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 Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 9:28 pm
This is a PRP between Faithofthefallen's Ellette
and Faithofthefallen's Ignis
Teepee
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 9:52 pm
"Keep your chin up!" Ellette barked sharply as she smacked the angeni across the head with the whiplike branch clenched between her teeth. She stood in the center of a large clearing with Ignis, the angeni stallion who was at the moment twisted into an awkward half crouch with wings spread spread for balance, his fore and back legs being held aloft. He had been holding the position for almost five minutes now and already his entire body was shaking, his shiny bras covered hooves trembling as they slowly lowered, inch by inch closer to the mossy ground.
"Hold it Ignis! Pick those hooves back up this instant! Dammit, your in resting stance you fool of a stallion! I could hold that pose in my sleep and I don't have those big feathery pinions of yours to help me balance!" Her orders were delivered sharply, her warm brown eyes snapping with temper as they met the crimson glare of her newest pupil. The stallion had approached her not a week before when he came upon her practice, entreating her to teach him the arts of a warrior. There had been something broken in his gaze, she could only assume it was related to his misshapen wing, it had obviously been broken badly within the last few months and just as obviously had healed terribly. He could still move it a little but it was stiff and painful. He refused to even look at the wing and mule headedly resisted all of her efforts to help him regain some of that lost flexibility.
She couldn't recall ever meeting encountering a more infuriating male, he argued with her every step of the way despite her frequent reminders that it had been he who had approached her for help. She tried to maintain her cool but the normally even tempered mare lost it on almost a daily basis and their training sessions frequently deteriorated into shouting matches with each of them standing on opposite sides of the clearing yelling at the top of her lungs.
Despite her frustration with Ignis, he was coming along nicely and she was qu8itepleased with his progress. She would never admit it of course, not wanting to risk inflating his already grossly distended ego.
Despite her curt commands and brave front, it was clear to any who knew the mare even a little that she was out of sorts lately. Her eyes were red rimmed and the bruise dark circles underneath them clearly attested to the past few sleepless nights she had spent searching through the forest. She was thin, her dappled brown coat dull and her masses of smoky brown curls were snarled and lacked their usual luster.
Aryon was missing.
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:22 pm
Ignis cursed under his breath at the busybody little mare as she passed him, nearly losing his balance as the stinging branch struck him across the forehead, distracting his focus. He breathed out a sigh of a relief as he finally managed to steady himself, falling out of form would have peeved Ellette off to no end. His teacher stressed concentration, self control, and mental focus on the task at hand. She delighted in sprinkling their time together with all manner of distractions and irritations to throw him off until he lost his temper. Then she would turn to him with that wide doe-eyed gaze and inform him that she had always managed to ignore the distractions her master threw her way, and wasn't a big strong angeni stallion like himself more than capable of handling at least as much as a 'foolish weak willed mare.' She had caught on to his personal prejudices almost immediately when she overheard him loudly complaining to his then-companion Jezabelle about the audacity of her assumption, that he would consent to be trained to fight by one such as Ellette. Things deteriorated rather quickly from there.
Ignis may be old fashioned, but he was also intelligent, and despite his personal feelings on the matter he was forced to concede that Ellette was more than capable of teaching him what he desired. He learned that almost immediately when she laid him out with one skillful kick and left him gasping for air with stars swimming in front of his eyes. It had taken a lot of fast talking to convince her to accept him as her pupil after that, perhaps grovelling would be a more accurate description of what followed. Belle had watched with more than a bit of amusement as the Clydesdale sized stallion knelt down before the small, sturdy little mare and apologized for his atrocious behavior- he had managed to offend even gentle Jezabelle with his insensitive remarks. Ellette had relented-eventually, and now here he was, barely a month into his training and he was beginning to have second thoughts on the matter.
Ellette had wandered off behind him, out of sight, which made him nervous. He braced himself for the inevitable smack across his flank but it never came. That worried him, Ellette almost never missed a chance to hit him with that damned stick. He turned his head to the side in what he hoped was an unobtrusive manner. His teacher was staring off into the distance with her back to him and seemed to be emanating a desperate sadness that struck him to his core. It was strange to think of her as an actual person, someone with thoughts and feelings of her own outside of their training together, but she was clearly troubled. She seemed more and more out of sorts as the days past and more often he would turn to find her staring off into the woods with that lost expression in her eyes, making him want to enfold her in his wings and protect her from whatever it was that was causing her so much pain. We winced, his wings, he carefully avoided dwelling on the subject, he couldn't make himself come to terms with the fact that he was now a useless cripple.
"Are you alright?" he questioned hesitantly.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 3:33 pm
"Shut up, Ignis" Ellette answered almost absently. She shook her head, trying to clear away the sleepy fog that slowed her movements and made her feel as though she were dreaming. She turned away from the forest, regretfully peeling her eyes away from that familiar grove in the distance, squelching down the desperate hope that one day she would catch a glimpse of those familiar features heading towards her, she would give anything to see him again. What had she done wrong?
The night before his disappearance hadn't been out of the ordinary. They talked over the days events, joked around a bit and told some old stories before drifting off. When she woke in the morning, he was simply gone without a trace to be found. She had searched and searched that first day, looking for some sign of trouble, she breathed a heady sigh of relief when she found no trace of blood. There were no hoof prints, no hints at which direction he had gone. It was if he had never been there in the first place.
Over the next few weeks, even she had begun to wonder if their time together had been a dream fueled by loneliness, but deep within her heart she knew that Aryon was out there somewhere. She would find him. She would have left before now, but Ignis had come to her and asked for help, rudely perhaps, but becoming his teacher felt right, so she consented. She had been reluctant at first, more than anything she wanted to be out there searching for Ary, but this was the only place he would know to look for her. The world was a big place, if she left this base, she could spend the rest of her life searching for Aryon and miss him by only a handful of miles. No, staying put was the best course of action....For now.
She turned back to her student, blinking, and was horrified to find that she was crying. How embarrassing!
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:03 pm
Ignis tilted his head as he stared at Ellette, bemused at his teachers silent reverie. More and more frequently in the past few days, she had drifted off by herself in the middle of a lesson and just stood there, seemingly searching for something. Her verbal jabs had less bite to them lately, and she seemed tired, as though she were arguing with him merely as part of an elaborate pretense that everything was normal. His muscles trembled and burned as he struggled to remain in the so called 'resting stance,' resting my hoof! while Ellette was off daydreaming. His temper sizzled as his legs began to spasm, "I don't suppose you'd mind actually spending some time teaching me this afternoon?" He snapped heatedly.
Ellette whirled around, eyes flashing, her mouth already opened to deliver a scathing reply when they both realized there were tears streaming down her cheeks. Ignis' hooves dropped with a dull thud as he stood there, staring, feeling that momentary twinge of panic all males experience when confronted with a distressed female. His irritation had evaporated, leaving only worry in its' place. He hadn't thought Ellette even had tear ducts, let alone knew how to use them. Ellette caught the slightly wild look in his wide crimson eyes and immediately spun on her hoof and stomped away, "Lesson's over!" she called out over her shoulder as she stormed off into the underbrush.
"Oh no you don't," Ignis muttered under his breath, starting off after her without a second thought. "Get your a** back over here!" He yelled, hoping she would stop to tell him off, Ignis was a very large stallion and had never been overly fond of forests. The paths were narrow and turns tight, making it difficult for him to move with any speed. Ellette, on the other hand, was a spry young mare who could move through the forest with astounding speed and silence. "Ellette, what the hell is wrong with you today?" he called out, "I'm not a complete imbecile, its obvious that your upset, did I do something?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:13 pm
The dam had broken and her tears streamed heavily down her cheeks. Nearly blind, Ellette gasped and sobbed as she stumbled over rocks and tree roots, not really sure where she was going, but knowing she had to get away from the insensitive lump that was her student. Finally she fell to her knees in the middle of a thick grove, pillowing her head on her legs as she stared blankly at the undergrowth before her. Tired and hiccuping, she closed her eyes and hoped that she had run fast enough and far enough to escape the Angeni stallion. She couldn't hear him crashing around behind her any more.
She didn't want to face the laughter in his eyes, laughter at her 'female weakness' and emotional instability. Worse, she didn't want to see his pity, didn't want his pity. She wished Lioth was with her, but she had sent the Hawk out on increasingly wide sweeps of the surrounding forest. He had been gone for a few days now, she had to stay in place for the moment, but Lioth could be her eyes.
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:40 am
Ignis slowed as he neared Ellette's still form, approaching warily, he knelt until he met her red rimmed eyes, his crimson orbs emotionless as they gazed into the soft brown depths. There was pain there, a pain so deep it made his breath catch in his throat once he recognized it. Ellette was trembling, he felt it as he knelt down beside her, his good wing stretching out to shelter her and keep her warm as she turned her gaze from him and resumed her determined contemplation of a clump of weeds a few paces ahead. There was no need for words, they sat there in companionable silence for a few hours, Ignis staring stonily into the distance as he pondered what could have injured his teacher so deeply. The wounded look in her eyes, he had grown used to. It had been there since the day the met, he had assumed it was battle regret, or loneliness. She was very good at keeping her emotions shielded, for a female, he had to give her that.
As the light began to fall, Ignis rose stiffly to his hooves and nudged Ellette's side. "Come on Lass," he said gently, "Its time to get up now, we're not spending the night out in the middle of nowhere." Her silence and the despair he felt radiating out of her frightened him, he hadn't realized how much he had come to depend on her strength and levelheadedness. Ellette was a rock, a calm center to the chaos of the most recent events of his life. Sure, they fought, but it was because he knew it was safe. Knew she wouldn't abandon him no matter how many times she threatened. Their friendship was a complicated one, but it was also good and true. He wouldn't abandon her either, regardless of how uncomfortable the emergence of her female weakness had made him. He would tough it out.
"Get up Ellette," he repeated firmly, "We're leaving."
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:48 am
Ellette glanced up at her student, a bit of fire returning to her eyes and some of the color to her cheeks as she felt a stab of temper. "I'm not going anywhere with you Ignis. I am your teacher. That means I make the calls and I say I'm not moving an inch." she whispered heatedly, "I didn't ask you to sit here with me, gods, I didn't want your company. I don't need your pity, your judgement, your infuriating....maleness" She snapped, her stare sullen as she lay her head down once more.
She had run out of tears a couple hours ago but her face was itchy and swollen from crying. Her mouth felt thick and fuzzy, she knew she looked a mess. She didn't care. Why bother worrying about her appearance? She wasn't trying to impress anyone, didn't need anyone. Ellette was done with males, done with love, done with trying. She would lay here and wallow in her misery until....well until she didn't feel like it anymore...
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:57 am
Ignis planted his hooves solidly on the ground before her. "I'm Bigger than you are, Elette." He remarked quietly, his voice steady, uninterested, even as his eyes bored a hole in her head. Ellette made a rude noise in response. Ignis couldn't help the infuriating grin that lit up his features, so the girl had some spark left in her after all.
He was bigger than her, but Ellette was a trained warhorse to the bone. Her reflexes were fast and often deadly accurate. But she was cried out and exhausted, her attention was not focused on her opponent but on the shrubbery. She was also laying down, difficult to defend yourself from lower ground. Ignis weighed his odds with those handicaps in mind and grimaced, he'd have to move fast. He didn't think she'd actually hurt him. lurching foreword he tucked his wings tightly to his body, jammed his head under her stomach and hoisted her off of the ground, letting gravity slide her into place, draped over his back like a sack of potatoes. She was surprisingly light and also surprisingly, she didn't retaliate, nevertheless she kept up an endless stream of protests and threats as he threaded his way through the tree trunks towards the stream.
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:06 am
She saw the twitch, the glint in his crimson eyes and let pass the moment she could have reacted to protect herself. Lightning quick, she was hoisted off the ground and tossed over his broad back. His muscled bulged under his smooth coat as he stood and the ground dropped away, her stomach dropped with it and she paused her scathing remarks to fight back a wave of nausea. "How do you stand being up so high?" she growled between clenched teeth and braced herself.
She muttered darkly at him as he carried her through the forest, "Where are we going?" she paused to ask, but her rebellious student kept his lips tightly sealed as he walked. "I could lay you out with one good kick to the ribcage, I hope you know, maybe you should think about that a bit more before you give me any more of your sauce!" she threatened without any real fervor. She wasn't going to kick him and he knew it. She glared at the line of trees they passed, infuriated at the indignity of being carried around like one of the two leggered's foals. She slipped and slid across his back and was worried she'd fall off at one point, finally she wrapped her leg in the long white cloth draped around his muscular form and grabbed a teethful of his mane for balance. He grunted but otherwise ignored her efforts. "Stubborn snarly male." She hissed under her breath.
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:42 pm
Ignis finally reached the river with his burden and gazed at it sidelong, deep enough for his purposes. It was wide and slow moving, perfect for his purposes. With a flap of his wing he tilted sideways, "Don't you da-" Ellette began, her voice raising an octave. She was cut off short as she slid off his back into the water with a tremendous splash.
"Idiot!!!" she screamed as she resurfaces, spitting mad and coughing up water, her muscled legs churning to keep her afloat as she swam back towards shore, "Insensitive son of a mule!!! You could have killed me! Are you happy now!!?"
Ignis stretched out on a large flat rock, warming himself with the last vestiges of sunlight before night truly fell. The sky was alit with a breathtaking myriad of colors. He gazed at it for a few moments before turning back to gaze at Ellette, who had scrambled up the bank and stood glaring at him. Her long smoky brown curls hung limp and dripping over her face and she glared at him with a fury that would have caused a stallion of lesser courage to flee for his life. "That depends, are you finished behaving like a foal and fit to carry on an adult conversation?"
She opened her mouth to retaliate but he cut her short, "Your behavior is almost as bad as my daughter's during her transition years." He remarked with a sardonic roll of his eyes, "If you have a problem, speak about it, don't coddle it until it takes over your whole life! I needed to snap you out of that melancholic, its not healthy to be carrying on like that. Your being foolish."
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:55 pm
Ellette shook with rage and chill as she emerged from the frigid river, dripping and miserable. That's the problem with males.... Always sticking their noses where they don't belong.
"Don't speak to me like that Ignis!" she warned, "You have no idea whats going on, no idea what its like..." she choked off another sob, there were no tears left, but she felt the sadness creeping up on her again. Shaking her head she smiled as cold droplets of water sprayed the stallion in the face, making him wince. Serves you right she thought with a tight smile.
He stared at her with that infuriating blank face for a few minutes as she attempted to dry off. The air was cooling, the sun had almost set and she didn't want to go to sleep with wet hair, "If I wake up in the morning with a chill I'm going to kick you up one side of this stream and down the other," she threatened halfheartedly.
He stared at her some more, finally she threw her head back in defeat and went to sit next to him. "...His name was Aryon..." she began hesitantly, "He was my first student, before I met you. We were....travelling companions, friends," I loved him "We were trying to find.... to find his family. He suffered an injury last winter, I think it scrambled his brains a bit, he has had a hard time remembering where he left them last. Shortly before I met you, he just vanished, without a trace in the middle of the night. A year of constant companionship and then to just vanish without a word, sometimes I fear the worst." he's gone to find his true partner.
She stared down at her hooves, "You must think me a fool of a mare."
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:11 pm
"True," he began impishly, "But you can't really expect me to change my opinion of you just for this." She glared at him and head butted him halfheartedly, "Be serious," she chided.
"Emotions aren't foolish." She stated bluntly, "But wallowing in them is, letting them take control of your life is. You have every reason to be upset at this, Aryon, but you don't have the right to not take care of yourself simply because your upset. Whens the last time you ate?" He wondered aloud, staring accusingly at her protruding ribs, "Whens the last time you slept?" Her red rimmed eyes were guilty, but she met his gaze squarely.
"A while ago," she admitted after a long pause.
"Aryon is gone, Ellette, maybe he'll come back someday, maybe you'll find each other again, but you can't fall apart every time something bad happens in your life. You need to pull yourself together, gather your strength, find something thats worth living for and don't give up! Your more than just Aryon's 'companion,' you are Ellette, the warhorse, protector of the weak and punisher of wrongdoers. The world needs people like you, appreciate yourself."
Ellette's laugh was watery, "I didn't know you could be so wise."
He smiled at her fondly and shook his head, "Well I didn't know you had tear ducts, so I guess we're even."
The look she directed at him was disturbingly perspective, "Maybe you should take your own advice, Ignis." she advised quietly, "Your more than just your wings you know, I think you need to take a long hard look at the way you've been living as well.
He winced, "Straight to the point aren't we?" His voice was gruff ad he could feel himself drawing behind his barriers. He didn't want to think about what had happened to him.
"Don't shut me out Ignis." Ellette said firmly, "I may not be at my best but I am still more than capable of sending you for a swim in that river. Let me advise you from experience, its not something you'd enjoy... What happened to you Ignis? Whats your story?"
Ignis snorted and gazed up at the sky, at the stars blinking and twinkling, the same as they always did. "I wanted to touch the stars." He whispered, "I let my emotions get the best of me, I flew up so high that my wings froze....A tree broke my fall, sparing my life, but taking my wing in return...."
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:27 pm
"Thats...Terrible" she said softly, his head snapped around to glare at her suspiciously. Hyper aware as he scanned her face and voice for the smallest trace of pity. Ignis was a prideful stallion, something she could relate too. Perhaps that was why they butted heads so often and yet managed to maintain a wary friendship. They were far too similar in many ways. Not all of them ways she wanted to admit to herself, she was sure he felt the same way. "Did you try to find a healer?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:35 pm
"Of course, Belle found me after the accident. She tried to help as much as possible but its not in her nature. We couldn't find any Uni or even a Kirin, by the time we found our way out of that forest, it had already healed by itself. Badly. Its stiff and weak, it pains me when the weather changes and I can barely stretch it out. I think the muscle was torn when I fell, it healed over all knotted, misshaped and bulgy, it never looked this way before." He cast a quick, skittish glance over his shoulder at the offending appendage.
"My wings are....were my life. I flew every chance I took, the feeling....Its indescribable." His crimson eyes were glossy as he daydreamed about the life he had been forced to leave behind. "When I lost my wings, I lost my home.... I cannot reach it as I am now. I also lost my children." Ellette's face was shocked, "Their mother will care for them surely?" she questioned worriedly.
"They're adopted," he admitted simply, "Left to me as baskets by a mare I had just met and never saw again. They're old enough to take care of themselves. It just...I fought with my son before this happened. I haven't seen him since then... I want more than anything to see him again, to take back the words I spoke in haste and temper... I do that a lot." he acknowledged reluctantly. "It can be a bit of a problem sometimes."
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