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 Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 11:19 am
 -How long has it been?- Scratch that thought. It wasn't important. Nothing was important anymore. Everything he had put his entire being into becoming had failed him. Everything he knew seemed to disappear into disillusioned dust, scattered around him like the dirt and small flurries under his hooves. He felt as cold as the winter around him, for even in D'ob one could tell the difference between the seasons, even if it wasn't as prominant as in other places. At the moment, to a lone green aeri, it was about as cold as the northern pole ought to be, and about as iced over as his spirit now a days.
His dear aunt Vierna, whom he believed to be dead, had made an unexpected visit and though he should have been overjoyed at the fact she was still alive- -I couldn't help but be crushed by her disapproval.- She had always been so wise, easily solving problems between the adult members of the herd back in the day. Everyone trusted her and her judgement. Was he wrong then in what he had been thinking all this time? Was it a misunderstanding? And if it was... -How could I live with myself?-
Not only had he threatened the lives of Aitumn and Cressida, but he had been willing, in his madness, to completely destroy an unborn fruit. Even a dirty crossbreed shouldn't be disposed in such a manner; and that was saying something. He had thought this justified because of the evil it had been created from, but now he wasn't so sure that evil had even existed in the first place. The large brute of an Aeri stallion, Zaknafein, shifted uneasily against one of the valley's rotten chilled winds. Though the question still remained, if he had the chance to take it all back... -Would I?- Was there some chance that his theory was still true? That Vierna just didn't realize the reality of the situation. He was quite conflicted with these thoughts and feelings; his fiery, vengeful spirit iced over by doubt.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 1:18 pm
 Gah! To think she left the care of those humans in favor of traveling so long ago. Sure Scabbers had known the way to the ocean, but she had insisted on finding her own way back to Ryuten. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. As annoyed as the fiery mare was at her current loss of direction, she was at least grateful for the oppertunity to learn how to fly more practically on her own. At the very least, she hadn't crashed into the ground or another nequus for a long while, and she saw that as improvement to her situation. Sort of. There was still some dynamics to flight she had yet to master, such as diving, tight turns, and slowing down to the point of near hovering. Perhaps she should enlist someone's help in that prospect, but she was quite determined to learn on her own.
The feather winged mare glanced down at the valley below her, scouting out the best place to land within the crowded area. Heh, it seemed like in the winter this place just boomed with activity! Poor fools, all crowding around a single valley for warmth. You'd think it'd get too stuffy for any nequus down there. Then again, the weather did seem alot more bearable than it had been at the ocean. Hmm, perhaps she should investigate this further?
The paintaloosa readied herself for the always mind-boggling decent from the skies, spilling the wind from beneathe her feathered wings and tucking her chin closer to her chest. Just as long as she didn't run into anyone then she'd count it as a successful landing. If she did happen to bump hides with someone down there, well, hopefully it wouldn't be too bad. She'd hate to be stuck down there and having to walk the rest of the way to the human's territory. How far away from here was it, anyway? Maybe Scabbers had already beat her back, after all they had started off alone maybe more than a week before. These thoughts kept her distracted from the quickly rushing ground, though they ceased as soon as she was close enough to begin closing her wings and attempt to catch herself with outstretched forelegs. After that things seemed to happen too quickly to register.
"Oof!" She had hit something. Hard. She had only taken a few cantering steps forward when she smacked into something large, and though it did give way slightly she was the one who ended up sprawled out on the ground. "Ugh..." What was going on? After something like that, the thick-headed mare was quite disoriented.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 2:12 pm
As the green brute stood there, keeping to himself the best he could with how filled up the valley was this time of year, he couldn't help but lose himself to the thoughts that struck him continously. Perhaps if he thought about it long enough an answer would present itself to him. As unlikely as that was to happen, something even more wild and rare seemed to just run into him without a moment's notice. That, or he just hadn't been paying attention at all. Which in all likelihood could have been the reason why Zak didn't take the few necisarry steps out of the way.
Something smacked into his thigh and hind leg; hard. Whatever it was must have been either going fast enough to cause him to stumble to the side, or heavy enough have the momentum to do so. Indifferently and without much concern the Aeri stallion craned his neck around to spot whatever the culprit was, and upon discovery of the sprawled out Jala he went with the first of the two possibilities. He knew this would have been the time where he would have yelled at her, perhaps even given her a kick for good measure, but as it was Zak's spirit was pretty much broken. He had no will to even scowl at the oddly colored creature, and merely turned his head back around to stare off into the distance. Shambles. That's what his life had fallen into. Shambles.
To not even have the will to chase off an intruder to his personal space? That certainly didn't sound like him, he should have at least kicked her for running into him. But he didn't even feel like doing that. It seemed even the simpliest of tasks, even justified, escaped his grasp. He supposed, after what he did to Aitumn, he could allow this little pipsqueak to squeeze by without consequece. Just this once. Yes. That sounded more like him, didn't it? Despite these words and decisions, he still felt as lost as he had before.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:13 pm
What'd she smack into, a tree trunk? Geez, even her hooves were hurting after that one! After accessing that no random apendages were broken in the collision or the fall, Mecriana lifted her still somewhat dizzy gaze toward the large green mass in front of her. Well, it certainly wasn't a tree. In fact, as her senses began to return to her she realized that it was a nequus that stood in front of her. A large one at that! Taking in the build and the leathery wings, she easily figured the breed to be Aeri. That certainly explained the feeling as if she had run into a tree. The guy was huge!
And apparently ignoring her as if she were a mere fly. The mare snorted her displeasure at this, at the very least he could have apoligized for getting in her way. That's what happened right? Surely he hadn't been there moments before. So that must mean he did it on purpose, and not only that but he was totally being rude. "HEY! What's 'ur problem pal, eh?" She would have growled if she could, but it merely came out as a shout as she stumbled to get back onto her hooves. Humph, lets him ignore this!
Sure he was huge, and green, and didn't look like he wanted to mess with anyone, but Mecriana was as scrappy as they came and she didn't fancy being ignore so completely after a stunt like that. Even Dappleass had insulted her! This guy was just... rude. Setting her ears back against her skull, the haughty Jala arched her fine neck and stepped to get in front of him, brows set into a scowl. "I ask ya again, you got a problem with me or somethin'?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:48 pm
Really all she had to do was get up and leave. No questions asked, no consequences for her actions. But no, this Jala seemed intent on getting under his skin. For all his worth when Zaknafein was boiled down to whatever lay underneathe the surface, he was a nequus who didn't like the company of others. Seldom did he ever enjoy being around one particular nequus for longer than a moment, and even then they were usually only useful to him for a specific purpose. Not this mare though. She served no purpose. She held no meaning for being here beside him now. Pompus little thing she was. A pipsqueak with a big mouth and an attitude problem.
For all the coldness that iced over his demeanor and turned a blind eye to the vengence that had fueled him this far in his life, he could not for the life of him let this sort of thing slide. It just wasn't Zaknafein, no matter the amount of doubt that swirled around in his head. It was just a pity she had already moved in front of him, he would have liked to give those spindly little legs a good stomping with one of his large hooves. Scowling crimson eyes rose and locked onto the mare's shockingly haughty gaze. He opened his mouth to speak but faultered as he did so, such an intense look reminding him of the faces of Aitumn and the golden wretch whom he hadn't bothered to learn the name of.
Taking an uncertain step back, the giant of a nequus twisted his own ears back to pin against the sides of his skull. Another moment and he was able to regain at least some bit of his composure, enough to rekindle his annoyance at least. "You seem to have overlooked the point that you smacked into me," his voice rolled with venom at these words and their fake 'polite' tone it carried. He had always considered himself an actor, but this was just plain sarcasm. "A tiny thing like you ought to be more careful." It sounded more menacing in his head, but no matter how he said it the words felt empty. Strange.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:17 pm
Now this was interesting, not only did he notice her now, it looked almost as if he had seen a ghost. Huh, she had heard of nequus who could do that, but supposedly they were suppose to be blind or something like that. Strange. He certainly didn't look blind, so that possiblity wasn't plausable. However, perhaps he was just scared at how she looked. She imagined it was quite a frightful look she as giving him just then, and she couldn't help but smirk at the thought. She supposed that was all she really wanted from him anyway, just for him to show his fear or even just to aknowledge she was there. It mattered little if he actually apoligized or admitted to anything. Mecriana just wanted to win, and he had practically given up right there.
Well... shoot. Nevermind. Her smirk turned to a frown when he retorted with sarcasm. Apparently the battle wasn't won yet, and she still needed to have him admit to some sort of defeat. Or at least engage in some sort of more heated arguement. For that's really what the paintaloosa enjoyed. Not the conquest of victory, but the path she took to get there. Arguing, fighting, throwing witty remarks back to each other, that's what made it all worth while.
Flaring her feathered wings against her back the jala continued to take a rather prancey step forward and flared her nostrils in definace. "Why, because a big guy like you would squish me? I don't think so, bub, I go where I want without fear of consequence." Her features tensed and she danced a few paces backward and to the side, arching her neck further and snorting. " 'sides even a big guy like you would be afraid to go up to a katilenuck, but not me. I go where I want." Young as she was, and of jala blood, even she couldn't attest to actually meeting a 'nuck face to face. But he didn't have to know that, just so long as he believed it.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:34 pm
 Okay, the decision to go find her nephew hadn't been an easy one, but Vierna was well aware of the concesquences if she didn't suck it up and fullfill her duty. As the patron member of their old herd, she had to ensure the safety of both Aitumn and Zaknafein, even if they were no longer considered a herd and thus disbanded many years ago. Some part of her, some moral part that still clung that past life, demanded that she become the mediator between the two stallions. Although hopefully she wouldn't need to get between them again, as it was her goal to get it through Zak's head that he was to no longer be able to venture near Aitumn or one of the jala's family members. No doubt the blood bay still held some ill-will for her misinformed nephew, and because she did not desire to see him torn into many green little shreds she'd have to get it through his head that seeking Aitumn out again was a bad idea.
D'ob seemed like a likely place to check first of all, seeing as how she had first heard of him wandering around in the valley many seasons ago. It'd make sense too, considering that's where their family use to take residence. Although admitedly not quite so far into the valley as Zak seemed to be. She doubted he'd missed his great big, green hide, so either he wasn't here or she hadn't gone deep enough into D'ob. As she walked along the well worn path of the valley dwellers, her ears pricked at the sound of intensified voices. And what do you think she saw? A great big, green hide about to get into it with a little black and white speckled thing. Although the Jala seemed to be causing the problem, she still couldn't help but feel somewhat appalled at Zak.
Picking her round hooves up from the ground the large mare trod closer in her characteristic 'thundering' gait. It was mostly just a brisk trot, but she bounced with every step which created a very apparent thud; thus it was called thundering. Her sister alwayd did like to tease about such things when they were younger.
Once close enough to the pair to decipher what was going on, the Aeri mare set her head upon high of her neck, and pricked her ears. "Deary! Must you always get yourself into trouble?" That probably wasn't the way things had gone once she took in the Jala's stance and expression, but she needed to difuse the situation first and foremost. Turning to the Jala mare, "Missy, I'd appreciate it if you were to allow me to speak with my nephew alone. We have several things we need to discuss that are rather errgent."
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 8:24 pm
Right. It seemed not only wasn't this pompus little twit intent on making it into a fight, but she seemed quite pleasant about the prospect. Calling him a coward to the katilenuck? Those brindled idiots surely had their muzzles stuck so far up their own asses, it hardly mattered what he though about them. He had heard rather nasty tales about those sort, stealing foals for slaves, slaughtering herds of nequus, and most of all was their well-known hate for the Reya. It made him happy that he was born without a horn, otherwise he might accidently be mistaken for one. Although he supposed he was much bigger than any Reya wretch, and if they got a good look at his tail they'd see he wasn't quite up to the mysterious nequus standards. Humph. Katilenuck were just trouble all around, and he supposed he would like to avoid them.
As for warrior princess here, the big guy flattened his ears once more and arched his thick neck. "Than get the hell outta my face, ya 'nuck-lovin' b***h!" Really, his patience was being tried, and though in the past he despised getting into physical conflicts, he honestly didn't give a drek anymore. His morals were apparently misplaced, his believes thrown back into his face, it was no wonder the thoughts in his mind swirled to insanity. He'd already stained his hooves with innocent blood, might as well do the same for someone not so innocent.
At that moment a rather familar voice sent a very cold chill down his spine. Never mind the mild weather, his aunt always did have a way with making entertrances like this. However, he'd have rather had her not hear what he had to say to the pompus little slut in front of him. Still. It was Vierna. As much as he wanted to simply run away from her he knew he couldn't. She was family, and when he was around her he felt like a foal; waiting to be scolded. Savage crimson eyes turned dull as they looked in the direction of the Jala once more, however he seemed to be staring past her. "Get outta here", he prompted through a murmured voice, hardly able to make a sound.
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:41 am
He was such a stubborn jackass! Not only that but he was refusing, absolutely refusing to back down on anything she happened to do. If she pinned her ears he bared his teeth. If she arched her neck and paced forward he raised his and stood his ground. Hu, he was asking for a good a** kicking, and she was very determined to give it to him if he didn't at least submit somewhat. Its not that she believed herself superior to him or the Aeri breed, but she had vowed to never act cowardly or submissively toward any other nequus so long as she lived. It may be all good and polite, but that didn't mean s**t if people got the idea they could walk all over you. She supposed that's what happened to her sire, but she couldn't be certain what his deal was. Just that he had been a spineless, backstabbing, piece of drek that abandoned her at the tree during a game of tag without a second thought. -b*****d,- she thought venomously as her forehoof pawed viciously at the ground. She'd never submit to anyone, and that included this green giant.
Her plans for attack were ruined by a rather sweet sounding voice and the sound of thudding hooves not to far off. She chanced a crane of her neck to see who was approaching them, and was surprised to find another Aeri. Not as big as this guy, but still big enough to cause problems. Geez. Two on one? That was hardly fair, and they seemed to know each other. However her ears pricked forward as the aeri mare caught her by surprise. "Uh..." This had never happened before. Usually the offender ran off, submitted, or they got into a physical brawl. This was... new.
She more or less ignored the prompting of the green stallion to consider her options. It wouldn't be a good idea to engage in battle with the both of them, even she wasn't that dense. But, but would it be submitting if she allowed them to talk alone? Her ears flicked back and forth uncertainly. She supposed she could allow that, its not like they couldn't resume their little spout afterwards. Finally Mecriana dipped her head and stepped out of the way, trotting some distance before stopping and turning around to watch the percessions. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long, she still wanted to settle the dispute, and it would look weak if she just ran off now.
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 1:48 pm
Vierna watched the tense situation subside for the moment, Zak going emotionally limp, and the fiesty Jala mare confusedly sidestepping off in the distance. Well, it could have been worse, she reminded herself, and mentally cringed at the thought. She had seen enough of that side of her nephew, but she was certain that wasn't the only side of him there was. Flicking her ears forward the valentines mare eased her way up with slower, more studied steps until she was within nuzzling distance of the brute stallion; her nephew. However her nose did not reach out to touch him, instead her voice was the only thing that made him apparent of her being there.
"I know you've had time to think about what you've done, and if you're in a more controlled frame of mind then I think its time to bring this situation to a close. Are you ready to hear what I have to say?" There was very little indication that he was ready or not, for he didn't happen to voice his opinions as she had expected. However, he did turn his head to look at her, so she supposed that was good enough. She tried to smile, but it came out as a rather crooked thing. "You shouldn't blame Aitumn for what happened with our family. He did not choose to place us in the most vulnerable part of the valley, you can thank your grandfather for that. Poor thing was going senile in his last years. In fact, if my memory serves it was Aitumn who had thought it'd be best to wait out the storm in our little cave we stumbled upon a few days earlier." It probably wasn't an easy thing for Zaknafein to hear, but he had to know the truth of the past.
Vierna dipped her head to press her temple against her nephew's strong neck, unable to keep herself from showing some sort of affection after such a long time of not knowing whether he was alive or not. "Oh Zak, what am I going to do with you? Can you understand that what I'm telling you is truth?" She certainly hoped so, she cared for him too much to have him go on believing such cruel things that tormented him.
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 2:10 pm
Well, one problem down... all the others left to deal with. What on earth was aunt Vierna doing here and why did she need to talk with him? He was certain he had possibly scared her off back at the beach, but perhaps he was mistaken. It was Aunt Viern, she seemed to have a fair amount of backbone when it came to matters of family, but that was nothing compared to the wisdom he knew she had. So, where did that leave him? In all likeliness he had to trust her. She knew what she was talking about. Right? It would explain things. Aitumn hadn't known what he was talking about, even claimed to have memory loss-
The pressure against his neck surprised him, and the green brute twisted uncertainly, craning his head around to get a better look at his aunt. He blinked at what he saw. Even after telling him all that, and seeing what he's done, she still expects to show him some sort of affection? God. Gods above. After what's he's done. He bit back the taste of bile and sidestepped out of her reach, sickened by the sudden onslaught of realization. "I believe you," he choked out, his brows furrowing as he tore his gaze away. How could she! How could she still show him affection after what he had become? "Vierna, its you who doesn't understand the situation." He tried to keep his voice down, but only managed to stomp a hoof into the ground instead. "Do you know what I've DONE? I nearly killed a fruit while it was still on its tree! I swore death upon three innocent lives, and I would have done it to the forth if I had known about her before hand-"
Vierna had made a sound in the back of her throat, a disagreeing sound that wrenched at him. The stallion's large head swung back around to face her, crimson eyes alarmed and angry. "You shouldn't be so quick to forgive me! Since I was a foal I believed it was Aitumn's fault, and when I discovered him coming to when everyone else was dead..." he paused, remembering the fresh fury that had been embedded in him after the incident. "I kicked him. Over and over I kicked him in the head until he bled and I was sure he was dead as well. Only when I came back later he was gone. Its my fault he doesn't remember anything. Its all my fault. I'm guilty!"
Just then Vierna made another move to nuzzle him, and the stallion could stand it no longer. Aunt or not, he couldn't bare her affection after the things he's done. Sharply the stallion turned upon his heels and begun to walk swiftly away. He had no intention of turning around or stopping, his heart was as heavy as lead at this point.
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 2:45 pm
She had known part of that, she had known he had sworn death upon Aitumn and attacked the foal, but there were things he said that sliced through her more than anything ever could. Or so she thought. Even in her pain and disappointment she had made a move to nuzzle her poor nephew, but he turned away from her and started walking off. Whatever acceptance she may have had for him vanished in that action as she realized -he's not the colt he use to be.- He was a stallion now. A grown stallion that had dedicated his life to lies, and who had commited terrible acts while relying upon those lies as truth. He had made his decision. Although it wasn't a mature one, she had to recognise it as he wasn't her little Zak anymore. He was Zaknafein, a rogue stallion who no longer believed in the way of life he had been living.
"Where are you going?" The call was soft but empty, the normally chipper mare left somewhat cold by this entire encounter. She would need to tell Aitumn that the threat in Zak was gone, to better ease the Jala's mind, but that did little appease these terrible feelings of grief.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:52 pm
He may have been distraught, angered, and disturbed by the time he had turned away from his aunt, but that empty call stomped what was left of his heart. The things he had done, she knew it was bad, it was terrible. Even she would not fully be able to forgive him for that. Coldly and without so much as giving a backward glance to one of the mares that had raised him, Zaknafein pinned his ears and shouted, "To hell!" His legs jolted under him and he was charging off into the distance, although his weight prevented him from going too fast too quickly.
Hell. He'd go where hell on Urin lived. Atop the red mountains where that 'nuck loving b***h had claimed she'd proudly stroll into it. Well so would he. Only he hoped that he would meet his fate on top that mountain, and hoped his demise was a quick one.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:03 pm
Yeesh, they apparently had some problems going on. Maybe she should have just snuck off while they were going through all their drama, no one would blaim her for doing so if they had to hear this. Possibly out of consideration, but mostly because it was embarrising. However when the big guy went running off with another glance in her direction the fiery mare pinned her ears and snorted. The nerve! How dare he! He ignored her in the first place and now he was doing it again? Stomping a forehoof into the ground Mecriana pranced forward on riled steps and a tossing head, resisting the urge to rear and paw at the air in frustration. She could chase him, but, "Yeah, just run away!" was much easier to claim her victory. Humph. Well. Now no one could call her a coward at least.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:13 pm
That was... well she really didn't have any thoughts on it other than heartbreak. She had dreamed of finding one of her family members, and now that she did it was all screwed up. It was just terrible. Terrible. But maybe if she gave him some space he'd come around? Vierna could only be hopeful that's the way things would turn out. That he would somehow realize that the only way to make up for his mistakes was to do something positive with his life. Avoiding Aitumn would be a good idea as well, but at the moment she was worried about her nephew's well being. Then her thoughts were interrupted by the loud mouth mare, and Vierna could only sigh at the display. "Deary, I'd ask you to please mind our business, he's going through a rough time." Truth be told it irked the valentines mare, but she wasn't going to get angry over it. People were just people.
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