| Deceased |
| Mare :: Equine :: 15.1 :: 5 Buff: NOVICE |
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Merikh :: Cougar :: Paralyze
ali |
06-27-2012, 09:16 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-03-2012, 07:05 AM by Histe.)
"Where are we going?"
"I don't know."
"I don't like this place."
"I do."
"You would."
The conversation was getting nowhere so Histe decided to ignore Huinne's voice as she navigated the tricky terrain of the marsh. It was intriguing, to her. She could look down in the water and see horses trapped under there. Equine. Unicorn. Pegasus. They were all there. All of them trapped. Some of them more rotted than others. All still animated. Still groaning and struggling.
"Do you hear them Huinne?" Histe's voice carried a note of pleasure at the sound of the trapped trying to escape the marsh that held them captive. The voice in her head was silent, as if making his distaste for their surroundings evident. The mare laughed and shook her head. "Don't pout, Huinne, we're only passing through."
"Where?"
"I already told you I don't know."
"The sun's almost completely set. We should leave."
"Not yet."
Huinne's voice became silent again as did Histe. The idea of being in the marsh after sundown didn't scare her as it did her brother. She'd traveled through the marsh before and could pick her way back well enough. And if she fell in? Well, even the dead wouldn't want to keep her in their ranks. Hell itself would spit her back out. Of this, she was confident.
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Jackal2 the King of Thieves Posts: 71
| Hidden Account |
| Stallion :: Equine :: 15.3 ½ :: 3 years |
| zz |
06-29-2012, 01:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-29-2012, 01:46 PM by Jackal2.)
This place was hot and sticky, and when he looked down, there were half-drowned bodies floating like water lillies.
The red dun colt followed the hard, dry path religiously, occasionally glancing at the marsh below, wondering if he could find anyone familiar. As always, the bold bronze flew loyally at his tail, occasionally drifting off to aid his bonded. He brought back gruesome pictures of pale, bloated bodies with mist-kissed eyes that gazed upwards. It was dark, the clouds seemingly pregnant with rain, but no water fell, only oppressive heat. The sun was beginning to fall as well. 'What if the dead rise up when it becomes dark?', he asked his companion, slate eyes flicking nervously towards the carcasses. In response, the bronze gave a dismissing puff of smoke, gaining altitude easily, flying easy, large circles over his bonded. 'He will protect me.' Jackal thought resolutely. Was he a coward?
An image flashed behind his corneas- a strange striped mare, dark bay, alone. She spoke to herself. 'Is she bonded?' He snorted, ears straining to hear her voice. Soon enough, it wafted into his ears like the terrible humid scent of decay which surrounded him like a cloud. He found her, and she was not much older than he, eyes pale, like those of the dead. Pausing a cautious distance from her, the appaloosa called out courteously, soft grey nostrils quivering as his body vibrated with sound.
""
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| Deceased |
| Mare :: Equine :: 15.1 :: 5 Buff: NOVICE |
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Merikh :: Cougar :: Paralyze
ali |
06-29-2012, 07:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-03-2012, 07:04 AM by Histe.)
"Someone's coming."
"I know. I can hear them." Histe's ears twitched and rotated in the direction Jackal's steps were coming from. "Not very quiet, are they Huinne?" No, not very quiet or cautious at all. Her brother remained ominously silent to her question and the mare just snorted and shook out her mane. He was coming her way, there was only one solid path in and out of the swamp and she stood blocking it. Unless the one coming toward her turned and headed back in the direction he'd come from he wouldn't be leaving.
"He's here."
Huinne's voice faded away as Jackal called out to her. Histe turned her head in his direction and blinked, her ears slowly moving until they were pinned tightly against her skull. Her body shifted and she stood facing the roan colt and his dragon. She huffed a bit at the dragon. Bronze or not, she was scared of no dragon. She'd already been burned by them, her body still bore the scars from the dragon's fire.
"Hello." Her tone was poisonous, but the mare made no move to attack the colt, nor did she summon her rain to burn him. "What did you come here for? A glimpse of the afterlife?" She laughed quietly. "Allow me to be your guide."
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Jackal2 the King of Thieves Posts: 71
| Hidden Account |
| Stallion :: Equine :: 15.3 ½ :: 3 years |
| zz |
She blocked his path like a slab of black brindled stone, pale, pale eyes boring into his soul like a sledgehammer. He stopped uncertainly, his eyes, a pleasant shade of light slate which bordered on mercury or quicksilver, flicked across her body like a songbird assessing a hawk, ears swerving. This situation would call on bravery, but he could not find any within the confines of his soul, and he was quiet for fear his voice would betray how young and afraid he truly was.
Dei swooped down like a bronze wind, sitting defensively on the crest of his thick neck. His slender body was tense, coils and coils of lean muscles and flexible scales, teeth and flame, ready to protect his partner fearlessly. The dragon bore his fangs in a fierce grin. All his bonded managed was a mental titter, an unbearable squeal. Jack could feel his friend almost laughing. You are scared of little hatchling horse, the dragon voiced, not unkindly, although he kept his mean exterior for the sake of appearances. The appaloosa's ears swiveled. No, I just don't like her look. Dei latched onto his orange-gold mane, talons digging painfully where hair roots met skin. Silver queen not approve of fear, the bronze continued, shifting his jade gaze to the dark tips of the dun. You be brave, for sake of silver queen.
Jack raised his eyes to the older filly, ears tilted back, a breath of fire in his eyes. She was a snake; there was venom in her voice. He sighed softly, not sure if he was afraid anymore. "I'm looking for someone," red dun said honestly, not wanting to lie - to anyone. Desaturated blue eyes softened, although they still held an edge. He was tired.
Perhaps he needed a guide? She seemed like a ghost, some immaterial thing. Maybe she was a demon? Reluctantly, he took a step forward, striped hooves trampling the dry ashen grasses which had long died at the hands of a cruel sun. "So be it," he said quietly, hoping it wasn't a euphemism for throwing his body with the rest of those water lilies.
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| Deceased |
| Mare :: Equine :: 15.1 :: 5 Buff: NOVICE |
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Merikh :: Cougar :: Paralyze
ali |
"He looks so scared, Histe. Look at him. He can't even speak."
"I know."
She sounded pleased that Huinne would agree with her that the colt looked frightened. "He has that same look you always had around mom, Huinne." Histe laughed, but that laugh ended in a sneer. "And look at his dragon, Huinne. Isn't it pretty? Don't you want one?" Her teeth clicked together and she laughed again.
"It's a bronze, Histe."
"Yes, I know it's only a bronze."
"It'll burn you."
"I've been burned by them before, Huinne." She wasn't scared to be burned by them again. The first time was painful, but the few other times she'd been in fights and had been burned by dragons weren't nearly so painful. Neither were the hits that came from her enemies or the burn of her rain. She gave it no thought that it didn't hurt, why would she?
The mare actually quieted when the other began to speak. Looking for someone? Her tail lashed at her legs again and she stomped a hind hoof into the soft ground. Why would he be looking for someone here?
"Who is he looking for?"
"I don't know." Histe snapped impatiently, slamming another hoof into the ground. Her pale eyes found Jackal again and she extended her neck and stepped toward him. "Who?"
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Jackal2 the King of Thieves Posts: 71
| Hidden Account |
| Stallion :: Equine :: 15.3 ½ :: 3 years |
| zz |
She did it again - she was talking, but to whom? Poison horse talks to ghost, the bronze whispered in reply, eyeing the brindle with suspicious green eyes. He would be the first to admit this was an eerie place, and those pale slimy things in her face did not help calm him. She reminded him of shades with their redred eyes, but her's were too light and she was on the physical plane (he hoped). "Who are you talking to?" the colt blurted out stupidly, immediately regretting his blunder. Not only am I a coward, I'm also a fool. Dei chortled sympathetically. At least his companion compensated for the colt's lack of gall with brazen courage.
Brindle kept snapping at herself. Jack regarded her warily, considering his options to flee; he was met only by silence as he consulted his dragon. Mother and father were warriors, they would have fought this girl off like a springtime slug. I lack that gene, the red dun moaned inwardly. She was much taller and much more brawny than the scrawny scruffy yearling that stood before her, not trembling, but almost.
Her attention turned to him, ghost grey and quicksilver meeting. He wanted to sneer - to do something to prove that he was not a stupid baby, although deep down, he knew it was true. The bronze let forth a puff of swarthy smoke, black and swimming through the air. Who. Appaloosa snorted, silver eyes turning into steel. He was not so weak to reveal the content of his heart to a crazy, demanding stranger. "No one of your concern," he said, proud that it was a growl and not a whimper, although he refused to say anything else for fear that it would be.
He wanted desperately to run.
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| Deceased |
| Mare :: Equine :: 15.1 :: 5 Buff: NOVICE |
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Merikh :: Cougar :: Paralyze
ali |
A twisted little smile curled Histe's lips when the colt asked who she was talking to. "Who am I talking to?" She repeated his question as she stepped closer to him. "The dead." Histe laughed quietly and continued to watch his face once she'd answered Jackal's question. Even with his dragon the poor boy was already terrified, she could feel it. He had every right to be scared, especially since she held little regard or fear for the bronze he claimed as his companion and protector.
"Be careful, Histe. You might not be scared of that dragon but it could kill you."
"Shut up, Huinne. I do not fear death."
"You should."
"Shut up!"
Her focus, again, settled on Jackal and she waited for him to answer the question she had posed before Huinne had interrupted. He answered in a growl and it made Histe smile in a maniacal fashion. "Is that so?" She moved another step closer to the colt, her pale eyes flashing dangerously. "So brave so suddenly. I wonder why."
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Jackal2 the King of Thieves Posts: 71
| Hidden Account |
| Stallion :: Equine :: 15.3 ½ :: 3 years |
| zz |
Her eyes bore into his soul; he felt naked, stripped of skin, the contents of his heart revealed to all the world. Witch, he wants to cry, blue-grey eyes widening as her words reach his ears. They flick backwards in response, and the bronze hisses dreadfully, hackles raising. Black-magic, like the one that destroyed my home, he explains to the dragon, still watching the dark mare argue fitfully - with the deceased? He tilted his head in morbid fascination, too horrified to do anything more.
She drew closer, sour breath wrinkling his nostrils. Death, she smelled of death, purling through his nasal cavity like a plague, burning his lungs with putrid air. Necromancer, black, black witch, her eyes clouded and grey, although she was not blind. He felt himself tremble; whatever warmth resided in that carcass of her's radiated onto his own, and instead of easing his shiver, it increased. Lips part in a terrible smile - witch, witch, witch! Dragon claws dug furrows into his skin; he bled, rose red running down a hide of peach-gold, racing past spots of white and hints of wine.
Jackal remained silent, eyes widening until white rimmed his eyes completely, accentuating the innocence of the blue iris. Leave, his companion hissed, crawling between two dark-tipped ears. Go before black hurts you bad.
He felt the skin of his limbs itch and tingle, and for a moment, two forelegs lashed blindly before him, hoping to rid the witch from his space. Muscles rippled and bulged, and the wild flapping of membrane told of a dragon escaping, rushing towards the black, trying to fly around her face in a frenzy of wings and claws.
And Jackal did the only thing he could do: run.
He turned tail and felt the ground move away from him in a blur, body dark with sweat and polluted water, shying away from the eyes of the dead. Striped hooves ate the swamp, powerful haunches propelling him away from danger.
When would he be sound?
I wish mother and father were here.
If only.
[feel free to powerplay Dei :P]
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| Deceased |
| Mare :: Equine :: 15.1 :: 5 Buff: NOVICE |
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Merikh :: Cougar :: Paralyze
ali |
It was sick, the feeling of power she got over seeing the fear in a young colt's eyes. Seeing him shiver made her heart race, the blood rushing through her veins. It made her muscles flex beneath her scarred, brindle hide. "Scared?" She hisses quietly as she continues to inch herself closer to the colt and his dragon. A dragon she had absolutely no fear of. Her tongue darted out of her mouth as if she were a snake tasting the air. "I can taste your fear." She inches closer still. "Coward."
The flailing of his forelegs was testament to the fact that the colt was going to turn tail and run, prove that he was a coward. Something between a hiss and a growl wormed its way past the mare's lips as she lurched forward, her teeth bared. The bite was aimed for the colt's face, but he shied away and Histe bit down on his left ear, the flesh quickly bruising beneath the force of her bite. Jackal screamed and twisted his head, trying to get away from her. Histe twisted her head away from Jackal, pulling fiercely on his ear. The thin flesh ripped, causing both horses to stumble back a step, Jackal with bleeding with a part of his ear missing and Histe with that part of Jackal's ear and his blood in her mouth.
In a show of dominance Histe chewed and swallowed what she had bitten off and laughed. Her laughter, however, was cut short when the bronze attacked her. His claws raked down the side of her face, opening new wounds over already healed scars. Over the flapping of the dragon's wings she could hear the pounding of hooves as the colt retreated. Histe screamed out her anger and bit at the dragon. Out of sheer luck, though she would never admit so, she grabbed hold of Dei's tail. The mare spun around and slammed the dragon against one of the swamp trees. She wasn't fool enough to think that one hit would take the dragon down. No. She smacked him against the tree twice more before dropping him onto the ground and snorting.
"Pathetic."
"Don't just stand there! Kill the colt!"
"Yes, mother."
The already dark sky darkened further as rain clouds gathered and churned ominously. The wind whipped up suddenly and the thunder roared, effectively silencing the pounding of slate grey hooves against the dried earth. Her strides were long and quickly she overcame the distance that the dragon had allowed Jackal to gain. Oh, but he wouldn't get away.
Soon she could see the peachy colt ahead of her and she laughed maniacally. "I'm coming for you boy!" she screeched. There was a hiss and a sizzle as the rain began to fall, gently at first then with more force until it was a downpour that obscured whatever it was that Jackal was running to. In a panic the colt skidded to a stop, his blue eyes wide as he searched for Dei, only to find Histe charging at him. His ears pinned back and he began to run again, but the burning pain from the rain along with the paralyzing fear that his dragon could be dead had slowed him down.
Histe barreled into the colt, sending him reeling. He regained his balance and backed away from the mare, staring into the bleeding face of the mare. Her eyes, pale and angry were haunting. She charged him again and Jackal tried to turn, tried to get away from her but she slammed her body into him again. This time as he tried to regain his balance she reared, those slate hooves came crashing down on his shoulder, causing the boy to cry out. Her teeth were on him again, biting at his withers and his neck. She was able to get a hold of him and scraped her hooves down his legs, cutting flesh with the jagged, sharp edges of them.
Jack grunted and tried to shove the mare away, but she wouldn't let up and neither would the rain. Stop! he wanted to beg her, plead with her to stop her torture or just end him more quickly than she had planned. She assaulted him with her hooves again, his time, however, the assault was on his right hock. She intended to cripple him. His eyes were white rimmed again as he tried to escape only to have the mare hot on his trail.
"Stop! Histe please stop!" Huinne's voice cut through his sister's blind rage, causing her to falter and force herself to stop before the ground rose to meet her face. Her ears were pinned back, her sides heaving and lathered with sweat. Blood dripped from her face onto the ground as she stood there, watching the colt retreat. From the swamp she could see the bronze fly away and she snorted her disgust.
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Jackal2 the King of Thieves Posts: 71
| Hidden Account |
| Stallion :: Equine :: 15.3 ½ :: 3 years |
| zz |
Pain; it zipped through his nerves like a frenzied bird, reaching the thalamus in a burst of white light and sheer terror. Skin and cartilage rip, part, until they are two different pieces; the colt and the mare stumble apart, only a spray of blood between them. Then, eyes watch the necromancer with something akin to horror as she swallowed the flesh, and he felt stale breeze pass through the new hollow of his ear.
Run.
A gust of bronze wind swept into the ugly witch's face, biting and clawing viciously with all its might. The colt could only watch with wide blue eyes, wanting to do something, anything, to help his faithful friend.
Dei?
Run!
With a last reluctant gaze, he felt his limbs tremble into action, clumsily charging back into the direction where they had come. Air whistled through his ear, and he could feel pain, although it was not pain from his own nervous system.
Dei?
Runrunrunrunrrun!
Dei?
Ru--
Dei? Dei?
Slate eyes roll backward, straining backwards; he could only see the very same brave bronze being hurtled like a ragdoll into a nearby tree. There was a hollow in his mind, an ugly hole where a dragon should have been. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, but he forced himself to keep running, for Dei, at least. Although his left ear throbbed uncontrollably, he could hear the terrible whirlwind of blood in his ear, his heart beating frantically. Morbidly, he wondered if it would leap out of his chest: would he end up like the bloated lily-bodies in this swamp?
Although rain began to fall, he could hear her voice, like the laugh of a harpy, and faster than he could ever expect, the witch came onto him, grey (he refused to call them silver; for his father's eyes were silver, kind and brave, and silver was too fine a color for her) eyes wide with sadistic glee. He balked out of panic, hooves slipping clumsily, his body almost falling into the mire. He was blinded, although those slate eyes searched desperately for his dragon, hoping for a warm flash of bronze, or a chortle in his mind.
None.
She crashed into him and he reeled backwards, the whites of his eyes flashing, sides heaving with exertion. When he regained balance, he was faced with her face: this horrible oblong thing. She could never be more beautiful than his mother, or Ktulu (whose eyes were red, but they were life-red), but he was mesmerized by the expression she wore, how whatever light penetrated the rain, there was a glint in those pale eyes.
Then, she sprang into action.
He tried desperately to escape, but her weight fell onto his body, causing him to stumble into the sickly grass of the safe-path. Hooves bit into his flesh and he let out a pathetic yelp, although that did not keep her from scouring his hide with her teeth like some predator.
Am I going to die?
Pain convulsed through his body, and he wanted to tell her to stop, but it would be futile, for her hooves met him again, and scraped the skin off his legs in jagged wounds. He flailed helplessly, wanting to distance her, but the hooves only came again, aimed towards his hocks. Eyes closed, the colt laid listless, hoping for the worst and dreaming of death.
A....are you al-allllright?
Eyes snapped open.
Dei was alive!
Ignoring the bite of pain that danced through his body, the colt jerked his legs from harm's way, although Histe's toe managed to smash against his joint. Grimacing with pain, and through some act of divine intervention, he managed to wriggle from her weakening grasp. Galloping wildly towards the source of Dei's voice, he could feel the necromancer hot on his trail. Jackal pushed harder, summoning all the strength he had left (admittedly- very little).
A bronze thing met him, rising from the body of a dead filly, tattered and bruised, but nevertheless whole and alive. Breathless with joy and fear, the pair continued on, unaware that Histe had stopped dead.
[ignore how terrible this is :| I need to look over it later]
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