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 Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 6:40 pm
 She had moved far enough away from the mountain that the red dust did not cover the grass, and no further. Even though her tree was here, she had no desire to leave the mountain for any longer than was absolutely necessary. The grazing was bad today, though, in the sparse foothills around the base of Fyhi Tel Oren. A few gale force winds had picked up the dust of the mountain and strewn it all over the place. It tasted like ash. This grass, untrampled and sweet, was too rich, but it was better than nothing.
Libra raised her head from grazing and sighed. The wind was picking up. It had not settled for the last few days at least. That didn't bode well: she found flying difficult enough at the best of times without rough winds to shake her about. She needed to be able to get away from danger as swiftly as possible whenever necessary. It wasn't that she feared to face any assailant, rather that she had learned how to pick her fights a little better than when she had been younger.
Besides, she considered with a wry smirk, when you're twelve hands tall - excuse me, twelve hands short - just about everyone looks big and burly.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:03 pm
Moving slowly through open fields Shadow's lengthy neck was pelted by the strong winds that whipped around him freely. His mind wanted him to turn back, to find a forest of dense growth and live in there forever, although he knew it wouldn't be so. The Bea's tanish hooves stepped ever so lightly yet still made for a deep impression in the grass. Twigs and stone had trailed along behind, lured in by his occupancy of space and captured by the male's long flowing tail. Flipping it aimlessly about Shadow made his presence well known with a loud mix of a snort and whinny.
Narrowing his pitch black eyes the stallion noticed another bea in the field he was coming upon. At first he saw a normal, grayish toned female, that was until he had gotten further. She was short, a rather short bea with strange markings and seemingly busy grazing. Perceiving her as no threat to his existence or to anything for that matter Shadow approached the area where she stood and continued to advance until almost reaching her. Settling on the idea of having a little amusement in his day he started to lower his neck to graze just outside her reach.
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:42 am
Libra's ear twitched. She stopped grazing, her teeth still closed around a clump of grass. This stallion was invading her personal space. That, she thought with a frown, was not to be tolerated. Tearing up the grass and chewing slowly in an attempt to calm herself down, she considered how best to address him. She wanted to plant a firm hoof squarely on his blackcurrant backside. She recognised, however, that this was probably not wise.
"...Pardon me, sir," she began, having finished her mouthful, "but is the grass not sweet enough for you over there? Must you come so close? Your presence is distracting."
Any Nequus coming too close without her say-so was bad enough. A stallion was worse. Libra didn't like stallions much at the best of times - she'd had far too many bad experiences with them in the past - and this one was just being rude. She stared levelly at the berry-purple head and waited for it to be moved.
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:24 am
Lifting his head Shadow shifted one dark black eyebrow and turned his head to look around at the other grass. If he was to annoy this female more he'd see it best to stand his ground, but after giving it thought there seemed a bit of tense air about the two of them he didn't like, it was best to not continue adding to the thickness of it all. This female seemed to dislike his presense, as did most Nequus he first attempted to annoy but knowing that he'd more than likely get a nice bruise if he kept it up Shadow just smiled and took a step back. His dark purple wings stretched ever so slightly and some bits of light his the tan parts inside making for a different look to his normally discouraging outside appearence.
"And exactly how far back would you like me to go...miss."
He was being wise now as he let the 's' roll off his tongue. Shadow knew there was a danger in any Nequus to himself no matter their size but this danger was a bit larger than most dispite her overall size. Afterall most of the bea he'd met, minus one of the males a long time back and this female were oddly friendly and gitty...opposite to himself of course. Shadow's silky black mane tossed effortlessly in the wind but it didn't stop him from keeping a sharp eye on the female.
'Distracting,'
The stallion snorted lightly as he waited for her response. What was so distracting that he was doing, Nequus are able to graze in groups afterall...and what was he really distracting her from? grazing? Like that was a huge deal right at that very moment. Standing firm now Shadow awaited this rather rude and seemingly angered bea's response.
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 9:47 am
"Preferably far enough that I can't see you," Libra said wearily, "but whatever. I'm in no mood to argue with you."
She moved away towards the trees, scanning the boughs for apples and pears. Finding some would make her life a damn sight easier, that was for sure. Then she wouldn't have to deal with this stallion who had suddenly decided to turn up. No, she didn't like stallions at all. So full of their own importance, convinced that every mare should be following them around and begging for attention - faugh. She fought the urge to spit out the nasty taste that had formed in her mouth.
It had been easier with 'Yona.
The shrinking of her posture at that thought was visible. She'd been doing so well. She hadn't thought about her in months. And now here she went again, spiralling back down into the old cycle of self-hatred.
"...I'm sorry."
The words were out before she could stop them. Perhaps she ought to be sorry for treating him like that, but he hadn't exactly been all roses to her either. He'd clearly been trying to annoy her. Why shouldn't she spit in his eye? But the energy required to maintain such feelings was rapidly draining away, and all she really felt - besides deeply, profoundly alone - was tired.
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 6:49 pm
Shadow's eyes followed the mare as she slipped towards a set of trees farther off in the distance. He thought for just a moment that the mare had said something softly towards him, or maybe he was just hearing things. None the less he saw no reason to trot on ahead to bug her, instead he moved forwards a bit and grazed some more. His black mane was long and thick and had the tendency to dangle loosely infront of his eyes making for a pestering part of his day. Thinking about how he'd managed to a least a tad annoy someone today his work was done, until tomorrow. Some part of the stallion found it odd that she, the one that seemed to hold some grudge against a stallion or all bae to actually just walk away, but then again he knew nothing about her.
'Odd, but then again...females always have mood swings. I've never met one girl that didn't have her days, or weeks, or god...'
He made short snorting movements in a jest of laughter before stopping his foolish thoughts. Shuddering away any feeling of regret or compassion towards mares Shadow dug one hoove into the ground firmly leaving a impression in the grass and dirt. His glazed eyes curved around the outline of his hoove print before smerking and continuing to graze a little more to his left now.
"One more place I never have to be again,"
He muttered half with his mouth full.
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:21 am
He was an odd one. Clearly he was trying to annoy her, or had been, but what was he talking about now? One more place I never have to be again. What did that mean? Was he...looking for something?
Grazing quietly, Libra watched him from behind a dangling forelock. Dark purple, black mane and tail - he was like a shadow, a shadow of a Bae that had somehow broken free of its master's heels and taken to wandering the world alone. The sunlight did not appear to trouble him. He must have been in the deep woods for a long time, growing darker and darker until not even the daylight could pierce his inky hide. She wondered if she might do the same, gain some sort of armour against the daylight.
Something was moving at the corner of her field of vision. She raised her head, craning her neck to see it. There, there it was again, just over that rise - something living. Something Nequus-shaped. And were those...feathered wings? A Jala? Coming down from Fyhi tel Oren - and there was another with it, and another...
...oh, no. This could not end well. She walked slowly, quietly into the shade of the trees, inching her way towards the dark stallion.
"Psst - hey, Purple, listen. Get out of the light. Get out of the light and into the forest. There's a party of Katilenuck coming this way."
She wasn't terribly fond of him, but no one deserved to be caught by the Katilenuck.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:03 pm
The stallion eyed the bae mare carefully before lifting his head to watch a group of Jala trot their way towards the two of them. A smirk tossed about his cheeks whilst he turned to face the seemingly worried mare. Her body was somewhat stiff, almost as if she knew something he did not.
"Katilenu...what? Never mind them. Why would I hide from a group who are so petty as to take their fellow nequus in as slaves, or worse? I'd dare them to try to hurt me, or come close to any bae...even you included. I'll rip their dim-witted hides right off those damn bones of theirs."
Shadow's words were so crisp and cold they could've sliced through anything. He despised those Jala, even a bae as cold as he wouldn't even fathom putting others into slavery. His dark hide tightened as the group came ever closer. His black eyes were reflecting the sun perfectly making them appear more intense than usual. There was something deep inside him that even with a nippy and self-centered attitude when it all came down to it; he was rather protective of anyone he barely knew. He had a motto of the sorts,
'If It's not me hurting them, than it shant be anyone.'
Chuckling with a maniacal sort of laugh Shadow lowered his head down to grab a n** of grass and then back up to watch the Katilenuck start to enter the grazing area. His mind was re-thinking the idea of any of the katilenuck coming within' talking range of him, but backing down would give the mare the wrong impression too, at least now it would. Shadow's hind leg took a small move backwards and his opposing front leg dug his hoof into the ground, he was either ready to charge or ready to flee.
"If you're afraid, flee to somewhere safe...although you don't really have much to worry about..."
Widening his gaze at the mare, Shadow's grin became slightly less diabolical, until he returned to eyeing the fairly distanced Jala herd.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:46 am
Libra, still concealed among the trees, rolled her eyes. Not only was he bad-mannered, he was overconfident to the point of having a deathwish. Lovely. Well, she wasn't about to hang around and be enslaved. This idiot could do what he liked - at least she'd tried...
One of the Katilenuck had just vanished.
She blinked several times, squinting into the distance - there, there he was again! He had just materialised out of thin air! Magic. Had to be.
"If you saw that as clear as I did, Purple," she hissed, "I hope you're smart enough to pick your fights a little better. That one's a bloody illusionist!"
Either that, she corrected herself mentally, or one of the others is and he's an illusion...augh. She hated magic. Most of the world had an advantage over her anyway, and she didn't need them to add insult to injury by covering the obstacles in her path or sending fireballs to hunt her down. And these were Katilenuck - ruthless beasts with no respect for the other breeds. One of them with magic...that was something she didn't want to think about.
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 1:59 pm
Shadow's deep black eyes moved in short bursts of left to right motions attempting to catch what had just happened. He wouldn't have understood why the grayish blue mare was so uneasy up until that point. Now he was starting to understand her worry better, it was based rather strongly on the lack of magic they contained and the fact that one of the Katilenuck was an illusionist.
“Of f-in’ course.”
The dark stallion muttered under his breath. It’s not like he didn’t know the danger with any dealings with this herd, but better brave than coward was his stance on the subject. Shaking his head the bulky male backed up slightly, his eyes warily watching the oncoming Jala’s.
“ Well…”
He paused heavily weighing his options still. It was extremely hard for one like himself to back off from a fight for things like he’d be fighting for, freedom and respect. Shadow rolled his eyes once or twice before backing up a few more steps and turning to look at the bae mare. She held herself fairly well,
‘What the hell was that?’
Shadow’s eyes dulled quickly from the short held thought that had just broken into his mind. His life was all about him, she had no,
‘I don't even know her.’
‘But she kept your head on your neck boy’o’
‘Oh keep the hell outta’ my mind.’
‘Pft, you know you need me here. Otherwise you’ll never get anywhere with the mares.’
‘What?! Shut...up!’
Snuffing out his own mind’s issue he realized he was still in the view of the herd. He shifted his body and turned, beginning to walk back into the wooded area Shadow looked over at the mare, wondering if he had met a intellengent ali or someone else. He knew barely anything about her, except how to crawl under her hide just a bit and that she seemed to be rather pissy at first glance.
“Well,”
He almost appeared to have to drag the other part of the sentence out from within his throat,
“Thanks. For keepin’ my head on my neck, ‘ya aren’t half bad mare-…”
Stopping slower than he might’ve wanted he attempted to find a better way of thanking her. His voice wasn’t warm or cold, it was more of a weakly pleasant noise,
“I never got your name did I?”
((Note: Sorry for the Occ but just to give the heads up...Shadow's somewhat split personality. xD; ))
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 4:27 pm
He kept catching her off-guard. It was almost like talking to two Nequus at once - one after the other, at least - and never quite knowing who was speaking. Libra frowned. "No, you didn't," she said, reasoning that she might at least give him a name. "And you can call me Lee. What about you, Purple - got a name I can use?"
It was odd, but she felt more at ease with stallions who were as rotten (or almost as rotten) as she expected them to be. This dark creature was no exception. Had he been all friendliness, she would only have suspected him further; as it was, she was prepared to consider him at least partially sincere.
The Katilenuck were moving away - their illusionist had reappeared, tall and slow and dark grey in the distance, and was leading them over the red hilltop in another direction. Perhaps he thought they might find better grazing there. Or maybe he'd spotted some weaker victims upon which to prey. Libra tossed them a scowl, invisible from the shadows in which she stood, and snatched a ripe apple from a nearby tree with a practised bite before dropping it to the floor for easier access.
She'd get one for Purple here if he asked. It wouldn't even have to be nicely. If you knew how to deal with her, Libra wasn't all bad.
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 3:05 pm
"Lee huh?"
He seemed to chuckle softly before his ears perked up to hear the rest of her chatter, apparently asking for his own name. Somewhere inside Shadow he knew he'd rather give her no name to call to him for, so as she couldn't have any connection to his soul, although he knew that mark had well already been passed.
"Shadow, if you need to call me something."
His voice darkened a bit as his inner thoughts kept splitting themselves and pulling tight as they tangled him inside them. What to talk about next, was there anything to talk about? What was the next step, would it be best to back away, or would that be considered rude? And since when did he start caring about what was rude or not with a mare? The purple stallion's coat shook of particles of the sun's dim rays that still struck through the growth above them. None the less Shadow's black eyes drifted off, following the Jala herd over the peak of the hill and away from the two of them.
His own body felt more at ease with their group gone, and yet Lee was still there. She confused him, as did most other mares. One second they were this, the next they're that....
'Yeah and you're exactly like...'
Once more his mind erupted into discussion. Pushing on the idea of peaceful silence Shadow mentally stomped out his inner conversations and focused now on the mare near to him.
"Hungry are 'ya?"
Shifting a bit more away from the glimpses of light he watched as Lee took a apple off one of the trees, Shadow wasn't nearly as bothered with food at the moment but watched her none the less. She, for how she acted was rather graceful in her step. The dark stallion's tail flickered lightly and with a slight but fairly unrealized twitch of his ear he went about continuing to attempt a shot at a conversation,
"So...where'd you come from anyways?"
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2007 3:51 am
The apple crunched pleasantly between her teeth. She didn't care to answer his observation about hunger - of course she was, or she wouldn't be eating - but origins, now that she could work with. Libra swallowed, looking up from the half-eaten fruit.
"Come from?" she echoed. "I didn't come from anywhere. These are my lands, as such - I wander these foothills, and the lower slopes of the mountain. I have a cave up there, one the 'Nucks haven't found yet. Sometimes I range as far as Shrilal to visit my tree, but rarely nowadays. ...What about you? If you're from here surely I'd've seen you before."
And she would have remembered, she thought to herself. Shadow's looks weren't easily forgotten. Not that it particularly mattered: she didn't care who crossed her patch so long as they left her alone. Even the 'Nucks could walk here if she had time to conceal herself - a little thing like her, she'd end up a curiosity for some lord atop that mountain. Tch.
"Don't mind my questioning," she added as an afterthought. "If you don't want to say then I don't much care."
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 7:21 pm
"Stay close to home then I suppose? Me?"
Shadow paused shortly for his eyes seemed to glaze over in rememberence as he directed his head to the sky. There wasn't much he could discuss without making any conversation go sour for he was as dull as the rock that sat clean in a pond, or a piece of tree leaf no different from the rest on the tree.
"I never came from anywhere really. I was too small to remember my place of birth, and I certainly never stayed in one spot for more than a few weeks...maybe a month once or twice."
Letting his mind wander and dwell on the thoughts he still had of his early years nothing good really came from them. It was either fighting, killing or other things he dare not remember. No Shadow's childhood was just as shady as his name, and held an even worse bite. His teeth grinded for a brief moment before reality struck he was still very much in a conversation, with a very interesting mare. The Stallion's dark eyes shifted as a small flock of birds scattered from one treetop to the next. Another shift in the wind blew up his long mane and tail and carried it along a moment before the wind died out and so did the movement of his hair. It fell to his neck's side, resting rather peacefully on one side.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 1:52 am
"...hn. A wanderer. Well, you must have seen a fair bit in your travels. I don't much care for sightseeing. Good stories, though..."
Libra finished the apple without ceremony and, stepping forward to the treeline, scanned the horizon with a critical eye. No sign of the Katilenuck. Either they were gone, or they were trying to find some way to flank them. ...It was unlikely they'd go that far for two possible slaves, but better safe than sorry.
"I'm moving on into the Crystal Lands," she announced, turning and heading slowly away from the mountain. "I want water, and I want it fresh and clear. There are some good spots I know not far from here. ...You can come if you like, Shadow. I don't mind you."
And that was the closest thing to a compliment she'd ever give a stallion, chances were. Perhaps, if she was lucky, he might have seen Yona in his travels. It had been months - years, even, since she'd had a lead on the Jala, and despite everything, she still missed her sometimes. It didn't hurt any more. It was more...a quiet regret.
Heading into the trees, she wondered briefly whether or not Shadow would choose to follow.
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