was calm, stone eyes watching her as he confessed his apology to her. Would the Gods have really done something so harsh? Taking creatures from their home and make them live here in Helovia as punishment? His brow furrowed in his frustration with the idea.
The Sun God had always been particularly kind to Darwin. His brother Everrs was told by Sunny himself to keep an eye on Darwin – to not allow him to be used like his mother was. It was something that stuck with him, but never quite thought about until this very instance. A small sigh passed his lips silently, thankful that the aquatic mare had continued. Antaa moved closer from her feast to the stallion, reaching his feathered legs and nibbling the fluff there to clean her beak, chirping in content and thanks to Aquila again. “I’m not sure. I’ve been doing my best to teach her. She can glide alright now, but it’s difficult. I have to be in my other form to try and teach her.” He nodded to the mare, lowering a wing to the ground for the chick.
Antaa hopped just like Edgar had taught her to do, rushing over to the long feathers that touched the sands, clamoring up the plumes to reside on his back in between his wing joints. A small feeling of content growing strong within his chest as the phoenix looked to Aquila with bright eyes, a smile residing on her lips as she snuggled into his ivory mane. He returned his wings to his sides, trying his best not to scare his friend away.
“Do you have any magic?” He questioned, curiously. His eyes glinting with excitement in the hopes that perhaps she did? What if she could breathe underwater? What if she survived only on fish? What would it be like to swim all the time? Did she do it because it reminded her of home or because she could only survive near the water? The possibilities were endless and he did his best to wrap his mind around the entire ordeal, his eyes never leaving her aquatic pelt, both admiring her strength and her appearance.
There is soft chirping from Antaa precedes the calm apology that pins her with his river-stone eyes. Unconciously, the fins alongside her face wave gently— an Akvian gesture of acceptance or gratitude. Not that Darwin would be able to read just a gesture, the mare realized as the gentle breeze from her waving fins tickled the sides of her face. But she was surprised that she made such a motion towards him— towards anyone. She did not often gesticulate like that, only towards her family…
Though perhaps he would read the flash of acceptance across her intense face. That was much easier to read than her cultural signals. Though she remained silent as he answered her questions, ears trained on Darwin while eyes trained on Antaa to watch her antics. She wiped her beak, awkwardly hopped and ascended to tangle into his grey mane. The little creature looking so comfortable, snuggled into soft locks— her ridges shivered once at the thought of silken strands replacing them.
“Your ‘other form’?” The question, again, demanded an answer. But, this time, there was no caution or growl in her throaty voice. Only curiosity tinged her voice as she fixed the flaming chick and grey stallion with her unblinking gaze. She had not tensed nor threatened to bolt at the shifting of his great wings— for better or worse, she was being lulled into security around the man.
And then he turned a question upon her. “Magic?” A bit of confusion wrinkled the edges of her ridged nostrils. Magic was rich in the sea, her having some was natural, so why would he ask? “Yes. My scales flash in warning when I am threatened. My gills breathe the sea. My tail is barbed with poison,” she swung her tail around her haunches as she spoke, brown barbs gleaming in the sun, "Do you not have any?" Why was she telling him all of this? She snapped her lips shut, awaiting and answer— unknown to her that poison no longer laced her tail.
Antaa began to spend the next few moments as the Aquatic mare spoke to preen her firey orange feathers, continuing the gesture into Darwin’s ivory mane. Yet the stallion was transfixed on Aquila as she questioned his other form, her voice growing gentler. Darwin’s chest began to billow with pride at perhaps he was actually making a friend with this apparent newcomer to Helovia. So he smiled to her and nodded. “I can turn into a Phoenix, like Antaa here.” He lifted his head a bit, gesturing to the phoenix that chirped in disappointment with Darwin’s head jerking. “That’s why I think she thinks I’m her mother or something. I was in that form when she hatched and she hasn’t left me yet.” He shrugged briefly, his smile growing brighter as she continued to speak.
His eyes watched her as his ears drank in everything she said. It took all of his will to not drop his jaw as she moved her barbed tail with such flawlessness. “The phoenix is all that I have.” He admitted, perhaps a bit sheepishly. She seemed to have so much and here he was just able to turn into a flaming bird. He wondered what other magic he could get – if the sun god would be kind enough to grace him with a fiery addition to his already intense transformation magic. Though part of him worried from it – the transformation was excruciatingly painful, but once in the form it didn’t hurt. It was just getting there that seemed to be the bane of his existence. Either way, he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, turning his attention back onto the mare.
“Remind me not to get on your bad side. I don’t think I’d like the feel of those barbs in me.” A throaty laugh escaped his maw as his posture relaxed even further. Instead, he inhaled briefly – feeling the tug of Antaa during her cleaning process on his mane and its growing annoyance. “Do you live somewhere here now? Or just wander?” He questioned, cocking his head, his feathers ruffling ever so calmly in the wind. “I prefer sleeping wherever I choose with nothing I’m forced to do.” He admitted, remembering the duties to herds that he had learned whilst growing up in the Foothills. A part of him secretly hoping that she was a vagabond like him and that they'd be able to explore and travel together. He was getting used to her crass and he rather liked the interaction. He wondered briefly if she did too, or if this whole "getting to know you" thing was boring her.
02-24-2016, 10:01 AM (This post was last modified: 02-24-2016, 10:02 AM by Aquila.)
the tempest of an unrelenting sea
Too-big eyes watch as Darwin answers her— he can turn into a phoenix? As if having wings wasn’t enough, the man could turn into fiery, flighted creature? Gaze sweeps him once, as if expecting flames to sprout from his feathers and skin— though, strangely, she does not tense or get defensive at this thought. On their sweep back to his face, her eyes arrest on Antaa as she preens both her feathers and his silken locks. “You think it is just your other form that keeps her with you?” There is a mild undercurrent of disbelief in her throaty voice, “You are not a phoenix now, but she is curled in your mane.” Was there a hint of jealousy in those words?
The mare, so used to be surrounded by her people, was now a lone island in a foreign sea. She shoved this thought severely from her mind, gaze forcefully snapping away from Antaa and to Darwin’s teal eyes. Though his gaze was fixed on her barbed tail, which she flicked and the rattle of barbs buzzed through the air. She flicked an ear back towards them— they did not make such a noise beneath the sea.
His attention shifts back to her face, as hers does to his, and his hearty laugh and amused words break the air between them. And (finally) a smile sweeps across her severe face. It’s a strange thing to see, adding some sort of austere beauty to her war-painted features. “Keep your wings and flames to yourself, and I shall do the same with my barbs,” despite the serious meaning of her words, a humor laced and lightened her tone.
“Do you live somewhere now?…I prefer sleeping wherever I choose…” Her smile fades as his questions are voiced. “I sleep alone,” her answer was immediate, mind promptly (perhaps alarmed) negating the notion of her sleeping with him. Though that may not have been the intention of his speech, his easy charm and obvious care he had for Antaa combined with her isolation led her mind down the path of coupling Akvians creating small seahorses. Uncharacteristically, her eyes blink twice and her staring gaze darts away from him once. A tense pause extends, before more words growl from her throat, “I have been trying to find Akvo. I have not been trying to find a new home.” Again, the sadness flashed amidst her confused chagrin, “But now, I should find one, I think.” This was said as a question— should she? What could she do if not be a warrior for nation?
@Darwin this was awkward to write, because she's being weird... I hope it came across okay XD
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