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 Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:02 am
The blue Bae smiled softly at his companion and gave a shake of his head. “I wish,” he said after a moment. “I don’t think my master has heard anything to confirm talk like that, but if he has he hasn’t told me about it. He talks to me more than other masters do to their slaves, I know, but he doesn’t confide in me or anything.” Sadly. He would love for the tri-coloured stallion to share secrets with him; it was a silly wish but there you had it. “Still, it’s definitely an interesting theory; Prince Hidalgo does look rather like an adult version of the Illusionist, but the young royals are so varied I don’t think we can read much into it. I don’t think we should, either, it’s not our place. It’s not anyone’s place... Where did you get an idea like that anyway?”
Eilir sighed to herself and flicked her wings in a shrug; she had expected him to say something like that. So loyal he was; she still couldn’t get her mind around actually enjoying being property. Oh well, if it made him happy who was she to think it was weird? “Just that you said your master is sort of apprenticed to the Illusionist, and that when he goes off looking for plants and things he often goes with Prince Hidalgo or Prince Aeolus... I know it’s a silly idea, but making up conspiracy theories keeps me entertained.” It was always good to have something to think about whilst slogging through the drudgery of one’s day to day duties.
The blue and gold mare took a pace closer to the other slave, her legs making ripples in the watering spot the two of them stood in. “You should hear my one about that stallion the Heiress is so wrapped up in,” she said with a shy grin, “It’s even more ridiculous than the one I just told you.” More fun, too. A spy sent by enemies of the brindled herd, intended to bring them down from within. Wishful thinking, she knew, but it made her happy and so, just as she didn’t question Virgil enjoying doing whatever the Shaman told him to, she didn’t worry too much about how daft her little stories were.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:13 am
Muttering to herself crossly, the tactician turned left to head to one of the more secluded fruit groves for a bit of rest and relaxation. She should, she realized a moment later, have turned right. There was no ground underneath her. Undine swore as she plunged downwards and hurriedly snapped out her wings. The move was enough to slow her descent enough for her to land, but not enough for her to get back in the air before she did. This, the blue and white mare decided as she approached the ground, was bloody typical.
She landed nearly hock deep in water and splashed onward for a few awkward paces before she got a hoof caught on something and stumbled onto her knees. A moment later, once she remembered to breathe again, the mare discerned that whilst she was not hurt, she was up to her neck in a pond; a pond that contained two rather surprised looking slaves.
Undine scowled at them with as much dignity as she could muster. “What?” This was not her day.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:32 am
Virgil gulped; his mater’s mother. Hopefully she hadn’t heard anything, she didn’t seem to have heard anything. They were probably fine. “Mistress Undine,” the white-maned stallion thought to say after a moment with a deep bow of his head. “I ah... I d-didn’t expect to see you here. My apologies. Are you hurt?”
Somehow he didn’t think her entrance had been a deliberate one; certainly she couldn’t have intended to end up on her knees in front of a pair of slaves. Best to keep quite quiet and not look at her too much in case it made her angry. If Undine got angry with him then Dahak might too, and he didn’t want his master to be angry with him.
The dark-coated stallion spared his fellow slave a quick glance, hoping that she would have the sense to pretend the sight of a sodden Katilenuck wasn’t amusing too. He liked Eilir, and didn’t want to see her get in trouble. True she seemed to be pretty good at avoiding trouble from anyone, slave or Jala, but he was still concerned for her. She would, after all, be the mother of his foals one day. Sweet Jala that was still an odd thought. Still, nothing was too much trouble for Dahak, nothing at all.
Eilir had near jumped out of her skin when the blue and white Jala landed barely ten paces away from her, and it had taken all of the blue-eyed mare’s willpower not to leap behind Virgil and cower there. They weren’t doing anything wrong, there was no reason for anyone to want to punish them... Oh, but it looked as though the feather-winged creature hadn’t meant to come down here, that glare said it all really; ‘if you tell anyone about this, you die.’ Well, she had no intention of telling, or of speaking for now.
Virgil had said about the only thing there was to say, her adding to it might look insincere or might annoy the blue and white mare simply because she didn’t like to hear the same questions twice or something. You never could tell with Jala; they were such proud, temperamental things. How she hated them. The world would be a better place if they were all as dead as they thought their Goddess was. Yes. They deserved to die. All of them.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:56 am
Undine snorted as she recognized Dahak’s slave and got back to her hooves, giving herself a good shake as she did so. She’d probably sprayed the salves, but she didn’t much care about that. “I’m fine,” she replied shortly, flapping her wings in an agitated fashion a couple of times before setting the back by her flanks. Bleh. Wet wings. She hated having wet wings. Damn. She was thirsty, too, and the water looked alright... but there was no way in hell she was going to be seen drinking from a slave pond. Snorting again, the tactician waded out of the water and, once on the bank, gave herself another shake and turned back to the pair of Bae.
“Shouldn’t you two be working?” she asked irritably, glaring from one nervous face to the other and then back again. It was daft to ask Virgil that, she knew; if he was supposed to be working then he was, without fail. The other one she had no idea about, though she vaguely recognized the girl. Oh yes; this was the one Virgil was going to be bred with. Hahahah, maybe they had been about to get to work after all. Thank Jala she hadn’t dropped in on them going about their business; she’d never live something like that down.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:25 am
Virgil shook his head hurriedly. “No ma’am, master Dahak has given me the afternoon to myself. He said he needed to practice in private so I came down here tom t-to look for some company.” Should he go back and make sure that he really wanted needed? No, no Dahak had said, had said not to disturb him until sundown. Undine could go and ask him herself if she wanted, the big silly thing. No! No he shouldn’t think badly of any Katilenuck. They were Jala after all, the marked Jala at that. Anything they wanted to say or do to them he should accept with good grace and just thank the Gods that he was permitted to remain in their presence.
Thinking badly of any of them was an awful thing to do, and this was his mater’s mother! He ought to accord her even more respect than was usual, not think of her as silly; if he wasn’t careful he might end up believing things like that and then expressing them to somebody and that would be horrible! Master Dahak might not want him anymore if he wasn’t good, and he couldn’t stand the idea of his master not wanting him anymore. Gulping and pushing the bad thought firmly aside, the icy-coloured Bae turned to his companion. He hoped she wasn’t supposed to be working; Undine was probably embarrassed and would therefore probably be merciless if the blue-eyed mare was supposed to be elsewhere.
Eilir set her ears back nervously and took a few paces away from the feather-winged mare on the bank. “No ma’am, I have some time off as well. I’ve just completed a task for mistress Hera, and came down here to refresh myself. I’m not due back until three-quarter sun.” b***h; why couldn’t she just leave them alone? Surely she had sweet fruits to eat and shade to lounge in and orders to shout at passing slaves, or even other Jala. She was the Advisor’s mate after all; she could probably order nearly anyone around and no doubt took advantage of that; it was all there in those hard honey brown eyes. She thought everything and everyone was beneath her. b***h. She deserved to be somebody’s slave, to be worked until death for the way she marched around as if she was better than the ones her herd claimed as property.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:35 am
Undine held her unpleasantly soggy wings away from her body - wet feathers! - and nodded at the pair. “Very well, good to know nobody’s slacking off.” Damnit. Sounded like damn Virgil got more time off than she damn well did. Still, doubtless she’d get bored if she had whole afternoons to herself. Still, somehow it didn’t seem quite fair.
Perhaps she would have to encourage her son to keep his Bae better occupied; Gods knew he’d just end up getting under people’s hooves if he was allowed to wander around daydreaming to himself half the time. Maybe she should ask to borrow the Bae when Dahak didn’t need him or something; she still lacked a salve of her own... or maybe she should try something else.
“You two are going to be bred soon, I believe?” the tall tactician asked rhetorically, sizing them up with a slight frown. Yes, they looked like they might well have good healthy foals. “Any idea what your owners plan to do with the children?” If Dahak and... what was that little slut’s name? Oh yes, if Dahak and Hera didn’t have too many plans for the resulting offspring, perhaps she could get hold of one.
She’d put off finding a replacement for Guard for far, far, far too long now; she was just going to have to accept that she wasn’t going to find a slave quite as good as he’d been and take whatever she could get. Ochre was a good worker, yes, but she wasn’t actually a slave, and couldn’t do any more than run messages. If she got herself a slave, it could do message running and whatever else for her, and Ochre could concentrate on spying out battlefields and such for her; a much better use of the Shrila’s talents and time.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 11:32 am
At that moment, Eilir wanted nothing more than to charge over to the cold-hearted mare and beat her to a bloody pulp. Fear held her back though, and good sense. She was no more a warrior than the tactician, and the Jala had the advantage of size and the high ground and even if she did somehow manage to injure or kill the b***h, her own death would no doubt follow. Almost quivering with suppressed rage, the gold-winged Bae gave a stiff nod.
“Yes,” she managed eventually, “so our owners have agreed.” Owners. She hated the word. How could any living creature claim ownership over another? Claiming to own land was stupid enough, but another thinking being? It was insane! Damn the Katilenuck, damn them for being blinded by their greed and their laziness and their damn stupid beliefs. One day they would fall, she was sure, and she hoped she would be alive to see it, and to spit on the ones who had held her and, probably, killed her parents.
Virgil glanced furtively across at Eilir. Oh dear. She looked to be on the point of doing something stupid. Dislike of speaking up to hell; he had to step in here before the silly mate got herself into trouble. “Yes,” the pale-eyed stallion took a couple of paces forward and nodded respectfully to the paint mare before him. “We await further instruction on the matter, mister Undine, but I don’t know of any great plans for the foals as yet. At least one, though, will go to Eilir’s owner, mistress Hera. My own opinion, if you would have it ma’am is that the foals will be split evenly between our two owners, and that they will distribute them as they see fit.”
Did Undine perhaps want one for herself? He would have to mention the possibility to Dahak; the three-coloured stallion would be pleased with him for noticing such a thing and he liked it when Dahak was pleased with him. Added to that, if the tall tactician before him ended up owning one of his foals, he would get to see it more often than he would if it was given to almost anyone else. Much as he was entering into this agreement for his master, he still quite liked the idea of having children, and getting to see them often and knowing they were owned by a Jala who believed in keeping their slaves healthy would be heartening. It was not his place to question whatever Dahak decided to do, of course, but if at least some of his children went to the Shaman’s family members, he would be happier for it, he was sure.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 11:42 am
Undine raised her eyebrows at the other mare’s quivering muscles and set back ears. Oh, so somebody didn’t like her place, hum? Perhaps she would tell Hera... or perhaps she wouldn’t. She didn’t know the mare after all, in fact all she knew of her was that she was a slut and a shameless royal chaser, and Undine didn’t like sluts or royal chasers in the least. Let her find out when the blue and gold finally cracked; the Bae probably wouldn’t actually be able to kill her before the dappled mare could scream for help.
Giving Eilir one last cold moment of inspection, Undine turned to Virgil and nodded, even treating the Bae to a very slight smile. She did like obedient slaves, even silly doting ones like he was. “Good,” she said with a nod, “good to know.” It was a shame that if there was only one it would go to Hera, but there you had it; Dahak did like his popularity. “I think,” the amberish-eyed mare went on after a moment, as much to herself as to the slaves, “that I may have to nudge my son into giving further instructions fairly soon.”
If he wanted to wait longer for some reason, she might have to look elsewhere for a slave; trees took time to grow after all, and there was no guarantee that there would be more than one bud when it came down to it. Maybe she should look elsewhere, visit the traders and see if they had an stock. After all, she could always take a second slave on if she liked and was able to obtain one of Virgil and Eilir’s offspring. If she didn’t need it all the time herself, she could always lend it out or even pass it on to somebody else. Yes, that was a good plan.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 12:53 pm
Although she was still busily trying to hate the mare, Eilir had to admit that her heart picked up a bit at that idea. She had felt as though the match was going nowhere for far too long now; that somebody might hasten it exited her no matter who was doing the hastening. She longed for foals, she knew she was perhaps a bit young for it but she did all the same.
Perhaps being a slave had aged her mind more swiftly than was normal, or perhaps she would have come to want such things early even if she had remained free. In either event, she wanted what she wanted; foals, and foals with Virgil. She hoped that the blue stallion would be able to instill in their children at least some of his enjoyment of his life. Perhaps, at least, being born into it, thy would accept it rather than hating it. Perhaps between them and Virgil she herself would even come to resent her life a little less. It was a thing to hope for, certainly.
Wetting her moth that had somehow become dry, Eilir looked up at the tall mare on the bank and dipped her head low. “Thank you mistress Undine.” She still hated the tactician for being what she was and acting as she did, but perhaps it was possible to feel hate and gratitude at the same time. It certainly seemed so to her.
Virgil glanced at his partner to be, both surprised and pleased by her sudden change of heart. She had said that she wanted foals, but he hadn’t appreciated how much until now. If she wanted them enough to sincerely thank a Katilenuck for even thinking about hastening the process of getting them, she must want them a great deal indeed. The blue Bae added his own head-bob to Eilir’s and chanced a smile up at the tactician.
“We shall of course ma’am,” he said softly, “do our utmost to see that we produce many fine foals for the herd.” And, of course, for his master. He knew that Dahak would be pleased with him if there were many buds on the tree even though so far as he knew there was really nothing a Nequus could do to control the number that grew.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 1:18 pm
Undine raised her brows at Eilir, but this time for quite a different reason; she was as pleased and shocked by the mare’s sudden apparent sweetness as Virgil was. “Well,” she shrugged her wet wings, “it might well come out benefiting me.” She couldn’t have the pair of Bae going off with the impression that she was sweet and kind and approachable for favors; she got enough of that from her fellow Katilenuck. Well, the favors bit; she didn’t think anyone of her acquaintance was dumb enough to think of her as sweet. Kind she didn’t mind being thought of, but the word sweet always conjured up the image of a powder pink little idiot she’d known as a filly. The twit had even had the soft little lisp that for some insane reason some adults found endearing in foals.
“Virgil,” the tactician turned smartly to the curly-maned stallion, pushing aside the image of the saccharine-adorable little twerp whose name had faded away with the years, “any idea where it is your master is off practicing his magic?” The boy might have asked not to be disturbed, but she was his mother and herd’s Shaman or no, if she wanted him for something he’d damn well better show a respectful face if he didn’t want to be kicked sharply in the backside. Much as she loved her children, the shrewd mare had never tolerate back chat or recalcitrant muttering and she never intended to start, either. She was their mother, and if they didn’t know their place she’d damn well shove their muzzled in it and not let them back up until they were good and sorry.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 1:37 pm
Virgil paused, unsure for a moment. Dahak had said not to disturb him... but he had a feeling there were exceptions for his family. “A little grove close to the herb patch he’s set up,” the Bae said after a few moments with a nod to the Katilenuck before him. “ That’s where I last saw him in any case; I don’t think he was planning to go elsewhere. He said something about it being a good spot once... I think it’s a magic thing.”
He was sure it was, in fact, but he didn’t want to seem to knowledgeable in case Undine wasn’t. He picked up a lot of bits and pieces by being around his master so much, things that the tall stallion’s family might wish they knew. No sense getting Undine angry with either him or Dahak; remain vague, that was the trick so far as he’d discovered so far.
Eilir, feeling she had nothing to add, turned her gaze onto her love once more. He was so sweet and kind and quiet and romantic and strong in his strange ways. Why did he have to love one of their captors? It seemed such a cruel twist of fate, cruel both to her and to him. Dahak would never return Virgil’s feelings, and as Virgil had feelings for Dahak, he would never return hers.
She might tell him one day, the blue and gold mare decided with a smile to herself; she doubted he’d be too worried by it. he might feel a bit guilty seen as he was stuck with unrequited love, but then again perhaps he would think of how loving Dahak even from afar made him happy, and see that her feeling did the same for her. She hoped it would be the latter, and that perhaps knowing that somebody cared for him that deeply would lift his confidence some.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 1:43 pm
Undine gave a satisfied nod. “I know the place.” She didn’t understand why it was a better place for magic, but Dahak said that he didn’t either so it didn’t matter. Something about winds and currents and where magic liked to pool more often than not; all rather over her head, but not something she really needed to understand. He had his world and she hers; that was just as it ought to be.
“Well then, I shall be off to find him,” the tall mare went on, spreading out her wings, “you two may carry on with whatever it was you were doing before I dropped in on you.” With these words, the brindled Jala turned away from the two slaves and set off at a canter, which soon became swift enough for her to take off with ease. Finding herself refreshments could wait a while, Undine decided as she soared upwards; for now, she had a son to coerce.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 2:04 pm
Eilir watched the blue and white mare soar away with a deep sigh of relief. “Thank Gods that’s over,” she muttered with a shake of her head. She never felt easy around them, and she doubted she ever would; Gods knew she’d had long enough to adjust by now if she was going to.
How Virgil had managed it she hadn’t the faintest idea. He was so strange in so many ways and yet... yet she couldn’t help loving him. That was how it went, she supposed; you didn’t get to choose who you’re heart went to, the silly things had minds and wills of their own. Still, the well built mare smiled over at her companion, she felt that her’s had made a pretty good choice all in all.
“Now then, where were we before feather decided to take a bath in our pond?”
As the details of the tall tactician’s retreating from became unclear to him, the blue Bae turned back to Eilir with a smile. “Conspiracy theories,” he said with a nod, “I think you were about to tell me a really good one?” He wasn’t much good at talking still, he probably never would be but that was alright, because Eilir was just fine at it when there were no Jala around. Between the two of them, Virgil decided as the mare opened her mouth to begin, they might actually make decent parents.
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