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 Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 10:38 am
((Included in this RP are: Samsara, Unenlagia, Daimhin, Rosiotti, Xelloss, Mittrei, Svanbjorn, Carmilla.... )) 
"We are going to murder the Padmapani," she had told the gathered members of her Mahapadma. She had looked into each of their faces, seeing the mixture of emotions there. Anticipation. Fear. Bloodlust. Excitement. These were her warriors, imperfect as they might be. "We are not just going to murder my father. We are going to murder his family. We are going to murder his friends, his students." Her hot breath misted in the frosty air.
"We are going to murder the peace of the Padmapani, the joy." In the forest clearing her voice boomed. She stood smaller than most of them but no one questioned her right to stand there commanding them. "We are going to destroy the foundations of the herd itself!" Her wings snapped and cracked, making a sound like distant thunder.
"It will not be easy. Some of you might even die, but I don't care." She surveyed them with a callous chill that could have frozen water. "You will obey me because you want to kill, because your demons cry out for blood, because I will slay you myself if you turn your back on me!" The last words were shouted, and all believed them to be true.
"If you die then we will meet again in the hell between rebirths and I will claim you again for my servants even there. So come with me, and prepare yourself! Our hell will be theirs. That is Mahapadma!"
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 10:48 am
Mittrei walked alone and to one side of the rest of the group. She could still hear Samsara's speech ringing in her ears. Once she had thought herself royalty, but not anymore. She knew what true power felt like now and knew that she had never wielded it. Any status she had was as fleeting as the snowflakes that were drifting down from the clouds only to melt when they touched ground. Now, without her herd, she was nothing. Nothing, but with a purpose now.
She shuddered. After the speech, Samsara had taken her aside to tell her exactly what she could do for the upcoming fight. Mittrei hadn't honestly expected to be useful at all. She couldn't fight. The best she might do is spook someone... but she hadn't had any idea the level of spooking that Samsara would require of her. Her job was simple enough but the consequences would be monstrous. She was the decoy. She would be the one to tell the Padmapani herd to run, for danger with fangs and claws was coming. If they ran, which she expected they would, they would find themselves in a merciless trap that demanded their deaths.
Quietly, she looked in front of the group to where Samsara strode out ahead of them. The skinwalker had taught her what true power and fear was. Soon, Mittrei would learn what true guilt was as well.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 11:03 am
Unenlagia walked close enough behind Samsara to be able to catch her musky scent whenever there was a breath of wind. He had not seen his human rider in months. It was the longest he had ever been without her since they met, but oddly, he felt no sorrow. He truly did adore her and believed that he adored her still, but the skinwalker could give him something that Yazhi never could. Yazhi gave him affection and a sense of vicious satisfaction whenever they brought down a soquili together. Samsara gave him purpose.
His wolf T'kashi strode beside him. The wolf was obviously excited about the upcoming fight. He had often expressed appreciation at Unenlagia for the new "pack" they had joined. Unenlagia appreciated his enthusiasm as always.
Though he was officially Samsara's second in command, for this fight he would be a minion like everyone else. He had his assignments, they had theirs. T'kashi licked his lips and Lagia found himself doing the same. As far as he was concerned, they had the most fun mission. They wouldn't be fighting the hardened defenders of the herd. They would be going after the weak, the frightened mares and the little foals.
He couldn't wait.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 11:11 am
Daimhin frowned. He was thinking of the little usdia mare he had left behind, his usdia mare! He had done his best to keep the little pokesoq out of Samsara's sight and naturally wasn't about to bring her with on a mission like this. He had told her to stay put so he could find her after, but what if she didn't? What if she ran away on him? He found himself irrationally fond of his little pokesoq captive. If she was still around when he got back, he would treat her more nicely. He didn't ask himself if he was thinking these things because he thought he might die.
He noticed Unenlagia sneaking his way closer to Samsara and scowled. Lagia always thought himself so important just because he had been arbitrarily chosen as the leader before Samsara had even gotten to know them. Lagia had always acted so superior, lording it over them that he was the skinwalker's chosen one.
Daimhin smirked, the gears in his head turning and coming up with a plan of his own. A lot could happen in the heat of battle and if Lagia didn't return from it, Samsara would certainly have to choose another...
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 11:24 am
Ninetails the wolf was the only non-soquili that Samsara had deliberately recruited for the Mahapadma, and Ninetails wore that distinction proudly. Unlike the grass-eaters that surrounded her, she was born a predator and had the teeth for the job. As a rule, Ninetails viewed anything with hooves with disdain, anything but the skinwalker, of course. She exchanged smirks with the one other wolf in the group, T'kashi. She would be running alongside him and running down those that tried to flee. She'd have preferred to have more wolves as it was difficult to kill full grown soquili with only two, but they'd manage. It only took one wolf's teeth around a windpipe to kill.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:00 pm
 Rosiotti was uncomfortable, to say the least. It wasn't the upcoming conflict that was putting him on edge though. That he was fine with, excited about even. It would be his first true battle, no more helpless unicorns. He was about to go up against those who actually knew how to defend themselves. There was a time when he would turn tail and run from such a thought. But ever since meeting Samsara he had become a completely different stallion and now he was ready for the challenge.
No, what was making him uncomfortable were all these other, unfamiliar soquili around. For some reason, up until this point, he had just assumed that he was the only one crazy enough to follow the skinwalker. Apparently not. And this didn't make him happy. The stallions seemed too cocky, too conniving. While one was practically stalking Samsara, something that irked Rosi endlessly, the other lurked in the background with a rather deviously plotting look to him. The wolves...well, he supposed they could be useful. But the mares were simply pathetic. What could flutters do in a battle, pester their enemies to death? That...wasn't to say anything against Samsara, of course. She was different, for very obvious reasons.
The stallion snorted quietly and gave his feline tail a flick. What did it matter? He wasn't here for them anyways. He was here for Samsara, for the same reason many of them were there. She had given him a purpose. She had changed him from the weak, pathetic stallion he once was into something useful, violent as it may be. And for that, he would go to war with any soquili the skinwalker told him to without even a second thought.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:28 pm
Xelloss had never been in such a large group headed for a violent outing and had to admit that it was a little thrilling. He traditionally operated alone even if his missions brought him into close contact with other soquili for long stretches. He might manipulate others to carry out his goals for him but they never fought as equals.
He considered their plan. Theoretically it could work, but it relied on a lot of unknowns. The main unknown was the battle strength of the Padmapani herd. Xelloss personally knew that it had a few soquili who could take orders and keep discipline. According to Samsara, the Padmapani defenders were basically untried hobbyists, but things might have changed since she was last there. Xelloss could always fly off if the going got rough either way, but he would prefer a nice slaughter if he had the option. He wasn't worried about his own safety, at any rate.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:59 pm
Even though it was midwinter Bushkin had a layer of sweat over her back. She couldn't stay still. She tossed her head while walking, causing her mane to bounce up and down against her back. Occasionally she'd break into a swift trot from walking but then immediately slow back down again to walking. Her behavior, combined with random snorts, gave her a very erratic and uncontrolled appearance. It might even seem as if she were frightened to an outsider, but that couldn't be further from the truth. She thrashed around so much because she could barely restrain herself from starting the battle early.
All her life she had contained her madness. Her cruelty had been a whispering demon in the back of her mind, one that would sometimes break through to the surface in sudden violent outbursts. Samsara had once told her that she herself had been much like that before she had been reborn. Samsara was the one that allowed Bushkin to express herself in that way she had ever longed for, just as the skinwalker had apparently undergone her own transition.
Samsara had promised her the foals of Padmapani herd. Bushkin trembled with delight at that thought. She would crush them. Crush all their little bodies into the ground...
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 5:24 pm
Carmilla drew closer to Svanbjorn. It was so very cold out that day. Her flutter wings were tucked flat against her body to conserve heat and now she was pressed up against her mate to keep even warmer. She was frustrated and uncertain of why Samsara had even brought her along, but here she was. "Don't get in the way," had been Carmilla's only orders. Carmilla was so mad she could spit. Samsara treated her as useless, no, worse than that. She was treated as a burden!
Angry, Carmilla brooded on this as they walked. The other flutter in their group didn't get so much disdain. Carmilla considered herself even more useful than Mittrei but she was treated like nothing more than a vain filly. And do you deserve to be treated better? asked a whispering voice in her mind. Mittrei does what she can for the Mahapadma. Do you? No, she did not. She never offered any services so was never assigned any. She chose this pathetic state and hated it all the same.
The mountains before them were growing larger by the minute. They were getting close.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 8:04 am
 Wohl was not quite like the others. He had not truly been recruited. He trailed along at the back off to the side finding that this was as good of a place as any to be. He typically hunted on his own but a slaughter of this scale practically demanded his participation as much as their skinwalker leader. Even a small soquili downed would feed him well for a few winter days. If they were after an entire herd then he imagined he would get his meal. That was enough to win his loyalty. He would fight and kill for this Mahapadma.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:55 pm
Svanbjorn draped a wing over Carmilla's back. It was an unusually tender gesture. They weren't terribly romantic on most days. Today he would allow himself to act a little different. Today, the tension thrummed thickly in the air through the silence of the group. Samsara had told them that they might die. Svan didn't like the sound of that, but didn't believe he would be a corpse by the end of the day. He fancied himself to have killed more soquili than most of the Mahapadma. He had sharp teeth, strong hooves, and a rack of antlers. With all those weapons he wouldn't go down easy. Carmilla, though...
He glanced down at her and saw how the drifting snow flakes caught in her hair. Maybe it was a silly impulse, but he felt more fond of her then than he had in years. She had the sense to stay away from danger. She'd be fine. They both would be. Besides... he found himself eying Samsara. The skinwalker seemed like she could tear apart anyone or anything in their way. They were going to win this battle, he was certain.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:35 pm
Even though she was looking straight ahead, Samsara was aware of her Mahapadma following her. She could feel the warmth radiating from Unenlagia. She could hear the snorts and stomping from Bushkin. She could smell the scent of Rosiotti when he fanned his wings. They were arrayed around her as if they were the planets revolving around her sun, or stars in her constellation. This felt like more than just a mission, it felt like Fate.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized that every moment in her life had led her here. Her sister had taught her to hunt, her first taste of a predator's life. Her father had taught her shame, a seed planted that would grow into rage. When she became a skinwalker, Zulian taught her what she was. Her father gave her another lesson and gave her viciousness and loathing. There were the lessons her victims had taught her, bloodlust, fury, and eventually satisfaction. She was all these things, a pebble set in motion that would cause the avalanche further down the mountain slope.
Samsara had been a member of the Padmapani herd for long enough to adopt some of their philosophies. Everything had a purpose, she believed. Everything in her life had led to this one moment. Now was the time to finish it with her father or die trying. One way or another, that chapter in her life would be closed. There was just one thing missing, one loose thread left untied...
And then there he was.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:45 pm
Zulian prowled into view, his massive pelted form looking just as powerful as ever. The glow of his eyes shone clearly in the crisp winter air and the Mahapadma members stopped to stare at his sudden appearance. He ignored all of them, passing through and past them until he came to the only one there he had any interest in. "Samsara." He said her name in a hoarse growl, recognition but no friendliness in that voice.
"I smelled you so I came. I thought I might kill you like I said I would. I really don't like thinking about you alive with me not killing you so if I kill you I can think again and it will be fine." As usual, his ramblings were equal parts absurd and dangerous. "So why don't I kill you and then we can maybe kill the rest of these ones together and it will be fun." He gave an appreciative look to all the prey that was following Samsara around. She was probably saving them all to snack on.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 8:17 pm
 A dark shape detached itself from the shadow in which she had followed. The scent of blood had drawn her in and she had silently followed the hulking giant. It had proven useful as she'd sometimes sup at the leftovers that the creature had left behind. Celestia had been alone and had found no purpose to her life. The sight of all these Soquili together drew her like a moth to a flame. There were even other members of her species it seemed. Maybe she'd stick around to figure out what was going on.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:23 am
Samsara stepped between Zulian and the rest of the Mahapadma, opening her wings to block his vision at the same time. She wasn't about to let Zulian maul her minions and destroy months of hard work. "Kill me and them later," she snapped. "We have other people to kill and don't have time to waste." It was impossible to tell what he would do next. She had never seriously fought with Zulian but fully believed he might try to kill her at any time. She might have been driven half-mad by the skinwalker transformation but Zulian was fully insane and utterly unpredictable.
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