|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2013 4:01 pm
Mother was away. Parushta wasn't sure where she had went, only that she had left him here with instructions not to go anywhere. Not that there was anywhere to go. Trees surrounded all but one side of him. Though he wasn't used to this landscape, the mare had already shown him what lay inside the woods. Nothing. Barely any plants for a curious foal to look at and there seemed to be no small life to watch or chase. Just the trees.
Nefertari had taken her only son away from the herd for the day for reasons known to him. He couldn't understand what was out here that was so fascinating to take him along. It wasn't like either parent ever showed interest in loving him. In showing an interest at all in him or his happiness. There was a catch. There always was a catch. The foal had learned early not to expect anything less of his mothers.
He was also afraid. He didn't like to admit it, but they frightened him. He had barely known a time his mummy mother had been more dried then she was now. There was no bliss in the memories of a time she, herself, was afraid of crumbling if she moved too much or fast. Those days were shortly gone. With the Priestess and Priest changing her bandages daily, Nefertari was less afraid to act out on her displeasure. Be it member, him, or even Morrigan at times. It made him wonder. Had there ever been love between the two mares?
Being forced to grow up too fast sucked.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:35 pm
 Lost. Always and forever hopelessly lost.
Ariadne began to wonder if she would ever find what she was looking for. Whatever that happened to be. The half memories of her former life pained her and she simply couldn't make any sense of it all. She often times found herself lost in thought which usually lead to her being lost in general.
That was why it took her a moment to register the young colt in front of her. Alone in the forest. This felt awfully familiar.
Ariadne winced at the memory of that poor orange girl so long ago. She couldn't help but hope that she was okay...That she had somehow escaped that horrid place...And yet she didn't seem to want to.
The mare paused in her steps and offered a sweet smile to the young boy in front of her. Failure in the past would not keep her from doing the right thing in the present.
"Hello little one. Are you lost?" Her voice was gentle and kind. Hopefully this one would respond more...readily.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2013 2:20 pm
Paru stood in one spot, ears swiveling around for sounds of Nefertari as she hunted whatever she was hunting. Or, in some case, whoever she was hunting. Normally he could hear her by the slight cracking of her bones. For the time being, she seemed so far away he couldn't even hear that. Not with his better hearing thanks to his more intact mother. His body, at least, did not crack and crumble at every step like the Pharaoh's still could if left without a changing for too long. His movements were easy. Quick. Perhaps that was why the mummy seemed to have taken such an interest in him. His sisters looked more like Nefertari. Blacker than the rest of the family, as if their bodies had all been tipped into the same tar their mother's had been.
His eyes didn't even glow as Morrigan's didn't.
With a bored expression on his face, the foal shifted his feet, feeling it better to just wait than try to chase after her. She would find him when she needed him. She always seemed to.
Red eyes were closed when the orange mare found him, standing calmly. Slowly he opened them to stare at her, no hint of the panic one would find in the lost.
"No," he answered simply, half in his own thoughts so he sounded half asleep. "My mother is nearby." As if it were an afterthought, he added, "I don't mind the company, but you may want to leave when she returns. She's not so friendly, but her sense of smell and hearing isn't as it used to be."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 6:19 pm
Ariadne tilted her head to the side as she examined the young colt. He did not seem the same as the girl she had seen years before. He felt less...turbulent. He did not shift on his hooves as she did, his eyes did not train the trees around them, as if waiting for some horror to pop out.
He almost seemed bored. It amused the mare and drew her interest.
His mother, though. He was very well spoken for a child. The way he described his mother made her notice as much. What sort of upbringing would a child have to speak thus of his mother and with such diction? It made her curious. How bad could she be?
"Well, I would like to keep you company if it is all the same to you, then. It is so rare I run into somebody else," and they're always children, she thought in passing before continuing, "Your...bandages are quite interesting. Where did they come from? I've never seen anything like them before," she smiled and came a little closer, her diadem gently swaying back and forth as she walked. At least this colt was not skittish and ready to run at any moment. He seemed rather calm for being so young and so alone in a forest. What sort of mother would just leave a sweet boy like this?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 9:14 pm
Paru blinked a bit, trying to force himself back awake. It was always like this when Nefertari went off on her own. He would doze on his feet waiting for her. Sometimes it could take her up to hours to finish her task. He always tried to stay awake so she didn't yell at him when she got back. Whatever these outings were, they were also training sessions. Maybe she was teaching him patience?
One ear remained shifting around, listening for any sounds that obviously weren't that of the local wildlife. His red eyes remained fixed on the mare, especially on the golden crown on her head. He had heard stories from the traveling merchants who stopped by to do trade with the herd. In the stories, stallions and mares with crowns meant royalty. Was she one of these? If so, where was her kingdom and why was she traveling by herself? Would he get a crown when he was older? He was a Prince, after all. Not that he ever felt like one. Mosenth seemed to get more respect from the Pharaoh than he did.
"My mother makes me wear them," he answered, shifting on his feet. "She's afraid I might have her body and crumble like she was." The strangeness of his answer was lost to him. The only living he had contact with were the merchants or the personal servants of Nefertari and Morrigan. No one in the heard thought it strange to be lead by two undead. He didn't find it strange to be one himself. To his innocent mind, there must be many more like him out there.
Face brightening, he suddenly smiled, the bandages on his mouth stretching, but not tearing. "Are you a princess?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2014 11:51 pm
The maroon mare quirked an eyebrow at the boy's strange response and instinctively, her eyes rolled around the scenery, searching for this mystery mother. She made him wear bandages? How...grotesque. What sort of mother would make a child wear bandages? Was he cut underneath there? Was he hurt? She took a few steps closer to get a better look. That other little foal had been so skittish. She was sure that she was unsafe and yet this boy spoke so calmly about his mother and stood so still. He still seemed to have some of that childish wonder in him, especially when he saw her crown. Ariadne couldn't help but smile and shake her head a little bit. She hadn't been a princess in a long, long time. No. Not since she met him so many years ago. Another life, perhaps. She wasn't sure what it would be called anymore. "Many, many moons ago, yes. I was a princess. But now I am a queen," perhaps her kingdom was long out of her reach, but Ariadne had been royalty then. Perhaps some day she would be again. She offered him a sweet smile, charmed by his curiosity. He seemed delightful to talk to. It made her wonder why a mother would simply leave him alone to stand in a forest. "Why would your mother be worried about drying up? Is she sick?" For a second, the mare thought she saw a...hole in his neck. It must have been a trick of the light.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:55 am
The only movement Paru did so far as reacting to the closeness was twitching his ears forward. As a Prince of the Pharaoh and the army's leader, he wasn't a coward. Nor was he arrogant, to think none would hurt him even outside the herd. He was used to being poked and prodded. Inspected. Mostly by his parents, but others have done it, too. Those confused by the birth of something undead from two undead. Curious. It wasn't that different from any other birth, wasn't it?
"Oh," he responded, a little unsure what to say now that she confirmed his suspicion. More royalty was also not something he had seen before, just like more undead. "I'm a Prince. Though I don't look it." More than his sisters, anyway. They didn't have the golden beard that their mother wore. That Pharaoh's did. Not that it mattered. He'd never get the throne. It was only for the females of the family.
"Because," the foal started, in a very matter-of-fct voice, "she has no water left in her body." For a moment, he cocked her head, remember his mother telling him the old death rituals had been long forgotten. That was one of the first things she made sure he knew. "I forgot your rituals are different."
Before she would have a chance to react and almost before he had a chance to take a breath-if he did breath-Paru quickly asked, "Is your herd nearby?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 1:58 pm
The colt's answers echoed in the mare's ears with a curious ring to them. Something about them was...off. Rituals? Well. Perhaps that was not so strange in itself. Many herds practiced rituals to whatever gods they happened to have at any given time. And festivals, religious ceremonies, they were often crowned with some sort of ritual. It was, however, the combination of rituals with the phrase "no water left in her body" that sent Ariadne's head through a loop. How was that even possible? Unless the foal, in it's childish mind, mixed that phrase with dehydration...In which case, his mother could be in serious danger, as could he. Perhaps they were both sick without water and she had left him there in hopes of finding it and bringing back more for him. Still, the more she interacted with this colt, the more something felt...off. Before she could voice this, though, he had another question fired off for her that made her knit her brows together. "They're...They're all gone," she responded truthfully, caught off guard by the entire situation, her the volume of her voice dropping as she once again became grounded in her reality. Yes. For a moment, talking to this little colt, she had forgotten her situation. Curious. "They've been gone for a long time...But...Is your mother alright? I can bring some water for her, for both of you, if you're thirsty. There is a stream not too far from here," she offered. The closer she got, the more it looked as if the foal had a gash in his neck...and yet...no blood. What...what was going on here? The mare repressed her look of concern so as not to alarm the foal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 4:28 pm
Paru's ears went down immediately, as a wave of guilt washed over him. Though he knew he had no reason to feel bad about having asked, he couldn't shake the feeling. It wasn't nice to lose one's herd or family. At least he assumed. There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't wonder if he would feel saddened by the loss of his family. He supposed he might if he was left in the wilderness as it appeared he had been here. But he knew his mother would never do that. She was his only son. She needed him in a way she couldn't use his sisters for. At least not yet. Something about taking over the family line. Whatever that meant.
"I'm sorry," the foal said softly, averting his eyes to look at the forest. The woods were still silent, the air still clear of the dry scent of death. He still didn't fear her leaving him behind, nor wondered where she was. She had made it clear last time it was her business. No point wasting time thinking about something he would never know.
Feeling awkward, Paru shuffled his feet. Though she had changed the subject, he continued to feel bad about the answers. It didn't feel right to ignore it, carry on with the conversation and pretend like it had never came up. But he wasn't oblivious to the fact there was nothing he could do on the subject. He couldn't bring her herd back or offer her his. Nefertari was so cautious about who she allowed to join, Paru never bothered with the other Stars he seen during his adventures.
Clearing his throat, the foal traced his eyes along the ground until they rested on the older mare, again. He shook his head. "She doesn't drink. But she would be glad for the stream to wet her skin." For a moment, he cheered up, the opportunity of showing his mother something useful swelling his hopes that she'd treat him different. But than he realized there was a chance she already knew about it, if it was close. And his face fell, again. "Mother is as fine as can be. Nothing can undo the damage of years ago."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 12:08 am
The foal felt bad. The look of shame on the colt's face was enough to pull Ariadne's mind off of the strangeness of the conversation and she bit her bottom lip. The last thing the fallen mare ever wanted to do was make her sorrow another's problem. Her past was her own burden to carry and no one else's. Especially not a child; one so young needed to worry about playing and food and not the death of stars he would never meet. The guilt welled up in her stomach and she sighed softly.This was too much for one so young to hear. She would not, could not allow him to catch her off guard like that anymore. "No need to apologize," she replied softly, a gentle sweetness in her tone. She meant it. None of what had happened was his fault and he had no way of knowing where she had come from. A fallen queen. Herdless. Homeless. Honestly, it was a wonder she was still alive. She had been lucky. And then the colt started to speak about his mother again. The way he spoke of her...something wasn't quite right. Aside from, of course, the fact that she seemed awful. Something more. The mare knitted her brows together and looked around, suddenly worried this mysterious mare should show up and be angry that she was speaking with her child. "What do you mean she doesn't drink?" Undo the damage? She stared hard at this little colt before her, only to slowly realize what she was looking at. Was...His neck...he... What? "Are you okay?" she whispered, eyes fixed on his neck.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2014 4:23 pm
Parushta was beginning to get confused himself. Why did she keep asking weird questions? Hieraitc had it's share of living members, but they had become so used to the dead Stars by the time that Paru came around that he saw others confused by his family as being the odd ones. He was finally noticing how this mare kept looking at him funny, 'specially at his neck. He had already inspected her enough there wasn't anything else he wanted to look at.
"Of course," he piped up cheerily, demonstrating by doing a few foal jumps, kicking his hind legs out as if he had something unwanted on his back. He wouldn't be able to do that if he was...What was the word? Sick? Other members of the herd got sick. His family never did. Just one of the advantages to being dead. Cuts also didn't harm him. The only problem was he also had no feeling in his limps. If something unwanted had been on his body he wouldn't have known until someone told him. Half of shoulder or rump could have been gone before he even realized it.
Calming down, he stretched out each of his little foal legs, the bones cracking slightly like an athlete stretching. Mother cracked worse than this. A weird look came over her face every time she did.
"Mother doesn't need water. Or food. Don't you know why? Everyone else back home does." He looked at her innocently as if this was a guessing game.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2014 5:10 pm
Ariadne was beginning to get frustrated. This colt was a conundrum. The more he moved the more she could clearly see the gash in his neck. It was cut wide open and he did not even seem to care. He jumped and played and...cracked. What was going on here? How was what he was saying even possible? Of course stars needed water and food. Her heart was racing as she tried to think of a way to help the colt. Something had to be wrong. Why wasn't he bleeding? The question tore through her mind, drowning out her confusion. If he was cut so deeply, why wasn't he bleeding? How was he walking and talking and moving like this? There was no way this was happening. "I...I suppose I don't know why," she admitted, allowing herself to accept that something strange was going on. She was determined to get down to the bottom of it, "How is that possible? Where do you live that you don't need food or water?" There had to be some sort of reasonable answer that she was just missing...right?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 11:11 am
She really didn't know what was going on. This was starting to bother the colt. Was what he was not common or even uncommon? She looked troubled. Was he something that was feared outside the herd? He didn't want to be feared. He wasn't like his father, all intimidating and creepy. He didn't want to hurt.
"Mother doesn't know, either," he admitted, tracing circles in the spot of ground at his feet. He kept his red eyes downcast, worried she'd think badly of him if she knew the truth of his birth. That he should not have been born at all. "Nor does she have a memory of it." He moved away, eyes still on the ground to play with a leaf that had fallen. He pushed it around, watching the wind take it, feeling somewhat ashamed and he wasn't sure why. "I will grow, probably. No one is sure about that, either." He looked back at her, a sad expression on his face. "Are you going to run? Mother says some don't understand. She died thousands of years ago and my other mother was murdered."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 4:40 pm
Ariadne stopped herself from taking a step back at his response. It was his simple question as to whether or not she would run that set her hooves firmly in their place. This little colt was just as unsure about what was going on as she was and whatever he was, whoever his parents were, it was not his fault that he was...He was....What was he?
Dead?
Both of his parents were dead, right? And yet he spoke of them speaking, being around, not drinking, not eating. Could the dead...do that? Rise again?
Her mind wandered back to that horrific mansion and she shuddered. The ghosts there had been terrible. If not for Kaja she was certain she would have died or been lost for forever there in its dark twists and turns.
Still, undead colts? Mares?
Was that what he was truly saying?
"I am not running, see?" she affirmed her statement by visually planting her right hoof back into the dirt.
"So your mothers...They're...dead?" she questioned, the nervousness slowly being replaced by curiosity. "And...so are you? Is that why your neck is...as it is?" she asked gently, trying not to offend the poor thing. He seemed so...sad.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
