the Rift


[PRIVATE] be prepared

Mordecai Posts: 77
Aurora Basin Mare atk: 5.5 | def: 9 | dam: 5
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16.1 :: 3 years HP: 62.5 | Buff: NOVICE
ali
#1




The seasons were changing and Mordecai could feel it in the air and see it reflected on her coat. The sunbleached tips of her mane had darkened and were nearly black and her coat had grown shaggier in preparation for the coming winter months. This would be the first Frostfall she would spend outside of the safety of the Dragon's Throat, where even in the dead of winter the temperatures were bearable. She had thought a few times of returning to the red sands, but then she would think about the freedom that she gained by being on her own and the idea seemed ludicrous. Herd life was too stifling with their rules and laws and alliances. The dark girl relished in being able to do whatever, whenever she wanted and treat others however she wanted without having to worry about causing a diplomatic incident.

So she spent a good deal of her time searching for a place that would be comfortable to weather the impending ice and snow storms that would come with Frostfall. She had only been in the Deep Forest for a few days, but she thought that it had promise. The thick canopy that the trees provided would block out a lot of the snow, or so she thought. And she also thought that the trees being clustered so close together would help to cut down on the icy, bone-chilling wind. She had yet to thoroughly explore any of Helovia's other regions, but she was already doubting that she'd find anything better that wasn't a herd land.

Her head lifted and she looked toward the canopy once again, thinking that it would also serve to hide her from anyone flying over -- not that she was hiding from anyone, she just didn't like to be bothered most of the time. She rather liked her solitary existence. The dark woman snorted softly as she continued to pick her way through the forest, her cloven hooves swiftly and easily stepping over fallen branches and, occasionally, the left over bones of some predator's meal

Ahead of her loomed a huge tree with a pool of water nestled near it's roots. If she hadn't thought the forest had been perfect before, she certainly did now. Protection, food, and water -- all essential to live. Mordecai stepped toward the pool, coming to a stop at its bank, her head lowering as she drank.

 


MORDECAI

when the last light warms the rocks and the rattlesnakes unfold
mountain cats will come along to drag away your bones


@Rikyn
the emptiness that we confess in the dimmest hour of day
in Automatown they make a sound like the low sad moan of prey

Rikyn the Puppeteer Posts: 549
Aurora Basin Lord atk: 7.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 4.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.3 :: 4 HP: 70 | Buff: SWIFT
Duir :: Royal Cerndyr :: Earth Spirit Bunnie
#2
Rikyn

While fall steals the leaves from every other forest in Helovia, the ancient boughs in the Deep Forest seem to be more stubbornly clinging to their holds. Weaving among the massive trunks, I’m looking more at my hooves than the path ahead, only occasionally glancing up to make sure the way is clear. The rest of my attention is given to remaining silent in this treacherous footing.

Between the entangling, treacherous roots, discarded branches, and frail, crisp leaves, the cards were stacked against those trying to slip unheard through this forest. Having accepted the challenge heartily, I move slowly through the dim light towards the red pool at the forest’s heart, pausing entirely when the sound of someone else nearby catches my attention.

My buck and I both stop, his strange magic making him blend into the dark colors about us, so that he is all but invisible. If he can make me so, he doesn’t bother – I guess figuring that I’d rather fight whatever it is, anyway.

You betcha, he answers, his mental laughter chiming through my head. I don’t always prefer a fight, and he knows it; today, for instance, I’m more interested in company over a scuffle, but I don’t bother to defend myself. Scowling as I peer through the trees, I recognize the stranger glimpses through the tall trunks. When I move through the foliage towards her, Duir remains where he is, not having forgotten the threats that had been made against him the last time we’d run into this particular mare.

"Mordecai," I calmly remark to her, more forgiving, in this instance, than my companion. Proud of myself for remembering her name right off the bat this time, and even more proud for managing to keep contempt from flickering across my face as I look at her ivory and ink wings. As if we hadn’t spent our entire last meeting threatening to kill each other, I sidle up alongside her, figuring, in retrospect, that I might not be the only overly moody asshole in Helovia, after all, stopping just before my hooves slip into her drinking water. She wasn’t anywhere near as obnoxious as Erthë managed to somehow be, anyway; maybe because she didn’t ask stupid questions, and hadn’t put up with my bullshit, either. Looking over at her with a signature, rogue’s smile, my tail casually sways behind me. "Maybe we can not threaten to kill each other today, yeah?"




Coding by Tamme - Image by Dingo

@Mordecai

Wishlist - Plots

Force/violence is allowed to be used on Rikyn permitted it does not permanently maim or kill him (PM me!).

Mordecai Posts: 77
Aurora Basin Mare atk: 5.5 | def: 9 | dam: 5
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16.1 :: 3 years HP: 62.5 | Buff: NOVICE
ali
#3



At the sound of her name, Mordecai lifted her head and turned to look at who had spoken to her. One ear tilted back and water dripped from her muzzle , but she remained silent as she regarded the unicorn stallion approaching her. Her black eyes narrowed, never leaving his frame as he sidled up beside her as if he belonged there. As if he had a right to be there when, in fact, he didn't.

Did he not remember the threats the last time they'd met?

Did he think her threats had been idle ones, born of bluff and arrogance?

Mordecai sighed, rolling her eyes as he seemed to make himself comfortable beside her. "What?" She demanded harshly because, in her experience, no one ever just walked up to someone and stood beside them because they wanted to. No, there was always a catch. Someone always wanted something and if he thought she was the type of mare to help him he was even stupider than the expression he often wore. She turned her head back toward the pool, her ears at the halfway point between standing straight up and laying flat.

Rikyn's suggestion made the brindeled mare scoff softly. Could they not threaten one another? Really? "That like ... telling sun not to shine." She responded. It wasn't possible. They were both rude and stubborn, and as Rikyn would put it, assholes. It was in their nature to threaten and argue. Her eyes slid back toward Rikyn and narrowed once more. "What you reallywant?"


 


MORDECAI

when the last light warms the rocks and the rattlesnakes unfold
mountain cats will come along to drag away your bones


@Rikyn
the emptiness that we confess in the dimmest hour of day
in Automatown they make a sound like the low sad moan of prey

Rikyn the Puppeteer Posts: 549
Aurora Basin Lord atk: 7.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 4.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.3 :: 4 HP: 70 | Buff: SWIFT
Duir :: Royal Cerndyr :: Earth Spirit Bunnie
#4
Rikyn


She may not think so, but, I had a right to be just about wherever I wanted to be. Even if I didn’t, I was always more than willing to defend my over entitled opinion that what others wanted of me was less important than my own, personal whims. Meeting her irritated with scowl with a pompous smile, pretty well saying all she’d need to know about me – mostly, that I didn’t care she was about as demure as a pissed off wolverine.

"In a great mood again, I see," I smirk, looking out over the usually still pool, and the disturbances caused by the droplets dripping from her lifted muzzle. Almost indiscernible by the time they reach the far edge of the pool, I watch individual rings of dispersion ripple and roll across the water, until they reach the mossy shore on the opposite side. Occasionally, though, I let one golden eye trail back over towards Mordecai, looking at her fully when she dismisses my idea to not have a “who’s the biggest asshole” competition with a guffaw.

Her accusation that I want something from her makes my failed smile, which had fallen away at her quick retort that she would, essentially, be an asshole because she just was one, return. Dropping my head in a falsely coy manner, I find myself laughing.

"I can’t talk to you?" I ask, my ears perked forward, golden eyes sparkling deviously. Why, exactly, do I want to talk to her? I find that I don’t know. Maybe it’s that I’ve been alone for too many days in a row, or I’m just a glutton for being verbally abused by girls. Maybe there is something about how she takes all my bullshit and serves it right on back to me makes me wonder if, maybe, we might finally get over swinging our egos at one another to discover something more permanent than shared insults. While I am not keen on admitting it, being an outcast has left me almost friendless, and, sometimes, that loneliness really starts to eat away at me; while I don’t really think Mordecai is “the bee’s knees,” she does at least seem to be smarter than, say, Erthë, and is certainly more fierce than Aelin, or Själ. Those two qualities, in particular, make her interesting to me, even if she is just a haughty magpie. "It would be rather unorthodox, I suppose."






Coding by Tamme - Image by Dingo

@Mordecai

Wishlist - Plots

Force/violence is allowed to be used on Rikyn permitted it does not permanently maim or kill him (PM me!).

Mordecai Posts: 77
Aurora Basin Mare atk: 5.5 | def: 9 | dam: 5
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16.1 :: 3 years HP: 62.5 | Buff: NOVICE
ali
#5



The only answer she gave to Rikyn's comment about her being in a great mood was a snort. Honestly, she didn't treat him any differently than she did anyone else, so she didn't see what the problem was. Of course, if she were looking from the outside in she would see that she was unpleasant, rude, and a total asshole. Unfortunately she was looking from the inside out and didn't see what the problem with her attitude was. She just thought that everyone else was the problem because they were over-sensitive.

Mordecai's ears tilted back and a look of confusion colored her features. Talk? No one ever wanted to just talk. There was always some motive, some hidden agenda... like the last time she'd stopped Rikyn. She'd been looking for kicks. Picking a fight with a random stallion had seemed like a good way to get some excitement in her life, though she doubted that Rikyn felt the same way. Of course their last encounter hadn't panned out the way she'd wanted -- slinging insults wasn't nearly as satisfying as exchanging blows, but it had been enough to alleviate boredom.

"Talk about what?" She finally asked as she schooled her features back to one of indifference. Her head tilted as she looked at the stallion standing next to her. "You don't ... seem the type to talk about much." The mare retorted. Her eyes narrowed fractionally as she thought that maybe Rikyn really was the sensitive type. "So what do you want to talk about?" She continued on. "Did I hurt your feelings?." Her tone took on a mocking, teasing quality, and the ever so slight curve of the corners of her mouth added to the appearance that she might actually be teasing the stallion standing next to her.

 


MORDECAI

when the last light warms the rocks and the rattlesnakes unfold
mountain cats will come along to drag away your bones


@Rikyn
the emptiness that we confess in the dimmest hour of day
in Automatown they make a sound like the low sad moan of prey

Rikyn the Puppeteer Posts: 549
Aurora Basin Lord atk: 7.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 4.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.3 :: 4 HP: 70 | Buff: SWIFT
Duir :: Royal Cerndyr :: Earth Spirit Bunnie
#6
Rikyn

Most girls are eager to converse, brightly fluttering from one topic to next, as if the conversation was a garden, and each individual “she” a butterfly moving from flower to flower. Mordecai was more like a bird, watching the garden. Aloof, watching from the boughs, she occasionally dropped down with swift precision, before beating whatever worm dared poke its head from the soil into unconsciousness. With her mutilated conversation dangling from her beak, she’d then fly back up into the branches, waiting for yet another topic to maul and devour.

So dies the early inches of this conversation, ironically enough.

Talk about what? she demands, adding in an additional comment afterwards that I’m not sure I should find insulting or complementary. Does she think I’m stupid? I certainly am not that. I have plenty of knowledge to prattle on about, but I’m also not a butterfly, fluttering from flower to flower, either. Narrowing my eyes at her suspiciously, retorts begin to form and coil about in my head even before she insults me, just in case that’s what is coming next.

Did I hurt your feelings? dances from the tip of her tongue, and all those carefully formulated insults are swallowed abruptly; the mental sound of Duir’s heady laughter (at me, not her joke) floods about my thoughts, and the image of her oddly seductive smile dances over my overwhelming sense of indignation. I am not laughing or smiling at all, my jaw stiffening and head rising from its casual position, the leisurely sway of my tail stilling into a stiff arc.

"No," I abruptly answer as soon as I can wrap my head around the notion that, maybe, she was joking, hoping to make me do, well, exactly what I just did. Good going, moron. Looking back out over the still, red pool, and the red leaves coasting its surface, I try to steer the conversation away from poking fun at me. I’m not very good at those sorts of games, you see; my ego is far too large and sensitive to tolerate much prodding.

"You’re still living in the Throat, I suppose?" I ask, curiosity about where exactly it was now driving the question more than a desire to really know about her life. The last time we’d met, it had been rather obvious she was one of the desert people, as obvious as it had been meeting Aelin: thin pelts, dusty, hot smells mingling with some sort of peculiar greenery (where were the green things in a desert, anyway?). I haven’t picked up any of those defining smells on her, really, but that doesn’t mean that she’s not been out on some sort far away, long term, bullshit patrol (the sort of thing I’d decided I’d rather not do, and why I was here, now).




Coding by Tamme - Image by Dingo

@Mordecai

Mordecai Posts: 77
Aurora Basin Mare atk: 5.5 | def: 9 | dam: 5
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16.1 :: 3 years HP: 62.5 | Buff: NOVICE
ali
#7



Mordecai could almost see the wheels turning in Rikyn's head as he seemingly tried to process what she'd said. While she hadn't meant it as an insult she most certainly hadn't meant it as a compliment, either. It was just an observation made from the previous two run-ins she'd had with the stallion. He seemed to trive on witty remarks and sarcasm then actual conversation, which was fairly entertaining. She hadn't met many that could take the comments that she made and spin them around on her like Rikyn did. In a way it made her appreciate him, though she woldn't admit it to him because then his ego would swell even more and neither of them would be able to fit into the forest.

Her comment about hurting his feelings seemed to have an effect right away and that made Mordecai's grin widen. "Anha dirgat yer qosarvenikh." The girl said as she turned her head away from her company. One thing that she learned growing up with the parents she had was that feelings were, indeed, fragile and easily brusied. Her mother was living proof of that, though she often buried her hurt under anger and frustration. Stallions probably did the same thing even though the lot of them pretended to be strong and indomitable forces of nature.

But, whatever. She honestly didn't care one way or another if she had hurt Rikyn's feelings or if she would in the future.

"You're still living in the Throat, I suppose?"

His question made Mordecai turn her head back toward him, her dark eyes settling on his face. "No." She said easily enough. "More freedom alone." She was sure that Rikyn would understand what she meant about there being more freedom alone because she was fairly certain that he didn't call any particular herdland home, but ... "You live in a herd?"


 

Translation:
Anha dirgat yer qosarvenikh - i think you lie



MORDECAI

when the last light warms the rocks and the rattlesnakes unfold
mountain cats will come along to drag away your bones


@Rikyn
the emptiness that we confess in the dimmest hour of day
in Automatown they make a sound like the low sad moan of prey

Rikyn the Puppeteer Posts: 549
Aurora Basin Lord atk: 7.5 | def: 11.5 | dam: 4.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.3 :: 4 HP: 70 | Buff: SWIFT
Duir :: Royal Cerndyr :: Earth Spirit Bunnie
#8
Rikyn
Again, the foreign tongue I have begun to assume belongs to the desert falls from her lips. Her smile, however, is pretty around the strange words, and though they leave my head reeling with the same odd, lagging sensation of processing power overtaxed, her grin itself lures me in. The barbed retorts that usually linger on the tip of my tongue for people who babble nonsense at me is removed, my own dark lips curving up with a smile of their own.

"I think you hide behind words I do not know to empower yourself," I jest, feeling my own wide grin spread across my face, unknowingly mimicking her, "do I get under your skin, Mordecai?"

Duir does not approve of the joke, and his entire being tenses with worry that acid is about to course through my veins instead of blood. I, however, think differently, almost eager to rouse her temper (for some reason I cannot get a grip on). Like embers, irritation and anger makes a woman glow with a certain light, especially a warrior woman like Mordecai; the difficult task was keeping the embers at radiant peace, without bursting upwards into flame. Even if I failed to keep a blaze from rising within her, it was almost as much fun to jump over the flickering pyres, as it was to coax and then stop them from rising.

I enjoyed such dangerous games, though my companion does not. I think, also, that Mordecai does, too.

When she speaks of freedom, I smile, glad to have at last found the reason that I feel so drawn to her (or so I think, anyway). Our souls are both wild, untamable, seeking adventure and new conquests. The notion of schedules, rigid, unbending, constant, had driven me from the safety of my childhood home, and out into the dangerous unknown of the wilderness.

So far, it had gone well enough. I’d only almost died twice, which was an accomplishment, considering many simply died all together out here.

"I have lived alone for over a year now," I answer, Duir’s quiet contest rattling through my brain (what about me?! he worries from his hidden locale), "I sought freedom also, and to learn the hard way how to survive."

Having been coddled for the first year of my life, and cared for further within the Nightwalk, I had found myself soft, and lacking. Volterra, for instance, had already been a hardened warrior during our match, and, while I had survived the maiming, it had been by the skin of my teeth alone. Numerous times had also arisen that I had found myself naïve to the reality of the world; it was difficult to remain an idiot if being an idiot would get you killed.

So I was learning, things like scouting out an area before doing anything brash, or where the best place to not die of the elements was. I had learned to worry less about Gods, and their alleged gifts of immortality after life, and more about surviving in my day to day one. Did she know all those things, this hostile magpie called Mordecai?

Why did I even care if she did?

"I think I’ve become quite skilled, especially in comparison to who I was when I set out," I continue, truly believing this, though I really only know how to sneak about, or how to potentially win a brawl (or talk my way out of one) if discovered.






Coding by Tamme - Image by Dingo

@Mordecai

Wishlist - Plots

Force/violence is allowed to be used on Rikyn permitted it does not permanently maim or kill him (PM me!).


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