|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:34 am
She lowered her gaze again and continued on her way. It was a clear night, the weather was warming, and a slight breeze rustled the rich grasses beneath her hooves. As she walked she noted she was in the valley of D'ob; it would be good to see her tree again and mark off a few occasions. Plus, she decided, it may be a good night to find another tree. A sigh escaped her and she paused again, raising her head to gaze at the stars a second time. If only the stars could answer all of her questions, could resolve all of her doubts, and solve all her problems. With a quiet laugh she shook her head, lowering it once more so she could see where she was walking as she continued. The stars couldn't answer her questions, and if they could then she wouldn't understand them. Why am I even thinking that? She asked herself inwardly, smiling, almost laughing at the thought. These are crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy nights...
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:34 pm
 It did not befit the mighty, she considered, to be absorbed by their own brilliance. Nonetheless, as she glided over the forest Clytaemnestra allowed herself a moment of pride. She had dealt with the golden crossbreed remarkably well, despite the other's magical tendencies, and her plans - previously bumbling along at a snail's pace - were now galloping ahead of her in high spirits. A good thing she had that combination of intuition, experience and sheer luck that tended to bring results.
A flash of gold below roused her from her minor ego trip. Squinting down into the dark, she spotted another mare looking up at her. - Actually, the Commandante amended silently, she was probably trying to look at the stars. Not seeing any need to disrupt the stranger's view, she dove carefully towards the ground, scanning the meadow for imperfections that might cause a stumble, landed with her usual degree of grace (which was surprisingly high given her damaged leg) and turned to make her apologies.
"Sorry about that," she called. Anyone who knew her would have been astonished: the tone was almost cheerful. "Didn't see you there. Fine clear night for stargazing, wouldn't you say?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 10:48 pm
The gold mare had seen the dark shape against the dark blanket of the night, but it didn't hinder her in the least in her stargazing. She watched as it came closer, vaguely hoping that she'd meet another nequus before she rested for the night. Now that the blur had landed, however, and had turned out to be the very creature she had only hours before been warned to entirely avoid, she wished she could be anywhere else than there. However, her outward appearance suffered nothing from her inward hesitation and regret, and her speech didn't suffer either. "Truth be told, miss, I don't know why you're apologizing. If your reason was that you were hindering my view of the stars, well," she said with an amused expression on her face, "you'd have to be a very large nequus, indeed, to do that. The sky is too large for any one nequus to block out anymore than two or three stars at a time, and only for an instant. But, I do agree with you. It's a wonderful night for the stars, and an amusing thought had struck me beforehand that they could give me guidance, but I'd not understand them had they the power to answer me," she said with a laugh.
So, this was the famed Clytaemnestra - Commandante after her newest friends Mel and Aku. She certainly fit their description, although she hadn't seen the off-leg quite yet. She offered the other mare another smile, ears perked. No reason to show her uneasiness, and it was just as well that she was a master at hiding it. "But now it's my turn to apologize. In the midst of my ramblings, I had completely forgotten a proper greeting." And with that said, she dipped her muzzle in a slight bow, more of an apologetic gesture mixed with a greeting than either one or the other. "My name is Cressida, and once more I apologize for going on about other things. What might your name be?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:48 am
The golden mare was polite, and her voice was fair and gentle. Did she recognise her? Had the reputation of the mighty Commandante preceded her once again? ...No, probably not. She wouldn't have had to ask for the name. Clytaemnestra chuckled softly, approaching to within speaking distance. Her slight limp was obvious - she didn't care to hide it. She seldom did these days. No one seemed like enough of a threat to warrant concealing it.
"My name," she said, still in that incongruently good-natured fashion, "is an utter monstrosity and nigh-on unpronounceable. Call me Nestra, do; it's much easier than trying to wrap your tongue around the whole thing. And come, Cressida, what need have you of celestial guidance? Is there something you've lost, someone you're looking for? If it's the latter, it'd make two of us."
Not, she thought to herself with a fair amount of satisfaction, that she would have to look much longer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:59 am
Of course the reputation had preceeded her, it always did to everyone who had met the black mare with the wonderful voice, and her smaller brother. But it would do neither of them any good to allow Nestra to know this fact. She offered the other a true smile, her ears perked, thoughts not quite racing but jogging instead. There was no need to be nervous or apprehensive, Nestra thought that she'd never met Melantho. There was no reason for her to think otherwise. At the other's introduction, she couldn't help but chuckle. "All right, Nestra. I'll take your word for it, thought it would interest me greatly, especially now, to hear your full name. It would give both of us a laugh, most likely, if I were to make an attempt to pronounce it," said she with another chuckle.
"Celestial guidance, or of any sort," she said more seriously, peering at the patched mare with her pale green eyes. She was limping, she noted, but why? She couldn't see any injury as of yet. Maybe an old wound long since healed, but possibly improperly? She made a mental note to inquire at a later time. "I haven't seen my mother since I was a foal, when I was driven from our home by a haughty and jealous ichsa stallion, and I've not seen her since. I've been looking for her ever since, and hope to find her someday soon, although I don't know if I ever will," said the gilded mare, the last statement a notch quieter than the entire explanation. "But, that is in the past and is too dreary to think of. I'll find her someday, I know I will. And, two of us? I thought I was the only one around that was looking for someone. Who, praytell, is it that you might be looking for?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:45 am
"A protege of mine," Clytaemnestra answered with a sigh. "Silly girl left at high speed when her idiot father tried to mate her off. Ridiculous brute. If I'd caught wind of what was happening I'd've knocked his thick head against a tree."
Because she would have, at least in spirit. There were times when she despaired at the herd leader - a good clout upside the head would not have gone amiss on most of these occasions. He had no idea of how to treat a young mare like Melantho, and even less idea of how to be a good father to her. Try as she might in his stead, the Commandante had not managed to provide all the guidance the black ought to have received.
"The fellow was all right, mind you," she remarked idly, squinting up at the stars. "Bae, about so high, marked with snow. Quiet chap, gentle, kind. He would have complimented her well, no doubt, if she'd had time to get to know him. Makes it all the more tragic, really."
Shaking the thoughts away, she looked again at Cressida. "If you really want the whole thing," she said, "it's Clytaemnestra. But please, don't feel you have to use it. Most of the time I get 'sir', and 'Nestra' is the closest I can offer you to that in terms of ease of pronunciation." Funny how "ma'am" had never caught on. "If you'd care to describe your dam to me, I can keep my eyes open for her - might already have spotted her, even, what with all the wandering I've been doing in search of dear Melantho."
It was a genuine offer. Clytaemnestra was a calculating beast, but she saw no reason not to assist this mare if it did not interfere with her own plans. The mention of the Ichsa, too, had stirred her sympathies: the scar on the inside of her left hind leg twinged. That particular Ichsa had died not long after his last victim, and unlike the victim there had been no daughter to mourn him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:57 pm
"I take it Melantho is her name?" She asked idly, watching Nestra curiously. "If I see her, I'll be sure to alert you. What does she look like?" She certainly would not tell the patched Commandante, but she didn't need to know that, the gilded mare thought to herself. "And you're right, your name is a monstrosity to pronounce," said she with a wry smile and an amused chuckle. "But not all that hard, I don't think. Clytaemnestra?" She said slowly, hoping she could say it right, or at least make an honest attempt at it. "I bet it's harder to spell than to pronounce."
"As for my dam," she went on in a more serious tone, watching Nestra with her searching, pale green eyes. "She's pure white - as white as snow, with bright blue eyes. She's, obviously, a reya, but I don't know much else. It's been too long since I've seen her, so I couldn't swear to height. Plus, the vertically-challened foal point of view doesn't allow for accurate height measurements in larger nequus," she said with a laugh. To foals, any adult would look gigantic. "If you could point her out to me, or me to her, I'd be eternally grateful to you, miss Nestra," she said with a polite bow of her head. "I miss her terribly, although I try not to allow my mind to dwell on the past - it's too depressing, not healthy in my opinion."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 9:53 am
Well, she'd managed to get the name right. "Black," Clytaemnestra answered. "She's as black as midnight, with eyes like two shards of polished amber. And she always travels with a little black Rit, blue eyes, goes by Aku. You'd know them if you saw them. They...look out for one another, I think. It's hard for dark-coated creatures where we come from: a lot of pig-headed fools who're utterly convinced they're daemons. There's only so much anyone who isn't black can understand about that, I think."
Had she seen a white Reya mare? ...She thought she had, come to think of it, back further north. There hadn't been time to stop and talk, though, and she'd been keen to keep her stallions away from the girl anyway. "I...may have spotted her, actually," she said with a frown. "I think. North of here, maybe...three, four days ago? She was alone, seemed healthy, perhaps a little...haunted, or hunted, I couldn't be sure. I didn't stop to talk, given I had a full complement of soldiers with me. It tends to intimidate folk, and my control over some of the more belligerent stallions isn't as complete as I'd like."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 5:13 pm
The gilded mare gave a nod to the Commandante, showing she understood. "Black with amber eyes, name Melantho, companion black rit with blue eyes, name Aku, unless I'm mistaken. If I see them at all, I'll be sure to alert you, Nestra," she said with a nod, watching her companion with a curious gaze, attempting to also make it friendly, which wasn't too hard to assume. "At least she isn't alone, she has someone else to help keep her head straight, if that's the case. Why is it hard for dark colored creatures out your way?" She asked curiously; why was it? What did color have to do with anything?
"You have?" She repeated, assuming an air of supressed excitement. In an instant the relaxed mare straighted, immediately paying the utmost attention as she heard the words of the patched mare. Her ears perked, her eyes shone, and she stood there, frozen in anticipation for the information she had waited years to hear. "North? Okay. I am indebted to you, Clytaemnestra, for telling me this. I hope that the white mare you saw was indeed my mother, but I cannot be sure until I have seen this creature for myself." She extended a foreleg and lowered her muzzle almost to the ground, bowing respectfully. "I thank you sincerely for sharing this with me, once more. I do not think I can rest until I find this nequus, whether it be my mother or not. I apologize for the abrupt departure, but I hope you can understand my excitement at finally getting a chance to find my mother again," said she, although she didn't make any move to leave yet, in case Nestra had anything further to say.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 6:42 pm
"My pleasure," Clytaemnestra said automatically, somewhat startled to realise that it actually was. "Glad to be of assistance. The black thing? Oh, some tales of two bad Bae got blown ridiculously out of proportion a few years ago - now everyone thinks black-coated creatures are daemons or some nonsense." She chuckled. "Odd, isn't it, how people can build their ideas of others on rumours completely unfounded in fact?"
And then the two stallions crashed out of the forest. Clytaemnestra, who hadn't heard them coming, started and stepped in front of Cressida. She wasn't sure why she'd done it at the time. Later she would put it down to the fact that the mare, almost a stranger, bore a faint resemblance to the mother she had lost so long ago.
They were two of hers, bloodied but recognisable. The whites of their eyes showed in terror.
"C-Commandante!" the smaller of the two whinnied, hopping from hoof to hoof as though desperate to continue his flight. "W-we were - "
"Attacked, yes, I can see that." Clytaemnestra was frowning. "By whom? And mark you, gentlemen, this had better be good if it has brought you back to me without her safe and in tow."
"B-b-b-by her!"
The frown deepened. "Her? As in...?"
"MELANTHO!"
As if his shriek hadn't been enough, the bigger of the two was trembling from head to hoof. The deep gash down his left flank went unnoticed for some moments: Clytaemnestra was entirely too busy staring at the splintered stump on his forehead. Unmanned, as the humans say. No greater humiliation existed in their herd than for a stallion to lose his horn.
"...She did this." It wasn't a question.
"Th-th-the golden one was w-with her," the first stallion gasped. He, too, was wounded. "She d-did this to me, and the - that black devil - "
Well, the Commandante thought to herself. Perhaps not entirely unfounded.
"...Best you leave at once," she said calmly to Cressida. "Not meaning to be rude, madam, but the further you stay from this horrible business the better. It would seem that I have gone from seeking a lost lamb to tracking a dangerous mare."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 1:51 pm
"That is nonsense, in my opinion. I don't see how rumors could change the opinions of an entire herd. And such stupid rumors, too. Really, now. Who's to say that any creature who has a black coat is a demon? On the opposite end, does that mean any creature sporting a white pelt is an angel?" She was about to say more, for her mouth opened again to speak, but then the two stallions crashed through the trees. The gilded mare watched the display before her, fairly dazed and confused by it all. Why had Nestra suddenly stood in front of her? Maybe it was because the gold-colored mare had nothing to do with this business? Either way, it was a confusing action. Both stallions were injured and frightened, for certain, and one had received a completely embarassing injury, resulting in the loss of his horn. It was all she could do not to laugh at the poor fellow.
She was slightly surprised, however, at being adressed so suddenly. "Oh? If it's all the same to you, miss Nestra, I'd rather join you. Perhaps I can be of some sort of assistance? And, if it's not to bold to say, I think that perhaps the opinions of both you and this mare Melantho cross. I don't think she knows the entirety of the situation and where you, she, and her father stand. From what you've told me of her, I gather she thinks you want to drag her back to her father and so punish her for running away. Although I don't know what you hope to gain in finding her, and what you intend to do, I think that once you find her it would be a good idea indeed to talk things through and so clear up whatever is crossed," the gilded mare said with a nod. Hey, it was worth a try.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:07 am
Clytaemnestra stood silent through the golden mare's speech, her level gaze never wavering. Behind her, the two stallions were almost audibly trembling. They could sense the change of mood that had fallen over the Commandante, even if Cressida could not: as the words flowed, their leader became crosser and crosser. Her tails twitched.
"...It seems to me, madam," she said, surprisingly calmly for one who is barely keeping the lid on a whole mareful of fury, "that you have not been entirely honest with me. I have just told you that my charge has become dangerous. You have been presented with the evidence of two full grown stallions, exhibit A with moderate flesh wounds and exhibit B with a gash and a missing horn, who are adamant that she is responsible. And yet, instead of taking the opportunity to leave and search for your beloved mother, you insist upon accompanying me. You wish to talk to the beast. You wish to call a truce. You wish to parley. Now I'm no fool, miss Cressida. Folk such as yourself do not behave in that manner towards violent, vicious brutes...unless you have already been convinced of their good character. And such things, as you and I well know, can only truly be done in person."
There it was, clear as day. This mare had met Melantho before. Cressida had lied to her.
And liars, the Commandante thought to herself, made her angry.
...But there it was again, that little flicker of something keeping her from lashing out with hooves and teeth. Cressida looked too much like her mother. Far too much. She couldn't bring herself to kill her, not now. So she decided to do the next best thing, and get as far away from her as possible.
"No-horn, you're with me - you're as good as bloody defenceless now, the way you fight. Skinny, get back to the others and bring them after us. We're heading back to where you last saw her, see if we can pick up any tracks from there. And as for you, you little liar..." She glowered at Cressida. "Go after your mother. Run back to the shelter of her flank and never emerge from her shadow while I walk abroad. Do this and I shall let you live. Disobey me, follow me, and I shall turn, and I shall kill you. And I shall enjoy it."
Spreading her wings, she broke into a run and took to the air. The hornless stallion was not far behind her, and his thinner companion hurried off in the opposite direction. The Commandante's army - or what was left of it - was on the move.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:58 am
The gilded mare merely blinked once or twice through the other mare's speech. Yes, she decided, that was too bold to say, and she'd gone and blown it. Oh well, no matter. She ignored the skinny stallion as he rushed past her to inform the rest of their herd, and began to weigh her options. She completely disregarded following the Commandante; that would be both useless and foolish. She had better things to do than follow after a mare with seemingly useless intentions.
With an equine shrug, she turned and began to walk towards Shrilal once more. A stop at her tree for food and rest would be most welcome. Plus, after that, she could continue with her other intentions of finding another certain tree in Shrilal. Maybe this time, she hoped with a sigh, she'd find her mother. If not, oh well. She'd find her eventually.
She turned her head and glanced back at the two retreating figures in the sky. By now, they were mere specks in the distance. She shrugged again and gazed ahead of her once more. She paused to rear up onto her hind legs for just a moment, then launched herself into a gallop to decrease the distance between herself and her tree, and also to increase the distance between her and the Commandante. If she saw Mel again soon, maybe she should tell her of her experience with Clytaemnestra.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
