the Rift


[OPEN] Clean and Whole

Esinakh Posts: 48
Outcast atk: 4.5 | def: 7 | dam: 6.5
Mare :: Hybrid :: 15.2hh :: 2 HP: 66.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Sachi :: Plain Rougarou :: Water & Flame smitty
#1
esinakh
It seemed that history would repeat itself for the two calves on the beach. Because, again, the small grey filly was being attacked on the beach—though this time it was the itchy, stinging plant leaves that pushed the troubled calf over her limit. And, as she was flailing and thrashing and sucuumbing to the tight vines of panic her mind wrapped around itself—

And suddenly salvation is there, stomping the attacking leaf. Rak’s warm side, Rak’s soothing whisper, Rak’s foal-fuzz tail sweeping mud and sand off of her flanks. And again, just as before, she immediately pressed her face into his larger, stockier shoulder; tucking her eyes away from a world that was simply too much for the filly. Instead, she found safety in the dark blackness of brother calf’s hide, her trembling nostrils taking in his scent.

“Sorry, Rak,” her half bleated, half croaked words were raw from terror and barely audible. And again, just as before, she blindly follows him to the sea to wash away the clay. Her mind is too full of panic to fully (yet) give thought to the idea of flying (—what if she fell into the sand?!—). Though she does slowly open her eyes they begin to wash in the rolling tide. Still, the sea has a salty scum, but at least it is cleaner than the sand and briefly soothes the burning itch on her legs. Her pale eyes dart towards the others as they come out of the sea, though her panic-numbed mind has an attention span only for brother calf.

A quiver runs through her body from both the water’s chill and the idea of flying. But if she could fly, then she would be free of earth’s filth… “Teach me flying, Rak,” her whisper was quiet, hardly heard above the waves as trepidation began to mount once more (or, perhaps, never truly left). Her pale eyes grew white-rimmed, heart beginning to race at the thought of flapping her small, half-white wings. But her face was serious as she looked at Arakh.
You will fight a battle
more than once to win
image


@Arakh and open to anyone else! Set directly after this SWP thread!

Please tag Esinakh.

Arakh Posts: 77
Dragon's Throat Stallion atk: 5 | def: 8 | dam: 7
Stallion :: Hybrid :: 17'2hh :: 2 HP: 66.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Snow
#2


A soft sigh escapes the colt's lips as his sister leans against him, and again he aches for whatever it is inside her head that makes her loathe the dirt so much. Arakh himself revels in filth, murk and any other boy-things the world has to offer him. Sorry, Rak, she says as they wander towards the sea, and Arakh gives a small bleat of understanding. "Esi not have to be sorry. This how Esi is - Rak wouldn't have her any other way." It's said sweetly and genuinely, because it is. His sister-calf is unique, and despite how odd she can sometimes be, he wouldn't change her for the world.

Teach me flying, Rak. The colt gives a long gulp of concern. Ave taught him to fly before his untimely death, but he'd only had a couple of lessons. He certainly wouldn't consider himself accomplished, and definitely not qualified to teach somebody else. He glances nervously back at the wings that jut from his powerful shoulders, and steels his resolve with a single swish of his tail. He can do this. He has to try, for his sister.

So he nods his bull-horned head, trying to seem confident and assured when in reality, he's shaking with nerves. He's only had a couple of real flights himself - he considers real to be actual powered flight, not the simple glides that he'd first started with. His control in the air is not the best, but he hopes it will improve with practice. "Come to dunes with Rak. Ave taught Rak that first flight best from something big. Helps teach to use wings, and sand soft so won't break bones." The boy flashes his sister what he hopes is a reassuring grin, then begins to try and lead her to the sand dunes at the edge of the beach. He stays close, trying to keep her safe from the grains of sand that may attempt to stick to her precious body.

THOSE WHO OPPOSE THEE
SHALL KNOW THE WRATH OF HEAVEN
image credit


@Esinakh sorry for the wait! :c

[ ARAKH ]

Esinakh Posts: 48
Outcast atk: 4.5 | def: 7 | dam: 6.5
Mare :: Hybrid :: 15.2hh :: 2 HP: 66.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Sachi :: Plain Rougarou :: Water & Flame smitty
#3
esinakh
Brother calf’s sweet words do wonders—far more than any others’—as they wash away her filth. Rak was her stability; he protected her, comforted her, gave her a sense of worth when all around her was crumbling in panic. Never did he turn her away or berate her for her compulsions; nor did he become exasperated as mother sometimes hid behind concern in her pale eyes. The calf may be strange, but she was not stupid; intuition, though sometimes approaching her differently than it would others, still illuminated things in her tangled mind.

Even now, Rak did not deny her, answering her request with a nod of his largely horned head—and elated trepidation explodes in her chest, causing her slender, barred limbs to quake. But any excitement is quashed by brother’s next words: “Come to dunes.”

Her grey-and-white rimmed ears tilt backwards, pale eyes wide and darting from the dunes, the deep sand that stretched to them, and Rak. Her breaths began to come faster, small nostrils flaring as the white snip between them quivered, “Rak—can—can—” her small voice stumbled over a few words as she remained in the waves, not following her brother.

“Can teach here? Not on dunes?” Her eyes were large and pleading, grey and white wings tucked tightly to her body as a physical manifestation of her sudden, intense need to not cross back onto the beach. Her slender ribs moved quickly with her shallow breaths and rising panic, brow creased in fear and worry as she waited pleaded with brother calf with her eyes.
You will fight a battle
more than once to win
image


@Arakh

Please tag Esinakh.

Arakh Posts: 77
Dragon's Throat Stallion atk: 5 | def: 8 | dam: 7
Stallion :: Hybrid :: 17'2hh :: 2 HP: 66.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Snow
#4


It takes him just a split second to realise his negligence. The sand. Immediately he stops, turns and heads back to her, bleating sadly as he seeks to press his muzzle reassuringly to her shoulder. How could he have forgotten? His sister's....impulses rule most of his daily activities, yet he hadn't given her a thought to attempting to lead her towards the sandy, messy dunes. "Rak sorry," he murmurs to her, his ears flopping sadly to either side of his head.

This poses a bit of a problem, however. Arakh's few flights have all been from a higher vantage point, learning to slowly glide downwards to the ground and master the complicated wing movements that are necessary for powered flight, before he progressed to jumping from the high point and actually propelling himself through the air with his wings. He's never took off from the flat ground before, and he certainly doesn't know if this is the best time to try it out. He's been practicing intently, but will it be enough?

It has to be. The colt cannot expect his sister to head into the dunes, so he reluctantly nods his head and tries not to look as nervous as he feels. "Of course. Rak show Esi here."

There's no time like the present. He moves out of the waves to the shoreline, praying that the wet sand is softer than it looks. "Esi watch Rak. See how Rak holds body and spreads wings, making feathers wide for big surface area." The calf demonstrates, spreading his wings and ruffling the feathers until they're splayed outwards, displaying the firm muscles of his wing-arms. "Esi need to fly often to build up strength in wings. Rak been flying for many weeks, make shoulders strong. Esi fly every day if possible, until Esi can fly up into the clouds with Rak." He gives her a wobbly smile. He's blagging it, and hopes it isn't obvious - building up wing-strength is hard work, and even after several weeks, he doesn't feel overly confident. This is a baptism of fire for him.

"Start to run, build up speed. Then bend back legs, jump up. Flap wings, try and stay in air for few seconds, then land safely. Watch Rak." He drags in a deep breath of sea air, praying his wings won't fail him now. Lowering his head and body, he launches forwards into a canter and then a collected gallop, before allowing his strides to lengthen. He pounds across the sand, feeling like he's going at a hundred miles an hour, grains of dirt spattering up against his undersides (he hopes Esinakh won't be too put off by that)....then he bunches his powerful hindquarters and launches himself into the sky. His wings automatically begin to beat and relief surges through him as he stays airborne, rather than collapsing into a heap as he'd feared. He soars eagerly through the sky, heart beating like a drum with fear and excitement and delight, before ceasing his beats and allowing himself to land heavily into the wet sand. It's not the most elegant of landings, but the colt is merely glad he managed to not make a fool of himself.

He turns, looking back along the beach to Esinakh. "Esi try now. Fly towards Rak," he shouts along the beach to her. He knows she can do it - she's strong, she's of his blood, she can do this.

THOSE WHO OPPOSE THEE
SHALL KNOW THE WRATH OF HEAVEN
image credit


@Esinakh

[ ARAKH ]

Esinakh Posts: 48
Outcast atk: 4.5 | def: 7 | dam: 6.5
Mare :: Hybrid :: 15.2hh :: 2 HP: 66.5 | Buff: NOVICE
Sachi :: Plain Rougarou :: Water & Flame smitty
#5
esinakh
The reassuring press of Rak’s solid grey muzzle calmed her quivers—Esi always loved Rak’s muzzle. It was an even, symmetrical, grey (unlike her own, white-marked maw); always so uniformly warm; the whiskers were all the same length. In short, it was safe perfection, so she eagerly accepted his muzzle against her shoulder, letting it settle the panic that roiled in her. “Thank, Rak,” was her whispered, grateful reply.

And then, again, brother-calf granted her request. A shaky smile curved up her small, grey lips and crinkled the white and grey barring on her petite face. And, in her relief and her faith knowledge that Rak was all things right and good in the world, she entirely missed the nervousness in his voice and face. How could he be nervous? Brother-calf was perfect. Brother-calf could do anything.

So, with her trembling abated, her pale pale eyes (still wide and white-rimmed, but calmer now) snapped from Rak’s muzzle to his wings and body, just as he bade her to do. Her focus was absolute, a model student for brother-calf—at least, in this moment. Her own wings unfurled, mimicking how he spread his, the white feathers of her right glimmering with cleanliness she so prized.

A quick, nervous nod of her mottled horns was her response to his instructions that she needed to fly everyday to make her wings as strong as brother’s. Her gaze darted between his well-muscled appendages and her own, wimpy ones. “Esi want fly in clouds with Rak,” she murmured, hope darting through her bleached gaze. She wanted that more than anything in that moment.

But then Rak was talking about running and he was gone, sprinting down the beach. The only thing that stopped her from taking immediately after him was the spray of wet sand behind him. She bleated once, nervously and anxiously, before hesitantly running after him—but then he launches into the sky and she bleats once again in surprise. “Esi try now, fly towards Rak. ”

Her white and grey rimmed ears swivel in uncertainty, before she begins to really start running—though her body is slender from her cautious lifestyle, she still has the strong build of their parents. So, with wings spread and legs pumping (for the moment, she does not notice the wet granules of sand peppering her legs as she is so focused on flying to Rak) she leaps

—and glides!—

—and sinks. But it is a controlled (barely), wobbly drop back towards the sand. She cries out in surprised excitement, “Rak see?! Esi fly—” her words are cut off by the hard landing on the wet sand. It sprays up to coat her front legs, and for a moment her eyes widen and she begins to tremble, head swiveling to find the safety of brother…

But then the rolling waves and rising tide hits her limbs, and her eyes find the grey face she knows and loves. So, with a soft snort, she whinnies, “Try again!”
You will fight a battle
more than once to win
image


@Arakh Do you want to continue this? It seems like a good place to end it? :D I really enjoyed this thread!

Please tag Esinakh.


Forum Jump:


RPGfix Equi-venture