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 Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 8:06 am
"Well you might not..." Phala muttered at his sister watching as the weird cat-mare joined her comrades. The affectionate display was enough to make him sick. Just who were these people? They all three wore pelts like he did but he doubted that it was for the warmth. The girl's barely even covered her shoulders. On top of that one wore lanterns on a rope kind of like Shri's, though his didn't seem to have faces. As he glanced at his sister he noticed something a bit more startling than the lanterns. Her hair. It did the same light-dark thing as lantern-boy's.
It wasn't lantern boy that addressed them though, or rather addressed his sister, it was cat-boy. And if this was cat-boy's concept of diplomacy then Phala wanted to beat his stupid face in. "Wanna make a bet, kitty?" He challenged gnashing his teeth to make damn well sure that cat-boy noticed his fangs. They were about the same size. He'd been training with Revyra and he had his fangs. He could take him even if Shri didn't want him to.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 4:27 pm
"Phala... stop!" Shrivatsa found her voice raising in the stress of the situation. She didn't command him as herd alpha, just as his sister. Things could turn very ugly very quickly. She couldn't fight and the two strangers certainly could. That put Phala at a 2:1 disadvantage, assuming the cat-tailed mare couldn't fight either. Once she'd had to stand by as her cousin was mauled, knowing she could do nothing to help her. Shrivatsa felt the choking fear of that helplessness creeping up on her again. She didn't want to see Phala hurt.
"We don't mean any harm." She babbled those words again as if repeating them would make a difference. "I'm... I am the alpha of the Padmapani herd." Would they even believe her? She was stabbed with self-consciousness, thinking of how ineffective and childish she probably seemed to them. It felt like being a filly again, isolated and awkward.
She couldn't think straight, that was clear. Something stole her eloquence away, and it wasn't just Phala's reaction. She found her eyes fixated on the white pelt. It reminded her of the one that her mother had made from her fox familiar. She remembered the blood splattered on that white and could almost see the stranger splattered in blood himself. She repressed a shiver but was growing more unnerved by the second. Her conscious mind didn't understand what the subconscious was reacting to.
"Can we just... start again?" Her stare at the white-pelted stallion was so intense as to seem slightly entranced.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 5:18 pm
"Alpha?" Torao snorted. How could she be the alpha of anything but some hodge-podge collection of foals or yearlings? She was too young to really take seriously but at least she had sense enough to try and stop the idiot of a stallion next to her. Kid didn't know when he was outmatched.
This didn't stop Hisoka from stepping closer to whisper, "Herd." He didn't like the sound of that. A herd typically meant a large number of soquili and while Hisoka didn't see any others or smell any others he couldn't be certain that they weren't lurking nearby. Besides, the girl wanted to start over again and they were supposed to be turning over a new leaf for Sabella and Uwasa's benefit.
"We can start over." He replied with a nod ignoring the young stallion. He just didn't feel like fighting today and he wasn't about to abandon Torao. Diplomacy was the best option. "Uwasa, introduce."
Uwasa wasn't entirely sure what was going on but she obeyed anyway. If her dad wanted her to make introductions then she would. She was probably the best for it anyway. "I'm Uwasa." She said pushing her way in between her fathers. "This is my dad, Torao." She said leaning her head on his shoulder. "And this is my other dad, Hisoka." She shifted to nudge Hisoka's shoulder before stopping to meet his eyes. "I don't know their names...we didn't get that far..."
"Geez." He muttered rolling his eyes. Leave it to his kid to nearly get into a fight without even finding out a person's name. "So what are yer names then?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 5:22 pm
Phala didn't want to listen to Shri. He actually had no plans to at all until she asked to start again. This he recognized as his sister's last ditch effort to keep the peace so although he didn't want to he decided to behave for a moment. Fighting now would make him no better than the beasts that had slaughtered their family. Still, he didn't want to cooperate fully so instead of providing his name he just turned his head away sullenly.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 6:28 pm
Shrivatsa thanked some distant deity that Phala was holding back. He wasn't friendly, but it was a start. "My name is Shrivatsa, and this is my brother Phala." She pretended that she was introducing him because she wanted to, not because he was being a jerk. "We are happy to... uh..." One of those names sounded more familiar than the others. Shrivatsa trailed off as she was drawn into a pool of hazy memories. Her mother's voice came to her, fearful and tense as it had been when she was a filly.
"Bodies... there were bodies everywhere..."
"You look just like him. You probably act like him too."
"He tried to kill me! I thought that he loved me..."
"You look just like him... red markings... black hair... His name was..."
His name was...?
"Hisoka."
"Y-your name is H-Hisoka?" Fear filled her and her vision swam. Her change couldn't have been more sudden. One moment she was attempting to keep the peace and now she was starting to have a panic attack. Hisoka was a murderer... murderer! MURDERER! Her mind shrieked in terror at this waking nightmare.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 7:28 pm
Phala snorted as his sister introduced him and scowled trying to give off the very clear impression that despite what his sister said he was not happy about anything. Or at least what his sister had started to say. "Shri?" He asked as her thought was left hanging unfinished in the air. He didn't recognize the names. He had heard stories but had never heard the name to go with them. He had no idea what his sister was freaking out about but she was terrified.
"Shri? Shri? What's wrong?" He asked with a voice full of concern. What had set her off like that? Was there something special in his name? That didn't matter so much, he just needed to make sure she was okay.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 7:39 pm
There was an exchange of confused looks between Hisoka, Torao and Uwasa as the white mare started panicking. What was going on? "Yes..." Hisoka said slowly eying the mare suspiciously. Did his name mean something to her? He couldn't see why it would. If anything he would think that Torao's name would be more of a shock since he was the one that killed the previous founders of the game. This was of course assuming that the gods and spirits were involved in this like Hisoka thought.
"What did you get up to around here?" Torao asked leaning over to mumble in Hisoka's ear while staring at the mare like she'd lost her mind. "And why were you tossing your name around Himitsu?"
"I never tossed my name around. Never."
Uwasa wasn't sure what was going on but she had shuffled back behind Torao to put some distance between the other mare and herself. She didn't like this at all.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:55 am
"He's... well, he's..." Shrivatsa couldn't choke the words out. Like a frightened foal, she pressed her side against Phala's for comfort and protection. A hundred horror stories writhed up through her memories, along with barely remembered nightmares given new life. Were they about to be killed? Had she lived through two skinwalker attacks and the death of Vara for this?
"Look at his pelt!" she whispered to Phala. "It's like yours... and... the markings... his legs..." She could see so many aspects of herself sitting there on his body. She saw her bloody mouth in his, outlined in red. Their hooves were the same shade of red, and their manes were the same glossy black. He had white streaks in his hair, she had pale green. She really was her father's daughter.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:08 pm
"My pelt?" He scrunched up his nose. Did she mean the bear pelt he stole from humans because anyone could have done that. "This doesn't prove anything." He whispered back grabbing at it and shaking it like the motion would help prove his point. He dropped it on the ground and fixed Shrivatsa with a very serious look. "And I look like mom anyway in case you forgot." A demonic version of their mother but certainly a more sane one.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:21 pm
It wasn't until the young stallion removed the pelt that things suddenly became clear to Hisoka. His golden eyes widened in complete disbelief at the pink lotus now laid bare. He would know that flower anywhere. It belonged to the mare that had been so close to death but still managed to evade its grasp. "Bari." He said quietly drawing attention from his lover and daughter.
"Bari?" Torao asked scrunching up his face. "What the heck's a 'Bari'?" He asked not bothering to hide his confusion. None of this made any sense. One kid was in a panic. The other seemed like he just wanted to leave. Now Hisoka had gone into shock because the kid decided to get naked. What was going on here?
"Dad?" Uwasa asked creeping forward. "What...is it?" She didn't like what was going on. She'd seen Hisoka display a variety of emotions but all of them were usually subdued versions of what she seemed to experience. Now he was standing there with more emotion on his face than she had seen in her entire life and it scared her.
Hisoka shook his head not wanting to delve into the details. Torao would not be pleased and he did not want to fight him in front of Uwasa. Not now and not ever. "Not what, who." He said once again forcing the other two outside of the conversation. If a person wanted a discussion that was truly private it was best to use a language no one else knew. "Parnasabari is a mare I met. I believe that these two are her children."
"Care to clue us in on who the father is?"
"Well, that's a problem. I do not know. Our time together was...shortened."
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:16 am
"Yes, Bari." Shrivatsa's voice trembled with emotion. "Bari! Our mother!" Tears clouded her already unfocused vision, but they did not yet fall from her eyes. And to think, this had started out as such a normal walk in the forest with her brother. "You're the one who..." Grief, anger, and fear all warred to take control of her.
"You're the one who made her like she is." Her life's miseries could be traced back to this one stallion. He was always just a incorporeal entity before, something to be cursed from afar. Now that he was here in the flesh... she wanted to tear him apart for what he had done to her mother. It was his fault that she had spent her foalhood longing for affection she never would get. It was his fault that she still sometimes felt like a freak or a monster.
Not too far away, Bari pricked her ears. Unless she was imagining things, she had just heard someone shout her voice. She wore the dead fox Sukha's pelt on her back, as she had gotten accustomed to lately. Wearing the pelt, she felt dangerous and brave. "I wonder who that might be," she mused, heading toward where her old lover awaited.
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:12 pm
Finally it clicked and Phala's eyes narrowed. He couldn't believe it had taken him so long to understand. This stallion. This painfully normal looking stallion was the one that had driven their mother to insanity. He was the reason that Phala was an outcast. It was his fault that their mother regarded them with fear instead of love. He was to blame for everything and, apart from the pelt, he looked like any other stallion not the monster that he'd been led to believe.
What cruel god had decided that a monster should look normal and that a child should look monstrous?
He wanted to attack the stallion but he couldn't move. He'd always imagined getting his revenge but now that it was an inch away he couldn't even tell which way was up. He was in complete shock.
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:33 pm
Torao took a moment to roll his eyes and scoff at the young 'alpha.' This was ridiculous. So Hisoka had done something to their mother, that wasn't a surprise. Hisoka had done a lot of things both cruel and despicable. He'd set traps for innocent mountain goers, lead lost children into the dens of beasts and conned warrior stallions into believing that he himself had gotten into some trouble. All their fates had been the same, no one had ever seen them again. Hisoka was a demon or had been. He was still Hisoka though, still the same stubborn, emotionally repressed, loyal stallion. That had never changed and it never would. The demon in him was currently dormant but these kids were looking to stir it up.
"Let's go, Hisoka. These brats are barking up the wrong tree if they're looking for an apology or something."
So Hisoka was right, these were Bari's children. He regarded them with emotionless eyes as they accused him. He didn't doubt the truth in their accusations. No one had ever come so close and survived before. Hisoka had assumed that the mare had gotten lucky, but had she really? What fate had befallen her after she had parted that night. What state was she in now that her young daughter was the alpha? It couldn't be anything good.
He nodded at Torao. "Take Uwasa. I'll come in a moment." He said keeping his eyes fixed on Bari's children.
"Dad?" Uwasa asked again, confused. First he knows their mother, then they were blaming him for doing something and now Hisoka wanted Torao to take her away. Something had happened. Something bad that he didn't want her to hear she could tell that much. Something to do with the past that no one spoke of. It was like a gap in time that no one wanted to exist and no amount of begging or prodding would get her answers. "We'll wait...right over there." She said nodding to a spot just out of earshot. "Just be quick, okay?" She didn't wait for an answer before darting away. The faster she got where she needed to be the sooner things would go back to normal
"You better know what yer doing." Torao grumbled as he followed after Uwasa. If anything happened he'd still be in range to help at least and Uwasa would be out of harm's way.
Once the two had taken off Hisoka stepped forward. "I'm the one who tried to kill Bari." He said without the slightest hint of regret in his voice. If they didn't know already then they would now. They would also know that he held no remorse for what he had done. He hadn't even thought of the mare in years.
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 5:45 pm
Shrivatsa instinctively retreated when Hisoka approached. Real fear gripped her like a knife to the heart. This stallion was a killer. He didn't even flinch as he admitted to attempting to murder their mother. He could very well be about to try to kill them now. If he killed the two of them then Padmaraja would be the only child left of that horrible union. Maybe he was trying to erase the evidence of his misdeeds. Even more so than when faced with Samsara, Shrivatsa didn't know what to do.
"St-stay away!"
More shouts. Bari picked up her pace. Something was happening. There was no wind to carry her the scent of her ex-lover so no warning was given. She didn't know what it was that she was about to blunder into, but she felt pulled there all the same. "That's Shrivatsa's voice." Bari had nothing in the way of maternal instincts but it was enough to sharpen her attention. As she hurried closer, she began to hear a voice she hadn't heard in years. It brought her back to that time, a half-remembered nightmare. She was terrified beyond her mind the last time she heard that voice.
Now, she was angry.
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 6:03 pm
At first Phala couldn't tell up from down. The words echoed about in his head like the sound of dripping water in a cave. He tried to kill their mother. He pictured his mother with this stallion. What had she been like sane? Had she been caring? Thinking about it harder brought feeling back to his numb limbs and pulled his mind out of a stupor. He tried to kill their mother!
"You b*****d!" He snarled finally finding the will to move. He lunged at Hisoka aiming to sink his massive fangs directly into his stupid white neck. Telling him to stay away was obviously going to be like telling a dog not to eat it's dinner. The only way to keep him away was to kill him. He had a head start, if he could kill Hisoka quickly he could handle the other one.
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