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 Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 6:09 pm
A light breeze drafted in from the direction of the two-legger village, the smell of sweet-smoke and roasting fruit reaching the multi-colored mare standing on the western shore where the lake and river met. Just ever so slightly northern from the mass of strange caves the even stranger creatures made, Beatrice's ears would twitch every now and then when their whoops and hollers of what she understood to be play would sound out and serve to scatter the birds perched in the surrounding trees. Funny really, seeing as the birds were more freaked by the sound of two-leggers while they had a four-legged creature standing right below them. What messed up little things they were...
Slowly she made her way towards the marshy edge of the river, nibbling some of the tender shoots of new grass as she went. At least spring was here, and the weather had been rather nice as of late -today being no exception, with the early afternoon sun still blazing happily above. A cheery little day, really.
"I wonder what'll spoil the mood today," she mumbled into the greenery after a vague moment's consideration. "Or maybe I'll get lucky this time...?" Eh, she was over due for an entirely good day...
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2008 3:06 pm
 Wing wings edged with blue spread over the skies as a great dark figure moved across the skies with ease. Carefully positioning himself for a landing, the figure began to tuck in its wings and glided down to the earth where the river and shore met. The figure’s wings spread out and slowly became transparent to the point of being ghostly, almost completely non-visible except for the faint outlines of the feathers. The figure was a dark, midnight blue/black colored stallion with a messy white mane to which he tossed his head to the side to part his mane for it got in his eyes. His piercing red eyes surveyed the land for it was still unfamiliar to him.
“They said this was their home…” He spoke in a rather emotionless fashion. But he wasn’t very impressed by anything so far. In fact, these lands left very little impression upon him, but then again, all he’d ever seen in his life were battlefields filled with demons and other terrifying beasts. The sunny, peaceful land was most likely his greatest enemy yet. He had no idea what he was supposed to do specifically… no war purposes… no blood and terror… what was a war horse to do? Just slightly annoyed with himself, the stallion tossed his head again as a soft breeze set in, allowing his blood stained scarf to float up from the earth and sway lightly in the wind. Still, beneath all the sun and calm… the war horse felt something amiss in the wind.
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 9:04 pm
A whistle of the wind, soft yet out of tune, and her sunset irises flashed to the sky. Darkness against the bright blue sky, and she stiffened, watching in silence. The approach was steady, neither threatening or relaxing, and what felt like hours the being settled to the ground. A winged type, not so unusual. She could see nothing particularly odd about him, save the strange metal glinting off his head and legs. A piece of cloth, too, was about his neck -again, not so strange, as she herself supported stiff leggings similar to her father's jacket. And yet, something felt so... so strange about him.
Well, his vanishing wings might have something to do with it. She raised her head abruptly upon seeing this little skill, ears pressed back against her skull. What... was he? She knew of none who could make their wings disappear, she knew her mother and brother would have mentioned it at least once if it was possible. So how...?
Hesitantly, Beatrice stepped towards him. No reaction, so again another step. Nothing. Her ears twitched upward, towards him, curiosity gaining ground over fear. Perhaps... perhaps he was just different, that's all. There were more than enough strange folk strolling around, and he didn't look like a Kalona...
An image of her father flashed before her mental eye, and she shivered. Just because one wasn't a Kalona doesn't mean one isn't a demon though.
Still though, it wasn't like he'd done anything to her... Again her ears twitched, having drawn herself close enough to hear him speak. She blinked. Was he meeting someone...? Perhaps... well, if someone did come, she would leave. If not... something told her daddy dearest wouldn't look well upon cowardice.
"I've never seen you around here before. Where are you from?" She wasn't a stranger to boldness, and walking with a hint more confidence towards him wasn't so odd, nor was having her head held aloft yet tilted in question. But she couldn't help it... she felt a strange presence from him. Combative, destructive... the same intimidating feeling that made her distance herself from her father. She came to a halt though, a good distance from him, when she at last spotted the torn end of his scarf. Her nostrils flared at the scent of dried blood, and she felt she could go no closer to him. Perhaps being bold wasn't such a smart move here...
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 7:25 pm
The stallion’s dark ears twitched at the approach of another. His red pupils moved to the corner of his eyes as he briefly glanced at a white form with blue leggings moving towards him. He had sensed others in the area, this one being the closest but paid little heed to them as none gave off an intimidating aura. He’d know if one were to approach him with violent intentions. But this one, by the sound of their hooves seemed to be a lady… a quite hesitant too. Probably the scarf he deduced for the blood, no matter how old still carried the stench of death on it and who wanted to be near a harbinger of death?
Red eyes slowly turned with the rest of his body as the war horse stood to face his greeter. He was right about the lady part as he observed the other quietly, not responding despite the fact that the question was asked some time ago. “From a land very far from here…” Was the only thing that escaped his mouth. His face was rather emotionless, fitting for one who had experienced the plagues of war but it wasn’t threatening, not at the moment anyway. The stallion stretched out what remained of his transparent wings. The sun felt so good, despite being such a foreign site for him to experience.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 10:31 pm
The silence that hung after her words was... not exactly unnerving, but interesting to say the least. Her nerves were still on sharp edge from catching the scent of old blood and she felt a strong aura of intimidation from him that had only increased as she'd approached him. But he wasn't attacking her, or hissing at her to go away. So, in a sense, he was approachable... if one could stomach it.
She only blinked as he turned towards her, though really it was due to the sudden flash of sunlight off the metal over his face. A rather large inconvenience, that, or so she would think. She allowed her gaze to travel to the rest of the metal with a small frown. Why was he covered in metal? What was the point? Did he like it? Her own attire was out of personal preference, but that stuff... but then, if he didn't like it, he'd just take it off, wouldn't he?
She snorted lightly at his words, eyes rising to his... face. She couldn't exactly get herself to look him in the eye at that exact moment. "I could see you're foreign just by looking at you. I've seen some strange ones around here, sure, but never one with all that metal." Her tone was conversational, not snippy but more intrigued by the fact he even was decked out in such a fashion.
The movement of his wings made her pause and she turned her head slightly to catch a better view of the almost non-existent limbs. Slowly, she continued, "I've also never seen someone make their wings almost disappear. They say only spirits and demons can do things like that." Her mouth opened to pose a question, but her brain caught up before she could utter a word, and clamped it shut with a small click. Which are you?, she'd wanted to ask, but the realization of not only how extensively rude that was, but the the blunt fact she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know -both kept her in silence again.
At any rate, it wasn't her place to question such things, right?
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 6:28 pm
The stallion’s head was unmoving and didn’t falter for a moment as the mare spoke to him with… how should he put it, shaky boldness? Well, that was just as good of a description as any. He had to admit, this one was… rather entertaining. The lady deserves some reply for her inquiries, Knight chuckled in his mind, his inner self smiled like a bemused imp… though even that only lasted mere seconds. “Oh? Well, I suppose the non-existent armor attires would be due to the equally non-existent blood and strife on these lands, from what my senses tell me anyway. And by blood and strife, I mean war. Not some mere squabble or outbreak.” A brief pause in the stallion’s train of thought took him onto another thought train as he added, “Though, I’m sure there are other’s out there who don armor as well, metal, or not.”
His ears twitched involuntarily as they often did upon the facts that pertained to the lady’s other inquiry. His fierce red eyes briefly met her slightly downcast look. Bold enough to face me… but not quite so as to meet me in the eyes. Clever girl, Knight mused to himself. It had been so long since he actually mused to himself about anything that it almost felt… foreign. Well, this was a good place to muse if anywhere… as long as it wasn’t a battlefield. But even with all that musing, it was difficult to describe his existence. Even he was unsure of his true lineage despite knowing his parents but he was never with them long enough to ask about it. “Well, I am not a demon… though my foes have said otherwise. I am no savoir or spirit descended from the skies as stated by some of those whom I’ve saved. I’m simply myself, no more, no less,” the war horse spoke with indifference and a shrug. “Call me what you will.”
Funny, she hasn’t even asked for a name yet. But, logically, a name was later on the list then his… peculiarity? Good enough word for it.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 5:18 pm
This place was... without strife? She found that to be a rather interesting remark. While the lands weren't burning with rage from either the two-leggers or any of the animals, to say nothing more than squabbles and temporary clashes existed... what sort of a world did he hale from then? Combat was something she tried to avoid at all costs, but she'd heard enough of the stories of when ill blood was made between any individuals around. That wasn't war? If it wasn't... she was grateful then she was born into this place.
"I suppose," she replied on more reflex than necessity, mind filled vaguely with images of those like her father who wore attire of their own design and taste, yet didn't gain the same defensive attributes as the stallion before her with those bits of metal. "Their battles would not require then, the same protection as metal armor. Or maybe they believe they just don't need it." Was she speaking of someone in particular? Not in the slightest. She was more just talking without realizing she was thinking aloud. Er... yay loss of mind for a moment there?
His second response was enough to poke her back into the present, quick enough that she caught the quick twitch of his ears with a faintly raised brow. Had she... overstepped an unknown boundary with asking that? Hit a nerve she shouldn't of? He wasn't being violent, but that didn't mean she hadn't offended him. He didn't sound especially angry though...
The brief explenation brought a hint of color to her cheeks, her unspoken question answered despite her silence. But what he said -he saved people? Been called a demon..? It was strange, but she could see both sides of the stallion, if only in the general sense and the fact allies would rarely -if ever, she would assume- call their own a devil spawn. But all of it together, was... strangely relaxing.
She smiled. "It's not my place to call you anything except your name... whatever it is." A shrug. "I don't know you, so to call you anything but... isn't fair. Because... you're right. You're just... you." Which was all true, really. It wasn't fair to pass judgment on appearance alone if you didn't actually spend time with the accused. Although first impressions were valuable... one shouldn't base everything on them.
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:50 am
The stallion’s right brow arched upwards slightly in mild curiosity as he watched the mare puzzle over his words. She was certainly not familiar with the concept of war, but she was familiar with things that could cause war from the look on her face. Knight lightly chuckled, though not in an unkind fashion. “Well my lady, I do believe it would depend on the case and the interpretation of the word armor by others. Certainly, metal armor does clad the wearer with great protection against weaponry but even thick leather can do that under the right circumstances. Some of the soquili I’ve known would even consider your leggings to be a form of ‘armor’. However thin or thick the material may be, protection is still protection.” The briefest of soft smiles crossed the war horse’s face.
But the smile faded quickly as the stallion returned to his former noble, quiet demeanor. Ah, so the silence and puzzlement on her part afterwards came from trying to figure out what I was, Knight thought. Well, he was unfamiliar with any other winged soquili who could control the transparency of their wings except for the rumors of those from a higher plain of existence. He was… an oddity at best. His memories of his family were badly clouded by shadows. He was unfamiliar with his own lineage and had once questioned his existence as a colt, but that was long ago. Those things didn’t really matter to him anymore.
“Ah,” the stallion began, finally getting around to the introductions part of any meeting. He believed that the mare was no harm to him and had no ill intentions towards him. Besides, she did not carry the same aura as those things did. “Well, I do suppose an introduction is in order right about now.” With a smooth motion of his muscled neck, the war horse gave the mare a curious bow of the head.
“I am known as Knight.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:41 pm
There were some interesting concepts she had to just blink at for a moment. At the mention of her leggings she automatically looked down, picking up one clothed leg and bending it to watch the semi-stiff material flex and ruffle. This stuff? Armor? How this stuff could ever protect her from any form of attack was beyond her... unless one counted the cold or rain as a form of attack. "It must be a strange situation then, if someone would take to these as armor. Maybe if a foal was biting you or something, otherwise, I'd rather a version of what you or my father have." She laughed to this, the mental image of her in metal or in more stiff cloth like her dad rather humorous in her opinion.
"Anything's better than nothing in the long run though, more I think about it. It's just... so weird, thinking of armor as anything less than thick, sturdy metal or hide."
A shrug brought her hoof back to the ground and her eyes back to his face, brow raising with an ever so slightly shocked expression when she realized he was smiling. Or, correction, had been smiling, as seemingly a half-second passed before he reverted back. Another weird thing, was the similarities she kept seeing between this newcomer and her father -neither really smiled, both were of the combat cloth, and both... had certain quirks about them that both troubled and astounded her.
Well... this one more astound and intrigue her, but still.
The gesture of greeting, accompanied by an identity at last for the being before her, found her in another smile. "It's nice to meet you then, Knight." Her head inclined then before straightening as she continued, "My name is Beatrice."
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Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 5:28 pm
“Well Lady Beatrice, I’m glad we’ve properly introduced ourselves. I am sorry for the overdue introduction. Old habits die hard I suppose.”
And as much as it displeased him, it was true that his upbringing in constant wars and battle made him very wary. The fights had not gone so far as to make him a cruel but he’d taken on the other path of becoming a natural loner, one who always traveled on their own and distanced themselves from any close relationships. He supposed that Verloren and Amara were close to him… but only in a leader/subordinate relationship alas.
A light chuckle escaped the stallion. “Yes, well, life tends to throw interesting occurrences at you when you least expect it.” His red eyes, though fierce in appearance and color, were curious at the latter of Beatrice’s words regarding her father. He had sensed a strange presence from her when they first met. It was somewhat similar to the aura of those he fought back in his homelands but it wasn’t the same. But the strange aura that came from the mare was much more diluted, hinting at her lineage. Hmmmmm… that’d would explain her earlier question about demons. But, he was privately glad that Beatrice seemed to be relaxing. He hated uptight conversations, in or out of war. He was also glad that despite being descended from someone with a demon like aura that she herself did not carry to many mannerisms often associated with demons.
Knight had to fight the demons in his homelands to protect the people and their homes but he had nothing against the demons themselves. The smaller underlings were given orders to follow and they had to obey -usually anyway- their master. If he had hatred towards anything it would likely be the master… but even then, he understood that most creatures enacted upon their nature. It was the manipulative ones whom he detested the most… but that was a thought for later.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 10:12 am
She gave a quick nod. "So am I, though I wouldn't call it overdue quite yet." She cocked her head to the side. "If you don't mind me asking... what old habits would that be? Though, you don't need to respond, since it isn't any of my business," she added hastily, biting the inside of her cheek at the folly. It was strange. She was never this forward with strangers. Never this... comfortable, informal. Talk about rude...
"I apologize if anything I say is... crossing the line." Her previously downcast gaze rose again to his face, still not able to lock eyes. "If something should offend you, please don't hesitate to say as much. I don't mean to cause problems, so I would rather avoid a possible misunderstanding." She gave a sheepish smile, feeling oddly like a filly again.
Her muscles weren't as tense as before, she noticed. The air around him wasn't as foreboding as it'd been previously, either, but rather felt exponentially calmer and... not accepting, but... something. Nicer? No... there was another change, one that she guessed blamed her unusual openness. It wasn't that she now had a name to the face, though that fact did help a bit, so... what?
Her tail twitched, and a voice muttered deep within her mind. She blinked slowly, frowning ever so slightly. He... no. How could he? That was impossible... though, until meeting Knight, she would have since said making one's wings invisible was impossible. Was he so different then, that he would know? But... that would make her more tense, not relaxed! And yet... she couldn't deny how much more at ease she was than with others of their kind. Always on edge, just waiting for them to shout "Demon!" or "Monster!" or some other heinous word that would send her flying through the trees and the meadows and any which way to escape. Was relaxation really her gift for having someone else know? The bitter taste of irony made itself known at the back of her throat.
"You're... very different from any other soquili I've dealt with, you know."
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Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:42 pm
Just slightly tilting his head by a fraction, the war horse observed the young mare as she was momentarily fretting over something, though it was none of his business to know what it was. Whatever had been bothering her was related to their conversation… perhaps of the demons and spirits? It seemed that Beatrice was well aware of her lineage and was likely bothered by that… It was no surprise to the stallion though for Knight had come across many who were descended from those of so called demonic backgrounds. Some had chosen the dark path while others lived to grow beyond that. It was really all up to the mare what she decided to make of herself.
“Well, I suppose you are very different yourself my lady. Everyone has their own quirks and those quirks may not suite everyone’s tastes. You live with what you have I suppose.” He wasn’t one for philosophical sayings but a lot of the time others thought of him as wise… Great.
“You don’t have to be so hard on yourself either. I’m not usually one to be offended anyway. Questions are questions and one does not grow unless they ask them. And anyway, life would be rather boring without some misunderstandings here and there on occasion. Happy endings, I suppose, don’t exactly exist…” The stallion paused as his red eyes seemed to gaze to the side at nothing in a solemn stare. “But everyone’s definition of happiness is also very different.”
Knight’s chained left fore leg twitched lightly to the point that the war horse had to paw at the earth with his hooves. The metal links clinked softly as he did so quietly like the sound of distant chimes. Harsh sounding ones echoed by softer, much sweeter ones.
The stallion seemed to enjoy the simplicity of the sound coming from his leg as an oddly serene look crossed his face. “Old habits huh…? Well, I suppose growing up as a war horse was the stem of it all.” His face was strangely content as he looked at Beatrice in response. “But, that was a while ago…” And he hoped it would stay that way, the peace, the calm, the quiet.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 8:41 pm
Beatrice's smile was bitter at his words, snorting in a form of reluctant laughter. He had no idea how many "quirks" she had. In the same breath, neither did she... Not that she cared for any of them.
Still though, her expression softened around the edges, relieved to hear he wasn't quick to anger. Or at least, might take a bit more than just her usual blunders to erupt. She didn't think she'd be all that successful at the receiving end of a war horse's rage. Or maybe she would. Didn't really want to find out.
She blinked. His tone... although she'd been about to fully smile when she was agreeing with how life was made only more interesting by blunders, the words froze in her throat as she watched him, ears twitched towards him in question. What memories stole his attention away? What distant actions and words were echoing in his mind now, so distant from this river and world?
"Are they?" she whispered, hesitant to break his mind away from whatever he was seeing. "Happiness is when you have everything you want, isn't it? Sure everyone's needs and desires are different... but there are still many similarities between each individual. So I don't think," she took a half a step towards him, "happiness is that different from person to person. So how could their 'happy ending' be any different from yours, or mine, if to get it, it means we get what we want?"
'If you can figure out what exactly it is you want, that is,' she added mentally, unsure of even her own desires these days. She really... wasn't one to talk, was she?
The half-step forward she'd taken before was now retracted, returning to where she'd been standing the entire time. The chimes from his leg, the soft whisper in the winds through her mane, causing the feathers and bead that held together the braid by her ear, tinkled as if in response to the chains around his leg. A peaceful little symphony, really.
When she looked back to him his expression was softer as well. Though his words seemed a strange contrast to the tone in his voice, she felt herself relieved and smiled. "I don't think you'll have much need for those habits then. It's like you said before, this place only has squabbles, right?" She laughed lightly. "Which is good. I don't think this place could survive a war, from the way you spoke of it before." At this her gaze roamed the lands around them, slowly taking in the forest, the river, the planes and the mountains. Finally they came to rest on the two-legger village just barely out of sight. "This place... would burn if something so terrible came here."
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:31 pm
A small “hmmm” escaped the rather quiet stallion as the mare spoke of happiness and other such things. Though he noted how the mare seemed to approach him closer, Knight made no movement of backing away or approaching her. “Yes, happiness is different for many a creature… But, like all things in fate, not everyone is granted happiness because the happiness that you seek may not be a happiness that would make others happy.” The war horse’s eyes were firm as he spoke about such things. “And so, many have to live with the pain and realization that they can never achieve their true happiness if it is to cause another suffering…”
The stallion’s head perked up a bit, realizing that his words were on the depressing side of things. “Ah, sorry. I suppose experience makes an old timer like me not too optimistic about a lot of things in life.”
A faint chuckle escaped Knight upon the mentioning of ridding himself of old habits. He couldn’t see himself without his armor or combat abilities any time soon. In the past he was only allowed to relax when a certain two legger was in his presence. But with her currently gone, he had to remain vigilant. “Yes well, I don’t expect to let go of those habits any time soon unfortunately… even a simple squabble can turn into something very nasty…”
Beatrice’s last words haunted the stallion as he looked to the side staring at the abyss of the landscape before him. ”Nothing survives in a war…” He thought solemnly to himself.
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