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 Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 6:34 am
 The morning air was crisp, especially since the months were getting hotter as time went on. Soon it would be summer, the time of year Grave would be most vulnerable to the heat and to dehydration. To the Reya stallion, his wrinkled, weathered, and cracked hide did little to spare his body from the heat, and the scars that scattered his body were merely reminders to that fateful day: when he lost everything.
To dwell? That was all he could do in this moment of self-reflection, silently lowering his head so he may dip his muzzle into one the crystal lakes of Yisi, his most precious water slipping past his lips and over his tongue. To the scared Reya, it held great value for him, it held his very life, for if he went even a day without drinking there would be grave consquences as his skin was prone to drying out and cracking too easily. Perhaps that was the price he paid for slipping through Death's cracks, for cheating it out of another soul. If that was it, he didn't know whether it was a blessing, or a curse.
Then again he supposed one good thing had come of it. He had a second chance, and he swore he would come back to take down his friend if he ever became corrupt. "... Harry." Possibly the only word he would mutter this day. Bloody Harry. So he had risen from his grave to take down the famed herd leader, that was his purpose. A slight stiffle of a choke as he seemed to have gulped down enough water, for it seemed he needed to restock his whole supply daily, and the sturdy Reya pulled himself from the water's edge to give a wary glance over his shoulder; his chains rattling as he did so. The night had gone off without a hitch, they had made it to Yisi just in time and the Caris couldn't have been more relieved. Poor Grave, sweet, caring Grave, she didn't understand why he wouldn't let anything go. He was alive, right? The blue painted female sighed, getting up from her restless spot by a tree to watch the tall stallion drink deeply from the little lake they had stumbled upon.
Yet, before he could even get his wary glance over his shoulder she was already stalking his way, lowering her belly to the ground in a crouch as she crawled forward, ears perked in eagerness and antcipation. She held many emotions for the scarred stallion, such as respect, compassion, understanding, and many more that had her wanting to stay by his side. After all, it had been him who saved her from her demise, did the young adult not owe him at least that much?
Closer and closer she crept, careful to stay out of his sights and to creep off to the side as he wasn't looking. So clooose, get ready. Her shoulders wiggled in antcipation, her chin lay flat on the ground and her haunches square and ready to shoot her off to pounce the big guy.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 2:14 pm
Sealing his decision with a nod, the bone-clad stallion moved out deeper to swim around a patch of tall reeds which had blocked his path. Yes, to Quirne for a while and then...
Lucius paused for a moment, almost sinking before he remembered to kick his legs once more. One of the most curious creatures he had ever seen was drinking from the lake just a little way ahead of him. Clearly it was a Reya, but long strands of metal links adorned, or constricted, its body and deep scars covered the sturdy form. This was definitely worthy of further investigation.
A few more kicks brought the orange-eyed creature to within his depth, and from there he waded to the bank. Interesting things, after all, were sometimes dangerous, and if the odd Reya turned out to be such a curiosity he didn’t want his movements hampered by water. Giving himself a quick shake, the leather-winged Nequus set off towards the other stallion at an easy walk. At least, he considered with a smile, the metal-clad creature wouldn’t run at the sigh of him. Oddities of the world unite and all that.
“Greetings stranger,” the curly-maned Aeri called, coming to a halt some distance from the horned Nequus, “a fine day, is it not?” Gerumph; not the best greeting ever, ah well, nothing to be done about his dearth of conversational skills save practice where he could.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 3:12 pm
Tattered hide or not, it did not hinder the Reya stallion in his alertness nor his purpose. Though he was restricted to areas with a plentiful abundance of water, his movements were realitvely clean cut and normal as long as his skin hadn't begun to dry out, at which point he would surely have needed to refill himself hours ago. Such was not the story for him now, as he stood silently amongst the weeds of soggy earth, ears flicking in and out in almost every direction. Despite this, he seemed to be nearly caught of his guard by the sound of shuffling hooves off the side, his head swinging slowly and patiently to the other side to peer at who or what approached him.
What he saw was a creature he could have recalled as a monster in whatever past life he remembered, for it had been no life at all. Not any more. Now though there was no more speculation in his gaze than if a simple Bae had approached him, but that did not hinder the quiet smile that spread across his lips, still wet from his drink, but already begining to show the signs of cracking at the base. He would need another drink soon, to hopefully top himself off. The creature before him, was much larger than himself, and carried an interesting arrangement of bones. He may need to inquire about that.
However, before a single word could be spoken from him, if he indeed planned on speaking at all, Grave's head suddenly dropped to tuck in close to his chest, a bit of a snort leaving his nostrils as he felt the wind from his friend tussle his smoke-grey mane.
Eurkna was way too busy concentrating on her mark to even notice the approaching monster of a Nequus as she suddenly leapt from her place amonst the weeds with an expectant, "Gotcha!" She fully intended on clinging to the stallion's thick neck, when she suddenly felt herself flying forward and landing on her back amongst the marsh lands. Paws tucked close to her chest and tails between her legs, the Caris opened her once more to see the upside down image of a black and orange creature that startled her nearly out of her wits. One loud yap and the female raced back to her Reya companion, eyes wide as she gasped, "GRAAAAAVE!"
Heart beating heavily in her chest, the blue painted Caris burried herself between his forelegs, trying to figure out what it was exactly that she had seen. However, when Grave did absolutely nothing, when he neither snorted nor stomped, nor even pushed her aside to fight off the scary creature she peaked out from behind one of his legs to watch the orange creature curiously, only to find Grave looking back down at her and giving a bemused shake of his head.
With that, the Caris gave an embarrised clearing of her throat and backed out between his forelegs, belly low to the ground and shoulders hunched shyly at the stranger. "S-sorry sir." There was no need to panic, if Grave himself didn't.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 12:06 pm
Lucius gave an amused snort at the Carris’ sudden appearance and when she opened her eyes, he nodded to her. “And good day to you as well,” he said with a deep chuckle as he looked the odd pair over again. Oh the Carris herself was normal enough but the Reya... the Reya was strange. Well, maybe he’d find out a bit about him soon enough, sufficient to sate his curiosity with any luck too rather than just enough to tease him or so much as to bore him.
“My name is Lucius,” the boned stallion went on after a moment, “might I ask your names?” He did prefer to know who he was dealing with; names had always felt like important things to him, whether they were the one you were born with or not. If you had something to address another person by, somehow everything felt a lot more natural in conversation, everything flowed just a little bit better and that was always a good thing.
Some people, though, were not very forthcoming on that front, he knew. Hopefully the brown-hided creature and his small companion wouldn’t be awkward on that front, if they were he’d just find himself giving them derogatory nicknames and that probably wasn’t a good idea. Even if you tried to keep such things internal they slipped out on occasion and Lucius was not in the mood for a fight; last thing he wanted when he was planning a long journey was the risk of injury.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:15 am
The caris kept herself fairly low to the ground, however out of embarrisment rather than fear, knowing full well how foolish she had looked in front of both Grave and the strange, bone-clad giant Nequus. She was curious creature, probably too much so, as she would have wanted to sniff around the Aeri than run head over heels had she come upon him in a more... dignified manner. Not now though, she was much too shy after that little stunt. "G'day", she echoed back, glancing up to the scar-hided Reya she stayed side by side with so affectionately.
There she stayed, and there she heard the other asking for names, flicking her ears back slightly as she knew what was coming. She had learned quickly with Grave, that his quiet nature often kept him from answering many calls for conversation, and she had personally seen it turn into rather nasty encounters with the impatient Nequus. Best not to let this one turn out that way, not with such a giant creature as this Lucius.
"Grave," the Reya answered for himself, the slight smile returning to his chapped lips. Its not that he was anti-social and wasn't happy for the company, but talking had always seemed to be a problem for him. He could, he knew, but perhaps he was shy? Several an individual had said that to him, especially Maria. ... Maria. Once more the stallion's neck stretched out slightly to create a hollow between his shoulders, quirking his muzzle to give an expectant look back to his blue painted friend. They had learned easily from each other, his tendoncy to be silent, and hers to worry.
Well! That was quite surprising for her to say the least, there was hope for him yet! All at once her three tails swished and swayed in a gleeful way, and then it was gone in an instant as he gave her that look. Oh... oh! Yipes! A quick bunching of her muscles and the preparing of the leap, she forced herself jump upwards, grabbing onto the Reya's mane with her small jaws and heaving herself up to settle her haunches down into the hollow he had created with his shoulders, her front paws resting on the bride of his neck. Her good mood returned as she settled herself in, thankful she hadn't missed the jump and made another fool out of herself. "Pleased to meet you Lucius, I'm Eurkna and as you've heard this here is Beyond the Grave. But we just call him Grave. Come to Yisi often?" Okay, so if Grave wasn't going to make conversation, she would, as her curiousity had gotten the best of her. She wanted to come right out and ask about the creature's bones, but she had enough sense not too. Being strangers and all.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:12 pm
Lucius smiled at the blue and white creature who, it seemed, would be doing most of the talking. “Well met then, Grave and Eurkna,” he said after a moment with a dip of his head to the pair, “I hadn’t expected to find company today, I’m glad I was mistaken.” He had expected to see another Nequus or two, of course, but given the number of people that would as soon scurry away as greet him he hadn’t expected to get a conversation. Thank goodness for fellow oddities, and indeed for brave little Carris.
“I come to Yisi often enough,” the boned Aeri went on with a nod. “I’m a wanderer you see, but I don’t think I’ve been in this specific portion of it before.” Certainly he didn’t recognize any distinctive trees or landmarks, and that was as refreshing as the prospect of conversation. New places were always a thrill; you never knew what fascinating things you might come across in an unfamiliar place. There was the danger of meeting less than friendly creatures too, of course, but that was something that Lucius seldom troubled himself about; he was quite capable of fighting his way out of most situations and those he couldn’t overcome by force, well, there was always running.
“Do you two come here a lot?” the black-coated stallion asked after another brief pause, wondering if he had stumbled into Grave’s territory. Well, if he had the Reya didn’t seem to mind so it probably didn’t matter overmuch.
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 12:40 pm
Oh! This Lucius character seemed like a nice guy, a bit frightening upside down, but at least he wasn't intent on attacking them for some reason or another. It always worried the Caris when Grave fought, it always seemed that at any moment he would fall apart and crack into tiny pieces. Now that was a scary thought to recall and an involuntary shutter ran down her spine. Okay, out of her own mind for now, she was being very rude to her new company. "Same for us, I don't get much of a chance to talk to anyone other than Grave, and you can imagine the kind of conversation that would be", she rolled her eyes in a playful manner, as if Grave would somehow see it. Still, she felt the Reya stallion's body lurch slightly from the chest, as if he were coughing, and it got a big, toothy grin from the Caris. Heh, he was fun to mess with.
Her attention was soon enough on Lucious as he was kind enough to continue and answer her question, so she pricked her triangular ears to show she keeping up. "That's pretty neat, I'd love to see some more of Urin but its not quite that safe for a lone Caris", she chuckled despite herself and the truth to her statement. Ever since her pack had disbanded, trouble always seemed to to come her way. "That's why I travel with Grave, admitedly he's more capable of taking care of trouble than I am. Though that's not to say I'll try." Her grin remained, her canine teeth partially exposed in the gesture. It was easy for her to make conversation, she didn't need to think about what was going to be said, it just happened.
Though at Lucius' question she shifted in her make-shift seat a bit uneasily, feeling the movement of Grave underneath her as he seemed to detatch himself from the conversation altogether. A small whine left her throat in response as she nudged her nose into his mane. Poor Grave. "We stay in Yisi mostly, can't wander too far off from the water", she paused slightly, judging the Reya stallion's reaction to her words but he seemed indifferent so she continued. "Grave gets very sick if he can't keep himself hydrated, he hasn't told me why yet, but... its scary when he's sick." The shutter ran down her spine again as she shook the mental image out of mind.
He didn't much mind Eurkna telling strangers about his condition, and if he could ever get up the voice to tell her his full story he wouldn't mind if she told them that; but he didn't have to react to it in any way. As much as he would have liked to remain that way, he couldn't help but pull his cracking, dried lips into a grim smile, as if to show there was no hard feeling in telling a secret like that. If one could consider it a secret, as it was often out in the open. "That, and she enjoys splashing around in the water." As if to prove his point the large Reya made a move for the water, as if he were about to dump her in, which she instantly gasped at. If she coud mess around with him, it might as well be equal oppertunity here, eh?
Well if that wasn't a way to get her off the subject she didn't know what was! She didn't have the claws that a Rit did, so she couldn't cling to him as he moved, so the Caris scrambled and dropped to a crouch with her front legs hugging his neck and her jaws snatching his mane between her teeth. Oh! That little- well big, oof! Making her look like a fool again! Her eyes were wide and incredulous as she snorted, trying to keep her panic under control in the presence of a stranger. "Grave! I swear-" right, like she had a threat that would phase him. With a huff she spat out his mane and glanced to Lucius, smiling sheepishly as if to redeem herself. "Erm, I like your bones." Please Gods above, let that keep him from laughing.
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 5:36 am
The muscled stallion chuckled softly and peered around at himself. “Thank you,” he said as he turned back to the Carris and her stoic companion, “I think they’re rather fine myself, but most people don’t seem to agree with me.” Most people were, after all rather stupid. “Must be a bit inconvenient to have to remain in Yisi all the time,” he added thoughtfully after a moment, “though I suppose there’s still an awful lot to see and do.” Certainly he’d have to make more explorations of the place if he stumbled across entirely unfamiliar areas such as this one.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:18 pm
Okay, so his reaction wasn't that bad she supposed, better than anything she had thought would happen. Relaxing slightly with a visable huff, the Caris shuffled her forepaws back a bit until she was sitting comfortablly on her haunches once more, opening her maw twice maybe three times as she attempted to say something but lost her way. Eventaully she settled on this, "Well, I guess we're not most people. Heavens know it isn't right for a Nequus' skin to crack if he's dehydrated, and a Caris wandering around on said Nequus' back", she spoke with a nod to confirm this, allowing a bit of a sheepish grin to fold onto her lips, exposing her sharp teeth once more. "Although I do openly admit your bones were a startling sight at first", she mused, pricking her ears as her gaze seemed to settle on the skull that incased his head.
Flicking her three tails simontaiously she gave a small shrug and readjusted her position as Grave moved uneasily under her at the change of subject. Choosing her words carefully while in the presence of the Reya, "Its a very interesting place to live, though I haven't seen much of Urin, only D'ob. What... um, if you don't mind me asking, sir", she struggled for the words, or perhaps the decision to even ask, "What are some of the more interesting places you've been too like?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:50 am
He had expected a more significant question after her pause, perhaps she had wanted to ask one (maybe about the bones) but had lost the nerve. Well, it hardly mattered; he would answer the question asked, and if she got around to asking him whatever she had been wanting to he would answer that then, if indeed she really did want to ask anything else; it was quite possible that she was just shy of him.
“Well, I’ve always been fond of Quirne,” the muscled stallion said with a nod, “fascinating place. Observing the sequence of tides, the different kinds of rock in the cliffs, sand and shells on the beach... Oh, and the caves of course; some of those are really quite spectacular.” And dangerous if you weren’t careful; he’d once managed to trap himself in a cave, the entrance of which had been lower than the cavern itself. He had managed to lose track of time, and the tide had trapped him inside. Fortunately it had not been a very high tide, but he’d still been up to his hocks at the very back of the cave, and wondering if the air would last him until the water retreated. Fortunately for him, it had.
“Casa Tiner is good from a safe distance,” the curly-maned stallion went on after a moment. “I’ve been close to it, reached it by coming all the way around from Fyhi, but I never went far. No food, no water and damned awful weather,” he grinned, “very aesthetic though; all deep gorges, towering peaks and narrow passes. Still, better observed from a distance I feel...” What other interesting places had he been? Well there was Fyhi, but he’d explored that place very little due to the presence of the blasted Katilenuck. Well, nevermind, he’d told the Carris a bit, and if she probed further he had other stories and details he could tell.
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:17 pm
The caris nodded thoughtfully, having never been to any of these places she could only imagine them as he spoke aloud. She didn't want to make Grave uncomfortable though, knowing he didn't exactly have the option of spontanious travel. "Those sound like nice places, althouth Casa Tiner is better avoided, I agree." Yeesh, there was just something spooky about it!
Indeed though, Eurkna did have something else she wanted to ask him, and since Grave more or less detached himself from the conversation she didn't need to 'speak for him' she could do as she wished. Her gaze dropped to the ground as he lean muscles bunched, preparing for the drop that would have her on her paws once more. Besides, she knew Grave was getting uncomfortable, and he kept stepping towards the lake so the Reya must still be thristy. And since she didn't quite fancy get splashed into the water while he moved the Caris made her leap for the ground not a moment too soon; for Grave had just started towards the water's edge.
His lips had started to crack further, which left him with a fairly painful time had he wanted to open his mouth on any of the subjects. Then again his expertise wasn't exactly in the scenery. Now if they had been talking about what points on a Nequus' body could kill them the quickest, then he could have added to the conversation. Then again, he doubted Eurkna would want to hear of his tales of assassination. The quiet Reya bent his neck to the water and drank deeply, so deeply the sucking noise made it appear as if he hadn't had a drink in over a week. The liquid slid down his dried throat in earnest.
Geez, he must have been thirstier than she thought. Returning her attention to Lucius, which now consisted of looking up instead of fairly level, she creapt forward a few paces. Yeah, she was a little intimitated by the large Aeri, but honestly who wouldn't be? "Erm, Mr. Lucius, isn't it kind of, you know, difficult carrying around those bones all the time? I can't imagine you'd be able to see very well with it on, and I was wondering if you've ever bumped into anything on accident?" Possibly not the best thing to ask such a large creature that could squish her, but her tongue never reined itself in, and with Grave around she was feeling fairly brave.
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:12 am
He had to laugh at that; it was always pleasing when people had odd, interesting questions like that for him. Most tried to avoid the subject for one reason and another, but not Eurkna apparently. Still chuckling to himself, the red-maned stallion sank to the ground to put himself on a better eye level with the blue Carris.
"I've worn these things since I was a colt," he said eventually, "so I don't notice the weight as an annoyance. It makes me more ungainly and quicker to tire in the air than others of course, but again I'm used to that and hardly notice... They seem to fit my body better than they ought to as well; they once belonged to a fire elemental, and so I suppose a bit of magic must linger in them to do that, give them their colour and of course to keep them from falling apart." He assumed that was why they were in such good condition and moved with him so well in any case; he'd never been able to think of another explaination.
"As to walking into things," Lucius went on with a snort of amusement, "not anymore. As I say, I've had these things for a long time now, and I'm used to the slightly cut off view of the world I have. When I first got them it was a different matter of course; I seemed to be forever stumbling over tree roots, catching myself on bushes and things like that because of course when I was a colt, the bones were somewhat larger than I was. The number of times I had to disentangle the ribcage I can't begin to recall. I was very glad when I grew large enough for them to fit smoothly against my flanks, I can tell you."
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:12 pm
Heh, well she'd rather have him laughing at her then stomping, that was for sure! Although she usually disliked embarrising herself, the caris had to admit in this case it was the lesser of two evils, and pulled her lips back into a canine grin, huffing outward in what could have been a chuckle. This action, of course, had the effect widening and raising her lips in various intervals with her chest and throat vibrating. Though she would have been content to just look up at him, she was startled and surprised to see the large nequus lowering himself to the ground. In such a state she had taken an uncertain step back to give him room, and flicked her ears first back and then forward.
However she was quickly drawn into his explanation, settling onto her haunches into a comfortable position and, at certain points, raising her brows in astonishment. When he was finished, "Magic? I think I've heard of elementals before, but it was so long ago and I can hardly remember everything my mother's told me", she nodded briefly to her own words before creeping closer, belly low to the ground so as if she were in a crouch, getting just close enough so she could inspect the skull a little closer. "I bet you were happy when you grew into them, it sounded like you had a difficult time as a pup." Well, she didn't exactly catch onto nequus lingo, even if Lucius had said 'colt', 'pup' still came to mind when dealing with younger beings. "They haven't spontaniously burst into flames have they? Since they're magical and all." Now she was just quenching her curiousity as she felt a bit more at ease; that and she was certain she could dash away before he got up quick enough to stomp her if he had the mind to it.
The Reya had glanced over his shoulder briefly as he saw the motion behind him, watching momentarily as Lucius had settled himself onto the ground. Other than that Grave was fairly stoic and detached from the situation, content on letting Eurkna enteract as she pleased.
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 3:57 am
Lucius grinned behind his morbid helm and shook his head. "No, they haven't, and for that I'm most grateful; I don't think I could get these things off anymore even if I wanted to. I've had my share of fights and knocks against hard surfaces and they've shown no sign of damage at all; kept me safe from more than a bit of it too... Yes, the only magical thing they really seem to do other than staying in one piece is glow very faintly in the dark." Snorting, the orange-winged Aeri shook his head slightly. "Don't shed enough light to help me see on a dark night, just enough to make me stick out like a Reya in a herd of Bae."
Twisting his head around, the bulky stallion inspected the red bones that encased his body and snorted again. "Still, they've done me a lot more good than harm over the cycles, so I'm not complaining. Oh, and of course they're wonderfully symbolic; mustn't forget that bit. They do tend to serve as a very nice reminder of my ideals, should I ever start forgetting them." Not that that was very likely, but it was good to have the reminder there in any case; it was always pleasant to be reminded that you were doing a good job of life.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:52 pm
As the nequus spoke of the uses of the bones, Eurkna couldn't help but gingerly step off to the side and quaintly give a tilt of her head as she inspected yet more of his grim ensemble. Oh but it was exciting! Her tails wagged out behind her as the caris yet pranced back to his front to stay within his sights. "If I had bones like that I'm certain I would give Grave a better time of it all. I'm sure it becomes quite a nusiance to always be protecting someone, and bones would make me appear fierce, right?" The femme wiggled her shoulders and hunched her front end down, her lips pulling back into a very wolf'ish grin. "Surely, I could scare them off on my own with bones. Does it work for you, Mr. Lucius? Scarring off would-be attackers?" Eurkna was such a little thing compared to a nequus, despite her predatory nature, and it made her giddy to think that if she were to acquire some sort of a fearsome appearance she might not have to worry about being stomped or crushed by their hooves.
Although Grave was perfectly content to allow them to converse on their own, the stallion couldn't help but turn an odd glance to his young companion. Strange little thing she was, even for a caris. Hopefully this outburst of hers hadn't done anything to annoy the larger Aeri stallion, but that thought was toward the back of his mind as something else came to his attention. In a lax manner Grave ambled back to the marshy shore to step closer to the two, his ears pricked at something Lucius had said. "Ideals?" The concept was somewhat foreign to the ex-assassin, as he had come to realize his life was to kill or be killed in the past. Was it different for other nequus? Was his way of life flawed? These were the question that kept him up at night.
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