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 Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:44 am
They remained still, panting with exertion for some moments but before very long the mare grinned at him and raised a leathery wing in acknowledgement of her defeat. Ignatius grinned at that and stepped back to allow her to her hooves. “A good battle, Despina; my thanks. Again tomorrow perhaps?”
The mare nodded at him, still too puffed out to respond verbally, and the pair bowed their head to one another before parting.
Ignatius sighed contentedly to himself and turned his back on the dueling arena, turning his face instead towards the small stream he knew to be nearby; he’d been sparring for some time now and a good long drink was definitely in order.
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:05 am
It seemed as though the warrior was heading towards a nearby spring, that made sense, and it also seemed that he was aware that he was being followed. One ear was swivelled backwards in a leisurely fashion to pick up the sound of the tactician’s hoofbeats but the Reya didn’t seem to find it worth the trouble of reacting. That was probably another good thing; aware but not jumpy was the best way for a bodyguard to be.
It wasn’t long before the muscled warrior arrived at the stream, and when he did he showed no more interest in turning to look at the creature following him than he had before. Castor watched with interest as Ignatius lowered his scaled head to the water’s surface and took a long slow drink of the clear liquid. Once he had finished, he lifted his head and, at last, turned around.
The crossbreed reminded himself to make eye contact with the other stallion. “Ignatius hellene, good day to you,” he said with a nod of his head, “I am Master Tactician Castor, and I would like to commandeer a few moments of your time.”
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 2:25 pm
Oh, well this was different. Ignatius raised the scaly ridged that passed for his eyebrows and gave the other stallion a nod. “Alright then, I wasn’t about to do anything too important in any case. How may I be of assistance?” Better to avoid using names, if he did that he could avoid using those damn suffixes. He still didn’t like them, the subservient ones at any rate; hellene was alright but he was never going to get used to hallah.
Still, the question of verbal bowing and scraping aside for now, the Master Tactician wanted something of him, of him personally. This was definitely odd, very odd indeed. Well, perhaps the skinny thing would explain what the hell was going on soon; he certainly seemed like the type who liked to cut to the chase rather than messing about with damned pleasantries. Hoping that this was indeed the case, the fierce-eyed Reya regarded his superior steadily. This could turn out to be interesting.
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 2:30 pm
Castor nodded in response; he hadn’t exactly expected the answer to be no but it was still good that they scaly thing was being cooperative. “Thank you. Anyway, yes, I have a proposition for you that I think could prove to be of benefit to both of us.” At this point the crossbreed paused and twitched his tails, for he had planned it so when he’d been preparing for this meeting. Time for him to recall and order the next bit of his speech was certainly a good thing, and he liked to think that the short pause had a pleasing effect on the delivery of his words.
“I am, as you see, not the strongest of Nequus,” the blue stallion went on eventually. “In point of fact, I am very weak and rather frail. I need a bodyguard, and I gather that you need a place to be of use that isn’t a regular mark position. Some would sneer at you for feeling the marks in themselves are not good enough for you, but I feel I understand you. I have always known I was not meant to be average, and I believe it is the same for you. So,” the crossbreed tilted his head on one side and remembered to look at the other stallion properly, “what do you make of that, just on the face of it?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 2:38 pm
A... bodyguard. Now that was interesting. He certainly wouldn’t be in ranks for that... but still, best be careful and not commit until he knew more. It was seldom wise to rush into things like this. “Right now, I’m interested,” Ignatius said with a shrug of his wings, wondering at the strangeness of the Master Tactician’s manner. “It sounds,” he went on, shaking off the urge to stare at the pale creature to see what he’d do next, “like something that would suit me but I need to know more. Who would I answer to beyond you, for example, and would I take a mark in any case? Would I join them when you didn’t need me?”
He might be able to put up with that, he supposed; so long as it wasn’t a permanent thing he could do the whole drilling in rank and so on thing and it might be nice to be in one of the marks even if he was a slightly abnormal member. It was what he’d come here for, really; the companionship of those a little like him. Hopefully even if he was very distant from his mark’s regular activities he would still be viewed as one of them, as a comrade or whatever else. It would be good not to be alone.
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 2:48 pm
For a few moments Castor stood in silence, running the questions through his head carefully and answering each to himself before so much as opening his mouth. “Beyond me,” he said eventually, “you would answer to Meleager hallah, the rest of the council and your mark leader. This partially answers your second question; yes you would take a mark and I recommend Sigma, they are the defenders of the herd and it seems fitting for you to be one of them. As to the last question, I think so. You would of course have time free to train as you like to, and I also think it would be a good idea for you to have at least some knowledge of how Sigma works together when they are needed, just in case you ever need to join them in battle. In that case, for the duration of drill I would have you assigned an arbitrary rank of some level I think and you would do as those above you commanded, but only whilst the drill lasted.”
As he finished speaking, the blue and white stallion played his own words back through his head to ensure he hadn’t said anything daft that needed amending. It seemed that he hadn’t however, and the crossbreed smiled slightly as he turned his eyes back onto Ignatius. “So then, with a little more detail, what do you think?” To him it sounded like a very good offer, but he didn’t know anything of the other stallion’s mind so he couldn’t really judge until the Reya spoke. He hoped the spined creature liked the sound of it; he didn’t want to have to start hunting another candidate now that he’d out so much speculation time into this one, that would be such a waste.
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 1:52 pm
So far this was all sounding very, very good. It was exactly what he wanted, and so he was cautious. When something looked too good to be true, it usually was. “Well... It sounds interesting,” the scaled stallion said after a few moments, not wishing the blue crossbreed to know of his skepticism; last thing he wanted was to lose this chance that was being dangled before him for not being eager enough.
“So... Anything else you want to tell me about this before I make a decision?” Ignatius went on. “I wouldn’t want a detail you’d missed to change what my answer might be after all. I’m sure you understand needing to know the facts, Master Tactician.” Bodyguard to the Master Tactician, the Master Tactician who so far seemed like reasonable company despite or perhaps because of his oddness. If neither of them were all that good at social stuff it would matter less, after all.
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 1:58 pm
Castor smiled slightly and nodded. “Yes, of course, details are always necessary. Still, there isn’t a lot more to tell. You would be responsible for my body, and there would of course be a trial period to make sure we’re both happy with arrangements. If you, or indeed I, decide it isn’t working during that time, I feel it is only fair for the unhappy party to be allowed to back out with no hard feelings. Sometimes people just don’t get on, right?”
Right, good, all was said now and all he had to do was wait for the Reya to say yes... He would say yes, right? It would make sense for him to say yes; it solved his rank and file problem but... but people were often horribly illogical. He might refuse. That would not be good; he did not enjoy being rejected. No, no he was being silly. It was far too good an offer to be turned down. Ignatius would be a fool to refuse him, and Meleager hadn’t seemed to think he was a fool. it would all be fine. He wished the Reya would hurry up and answer him.
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 2:01 pm
It sounded good. It was a risk, but he’d come here to take risks, to break out of his solitary rut. This was it, his chance, and he’d never forgive himself if he passed it up. He would always wonder how it might have been to accept. “Yes,” the spined stallion said after only a few more moments of silence. “I think that this might be what I’m looking for, and I know I can protect you from pretty much anything that might try to do you hard. There’s not much willing to mess with these teeth,” the tall Reya said, grinning to display said fangs.
“So then,” he went on, “when do you want me to start... and what should I call you?” Just Castor; sweet skies let him say just Castor. He didn’t want to have to spit out a hallah every five seconds, didn’t want to in the least.
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 2:07 pm
The skinny stallion smiled again and twitched his tails into a more comfortable arrangement. “You can start tomorrow at sunrise; I’ll meet you here. Oh, and Castor will do fine; we’ll be spending a lot of time together so I don’t really feel honorifics are called for. Not that you used them in the first place,” he added with a slight smirk.
“So then, I shall see you tomorrow, Ignatius,” the crossbreed said with a nod of his head to the scaled Reya. “I hope the rest of you day is pleasant; farewell for now.” With these words, he turned around and set off at an easy walk, very glad that Ignatius couldn’t see his smirk. He’d done it! He’d got himself his bodyguard, another plan come off perfectly. He did love it when that happened. Still smirking, Castor picked up his pace a little and set off toward one of Meleager’s favorite spots; this news he couldn’t wait to share.
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 2:09 pm
For a few moments, Ignatius watched the other stallion move off. Eventually however, he shook himself out of his daze and grinned a sharp grin. Well that had been unexpected, and was the best thing that had happened to him since being accepted into the herd. Giving a throaty chuckle, the muscled Reya turned back towards the dueling ring and took off at a canter. He couldn’t wait to pass this bit of news onto his friends.
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