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 Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:57 am
She awoke that day with the same headache she’d had the day before. Groaning to herself, Undine prized her eyes open and raised her head to give it a vigorous shake. The quality of the buzzing didn’t change even slightly; it was like a thousand flies, though probably quieter than a thousand flies would be. Still, whatever it was like, it was a pain and was keeping her from thinking straight. Maybe Dahak was right, maybe she didn’t need to take it easy for a while.
Sighing deeply, to herself, the tall mare pushed herself to her hooves and clopped slowly to the cave’s mouth. The closer she got to the sunlight however, the louder the buzzing became, and the brindled Jala found herself coming to a halt to shake her head again. Again nothing changed, but she needed a drink and so she set off again with a sigh. Hopefully this would go away soon; she was sure she’d go mad eventually if it didn’t.
b***h!
The tactician froze with a snort, eyes wide, ears pinned back flat against her skull. “Who’s there?” Her voice bounced back to her, and nobody replied. Shuddering to herself, the paint mare hurried onward. She must have imagined it, she just needed a drink and she’d feel better; maybe the hissing buzz would even go away. She wasn’t the sort of person who heard voices, she was far too sensible for that.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:01 pm
b***h!
Xla'Lanan wouldn't dare say it out loud, but he'd make darn sure his head was screaming. If that crossbreed b***h was in range to hear it, she'd be getting a nasty dose of his mind.
Huffing as he spread out his wings and caught air, Xla'Lanan came to a land that involved the screeching of his hooves against the dirt and rattled his bones. It was good; he was upset and needed something calm his head.
It wasn't until then that he heard his mate's cry. It didn't sound like her to be frightened at all. "It's just me, Undine," he called back both slightly annoyed and concerned.
He rounded the corner and bumped her neck with his nose, seeing her wide-eyed. Had she seen that ghost again. His eyes went searching, but he could find nothing.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:11 pm
Xla. Thank Gods; a bit of solid reality. The fuzzy noise in her head was still there, but she could ignore it. She couldn’t exactly tell him she was hearing voices, now could she. Smiling slightly, the paint mare nudged her mate in return. “Hello Xla... I thought I heard someone just now, I suppose it was my imagination though, just the wind or something.” What was she going to tell him? She wasn’t really sure, it didn’t help that she didn’t know what was going on herself. It must just be stress, she was sure. Well strees had never damn well bothered her before, why should it now? No reason. But what else could it be if Dahak couldn’t see anything wrong with her?
Sighing faintly, Undine shook her head to herself. “It’s been a stressful time lately,” she commented eventually, “I feel like I’ve hardly got to speak to you in an age. How have things been going for you?” Maybe a reality check was all she needed, just to hear about how her mate was doing. Maybe she should go and spend some time with Urien or ‘Dine; at least those two boys didn’t drive her around the bend like the rest of her children tended to. Zara so strange sometimes, Dahak with his weird magic, Xerris with her obsession with magic and Xu wanting to be her father’s son rather than daughter. It was all enough to get to anyone eventually. It still didn’t feel like the right explanation for her headache, and there had been a voice. She was sure. She’d heard it!... No, she couldn’t have done. Only mad people heard voices, and she wasn’t mad in the slightest.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:16 pm
She'd heard something? It could have just been the wind, but. . . Xla'Lanan outspread his right wing and caught to breeze. Today was hot and the air was placid and she looked like she had been kicked in the gut. Just the wind? Undine was a practical mare. Something was up.
He was about to ask, when she went on, so he quieted and instead did his very best to look stern with furrowed eyebrows, clenched jaw, and taught muscles.
"They've been interesting," he said with a nasty twinge in the last word. His mind when off violently over the meeting of the Nequus. Mordre telling him to practically shut his trap, even if he had given a touch of credit for his brilliant idea. And it was brilliant. But, then they'd gone and actually trusted the seer. The crossbreed seer who should not have been a crossbreed. She should have been his betrothed in fact. Thank god that had never gone through, or he wouldn't have Undine.
"You shold lie down. You look ill."
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:24 pm
Crossbreed
Undine blinked and shook her head. That had definitely been a word. Crossbreed. b***h, crossbreed? What did it mean? Only mad people heard voices, and she wasn’t mad. Sighing as Xla spoke again, Undine nodded reluctantly an turned back to the cave. “I don’t feel well,” she admitted, “I suppose I’ve just been working too hard or something. It’ll pass if I give myself a break, I’m sure.”
No she wasn’t. Stress didn’t make your head buzz, didn’t make you hear voices. Something was wrong, very wrong... But she didn’t dare say it, or think it. She wouldn’t bring shame to her family. She would deal with this... this whatever it was quietly and then get on with her life. She wasn’t the sort of mare who cracked up over stress, and she wasn’t the kind to panic when she did start to crack up over something. But she wasn’t cracking up; she was far too sensible to go mad.
Shaking her head as she reentered the cave, Undine sank to the ground and sighed again. “Things seem to be calming down again now,” she said wearily, “perhaps I can afford to take some time off.” She’d never taken time off before save to go to Shrilal those two times. Well perhaps it was about time then; other people took holidays all the time so why shouldn’t she have just one while she waited for her mind to stop laying tricks on her.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:34 pm
He nodded, but still continued to watch her with a bit of apprehension. It would do no good for his troublesome children to have their mother sick. Who knew what diabolical things they'd get into. Without her around, maybe they'd all go jumping into magic! That would make his gut churn! All those magic users running about untamed and doing whatever they wanted. The world would end. It would be a disaster.
"If you're sure," he said, but frowned all the further. He wanted her to go back and lie down right now. Thank goodness that she actually did.
He followed her quietly, standing between her and the door in case someone thought to disturb them. Mainly insane children. He remembered when they came bursting through the door because they'd found something slimey after a rain that moved. Now they were all adults and still had the same mental capacity. Or they were insane. Or magical. You couldn't win with children. You couldn't.
"I think you should. You do no good to anyone sick or dead." He gave out a heavy sigh and ground his teeth, finally settling to the floor.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:41 pm
Undine gave a brief chuckle and nodded. “That’s true. Imagine poor you trying to keep our dear children in line all by yourself. Pah, imagine the tacticians trying to manage without me,” she scowled and shook her head in disgust. “Sometimes the incompetence around me really makes my teeth grind... Xerris has been officially accepted by the doctors I hear. She still spends half her day hanging around Dahak though.” One of his children having magic must make Xla angry enough, but one actively lusting after it... “Damn stupid girl,” Undine muttered, “what would she want with magic? Whatever happened to succeeding in life without the help of the supernatural?”
Somehow ranting about her wayward children made her feel a little better. The buzz was still in her head, but her attention was drifting away from it now, and it was more bearable. So apparently all she needed to do to keep herself from going nuts was b***h about her offspring. Well, she was willing to try whatever worked at the moment. She didn’t have the time to go crazy; she was really far too busy for that.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:45 pm
Xla'Lanan rolled his eyes and snorted. It wasn't very fatherly of him, but his daughters were the worst of the bunch. "You would think our children would be nice, gentle creatures, but instead they're off trying to save the world and end up ruining it in the process." He gave a heavy sigh and settled down farther into his position. "It's good that she found herself a nice, commendable job, even if she does show too much interest in Dahak's activities."
He couldn't agree with Undine more. Stupid girl was absolutely right. "Apparently it's overrated. Children want everything to be easy, perfect. They think magic is the solution to it. I don't like it. I don't trust this magic."
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:54 pm
Undine scowled and shook her head. “I don’t know what I think of it. I can’t deny Dahak’s healing is useful but,” she shrugged, “I don’t know. It all seems too easy somehow, and as for less practical magics... Well, I’ll say nothing against the illusionist. I just don’t see the point. In any case, people are starting to take Dahak’s magic for granted. Stupid young soldiers showing off to the fillies they like knowing that if they break a wing doing it they’ll be patched up within the day. We did fine when all we had were doctors, but now I think everyone would panic if the wonderful Shaman vanished suddenly.”
She wouldn’t put it past him either; he always had been such a secretive thing. If he felt like taking off, no doubt he would, only to reappear just as he was desperately needed. Of course everyone would love him all the more. Not that she didn’t love him, she did of course, it was just that sometimes she wanted to kick his smug face in too. Ah well, couldn’t be helped she supposed.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:58 pm
It was true. If Dahak suddenly dissapeared, there would be widespread panic. Xla'Lanan wasn't quite sure how his son dealt with the stress. It had to be nasty business. It was not the prettiest of jobs to have to heal up all those injuries and with so many people becoming more careless, it was only a matter of time before the big mess came.
"This whole herd needs a lesson in what we're supposed to be. We've become a lazy, lazy race." It was true. They needed wars, fights, or something. Not the Queen they had now, that was for certain.
As much as he should have respected her, Xla'Lanan wanted nothing more than to see Ka take the throne.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 4:05 pm
She could only nod her agreement to that. “We’re neither of us that old, but I’ve seen standards slipping in who’s given tactician posts from what I remember as a filly. The soldiers these days don’t impress me much either, I'm sure you must have seen it too. This safe haven we have here makes us complacent, we can see off any threat with hardly any thought needed; even the air-headed tacticians of today can make plans to drive out the angry rag-tags that come after us. We are the Katilenuck, but you’d hardly know it in many of us save for their coats.” it made her so angry to see lazy stupid slobs anywhere in the herd, it was worse when she had to work with them, or try to tell them what to do. It was...
The buzzing flared again for a moment and Undine snorted, shaking her head violently. “Damn lazy bastards,” she muttered to cover it, “there needs to be a change soon or everything we are will come apart.” Probably not before she did though. No. She was fine; she was having a good conversation with her mate, and just had a funny headache. It would pass. It would.
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Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 12:03 pm
( Dahak/Undine: >8[ )
Xla'Lanan kept the frown on his features as Undine went to shaking and snorting. He gave her a cross look and followed it up by saying, "Enough of this senseless talk. You should rest."
His eyes went back outdoors. He was still quite restless from the meetings and the knowledge that their wish for the Katilenuck to see a war was going to soon be granted, although some of them may never know about it. He wondered whether or not they'd be able to silence the Reya quickly enough or if there was more than they'd assumed.
"I'm going to go see what our children have gotten themselves into." He rolled back onto his feet and shook his body down shortly after he had said it. "Don't work yourself too hard." With that, he had plodded off to the entrance before spreading his wings to go.
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