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 Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 7:59 am
 That night he had slept greedily at the stretch of beach near his little family, which is how he had come to think of them in the passing of time. How could he not? When he worked all night to gather information on a brute who intended to harm them, when he fought viciously to ward off said brute when he threatened to show his face, and when he played so contently with the two of them. It was difficult not to think of Cressida, Tucker, and yes even Rhea as she was Cress' mother as family. If he didn't care for them would he have put himself through what he had already? Surely he could have easily slipped off during one of the long nights and left them to themselves, and perhaps that would have been smarter, wiser on his end. He could have left and baited Zaknafein away from them, to forever chase after the blood bay stallion on his own, for a life of wariness and fighting. But then if he did that, he would deprive Tucker of a father, he would deny and betray that growing feeling within his chest, and he would most of all throw Cressida's trust right back into her face. If indeed she did trust him, that is.
A heavy sigh came from the sleek stallion as he placed his hooves beneath him and heaved himself up into a standing position. He body was thankful for the amount of sleep it had gotten, but it had become restless again, with a mind of its own as it had in his years of wandering aimlessly. He prayed that wasn't what this feeling was, for he would hate to have to deal with the demanding feeling when all he wanted was to stay with Cress and Tucker. Perhaps it wasn't that at all. Maybe it was antcipation for the day to come, for Zak had been spotted by Sanue, and no doubt he would make an appearance soon. It wouldn't be like before though, he'd be ready. He wouldn't catch them off their guard.
With this thought in mind the blood bay stallion moved off a little way down the beach, close to the shore and on steady hooves. He had healed greatly, fully since last time, and his body was once more in the shape it had been in before. Sleek, well muscled underneath his dark hide, and moving in the way he wanted to despite the sands that shifted under his weight. It had taken a long time for him to get use to it, but he had steadily gotten himself use to it, and now there was no stumbling.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 8:16 am
 Had it just dawned on the young mare that she had completely missed something from the conversation of the night before? No, it hadn't. It had been pounded into her head by Scabbers, her Zrun 'parent' so to speak. How could she have missed it? How could she have seriously missed the fact that something was going on with Aitumn? Apparently Scabbers had seen it since their first meeting, but Mecriana had remained ignorant of the feeling.
She was on a mission now, unable to have gotten a good night's sleep knowing that something was wrong with her friend. One of her only friends, that is. Aitumn was important to her, not because she was interested in the stallion who was nearly double her age, but because he was one of the few individuals in her life that had cared to speak with her and to take care of her when she was a foal. Even if he didn't realize it, he had helped her through the hard times by offering his friendship. Now, because of her denseness, she had left her friend hanging and in a bad situation, as Scabbers had so thoroughly explained to her last night. He was looking wary, shady, and a meeting at night with another stallion who seemed on edge himself was more than enough for the Zrun to pickup on.
It was time to set it straight. She would find out what was bothering Aitumn no matter what she had to do to get it out of him, she decided with a firm stamp of her hoof. That, of course, was also a bad decision, as it threw off her loping stride as she stumpled into the sands with an audible "Umph!" Okay. So she still hadn't gotten use to the sand, or her size just yet.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 9:19 am
The depths of one's emotions are an endless vast ocean, and at the moment's Aitumn's felt like his was nearly double the size than it should have been. There was so much he felt, and so very little the dull darkness of his eyes would ever be able to portray. He knew they were dead, for many times before he had spied his reflection on the water, and had been taken aback by how hazy and sparkless they were despite whatever he had been feeling at the time. Whatever it was, why it was that way, he could not tell, and he doubted he would ever know. Perhaps he wasborn that way, to be cursed with lifeless eyes, and yet to feel so very much. Whether it be reckless competetiveness, deep agony at the pain that's befallen him in the life he could remember, or perhaps even the love he knew he felt now. He could do little express it, and thusly his gaze to never be that of a lover's.
Despite this, he knew what he felt now. Antcipation, eagerness, every muscle underneath his sleek hide tensing in its restless way. It was not the need to wander he concluded, but the expectation of what the day would hold. Zaknafein. A fight no doubt, and he could do little but give himself over to such feelings as these. They were a guilty to pleasure, to allow himself to be envolped with something pure, rather than the confusing pool of emotions he had swimming around in his head. Pain? Let it come, he'd do double. Guilt? Not there, just the quick eccstacy of bold antcipation. Surrender? Never to Zaknafein. In his moment of giving himself over to that one emotion, to the willingness of a fight, he felt free from the binds that had choked him throughout the ordeal. Murderer? Who knows, who cares.
Subject to such a quick emotional change, the blood bay could not help himself but allow the release of his pentup energy, the tension that had been gathering in his body since the day they left Shiral. A sudden toss of his sleek head sent his lenthy mane ridding a wave of wind, and a reckless toss of his body off to the side got a quick flash of his hindhooves in a buck. Oh he'd be ready.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 9:36 am
Augh, well it seemed like she hadn't injured herself in that little slip up, darned body still hadn't gotten use to her. Yup, that's how she saw it. She was perfectly fine until she realized how much larger her body had gotten over time, and now that she finally did it was difficult to get it to cooperate with her. She realized though this wasn't the subject she needed to be focusing on, for out there somewhere was Aitumn, hopefully, if he hadn't left the beaches of Quirne just yet. If he had, then she supposed she was out of luck until she met up with him again. Which might have been a long time since.
The young mare flicked her tail out behind her, setting off at another smooth lope down the stretch of beach near the ocean. She wasn't quite certain about the water just yet, for Scabbers had said it tasted nasty, so it was difficult to tell if there was something foul behind the reasoning or not. She supposed she'd test the water out soon, but for now it was best to just leave it be and to stick to the sands as she ran along the way in search for her mark.
And there he was. The dark bay figure of a Jala just up ahead as she spotted him with little to no difficulty out in the daytime. Thankgoodness for the forgiving sun of the morning air. He seemed to be just standing there though, so with her new knowledge of the situation she wasn't quite sure how to appraoch him. Before she could even get a word out though he went into a wild buck that her ears pinning in surprise. What was going on?! Perhaps it would have been best to just turn around and run back the other way, but Mecriana was not that sort of Nequus. If something was bothering her friend, then she was damn well going to know about it.
Neck set into a determined arch and ears perked in his direction, as she had noticed he paid more attention to body language than Scabbers did, she set off at a sprint down towards him and his stretch of beach, as he was quite a bit of a ways off yet. "Aitumn!" she called in greeting, if not a bit firmly, hoping to grab his attention.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 10:06 am
It had felt good to allow himself into such recklessness, and who was he to stop now? If it got rid of his wariness, if it banished his shadiness, there was no harm in flipping out along the beachside. To be seen as crazy by passerbys? That would have perhaps been a worry for him in D'ob or other crowded places, but for now he didn't think there were many Nequus about in these parts. Besides, whose to say he wasn't crazy? He certainly felt like it right now, fully enveloped in the antcipation of a fight and the fury that overwhelmed his heart and mind at the very thought of the green Aeri. If he indeed expected another tussle, it would be better for him to have a work out first, to be loose, and to know freshly the limitations of his own body; which were few with the balance he had even in the sands. Though, Cressida's was probably still better than his on this terrain.
About to throw himself into a complex series of bucks and whirls to loosen his muscles and to be rid of their tension, a voice wavered over the wind and reached his alert ears. Instantly he knew it wasn't Zaknafein, for the voice was female, and rather young compared to the green brutes. A quick glance upwards and he spotted the black and white coat of the Jala he knew to be Mecriana. Still feeling as reckless as he had been earlier, and not quite wanting to sober up just yet, he threw his weight forward to catch his hindlegs just behind his forehooves, raising his body into a undaunting rear to the skies, wings half unfurling in his boldness before allowing himself to crash down onto the sands. Upon doing so he was off again, sprinting right up to Mecriana.
"Morning!" it was perhaps more hearty and full than it had been a long time, for now he resisted the swirl of emotions that hid behind his voice earlier in his family's trip to Quirne. A good run would surely loosen his muscles, as he was sure to stretch his body out for every stride. It would be a matter of no time at all until they were within speaking distance, with both sprinting at full tilt it would seem.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 10:17 am
She hadn't expected him to be as animated as he was, first rearing and then sprinting up to her. Had Scabbers been mistaken? He seemed perfectly fine to her, running, bucking, rearing, and his voice was deep and rich. Perhaps she had imagined the hallowness in it last night, perhaps she had indeed been tired? Whatever the reason, it threw her for a loop, as she wasn't one to be unsure of herself. Ever. It seemed all the more suspicious now, and as such she ducked her head and flattened her wings to her sides, hoping to get the answers out of him almost as quickly as she could reach him. Determined. That's what Scabbers had called her on her way out here, and she damn well was!
Upon reaching the point where they would have been able to talk comfortably, she began to slow her pace just a little bit, in an attempt to see where he would like to stop. However, where she expected him to come to a balking halt he instead flew right by her, which had the paintaloosa check over her shoulder in confusion. When he dipped his shoulder and suddenly changed direction to come towards her once more in a full sprint she understood. The b*****d.
True she was at a distadvantage for losing her momentum, but Mecriana dug deep into the sands to begin her sprinting as well, hoping to stay at least side by side with the blood bay blur. "Aitumn!" she gasped for her breath, not use to running and speaking at the same time. "You're alright, right?" That was the fastest, shortest way she could put it, as her lungs lurched at the double usage; sprinting and talking.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 10:31 am
He fully wished to envelop himself in this feeling of apathy to everything that swirled in his head, not wishing to think on what had kept him in such a wary mood since. The best way to do that, he had discovered in his brief time of indulging himself, was just to keep on moving. And that meant not stopping when he reached Mecriana's side. No, he continued on behind her, changed his course, and came sprinting back up in the hopes she catch onto the little exercise for himself. A race? Perhaps, if she started to get ahead of him he'd surely treat it like one.
"Of course." Despite his answer to her words, they seemed more hollow than his greeting, off-handed, and all around unchecked. That was Aitumn though. He wouldn't allow her to know about what was going on in his life right now, for as he was concerned the less who knew the better, as they would be less inclined to come running out of the wordwork to throw themselves into danger. So, there was a little white lie for his young friend to swallow, as he wouldn't devulge the truth even if she asked him too.
A flicked of his lengthy midnight tail behind him, and the stallion tore his head from the thoughts that came lingering back to him in that moment. The guilt, the questions, he flared his crimson nostrils and snorted them out of heart and out of mind. Now was not the time to show hesitation or distraction, as Mecriana was still in close proximity.
They were, of course, headed back to his little stretch of beach where he had last left Cressida and Tucker, whether or not they were still there he didn't know, but with his darker mood returning he felt his need to release himself through motion dwindling with every stride. Damn it all, his high was suffocating.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 10:43 am
"That's good... Scabbers thought... you might h'ave... been disturbed", she panted as she ran. She couldn't quite tell if that was truth of the matter or not, but to the paintaloosa who was having trouble breathing, she assumed he was also having the same difficulty with talking and racing at the same time. That hallowness could have been shortness of breath, and either way he did seem fairly alright to her. Surely Scabbers had been mistaken, and it would definatly save her ego from the hard blow that had been delt earlier. So she hadn't missed anything in the tall stallion's demeanor. Yes, it was a great load off her ego and her mind indeed.
With the situation changed, the paintaloosa sucked in her breath and dug into the sands, hoping to fully stretch herself out, for he had begun to pull ahead of her again. Which of course, the prideful mare accounted to the sands and how they pulled and sucked at her hooves. He obviously had more experiance in the department then she did, so there would be no hard feelings if she couldn't quite keep up.
However, had she the mind to look or the experiance to realize, she would have seen the deep line that was forming at the stallion's brow, and how he himself became silent unlike the one he had been in before. His demeanor also seemed to change, as it carried into his strides in a more a reckless manner than before. But that was not Mecriana, she did not pay attention to things like that, and her mind had already been set at ease due to his earlier response.
For now the only thing on her mind was to keep up with the blood bay blue beside her; well, more so in front of her now. She was growing tired, that she knew, both because she always grew tired after sprinting and because of her fighting with the sand as she ran. Soon she would need to be on her way back, as she figured she wouldn't have much energy left after this. Till then, one final push to keep herself going.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 11:02 am
Despite how much he wanted to keep himself from thinking about his guilt, his questions, his hesitation to what was going on, he couldn't help but flick his ears at her statement. He felt like saying 'Scabbers was right', but he swallowed that down for the sake of his cause. None of his friends would be harmed, he would hopefully keep Zaknafein away from Cressida and Tucker so they wouldn't be harmed either. Not like he's never felt pain before, and he indeed was infuriated at the thought of Zak attacking Cress, if not a bit guilty that he hadn't been there to stop it. You see, Aitumn had not forgiven himself for it, and he doubted he ever would. If they were to be harmed again, well, damn his soul to whatever hell the Gods felt like throwing him into.
"I'm just fine, Mec." That was his answer to her statement, but he could already feel his eccastcy filled high coming to a quick close. He had thought of his other feelings, and they now consumed him once more. His strides seemed to weaken as he slowed himself from his sprint to a more laid back gallop, and a not a moment too soon, for he would be approaching the stretch of beach in a moment or so.
"Thanks for the run Mec, sorry to bring this to a close, but I think I'm gonna go lay down before I head out again." That too was a lie within itself, for he had no plans on moving from their spot just yet. He would see if Zak would show his face, and he would be sure to get matters taken care of before they got out of hand, that was for certain. The stallion gave a light smile, one he could muster without thought, before breaking into a walk and heading up the dunes.
Mecriana was a good friend, that he knew, but that was exacatly the reason why he wouldn't allow her in on the situation. He may have already placed the wrong idea in Sanue's head, for it would be equally disturbing to the stallion if the hippogriff Jala happened to show up and get injured as it wasn't his issue to face. That's how Aitumn saw it. He'd prefer not to allow anyone to be harmed when it wasn't their fight to fight.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 11:12 am
Just as she had begun to feel herself slipping into a low gallop he began to slow as well, perhaps out of curtousy for herself? She couldn't quite see his face as she was a bit of a ways behind, so she assumed that's just what he was doing. Darn, she had been able to keep up with him, but only for a little while, which was rather depressing for the young mare. Then again, maybe he wasn't as old as she thought he was, or maybe he was just in better shape. Whatever the reason she was able to pull up next to him with little difficulty now, as she expected talking would be easier.
"Oh, that's alright. I should be getting back to Scabbers soon anyway." Then again, he did seemed old in what he had just told her he was planning on doing. Lay down? Isn't that what the really old, winkly nequus did after they moved around a little bit. Gosh, well, Aitumn must have been at least double her age as she had expected, for she had no need to go lay down herself. Okay. She was a bit tired due to the sprinting, but that was to be expected after giving yourself over to such speed for a little while.
"Cya later Aitumn, be safe." Had she known the situation she would have heard the irony, but as it was she simply threw it out there as a good-bye to another friend. With little need to watch him be off, the paintaloosa once more slowed her pace to an easy lope as switched direction once more.
She was a dense creature, not that she knew it, for she full-heartedly believed that Aitumn was just fine and dandy as he said he was. She couldnt' wait to get back to Scabbers and tell him exactly how wrong he had been! Heh, it always was fun to tell him something like that to watch his face, all the more reason for her to get there sooner, despite the tired condition she was in after the sprint with the blood bay blur.
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