It wasn't long before Teumesia's wish was granted - there was a flurry of feathered flapping as a mare flew like a four-winged eagle up to challenge her. Teumesia had never seen an angeni before, and did not know the magnitude of what she faced. She brimmed with overconfidence and malice as her wings flared, myriad eyes fixating on her.
Even as Witseidutsei drew closer, she could see no distinguishing line between pelt and natural fur; the mare seemed covered in long, thick white fur with squinting eyes peering out from it from the strangest locations.
"I will not stop, mare!" She barked back, baring sharp teeth, "And soon enough, it will be you who is tresspassing on OUR lands!" She grinned, letting the threat sink in for a moment before flying straight for her.
Nymphalidae
Witseidutsei raised her head from where she had been grazing at the sound of wings flapping through the air, her ears swiveled toward the sound as she scanned the sky. For a moment, she found herself hoping, perhaps, that it would be Chandler -- but the sight that greeted her was anything but. Certainly no one from the herd, and her eyes widened in alarm when she spotted paws on the winged beast. Skinwalker! was her first thought, and for a moment she felt fear grip her body; she had never met a skinwalker who could fly before. Foxes, cats, wolves -- she'd encountered them all, but never one which had wings. It was enough to make her feel sick, to think that those beasts could be blessed with flight! They did not deserve such a gift! Fear melted away into rage; her wings spread wide as she kicked off the ground in pursuit of Teumesia.
"Stop!" she cried, and as she flew nearer to the beast Witseidutsei saw that there was something off about Teumesia. Was she really a skinwalker? It was difficult to tell where the horse ended and the pelt began; but she had the paws of the damned beasts, a wolfen face, and... how many eyes did she have? Witseidutsei shook her head and beat her wings harder to catch up. It didn't matter what it was; it was trespassing on the herd lands. It looked dangerous, enough like a skinwalker that had Witseidutsei on high alert. How had the beast slipped past the patrol? "You are trespassing here, mare!"
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 1:13 pm
Dubstep returned the mare's smile, but the gesture was fleeting as he, too, noticed the non-winged intruder. He shifted into a defensive posture, moving in front of Wynter reflexively. "I don't think we're safe," he said with concern. What was happening? He looked around and saw intruders rushing in everywhere. What were they going to do? He frantically searched for his mate, but didn't immediately see her. He had to trust her to be safe on her own for the moment.
OOC: No idea what's going on haha. So much happening at once!
Arcana twittered near the center of the herdgrounds in a small patch of clover that was just starting to bloom despite the harsh drought, still oblivious to the attack that had commenced at the edges. But something caused her to pick her head up, ears twitching. Something seemed off. She didn't know what, but it was almost like the mare that had known so much conflict in her life was almost hyper-sensitive to it. Like a victim who knew how to read micro-expressions and know when to duck and keep her voice down. There was something wrong in the air. Something almost familiar. Maybe she could hear faint shouts, maybe all too familiar scents were wafting towards her, at the edge of her consciousness. Her ears lay back and for the moment, scared, she crouched down low in the clover, her form shimmering and shrinking. It was a talent that Arcana almost never used, and usually forgot that she had. It came more as a response than any conscious decision. The clover seemed to grow and swallow her up, and even though she couldn't really figure out why, she trembled in fear.
Such a screw up. She always felt like such a failed little mare that didn't fit in anywhere, and she tried to stll her quaking breaths as she suddenly found herself in a new battle: one against her own fear. Something was happening. She knew it. Her new herd was in danger, but she couldn't do anything but quake in the clovers.
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:38 pm
From his vantage above the herdgrounds, Ashfall saw the attack commence like a horror movie set in slow motion. He saw a group of winged soquili burst forth from over the edge of the herdgrounds where the waterfall ran over the cliff, demarking the edge of their territory.
Ashfall's stomach lurched. He had always been prepared for an agressor attacking the territory. He had heard stories of a skinwalker pair that had visited the herd before he was born. But in his life, Ashfall had never actually seen a serious threat to their lands. He wasn't over-eager to prove himself like some of his brothers, but he always felt like he was... prepared.
He was wrong.
He found himself hesitating as he watched what seemed like at least a dozen soquili crest into their herdgrounds and then disperse.
Finally, his mind seemed to catch up with his body and he reacted, kicking off of his ledge. He didn't know where to go - there were so many of them. Three seemed to be ganging up on Stormfall, but then she was joined by Rephaim.
A white one and a grey one with red wings zipped off so quickly in different directions, one went high.
He trumpeted as loudly as he could a bellow of warning to the soquili in the area and picked one - there - it was obviously a kalona - she had a mass of writhing tentacles for a tail and webbed wings. She was heading quickly along the outskirts of the territory and looked like she'd pass beneath him.
He headed to follow her.
((OOC: he's chasing after Darkstorm ))
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:49 pm
Aspen's wings were folded by his sides as he lay, relaxed, by the foaling grounds. They were empty now, but it still brought him a measure of comfort. There were a lot of memories here - and ghosts of smells still lingered here to remind him of his own foalhood cavorting around the spring grasses... or helping tend to other new foals. The sky was so beautiful at this time of day as well.
But in pretty much the dead center, and thus most protected, area of the herdgrounds, the conflict or even the sound of the initial clash had yet to reach his ears.
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 6:48 pm
Her cry pierced the skies as the avian mare folded her wings into a free fall towards the ground. Her cat like eyes had spotted invading specks of darkness melding with the colors of the herd, her family. Beak pointing towards the ground, her talons outstretches before her. Cyclone's wings snapped open as she reached the first thing that within reach, Barghest, the dark shadow that descended upon her home.
Pupils becoming little more then slits, Cyclone reached out at the intruder's back, looking to dig her heavy talons into the tender flesh between his very own wings. No one came into her home without warning, this was her means of a warning. Rather, this was an avian fighting to protect what has become her nesting grounds.
"Beast, cur! Leave this place!" Cyclone spat at Barghest on her coming. "Leave or fall to my talons!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 5:55 pm
Zion had passed Cyclone and Wynter Fury not half an hour ago. It was a beautiful, if dry, summer evening and Zion had thought it was going to be like any other. But as he had settled down to enjoy some serenity, ... distant shouts began to reach his ears and he was back on his hooves, and then in the air.
Something was wrong. Very wrong. It was just past dusk - the sun had set past the mountain cliffs but the herdgrounds were still painted in vivid colors.
But those beautiful colors belied a grizzy scene. An explosion of strangers had burst forth into the herdgrounds. Enemies. He spied leathery wings and confrontations happening - and there were more of them than there were protectors that had rushed up to greet them.
Zion never had a head for war, but this was his home... his family.
There was a blue-white stallion with webbed wings that was headed into the territory, and Zion few to intercept him.
((Heading for Malfeas))
Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 5:58 pm
Flurry picked her head up, looking to and fro with wide eyes. Something was happening. For the first time in quite a while, Flurry drew herself out of her self-centered world and realized something was going on that was going to be bad for more than just her. Her heart raced.
Where was her brother? Where was Frost? He had always protected her in the past. Her heart began to race. What if he was too tied up with his new mare-friend to protect her still?
"Frost! Frost!" She shouted shrilly as she went to look for him.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 6:03 pm
Barghest had a deranged smile stretching his face as he climbed high, soaring as high as he was able to above the herdgrounds, watching his growing shadow stretch broader... broader across the herd - as if it was swallowing it up by proxy.
He almost didn't hear the screech of an infuriated beaked and taloned mare as she shot for him - until she got over him. And announced her presence. No, no she wouldn't get the best of him. He spun midair with a snarl, meeting her head-on.
"I am the portent of your own death... and the rest of your insignificant herd...." He snarled, pinions stretched wide.
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Her cry pierced the skies as the avian mare folded her wings into a free fall towards the ground. Her cat like eyes had spotted invading specks of darkness melding with the colors of the herd, her family. Beak pointing towards the ground, her talons outstretches before her. Cyclone's wings snapped open as she reached the first thing that within reach, Barghest, the dark shadow that descended upon her home.
Pupils becoming little more then slits, Cyclone reached out at the intruder's back, looking to dig her heavy talons into the tender flesh between his very own wings. No one came into her home without warning, this was her means of a warning. Rather, this was an avian fighting to protect what has become her nesting grounds.
"Beast, cur! Leave this place!" Cyclone spat at Barghest on her coming. "Leave or fall to my talons!"
Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 8:21 am
Leonhart's ear flicked toward the sound of the Kalona mare landing on the other side of him, in front of Gabrielle, only sparing a glance out of the corner of his eye to assess the situation without taking his eyes fully off Diogenes. Surrounded, more or less -- at least only one of them had wings, but the one that didn't was thickly built, all muscle and pointed ends of sharp horns and spikes. Perhaps he and his mate could work together to defeat these intruders, but he was unaware of how much fighting experience Gabrielle had and, quite frankly, Leonhart was a little unsure about his ability to take both of the attackers on. He would have to be careful and not allow the beasts to separate he and his mate, whether or not she could fight; if she could, they needed to work together, but if she couldn't? He needed to stay one hoof ahead of the intruders and make sure they didn't corner Gabrielle.
Leonhart's body went tense when Diogenes began to charge him; he widened his stance automatically to take the blow if it came to it, but he eyed the large horns warily. He had to doge, but if he moved out of the way, he'd be exposing Gabrielle to take the hit instead. "Incoming!" he shouted out in warning, turning briefly to look at Gabrielle to make sure she got the message. He pushed off the ground, wings straining to lift him higher without any build up to glide on, and relief flooded through his body when Gabrielle darted out of the way in time to avoid Diogenes' horns. Leonhart landed heavily behind Diogenes and took off towards him in a run; for a moment, he wished he had horns too, but he wasn't without weapons of his own. Leonhart skid to a halt once he was close enough, twisting around on his front hooves to kick out at Diogenes with his rear legs.
With a start, Gabrielle realized they were not alone -- that much was made clear by Diogenes' appearance, but she hadn't seen the Kalona mare approach until she had landed on the other side, close enough that Gabrielle could swear she could feel the Kalona's breath. She whipped around to face Shinoma, her eyes immediately drawn to the wriggling tendrils of the Kalona's tail -- her eyes roamed higher, taking in the spikes, the leathery wings, and the strange way in which some parts of the intruder's body almost seemed to fade away into smoky tendrils. Gabrielle's demeanor immediately changed; there was no time for games or to play up her innocence, make them underestimate her. They needed both of these attackers to see them as threats. Gabrielle's eyes narrowed dangerously, digging one of her front hooves through the ground as though she were getting ready to charge.
Everything seemed to happen quickly after that. She heard her mate shout, felt the ground under her hooves shake with the steady beats of Diogenes's speedy approach. Gabrielle's wings flared and she lifted herself up off the ground, just enough to doge to the side and out of the way of the charging stallion. "How dare you threaten my family?" she hissed angrily at both of them, and her wings flapped hard as she flew higher and higher into the air. She allowed herself to feel a moment of relief; from this vantage point she could see that her mate had dodged out of the way of Diogenes' horns, too, and was already on the counterattack. She couldn't give the intruders a change to gang up on her mate; she had to trust that Leonhart would be able to fight off the stallion on his own, and turned her own attention fully toward the Kalona mare. She folded her wings against her body and dove down toward her at full speed.
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Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 1:56 pm
Witseidutsei felt her blood run cold at the threat; this wasn't just some attack. This was an invasion. There had been no warning. No whispers of war. They had been caught completely unaware. How many more were there? How had they snuck in? She could hear the beginnings of shouts in the distance, voices carrying on the wind -- panicked, fearful, angry voices. The mare she was encountering here wasn't an isolated attack -- it was everywhere. "You think you can just come here and take our herd lands?" Witseidutsei snarled angrily, her heart thudding rapidly in her chest as adrenaline rushed through her body. "You've cursed yourselves! This move will only bring you death!" she shouted.
Her opponent had eyes everywhere on her body. She had claws and fangs, sharp, snapping things Witseidutsei was sure could tear and rend flesh. She had faced skinwalkers before and, for better or for worse, she was unafraid of whatever this beast was. How could she afford to be? She had to take this one down as swiftly as possible so she could come to the aid of her herdmates.
With concentration, a warm, holy light began to gather around Witseidutsei's body -- bright, blinding even, covering her legs first and then up, up, over the rest of her body, all the way to the tips of her wings. She was like a vision of the sun without the heat, but then she was flying toward Teumesia to meet her with the full force of her speed and the weight of her body, intending to crash into her.
"Oh, of course!" Xaviera couldn't help but feel bad for the poor little fluttercorn. Flying with such delicate wings and such a large body seemed exhausting! Why, she was amazed Grimoire had been able to make it up the mountain at all. Xaviera tilted her wings to glide slowly down to the ground, spiraling in to land on the ground with a soft thud from her hooves. When the other mare landed beside her, Xaviera offered her a warm, kind smile. "It's wonderful to meet you, Grimoire. My name is Xaviera. I'm a nursemaid f the herd -- although, sadly, there are no foals around to care for right now. I hope that changes soon!" Xaviera herself hoped that she would be among the new parents, too -- all her children were grown up, and some of them were even bringing mates home! Time seemed to fly by so fast once you became a parent, but she couldn't be prouder of her brood.
"So, Grimoire, how did you come upon this herd of ours? There are a few others here, of course, but we don't see many flutters join us these days. I can imagine the flight here must have been such a strain on your wings, but I'm glad to see that you've made it!" She loved flutters; they were always so sweet and gentle, and had such a way with flowers. "I hope you haven't been too intimidated by us. I'll be the first to admit there are a few of us who can be... hardheaded," she said with a mirthful smile. "But you won't find a more loyal herd than this one."
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Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 11:22 am
Grimoire smiled as the striped angeni led her to the ground. In the air, as much as Grimoire hated to admit it, the angeni definitely had an advantage on her. "Oh thank you for the warm welcome, Xaviera!" Grimoire forced herself to say in an excited trill. It was begining to make her teeth ache. As much as she loved the deception game, she was growing more and more eager for the 'reveal'. Especially, she justified her impatience to herself, she needed to make sure SHE was the one that got the jump on her and surprise her before word spread of the attack.
Her hooves touched the ground and she immediately felt more confident. "Oh, the strain was worth it," She grinned, her eyes begining to take on a telling intensity. "And don't you wory. I'm not intimidated... at all!" That was enough. Time to strike! Her form waved and shimmered, and unlike most flutters and flutter mixes, Grimoire grew larger than her pony size - the massive kalona that her mother had mated with may not have shown in her breed features, but it showed now in her size. She grew hands taller to the size of a draft mare, reared up, and struck out with her front hooves with a twisted grin.
"You can be hardheaded... and I'll be hard-hoofed!"
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Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 9:42 am
A wild, wicked grin was plastered on Teumesia's face as she raced towards the grey angeni mare, her claws poised for impact when the mare did something utterly unexpected. She began to glow, bright, brighter with a palpable energy that sent Teumesia's fur on edge. She could FEEL the force the mare was gathering, and for the first time in a very long time, doubt crept into the vixen's mind. The last time she had been surprised by a force she had underestimated, she had allied herself with it and its herd. This time, she faced an enemy of unexpected capabilities.
Now, all of Teumesia's eyes were a hindrance as the angeni glowed with blinding light.
But it was too late to turn back. She had one option, now as she raced for her, no longer overconfident. She squeezed her eyes shut that faced the blindingly glowing figure, only keeping those facing outwards open, and tilted, intending on careening away at the last moment. But it might be too late for that.
Teumesia had always prided herself in her speed and maneuverability in the air, but this was facing off against the angeni of flight itself.
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Sorry for the double-quote, wanted to fix a few typos :3
