|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 6:55 pm
Vartan spent a long moment looking Galaxia over. He didn't feel pressured to rush his answer, nor did he attempt to disguise the fact tat he was blatantly sizing her up. He was the sort of stallion who did things at his own pace.
Galaxia's dreamy, far-away look did not escape him. Nor did the immaculate state of her mane, and the powerful build of her forelegs. She was obviously a mare who took care of herself. But he found it rather sad that she spent all that energy keeping herself up only to shut herself away in this self-imposed isolation. A Soquili like Galaxia could be a glorious terror at war.
"You won't," he finally announced. "You're physically powerful, but you don't have what it takes to kill me like this. If you did, you would have crushed my skull in after I fell asleep. And that's a weakling's way to kill."
Vartan tossed his too-long mane out of his face. He hated this. There was no worse feeling in the world than being pinned to the ground when his blood was up for a challenge.
"Don't get me wrong. Only a frikking moron handicaps himself on the battlefield, because of some stupid idea of honor. But this isn't a battlefield. You know that as well as I do."
The stallion looked Galaxia straight in the eyes.
"That scuffle we had before was pathetic. We were both too tired to do jack s**t. So I'll tell you what: I'll recover here, and I'll face you down for real once I'm better. Then you can kill me as dead as you like, if you can manage it. Wouldn't that be more satisfying?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:28 pm
Yes, Galaxia always kept herself in the most perfect condition she could. It was habit. And quite possibly a bad habit as well. In her younger years she had watched as many comrades had fallen in battle. To weak in body and mind at the time to do anything at all to help them. But as she grew, the darkness drifted into her mind and heart as she sacrificed herself for others.
But no more. It gnawed at her heart. This darkness that lingered. The chaos that ran rampant through her mind that she fought to keep locked away. And in a way, she had locked herself, perhaps her true self, away from the rest of the world. But it was the price she had payed. And no one would know of it except her.
Eyes and ears snapped in his direction as he spoke. As he challenged her words. And, perhaps in a sense he was correct. She wouldn't of killed him while he was injured. There was no fun in finishing off someone who was already walking the fine line between life and death.
Her eyebrows furrowed as he looked her in the eyes. A heavy frown pulling at the corner of her lips before she snapped her head the other way. Long waves of hair bouncing against her neck as she closed her eyes. "Fine. But don't expect me to wait on you like some nurse maid. Heal up and then I'll kill you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:27 pm
Heh. Galaxia'd been the first one to look away. It was a miniscule victory, but times being what they were, Vartan was going to have to take what he could get. He was already sick of the damn dandelion stems pressing into his flank, and he he'd hardly been laying there for half a day.
"The more you help, the faster I'll heal," he pointed out, with an audible snort. "But it's your choice, Princess."
Maybe if he sat here long enough, he'd figure out what her frikking problem was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 6:39 am
She laughed lightly. Shaking her head and looking back at him. Giving him a look that was heavily laced with an 'Are you serious?' expression. Both eyebrows raised as another small laugh wiggled its way up from within her chest.
"Ask me. Beg me to help you and I might. I already told you I'm not going to be your nurse maid. I don't help people because they expect me to." In the back of her mind she grinned. A grin that if she had no control over herself would have easily appeared on her lips.
The mare wanted him to come to that point.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:40 pm
If Vartan could have, he would have shrugged. As it was, he had to settle for taking a nonchalant bite out of the nearby grass. He didn't have a hell of an appetite, but he figured his body would need energy if it was going to recover. He was already beginning to feel strangely clammy.
"It's your choice," he said, natural stubbornness shining through even in his weakened state. "Guess that means you'll be keeping me company for a while longer, sunshine."
The stallion finished his snack, and settled in for a very long afternoon. Maybe if he ignored Galaxia it would piss her off enough that she'd do something productive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 10:19 am
Him ignoring her would be a welcome blessing. She'd rather not have to listen to him all afternoon. And she certainly was not going to play nurse maid if she could help it.
Galaxia mumbled to herself under her breath. Chewing at her bottom lip. She didn't want to help in his healing process but then she very well couldn't let a rotting corpse lay around in her home. Sighing heavily, her ears went flat as she closed her eyes tightly. Shuffling her hooves for just a moment. "Do you need anything?" She asked through slightly clenched teeth.
Her tail flicked in an agitated manner. It was his own fault he was this way, none of her own. If he'd left like a good little boy maybe then he wouldn't of been caught up in this predicament and Galaxia would of had a more relaxing day.
Damnit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:17 am
Vartan could have smirked, and preened, and made some kind of wise-a** request. It was tempting to enjoy having some sort of upper hand over the mare, after all the bullshit she'd spewed. But Vartan wasn't his brother. He didn't play mindgames. He wanted to get better as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that he could seize the satisfaction of beating Galaxia down the way a real stallion ought to, instead of lying her like some great awkward wrym. Rubbing salt into a wound was only ever a coward's victory.
"I don't suppose you know any unicorns?" He said wryly. He hadn't seen Zara since he was a foal, so that was a no-go. Damn it all. Thankfully he still knew a little field medicine.
"Heh. Right. Never mind. I forgot who I was talking to." Unicorns wouldn't put up with bitter nags, no matter how pretty their hair was. "There's herbs. Garlic, elderberry, or rosemary. I don't give a s**t about the wound closing up, I just want this damn pus gone."
He gave the cut an annoyed prod with his muzzle, and immediately regretted it. Spirits, did that ever sting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:09 pm
Rolling her eyes as he prodded at his cut, she shook her head. "Do I have to smack your nose like some mother mare to keep you from picking at it?"
Personally, she had expected him to ask for water or something of that sort. The body couldn't heal itself if one was dehydrated. She made no comment to the unicorn jab. Perhaps she did, a long time ago. But those memories were faded and rarely did she poke into them herself.
With a flick of her tail she took off into the woods. She might not of been able to find what he had rambled off, but she did know a few plants that would help that were near by. It didn't take long for her to find them, they had a subtle scent and brightly colored flowers. She picked through their thorny brambles, biting off their hips. After getting a mouthful, red eyes darted around until she found a fairly large sized leaf hanging off a push and she quickly pulled it off and headed back towards him.
When she reached him, Galaxia dropped the leaf on the ground next to him. Her mouth still full of the plant hips. She turned her head for a moment and began to chew at them. Well, how else was she suppose to do it? It wasn't like she had hands and those strange looking bowls two leggers did.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:33 am
By the time that Galaxia returned, Vartan had dragged himself half-way towards the edge of the stream. It was probably a stupid idea. Getting there would be long, arduous, agonizing process, and his journey had already earned him a number of painful scrapes on his ribs. Soquili weren't built to inch forward on their bellies like worms. But what else could be done? Even if Galaxia had a way to fetch him water without the use of hands, he damn well wasn't going to leave himself completely at her mercy like some pathetic foal.
The stallion was still far from his goal when Galaxia arrived with a bundle of the herbs he'd learned about from Zara, so very long ago.
He looked down at the plants. Then up at Galaxia. Then back down again. The silence stretched taut between them, as he waited for whatever bitchy remark she'd worked up over the time she'd been gone.
But the remark never came. So finally he chose to snap the tension.
"... Thank you," Vartan said, sullenly. Saying the words felt like eating gravel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:31 pm
Galaxia sighed lightly as she had realized he'd dragged his lowly self across the ground. Apparently he was either too stubborn to ask her to bring him some water or too thirsty to wait. She went with the first option.
Her mouth was too full to even say anything. Let alone utter some snappy remark. But small smirk came to her lips as he finally said 'Thank you'. It was a little victory for her.
Turning her head, red eyes looking down at him she quickly spat the chewed up herbs in her mouth onto his wound and before he could react picked up the large leaf in her teeth and plopped it down on top of it. Pressing down on it with her nose, with a bit of pressure to make sure it stuck and stayed in place.
"Well then, your welcome." She smirked some more then trotted the rest of the way towards the stream. Sipping at some of the cold water to rinse the taste of the herbs out of her mouth. Glancing around, she found a small, slightly curved piece of wood and picked it up. Scooping some water into it, Galaxia walked back casually and placed it in front of him. "Anything else? Or are you going to drag yourself somewhere else and rip your other side open?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:44 am
Vartan gave the water a speculative look. Galaxia was being almost agreeable. Either this was a trap of some sort, or the thought of him crawling around on his belly had put her in an uncommonly good mood. He'd wager on the latter.
"Not interested in seeing me on my knees?"
He arched an eyebrow up at her, before taking a cautious sip of the water she'd fetched. If he spilled, he'd have to ask for more, and spirits knew how smirky she'd get then.
"You're just full of surprises."
The liquid was gone almost before he knew it. It had been clear and pure and utterly delicious. Vartan looked back at his leg in order to distract himself from craving seconds.
"That's a decent compress. And you know how to fight, too. You're not from around here, are you? These Kawani lands are too damn peaceful, considering all the evil freaks wandering around."
His voice was gravelly. His throat felt rough. Dammit, he was a grown stallion, and he was going to need more to drink than that. But he wouldn't ask until absolutely necessary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 4:11 pm
In all actuality the thought of his crawling around on his belly did give her quite a bit of amusement. Down on the ground like the dog he was. Wiggling about on his belly like a worm. If Galaxia had been one to laugh as much as the next Soquili she might have.
"On the contrary. That's just where I expect you to be." She watched him for a moment as he took a cautious sip of the water. "If you think I've poisoned it then you really are stupid. Why would I want to finish you off so quickly when I haven't had the chance to beat you down first?"
With a flick of her long wavy tail, she smirked broadly. "You've only seen the tip of the ice berg."
Galaxia gave him a look that pretty had that 'Are you seriously asking me that question?' appearance to it. "Do I look like I come from around here?" She stomped a hoof lightly. A small puff of dust rising and dissipating into the air around her leg. Turning her head, she glanced off into the distance for a moment. "No, I ended up here not by my own accord. Theirs a lot of things out there that are much worse than what stalks the night of these lands. You should be grateful for the peace." Red eyes narrowed slightly as she gave a small snort.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:27 am
"Is that so?"
Vartan's voice practically dripped with skepticism. Kalona were cowards, killers, and cannibals. They sewed pain wherever they went whilst congratulating themselves on their own superiority. They were vile, disgusting trash, and when Vartan looked at the gash in his thigh, he imagined that the foul puss oozing from it was a manifestation of all the taint gathered in his veins.
Kalona weren't demons or foul gods. They weren't even Skinwalkers. They were a species that could be better but chose not to be, and mingled amongst the rest of society like a cancer. For that reason they were worse than any enemy army Vartan could imagine.
"So- hm, what, you're in hiding? You don't seem the type."
She couldn't need camouflage too badly, if she felt comfortable stomping around in all that metal.
"Or are you only pissy because you're bored without a real battlefield?"
He nudged the makeshift bowl forward with the tip of his muzzle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 7:21 am
Galaxia disregarded his little skeptical response. The stallion was obviously wet behind the ears about the world outside his comfortable little home. She highly doubted he had even been past the distant mountains to the lands away from the coast. There was much to be seen yes, but there were things far worse than any Kalona. And sometimes even Skinwalkers. They weren't the only things out there that could make a full grown stallion piss himself.
Eyeing the piece of wood as he nudged it forward, she rolled her eyes lightly. Gee, wasn't he expectant of everything. "Life is a battlefield. You either fight or die." She picked up the make shift bowl and trotted off towards the stream again. Filling it up once more then trotting back. Laying it down in front of him again. Though more like dropped a few inches from the ground, a little bit of the water sloshing back and forth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 4:31 pm
Vartan gave Galaxia a short, sharp nod of acknowledgement, before drinking down his second helping of water. The liquid soothed his throat and cooled his heated skin. His mind carefully skirted around the possibility that he might be running a fever.
"You have to be strong to survive," Vartan agreed. "But right here, in this place, what are you fighting?"
He was probably going too far with his questioning. He was probably going to get a hoof to the neck any minute now. But Vartan was weak enough that he had little left to lose, and he found himself intrigued in spite of himself. This mare was a bit of a mystery. Figuring it out was at least more interesting than watching the sparrows fly by.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
