[AIM - PRP] ... Got Unicorns?

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Tortured Pumpkin | Mindsend
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[mindsend]

Mindsend

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The stars were shining brightly in the velvety midnight sky, the glowing cloud of stars that was the milky way brilliant on this crystal clear night.

While most Soquili slumbered deeply missing its wonders, Orion, while somewhat used to the blanket of lights due to being naturally more nocturnal than his brothers and adopting the night shift as a guard, was still rendered breathless at times when he peered into the glimmering sky after a stretch. He had already been on patrol for several hours now, but had just taken a short break to drink deeply from the nearby stream and grab a few mouthfuls of grass for a moment of rest to let himself regain his full focus. Chewing at the grass, he lowered his head reluctantly from the sky to peer around for any signs of trouble. Even during a break, he couldn’t truly rest, not with what happened to them in the past.

It was at this moment he noticed a bit of movement in a large cluster of brushes off in the distance on the inside of his usual patrol route facing away from him, the figure clearly looking to see if the coast was clear to head deeper into the territory. Brow furrowing Orion swallowed his bite of grass and lowered himself slightly, moving as swiftly and silently as he could muster, remaining downwind and out of the intruders vision.

As he neared, the figure became clearer in the light of the moon and stars, and scent giving him as much if not more information than sight was – The intruder was a unicorn mare and didn’t seem to be aggressive, but rather cautious. He moved up behind her and stopped a little ways away before clearing his throat “Erm, Excuse me.. Miss? Is there something I could help you with?”

.Tortured. .Pumpkin.

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The clear sky certainly helped to illuminate the mare's way as she snuck through the edges of what she had learned of, and soon started calling, the "unicorn territory." Certainly this idea had piqued her interest, as her father was an intense purist, and she simply had to see it for herself. If the rumors were true, perhaps she'd find someone interested in joining her on her healing travels.

While she was no stranger to midnight expeditions, the unicorn's orange eyes still struggled in the darkness. Jayashri tended to rely on her other senses during such outings. Somehow, she'd completely missed the other unicorn in the distance, his stark white coat reflecting the moonlight. No, she was far too busy making her entry.

Her heart pounded in her ears, her adrenaline rushed, but her breathing was calm and steady in its mission to keep her unheard. She darted behind trees and peeked through bushes, her petite frame managing to avoid stepping on sticks and making much noise at all. Anyone sleeping would surely not notice such subtle tells. Little did she know, though, not everyone was sleeping.

The sound of the voice stopped Jayashri's breathing, and she whipped around as quickly as she could, striking a defensive pose. She examined the other unicorn as best as she could in the short moment's notice, and her heart seemed to want to give out. "B-- You--- I---" she stammered as she caught her breath, but not her composure. "Uuuh... G.." Her mind was drawing a complete blank. She had been so focused on her stealth that she hadn't for a moment considered the idea of getting caught. "Got... Unicorns?"

Mindsend

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Orion smiled despite himself at the question, snorting slightly with a quirk of his eyebrow. "It's more along the lines of "how many non unicorns do we have". I think we only have a few mixes, but most of us are as pure as you seem to be." he shifted his position, horn glinting momentarily in the moonlight, his pure white eyes seeming to have captured the full moon, dark streaks, colors lost in the shadows the only markings marring his otherwise snow-bright appearance, "is there a reason you need to know this so eagerly in the middle of the night?"
HIs voice was light, more amused than accusatory.

.Tortured. .Pumpkin.

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Jayashri grinned at the stallion's unexpected response. She had heard rumors of the herd in her travels, and this surely didn't disappoint. "Hey, better to scout it out while everyone's asleep than get caught in the middle of something you know nothing about, right?" The unicorn tried to peek past the other, but his body blocked off too much of her vision to see more than the streaks of moonlight making their way through the canopy of trees above. "Just never thought I'd see so many in one place as I hear there are around here... Unicorns, that is." She was mimicking his tone of voice, but her body language clearly voiced her air of caution.

Mindsend

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"Smart" he chuckled, the sound low in his chest, his stance shifting a little to be a little more at ease, though still slightly on edge as he nodded in agreement, "I feel any of us would do the same thing. However, since we've been attacked before, we are admitedly leery about unexpected visitors. I'm Orion."

He bowed slightly toward the mare respectfully, trying to help put her at ease, "You are quiet safe if you don't catch anyone off guard at night, but I am afraid this is as far in as you can go unescorted as an unknown individual -- some of us are survivors from a rather nasty attack and, while a unicorn like yourself is more than welcome, you might give someone a horrible fright if they woke from a nightmare to seeing an unfamiliar figure watching them unchecked."

His smile softened momentarily, eyes growing distant as he tought -- some of his brothers still slept so fitfully, the terror of the past's talons still having a hold of them when in the still of the night. He wasn't sure when, if ever, they'd truly recover from it. Taking a slow breath, he blinked slowly before he smiled comfortingly to her, "If you wish to continue exploring our territory, I will be your guardian angel for the night, keeping you safe from any attackers and allowing you to investigate safely at your own comfort level. Otherwise I'll have to ask you wait until everyone is awake to come back, for everyones sake, miss..?" He let the questioning tone of his voice linger, hoping it'd coax her into presenting her name for him.

.Tortured. .Pumpkin.

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The muscular mare's black eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed at the mention of the attack, but she felt perhaps it was better to let that information come in time. It was obvious that the herd was careful, and she didn't wish to stir any unsavory feelings before she managed to even penetrate its borders. "Mm." She nodded in agreement with the stark white male, noting the blood-like marking on his face. Dried and stained, perhaps? Another good inquiry for another time. Surely she'd be around long enough to ask a little bit later.

Jay took advantage of the stallion's wandering gaze to get a better look at him. He'd managed to catch her off guard and the mare was too busy looking for possible escape routes to really take in his appearance, other than the obvious brightness. Weighing the options before her, the princess decided that there was enough of a chance of her running into something unfriendly and significantly less welcoming than the stallion to warrant the risk of his kindness being a trap. Something about him seemed calm and sincere, though, and she let her guard down just a little. "Yes, I think I would like to keep looking around." She was so caught up in looking at her surroundings that she nearly missed his implied question. "Oh. Right. I'm Jayashri. You can shorten it to Jay if you want." She nearly rolled her eyes at her own awkwardness.

Mindsend

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"Jayashri.." He echoed to get a feel for the sound of it, mouthing it a second time afterwards before continuing with a soft, witty tone "I may use your full name for a little while, Jayashri. If I'm asked to introduce you, a lovely maiden such as yourself deserves a better introduction than me butchering your name. In the meantime, You can ask me any questions you wish answered, and move freely. If you're thirsty or need something to eat, I know where there is a clean, cool stream and good grazing, as well."

Mind Wordcount: 784
Tortured Wordcount: 636  

[mindsend]

.Tortured. Pumpkin.

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The petite mare stared at the stallion with a fairly blank expression. It wasn't that he called her lovely, or that he had chosen to use her full name, which she almost never heard. It was more that she had been caught in guarded territories before, and none of the other guards had been quite so kind and understanding. Jayashri wondered for a moment if this was perhaps a trap, but still felt that the risk of being alone in unfamiliar territory was greater.

"Well," she began, "I guess I could make up a question or two..." She smiled uneasily, still unable to relax herself. "You said there are a lot of unicorns here. What caused you all to gather? I mean, is it a purist cult or something?" For a moment she envisioned sacrifices to the spirits in the form of newcomers and held back a shudder.

Mindsend

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Orion laughed suddenly at the idea, "A cult? I would certainly not say that -- while we do tend to be more capable of trusting pureblooded and mixed blood unicorns, we are far from a purist cult, Jayashri. We'd just... Always have been mostly unicorn? When I was little I don't even really remember anything but shades of white too, and there is still a heavy lean toward it though I never really paid much attention to the why." He smiled, motioning back to where he had been when he spotted her with a toss of his head, drawing attention to the gentle sounds of the cool fresh stream and the long rich grasses. What were usually butter yellow flowers in the daylight that were sweet to the taste he enjoyed nibbling on occasion looked ghostly white in the moonlight closer to the stream (unknowingly having been his camoflague while Jay had been sneaking her way into their territory) and smelled just as sweet, tantlizing for any hungry soquili, "However we're sort of cautious since, back when I was a foal there was an attack. A lot of us died."

He frowned slightly as he walked, expression distant -- he didn't really remember much of it -- simply that he had been sleeping then was pulled to his feet by his siblings and told to run, while some of his brothers still had nightmares to this day, "Some say it was skinwalkers but there were rumors it was Kalona. Since we're not sure, we tend to be... Picky about who we trust until we know them, especially those who may carry Kalona traits. In general, its easier to trust what we are familiar with" He smiled weakly, slowing to a stop as they reached the stream, looking at the reflecting moonlight through the sparkling water, the glowing sky coloring it. His ears were perked, tail relaxed with a slow, comfortable sway, "Pureblooded unicorns, for example, tend to share a similar body language in how we move our heads and flick our tails. Even those born with longer, softer ears still tend to have the same tells. It's easier to recognize when we're being tricked, when someone means us harm, when we grew up familiar with the same body language, when we've fought amongst ourselves, comforted each other, tried to keep secrets or make friends."

Tortured Pumpkin

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Jay smiled with relief as the stallion explained the lack of cult activity within the group. "Perhaps because it's so... Pure? Must be so hard to keep it that clean, though." She couldn't help but chime in, hoping to ease her own awkward tension. She closed her eyes to listen to the babble of the stream a little better, but frowned when he mentioned the attack. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that..." She didn't wish to make him think further into the situation, but followed him when he began talking agin.

Her curiosity was certainly interested in the story, and she listened intently. "Hmm." She nodded in understanding and lowered her eyes. "I guess I can understand that... My father always taught me to be wary of others, too." She hadn't really even taken note of how bright the moon and stars were until she saw the stream, and it prompted her to look up. The unicorn was growing to trust the other, but her body was still tense; her tail rigid and ears pressed back a little. When she heard what he was talking about, she cleared her throat. "Oh... Yes, I suppose you're right. I hadn't really thought about that." Her voice was hushed and her brows furrowed as she looked at him. What was she so afraid of? He didn't seem malicious. Then again, she'd heard of skinwalkers and others who meant harm that had mastered every bit of their manipulations. Still skeptical, the mare tried her best to relax and focused more energy on her body language.

Mindsend

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"We aren't really all too pure anymore in the herd -- a good number of us yes but there are those without horns or with hair tails or even with wings. One of my brothers Mated... To be honest i'm not sure what she is. She's part unicorn I can tell but she's got featherless Kalona blood or one of those... Oo.. Oo-lun-Soot-y? Those ones that just.. Appeared from those ancient areas no one ever returned from, looking like the dragons of old legends along with those feathery clawed ones." his eyes squitched tighter -- the herd had yet to decide whether or not the bird soquili were to be cautiously not allowed in the herd like they had chosen to play it safe and avoid the pawed non-walkers. He was pretty sure the herd would eventually choose against those with the claws in most cases, but might be open to those with just the feathers, and any born with claws to the herd would be an exception. Some times he kinda wished it would happen that way --a clawed one they knew was good and on their side would be an immense help against any future attackers, "But most of us still are... And with how few pure unicorns there are, it sometimes feels important to at least try to keep it pure so our kind doesn't die out.."

Tortured. .Pumpkin.

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The purist frowned a little bit as Orion explained the herd's pedigree. From what she had heard, there were pure unicorns in numbers uncountable, and she had desperately hoped it to be true. She never quite felt like she belonged anywhere, and her father's views had always heavily influenced her. While happy to know that she would likely be accepted rather easily, she had hoped to find other healers of great skill that she could practice the art with. Her brow furrowed and her lips pursed as she listened intently. "I'm quite surprised that they'd allow such a being into the herd, especially given the past. Your brother must be very brave to trust so easily." A small smile crossed her face as he described the 'suti and hippogryphs. She had met some of both in her travels, and found that they were just like everyone else, with their own personalities and wants and needs. Though unicorns were certainly her preferred race, she tried her best not to over generalize other breeds, save for skinwalkers. Her train of thought was broken as he began speaking again, and her smile broadened. "Yes, I agree. Our powers, at the very least, are much too precious to allow to fade away. My father always tried to instill that idea in us, and for most of us it worked, but some chose not to follow suit. Some of my siblings have disappointed him greatly in this way, and I can't imagine following their lead."

 

[mindsend]

"I think the only breeds we don't allow to join the herd are Pureblooded Kalona due to one of our founders, Abigail, having fought against them during the great war when they tried to take over the Kawani lands and cause they MIGHT have been what attacked us, though mixed blood have a chance of coming in. And of course Skinwalkers.” Orion laughed slightly, “I’ve never actually had a bad experience with a Kalona myself, and encountered mostly good ones – a few were standoffish and jerks, but generally good horses, so it’s not like we’re all racist. Heck, I try not to be. However, with how powers bleed away with generations of mixed breeding, and a few of our members being of mixed blood or paired with non-unicorns, it is important to keep enough of the bloodline pure to keep the powers alive, to prevent them from being lost. It’s like how “ooloonsooty” need to stick with their own elements and breed in order to keep their full power, or how An.. Angelninnies? Angeli? How the four bird winged ones need to be pure or part unicorn to even have a chance of a power. Hybrids make the world more diverse, but… There have to be some who stick to the pureblooded lines or else they’d be lost completely.”

Orion smiled somewhat wistfully “Because of that, many of us swore to only lifemate a pure unicorn. And most of us are monogamous and like stability. Though some who swore an oath are polyamorous and have open relationships, or, like one of my siblings, keep themselves open to forge alliances via shared offspring, in hopes the powers will pass since the herd is more important than himself… Though I suppose he’s not the only one with that feeling…” He trailed off, his smile becoming a far more neutral expression in his thoughts -- in their travels he had encountered plenty of more nocturnal mares that were kindhearted and even beautiful, but never could really let himself close enough to get to know him since, due to his oath, he was afraid of falling in love and either breaking his oath or both of their hearts by following it. While he was open to polyamory, he preferred the concept of having ‘the one’, and simply wasn’t as interested in spreading his ‘wild oats’ like some members of the herd, even if it did increase the amount of Soquili with unicorn horns, unless, perhaps, he was approached by a pure unicorn mare forging an alliance between their two herds… But unlike his sibling, he didn’t feel it really ‘fit’ him, though if he was still single if that happened, he might feel it was his duty for his herd and the breed.


Realizing he had gone silent after a long ramble, the ghostly white stallion laughed nervously, “ I’m sorry for rambling so much and then just…Falling silent. I managed to get myself introspective. Also, to be honest, this is the most I’ve ever really talked with a mare. I personally don’t, ah, really get to get to know anyone well enough to talk much about anything so I’m more used to thinking to myself than talking – I’m night shift since I’ve been more nocturnal since I came out of the basket and have never quite synced up with everyone else. So I stand guard at night and tend to spend most of the day either sleeping or in a haze. To be quite honest most mares have the impression that I’m lazy and not exactly the brightest.”

He grinned playfully, giving Jayashri a wink, “However, on the bright side, being nocturnal means I was able to encounter a beauty like you and monopolize your attention for a little while.” He thought back to a lot of what he said and then backed his ears, head bowing slightly, “Though… I likely sounded like a blithering biggot for most of our conversation. As well as an idiot -- I don't really know most breed names, to be honest. It doesn't normally come up in conversation.”

.Tortured. Pumpkin.