the Rift


[OPEN] dog lord

Mbwana Posts: 4
Outcast
Colt :: Unicorn :: 18hh :: Newborn
Askari :: African Wild Dog :: Poison & Nguvu :: African Wild Dog :: None Snow
#1


The boy discovers his magic very early on in life.

He is playing around, as colts are wont to do, exploring his own body and the world he's found himself in. It is not a nice world - Mbwana is astute enough to realise that things have transpired before his birth that makes his very existence rather inconsequential. He is under no illusions of his own importance, so he spends most of his time alone, enjoying his own company.

When he reaches through his mind and discovers an odd nub of something dark, he delves gleefully into it. Pain wracks his body, ripping through him and taking him quite by surprise; he screams, a foal's high-pitched yowl that turns suddenly into a savage growl as his muzzle lengthens and fills itself with razor-sharp teeth. He feels his young bones breaking, his body shrinking, and by the time the abject torture has subsided, he doesn't feel like him any more. He wants to cry for his mother, his sister, his father, but knows they probably have far better things to do than attend to him. Instead he takes a tentative step forwards, glancing down to see paws rather than hooves beneath him. His eyes feel sharper, his nose keener; when he breaks into a run, he feels so agile and powerful that he could surely lope for days. The massive ears on his head detect every sound, even the wingbeats of a gnat that buzzes overhead.

He loves it. Power ripples through the tri-toned body that he now calls his own, and he unleashes a savage series of barks that is quite at odds with the usual childish whinnies and neighs he makes as a foal. The dog-boy begins to run, feeling the raw strength of his new form as it propels him across the landscape; he can smell a familiar scent in the distance and his newfound instincts tell him to head towards it, so he does.

To his surprise, there's a small pack of dogs that look identical to him, albeit adults. A quick sniff of the air tells him there's five; three males and two females, with one of each gender being dominant over the others. Young pups nip at their mother's paws as she leans down to let them suckle, however Mbwana's attention is snatched by a pale ovoid shape that the bitch seems to be guarding. He edges closer, automatically adopting a low, submissive posture with his tail held between his legs and his eyes studiously avoiding contact with the dominant pair. He's almost reached the egg when the alpha male notices him; the big dog shoots towards him, yipping and snarling, and soon he's surrounded by the rest of the pack. Mbwana pins himself to the floor in a vain attempt to deter the dogs from him, but it doesn't work; he's an intruder, and he isn't welcome.

Quickly he grabs for the egg, just managing to fit it between his jaws if he stretches them as wide as he possibly can. Then, he runs, faster than he's ever ran before - he can hear and smell the pack on his heels and a frisson of fear floods through him at the idea of being torn apart by his canine brethren, but eventually the dogs give up and turn back to protect their pups. It leaves an exhausted Mbwana to crawl away, his tongue lolling as he collapses onto the floor. From his aching jaws the egg drops, and he passes out into a dead faint.

_____

He awakens to the sound of cracking, and small snarls and growls. The colt-dog staggers to his feet, his long canine tongue still hanging from his jaws after his exhausting run. The egg is split into two neat halves, and sitting at its centre is a wild dog in miniature; it's a maze of brown, black and white splotches, its eyes bright blue like Mbwana's and its tiny tail wagging as it marches towards the larger dog in front of it. Their eyes meet, and suddenly the colt feels the pup in his head as much as he can see it with his eyes; it's a bizarre sensation that he initially recoils from, before deciding to embrace it as he feels the newborn's vast consciousness against his own.

The pup lunges forwards, biting playfully at Mbwana's paw - it's obviously hungry, and the paw looks like a tasty morsel. Immediately Mbwana bears his teeth, instinct gripping him as he snaps down at the pup with a savage growl, flipping the newborn onto its back then bracing his body above it. "I'm in charge," he snarls, and he thinks it too so it floods into the pup's head through their bond. The newborn bares his own teeth, but it's a wide grin of submission; he - for Mbwana is sure it is a he - curls his tail over his exposed belly and lays still, accepting the larger dog's dominant position.

Feeling rather pleased with himself for his swift demonstration of superiority, the colt releases the pup and steps back to scrutinise him. "You will be Askari," he says, and the pup wags his tail harder. "Warrior."

M B W A N A
image credits

Safiri Posts: 18
World's Edge Filly
Filly :: Unicorn :: 14hh :: 6 months
Haki :: African Wild Dog :: Paralyze dark
#2
Safiri
She has learned to spread out the work of wandering, to wean herself off of the sturdy trees that she so heavily depends on in times of desperation, when her heart is thundering and her body fills with aches she cannot source. Haki will do his best to help her, at her side the instant she begins to feel faint, when their connection flickers at the shudders of her petite heart - he is still a pup, curious and innocent, Safiri is almost envious of his childish ignorance at the fate of their home, he is too small and young to comprehend that there is something stirring in the air, that it lingers over them like some sort of brewing storm, threatening to rain down upon the land and wash it out.

The lamb becomes a drifting nomad, with her home disbanded and her existence at a loss, she swallows up every detail within Helovia before the impending end, she takes her chances and ventures farther than she had dared previously, witnessing the world around her as it blossoms and crumbles before her. She is watching it fall apart, the way pieces are disappearing, fading into the dirt and ruin at the hand of a force she does not know in full, she is witnessing ultimate destruction through a child's point of view, not quite completely grasping the idea that it's all over, but knowing just enough that it's the final chapter. She has been keeping a thin veil between this realization and Haki, desperate to protect him from the crushing knowledge until she thinks he's ready, or until the end finally dawns upon them - whichever comes first.

Today, the pair has stumbled upon a quiet, open meadow filled with dying flowers and whispers of despair, a stiff, brisk breeze tangles through her short ivory mane and dips into the grass at her feet, whisking away dried petals and debris. Safiri enjoys the silence that fills the air around her, drowned out only by the rushing of blood in her ears and the beating of her fragile heart as her and Haki stand side by side looking out across the land, gazing down at the reality crumbling before them.

And there, she sees familiar figures, Haki perking his petite ears and wiggling his tail because he already knows, sticking to Safiri's heels as he pulls at her through the wiring that has them ensnared within one another's lives, bound by souls - he drags her behind him as she trots towards the two pups, Auni in tow on tiny ivory legs. Curious as she stands before them, Haki sniffing from a distance with intrigue rolling through her mind and suddenly she's realizing that one has spoken, that beyond the droning sound of her overworked heart, a voice is being carried by the larger of the pups, bewildered spring green falling to the dominant pup as he speaks. "What are you?"
"Talk."

image

@Mbwana


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