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 Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:03 pm
 In the spirit of his sister's suggestion, and with a positive experience under his belt, Leon forged further from home. He had chosen a random direction, and it had led him to a surprising discovery. Apparently, he had never lived very far from the ocean! He'd never experienced it himself, being such a homebody, so this was a truly stunning surprise.
For some time he merely stood on a low sand bluff and watched the water move, listened to it's growl, hiss, and roar. He let it sink in, awed by it's scope for the imagination. And slowly he came to see it as a beast... a great ravenous beast, eager to destroy all things that treaded dry land.
His skin positively tingled with this new imagining, and he launched himself off the bluff, tucking his legs up and feeling his mane flying behind him as if he were a hero of legend. He landed neatly and stalked up to the hissing edge of the ocean. "You shall not overcome us!" he declared stridently. "You shall be defeated!"
An added burble nearby made him turn and look, eager for 'battle'. What he spotted was the seawater pulling back from a small pile of rocks which was choked by a few strands of sickly looking seaweed. With a bugle of challenge, he bolted over to 'save' the besieged 'castle of stone'. With snapping teeth he attacked the insidious fingers of the ocean-beast, ripping them from their grasp on the grey battlements. With a snort of disgust at the salty taste, he flung his head and threw the nasty stuff back into the heaving flank of the sea.
There was a mighty crash from the incoming tide heaving powerfully against a cliff not far from Leon, and the stallion neighed another challenge, rearing on his hind legs to lash the chilly air with his forehooves. "I shall not be intimidated by your bellowings! This noble castle will stand against your wrath and laugh in the face of your fury!"
With that, the daydreaming stallion set to work, digging out a channel in the soft sand with his hooves, making a trough between his designated pile of rocks and the incoming tide. In fact, he was so focused on his play that he would not have noticed if it had begun pouring rain. He was a stallion on a mission.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:14 pm
When it stormed, she was spared. When she swam, she was safe. She believed herself to be a daughter of the sea - and indeed she looked it. The mare lived and breathed the ocean and now...Now what did she have left of her carefully fabricated trust?
Hooves sunk themselves into the sand as she forced herself out of the waves. Tired, exhausted. She crawled until she collapsed a good ways away from the lapping waters. There she stayed, mind only a sliver of what it once was. For a mare who had put everything into the sea...All she was was because of it. Now she was uncertain who she was at all. Near death had to do that to a Soquili.
It was days later hearing the stallion's voice call out against the sea that snapped up her attention. Beautiful blue head lifted and she tried to focus her eyes on the one that challenged the sea. She couldn't let him do it. Brave as it was, she knew what the sea was capable of now. Asherah carefully pushed herself up, letting the sand fall from her coat and made her way toward him. Regal, still, despite the brokenness of her eyes.
"You should not challenge Mother," she murmured. Ah, yes. The Sea was still her mother. She knew nothing else, after all.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:40 pm
Leon nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice spoke to him as he extended his trough of salvation around and away from the 'castle'. He whirled amazingly fast for a dreamer and beheld an astonishing sight. It was a mare, bedraggled but beautiful, her wet mane and tail slicked and drooping, with various bits of debris scattered among the flowing waves of blue hair. But it was her eyes... those mournful, haunted eyes that drew him in.
Without realizing it, he immediately cast her as the stolen princess, that bravely had freed herself from the clutches of the beast of the sea and dragged herself thus far, but that could not go a single step further. Caught up in his own imaginings, he rushed to her side. "You poor thing," he murmured in a soft and deep voice. "That beast has done you wrong, and shall pay someday." He threw a piercing glare at the crashing waves as the ocean strove towards the land.
Turning his attention back to the listless and sandy mare, he nickered solicitiously. "Come now, let's get away from this dangerous verge of battle. It is no place for a lady such as you." Gently he herded her up the bank and into the shelter of the nearby forest. He didn't lead her far, only far enough to no longer see the snarling water, and for it's howling roar to be muted to a comfortable level, so as not to remind the poor mare of her ordeal.
"Here, rest here, and I will return as soon as I may," he encouraged her, unconciously holding himself nobly and with grace. His sister would have had a merry laugh to see him acting thus around a mare, but Leon was fully ensnared in the fantasy of his own making, and had completely forgotten who he really was, and that this might be real.
As soon as it seemed safe enough to do so, he trotted briskly into the forest's welcoming pathways, only to reappear shortly after. He was walking much slower now. In his teeth he was clutching a small cask, as might have carried some fine and strong drink for the newer humans of the land. Not that he knew that. All he knew is that he'd found it earlier on the beach, and had thought it might become useful eventually. At this moment, it was being used to bring spring-fresh water to the lady in distress.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:47 pm
Asherah may have been amused if she heard that she had been cast as a stolen princess. Ah, she never did hold herself to that high of a standard and indeed probably would have denied it. But been amused nonetheless. However, that voice soothed her slightly and she let herself be led away from the water. It helped, not being so close to the terrible waves that hissed. The sea was anything but calm this day as she learned.
Ah, but she should have already known that! The little voice in the back of her head chastised her. Mizu had warned her of that exact thing, hadn't he? In his own way, anyway. Now in the safety of trees, those aqua eyes slid shut and she let out a shuddering breath. How could she be afraid of the sea? It was madness!
When Leon left, she felt herself shudder. Great, left alone! Ha, chances were he'd gone off to fight the ocean and would be floating on his back soon enough. Such cynicism from a normally...non-cynical mare! Ash was pleasantly surprised when he returned carrying some kind of...something or another. "You return, then. I was afraid you were foolish enough to rush into the sea," she murmured, trying to shift her body to be more comfortable. "What do you bring?"
Not much of a talkative one, this mare. But at the moment, one couldn't blame her either.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 3:58 pm
She had greeted him with relief when he'd returned to his side! She must truly need a hero such as he! His eyes were starry with his dreamworld, unaware of what was real and what was not. This didn't happen very often, mind you... but when it did, it took Leon completely. He chuckled deep in his chest as she spoke her fear.
"Nay, fair lady, I am no green warrior, to throw myself needlessly into the very jaws of danger." He tossed his head, his curls faintly damp from his struggle with the waves. Black petals from the rose he kept tucked in behind his ear scattered prettily to the ground as he posed majestically. "I know the wiles of such dark things, and how they lure you into false bravado against them." Oh, how he would have burned with embrassment if he knew he was speaking these words aloud, to an actual mare! But that had not yet occured to him, so on he went.
"I bring you fresh water, lovely one, to quench the thirst that you surely must have after being so imprisoned by that dastardly water-beast." He glowered in what he presumed was a heroly fashion. "To be sure, the tentacles I fought with tried to leech a fierce thirst into me, but I tossed them away before they could steal my life essence."
He now settled down near to her... so much nearer than he ever would have dared, had he but known. He again nickered with concern. "Is there aught I can do for you, my lady? Anything else you need?" He leaned to nuzzle her gently, then carefully picked several bits of the hated seaweed from her beautiful mane. "I will not leave you until you feel able to travel." A thought flickered. "For I am sure your true love must be deeply distraught to have lost you so to the sea!"
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 4:07 pm
My, this was an odd stallion wasn't he? Asherah felt her fear, betrayal and all those other horrid emotions she'd never felt before wash away as she listened to his words and allowed herself to become ensnared in the fantasy that he wove. Perhaps it would take her mind off of things and, after all, Asherah was always one for fun and games.
Besides, Leon was quite amusing! "It is good that you do not tarry with the sea, stranger. She is unpredictable, as am I. However, I do not house a beast within me. I thank you for the water, it is much needed." Oh, boy, was it! But it could wait a few moments longer. As the stallion came near to her, she felt the warmth and safety that he offered and allowed her eyes to slip shut again.
"I have no true love, brave stranger," she responded, "For the sea was my true love and I was betrayed!" Ah, dramatic wasn't she? Ash's head leaned into Leon's nuzzle and she made a soft nickering sound. This was nice. This was safe. This was comforting. "Perhaps my true love was not worthy of me." Eyes slipped open and she slanted her eyes upward just slightly to look at him, "Perhaps my true love should be a prince."
Dangerous territory, perhaps, but all was fun and games and despite the ordeal Asherah still held no shame and passion. Propositions were subtle, as always. Perhaps he'd catch on, perhaps not. What better way of comfort?
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 4:41 pm
A strange and stirring warmth flowed through him as she seemed to savor his attention, and he supressed a thrilled shiver, lest the fair creature think he was repulsed by her touch. And then she was gazing into his eyes, and became enchanted by their depths as they gazed longingly into his own. A prince? He? His breath caught in his chest. Well why not? If she could be a princess, why couldn't he be her prince?
He took a deep breath, touched to his core that the 'maiden' he had rescued really wanted him to stay by her side. Forever! His wild imagination, unaware still of reality, took what was given and embelished on it until he was sure that this was a fated love! If his eyes could have whirled in shades of pink and red to show his inner storm of chivalrous passion, they certainly would have!
"My lady," he murmured, leaning closer to her. "I would sweep back the sea with but my hooves, if you asked it." He whickered a very deep, low note, blowing gently against her neck, close by her jaw. "But say the word, and I will capture every butterfly in the world so that you may live in fluttering rainbows every moment of the day." Caught up in his dreams, he again caught her eyes. "I am yours to command, sweet lady of the sea, princess of my heart."
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 4:51 pm
Imagination could be a dangerous thing when one let themselves get caught up in it's depths - for it was endless and impossible to hit the bottom completely. It seemed for the stallion, being enraptured by the fair sea-mare was going to be his downfall. Not that neither of them knew it, for the time being. For Asherah, it was still a game. A fantastic, happy game. And play along she did, unaware of the stallions "true" feelings on the matter.
"Ah, sweet prince, you have a tongue of pure silver. For that tongue's words to grace my ears, I am truly blessed!" Her words rolled easily from her mouth and she nestled close to him, suppressing a giggle that threatened to leap from her lips. Ash's head tilted upward and she lipped on his neck lightly, "For this princess has found her true love."
Well, for the moment anyway! Such a fun game, exactly what she needed to take her mind off everything. Crimped, beautiful tail flicked to drape over them both and she let a little laugh sound, "Come, let us consummate our love, my darling."
~~~~Fade to Black~~~~~
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:16 pm
They stayed close, touching and loving and simply being together, for the rest of that day and all of that night. Leon spent the entire time in dreamy ecstacy, experiencing what he knew deep inside he never would in real life. Or so he thought.
It was in the morning, with the sunlight peeping through the branches at them, and the birds twittering loudly, that he awoke to a rumbling stomach. He didn't open his eyes at first, keeping them closed and treasuring the lingering memory of warmth curled close to him and the sensual touch of a loving mare. It had been such a wonderful, fantastic dream. He heaved a soft sigh and opened his eyes. Every dream had to end though, he comforted himself and he yawned and stretched.... only to stop stock still at the weight that encumbered him.
With wide eyes he turned to stare disbelieving at the lovely rumped mare that still slept soundly, muzzle buried at the base of his mane, back leaning into him. It... it was the same mare! That meant... it hadn't been... a dream? The shock was like a bucketful of icy water thrown on him, and he sucked in a deep gasp of breath. He held that breath though, as the mare stirred. He held himself still as possible as she sleepily nibbled his mane, then curled her chin to her chest and dozed again.
Letting his breath out very slowly, he eased himself away from her and as quietly as he could, got to his feet, while his mind spun like the eye of a storm, and just as chaoticly. Softly he walked out of the tiny dip in the ground amongst a grove of evergreens that they had made their bower last night. Shakily he took a deep breath and began pacing steadily around a conveniently nearby meadow.
What had he done? WHAT HAD HE DONE?! His heart thudded madly as he recalled all he'd said and done the day before, all he had 'pretended' that hadn't been pretend! Blowing heavily as if he were runing instead of pacing, he circled, treading the grass flat. He had promised undying love! He had bound his will to her own! He shook his head hard, loosing the last of the black rose from his mane. WHAT HAD HE DONE??!! He had told her he'd take care of her through her old age! He said he'd sire her foals and raise them with the same noble courage he has shown!
He snorted sharp derision at himself. Courage indeed! What a joke! What had he done but mock the tides and dig a trench? And then, faced with a mare in distress, what had he done? He'd taken advantage of her! He'd swooped in like the hero he wasn't, and taken her carnally for himself! Self-loathing boiled up to choke him, and tears squeezed from his eyes. What had he done?? What a dismal, dispicable, horrible thing he had done! With a strangled cry he fell to his kneed in the flat, trodden-down grass path he'd created. He cast his tear-blurred eyes upward in silent plea, in hopes that by thinking of his sister, he might know better what he should do now!
Many minutes, on his knees with emotional turmoil and an aching heart, he struggled with himself and his actions the day and night before. With deep shaking breaths rattling in his chest, he finally came to a conclusion. Trembling, he rose to his hooves and stood beneath the morning sun, face wet with his tears. "I will make it right," he vowed in a soft but impassioned voice. "I will make this right, or I will never touch another mare again." A last, sob-wracked breath fought into his chest, and then eased as his muscles relaxed. The issue would be solved, and he knew now how to manage it. His inner turmoil ceased, letting loose the tension of muscles in chest and legs. "Yes, I know now. And I will not turn away from my responsibility."
For once in his life, he truly was brave. He took on his mistakes and chose to accept the responsiblity for them. He would bear the consequences. She was a lovely mare, after all, a worthy mate. He would hold to those promises he had made to her in the heat of dream and desire. He would do the right thing.
Confident for once, strong in his assurance that he would not let the mare and her hopes and dreams down, he walked quietly back to their nest, to his beloved mate. Love surely could be chosen rather than just random fate, couldn't it?
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:27 pm
Silly stallion, being lost in such a dream world was never a wise decision - and Asherah had never allowed herself to become as disillusioned as the purple stallion. Not through their loving and their closeness had she allowed herself to believe anything other than it was a marvelous role playing game between two healthy adults.
She'd slept peacefully, then, when exhaustion had overtaken her. Finally, rest, after days of turmoil. Peace, happiness, contentment after days of none. Ash most definitely had to thank the stallion. It was the first thought on her mind as her eyes fluttered open and sleep blurred them. Just as soon as she got her wits about her, anyway. One couldn't think straight when they'd just woken up, could they? She was so gone with grogginess that she didn't notice the lack of the other's body until her head lifted upward and she blinked sleepily at the form standing before her.
A lazy smile rolled itself over her lips, "Good morning," she chirped, shifting in their little nest just a bit to allow her long hair to drape like a blanket over her body. Nothing like waking up next to a good stallion, even if it would only be a one time occurrence! "I trust you slept well, sweet prince?" A tease, of course. The fantasy had been broken and she no longer looked the ocean-tossed mare she had been the previous night.
It hadn't been a cureall - there would be lingering effects from the angry sea that had tossed her about and it would be a very long time before she was back to who she had been before. She had a lot of finding of herself to do. But Leon certainly helped in that. Helped quite a bit - she'd still be a lost little puppy-mare had he not appeared. A prince, indeed. Just not hers.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:37 pm
He whickered softly in return, stepping to nuzzle her soft cheek. "Indeed I did, my queen," he answered her warmly. His choice made, he did not hold back. He didn't force the feelings, but he allowed them, and they came easily. The warmth in his smile was real, and his affection for her genuine. He lipped at her trailing mane gently, and blew softly in a soft kiss into her nostrils, muzzle to muzzle. "What a wonderous beginning to our love, beloved of mares." Little had he realized what a glib tongue he could have, once his mind was made up!
He moved to kneel beside her, warming her body with his. "After we have eaten, we should go in search of your family. They should know of this, I'd think." He paused to consider suddenly that his family too should know of his sudden matehood. "I believe my family will be thrilled to meet you and welcome you into the herd." He smiled fondly at her. She was so very beautiful. "You'll want to watch out for my father, though. He is a bit of a philanderer." The wry chuckle was accompanied by an amused smile and shake of his head. "I never quite know what he'll do. But he's got a good heart, and never would cause anyone pain knowingly. So you are safe enough around him."
His mind was wandering again, but rather than aimless dreaming of things beyond his reach, for once they were of his future, with his mate by his side. It didn't even occur to him, as he began to slip into his befuddled dream-state, that he didn't even know his prospective mate's name. That didn't matter, not right now. His eyes glazed over slightly as he thought of being together always with her, and of their foals, and grazing as couples with his parents, and his sister and whatever beau she had at the time....
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:44 pm
Asherah was about to respond to the queen with a smart comment when Leon continued on his rambling of...love. And beloved. And he continued on speaking of family, and welcoming into a herd. Herd? What herd? What family, for that matter. The mare's eyes glazed over in confusion as she listened to his words, momentarily robbed of her voice. Meeting parents? When had this become a family special?
"...Dear prince," she spoke, as she did not know his name and felt this was not the time to ask, either, "I don't know what you're speaking about...But family? Beloved? Love? I...I'm afraid that I don't understand. I was under the impression that we were playing a fun game yesterday." She was trying to be gentle, but the confusion on her face was quite real. Slowly, Asherah rose to her feet and looked at the beautiful stallion. Oh, sure, he was quite the looker. He'd make wonderful foals - especially if coupled with her own beautiful looks - but she could never be his mate. For Asherah, a mate would be nothing but something to keep her free spirit pinned down. A mate would have to be everything and more, and have the same love of the ocean as she.
...Whenever she got that back, anyway.
He spoke of love and forever after one evening together - but the mare knew that love like that never existed. Love at first sight was a fairy tale. A lovely one that young fillies dreamed of, to be sure, but a fairy tale nonetheless. The poor stallion had a lot of growing up to do, it seemed, and it pained her slightly to have to be the one to teach him that lesson.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:01 pm
He listened in bafflement to her own confessed confusion. What was to be confused about? He had made her promises and now he intended to keep them. How could that escape her grasp? Didn't she want him to keep those promises? He listened with growing confusion himself as this changed from him doing the right thing.... to him having made a complete and utter fool of himself.
It had all been pretend. Even for her. And he hadn't known. His breath was shallow, and he blinked back sudden tears. What had just happened? Almost blind with this second shock, he stumbled to his feet and backed away, unable to speak around the lump the size of a pumpkin that had suddenly grown in his throat.
A game? Making promises was a game to her? Those kind of promises? For she had made them too! Or had she? Further confused, he gave his head a savage shake, which drew an ache from his temples, making it harder to focus his eyes on the lovely mare. A game?? Who had played the trick on whom? For it seemed the joke was entirely on him. Twice.
He opened his mouth to say something and choked. He rasped a cough and swallowed several times, hard. Again he tried, this time his voice coming out as a squeezed, pained whisper. "I... am sorry," he managed. "It seems... I misunderstood." More tears leaked out, but he was oblivious to their hot tracks down his face. "I meant no... disrespect, fair lady." His voice cracked and then broke on the last, once-fond term, now a mere formality. "Forgive me," he hurridly gasped out before turning and fleeing as if the hounds of Hades were at his heels.
For longer than he kept track of, he ran. He plunged through forest and up hills. He tumbled nose-first down slopes and crashed unheeding through brush. The entire time the only sound he made was of gasping, racked breaths, heaved in and out so fast that his head felt as if it would explode. But still he ran.
Evening was falling when he finally staggered to a stop, unable to take another step. His tears had all been spent, and his mind was too numb to think. Weary and heartbroken, he folded his knees and laid himself down on the damp earth of the forest, and let himself slip into the questionable solace of unconciousness.
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:15 pm
Oh. Oh dear. Tears. That had never happened before! A frown tugged at her as she watched him flounder from the reality of the situation. Had there been no tears the mare would have chastised him for becoming lost in his own mind and imagination...But there were tears. And Asherah had never, ever, been good with those little droplets of water.
Her lips parted to speak when he apologized but she wasn't given the chance to for it seemed that as soon as he was done speaking he had bolted, leaving the mare to stare dumbfounded. Now, the sea could be cruel and uncaring in such things, in the lives it took. Asherah could be just as cold when it came to leaving delusioned stallions in her wake...but not when it came with tears.
For all the good that the stallion did to bring her back to a relatively normal mindset, those tears shattered the little bubble of happiness. And his running away before she could make it right sat heavily on her heart.
Sighing, the mare trotted outward and looked at the sea quietly. It was time for silent contemplation.
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