"Life’s pretty good, and why wouldn’t it be? I’m a pirate, after all."
The ocean was a wildcat at times, or a purring kitten, or a playful housecat running after a ball of yarn. It did not seem to settle on one mood for long, flipping through phases like a child through a boring book, looking for a couple of sentences of excitement. This morning Cormac awoke fresh and early as always, stirring from the ocean bed like some ancient creature to start his day.
Even to this moment, Cormac was not certain how he got from the Veins to the water surrounding him in it's strange ways. He had gills now at the base of his neck, and it seemed his lungs had been locked off from him, even tossed away from his scarred body. Translucent fins began to his hooves, growing up to his chest and tapering off along his belly, while his tail had transformed into more of a solid being that could flick him through the water in a moment. Cormac was just relieved his hind end hadn't been transformed in a glittering fishtail.
As a rule, the questing steed's eyes opened up at six-of-the-morning, where the sun basked the world of blues and marines into watery golds. He slept by the reef, not quite sure how he managed to stay at the bottom- unbeknownst to him, his lungs had, in fact, been replaced by a sorts of ballast tanks, which released or allowed water in so he would sink and stay there or float on top, whichever he pleased. Not only did his transformation allowed him to live underwater, it had given his eyes ever sharper vision, so Cormac could see easily without tears of salt tracking down his check.
The water, painted turquoise, sapphires, and shades of azure, stirred silently as a great dark form slipped up from the sand bed. Particles of ocean floor whispered as they danced away from sharp black hooves, a mixture of frantic and slow as they shifted and swirled. The horse moved silently, his mane and tail floating behind him, knotted ever so slightly by the circular motions of waves above. Waves ran smooth and tall, three or four feet above the blackavized head, white-frothed tips breaking heavily on the coral apartments of the ocean. The reef. Gold and red, greens and purples, pinks and exotic colors which had no name clashed and blended and contured one another, static monoliths in the ever-shifting currents. And in the reef flitted the fish- thin, wisp-like fish of aureate and ebony, a family of lemon, primrose, and ivory fish, thick and bony-jawed among them. Then there were the long-fish, quick and dashing creatures that whipped through the reefs in incredible speed, often colored heather and oyster. Tall fish, thin fish, fat fish, short fish, tiny fish so small only their jewel-like colors could be seen on the ocean floor amongst the sand. There were turtles too, great big creatures who moved in slow, relaxed movements with a twist of their massive fins, seemingly unhurried by anything. You couldn't forget Cormac's favorites either- the dolphins, the chittery, squeaking creatures who circled him and peered at him with smiling smoky faces, before dashing away. The ocean had its dangers as well, brown-ish red eels curled in their dens, the occasional reef shark with its gaping jaw swimming above, eyes rolled back into its skull. Creepy animals they were, but they seemed to avoid Cormac except for the most dangerous ones, the massive ones twelve or twenty feet long that circled in packs or solo, only to be quickly accompanied by several more.
Cormac was quick and clever though, already finding hiding spots, knowing the pointy-nosed creatures would leave him mostly after a good sturdy kick to the snout. Chilling as they were, they seemed to find other creatures to their liking, like the sea lions that corkscrewed through the water or their smaller cousins the sea otters and seals of gray fur. Yes, the stallion enjoyed his life under the ocean, quite a bit in fact. Eyes of amber blinked, and on the stallion continued on his relaxing adventures through the blue.
-- Cormac
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| Dragon's Throat Soldier |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 14.4 :: 4 |
| FennecFyre |
12-05-2012, 08:32 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-05-2012, 08:32 PM by Aryel.)
Aryel (December)
"Wait...what the--"
Aryel had been having a weird couple of days.
First, she had woken up to discover her wings, once a beautiful blue-black in color, had become bleached-white, the feathers softer than ever. Second, alarmed by a strange glow around her head, she had trotted down to the Throat oasis and discovered a halo of light floated above her head. Weird, certainly, and embarrassing, but bearable.
But the final straw had come when her rear and belly became splotched with white and dark-blue spots, like an appaloosa horse. Even more weird was the fact that those spots lit up at night. Finding a secure place to sleep (the wild wasn't all flowers and clover, ya know) had been next to impossible with a glowing tail end. Exasperated, she had pegged it on the gods screwing with the mortal horses and decided exploring yet more of Helovia would lighten her spirits.
It had been a good choice. She had never seen such a gorgeous expanse of sand, sun, and sea before. Gulls wheeled overhead, riding the air currents effortlessly. She had joined them for a time, marveling at how the sea breezes carried even her aloft with little effort on her part. Playing in the sand, she had disturbed a sideways-walking creature, that, when she lowered her head to examine it closer, waved a pincher at her threateningly. Leaving the crustacean alone, she had been wading slowly into the water, amazed at how clear it was. She could see little minnows darting away from her hooves as she submerged up to her sides, wings tucked in tightly. She had been worried about the waterlogged feathers dragging her down, but she was strong. As long as she stayed near the shallows, she would be fine. With a final surge, she pushed herself into deeper water, horse-paddling in a slow curve.
She could see coral beneath her, and fields of sea grass. Colorful fish darted about, and once, a large sea turtle made it's ponderous way beneath her hooves. Maybe a little time at the shore would take her mind off her new markings.
"blah blah blah."
"WHAT IS THIS GYPSY MAGIC SH*T?!"
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Thanks for the good times, and no hard feelings for the bad times.
Vicer and Aryel's new threads never happened.
"Life’s pretty good, and why wouldn’t it be? I’m a pirate, after all."
The lithe black form under the sea continued his saunter through the reefs. He nibbled at a sponge, nipped at an anemone, stomped at a crab, but he never truly attacked or really tried to harm anything. Cormac wouldn't like it either if a giant horse attacked him, and so he left the majority of marine life alone.
That was before a massive shadow crossed the stallion's figure. Immediately the black form, only interrupted by golden shafts of light, jerked up onto hind hooves, much in the matter of a bear scanning the forest for attack. Amber eyes followed the twist of the waves carefully, shifting upwards. He did not want to fight giant squids or some other manner of bizarre Helovian water inhabitants. But there was nothing in the warm water. Until the shadow crossed him again. This time, he did not wait for it to leave again. With a solid push of his hind end, the horse shot up to the surface, leaping out of the water in a cascade of white foam and droplets of pearl-white water, sleek body upturning as he flipped back into the water onto his back. Even with the brief explosion, his eyes had been looking for a proper sight of something.
It was a horse! A white-winged mare. Then foam caressed his eyes and he could see nothing more. With powerful strokes of his legs, the sinuous black figure pushed his way out of the water, head slipping out. One glittering gold eye watched her carefully.
-- Cormac
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| Dragon's Throat Soldier |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 14.4 :: 4 |
| FennecFyre |
Aryel (December)
"Wait...what the--"
Aryel had sometimes wondered if there was sentient life beneath the waves. A bounty of food and shelter existed under the ocean, why not sea horses? But that was foolish. They were land creatures, not sea creatures.
At least, she had thought that before a horse-sized shape hurtled out of the water, making a graceful arc before landing with a splash back in the water. Aryel had only seen the thing for a split second, but she had been able to take in the strange misshapen front legs, the dark coat, and the tail, a long fleshy thing much more powerful and sinuous than a typical wispy equine tail. With a scream, Aryel flailed away from it, accidentally swallowing a few drops of seawater and grimacing at the taste.
She had not just seen that.
What was that? The Redrock storytellers had not been the types to tell only comedic and adventurous tales. There were the horro stories, detailing the monsters of the world, such as the giant Roc bird, the skinless Nuckelavee, and the kelpies, the carnivorous water horses known to drag foals into mires and eat them.
But kelpies weren't real, right. Right??
She wasn't waiting around to find out. Aryel began paddling back to the land, but a panicked horse swims much slower than a calm one, and she wasn't getting anywhere fast. Besides, the creature was still there, sticking it's head out of the water, a head that looked very horse-like. "Uh...erm, hello, mister ah...kelpie...horse...creature." She stuttered in an attempt to buy time before it lunged. "I'm very, very sorry for disturbing you." Ohgodspleasedon'teatme.
"blah blah blah."
"WHAT IS THIS GYPSY MAGIC SH*T?!"
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Thanks for the good times, and no hard feelings for the bad times.
Vicer and Aryel's new threads never happened.
"Life’s pretty good, and why wouldn’t it be? I’m a pirate, after all."
The poor mare seemed terrified of him. Really, was Cormac scary? He looked down, and grimaced. Yes, he didn't look attractive the way he once did. His coat was night black, soaked and slicked down smooth, marked with a hundred shiny gray scars. And his eyes were bitter gold, like those of a predator's, sharp and piercing as a knife. Ah, he did look like some sort of dark evil animal.
"Oh pretty mistress, I do apologize for scaring you so. I'm Cormac, lovely." The black muzzle slipped into a warm smile, and his eyes softened to a lovely color the warm yellow of the sun's light on the forest floor. He noticed a lovely golden light hovering around her head, and his smile widened. "My, my, what have the gods done to you to make you glow so?" Cormac paused for effect. "Or, perhaps, are you such an angel you always glow?" It felt good to be flirting, to feast his eyes on a mare, to have company after days in the ocean.
It had been nice, living under the ocean waves, but lonely. Cormac was one of family, one of fun and good times, and without anyone to share it with, he had struggled.
-- Cormac
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| Dragon's Throat Soldier |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 14.4 :: 4 |
| FennecFyre |
Aryel (December)
"Wait...what the--"
So kelpies could speak Equus, apparently. And quite well, too.
Seeing as this creature didn't intend to eat her, Aryel managed to stop panicking and flailing, and as a result was able to keep above water much easily. Hollow bones assisted as well, compensating for the weight of her wings. "Cormac, huh?' she said, realizing this creature wasn't very threatening at all, just a little strange-looking.
And flirtatious, apparently.
Her ears flicked backwards once at the mention of her new marks, although she held no animosity towards Cormac. She scoffed. "Heck if I know. I don't know about you, but waking up to find you've gone from a normal blue roan into a walking appaloosa light show gets a little annoying. Gods are strange creatures." She was glad her spots weren't glowing at the moment, but the halo never seemed to go away. She paddled for a moment, wondering if it would be prudent to ask her next question. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you? I'm not a native to this place, but we certainly didn't have water horses back home." Not that they would, she had lived in a landlocked valley.
"blah blah blah."
"WHAT IS THIS GYPSY MAGIC SH*T?!"
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Thanks for the good times, and no hard feelings for the bad times.
Vicer and Aryel's new threads never happened.
"Life’s pretty good, and why wouldn’t it be? I’m a pirate, after all."
The mare grumbled at his inquiry of her festive colours. "Gods are quite strange beasts, sweetheart." He laughed quietly, thinking of his own encounter with the Water God. Or Earth God. He wasn't sure which. The algae, the transparent form, the eyes, the god's booming voice. What am I? No, in fact, Cormac did not exactly know what he was right now either. But why not joke around with her a bit?
"I'm a pegasus-eating monster out to get pretty ladies like you!" The stallion snorted, playfully snatching at her black mane. "Nah, the Water God changed me into... this. You didn't really think I was some sort of kelpie, did you?" Amber eyes gleamed mischievously. "Ah you did, didn't you? Silly mare. I have to live under the water until the end of Birdsong like this, for a quest. I asked for the ability, the magic, to communicate to water and let it speak to me. Sometimes I fancy I can hear it whispering lullabies to me at night when I sleep on the sandy bed." A puff of air escaped his dark lips. The end of Birdsong seems like ages away.
-- Cormac
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| Dragon's Throat Soldier |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 14.4 :: 4 |
| FennecFyre |
Aryel (December)
"Wait...what the--"
Aryel squeaked in a rather embarrassing manner as Cormac playfully grabbed at her mane, trying to swim backwards unsuccessfully. She blushed as she realized the girly noise she had made, and was grateful for her fur covering it up. This horse was a little annoying, and yet she found his company enjoyable. The cocky stallions were always like that, irritating, but in a good way. Did that make sense? She needed to stop thinking like that.
Water god? Oh, he must mean the Earth god. Well, it would make sense for the same deity to control both. Aryel was not a very religious horse, but even she had some respect for him, especially after she had heard what happened to give the Deep Forest it's slashed trees and gem-floored spring. The Sun and Moon had foolishly wasted the lives of hundreds of horses, dooming their souls to never rest, and the Earth was the only one who had cared.
"Communicate with water?" she asked, looking down nervously at the blue sea. But water couldn't think or feel. It was just...water! Wasn't it? Also she supposed with the right magic, you could understand it.
But would you want to? What if you drank and heard the water scream as you swallowed it. The thought made a shudder run down her flanks. Maybe she shouldn't put too much thought into that.
Feeling a bit tired from treading water, she carefully backswam until her hooves touched sand, then stood in the water, shoulders and the top of her back above the liquid. Much better. She blinked, realizing that he had given his name and she hadn't given hers. "Ah, sorry. I'm Aryel, from the Dragon's Throat." She wondered if this horse had a herd. "So what's it like living under the water?" she asked, genuinely curious. Before, the largest water body she had ever seen was a lake, but she couldn't help from wondering what creatures and sights, harmless and dangerous alike, called the water home.
"blah blah blah."
"WHAT IS THIS GYPSY MAGIC SH*T?!"
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Thanks for the good times, and no hard feelings for the bad times.
Vicer and Aryel's new threads never happened.
Parrot wings closed neatly at the white stallions' sides. His green eyes scanned the area, looking down into the water. What he did not expect to see was a horse, er, a merhorse. ""Whoa thar's a horse, or should I say a merhorse!" The stallion laughed. The gold rings in his ears clicked together as he perked his ears."Did t' water god curse you or somethin'?" He laughed some more. "Lad, how's life under t' sea?" He smiled. "Must be amazin'!"
Finally the white stud turned his attention to a sweet pegasus. "And who be you?" He stared into the eyes of the blue roan. A golden halo hovered above her head and she had suspicious spots on her rump. "What's with t' markings on your rump?" He asked."And that thin' above your head?" He questioned the mare further.
"Young ladies like you shouldn't be wanderin' about alone." He smiled at the mare in a somewhat sweet way. Flirting was what he did best. He looked back down at the merhorse, then returned his gaze on the pegasus. With a playful grin he flicked his tail at the mare's quarters. He was one for fun, adventures and one for sailing the high seas. He waited for the mare to speak.
OOC: Sorry, just had to join. Poor Aryel though, both stallions are flirting with her. x3 And does this post take place before or after the pirate band met?
WC: 213
"Life’s pretty good, and why wouldn’t it be? I’m a pirate, after all."
Cormac laughed at her girlish squeak of alarm, nudging her gently with his muzzle. You would have thought he was about to eat her. "Sorry sweetheart, didn't mean to scare you." He swam a few feet away.
Much to his annoyance, the stallion from the pirate gang he had founded came falling out of the sky like a cannon, landing loudly in the water. Kraken, if Cormac called correctly. "Do not laddybuck me, young dog." He snorted, eyeing the pegasus in mild annoyances. So nice of him to drop in and start flirting with his fine lady. "This lady is Aryel, Kraken. And I'm Cormac, if your feather-brained head can recall. If I'm with her, she quite safe from scoundrels like you." Cormac snorted again, shaking his wet head.
Had he really forgotten to tell his crew about his ladies being his ladies?
-- Cormac
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| Dragon's Throat Soldier |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 14.4 :: 4 |
| FennecFyre |
12-19-2012, 06:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-23-2012, 07:07 PM by Aryel.)
Aryel (December)
"Wait...what the--"
Aryel's attention was drawn by a figure in the sky. She looked up to see a fellow pegasus wheeling above them, solid white except for his vividly-colored wings, in stark contrast with and yet matching perfectly his snowy body. She watched as he landed in the shallows next to her, addressing Cormac first. He seemed to be rather comfortable speaking to him, perhaps they knew eachother before Cormac's transformation?
She blinked as he turned to her, asking her name and...her ears flicked backwards. He also had noticed the spots. "Don't ask about those." she groaned. "Because I don't know. The halo, the spots, those weren't there in Frostfall. And my wings were black before, not white." (Although she would privately admit her spots, which were dark blue when they weren't glowing, weren't too ugly.) "I think it's happened to a few other horses, or so I've heard." She tossed her head. "I'm blaming it on the gods."
She jumped as his tail brushed her flank, accompanied by a few flirtatious words. Oh, wonderful, she thought. Exchanging banter with one "stud" was fine, but two were a bit of a hoof-full. Thankfully, it seemed Cormac shared this opinion, although she wasn't sure if that was a faint note of possessiveness in his tone. Still, she had no desire to get between two sparring stallions. (Although she privately wondered what Cormac could do in terms of fighting in his present state.)
So the parrot-colored pegasus was named Kraken. Kraken and Cormac. Maybe they were in some sort of beach-roving band together. She noticed with interest the gold rings in his ear, as well as Cormac's ripped ear. Just what had she stumbled into here? "You two know eachother?" she asked.
"blah blah blah."
"WHAT IS THIS GYPSY MAGIC SH*T?!"
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Thanks for the good times, and no hard feelings for the bad times.
Vicer and Aryel's new threads never happened.
The parrot-winged stallion showed no fear. His face showed no emotion as his captain yelled at him."Aye! S'rry capt'n! Didn't know she was yer lady!" He grinned. " I didn't see ye flirtin' with her!" The pegasus directed his words at Cormac, trying not to yell too loud. He then turned back to the lovely maiden."Why aye, we do know each other." The pegasus grinned. His attention was drawn back to Cormac."What happened t' ye Cormac!?" He laughed at his companion's strange appearance."Livin' with t' fish be ya?" He snickered.
The pirate looked at the poor pegasus, her mortal form had been altered in the strangest way."So ye think t' gods did that t' ye?"He asked the mare, staring at her strange spots and glowing ring above her head. The stud himself would surely die if he had a glowing halo above his head. He grinned, his foolish thoughts consumed his mind. With quick movements he stepped closer to the water, letting it lap at his hooves and his hocks. The smell of salt water was his favorite smell. The sun sinking below the waters was his favorite sight. Clearly he was a pirate, a seaman. He loved the salty air and crashing waves. He was lost in his own thoughts, thinking of the sea.
OOC: Had to squeeze out some Kraken muse.
WC: 217
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