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 Posted: Thu Dec 26, 2013 4:58 pm
 The shadow herd, his home, his life and his passion. The small brightly colored foal that bore his mother's flame markings down his rump stood watching those of his herd mill around below his stony perch. It was here the foal would remain until he was called upon, sure he should have been with his siblings. His brothers. Sisters. Tony would surely be after him for leaving her sight, but there was more on his mind. He needed something, something to do. Wolfbane wasn't one for foalish playtime, he didn't think himself that... Foal-ish. He wanted actual work, something to challenge himself.
Word had caught his ear that dear mother had a thing for him cause he reminded her of one of his much older sisters. He never cared to catch the name, only that they shared color and some similar markings. To this he would snort, he was his own being. But he didn't mind the extra attention. It at least had some perks to it. This day he was waiting for someone on that rocky outcrop. Cloud grey eyes turned away from those below not seeing the one he wanted to talk to. She wasn't there, perhaps with those he would be working with in the future.
"Mother" he muttered softly, flame like tail flicking slightly.
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 4:54 pm
 Alright, fine, so she favored her new son. He wasn't quite as beautiful as Ambrosia had been--he did have those pesky blue drops on his flank, but other than that, he was heartachingly similar to his late sister. She had even named him differently than most of his siblings--Wolfbane. Ambrosia, after all, was the nectar of the gods--and wolfbane was the poison of immortals. It was a fitting name, then, to Retinadeath's reasoning. She was almost sad to leave him in Tonestue's care every day to do her work. Tonestue, after all, was pregnant, and really oughtn't be so burdened, but who else was going to raise the children, Plamen? Pah. He was probably going to pick their blue son, but this orange one, he was Retinadeath's. She hoped he would join her someday in the army--she needed more soldiers, more people she could trust. She needed more power than her mate.
She also needed the love of those few children she showered with it. And that was, to some extent, why she was seeking out Wolfbane this evening. She did love him--she loved him a lot. And she wanted to spend some time with him, whatever time she could. According to Tonestue, Wolfbane had scurried off while she was distracted with one of his siblings. Retinadeath found him on a stony outcrop in the woods, watching the rest of the herd mill around with his back to her. She smiled to herself and stepped up to his side. She nuzzled him in the shoulder and flicked her own tail leisurely. "What do you see?" she murmured.
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Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 7:04 pm
"Ants." This was the first thing that came to Wolfbane's mind as he barely moved against his mother's nuzzle. More likely he stiffened slightly in her presence. Turning his pale colored eye towards his mother that stood right beside him.
He looked away again, staring downwards into the herd lands that he could see. He saw where he had left his siblings in the care of their nanny, then there was the rest of the herd. Some milling around, others coming and going from the grounds bringing and taking things away. Seemed to him like ant hill that he had torn apart to see what the inside was like. Much to say, he got a nasty welcoming as a mass rushed at him and he was forced to move away to not get bitten by the little things. Ears flicking backwards against the set of glasses that rested on his brow, sometimes he liked to flick them down lower to shade his eyes from the glare of the sun.
"Like a nest of ants. You have the caretakers." He looked in the direction of where he should have been. "The common folk, ones who chose to not join the forces." His gaze turning towards where some of the herd, ones he didn't know were gathering to eat. "There are those that bring the food, news and other things to the leaders. Some passing it off to other officials." To this he looked at his mother.
"From here I can see who leaves and returns to the grounds. See who is talking to who in the general area and who might be telling someone something they shouldn't" Wolfbane turned his attention back to the ground below, his small wings stretching out to his sides in a cloak of red color. To fold them back it looked like his back was stained with blood.
"What is it that you see, mother." he commented, not really in a question, but wanted to see if she approved of his observations of just the herd grounds. Had this been a different herd he could have told much more.
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 4:26 pm
At first, Retinadeath had been confused by her son's explanation. Then, as his description continued, she found herself hiding a smile and basking in pride for her offspring. Retinadeath was not particularly imaginative, and as such was usually not very clever with metaphors. That was undoubtedly (and unfortunately) probably Plamen's inheritance. But Ret would like to think that her son's assessment was his alone. she nuzzled Wolfbane approvingly and stepped closer to put a wing around his small body. "I see a very observant young stallion whom I'm proud to call my son." Was that much of a compliment? She'd like to think it was. And the way he'd asked her what she saw made it sound as if he agreed with her and sought her approval. That was actually more than slightly adorable. Most of her children had either shunned her or taken her approval for granted. She hadn't yet had one that actively sought her approval! (That she knew of.)
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 4:11 pm
Had Wolfbane had been any other colt, or filly, he might have turned a different shade of orange. Meaning that he might have blushed, but he didn't know the meaning of showing much for emotion. But he did stiffen as his mother wrapped a wing around him. He didn't find much body contact was a distraction, this was his mother after all. Turning his head slightly to one side he nodded.
"Thank you, Mother." was all that Bane said as he looked back towards the herd grounds. "This place is all well and good. But there ain't much to see here." he wasn't complaining, but he felt he couldn't 'cut his teeth' observing here. "I feel like I need something else. Something more challenging."
Hooves shuffled as he looked away from the herd ground, to look out over the trees he could see over. There was a whole world out there, but he felt confined to these grounds. Why wouldn't he be? He was just a foal, he didn't have the talents to survive out there on his own yet. Unlike others, he didn't play or 'mingle' with others his age, merely stand here watching. He needed something to do, something to sharpen his unique state of mind..
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Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 1:48 pm
Retinadeath frowned at her son's unspoken request. A challenge...what sort of challenge could she give a foal, not long on his feet? He didn't know how to defend himself yet, and he was unprepared to leave the herd for very long. He still needed his mother, but something about Wolfbane's attitude spoke volumes about the colt's opinion of constant monitoring. He'd interpret it as hovering, as an implicit lack of trust in his ability to take care of himself. Oh dear. Well, all foals went through a stage like this, wanting to put themselves into danger for parental approval, no matter how much their mother asserted that they already had that approval. Wolfbane hadn't been trying for very long, but he'd definitely gotten that far. There was no way Retinadeath was going to let her son put himself into danger like this.
Actually, no, wait. If Wolfbane wanted to be under her command--his jibe at courtiers implied such--then he was going to have to learn how to take orders with the rest of the grunts. Even Osteocyte took orders from her! And as the Death General and an officer, wasn't it her duty to ensure that a soldier with great potential was not lost on a fool's errand? Yes, he could go out into the forest on a mission, but he'd better have supervision from someone who could defend him! Someone loyal, someone who wasn't too creepy, someone who wouldn't hurt him, someone whom she had power over...
...Hm. "Perhaps you would like to go on a patrol with one of the knights?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:16 pm
Wolfbane took the silence of his mother as a chance to look down at the herd once again and study it. His gaze drifted over at the area his siblings were at. Watching them act like normal foals, well the best they could within this place. Tail flicking behind him, grey eyes turned back towards the blue and fiery mare beside him. Awaiting her answer to his question. No, it wasn't much of a question, his request. That felt more right. It wasn't like he could do much one his own without her approval at this age. This he knew or thought he knew.
when Ret spoke again, mentioning patrolling with one of the Knight. This was better then he had hoped. For the least part, he had thought she would have him doing something around the herd grounds in sight of everyone. But this was better! He could patrol, keep an eye on the boarders. Yes! Electricity soared through his body that made his course velvet to stand on end. He was excited, but tried not to show it.
"Of course." He said as humble as he could sound. "If this pleases you, mother. Patrolling sounds like a challenge inside itself."
But really, how challenging could it be? Wandering around the edges of the herd lands. Perhaps whom ever she assigned to his supervision could teach him a thing or two? Only time would tell.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 8:50 am
Well, creepy and disloyal ruled out Ruadh and Osteocyte, respectively. Saltic and Azura were loyal to her, but unfortunately, both of them were on patrol at the moment. She needed someone who would go on patrol shortly. And who was loyal to her. Hm. Well, that really narrowed it down, didn't it? It narrowed it down to just one stallion. One she could probably trust until her own granddaughter died, may such a terrible event never happen in her own lifetime. "Anand goes on patrol soon. You will go with him and learn from him. Ask him questions. Observe what he does." The paranoiac was on the eastern patrol today, the lightest of the four patrols. It wouldn't be too bad. It would give Wolfbane the opportunity to ask questions without danger of interrupting or distracting Anand.
"If it goes well, I will send you on other patrols in the days to come." She didn't add that it was really something that all of his siblings should be doing. When they were older, of course. When they had self-defense. For that matter, when Wolfbane had learned a bit more self-defense, she would let him graduate to other knights.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 4:22 pm
Wolfbane listened to his mother speak, keeping his eyes downwards. He didn't dare look his mother in the eye. It made him feel a little uneasy, but tensions were always high when anything could be lurking in the shadows. An ear twitched as she mentioned that he would be going on patrol with Anand. He had seen him around, his niece, much older them himself, following and fawning over the stallion. He had to wonder how the stallion landed a mare like Lox, seemed to him to be a hassle.
"As you wish, mother. I shall not be too much of a bother to the Knight."
This is what he hoped at least. He was just a foal after all and really. He should have been just happy doing foal things, but his mind craved something more. Simple games such as hide and seek, Shadow and Sunflare. These things meant little to him, little more then a distraction he couldn't afford to have. Hell, even the game 'Tag' wasn't very fun for the young foal. Wolfbane could have let it be that he was strange, different than the rest of the foals. Looking up a bit, those pale grey eyes that were lined with red markings, stared at the blue mare that was his mother.
"I shall not displease my general. Shadow help me if I ever did."
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Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 11:14 pm
The colt had lowered his head, keeping his eyes from his mother's. Retinadeath made no comment on it, nor any attempt to correct it--coming from Wolfbane, it was a sign of respect, and she appreciated that in a soldier, however young and untested. Yes. Woflbane would make a fine soldier. Look at that boy--so respectful and eager to please already. Retinadeath had been prepared to fend off protests that he didn't need a babysitter, that he didn't need to be coddled or that she was pushing him aside--but he didn't. He took his orders, and he took them to the spirit they had been meant. Pride bloomed in the Death General's heart. She touched her son's forehead with her nose in a rare gesture of affection. It was soft, and it was quick, over with in a blink.
She smiled at him, an aloof, proud smile, tinged with warmth and genuine affection. Her little soldier. "I know you will not disappoint me, Wolfbane," she murmured. "Now go. Find Anand before he heads off on patrol."
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Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 5:05 pm
His tail flicked behind him as Ret placed her nose on his head, but briefly. So things had been sorted out, he was to be placed with Anand for the patrol, at least this one anyways. he looked forward to it and was, on the inside, ready to go. Stepping away from his mother, Wolfbane lowered his head in respect to his mother.
"by your leave mother, General." he said before looking back up with the most serious eyes he could muster, but there was a small flicker of foalish excitement there, hidden in the din of gray.
Turning on a hoof, he headed down from his perch and towards the herd grounds. His gaze ever on the look out for the flighty stallion that his Niece had 'caged'. The first place he would look would be their den. Lox was always the one to make sure that Anand was well fed and in good shape to go on such patrols. Small hooves carried him towards where Lox lived, he was more than ready for patrol duty.
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Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 4:09 pm
Retinadeath watched her son go. They all need to start training, she thought. But in a couple of weeks. She wanted Wolfbane to get a head-start on his siblings--a reward for being so ready to serve his herd. She watched him until he was out of her sight, then returned to the ground below to make other plans.Anand paced back and forth. He would be going on patrol soon. It was his turn to do the eastern side today, so he would be on patrol alone. He liked going on patrol alone. It meant he wouldn't have to watch his back. He also, strangely enough, enjoyed going on patrols with Lox. Lox was...different. He was slowly becoming acclimatized to her attentions to him. He still didn't think he could ever truly impress her or please her, but she hadn't hurt him yet, so at least he was doing a satisfactory job. Now all he had to do was keep up appearances and keep doing a satisfactory job as her mate. He shook out his mane and checked his wings again. Good. Nothing caught up in his feathers. He could make a clean getaway if he needed to.
The soft sound of tiny hoofbeats caused him to turn around. He squinted at the orange and red colt. Name...name, name, name...okay, glasses and those flamey markings, so probably...
He nodded his head respectfully to his uncle-in-law. "Wolfbane," he murmured, then he hesitated. What did Wolfbane want? "Is there...something I can do for you? I'm going on patrol soon," he added. "So I don't know if I'll be much good. Um."Kesmi I figured it was time for Anand to show up.
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