Another land....another group of equines.......why did she keep subjecting herself to this over and over again? Maybe it was that small seed of hope that bloomed in her chest each time she saw a newborn foal......maybe it was the teachings of her gentle mother, or hell...maybe she was just plain stupid. Perspiration rolled down her marbled neck, making the gray seem darker and almost charred beneath the reaching shadows of the pines. Her brilliant red tail flicked about her bum as mosquitos and flies took advantage of the shade, hiding in the shadows to bombard her with their tiny gaping mouths. She was itching....hot....and irritable. Not really the best frame of mind to be in when venturing into new lands....But hey.....it was likely she would just be ignored anyway. She was yet to come across a stallion that felt her claiming material. Her pale blue eyes shifted, noting the way the insected bombarded her defenceless neck. With a snort and a shiver she stopped to try to nibble at her itchy hide.....but she was not an owl and her neck was not flexible enough to reach those points where the insects were landing....Once again her heritage came back to bite her....literally. With another snort and a kick of her heels she quickened her pace through the dark trees, trying to get the the reprieve that the sun would offer.

But as she moved deeper through the woods a plethora of scents assaulted her nose. Stallions and mares, pegasi and unicorns.... their smell slightly different and exotic from her own. In her homeland there had been few of these marvelous beasts.....and those that did exist were chastened like herself for being different....Perhaps this was where everyone who was different eventually wandered......Perhaps here her lack of a mane would be a small abnormality in comparison to others. The thought brought a spring to her step, a glimmer of hope to her heart. Maybe here at last she could find a place to call home. She let herself get so distracted by her thoughts that she did not even notice the crackling of branches behind her, until one particularly loud snap made her freeze. Every muscle in her small body coiling, ready for an attack......But her ‘attacker’ was little more than a small rabbit. With a twitch of its pink nose it was gone, snorting she turned back about to continue on her way, not noticing the shadow that eclipsed her world.

She had not expected the great horned beast that blocked her path. She had thought she was a fool for being so nervous about the crackling sounds of branches....but perhaps her unease had been well placed. Her pale eyes quickly took in his massive bay form, glittering with curiosity as they landed on the massive horn that sprouted from his skull. She lost herself for a moment, staring at the luminescent thing until his deep rumbling voice brought her back to the present. Tonka....the assassin? Who introduced themselves as an assassin? Was not an important part of the ‘job’ to be virtually unknown and invisible? But in all likelihood had he wanted to remain hidden from her he could have with ease......he was here making himself known to her for some reason. She pursed her lips, letting her gaze linger on his dark eyes for a moment before a reply whispered past her lips.

“I don’t know...”

It was a simple answer....and the truth, though she wasn’t sure why she felt the need to give it. She could have easily lied, said she was just passing through or looking for new members to join her herd.....But he would easily smell the lack of other scents on her hide, no... she had been alone far too long. But what alternative was there? To be ridiculed daily? That was worse than being lonesome. Her red tail swished against her legs, each strand slithering against the next to create a sound like shuffling leaves. She wanted to step back....he was uncomfortably close....but to show anything that could be construed as fear would be a mistake. Knowing that she had purposely withheld her own name a tiny smile curled on her lips.

“And yourself, assassin? Why are you here?”

No day had ever been finer than the morning I awoke to after a night of horror. Sickening dreams seemed to haunt me nightly now that I had a small filly that I lovingly called my daughter. Tamira seemed to be a bit out of sorts in dealing with her first hand at motherhood but I couldn’t blame her in the least. As it appeared, I often dealt with the worries of having my first child as well. However, I was more than elated to head off into the shadows of the Threshold to try and rid myself of the darkened images of my sweet Essetia being impaled by some vicious creature or another. The idea turned my stomach and I was eager to forget such troublesome doubts- she was safe in the Edge after all. I knew that my family would see to it that she was properly looked after along with Tamira. My mate? I hoped that I could call her such after seeing rampant trails of confusion within her ordinarily warm gaze. Once again, I found myself running from the possibility of finding her heart elsewhere; how it would kill me to discover such unfortunate news. How it would kill me… Under the warmth of the summer sun, I felt most sensational. The soft yellow glow that it cast across the otherwise shaded ascent into the Threshold was a bright reminder that the path ahead could be anything I wanted it to be. With her heart next to mine, I would find my life quite blissful and my opportunities endless. Though, with that said, I was quickly forced from my habitual daydreaming and into the reality of distant conversation. The notes were light and friendly for the most part and while my twisted sense of logic was rather adamant to leave well enough alone, I couldn’t keep my path from intersecting theirs. How quaint of me. “An assassin huh? Assassin of what might I ask? Surely I won’t find you upon my borders trying to cause trouble.” The stallion didn’t appear to be much of a threat, what with his quiet nature and rather bland personality and the mare was pretty peculiar as well, considering she wore no threads upon her nape as the many that inhabited Helovia. But I guess nothing was out of the question in this neck of the woods- anything could happen. “I’m Thor of the World’s Edge. If it is a home you seek then perhaps you’d prefer the comfort of a herd… considering your assassin here would have to take up arms in the wilds.” A gentle smile was proffered though I wasn’t sure whether or not I would find the pleasantries of company within their words and so braced myself for the worst.

She had not expected a second stallion to come traipsing along....but that was exactly what happened. As she waited for the first stallions reply the deep voice of a second pressed into her hears. She curled her neck inward, like a fiddlehead fern. Feeling the pressing warmth of both bodies although neither was touching her....It was one thing to encounter a single stranger....but two...it made the fur on her neck prickle. However her worry seemed unfounded, as the second stallion addressed the so called assassin without fear. Her eyes quickly danced over his frame,lingering on the small wings that burdened his sides....They were impossibly small to be used for flight....what an annoyance they must be....A constant reminder of something he almost had.. ‘flight’.

Thor.....she shaped his name on her tongue, silently rolling in back and forth in her maw....A powerful name, though one that was borrowed from a god....could this stallion ever stack up to such a namesake? She dipped her head slightly, pale eyes flickering to the earth for a moment in a show of respect before jumping back to his dark face. Ah....and he offered a home. Did he not see the strange lack of a mane? Or was he simply ignoring the fact? Or..perhaps...he did not care. It was a fools folly to think that she would run into a kind stallion when she first pressed into these lands....one that did not care that she was different and not technically a pretty mare. Her red tail lashed against her flanks, pale ears twitched as her mind swam...contemplating the offer this beast had made....

“I...am Crven.”

His simple smile had broken through the facade she had presented to the assassin. While she had been brazen under his gaze she felt bare beneath Thors....Kindness it seemed would be the thing to break her. Her eyes cast carelessly to the first arrival...but he was no longer her interest....kindness it turned out....could be quite addictive. “You.....would have me?”

The mare’s eyes widened as if I’d grown a fifth appendage and the thought made me smile. She was tender enough with the ability to succumb to persuasion which altogether didn’t appear to be a bad thing in this situation. But it would have to be compromised when she returned to the Edge- they would have no room for traitors. But I didn’t think she was so much of a traitor as just utterly confused. There was nothing about her mannerism that spoke of bad behaviors; in fact, she seemed to be a mare that could be easily molded into whatever the Edge needed. That’s not to say it was a bad thing because adaptability was certainly something that I looked for in recruits. If they possessed no possible acceptance of change, then where could they possibly end up, except stuck in a repetitive rut of everlasting disappointment. The stallion had yet to speak up and I assumed that as an “assassin” he could not do anything other than watch my ass end as I turned away from him, clearly displeased with his little disaster plans. If he’d had something to say, he might as well know that there was no point in saying it. The early bird gets the worm right? Or rather, nice guys finish last, or whatever phrase he wanted to tell himself when I walked away with the girl. Hopefully he wasn’t too much of a sore loser… I would hate to have to deal with the wounded pride of an assassin. Turning to the mare now, I chuckled lightly. “I would have you should to decide to follow. But I’ve no more time to waste in this wretched place. If you’ll come along now darling, we can chat on the way.” With that, I left the mare to decide as I wandered across the clearing and into the shadows to pause briefly. I would give her five seconds to catch up and upon the fifth count if her hooves were not trailing my own, she would be left to the assassin, not that he would prove much of a threat. One, two, three…

Should she follow? Her eyes watched the retreating stallions form with unease....an ultimatum....To follow or to be stuck here with the suddenly mute bay beast? She pursed her lips, twitching the muscles in her neck and tossing her head back and forth....Was this just another stallion whom would treat her horrible as soon as she became a member of his herd? The thought of becoming a brood mare to raise the numbers of a herd was sickening to her......she was a sentient being after all...To be used as nothing but a reproductive device was discerning....But in all reality every other herd she had been in had been full of stallions that were careful not to touch her, or her weirdly naked neck. The thought made her stiffen, and then slowly take one small step and then another after the small winged beast. He was out in the open now, without any trees to block the sun from his chocolate hide.....but she could not imagine why....He could not hope to fly could he? The image of a large flightless bird hopping up and down in vain nearly made her giggle, but she was quick to suppress it....It was possible he was as sensitive about his small wings as she was about her naked neck...But there was only one way to find out. With a final snort and a twitch of her tail at the stone like bay beast she was off, her thin short legs paddling quickly to catch stride with the larger equine.
WC:263
((So are you going to start a thread or shall I? ^_^))