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 Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 12:28 am
This breeze, along with the lack of day-time noises, was the only clue the paint mare had. The only reasons she knew it was night. The smell of the lush grass, covered in dew; the quiet, with only a few whispering voices here and there; the hoot of an occasional owl overhead; and the cool breeze, which was in contrast to the warm day-time winds.
However, tonight, a light flurry of snow had begun to fall onto the normally mild lands of the valley. Each snowflake was unique, a perfect crystalline piece of artwork, which floated down upon the back of the paint mare.
She lay on the cold grass, her legs folded beneath her and to the side, and she let out an irritated snort. Her ears were pricked backwards to show how annoyed she was at the weather. Oh, how she wished the snow would go away! Each little flake that landed on her was like a little icy pinprick, especially on her face. She snorted again and rustled her wings, folding them carefully to cover her back.
"Look! Mistress, look, it's snowing!" The ever-present voice of Betelgeuse announced. As if Bella hadn't noticed this already. "I always loved the snow! You did too when you were little, you always said how pretty it was. Isn't it pretty?" He prodded, flitting about her with constant questions he should already know the answer to.
Bella gritted her teeth and pinned her ears to her skull, trying her best to ignore the high-pitched, annoying voice that was her constant companion. How in the world she got stuck with him, she still wanted to know.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 12:41 am
(( The stars shone brightly TOTALLY made me think of DragonHeart. XDD ::will be emoing over that ending until eternity. ))Shore grinned at the snow, catching a tiny flake on his tongue. It was cold, nasty, but it was a part of life, and he loved it. In a few solid hours it would coat the ground and he could roll and dance in it - provided no one was looking.
He was a little bit of a chubby fellow, definately eating his fair share of food, but it didn't effect his brain and it was therefore deemed alright. His brain, afterall, was his most important tool and never once had he failed to out-talk and outsmart any who he'd laid eyes on.
Speaking of, what was that up ahead? A woman, and an Aeri no less. Was he going to get lucky tonight?
"I can heat you up if you'd like?" he said with a coy grin, striding up to wear she lay, clearly agitated.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 12:56 am
The voice suddenly flitted to her other side, sounding very excited. "Mistress!"
The Speaker had taken to thinking one thought over and over in her mind: I hate snow. I hate snow. I hate snow. I hate snow. Oh dear Gods, how I hate the snow. Why was it even snowing here? The valley was supposed to be mild, avoiding any and all harsh weather! ...though, a small flurry of snow couldn't be considered harsh, which was why it was allowed into the valley, probably.
"Mistress!"
I hate snow.
"Mistress Bella!!"
How I hate the snow... And cold.
"MISTRESS BELLATRIX!!!" The ghost yelled as loud as he could in her ear, determined to get -some- sort of reaction out of her.
She gritted her teeth and glared off into no where; she knew exactly what he was trying to tell her already. She'd heard the Aeri's hoofbeats before ever hearing his disgusting little suggestion. "I suggest," she began through gritted teeth, turning her head slightly towards him to make sure he'd hear her. He probably would anyway, but now he couldn't pretend he didn't. "You stop saying such things to me this instant, unless you want your wings snapped into useless bits. I have not the time nor the patience to deal with young tree-brained snotty bastards with raging hormones."
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 1:03 am
Shore merely chuckled, expecting such a rise from her. She did look extremely agitated with the storm at hand, minor though it was. He enjoyed little bits of snow here and there, and he'd lived enough summers to know they never got to a killing temperature.
Though, he supposed, for the old anything could be a killing temperature.
"Young isn't he word for it," he said, quickly noting her blindness based on her statements. Anyone who thought him young was clearly mistaken, but he wasn't old, either oh, no. Definately not old.
"I hope that attitude of yours hasn't soured the grass, I'm rather hungry," he noted mundanely, even though he wasn't terribly starved for a meal at all. It just felt like a nice way to start a conversation in the snow, don't you agree?
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:01 pm
"Then I'm glad you admit to being a tree-brained snotty b*****d with raging hormones, and for your sake, I hope my attitude HAS soured the grass," she said, ears still pinned to her skull. With that comment said, the Speaker hoisted herself onto all fours and gave herself a thorough shake both to displace the snow that had fallen onto her neck and back, as well as to warm up a bit. She knew quite well he hadn't any intention of eating. If he had, he wouldn't be using his mouth to spout utter bullshit that she was not the least bit interested in hearing.
"Mistress! I thought you hated the snow? Why are you going to walk in it?" Betel asked, flitting about his Mistress uncertainly.
The mare ignored him, ears stilled pinned, and let out an irritated snort before she began to plod away from the purple stallion. Hopefully he would get the hint she'd rather not be disturbed, especially by such a flirtacious ignorant dolt, but it would be just her luck that he'd try to stick himself to her like Betel.
"Mistress Bella! Where--?"
"Shut up, Betel," she hissed irritatedly, flicking her tail. Great, now the irritating beast would think she was crazy too, just like the rest. Oh well, that always worked to her advantage. Those that thought she was crazy tempted to stay away afterwards. That was always a plus.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:22 pm
"It would seem I have," he agreed, though the trees of the Casa Tiner appeared to have more brains than all of them, so it really was a sorely lacking insult. Much like her attitude, which yes, had soured the grass. Metaphorically, of course.
He watched her go for a moment, and stayed where he was put for the time being. There was no point in chasing her around like a loon, it would only upset her more. She did look rather fun to toy, with, though.
'Shut up, Betel.'
What was this? She was blind, that much he knew, but now she was talking to nothing. That meant one of two things. No, one of three. If you really stretched it, one of four.
"Ma'am, are you crazy, or is there actually something that your talking too?" he called after her, but didn't move from his spot.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:49 pm
"Now look what you've done! He thinks you're talking to nothing, just like the rest of them! You'll never make any friends like that!" The shrila huffed, flitting to her other side to chatter in that ear instead.
She snorted, halting and stamping a hoof. "I've told you before, Betel, I don't give a damn about others opinions." She flicked an ear slightly, debating on possible answers to give the other. A sly thought struck her, or at least an answer that would give her a bit of amusement, and she turned her head towards him with a sort of half-grin. Any other creature would vote for the former option Shore had given because of the look on her face. She let out her infamous little laugh, sounding more like a cackle whose owner had ill intentions. "You tell me."
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 9:27 pm
Shore shook his head. Grumpy mares also liked a challenge. Any other Nequus would have shook in its boots and would have no doubt been left dumbfounded, or maybe even become angry themselves, but Shore was too lazy to get angry over trifle matters like sourpusses.
"Well if I knew, I'd have no reason to ask," Shore answered mundanely. He wasn't about to jump to conclusions. It could be either, or. Really. It could.
"The way I see it, there are three options.
"You're either crazy, a seer, or a Speaker." There was a forth option, but he kicked that away to be nothing more than supersition.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:00 pm
"Well, I could be crazy," she said in a thoughtful tone, tilting her head to the side as if she was actually thinking of what the answer could possible be. "Seers usually speak through minds to others far away, though. Everyone knows that," she added flatly, flicking an ear and half turning. "But, clever boy, your third guess is correct."
She ignored a gasp to her left. "But Mistress!! WHY did you tell him?! No doubt he'll demand you speak to a long lost relative or something like all the rest!"
"And if he does I can grind his face in. I don't need your input, Betel."
"But--!!!"
"I said SHUT IT." She snapped, glaring off to her left.
"...yes, Mistress," he huffed. "Don't blame me if he demands things of you."
She snorted, flicking her ears back. She could blame him anyway; he wasn't bright enough to realize his words of warning wisdom had come after she'd already told Shore of her abilities. Only time would tell when he finally realized this constant mistake of his. Probably never.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:11 pm
Shore chuckled good-naturedly then.
"It seems you have a far worse problem than me following you around." It was a rather hilarious situation, really. He wondered what she would 'grind his face in' for. Not that she actually would, though she seemed testy, she also seemed a Nequus of some moral. If she hadn't, he would have high-tailed it until some reinforcements could be gathered. If she had proved to be a cause worth dealing with, that is.
A speaker was certainly a cause worth dealing with. Unfortunately for the both of them, he had no wishes to talk to the dead - the thought rather terrified him to say the least. How long would it be until he was the dead and trailing her footfalls in the same annoying fashion as her companion.
And he had the largest urge to simply turn around then and leave her at peace, but there was that side of him that the Speaker no doubt loathed - the one that wanted to know every single deep route of what made her tick. Then again, that's what he typically wanted to know of everyone and he was damn good at finding that little botton and popping it open.
For some reason, it made him irresistable. Unnatraction so great it made them drawn to him. The irony? It could be thought of that way, but he much rather preferred to think of it as a small thing in his favor.
"Since we appear to be on moderate speaking terms, and I've been deemed one step higher than I was moments ago, my name is Shore. No need to give me yours if you don't wish. Names mean nothing to me." But they might to her. Afterall, if someone was in a pickle, who better than to get them out?
Silver-tongued weavers were slowly coming up in demand. Murders as well - He supposed if the world was too safe, they'd resort to destroying their own kind.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:25 pm
She canted her head to the side, flicking her ears forward a bit. Ever so slightly. This one seemed... Well, he certainly wasn't pestering her with a million questions. No doubt he wanted to, though. Well, it he decided to, she could always kick his face in or just walk away. Whether Betel was upset at her or not, he'd give her directions and suggestions anyway. That was always a plus with him.
"Bellatrix," she offered curtly, flicking her tail again. Perhaps he'd make for some good conversation for the time being. "And, the little companion that constantly plagues me and who I must yell at every other minute is called Betelgeuse. I'd describe him to you, but he was dead ever before I met him. His skull," she turned and tossed her head so the bone item swayed a bit on its leather string before thudding lightly back against her chest, "was a gift from my father. My great-grandmother gave it to him so he would in turn give it to the next Speaker in our bloodline. Obviously, he wasn't in any hurry to keep it, though he never had to deal with the annoying creature that came with it."
"Who are you calling annoying?!" Betel huffed, flitting to her other side. He obviously was not pleased at all to hear his Mistress talk in such a way about him.
"Who do you think I'm calling annoying, you feather-brained twit?" She snapped, turning her head towards his voice and flicking her ears back.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:40 pm
"Pleased to be of your acquaintance, Betelgeuse," he said with a nod in the direction Bellatrix looked. He wondered what it must have been like to see your own bones, to watch them linger around another's neck. You could not move them, not a twitch. It was to have your freedom snatched away and your body nothing more a receptacle for . . . nothing.
He would accept the old age and the death when it came, but he there was still a small terror lingering at the back of his skull. Skull. His body gave an involuntary shudder and he took a deep breath, chasing away his own supersitions.
It was a bit more information than he expected from a girl of her . . . finesse. However, he retained the knowledge that she was probably used to answering many a question and thus wished to keep them as short as possible. She had removed several already, he decided, though none of the one's that bore any importance to him.
"Speakers running down bloodlines?" he'd never heard of such a thing before, well, take that one back. He'd heard of it, but it was an extremely rare occurance. "Your forefathers were either very powerful or very consistently snagging small odds." It was a well known fact that the more of the power ran in your veins the more likely you were to hand it to offspring, but he did not know of it so easily winding through families.
He eyed her carefully then, knowing there was far more a story than she'd ever be willing to tell and he'd have to become a seer to find any little ingrain in that brain of hers that would solve this riddle.
She held herself proud, threatening, yet relaxed. With her size he was not surprised. His size against it was certainly a battle to lose. A tustle would liably result in something broken, and he didn't feel up to the task of limping from one grazing field to the next.
"Then again, it didn't save you anything."
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2007 10:51 am
Bella turned her head towards Shore, but kept an ear turned towards her faithful, irritating little servant. She hadn't had such a long moment of silence from him since... Well, the last time she practiced her magic.
".....he spoke to me!" The dumbstruck shrila gaped; if he had eyes, they'd be as wide as dinnerplates. "He addressed me, Mistress! Did you hear him? Did you?! He actually spoke to me!!" Clearly, he hadn't been spoken to by anyone other than Bella in a long, long time.
She rolled her eyes, though doubted the Aeri would notice with her pupil-less eyes. Flicking both ears forward, she shook off a bit again, then covered her back with her wings once more. Damn snow.. "Betelgeuse is quite pleased with your greeting," she said curtly.
"I like this one!" Betel said excitedly, flitting to Bella's other side. "Oho, I like this one alright. Tell him I like him! May we stay in his company a while longer, Mistress? May we please?"
She snorted, choosing to ignore her annoying little companion from here on out. Or until she needed his aid. "Yes, it happens on occasion. Out of all of my aunts and uncles and siblings and cousins and what have you, I'm the only one to get stuck with such godawful powers. Of course my great-grandmother was most pleased when she found out; made Father give Betel's skull to me immediately, though he put up no arguments to getting rid of the thing. Before my great-grandmother, I hear there was another Speaker in our lines. Quite a long while before her time, I've been told. Not like it matters much to me," she snorted. And it honestly didn't matter. She hated being pestered by others, but she hated hearing their annoying questions even more. She'd learned quite a while ago that it was best to explain everything first and then turn tail and leave before they could say another word. However, this one did seem to be... not as annoying as most. His presence would be tolerated for the time being. "The only thing the annoying little bugger saves me from is tripping over every other rock and bush I come across."
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:08 pm
Had Shore actually heard what the small ghost was exclaiming he would have no doubt beamed inwardly. He greatly appreciated enthusiasm from creatures big and small. It was the finest traight among any - this ability to truly believe in something and stick by it with all your mirth.
"Pleased?" he chuckled. "I expect no less." And it was true, everyone he talked to had been pleased with him. Well, the majority in any case. There were a few who's rear ends had become hard and he'd like nothing more than to give them a good smack. They left, feeling rather irritated with his words.
"Godawful, Miss Bellatrix?" Shore asked with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Perhaps you are not seeing the benifits you have tripped over." He, by far, hated those that did not know what they had. Perhaps it was not all roses and sunshine, but he was certain it was not the bothering end of a cactus, either.
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 6:39 pm
"Tch," she spat, pinning her ears back. "These damned powers cause me grief every day. As if being blind wasn't bad enough, I'm pestered by damn near every sentient thing I come across to talk to the dead for them for the stupidest things. 'I want to tell so-and-so I love them' or 'I want to know if he REALLY died that way' and 'I want you to tell them a joke for me!'" She shuddered, glaring off in no particular direction. Several other large reasons, terrible memories, flitted to the surface but she quickly shoved them back down, locking them away to remember when she was alone.
"The only good thing about being a Speaker is I'm able to talk to old friends of mine that died young, though it's a two-edged thing; a blessing and a curse," she explained, deciding it'd be alright to tell this bugger. Betel had been chattering in her ears relentlessly until she mentioned that bit, and then he fell silent. She decided against commenting on the quiet spell. "A blessing, because it's good to talk to old friends again. A curse, because no matter how much time passes or how often I speak to them, they will never come back. Ever. It's a terrible feeling, really," she snorted, flicking an ear sideways. Betel's silence during this topic was.. rather unnerving.
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