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 Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 5:12 am
Hours passed since her final run in with the stallion known as Ezriel and his cute little son Rue; who was quite convinced that his mother was infact Nimue. Of course, the mare could remember none of what had transpired at her usual cliff face abode....infact she could remember nothing of this place; only that she had awoken with a mask beside her stained in blood while her rotted face burned against the gentle rain which poured from the sea storm drifting in from the horizon.
For a while she stared at the horse skull mask; temped to let its hard surface protect her raw face from the storm...but the strange tight sensation in her chest stopped her from doing such. She...wanted the pain. Yes...Nimue liked it; for it felt better than the absolute void she was previously feeling. Each drop burned like acid against the vulnerable surface of muscle and nerves....but even then she wanted; no...needed it.
Soothed slightly by the constant crashing of waves against the cliffs to which she lay close to the edge; blood was scured all around the cliffside It still dripped from time to time onto her legs from her face yet the bleeding was subsiding but would only correctly heal if she placed the mask back on.
A shadow....spikes like a thorn bush...red tide... all of these things had an important message behind them. It was a dire shame that her memory wouldn't allow her to see them for what they really were.
The poor mare didn't even know where she was let alone where to go from here.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:18 am
He was not surprised that when he found her. He had assumed after all that she would be near these cliffs. Something felt a little off about her, even from the distance. Had he waited too long to get back to her? He had to take some time to heal from the wounds and then he heard rumors.. he had to check out. He landed near her as quietly as he could. He had the grace of a rampaging mustang but it's the thought that counts. His hair was becoming a tangled mass because of the rain. At least it washed away all the dried blood. He probably looked a damn sight more appealing now than he had for the last few years. "Nimue," he whispered from behind. She had her mask off. Had she been hurt? He couldn't see any visible wounds but a lot of the pain the mare felt came from within. "Darkling, what pains you?" He wanted to tell her of his plans.. but that could wait, though not for long. The rumors proved true and Ezriel, his own son beat him to the punch. Ezriel knew he was planning on having foals with Nimue. Why would he rush and breed with some mare to try to have foals first? It hurt. It felt like he finally had a bond with his son and then he does this. Well, he wouldn't let it stop him. He'd woo the dark beauty before him. Their souls were entwined, too similar to avoid the destiny before them. He would have foals that would put Ezriel's to shame. But that was if he could bring Nimue back to him. She seemed so lost laying there. He could feel little pin-p***k pains tug at his chest. It wasn't much but it was more than he had felt in a long time. Yes, his plans would have to wait. Something was wrong with his princess. "Nimue," he called again and walked a few paces more so that he stood over her. He was surprised to see her real face but it did not bother him, nor did any look of surprise adorn his face. If one stared into his dark eyes, the only emotion that would present itself there would be that of concern.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 9:50 am
A noise? Nimue's ears perked lamely in reaction to the hoof falls behind her and she almost dare not turn her head. However the one thing that did cause her head to turn was a name that he addressed her as, was that who she was? Nimue? It was a strange name at that...but the look in this creatures eyes told her that he in fact recognized her. The mare almost wished he didn't, for the embarrassed twang in her chest that she was unable to even recognize him.
What pained her? What didn't pain her in this existence she lived in right now. To either be in so much physical pain that it blocked out her mental anguish of nothingness or to ease her body's suffrage and sink into the hollows of her mind. She dare not lose herself in that lonesome place for there she would surely lose any traces of sanity she still harbored in her body.
She continued to have her neck craned back as his towering body shielded her body slightly from the rain. Those spikes looked like they were painful; yet it was so hard to tell since the rain seemed to be washing the blood away. Wait a minute...Nimue squinted her eyes slightly; which unfortunately caused her to wince from pulling at the exposed flesh and nerve. Was this stallion.....the prickle bush? Those spikes so random made him look exactly like one, oh yes, there was a feeling of familiarity rising in her chest and the notion caused the mare's eyes to water and slowly allow the tears to drip down her face like raindrops.
"'It’s eating me away', I said to God. It’s rotting in my mind, It’s like a cancer. Is there anything, anything at all to numb the nothingness? I need a reason to breathe...It’s eating me away" The mare sung softly, her tone dripping with ache and torment.
Cuddling close to the inside of Reaper's two front legs where the spiked seemed to only pertain to the front of the appendages, she cherished and soaked in the warmth of someone else....how alone she had been before he arrived. Careful of her horn she tilted her head to nuzzle the salvaged section of her lower jaw to nuzzle against him, she wished him not to leave for at least with this strange but alluring stallion here she had something to focus on; which took a great deal of the pain away.
"The world has forsaken my girl...No more shame, she has felt too much pain, in her life, in her mind she's repeating the words; All the love you put out will return to you..." Nimue continued, lipping at the underside of his torso as a small flicker of light erupted in her mind. A word....no....a name.
Was it his?
Well, she best ask to find out she supposed.
"Ga.....Gabriel?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:10 pm
Reaper lowered his head and nuzzled the mare. Actions that would normally be awkward for him felt comfortable when it came to this mare. It was becoming something he no longer questioned.
"Yes, it's me, Gabriel. Nimue, what happened? What's wrong?" If someone had hurt her.. he would see that they would pay for it... unless.. dare he hope.. that she found out about Ezriel and his foals? Why didn't he see that such a thing could have hurt her? Would have hurt her? Perhaps he had hoped his bond with her was the stronger of the two. How could it be when he had known her for such a short time? He was a fool.
However, not all was lost. If Ezriel had caused her pain, he would be there to fix it. Her vulnerability would only play into his plans all the more, right? How simple it could be. He certainly cared for her in his own way so it wasn't like he was trying to hurt her.
No, he couldn't hurt her. Not this lovely, dark beauty. Her soul and experiences mirrored his in such a way.. it was special. Even if they didn't work out as lovers, he knew that they'd somehow be fated to be together in some way, even as friends. Something was there that connected them.
He hated to see her hurt, if she indeed was. She was always a bit erratic so but this detachment seemed far worse than before so he was sure something had happened. Something pushed her to this. He would have to draw her back out of the shadows.
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 1:40 am
"Nimue.....Nimue can't remember!" She breathed, closing her eyes as she lavished in the bliss that came with the nuzzle. To be close to someone...it was as if she was basking in heaven once more; the lonliness slowly filling in her soul. "Nimue cannot remember anything, I woke here...alone, like this. N- n-.....I can b-barely remem-member you...." The mare sniffled, feeling the tears began to secape once more as she winced and tossed her head from side to side to try and rid her face of them.
"Prickle bush....Gabriel. Red tide....little hooves....A shadow, pride....They are the only things that Nimue's mind tells her; its quiet. Too quiet." Slowly her gaze fell to the mask beside her, a small pool of dilluted blood from the rain settled along the underside bridge of the skull. The stallion that loomed over her didn't seem like he was going to leave, and that thought calmed her slightly.
She might as well end the pain, lonliness wouldn't be returning now.
Lowering her head she used her horn to slip through the hole made for it, giving the skull a bit of a shake to rid it of the water before tilting her head back to let it slide down to cover her bloody face. It stung to have the scabbed blood touch against her exposed face but soon it would do the same thing to the mask; reattach allowing the skin to have a barrier from the outside world; a false skin to say.
Pressing her face against her leg to snugly refit the mask, the mare lifted her head when something caught the corner of her eye....seeing the small hoofprints and what looked like drag marks from where her mask was returned to her. Thats right....wasn't that thing over there...? A feeling in her chest told her the answer that her memory refused to speak of.
Momma....
That word....she was called that, by the thing that made the marks in the wet soil. Did Nimue have foals? No, she couldn't have....then again she wouldn't be able to remember them if she did.
"Gabriel.....is Nimue a momma?"
She spoke, nosing the small hoofprints slightly before looking up to the large stallion curiously. He seemed to know her, perhaps she could get some answers out of him? She couldn't see the large dragging gash on her bone mask from Ezriel's dual horns; probably for good thing too.
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 2:26 pm
He didn't know what to think. He couldn't imagine being so lost. He might have his physical curse but at least he had his memories and his sanity. Where most would probably grow impatient with a mare such as Nimue, Reaper only felt connected. Her curse was different than his and perhaps in some ways, far greater.
"No, Nimue, you are not a mother. Not yet." He paused briefly before continuing. This wasn't an easy conversation for him. He was used to being crude, not gentle. But he wanted this done right. " was hoping.. to change that though. It's why I wanted to talk with you. I wanted.. I wanted to see if you would allow me to father some foals with you."
He followed her movements and took note of the hoof prints. How had he missed them before? He was so wrapped up in her. Worrying? He would have to take better note of his surroundings and not let the mare become a weakness to him. That would only bring her trouble.
He was sure that Ezriel ahd been here and one of his foals. He did not know who the mother of the foal was but he knew that it was not Nimue. He had won Nimue fair and square.. though she would probably never understand or appreciate the act. Mares seldom understood stallions and vice versa.
"Nimue.. I wasn't going to spring it up on you like this, but I've given it a lot of thought since we met, and while I know we don't know each other well, there's something there. I would be honored of you would allow this to take place. I believe our little ones could aspire to great things."
He pictured a little army of minions. Evil, malicious, deceptive. But sometime he pictured himself playing the role of father, much like his own had done. Raguel was dead though. Dead by his own hooves. Perhaps he didn't deserve to be a good father. He certainly wouldn't know where to begin. An miniature army made more sense. They could be trained at a young age so it stayed with them through life.
"It would certainly piss off them, don't you think?" he added, nudging his head up towards the heavens.
Did it have to make sense? Did there have to be a reason? All he knew was that he wanted these foals and he wanted them with her. Only her. No one else would do. He didn't expect love. He didn't expect a lasting relationship. They had a bond that he was sure that they'd remain friends at the very least, and she was too unstable for any real commitments. She was too cursed and he was too broken. But could two wrongs make a right? Dare he hope?
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:47 am
"No momma..."
So, the little voice in her head was mistaken...then what of that word....Nimue could have sworn it was addressed to her yet whom was she to believe. A mind which spoke nothing but nonsense or a stallion whom seemed to know a great deal more of her than even she! The answer was pretty obvious untill her ears perked to his next question.
She may have lost most of her sanity and coherency, yet she was still smart enough to realize what his words meant.
He wanted to....well.....get her pregnant and then have foals!
Nimue could be a mother, perhaps is she did that little voice in her head would be happy and right for once! OH. What if that was the voice of her unborn foal!? Perhaps it must have been fate that he asked, since the little foal wanted to be born then. Who was to argue with the ways of voices of unborn foals in her head? Certianly not Nimue.
Waitwhat? Piss whom off? Casting her gaze up to the heavens, she rose a brow curiously before letting it fall back to the stallion above her. Scooting out from under him, Nimue slowly stood and shook out her pelt whilst looking to the dark sea in the horizon. Foals.....foals foals foals. It certianly was a statement that could be taken both ways, offensive and flattering. The near psychotic mare didn't know what to think of the offer, yet something seemed to pop up just in the nick of time.
If she had foals with him...he would stay with her, right? Nimue wouldn't have to be lonely as he would stay near; the only sacrifice would be her body during gestation. That wasn't so bad, was it? Glancing to her hooves, the mare tried to debate on the subject a moment in her mind to find it slipping off elsewhere.
"If Nimue has Gabriel's foals.....Will Gabriel make sure Nimue is not alone too much? Nimue does not....cannot be alone. It scares her, oh yes it does it does. Too much to bare, woe.....woe......"
Turning her body to face the fallen angel, her own quad wings folded against her side whilst blue orbs searched intently into his own seemingly voidless ones. Closing her eyes a moment later, the mare tilted her head up to let the oh so familliar melodious tones flow from her lips.
"Close my eyes, I try to hide.. I'm listening to my voice inside,What's on to tell me right or wrong. I need to know where I belong, for all the days I ran away...I never dare to ask me who could I be...
Too many things said and done, sure if you could be the one to dry the tears I left behind; to chase these demons off my mind..."
Nimue stopped, a different look overcoming her expression....one of more clarity and determination. Stepping towards the larger stallion she used one of her wingtips to trail across his cheek, the other lifting to hold his face slightly as her song continued.
"I see your face, touch your skin, is this a fight...We both can't win?
Sometimes the truth is miles apart, though it's hard to just walk on, will this hurt be neverending?
Where do I belong?
Maybe it is me, but; for everything I am, everything I need; lies in you."
Nimue smiled...staring into his orbs intently. Oh yes....It was perfect. Gabriel wanted foals, something even Nimue could do without messing it up. When she became Pregnant, he would want to stay around to be with them....and thus; her lonely demons would be forced away.
What possibly could be wrong with such an offer?
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:27 am
"I may be a monster, Nimue, but I am not a liar. If you did not wish to be alone, I would not leave you to be alone. As a mother of my foals, I would be honor bound to you, until a time you wished me to go." He wasn't sure if that would be enough. He couldn't promise her love, for he wasn't sure he nor she could even feel it. But he knew a bond was there and he certainly cared more for the mare than any other creature he had come across since his fall from heaven.
The foals really meant a lot to him. He would not abandon her or forget her. He would protect her and show her the respect she deserved for being a mother to his foals.
Gabriel.
It made so much sense with his actions and decisions lately.
Yes, he might be a monster, but somewhere deep within him was the son of Raguel and Angel. To her, he was Gabriel and around her, he felt.. like Gabriel, not Reaper. Reaper was a monster. He was cruel. He was the product of pain. But Gabriel.. while he was dark, he had honor. He had love and he was able to feel love. Though he killed, it was never those like himself. He knew what it was like to have a loving family. While he was around her, he could feel like his old self. It was like that part of him was slowly coming back. Perhaps it had nothing to do with honor but was more than that. An addiction. The need to cling to the part of him that had been lost yet seemed to come back to him whenever he was near her, or thought of her. Dare he hope that he was not as completely lost as he once believed?
He lowered his head to rest gently against her head, "I will not leave you unless you asked me to go. I, Gabriel, make this vow to you, Nimue."
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 4:07 am
Biting her lip softly as his words continued to sink in, she knew this was it....she was supposed to be happy right? New life was to be bestowed in her care, it was going to make Gabriel so happy to have foals and for her to be a mother. Surely with foals running around she would never be lonely again, and Gabriel promised her so that he would stay around for as long as she wanted him there.
Then why was she feeling like something was dying inside?
Placing a smile on her quivering lips, the mare nodded softly as a few crystaline tears rolled across her skull mask and washed away the soft powder of dirt. Nimue should be happy, and it was written on her face that she was as the smile she wanted to have appeared; opening her eyes slowly to peer up at the larger stallion.
"Nimue doesn't want Gabriel to ever go....Gabriel is a friend of Nimue....and Nimue never wants.....never wants to say goodbye to friends."
Friends.
Yes, it may not have been love between the odd pair, but there was an unmistaken need for one another that drew the pair of forsaken together; be it for a common cause of need. Nimue needed someone to chase away the lonliness in her heart while Gabriel wished for the means to persue a cause. Somehow, they'd found one another and for a brief moment in time....it seemed that heaven was obtainable for the outcasted souls.
Closing her eyes for a moment as she hiccuped in a breath of air from her tears, she found it oddly comforting in such a position where their horns, or in Reaper's case, spikes; crossed one another. She imagined that he must have had an hard time trying this pose with anyone else as the spikes along the bridge of his nose would prove painful if not equipt with a mask like Nimue had.
Even his spikes couldn't penetrate through the thickness of her skull mask.
"Gabriel is no monster....never. Nimue.....Nimue is scared. But not of Gabriel....Nimue has never been, a momma. She doesn't know.....just doesn't know." Shaking her head softly as the curls of black bounced around her face, the poor mare couldn't even remember her own mother....how could she possibly dream of being one herself?
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Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:47 am
"I have never been a father.. though I had fathered two sons and a daughter. I was never around. I did not raise them. This is unchartered territory for me as well but I would not leave you. You'd always have a shoulder to lean on or someone to fight your battles with me. I'd always protect you, Nimue."
He wasn't sure what the mare wanted to hear and in her unstable state, he was sure he could take advantage of her easily but he wanted to be honest with her. He wanted her to be as aware of the situation as was possible because of her mentality. It was so easy for her to get swept away in her thoughts and moods and forget what was going on around her.
"I am a monster, Nimue, nothing will change that. However, around you, the monster sleeps. I feel at peace. I feel almost.. normal. You wouldn't be left with them on your own. You'd have help, Nimue."
Guilt tugged at him. Even in her most lucid state she was seldom all there. Was he taking advantage of her more than he should? He did care for her a great deal, more than anyone else he had met in his life, aside from his parents, but was he forcing her to cross a line she wasn't ready for?
"I think you would be a good mother, Nimue," he whispered honestly. It didn't tell her that it may only be the times that she was clearer in the head. He decided not to mention that the majority of the time, she may end up in a state of mind that she may not even realize she had foals. If there were foals between them, he was sure he could get them to understand their mother so that they too, would cherish the moments she was more sane.
Perhaps one day it would help her. Help bring her back. He could hope for that, right? He knew a lot of his decision came from selfishness. He wanted at least one son. One son he can train to be a killer. One son that he can.. shape into a monster like him. He was tired of being alone. While he loved being Gabriel to Nimue, he was still Reaper. He would always be Reaper. His need to kill, to hurt, to torture.. it would never go away. While he could care for those that deserved it, it would not change him. Once he was away from the mare, Reaper came back with a force of a wild animal that just broke loose from its cage.
At least one son would fulfill his dreams. He hoped for all sons but that was seldom a reality, but even daughters could be trained. Even daughters could become like him. They might not have the physical strength of a male, but they would be smaller and faster. He could teach them how to use it to their advantage, show them all the weak points to attack.
Was it unfair that he wanted a family that would let him be him? A family that he could love and feel natural around? A part of him wondered if Nimue would accept him if she saw Reaper and not Gabriel. Was this where his guilt came from? Was he misleading her in this regard? It was a risk he was going to have to take. She was perfect for this. No other mare could be the mother of the foals he dreamed for.
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Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:31 am
An unfamilliar flush of red rose on the mare's cheeks, luckily hidden effectively by her mask as the heat rose. She vaugly felt that she knew he has been a father...but the though was buried too deep to even try and recover it now. Red tide...the words resurfaced in her memories at the thought of Reaper as a father, was that perhaps one of his sons that she kept remembering that vital information? Who knew, who knew.
Gabriel was a monster...no, this Reaper was a monster. She couldn't see it, this supposed alter soul that lay within Gabriel; how could someone so kindly have such a deadly demon just lurking in the shadows of his own soul?
Suddenly, her pupils narrowed as her legs began to tremor, her lungs restricting her intake of oxygen as she began to breathe a bit too heavily. Shadows....darkness...that stallion... "Nimue's all alone....always alone....when the shadows sink in there will be nothing left of Nimue! She will be no more, no more....oh woe...oh woe...." She chanted, the tremors having enloped her body into a shake while her sapphire orbs closed from the world as to not see the impending darkness consume her soul.
Those words....oh how Anju had been correct; he knew exactly the right words to say to strike the match which would start the blazing fire in her soul. The darkness of remembering nothing, to be completely alone without even the comfort of a thought scared the mare like nothing else; death was welcomed with open arms in comparison. At least then she wouldn't have to worry about anything, memories were quite useless in death anyways.
"Don't....don't let the shadow stallion get Nimue.....his words bring the darkness, oh the darkness does cling to Nimue tighter when he's around. Please...." Slowly lifting her fightened gaze to Gabriel, she closed the space between them and while minding his spikes pressed her heaving chest against his own and rested her face against his neck.
I think you would be a good mother, Nimue.
When he whispered the words, not only did Gabriel speak them but she heard the tone of another....her heart tightened in her chest as she felt as if she'd heard them before. In a time where there was no darkness, only the warmth of light residing in her soul. Those eyes, she could see them now as her shaking ceased and she visibly calmed into a near sane state; seemingly trapped in her thoughts untill she once more felt the familiarity of her old self return breifly into her consiousness.
"I swear an oath which none shall break, and none should take, by the name even of God, calling the Everlasting Dark upon myself if I keep it not. I vow to you, Gabriel...that I will concieve for you foals of your own; in return of protection and a savior from the darkness. It is all that I ask of you, that I, Nimue....solemnly swear to."
Standing tall, she touched her Unicorn's horn against his own largest forehead spike...and with a soft chant in the angelic language; a soft blue glow began to rediate from the ebony spike. She knew this was what she could offer; a chance for his happiness...if at least one of them could have joy in the world she would want it to be he. Her life was much too uncertian with her curse; with foals like him, he could find happiness in his family. Nimue could not find permanent happiness till she could reconsile with what had happened in her past, but she could feel the remnants of joy from the mercy which she was to give to Gabriel; to be the mother of the foals he wanted so bad.
She could only hope that she would do him proud; that she could be the mother that was expected to her so long ago from the one she'd forsaken with her mercy.
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 8:03 am
One step forward, two steps back. Such was the way around Nimue. She seemed genuinely upset at mentioning the 'shadow stallion'. Was such a creature real? Or was it a figment of her imagination, something haunting her from the inside out?
"Tell me of this shadow stallion and I will deal with him," Reaper replied through gritted teeth. "Don't forget what we were raised to, Nimue. Though we are dark, we are Angeni. The darkness can be kept at bay by clinging to the light. When you are in the darkest moments, remember your life before you were cast away. Remember your time as a true Angeni and the love you made such a great sacrifice for. This shadow stallion, he is not strong enough to come between that kind of love. Do you think your stallion would be happy knowing what this 'dark stallion' was doing to you? Keep yourself grounded with the good memories. The darkness can only take over if there's no light to cast it out. Let that protect your mind and soul and I will protect your body."
His heart skipped a bit at her oath. It wasn't often that a mare would put him above herself or other things. Only one other had ever done that and it was his mother. She had come to him telling him to run. She knew that they were on their way to kill him, to put an end to the disgrace he became and she went against the code and she told him to run. She told him to live. And now.. now Nimue was giving him something special too. He would do all he could to protect her. If this dark stallion was real, Reaper would see that he paid for what he had done to Nimue. Her state of mind was fragile enough.
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