the Rift


[PRIVATE] [Lotherarius Capture] Red Vines

Knox Posts: 262
Outcast atk: 4 | def: 7.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17hh :: 7 Years [Tallsun] HP: 67.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Jen
#1

image by deadair @ flickr.com</style>

round all the pieces up, but they just don't fit the same.</style>



In the Birdsong dark, everything feels sticky and soft. Knox pushes through it, his figure cloaked and his charge blinded behind him. His teeth clench over a long red vine, something given to his prisoner in the dark as a guide.

"Take this and you will see again."

More of a threat than a comforting welcome, but doesn't this business always have some bite? His tail is silken, red, and white--falls beautifully from his hind and barely stirs with his motion. It was a slow walk but now they are here, the wind low and the night full with a glowing, pinkish moon. Knox shrugs Huric's weighty shoulders and lets out a bellowing neigh--a call for his brother, alone.

The duty falls upon him, then, to turn to his captive. The beast is impressive; broad with his wings and built, it seems, for battle. No wonder Knox has chosen this form to face him, young as it may be.

The magic he has cast on the stallion, a silver thread of smoke, pulls away with a simple tug of Knox's essence just after Knox discards his shadowy cloak and reveals Huric's rose form. He has a warm smile ready--as welcoming as he can manage. "We're here," Knox says with a non-threatening step closer. The other stallion is likely disoriented, finding himself in a new place and suddenly in the throes of night's embrace.

"Stay calm. I am Huric, and these are the Hidden Falls."

He pauses, as if considering. What to say?

{Huric:} Tell him...
{Roanne:} Tull hum he uhs safe.

Another pause, a soft nod to the self. "You are safe here."


knox</style>
& manhattan</style>



@Lotherarius @Archibald

This is private for now, but mostly so it can keep moving. Time is on absent (or will be shortly) so we can bounce back and forth for a bit Danjah before she joins in.

If you're interested in joining for some reason (a sneak that wants to see the process, a warrior that wants to meet buff old Lotherarius) please skype me to ask.

Lotherarius Posts: 37
Outcast
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.0hh :: 6 :: Ages in Tallsun
Danjah
#2
see—
I’ve already waited
too long
and all my hope is gone.
Darkness. It was all the blood-red brute envisaged in his pools, they felt useless and drained of the light. It had been a quick process, painless but imminently disorientating for him. It pained his mind to be unaware of what was going on except for the sounds and smells of the terraria, hearing what must be the birds that came out early for Birdsong, just as Frostfall was coming to close. But it was hard to concentrate on these things when his mind was dancing with the prospect of what would happen to him now. He heard a dark voice, definitely a male voice that called to him, demanding that he take something to regain his sight.

But that was just it, it was how he had lost his sight that caused him to feel so much more paranoid than his original demeanor. The stag's attention spun back to the moment he had lost it, a fleeting glimpse as he was wandering through the unknown territories, trees hanging by the side of his bodice and his daggers delicately missing the rocks that scattered through the long grass that kept them well hidden. Until suddenly he had lost everything. The trees immediately ceased to exist, as did the rocks, the grass, the light. It had all gone dark and suddenly Lotherarius was that poor little colt that had wandered too far from his mother: helpless. Hitting into the trees that had acted as his camoflage, the brute staggered and clanked against everything, smacking his skull against a large branch. Dazed, it felt like he had blacked out but he remained silent. The chief was not going to cry out like that helpless colt, he was going to stand and wait for his ambusher to attack before he could strike a blow...

***

"Take this and you will see again."

Lotherarius snapped back to attention once more as he remembered the words his captor spoke to him, the threatening tone causing large cold sweats to course around his tapered bodice. It was not from the cold of Frostfall, it was the thought of what he would face when he took whatever it was that he was being forced to have in order to regain his sight. It could be poison, he thought silently, his heartbeat beating faster and faster as his stomach dropped at the thought of dying. But he decided to just take it, reaching out and grabbing it to find a long soft stick, eating it with his pulse deeply lodged in his throat as it slithered down. What was he doing?

Eventually, the cloud of black de-misted and he was able to see once more. The process was quick in real time but in his own paranoid mind it felt like eternity. It went from blurry to clear as he attempted to focus on who it was that had both taken and given him back his sight. The beautiful azure orbs could see once more but the light of day seered away and pierced his pools. His captor's appearance swayed the poor stag further, his cranium shaking from the disbelief at who had managed to take his sight away. The other brute did not give off the impression that he was in any way able to do such a thing. With his heart still racing he took in the appearance of quite a heavily built creature, mahogany pelt with slight rose tinted points and strikingly pink pools with a distinctive red tint of the mane. His words, accompanied with a smile, beckoned for him in a welcoming way that struck another sense of disbelief into Lotherarius.

"Stay calm. I am Huric, and these are the Hidden Falls."

It was hard to even attempt to stay calm, the patchwork of his intricate bodice quivering with both fright and anger at the thought of being blinded and now in a territory he had not even known. What was going on? With a gruff sound of anger he spoke, his voice raised,
"It is hard to stay calm to the creature who blinded me!" Lotherarius opened his velveteens to speak once more but then the terraria caught his eye. He let them glance over but for a moment before tearing them back to the brute that dared cross him. He was stood amongst more trees, nothing like where he had been blinded as these were covering hills that slightly masked the sound of waterfalls or the like. It was an incredibly beautiful place, but Lotherarius did not feel comfortable in the presence of someone who seemed so eager to switch their stance to him from threatening to welcome. What else was he going to expect? But without his items of clothing that made him feel like a war lord, there was no use in attempting to sound menacing. Without them he was nothing, so he continued to exchange words with this Huric. Yet his tone remained the same, angry and confused, "This is the Hidden Falls you say? If I give my name to you, Huric, will you explain to me why you have brought me here...?"

Huric's last words eminated from his red velveteens, determining Lotherarius' safety here. What was safe?

" . "

[OOC: Sorry if this seems so patchy, just thought it was necessary to show his confusion and what had happened before!

THIS IS SO EXCITING AHHH]
Lotherarius
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@Knox

Please tag me


Knox Posts: 262
Outcast atk: 4 | def: 7.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17hh :: 7 Years [Tallsun] HP: 67.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Jen
#3

image by deadair @ flickr.com</style>

round all the pieces up, but they just don't fit the same.</style>



He is not surprised when the stallion expresses anger and shock. Wouldn't Knox do the same in the situation?

{Zsoka:} You would never get caught! Never!
True.

It seems his skills know no bounds. Knox's tail flicks to the side and his neck straightens in something like pride. The two red warriors, Huric and the stranger, are not so unlike. This is what Knox suspects, anyway, he of course cannot say for sure. But he hopes that his old ancestor will be a comfort to one as twitchy as this, anyway.

The pegasus' words are wild, flung like accusations that Huric is thankfully calm enough to bear the brunt of. A name? Yes, that would be nice, and Knox would demand it first, but Huric... that martyr knows better.

"You don't have to tell me your name if you don't want to," the fell says. His voice is low and soothing, seeming so different from Knox's tone. It is curious how the hunter's voice can sound so different depending on the mind that controls it.

"And I wasn't the one who blinded you, I'm simply the one who has chosen to bring you here. You seem able and strong; your talent, like mine and that of my accomplice who cast his spell on you, would be wasted in the wilderness," Huric says, stepping back to give the stallion some breathing room. Knox would match the pegasus' height, but Huric stands slightly below and feels much smaller without such grand wings. The two might both be heavy beasts, but Lotherarius' apparent strength is undeniable. "You've been brought here in the manner that you have to remain discreet, but the Hidden Falls wishes you no ill. We would rather you forgive the manner of your arrival and consider lending your strength to our cause," he adds, hoping the appeal does not seem so strange.

Another pause, an odd one. He, Knox, keeps finding himself plagued by them. "There is safety in numbers. Talents such as those of your captor take root in many of those who reside here; if you joined us, they would be used to guard and care for you, in exchange for your intent to do the same," His ears curve forward, his interest piqued. What will the massive creature say? Will he call Huric mad?

"I can tell you more, about the herd and the one who took your sight, but only if you choose to remain with us. I'm sure you understand that some information belongs only in the care of those whom we can trust," the hunter says, forcing his own thoughts through his ancestor's rose lips. Discretion is, as always, key.

And now the long wait--the anxious, heavy breath of anticipation. Is this all a foolish plan, or has the hunter for once had a plan that might help?


knox</style>
& manhattan</style>


Lotherarius Posts: 37
Outcast
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.0hh :: 6 :: Ages in Tallsun
Danjah
#4
see—
I’ve already waited
too long
and all my hope is gone.
The flailing of the brute's words caused a significant impact on his physical movements, letting his daggers smash against the ground, his wings high up enough to give off a wind of their own whilst his orbs showed anger in the form of a fierce glint and his lobes pinned back. What was this?

His paranoia never left him and Lotherarius went about flicking his handsome cranium around, first stretching it over his shoulder in order to see if there was anything behind him and casting glances back at the mahoany stallion. He took one more second to gaze over the smaller's appearance before coming to the conclusion that their appearance was almost similar, but only in hue. Lotherarius was larger, better tapered for war with the stamina to know how to flee when the battle went ill. This moment of calmness within him in was fleeting but it gave this Huric time enough to begin his words of diplomatic means.

Lotherarius listened, still letting his cranium turn this way and that and flicking his lobes every other direction at pauses of the brute's words before letting his attention turn back to him. But then Huric answered Lotherarius' seemingly rhetorical questions:

"...I wasn't the one who blinded you. I'm simply the one who has chosen to bring you here."

What did he mean by that? He continued to remain silent, adhering to the red's suggestion that he did not have to give his name to this stranger. Lotherarius let the information drip through as he savoured what it all meant. So, this Huric was not the one who blinded him but wanted him? It seemed very odd to him that this brute shared the same voice that had been so menacing before, so he did not understand what was going on. But intrigue got the better of his skippy mind and it allowed the captor to continue on his quest of diplomacy.

"You've been brought here in the manner that you have to remain discrete, but the Hidden Falls wishes you no ill. We would rather you forgive the manner of your arrival and consider lending your strength to our cause."

All of this somehow felt very familiar to the captive brute, very much like his old life in the ways of haggling and alliances between chiefs and tribes alike during times of war. Lotherarius' attention was now intently fixed on Huric as his words continued to drag him deeper and deeper into the world he so desperately missed, that of secrecy and war, and of course being part of something. Being part of numbers. Everything the stag spoke of hit him in his heart where his desires lay. Lotherarius was being offered a choice, something that he had not been given for so long, and for that the magnificently hued beast decided to relax ever so slightly and think about what his choice would be. It was not hard to decide though, if this was a safe option...

"So this is a proposition?" His words were evidently mixed with a wary question, one that hopefully gave him the right answer, but he decided not to leave it quite so short, letting his smooth voice continue to spill all the things he wanted to discuss with the stranger, "I may not be able to forgive you for blinding me, whether it was you or another that is not present, but I would be interested in regaining some familiarity back. But..." Lotherarius hesitated, as he thought as to how his next sentence would come across, "...pray tell, Huric, why me? What makes me so special that I would be needed to be lured from the wilderness and a part of your Hidden Falls? You think me valuable to your cause?" His words were as diplomatic as his skitty nature allowed him. He so wanted to just say yet, but instantly giving this brute his agreement was absurd beyong measure. For all he knew, this could be a trap.

He ended on one last sentence as the heavy breathing of Huric caught in his lobes and he decided to break the awful silence, "My name is Lotherarius, use it as you will." A name does not a beast make, he recited the words of his father silently, now understanding what they really meant. They could know his name but it did not mean they would ever know about him, at least, never truly.

" . "
Lotherarius
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Knox Posts: 262
Outcast atk: 4 | def: 7.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17hh :: 7 Years [Tallsun] HP: 67.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Jen
#5

image by deadair @ flickr.com</style>

round all the pieces up, but they just don't fit the same.</style>



The other stops his wild motion and listens with apparent intent, but it is not enough. When the red one gives only his name and not an answer, Knox feels impatience rise within him.

{Cem:} Wait. A name is enough.
Soothed, remembering himself, Knox thinks the words: a name is the being of a beast.

The barrage of questions is enough to almost send him reeling back into something like rage, but Huric bites his descendant's tongue. He nods sagely and dumbly all at once, listening to Lotherarius with the patience of a well fed cat. They are intelligent questions, and they show the mark of a well exercised mind; they are ones Knox himself would ask. However this does not endear Knox to their insistence, for in this case he must answer each and everyone.

Huric smiles, appearing as sympathetic as he would in life. The masks are so useful, such well-used tricks. "That is a good question. For all I know I'm inviting a savage into the place I call home, aren't I?" His gaze is steady and unbroken, but there is a trace of warm humor. "Consider the fact that you came here to have been a test. You handled the shock of blindness well. You went quietly, which proves you have the good sense to know when you're at a disadvantage it's best to wait and see if the situation improves before trying to strike. When you could see again you did not trust me blindly. You have rage and power, strength, but the intelligence to control it well enough. And you're curious..." Knox's own thoughts win over now, and he smiles. "In this herd, such curiousity and strength are valuable things. Curiousity leads to knowledge, strength translates to protection. You have proven yourself to have the potential to serve this herd with either," he adds. Knox's heart, so long cold, begins to beat just the slightest bit faster. This isn't impatience, though, it's something he's not felt for some time.

It's excitement. The suspicion that he might win.

"However you choose to answer this proposition, know that I will use your name well, Lotherarius, the hunter says coolly, using the red-winged's word choice to endear himself to him. Huric has faded but lingers still, present enough to intervene should his descendant become too snappish.



knox</style>
& manhattan</style>


Lotherarius Posts: 37
Outcast
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.0hh :: 6 :: Ages in Tallsun
Danjah
#6
see—
I’ve already waited
too long
and all my hope is gone.
The demeanor of the brute had changed, he had been a helpless little creature, spurned on by anger before settling down to actually listen to why the newcomer to Helovia had been so aggressively de-armed and forced to come here. Hulic stood there with the evident patience of someone who perhaps had been more used to this than Lotherarius himself, but then even he went back into his memories to remember how he had had to remain patient with his high ranking brutes whilst being regent chief as his father slipped away. It was only now that he was beginning to understand just how he should have behaved amongst them, perhaps why he lost it all. But he fixated his pools once more on the acquaintance, the red hued pelt seemingly thick thanks to Frostfall's cold grasp.

And then Hurc smiled at him, an expression worn with warm and sympathy as he perhaps tried to understand Lotherarius' reluctance to throw himself into something so quickly. He then replied, answering the flurry of questions that the brute had put forward in a bit to secure his own feelings of paranoia about the whole situation. The stag had to be certain that he was not putting himself in danger of hurting his pride or his body. He did not want to fall, again... But he listened intently as the first words cast doubt on his own sanity,

"For all I know I'm inviting a savage into the place I call home, aren't I?"

Lotherarius merely let some humour flicker in his eyes and he remained halted in same spot, hoping to give the impression that this was only half true. A chief would naturally come with savagery, but he was not a savage in the purest forms. He had some morals. Not giving word of reply, he allowed Huric to continue to answer his questions, and it all came in a surprising bundle. But the more Lotherarius thought about it, it appeared to be the way this creature spoke - in bulk. That he did not mind, for it gave his mind more to become infatuated over in the hope of being rid of the awful feeling that he was being watched by something else.

All the words that came tumbling out of the smaller brute's velveteens were indeed very interesting, and quite complimentary to the stag. He was being given a choice to utilise the skills that Huric and evidently the Hidden Falls, whoever made up that herd, thought the blood-red possessed. When he finished his speech, he lay silent for a little while and Lotherarius jumped at the chance to give his own spin on the way things were,
"You speak very highly of a stranger and for that I feel both uncomfortable that you must have been watching me from afar and also flattered that you would like me to be part of you. That I can thank you for," he hesitated, thinking about how to approach agreeing to the terms, "You speak of everything that the Hidden Falls can offer me in return for the duty I can do for you, and I would like to give you one last chance to re-consider whether you feel this to be beneficial, but I would like to accept this."

Then Lotherarius turned once more to look around him, still feeling like he had been watched all this time by another. But then he let his movements turn himself gracefully back to Huric as he used his name to speak to him, letting the long name roll of his tongue. If it was fate, it had been a long time coming for the brute...

" . "
Lotherarius
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Please tag me


Knox Posts: 262
Outcast atk: 4 | def: 7.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17hh :: 7 Years [Tallsun] HP: 67.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Jen
#7

image by deadair @ flickr.com</style>

round all the pieces up, but they just don't fit the same.</style>



If this were Knox's game alone, he would have a wicked smile plastered across his face. But it isn't and he knows now that there are other lives at stake. As much as he often hopes to put his son out of his mind, the prospect of this stallion helping to make the herd where he, in some odd way, started a family a better place is appealing. He has to be good. He has to be dutiful. If nothing else, he will do this on the order of his brother the Dauntless.

Years after Mandrake's death, Knox still holds to the hierarchy of their brotherhood.

{Zekiah:} He's a twitchy one, the ancestor thinks in Knox's mind with an odd sort of sneer that the hunter can feel. Smart to be with you leading him home, Knox.

The hunter only smiles more, the expression on his features still a subdued modification of his true feelings. It is true that this pegasus seems on edge, but doesn't that make sense? And it is true that Knox has watched him, for as long as possible anyway, before "bringing him on board" so to speak. So this stallion is perceptive, good. All the more reason for Knox to want him on his own team. But no, he should let the other decide...

The offer to still decline and turn away is not one Knox even considers. This does not appear to him to be a risk. He analyzes quickly and well, and if anyone is in danger here it is not the hunter and his identity.

"I would make a mockery of myself to change my intent now, Lotherarius. Your reception of this meeting has only strengthened my belief that have much to contribute. Since you accept, welcome to the ranks of Hidden Falls," he says with a low nod of his head, a scraping of his hoof along the dark ground. Moonlight falls on his back and illuminates him; his bloody shoulder looks almost like a wound.

"From here, there are five paths you can follow. There is masonry, warfare, intelligence, holiness, and healing. I am one of a network of spies and fighters serving under Knox, the one who blinded you and the leader of our intelligence ranks. But the other paths are just as worthy, and I am sure whatever you wish to take will suit you well," he supplies, thankful that this information can be disseminated on his own turf and not in the odd light of the threshold. "I can relay your choice to one of our Czars or rank leaders for you; I trust you will meet them soon as you explore," Knox adds on. He does not step forward to make contact, for that is neither Knox or the warrior's way. He doubts too, somehow, that it is something Lotherarius would take comfort in.

Let the stallion twitch, at least now he is doing it in the name of the Hidden Falls.


knox</style>
& manhattan</style>


Lotherarius Posts: 37
Outcast
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.0hh :: 6 :: Ages in Tallsun
Danjah
#8
see—
I’ve already waited
too long
and all my hope is gone.
The decision had been made and Lotherarius felt like a weight that had been suddenly placed on his broad shoulders was now lifted off and allowed to roll away in the same instance. He knew that this was what he had wanted all along, to be part of something, part of a herd, that would allow him to stay. He missed the heirachy with him at the top of the chain, naturally, but being part of the Hidden Falls in the sense of being useful and helping to make a herd great was duty enough. And to think, he had been invited. His pools showed the surprise in them at the thought of this prospect, that he had been sought after, and with the thoughts filling his brain his skull cocked to the right hand side just a little, which let his long ebony tassles tassles fall messily over his neck.

Coming back to reality he shook those thoughts from his skull, letting his azure pools take in the smile that once again came from Huri. In return, he reciprocated with the same smile that went only so far around his velveteens whilst his pillars began to make a dance of their own as he wondered what was going on in the background of this strange new territory. Territory that was now going to be his home. Lotherarius was one troubled soul, a perceptive, intelligent creature on one hand, and a boiling cauldron of mess and paranoia on the other. He was the best of both worlds, even if the one of those worlds was going to hinder him. He had his roots to blame for that...

Still, he still attempted to listen as he felt the chill winds of the dying season on his bodice, and Huric continued. The brute's words were very humbling to the blood-red brute, not rescinding his offer and giving him a very important decision to make - his path into the herd's upper ranks. He was already being ushered into the ranks, something that was so quick that it was like a fleeting glimpse of prey before it was snapped up by the predator. How interesting.

"...there are five paths you can follow. There is masonry, warfare, intelligence, holiness, and healing."

He continued to listen to Huric's description of the intelligence core, heeding to the creature who had blinded him, a creature called Knox, but the stag was unfamiliar with the name. He tried to let that slide even though that Knox was the creature who had blinded him, in the hope that he did not ruin his chances of becoming one of them in the ranks. That was just it though, what would he choose?

"I can relay your choice to one of our Czars or rank leaders for you; I trust you will meet them soon as you explore."

He nodded in reply, hoping to fully understand the reasoning for his being in the Hidden Falls. But his thoughts continued to spiral around the prospect of becoming a ranked member of the herd, but it now lay with the difficulty of choosing between his already-known and probably very unsuccessful experience of being a warrior and choosing a new path: intelligence. With a little thinking he tussled with the ideas, feeling very wary of the mockery he would receive from his fellow herdmates once they found out just how he had lost such a prestigious position all that time ago. And there came his answer,
"I thank you, Huric, for your help. I am glad to become a part of you and would like to serve as part of the Hidden Falls' intelligence, should your leader and the network permit it." He dipped his handsome cranium in a friendly gesture before taking a step back in case the brute did not like his decision. He was still unsure even at this point whether this wasn't just a huge ploy to beat him up.

" . "
Lotherarius
image credits

Please tag me


Knox Posts: 262
Outcast atk: 4 | def: 7.5 | dam: 6.5
Stallion :: Equine :: 17hh :: 7 Years [Tallsun] HP: 67.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Jen
#9

image by deadair @ flickr.com</style>

round all the pieces up, but they just don't fit the same.</style>



The nod given to Knox by the newest member of the Falls is simultaneously hesitant and confident. The hunter isn't sure if he's meant to comfort or congratulate Lotherarius. Having no clear understanding and very little care, he decides to do neither.

But Huric stands up tall and kind as always. Huric is a good example, just as he was in his lifetime. Compare anyone to Huric and you would be left with a dull aftertaste, a lost metal shaving, or a dying herb. Huric was shining. He was beauty. He was a rose. That, of course, and he was brave. He had the fighter's spirit in him, and the martyr's too. Huric died for everything he shouldn't have. Huric died for his family.

Now, Knox considers such virtue to be bothersome. Huric's understanding of his own good deeds are tired. "Consider it official, my word is good enough. Should any question you, say you were accepted with Knox's blessing. But, should you make yourself as useful as you seem, I doubt anyone will challenge your place here." The pink-eyed stallion looks closely at Lotherarius, wondering what he wishes to do next in life and as a member of the herd. "You're one of us now, Lotherarius," he added kindly, ignoring Knox's mental roll of the eyes at the remark.

It is true, though. Lotherarius is, in Huric's eyes, as much of a member of the Falls as he is. "Come, let me show you your herdland," he says by way of welcome before beginning to move deeper into the territory. Before them are the falls and the woods--a vast beauty, all theirs to adore.


knox</style>
& manhattan</style>



@Lotherarius bad late post is bad and late sorry D: We can end it here or continue, up to you


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