I forgot what they looked like,
But I can’t escape what they left behind; a tsunami of red. The few who have made it thus…
I miss their faces, their voices singing hymns; true and powerful against the juxtaposition of death and ruin.
I can’t even utter a verse, lest I fall silent for a century or more.
They have all gone; they have joined the wind in ethereal communion.
Each day is shorter, and the clouds, rife with anger and petulant frustration stir non-stop. Eventually the sun has all together dissapeared, leaving no trace of a warmth for even the wandering stranger on his beck and call to seek his mysterious ends. It will not end; the yearling is certain. It remains imperative to keep moving, and to resist the numb injection of cool winter wind. It’s unbearable here, where sleeping becomes a lucrative and perilous act; shall I be gifted the chance to find renewal on this cursed day? Or shall I drift along with my brothers, my sisters, another voice to hail the winter-song?
It is with patience that the youth continues to push beyond the snowy steppes and endless frigid prairies. The dark wave of a tsunami red has long since crashed and made its terrible, yawning teeth a presence of danger and demise. One can never be too certain though, whether the sweeping waves will recoil far enough to smother a premature peace. As much peace a grieving heart can squander.
Peace did not exist in loneliness however, as the winter cautioned the living from stepping out. Who would want to? The desperate perhaps, the lost and forgotten (to be made silent); or perhaps to escape and taste the ravenous fang of death prowling on the open plain. But out of some ill motive the girl could not help herself; life, she had her life, and that was all she had. Perhaps more than she thought she did; those voices who called up to the sky in hymns were invariably attached to her journey. The youth could not see past their deaths however, could not properly conceive a life beyond their warmth. And with merely a life to carry on, a life to keep a flame, she struggled to wonder why it even mattered.
Nonetheless the red stained roan marched towards the valley ahead. With eyes shadowed against the pregnant belly of snow-clouds, she pushed through; steady, quiet with the wind in howl.
There were foreign scents here… crawling past her nostrils, making her wary.
Was this the end?
She continued to weave through forest, sticking close to each tree, hugging it as much as she could as the snow fallen ground scattered here and piled over there. At least the wind was angry, and it made the sounds that she made very hard to trace. The scents were odd as well though, and yes, indeed… they were hard to trace as well. Because nature would not allow one creature to tame its wild head; it certainly ran rampant during one of the most treacherous times of the year.
But instead of being lured by the whistling wail of that old winter spirit, the young, agitated filly stopped just before the forest broke away into a clearing.
Where her eyes wandered into the white of it all; longing for a single sign. A voice that would tell her it was going to be all right… baby-girl; it’s only a sunrise away. But as she lifted her cool gaze up into the shadow of cloud, she found no certainty in its vehemence. No good will would take her up and cradle her, as she should. And it was this asinine, archaic primal need to survive that she would have to settle for. That drove her, for some undetermined reason, to keep pressing on.
Thor the Gentle Heart Posts: 379
| Hidden Account atk: 4 | def: 7 | dam: 7.5 |
| Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.3 :: 11 (TallSun) HP: 64.5 | Buff: NOVICE |
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Sabine :: Common Zephyr :: Roc
Linds |
The day was no longer something to be awaited because it certainly never came. Hours upon hours were spent wondering where the sun had gone and perhaps it was just as well- my heart was filled with the darkness of death and future disaster. Torasin and Solstice had been taken from our lives in one foul swoop and the illness that remained in their wake was nothing to be proud of. I was shaking with anger, desiring more than ever to seek vengeance on those whose names I shall not speak. But of course, only one killer was known, one murderer who cared naught for the hate he had instilled in my heart for his cause. One day I would find him and destroy him for what he had done… Was it not just that I repay him the favor? I could only assume it was deserved.
The moon hung high above me for its nightly revolution had been paused, turning a single night into one blasphemous eternity. I had no explanation for the change nor did I understand what was changing here in Helovia. Though, I did know that at some point I would have to venture away from the routine I had adopted as of late in order to put reason behind all that was suddenly becoming strange. Where had the sun gone? Why was the world plaguing us with eternal darkness? It was hauntingly beautiful in the Edge now that the Goddess was able to revel in her ultimate divinity- but I was still slightly wary as to how this had all come to be.
Perhaps now was as good a time as any to seek her celestial council.
But of course I always had a way of putting things aside when they needed my attentions most… which would explain why I had once again ended up in the Threshold floundering about in the twilight like a giant oaf. There’s nothing graceful about a massive stallion trying to struggle his way through the underbrush of the claiming grounds, nothing graceful about it at all. But as the wintry winds of Frostfall breezed past my face making it impossible to tactfully locate anything other than the path ahead of me, I stumbled upon the faintest of scents so young and wild.
It was gone in an instant but that did not make it impossible to pursue. Instead, it made me more vehement, determined to find its source. However, with the trees catching my sides from time to time and the prickly brush of the forest floor hacking away at my underbelly, I knew that it wouldn’t be long before I gave up my search entirely. That is, until I nearly tripped over the young filly herself, hidden away at the edge of the forest, staring callously into the clearing beyond.
I murmured softly to the youth, hoping that my approach would not alarm her. But of course, I knew from experience that it was very likely that she had not been expecting an animal so large to greet her upon entering Helovia. Many of them also found it hard to believe that many of us were adorned and decorated with the strangest of colors, with wings and horned faces. However, we were not so different in retrospect… not so different at all.
“Seems to be a bad night for a young one such as yourself to be out wandering the claiming grounds. Tell me girl, why are you here?” I was not overpowering or crude, just truthful and perhaps a bit cold. So without hesitation, I stretched the frail appendages at my side to guide the wind away from our tired faces. They were not much in the way of protection from the icy torrents, but at least they would give us some reprieve until we had successfully sorted out a plan of action for the little one and myself.
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Image Credits
Lines by Tamme! Paddeh Coloring
In truth, the filly’s spirit was not well. In truth, it was needy and cold. The darkness did not make sense, but it had dampened the girl’s motivation. There was no end to the nothingness. And even darkness moved, relentless in a void that appeared to suck away all life within it.
But not you, girl. We have each other, and there ain't nothin’ in this world that can change that. You hear me? Nothin’ in this world. Now think about that before you go on cry’n like you lost everything…
But she had cried regardless, recalling hot tears that had stained her face. While the poisonous cocktail of hatred, shame and guilt spewed out; she thought about it. This subconscious attachment to ‘them’, or rather, ‘him’; by what powers in the world could separate them?
Before the night she had asked, and when we all die? She swallowed and glared wildly into his eyes. When you die and leave me?
Doesn’t change a thing. Had he been lying to her? Hell, you’re one of the luckiest girls… knowing what it’s like to be loved.
She failed to notice the sounds emanating from the brush. The sort of thing that could kill her, dozing off and allowing said phantom memories to rule her psyche. Perhaps she was truly tired and worn, forgetting that her body craved pure sleep and nothing less.
It was the murmur that drew her eyes to him. She must have known, in the back of her mind that if he was going to kill her she would have already found herself smack down against the cool ground. It was with a timid fierceness then that prevented her from retracting into the wood, away, and farther from the large creature. Her heart thudded against her chest regardless, and her breaths made a shaky exit. If she was going to die, if he was going to kill her, she was already a goner.
But as the seconds passed, failing to move away to scamper off in haste, the blood did not pour, her screams did not shamelessly beseech pity.
Amazing.
It truly was! She’d forgotten what it was like to meet a stranger who didn’t act on alternative motives (at least, for now).
And as she gazed after him; as if she’d seen the Gods themselves, she realized how unique and wonderful he appeared. For that moment she forgot the possible, wicked spirits that could exist in any creature, male and female… All she saw was the endless shades of brown (as much as she could make out in the dark), and the faint highlights of the feathers attached to his wings.
She ducked slightly as he shielded them from the wind. Flinching pleasantly from the change, finding herself in that moment to focus and kick her silly brain into proper working order.
“I have nowhere else to run…”
It was hard to speak. Her throat felt raw and dry, her lips heavy from the frost.
As soon as her voice carried out into the open, she continued to stare up into the eyes of the large stallion. Those eyes should have indicated that they expected more from the stallion; that she was waiting for something from him in particular. But these eyes did not prod the individual ahead of her, they did not plea, or cry out in desperation; help me! They were plain, truly shadowed by the matter-of-fact way they settled on his noble brow.
Thor the Gentle Heart Posts: 379
| Hidden Account atk: 4 | def: 7 | dam: 7.5 |
| Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.3 :: 11 (TallSun) HP: 64.5 | Buff: NOVICE |
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Sabine :: Common Zephyr :: Roc
Linds |
Fear taints her lovely face in deep lines that were perhaps once meant to indicate happiness, but they are saddened by the past, a past I cannot seem to place behind such youth. I do wonder what could have forced one so young to grow so quickly, but of course I do not ask in fear that I will offend. After all, she is shaking before me as though I came to erase her from the landscape altogether. But I cannot blame her; here in the dark everything is monstrous, including myself- The Gentle Heart.
My thoughts wander to Essetia and her small companion Romul. She is growing like a wildfire, embracing her age like a flower blooming into life. Her petals are stretching and expanding and she is becoming bright and wonderful just like her mother. Perhaps she is too much like her mother because at times I am pained by their resemblance in manner and beauty alike. She is precious to me, so much so that at times I am tempted to seek her out only to hold her against me, my sweet child.
Falling away from her memory is like learning to live without breathing. Tamira had once been my partner, my beloved, my best friend… and now she was nothing more than a leaf on the wind, gone from my grasp forever. However, I am left no more time to mourn her loss for the sweet tunes of an innocent child are calling me back to earth, back to the present. The cold greets me like an old friend and though the darkness still mystifies me, I do not wish to linger in the Threshold any longer.
“Come with me then… I will give you a place to call home, a place where you will no longer need to run. We will give you protection, safety, and a family…” My words are kind and unwavering, so certain that she will find warmth in our welcome and loyalty in our embrace. I do not know from where she came, but I do know that in time she will find comfort in my guidance- the guidance of the Edge.
Slowly, I move closer, eager to remover her from the chill of this everlasting night. I hope that she will not shy from me and instead come closer because though I cannot name what has plagued her, I can allow her reprieve. With that, I nudge her away from the clearing and back into the woods- the way home.
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Image Credits
OOC| I wanted to go ahead and get this moving, if the Edge is not for her, then I will gladly help promote her to wherever you'd like her to go. <3
Lines by Tamme! Paddeh Coloring
| Outcast |
| Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16.1hh :: 8 Buff: NOVICE |
| imi |
06-23-2013, 07:00 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-23-2013, 07:05 AM by Descaro.)
Darkness. At first, Descaro had thought it had only happened to the Basin. That the Time God had forgotten them and so left them in a blackout. Yet, the more he walked from steppe to the arch to the threshold, the more he began to understand that it was in fact the whole of Helovia that was shrouded in grim tenebrous. Slowly, the horned lad saw it as a blessing, he had always much preferred the night after all. His body was dark and easily camouflaged, a stallion born and built for the night, his brooding eyes like a predators as he stalked through the dank wood, cloven hooves ploughing through snow. It had been a long while since he'd been back to the claiming grounds of the land, a break from escorting strangers up the mountain to the shelter of the Basin. The warrior had been attending his other duties, patrolling the borders more after Psyche warned them of more intruders in their herd. To which Descaro found both amusing and insulting. He couldn't understand why they kept crossing the border unless the land was made up of a large contingent of suicidal horses. Now that thought was amusing to him.
Attention brought to the sound of nearby voices, the mahogany stud bounced off in the direction of the noise, folds of inky mane flopping this way and that as he did so. It was hard indeed to navigate through the wood when ones senses was dulled by the constant darkness. His pace was slower, but he eventually found the owners of such voices to be a gammy looking pegasus and a young girl who was seemingly taken by the bay feather brain. Descaro couldn't help but smile as the unknown stallion was already offering a home to the child, probably out of some fatherly concern he couldn't really contemplate.
Flicking his tail, the stallion walked confidently into their little meeting, eyes slowly adjusting to see the filly was a shade of white and proudly sporting a horn atop cute features. Descaro turned to the other very much larger stallion with a smile playing on his lips. "Hold on there big guy! You're not the only herd that can offer such things after all." Came his taunting jovial vocals and quickly he turned to the child, smiling kindly before nodding northwards and back to himself, his voice light and friendly. "What's your name youngling? My name is Descaro and I'm a soldier from the Aurora Basin that's full of creatures just like us and many are your age too. We can teach you things so that you will never have to run again in your life." He said quite vibrantly. Watching the other stallion out of the corner of his eye, wondering which herd he came from, it was hard to tell in the darkness. His scent was familiar and it reminded him on his old home of the Edge. Though Descaro still could not be sure unless the stud announced himself.
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Sia wanted to believe that she could replace what she had lost. The pegasi before her appeared promising, even if his stature - bold, big and out of this world – said otherwise. Yet, such things cannot be thrust upon strangers, indeed, she hardly knew the stallion. Even if the way he considered her situation, the warmth in his breath that seemed to spread beyond flesh, could not ensure what she missed most about him.
And maybe that was all right, after all…
What he gives her in reply bursts with all sorts of reactions within. Excitement swoops across her, an eager finch that flutters and cries out in the halls of her soul. Relief, and that of hesitancy, questioning the truth of his words that spill out hope that is so, so hard to come by…
No, she cannot utter any words at this point. It’s almost too painful to bear this news; is this the end?
Is this where the legacy of her former family ends? With one single, spry daughter flickering out and up from the embers? One, single, daughter…
Having thought that she was already out of tears, she fights to pull them back once more. Her head draws away for a moment, just as the soft velvet muzzle nudges her to continue on. She closes her eyes for a moment, but she lifts her head up – having hardened herself – and inches forwards without meeting the giant’s gaze. She looks ahead, she has always looked ahead; the tears will not fall.
Baby-girl.
But there is a voice that breaks the movement; she starts slightly, staring wildly at the creature that approaches them. He too, has a horn.
His voice is like thunder at first, completely different from the low thrum of the pegasi beside her. She’s seen wicked smiles before, but there is no true, crooked break that can tell her for certain if the newcomer is a friend or foe. Absently, or perhaps instinctively she draws just a tad closer to the pegasi.
The unicorn stallion’s voice quickly smoothes out however, as his voice lifts into the vile and spiteful air. He is rather lean, a strong build, which can only remind Sia of the warriors and hunters that had threatened her group at every turn. When his eyes finally fell upon her, the anxiety nearly prevented her from saying anything coherent.
Was she even alive still? She could barely sense her own legs. And with that in mind she pawed the ground restlessly with her left foot, as if timidly, to prevent her small voice from disappearing all together.
“It’s… I am Sia.”
She paused, her little mind scrambling over his words. And then she looked up to him again all the while he smiled. Was he always this pleasant? Were soldiers always this charming?
Of course they weren’t.
Her ears swiveled, before she found her voice again. If you had known Sia, you would have recognized the depth of curiosity that placated across her gaze.
“Sir, if you would tell me… Why did you become a warrior?”
What did he fight for?
[ooc: sorry for the wait, some stuff came up... and no worries, I really have no idea where I want Sia... >P ]
| Aurora Basin Phantom atk: 7.5 | def: 10 | dam: 2.5 |
| Stallion :: Unicorn :: 16 hh :: 8 yrs HP: 60.0 | Buff: NOVICE |
| Glo |
honest is easy
fiction’s where genius lies
It was now the dead of winter, and Roland wasn’t sure what had possessed him to leave the Basin. He’d fully intended to stay put in the protective arms of the valley until the last of the snows had melted, but perhaps he was willed south by a strange sort of curiousity, to explore the further reaches of Helovia in this new and sudden darkness, and by a wish to make himself useful to the Basin. Not long ago he had walked along the beach for the first time in his life, and he had found experiencing new things was exhilarating, all of a sudden. Perhaps his time in the Basin had given him a new sort of courage, or perhaps he simply felt so trapped in the valley that any chance to get out was worthy of celebration.
The glowing trees around him cast a soft light against his pelt, barred by the shadows of low hanging branches which cut a webbed pattern across his supple hide. The sky above was dark, which was nothing new, but he was starting to grow used to the absence of light and once again he felt comfortable to venture from his usual haunts. The forest he had entered, after skirting the Windtossed Foothills, was lit up like a lantern. The trees lingering on the edges of his path glowed as if there was a golden fire lit beneath their bark, like the heartwood had come to life with a rejuvenating warmth. It was mesmerizing, and Roland found that the walk was not half bad when he was busy admiring the scenery like a young child filled with wonder.
It wasn’t long until he was hearing voices ahead and realized that he had wandered into familiar territory. Words bounced off the surrounding trees as if beckoning him towards them, and so he followed obediently in the direction of the noise. Around and above him loomed the aged trees of the Threshold, vaguely recognizable, for it had been only a year or so since he had entered these lands himself. Skirting the snow speckled foliage with a tentative curiousity, he came face to face with a small gathering.
A pale, timid filly stood before two stallions, one he knew belonged to the Basin, and the other he had never set eyes upon before. Roland noticed immediately the careful way in which she held herself, as if one of the men before her might lash out without warning. Though Roland had never met Descaro, he knew they hailed from the same home and so came to stand beside him. “Don’t be intimidated. None of us mean you any harm.” He looked down upon her with a gentle smile. Even if the expression didn’t quite reach his eyes, for he was still unnerved in the inky darkness, it was easy to act the sentiment. He was used to charades after all; he had spent his whole life reciting lies for the benefit of himself, and others on occasion.
“My name is Roland, and I am an Impersonator from the Aurora Basin. As Descaro said, you would be more than welcome in our home,” he stated kindly, and as an afterthought cast an unthreatening glance towards Thor, dipping his head in acknowledgement. “I’m sure you could find a position among our ranks to your liking, Sia,” he intoned in a persuasive voice, offering her an endearing smile.
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image credits
Somewhere from the depths of these foreign lands appears another.
Sia watches him with a fixed focus. She cannot easily erase the instincts that have been drilled against her psyche. It made the world a wild place, it made her a wild thing, and now as she stood before them a sense of astonishment plumed and invaded her thoughts. Such feelings failed to surface her face, which remained stoic, save the spirit that wrestled against her auburn eyes.
Could she believe them?
She ducked her head slightly, grasping for the neutral white space of the snow with her eyes.
So tell me, snow… She wanted to say, who are these people?
She could at least appreciate that lies were easy tricks, and that anything too good to be true was indefinitely false. When she wisped her confused eyes back on Roland; a figure highlighted vaguely by subtle hues of dusty red; she recognized the insatiable yearning to blindly accept their propositions without question or reproach. Too many sunless days had gone, lonely and frightened to give up these opportunities. Deprived, vulnerable gypsy that she was, her soul begged her – quite naturally – to choose, to make a decision before it was too late!
“Sir.” She addressed the pegasi. “Thank-you… thank-you for giving me hope. A chance…” A uneven sigh forced itself through her mouth. Why was she making this decision? There had to be some logical reason…
She finally turned and glanced across Descaro and Roland. Ending, staring blankly at the bottomless blue eyes that appeared unfeeling at first, lifeless if not for the practiced skills that broke that mirror. Nonetheless, the filly could not possibly hold all her faith in either three. It would be more than foolish to do so; it would mean death.
“I would like to go to the Aurora Basin.”
What was a life lived out alone and empty? Perhaps that was what scared the child most of all.
And then, loneliness was also a very safe place.
But without purpose now that she had nowhere to run, no drive except to hold out on hopes and dreams alone, she waited. Having been chilled for so long by the winter, she could finally wait, and follow… even if it only meant wandering towards this new place. It didn’t guarantee her that Descaro or Roland would stay with her, and that in fact she would be quite alone trapped in herds as large as oceans; with one white and red drop to add to the fold.
'Hell, you’re one of the luckiest girls… knowing what it’s like to be loved.'
'Fuck you…'
It just hurt more, she thought.
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