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 Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 7:00 am
The mare had grown tired of playing nurse maid for the stallion for now. If he wanted anymore water he'd have to wait until she felt like getting it.
Taking a few steps away from him, a couple feet at best, she flicked her tail out of the way before lowering herself to the ground. His question lingered in her mind for a moment as awkward silence filled the air. Galaxia mostly lingered on the notion of whether she should respond to the question or not. The answer was there, but by the way Vartan responded to everything she said he'd probably make some snarky remark. "Myself.." A simple yet general response. Not giving away too much and yet an answer that wouldn't leave someone at least not too dissatisfied with it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:05 pm
That was fairly vague as far as answers went, but Vartan seemed satisfied all the same. His ears flicked outward and he relaxed some of the tension in his neck.
"Ah. I think I understand."
And perhaps he did understand. Because no matter how far he ran, how hard he strived, how violently he worked off his urges, he would still always dream of the crunch of bone under his hooves and the tearing of flesh between his teeth. It couldn't be helped. It was in his blood.
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 3:07 pm
"Sure you do." Her reply was laced heavily with sarcasim. How could he understand? No one could. No one knew what she went through, what she still goes through. And no one ever would. It was her little secret and Galaxia never gave up more about herself than she was willing. And she was not in the least willing to give up that little part of herself to him.
The mare's eyes lidded half way as she turned to look at him, eying the leaf on his hind quarter. Making sure he hadn't caused it to shift or move about. "So tell me oh enlightened one. Just how do you think you understand?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 3:33 pm
Oh, please.
"What's not to understand?" He rolled his eyes for emphasis. "You think you're some unique and special snowflake?"
It was true that he'd never met any mare like her, with the hair and the jewels and the take-no-prisoners attitude. Her eyes shone like the edge of a knife. But so long as they were talking internal conflict, his family had written the frikking book on it, and-
Aw, hell. The sarcasm came automatically when Galaxia talked down to him like that, but he intelligent enough to realize that he was going about this all wrong.
"Look, maybe I don't know what your problem is." He sighed, and started over again. "But I don't need red and black markings, or horns, or a bloody skull on my head in order to have a history. What do you think you see when you look at me?"
He could already hear her answer in his head - an idiot - but he had to ask anyway. That was the way of uphill battles.
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 5:52 pm
She gave a little snort to his snowflake comment. Soquili were like snowflakes in fact. Some might look similar but everyone was different. Just like snowflakes. "Yes, I do. Perhaps not special but I'm unique in myself."
Galaxia's ears moved back and forth as she half listened to his little speech, turning a red eye towards him as he posted his question. Yes, it would easy to call him a loser. And indeed in her mind he pretty much was. "Conflict...anger. Much like myself in a way I suppose."
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 8:54 pm
Was he angry about his lot in life? There were days when Vartan wasn't sure. He was angry about being stuck like this, only slightly less helpless than a foal in its basket, but he didn't think that was what Galaxia meant.
"Alright." He nodded. "You don't see fangs, though, do you? No tentacles or barbed wings? I'm the lucky boy in my family. The one who didn't come out a freak."
Would she kill him for this revelation? Plenty of Soquili didn't want a part-Kalona around. But he wasn't a coward like Belial or Maharet. He'd rather be dead than show throat.
"I don't look it, but I'm part Kalona." Vartan's muzzle had twisted into a dark grimace, yet his tone remained matter-of fact. "I've killed to see if I was capable. Every night I dream of meat. Forget all the happy families crap that other Soquili aspire to. My life's a success if I manage not to turn into a murderous cannibal scumbag."
When he was young, he'd thought he'd be a knight. Beat the trash back. Protect the innocent. That had been a long time ago. He didn't run with unicorns anymore.
"So don't give me any crap about not knowing what it feels like to fight myself, little Princess. I'm not ashamed of what I am."
Vartan raised his eyebrows in a silent challenge. If she wanted to keep her secrets to herself, that was no skin off his back, but that didn't mean he'd skirt around her silences. He wasn't about to start being the sensitive type.
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:51 pm
Another, rather unladylike snort came from the mare as he seemed to spill his sorry little guts to her. Galaxia could care less if he was part wolf for that matter.
"So you've killed someone. So what? Whats the big deal. Parents are willing to kill those who try to harm their offspring. Stallions can be driven to kill others through lust for the same mare. Soquili pitted against others in battle will kill each other just to put an end to a means and spill blood to prove a cause." She rolled her eyes lightly beneath her golden bangs. In the least bit impressed. It wasn't like blood had never spilled upon her own hooves at many points in time.
"You don't fight yourself..." The mare lifted herself up off the ground, taking a few steps towards the make shift water bowl and him, giving it a slight glance before looking back to Vartan. "You fight what you fear you'll become. A monster." Leaning her head down, she picked up the piece of wood in between her teeth and trotted back over to the stream. Filling it with water. Though taking her time this time. She wanted to give him a little bit of time to mull over her words.
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:35 pm
Why did he bother? Galaxia would never hear the song in his blood. And Vartan was dearly going to enjoy smacking that arrogance off her face when this was all over.
But the mare took her sweet time on her unprompted little jaunt down to the river, and her words plagued him like a swarm of flies. There were too many empty minutes to think when you were stuck lying on the ground. Vartan was frustrated enough to want to bite something.
Instead he waited for Galaxia to return like a good little colt.
"So," the stallion said, breaking the silence that had stretched taut between them. "Does that mean you're calling yourself a monster?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:43 pm
Setting the bowl down in front of him again, she gave a toss of her head. Moving her long mane out of the way before she gave him a bemused glance. "Everyone has their demons."
Galaxia could tell he was getting a bit agitated. Although he always seemed to be agitated. Which agitated her because really, he was just an annoying little git. "Everyone is a monster underneath it all. So I'm not denying it. Others might. And they could be the sweetest little thing you'd ever meet but there's always that underlying thing deep down in side them that's twisted and black. That little voice in their hearts that distorts the good within them. It just takes certain things to bring it out. No one is purely good no matter how you try to justify it."
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:48 pm
"Maybe." Vartan allowed, before dipping his muzzle in the cool drink Galaxia had fetched. "Everyone has the choice to be better than they were born. If they don't make it, then it's their own damn fault when they get taken out."
He pushed the empty bowl away before shooting his secretive companion a low, wry smile. When Galaxia wasn't being patronizing, she was almost somewhat agreeable.
"Enough emotional crap, then." The stallion's pale violet eye sparkled with something that might have been anticipation. "If you want to keep your secrets, it's no skin off my nose. And I don't care whether you think I can understand you or not. I think it's a hell of a waste for you to stay cooped up here, fighting only yourself, when you could obviously achieve more than that. And that's why I'm going to kick your peachy a** as soon as I can walk."
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:15 pm
Her eyes lidded half way once more before taking her front hoof and knocking the empty make shift bowl to the side. She looked down at him for a moment, cocking an eyebrow in an unamused and curious fashion.
"Oh really. And just what could I obviously achieve in this stank hole? Perhaps I could a savior to all the pansy Soquili around here who quiver in the shadow of Kalona? Or even their b*****d half breed children because their mares couldn't keep their tails down? I have no reason to be mixed up in those affairs." She could tell from the moment he'd started tip toeing around the subject of Kalona that he did indeed harbored some strong feelings towards the matter.
Moving around him, her long tail flicking back and forth. Galaxia placed a hoof on the leaf she had lain over the wound. Giving it a little pressure to make sure it was still down. "I don't think you have the balls to kick my a**. You don't got what it takes."
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:49 pm
Pain lanced through muscles of Vartan's flank, and his raw flesh throbbed in protest. Princess had one hell of a bedside manner. The weight of her hoof on that leaf was good for the compress, but that didn't stop it from stinging like a b***h.
Vartan gritted his teeth until the worst of it passed, giving Galaxia the satisfaction of seeing him shudder at her feet.
"I'm aware of what you think."
The stallion's deadpan speech was offset by a satisfied little half-smirk. Vartan would have been horrified to learn exactly how much he resembled his brother in that moment. There was a fierce, joyous light in his eyes that he usually kept tightly under wraps.
"That's what's going to make this fight so much fun," he rasped. "Forget heroics. It's a waste that someone like you would never see true battle. You didn't get strong just to rot away in a clearing, did you? If that's the case, I'll win without any trouble at all."
It was bizarre, but the more crap that Galaxia flung at him, the more Vartan found himself respecting her. There weren't a lot of mares with the stones to tackle his attitude for the challenge that it was. He'd just had to do a little something about her propensity for underestimating him.
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Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 2:55 pm
Galaxia smirked as she watched him shudder. Eyes still half lidded, unimpressed by his words. For the moment his bark was worse than his bite. Like a dog tied to a chain. He'll run at you and bark his little head off but once the chain runs out he gets yanked back.
The thought made her laugh to herself.
"Never see true battle? I've seen several 'true' battles in my life time. Fought in them besides comrades and watched them fall for meaningless ideals, false hopes that perhaps they might change things. They laid their lives down for nothing. Give me a decent reason, a REAL reason to fight and I'll win you a war. I won't fight for petty grievances anymore." She turned her back to him. Eyes closing as a breeze lifted and tossed her curly mane and tail.
Memories. Bitter memories flooded her mind.
"You look like a blood thirsty monster with that smirk on your face. We'll fight. But don't expect it to be as easy as you think it will be. You'll learn your place soon enough and spirits help you if you don't learn to keep your nasty mouth shut."
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Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:14 pm
"Now you've got it!" Vartan approved. "What have I been telling you? I'm not evil, and I don't plan on that changing, but the monster is in my blood."
He shook his head, and briefly considered biting down on his own tongue. Pain in one area could distract from pain in another.
Did Galaxia realize how much of herself she'd just given away?
"Say what you like about the horrors of war. It's hard, and it hurts, and maybe it broke you. But you can't tell me that right here and now, hiding in bushes and playing nursemaid to a wounded stallion, you really feel alive."
The laughter faded into a dry, quiet chuckle, and Vartan settled his head down on the grass as a wave of dizziness crashed over him. That would be the fever, then. It was frustrating enough to make him gnash his teeth, but the fact was that he couldn't keep this up forever.
"Ugh. To hell with it. I'm sleeping. See you in your nightmares, Princess."
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:59 am
Giving another indignant snort, Galaxia turned away from him as he lay his head down upon the ground. Fevers often made one ramble on about the stupidest things. And pretty much he was just rambling off to her. Obviously he was out of it.
"I wouldn't be playing nursemaid if it wasn't for you." She grit her teeth before casting a quick glance around the clearing. Nibbling harshly on her bottom lip till it was almost on the verge of bleeding. The mare trotted off not so quietly.
Looking for something specific.
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