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 Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:32 pm
In the wake of his father's death, Bane had grown quiet. He had withdrawn from the world of herd and kin, and had searched deep within himself to find the shadow of Rot. What about him echoed his father's greatness? Was there anything to Bane that met those standards? Once, he had believed that he would be the herd Protector as his sire had been, but that place had been taken by his brother. Now, in the quiet and stillness of the predawn air, Bane waited... and he wondered. Word traveled quickly. There were new Kalona in the Kawani lands, and they were not the lesser loving lot that had festered there for so long. Would their arrival give him a chance to prove himself worthy? Or would he be doomed to obscurity, never to fulfill the call that was in his blood?
He heeded it now, patrolling the lands that lay between Black Skull and the mountains where Skinwalkers prowled. His sire had died to protect his family from those twisted beasts, and his own mother had been called by Kalona himself to bring back the greatness of their kind. What was left for Bane to do, and how, in the stillness, in the quiet, might he find it? Suddenly, he realized that the scent of deer was mingled with something... other. Something of leathery wings and corvid feathers. Something... familiar. "Who goes there?" the stallion asked, raising his head to glare balefully into the dark. If it were a Skinwalker in Kalona form, he would fight it... and if he died in the attempt, he would not be alone.
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Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 12:13 pm
She stood, tendrils of her tail wriggling lazily through the air as she considered her options. Since the disbanding of the great Kalona herd, Elvira hadn't made many decisions. She didn't know which lands she'd be safe in, or which she even wanted to inhabit. She didn't know who could be trusted, and who had sided with those inferior breeds that made up the force of the Rebels. She sneered, still not quite believing that a bunch of disorganized scum managed to overthrow a force as mighty as the Herd had been.
Not that she'd agreed with everything the Herd had been doing. In her opinion, the Herd had been too cruel, too exacting. But they had all been Kalona; they'd all been a family of sorts. Now that they were gone, Elvira had no idea what to do with herself. I could seek out other Kalona and form a new, smaller herd...but who's to say we'd get along well enough to not kill each other? No, it'd be better to have some foals and raise them to have an appropriate attitude. Then we'll really be family. She scoffed slightly at this train of thought. But that would require finding a mate first, and I imagine it'd be extraordinarily difficult to find a stallion of similar mind.
Lost in thought, she was not paying attention to the sounds around her, and the wind blew in a direction that did not carry the approaching Kalona's scent to her. When he called out, she jumped and bared her teeth, readying herself for whatever fight, if any, was about to unfold.
{This post was originally written & posted in December, and was entered into a new post so that quote notification would work. Please do not count for January stats.}
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:38 am
Bane listened, but no response came to his call. He was not fooled, however. The black Kalona had scented another, and he had never smelled that other before. It was clear to him, from the particular tang of leathery wings and feathers, that the other was, at least, in part Kalona. A pure, perhaps? Dare he hope that he had found another of his kind, and not some halfbreed to disgrace the name of Kalona? "You are near Black Skull lands, stranger. It would only be prudent to reveal yourself." He spread his wings, mantling unconsciously to give himself a more impressive appearance. After all, he was not yet so old nor so confident in his skill that he was without a need for such things. It had been hard, very hard, to make his way alone when once he had patrolled with his sire. Still, he would not allow a threat to come unheralded into Black Skull lands, and so he would stop this stranger where he stood, just beyond the border.
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:50 am
She sighed inwardly, not wanting to be the one to show herself first. She had no idea if there was a nasty Skinwalker around the corner, trying to trick her into feeling safe by naming Kalona lands, or a petty non-Kalona breed, trying to show bravado. If it was the latter, she'd try to kill it, for it would be a disgrace for a non-Kalona to be so audacious and not be punished...that is, if there were any inferiors left around these parts. They should all be dead or long gone if they didn't want to get eaten.
Elvira stepped into view, teeth still bared, wings partially off her back in an aggressive stance. There was nothing left to do but show herself and act utterly unafraid. "Scaredy-cat," she sneered at him. "If you wanted to see who I was, you should have approached me, instead of hiding on the edge of your lands." Her teeth slowly disappeared back under her lips and her wings folded back against her sides as she studied the stranger. He appeared to be full Kalona, not a skinwalker, not a disgraceful half-breed, and not a leftover Rebel with a deathwish.
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:57 am
When the full effect of the mare's words hit Bane, he laughed. "Scared? I think not. It would have been rude to force you out of hiding, mare. At least in calling you out, I gave you a choice. Would you prefer to have been put on the defensive?" And maybe there was a little bravado there, but he relaxed slightly, glad to see that the other was visibly pure, and of his own kind. "I don't think I've seen you before. Are you new to these lands?" Yet... he recalled that his mother had spoken of newcomers, of Kalona attackers who had meant to subjugate those in the Kawani lands. She had insisted that they not interfere with the pure herd, and in doing so had made clear where her support lay. Maeryn had not agreed with everything they had supposedly believed in, but attacking other pure Kalona was foolish in the extreme; how were they to continue their line, if they destroyed others of their kind?
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 12:50 pm
Miss Cherie
When the full effect of the mare's words hit Bane, he laughed. "Scared? I think not. It would have been rude to force you out of hiding, mare. At least in calling you out, I gave you a choice. Would you prefer to have been put on the defensive?" And maybe there was a little bravado there, but he relaxed slightly, glad to see that the other was visibly pure, and of his own kind. "I don't think I've seen you before. Are you new to these lands?" Yet... he recalled that his mother had spoken of newcomers, of Kalona attackers who had meant to subjugate those in the Kawani lands. She had insisted that they not interfere with the pure herd, and in doing so had made clear where her support lay. Maeryn had not agreed with everything they had supposedly believed in, but attacking other pure Kalona was foolish in the extreme; how were they to continue their line, if they destroyed others of their kind?
"Rude to force me out of hiding? Well, I agree, it was very rude of you. Though I find it very amusing that you think you gave me a choice." She sniffed, unimpressed. Then she grinned at him. She wouldn't ever say, but she had sorely missed the banter that seemed to be a regular part of conversation with other Kalona. Or maybe that was just her nature; she never had been sure. "Well, it is nice to have someone appropriate to talk to at last. Things have been quiet for me since the Great Herd disbanded. I've been on the move just looking for somewhere decent to be for a while." She studied him again. She still couldn't see any indication that he was anything other than pure, and Elvira found herself hoping that he knew of a herd that would allow a visitor.
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 1:15 pm
Bane grinned, giving a little nod of his head. "Maybe it was rude, mare, but the alternative was to put you on the defensive. So I'll take my chances with being seen as rude." It was refreshing to encounter another so clearly raised in the Kalona beliefs, whose very demeanor conveyed the culture that he had been brought up in from a foal. "I will return the compliment, and further ask... are you, or were you, a member of the Great Kalona herd that so recently came into these lands? We see so few Kalona in the Kawani Lands. So, I would venture that you are either from that herd, or have come here through some other means from far away."
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Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:16 pm
Elvira snorted at his reply, amused. She was relieved to be at ease with another Soquili, although surprised that she was enjoying a stranger's company instead of plotting was to eat him or her. She cautioned herself not to open up too much, for she had no way of knowing his intentions, even if hers were relatively friendly. "You are correct in assuming I was part of the Great Kalona Herd," she replied, then looked him up and down. After a moment, she sneered, "You weren't one of those pathetic Rebel sympathizers, I hope, or I'll have to kill you where you stand. And I'm just starting to tolerate you." She watched him closely for any reaction, no matter how slight, that would give him away as one of the traitors of the herd. She would not tolerate any more of those blasphemers; their existence was an insult to the Kalona breed. But she hoped she would not have to kill him, as it would mean there was no herd to visit for camaraderie and reminiscing about the Great Herd. "And that just wouldn't do," she thought, as her tail tendrils lashed through the air.
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 10:56 pm
At that, Bane snorted. "Oh please. I had nothing to do with the Great Herd. My family have lived in these lands for many years now, and we have always been pure, and held lessers as inferior." From time to time, it was true that they used them for their own means, but who didn't? When it came to important things, however, one did not rely on lessers. "I should be insulted that you'd ask me, but I suppose some caution is wise." He was still not sure how it was that a force such as the Great Herd had lost, but there was no point in rubbing salt in what were clearly fresh wounds. She would not have appreciated the reminder, and he didn't care to pick a fight just yet. Right now, he was getting the measure of her, and that took more than a fight.
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Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:12 pm
She nodded. "I see. I did not mean to insult," Elvira said, clearly unused to playing nice. Social niceties did not come naturally to her. She was much more interested in pleasing herself and everyone else be damned. But her desire, perhaps her need, to find a new, suitable herd actually outweighed her behavioral preferences, and she did not want to anger the stallion before she'd had a chance to explore the possibility of finding a temporary home here. She just needed to find somewhere long enough to coerce a male to breed with her and give her the offspring she needs for her army. Elvira bared her teeth at him. "Are you going to invite me into your lands or are we going to stand here all day?" she asked impatiently.
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 5:02 pm
Bane supposed that he was being rude. Technically, he probably should have let her into his lands before now. Then again, he didn't know this mare, and what he didn't know, he didn't trust. Not at first, at any rate. "Very well. Since you meant no insult, and since you have asked so nicely, you may enter my lands." Truthfully speaking, they weren't his lands. They were his mother's lands, his herd's lands, but not his lands. All the same, he doubted that either Maeryn or Nemesis would begrudge him the opportunity to meet a pure Kalona mare like this one. Besides which, his father had once told him that he would follow in his hoof falls, and though his father had broken that promise, he... didn't begrudge his memory. He could behave as though the promise had been kept, whether or not Rot was there to keep it.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 3:06 pm
Elvira blinked. She'd expected more of a fight before she'd be able to actually proceed. These Kalona seemed to be more civil than many others, based on her interactions with this stallion so far. Somehow, there'd been no bloodshed necessary to establish whether she was welcome to continue. Though, she hadn't been looking for a fight and had acquiesced to his demand to appear. Perhaps that had made a difference? She shrugged, setting the thought aside, and lifted a hoof to begin walking forward.
As she stepped closer to him, she realized that no introductions had been made; only challenges. And as the visitor, it was probably her responsibility to begin. She sighed. Politics, though necessary and sometimes beneficial, were also very tiring. She cleared her throat. "Thank you. My name is Elvira," she said. She wasn't sure who or what she would encounter during her time here, but she knew that it was best to be ready for anything.
She studied their surroundings more closely. Tall evergreens with thick, rough bark towered overhead in spires, obviously aged and thriving. They were not clustered together in a grove or a forest, though; no, these were scattered more sparsely across the land. They looked as if they'd been strategically placed for shelter and defense, but the idea that any Soquili, Kalona or otherwise, would take the time to place young trees in such a formation seemed a bit absurd. It had to be a lucky coincidence. Around the trees grew smaller saplings and bushes, some of them still holding a smattering of berries and fresh leaves. Food appeared to be plentiful in these lands. This was a sign of a healthy, well-established herd. The Great Herd had lived in lands that looked like these, before their decline began. Then, the bushes became more and more bare as the land withered under the fighting and violence. She supposed that blood was not the best food for the plants they and their pray required for sustenance. Elvira certainly had an enjoyment for a good battle, but it had its place. The leaders of the herd had lost sight of the greater needs of the group as a whole. It really was a shame that it had happened this way. She could only hope that her opportunity here would show her the path to something better.
As she passed a bush with particularly delicious-looking berries, she used her tail to break a clump of them off, and brought them to her mouth. Although she'd rather hunt, she was raised that one did not hunt in another's lands without permission. It would be impolite to ask so soon. The time for that would come before long.
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