|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:53 pm
"Yes... it's hard to tell what somebody is like. Actions, do they always speak louder then these words?" he chuckled to himself while sliding his hoof against the ground in amusement. She seemed to be questioning both him and herself when it came to understanding the entire situation. This was becoming quite entertaining, as he expected. He was enjoying getting a small rise out of her. He wasn't sure how much more she could take since it seemed like she was naturally quite patient. Patience couldn't last forever though.
Ah yes, on to the next question. "I just think you should be wary. Maybe I have terrible mood swings, maybe I am lying, maybe I am truthful. Maybe I have six personalities... who knows. But I know you certainly don't know. Pleasant conversation is an easy task, you know." He had honed the skills very well and actually enjoyed talking intelligently. But there were many other things much more enjoyable. Unfortunately they were things the mare could never fathom as 'fun' for herself.
"So miss, do you have a family to tend to? I feel as though I am keeping you away from something important." Since.. he did save her, and now she felt obliged to talk to him. She seemed like the type of mare that would have little pink children. Nowadays he really couldn't tell how old anybody was. She could have been helluva young for all he knew! "I don't have children, thank goodness. If I did I would have given them off to my mother, how lucky am I." Given them off.. not by choice.
"And here I go ranting again. It seems as though you've said only six words compared to me." But that was good, wasn't it? She was being cautious, just as he had advised her to do. But would she keep being cautious? Or would she break away and let loose, as most ended up doing? SIlly mares. Their hormones and their mindsets made them fascinating little creatures. He just had to figure out what it was the mare desired. So far she had neglected that prospect entirely.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:25 am
Confusion and frustration warred for dominance as Cetra struggled to comprehend exactly what he was getting at. The more she tried to justify his reasons and assume that he had some sort of intent behind his strange warnings, the more he seemed to disprove every assumption and outright guess at every turn. What in the bloody hell was his aim?! If he had decent intentions, why didn't he just come out and say it? If he had malicious intent, why would he be telling her to be wary of him? Her head started to ache with the possibilities flooding her mind, and golden eyes clenched shut in consternation... though one nagging suspicion made her pause, turning her gaze to look up at him with a strange light.
"Are you finding amusement in making me mad?" Her stare was lightly accusing, but not as livid as she had been a few moments ago. The prospect was... irritating, but admittedly not nearly as bad as it could have been, given the circumstances. Deliberately causing her to question herself and finding entertainment with her frustration was annoying, to say the least, especially when the subject she was mulling over was the vague words he led her in circles with... but it wasn't what she had come to associate as 'kalona' behavior- perhaps he simply enjoyed running figurative circles around the soquili that he conversed with. It wasn't exactly a malicious intent, though she couldn't imagine he made very many friends that way. Perhaps that was the point, though.
"Family?" the mare blinked at the abrupt turnaround in the conversation, wondering exactly what kind of interest he had in such a subject. Why should he care if he was monopolizing her time? She had intoned to him that there was a debt to be paid on her end for his rescue of her, however unorthadox- and it was a bit of a surprise to hear him make a comment that was so... shall we say, considerate? She had no doubt that he could be polite if the purpose suited him, but why would he be concerned about how her time was spent? "I look after my mother at times, though she is in my grandfather's care now... but other than my wayward brothers and... missing father, I have no immediate family." His comment about handing off his children to his own mother made her bristle a bit indignantly- how could he be so careless where his own kin were concerned? Cetra herself wasn't sure she ever wanted children, at least with her own family in such disarray... and it was unlikely she would ever find a stallion to help her shoulder such a burden, even if she didn't like to contemplate that particular possibility.
She refused to end up like her mother.
Her head tilted to one side slightly as a burgundy-tipped ear twitched at his latter statement, gaze becoming more curious than annoyed as she had been only a few moments prior. "You enjoy hearing me talk?" she inquired with a slow blink. In all honesty, it wasn't as if he wasn't allowing her to get a word in edgewise... Merric, for example, loved to talk- and more often than not, it resulted in him talking at another soquili rather than with them, since there wasn't much of an opportunity for the other to offer their own opinion. Cetra herself enjoyed intelligent conversation when the opportunity arose, but unless the subject was something she felt particularly passionate towards, her words were usually few and far between. She shifted her weight a bit uneasily from one foreleg to the other, debating inwardly whether it was a good idea to open up a bit more, as he seemed to be asking after. "What exactly would you have me talk about?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:49 pm
So she was starting to catch up to him on his smirks and cackles? He wondered how it was possible that she hadn't snapped back at him yet. How lucky she was to have such a controlled temper! It was amazing really, something he had never seen before. So of course he would oblige to the situation. "I find amusement in many things." He finally added with a sharped tooth smile. "You patience for example, is amazing. And the fact that you are still standing by a creature you despise so much? Unbelievable. I just can't figure out the why or how." Simply said.
He listened carefully as she answered his inquiry about any family 'troubles'. Troubles only because that meant looking after effort filled bundles of 'joy'. But either way, he was surprised. She seemed like a sensible mare. One that was higher up in the ranks of others- for having a brain. "Why hasn't some stallion or knight swept you off your hooves? I wonder what's wrong with you, then." Oh ha. She most definitely wouldn't like that. But per usual Temptation had absolutely no care for the actions of his words. He spoke like the air drifted around him. It was only natural!
Also, she WAS awfully quiet. He supposed many stallions would disagree with that sort of thing. Maybe that made her lucky though. She didn't ramble on and on like many of the others did. When she spoke she spoke only of what was important. Or maybe she was only holding back in front of him? He couldn't tell. He wasn't doing very well in analyzing her. That's why this was a good-fun challenge! Perfect for his afternoon of laziness.
Before he could continue to reanalyze the situation (poorly), his ears perked at her next statement. "I wouldn't say I enjoy hearing you talk. But I do enjoy trying to figure you out." A chuckle followed his statement, and he shook his tail back and forth in delight. "I think you should talk about whatever you want. I'm surprised you haven't really criticized me, or inquired more about the Kalona race. I was hoping you'd want some kind of revenge and try to get secrets through me... but I guess not?" Ha! Not everyone was out to plot and ruin... But maybe he was giving her ideas..
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 2:25 am
Well, his answer was vague enough- not that she had expected any better... but the commendation on her patience- and then a comment on her romantic status!- took Cetra completely by surprise. It was almost a compliment. Of course, he didn't know about her own insecurities on the matter, which were quite a touchy subject- but she would have been willing to simply dismiss it if he had simply left well enough alone.
Evidently, that was too much to ask for.
'I wonder what's wrong with you, then?' He said it so easily, so casually, and without the slightest bit of hesitance or doubt. As if it could not simply be because she had high standards. As if she were a mare to be looked upon with pity or disgust rather than admiration. As if stallions would be repelled from her simply because she was not a simpering, love-struck fool who cowered after their heart was broken and hid from the world in fear afterwards. As if she were her mother.
"Watch your tongue, kalona," she gritted, golden hues narrowed into slits as her fur bristled in indignance. "Just because I have not passed judgement on you does not mean I have forgotten what you are. My patience is not limitless- and I will not lay out my personal life for your amusement." It seemed that for all the 'progress' she had made in discovering exactly what he was after, Cetra had only been led to believe that he had more of a heart than he really did. It was truly a disappointment- and it warranted a bit of disgust at herself, for opening herself up to the possibility of a comment like that one. It had hurt. Not that she was about to admit it, but it had.
Her glare leveled itself onto his towering form once more in renewed disdain, quite sore after his earlier comment, though somewhat drained about the whole ordeal. She knew she owed him a debt... though by now, she was wishing he would simply outline his stipulations for said debt so she could be done with the whole ordeal. "I do not take 'cheap shots' where they are unwarranted," she forced out pointedly, though her tone was becoming more strained than anything as she redirected her gaze to the horizon beyond him, "nor do I wish to pry any secrets from you when they will do me little good. I am not out for revenge. I simply want your kind to leave my family alone- I don't expect you have any sort of influence over your 'brethren', so there is nothing I can ask of you. I am here to repay my debt, and nothing more."
Perhaps moments ago she might have hoped there to be a better reason for their continued interaction... for a brief second or two, Cetra wondered, if circumstances had been different, might they have been able to get along? Have meaningful conversations? The thought was a naive one, and had been snuffed out quite abruptly in his callousness.
Sometimes second chances were wasted as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:36 am
So this whole debt thing just kept coming up and up again. He was starting to get the feeling that once the mare completed whatever her mind found as worthy enough, she could finally leave and move on. He'd be a real a** to just keep her around for too long. And although being an a** was his forte, he didn't need the attention that badly. Plus the debt itself had lost it's fun. She was too focused on it for Temptation to enjoy it. Most stallions would jaw-drop at this detail, but it was true. If the stallion wanted to torture a mare then it was simple, since most of them approached him. He was quite aware that sooner or later he and this mare would end their conversation, and within minutes yet another mare with 'Kalona interest' would come into the picture. But Cetra was different. She was so.. uninterested, and in turn he supposed he should be as well.
"You are free from whatever silly debt you think you owe. I am no king, so I'm not sure why you are treating me as one." he snorted loudly and arched his back in a much needed stretch. This was a good lesson for him. It wasn't very fun to attempt to torture an intelligent mare with actual baggage. No wonder he always preferred the innocent ones... since that way he'd become their reason of baggage. But the suckers, they all enjoyed it. There was no why they could lie about that. If they came back for more, well, that was obvious wasn't it?
"And since I am a Kalona, no, I will not watch my tongue. Hell if I was a regular stallion or an Angeni, my tongue is my own and my right to speech. Unless it is cut out well, tough break." He widened his wings as if telling her, 'how are you not surprised?' and continued to watched her with a quiet expression. He could never understand the pain that some creatures went through with their families. It was probably the reason he was being so unhelpful to her in this scenario. But, he was determined to make his point of view clear since she didn't seem that interested time and time of him repeating it.
"I don't know what Kalona keeps messing with your family, but I've said it for the third or fourth time. You have to realize that one of these days YOU are the only one that can do anything. Obviously you were born with some intelligence amongst your family members. So if you want the b*****d gone, come up with a plan, and do it. Life is too short to sit in pity. And you might find that the Kalona you are dealing with is much weaker than you expected. So just kick his a**." The stallion could only bring some laughter after his speech, but he meant every word.
If ya wanted something done... then DO IT! It was every creatures right. "Stop finding yourself as incapable. Most Kalonas are freakin' pansies these days. Move forward and end the b*****d's game. Then you can just forget about it and see the of happiness that exists in this land."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:43 pm
Though she had expected her hostility to be reciprocated, or at the very least, subject to his careless taunting- he was being so... reasonable. Why was he so goddamn impossible to hate? Each time she thought she had Temptation figured out, had a reason to warrant her dislike of his kind, he had something new to disprove her suspicions. And every time she thought that they might be able to get past her own judgemental nature of his species and his obvious disregard for her feelings, he proved her wrong once again. Her head ached with the constant sway of her thoughts, and for a moment, her eyes closed wearily in consternation.
"I do not treat you as a king- only as the one who risked his own well-being to preserve my own, whatever his intentions may have been." It seemed he had already tired of playing games with her- though Cetra was uncertain whether to be pleased by this fact or wary of its implications. Would he revert to hostility now, or simply ignore her? She didn't fancy either of those possibilities, to be completely honest, but their current... state of communication was getting them nowhere. "You... helped to save my life, and I owe you a debt of equal value in return. My honor speaks that this debt must be paid, whether you want it or not." She shifted uneasily here, black and red-feathered wings folding and unfolding a bit restlessly. "If you decline, then I shall simply consider myself your ally until the favor is returned."
She did not respond to the threatening gesture of his own wings unfolding, his much larger frame towering over her own, but simply met his eyes in a steadfast, determined stare. "My grandfather believes... and I want to believe... that all creatures deserve second chances, no matter of their transgressions. I will protect my family... but I will not go against what he thinks is right. I never knew the kalona that attacked my mother- I was not even born when it happened- so I would have no way of finding them. And even if I did... what if it were to be one like you? What if there were some sort of justification for its act against my family? What if they did not condone, just as you do not, the actions of its brethren, or wished to repent for its own wrongs? The evidence against such a possibility is strong... but not impossible, and... my grandfather, perhaps as well as my mother, would like to believe that it is true. Who am I to question them?"
She did not delve into her own doubts on the matter, of her own reluctance to believe such a claim. In truth, if Cetra were ever to confront the kalona responsible for her mother's pain... she was not certain that she could forgive them as easily as Nanaki. Perhaps she would seek revenge, then... but she preferred not to reflect on that particular possibility.
"Answer me this one question, Temptation- and I will either leave you to your devices and overlook your possible intentions, or I will give you my loyalty until my debt has been paid. Would you ever, games or no, intentionally wreak havoc upon an innocent? Whether by their heart, or by their body?" Although he had already assured her that he had no desire to feast upon other soquili, it did not mean that his games did not have more malicious intent. Whether he played with hearts and tore them asunder, or simply manipulated others into doing his own bidding for his amusement... his intentions were still unclear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 11:09 pm
Temptation felt the urge to laugh in response to the mare's proposal. "Now why would you torture yourself and consider me your ally? That just seems wrong on so many levels." He was as equally confused as she was at their conversation. How could Certra possibly consider him anything close to positive? Even if he was treating her with respect at this very moment, who was to say that would be the same if they met a few years from now? "I don't think I can allow such a pact. Life is too ever-changing and complicated to place such restrictions on oneself. Goodness. I release you oh creature from your mind burdens and yadda yadda." he chuckled after his attempt at sounding regal and knew she probably wouldn't buy it- again.
But it was true. The mare was showing a form of commitment and Temptation loathed anything that was binding. Even if she didn't think so, considering herself an ally meant that she'd be offering some kind of trust to him. That also felt awfully unnatural and worthless. How was she not seeing that herself?? Any kind of trust towards the enemy would surely result in some kind of downfall.
Before he could dwell on the situation further, his ears became attentive as she went in to some of the history behind the tragedy. He supposed it was as complicated as she admitted in previous conversation. She had absolutely no idea who the b*****d was that tore apart her family. How in the hell could she hunt him down, then? "I see, so it is a burden that you are forever stuck with on your own. I can understand why that'd be a royal pain in the rump to handle." At least for Temptation most of his problems were personal so they were easier for him to deal with. Cetra on the other hand was forced to handle this all from the moment she was born. That would suck. "I really don't have a good solution, then." he admitted, while wrinkling his nose in confusion.
He wasn't quite sure how to answer her next set of questions. Was she testing him again? Hadn't he made himself clear as a very handsome but strange monster? He supposed there'd be no harm in ranting about himself even more. It always felt best when he spoke about himself anyways. "First of all, I never asked for your loyalty. I say that with no harm intended." It would be a lie if he stated otherwise. "Second, you are asking -would I- when I should really answer yes, yes I have. I have done many things that make me both proud and shamed, but mostly proud." Really now, how could she be surprised? He never once admitted to being an angel! "All I can say is that I do anything and everything that I want. So life is good for me. You should really work on that for yourself." She'd be a helluva lot happier!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:50 am
Had Cetra been a mare with a bit less control, she might have given into the urge to stomp her foot and scream with frustration at the absolute impossibility of this obstinate kalona stallion. He was vague, rude, blunt, and purposely misleading for his own personal amusement... but she couldn't deny that some part of her was simply curious about his nature, nevermind that she would rather wring his stupid neck than inquire about it. As it was, her only outward show of her diminishing patience was a recurring twitch in her right eye.
Interesting or not, he was certainly more infuriating.
"I did not ask if you had, Temptation, I asked if you would. There is a difference." An aggravated sigh escaped her tightly held defenses then, though she did not remove her gaze from his own. "I can see that your answer would not change either way, then... but I warn you that if I witness such an act taking place with you as the tormentor... I won't stand aside." The vow itself was purposely vague, as if she did not know for certain how far she would go to prevent such a thing from happening... and perhaps she didn't. Would she fight him? It was a very real possibility, though she held no illusions about who would emerge the victor in a one-on-one fight, but that had never stopped her before.
She pointedly ignored his admittedly half-assed attempt to dismiss her debt once more, though it was obvious that he didn't like the idea of her tagging along on whatever it is he did... come to think of it, if she could stand him long enough, it might even be rather fun to turn the annoyance on him. She had to fight a smirk that threatened to tug one corner of her mouth upwards at the thought, though inwardly she was snickering. That was neither here or there at this moment, however- this would take consideration... perhaps she could find a better alternative for both of them, if she took time to think about it. It was doubtful, but not impossible.
Letting her face fall back into a stoic facade as she met his eyes once more, she dipped her head once in a curt acknowledgement before turning from him. "We will meet again, then... my wings and hooves are yours if you ever have need of them- and will be until you do not." Whether you like it or not, was strictly implied but not said- but it was likely he had received the message, if he was half as intelligent as he pretended to be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
