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 Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:36 am
 It felt like every muscle in her lean, slender body was bruised. Underneath her seemingly scaly hide, a serenade of aches and pains twitched along delicate nerve endings in feeble reminder that taking on bigger, brute-like stallions was unwise for her health. She'd been lucky the monster hadn't simply torn off her wings or ripped open her belly--even breaking a limb would have been enough to severely deteriorate her health. Wouldn't it have been wiser to simply accept that it'd been his so-called 'territory' she'd stumbled into? If she'd just backed down from the surly Kalona, she wouldn't find herself nursing a hoof imprint on her bony chest next to this simmering brook and counting her war wounds. And that would have been boring as hell. The mare stretched her neck for a moment, a decidedly smug look scrawled across her features as she surveyed her appearance in the muddy water. So he'd been bigger. Stronger. She'd still kicked his a** and gotten away with it. So she was a little sore, who cared? Served the b*****d right for not being able to handle an innocent observation or two--like how he glittered in the sun. A rumbling chuckle stirred in her throat, and she gave her head a shake, sending scraggled, two-toned locks flapping every which way. Victory'd been all the sweeter when she suddenly realized he was her uncle--and that made her a niece. Too bad it'd killed the fury he'd been in; Theia realized the fight was over when his lashing hooves no longer sought to crush her skull. The sun crawled across her twitching flank with heated fingers, unconsciously encouraging the young female to spread her wings a bit. She was feeling good, riding on cloud nine while gloating to herself in a temporary moment of solitude. But hunger would inevitably set in after her exertions, encouraging her to seek out a snack. But for now? Theia was only too content to preen while caring for her bruised and bloodied appearance.
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:35 pm
 There was no significant fanfare to announce his arrival - a rustle of healthy copse, the higher tree branches rattling like serpents before he slipped quietly away and they paused, trying to decide what had spooked them in the first place. Muffled hoof beats crept through the ground, his weight carrying distant thunder while its brotherly bond to lightning worked through his veins, carrying him toward the water source he'd been seeking for the latter part of the night, merely following the crystalline murmurs and the damp smell of overabundance. The focus was on slaking his thirst, the same one he had been burdened with for a while now, too stubborn to interrupt his privacy and venture toward a place where others congregated. Sheep mentality, mostly, the idea of safety in numbers, of belonging only long enough to see someone frailer fall to bone-crushing jaws. There was no strength to be found in groups where ability was based on the failings of other members. Only the separate, the singular knew what they could truly handle. He could recognize that he'd gone long enough without water, and fasting had never been part of his regiment.
The stallion appeared out of the obscuring green foliage along the banks, the thinned canopy above casting freckled shadows over his blue-bleached body in much the same way that small insects flickered across the sedate pace of the channel. The colossal male had already been stretching his thick neck down, leaning nearer to the clear depths when he caught a whiff of another, glancing up through matted red locks to spy the brown and dried blood vision lingering on the opposite side of him. A flare of nostrils, an invisible blink of eyes, and he had decided that it was female, that it bore signs of injury, and that all of the aforementioned was of little consequence to him since he drank upstream of where she lay. If she had been leaking life into the current from some punctured part of her, he wouldn't be forced to taste it.
He lowered his head without offering a greeting, opening his mouth to invite the cool, sweet chill in as his pulsing throat indicated that he drank deeply. It was almost a ritual unto itself, the crispness of it renewing anything that had begun to disintegrate in him, washing away the distractions that were intrinsic to living. And yet it was a simple enough task, one that his mind did not linger on, appreciation a short-lived creature when it managed to enter his musings at all. He was only a deep thinker when it snuck up on him.
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:35 pm
A crisp crunch of sprightly plants ground to little more than organic fibers, the subtle sigh of damp earth giving way... Someone was coming, and they were close enough to catch the attention of her ears. They stood straight, cocking forward half an inch with lazy intrigue. It never crossed her mind to be alert, or even worried. She knew no fear, and had no predators. It was then that the broad shouldered beast pushed his way through the encroaching forest on the other side, leaving but a thin stream of gurgling water between them. She didn't deny feeling mildly affronted when the other barely lifted his head, as though finally seeing her, then simply returned to snatching his mouthful of water. What a bold b*****d! The fact that she was a Kalona and very much a threat didn't seem to phase him at all... Her fangs ground thoughtfully in her slender jaw, threatening to catch her tongue and tear it open.
Her mind seized on something devious, for her weary body protested against something as drastic as launching herself in for an attack. Though it'd likely teach him never to take his eyes off her or her kind again, Theia knew enough to respect her limits. No sense in looking like an inexperienced fool, though she knew she could outwit him. Leathery wings unfolded in a simple stretch, flapping once so they could slap at the air--and give her the lift she needed to rear up on her hind legs. Towering for a moment, the mare lunged forward into the river, ramming her small, but powerful forefeet into the quivering heart of the element. It bled in a great gush, hopefully soaking the stallion just as she'd intended.
"Sorry, Red." Came the low, silky-sweet purr as the mare continued onto the other side of the riverbank, pulling herself up with a good shake as though having done nothing at all. "Thought that great ugly mess on you was a bunch of worms trying to say hello. You can thank me later for helping out." Her muzzle pulled back in a fang-lined grin, though Theia had already moved under the shade of a nearby tree to better groom herself.
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Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:35 pm
The slap of chiropteran wings on wind alerted him to the fact that she was moving before he'd seen her through the unruly part of his hair, eyes narrowing when he caught on to the female's lifted posture. If she thought he was defenseless enough to accomplish an unrehearsed stomp on his skull, she had a hard-earned lesson on the way. His lips lifted, spilling water through teeth gritted with threat while he considered delivering a snap to one of her knobby little knees, all for disabling the target until he realized that the aim of her hooves was slightly askew. They came down in the water, the spark of meeting with rocks immediately drowned out even as a lesser wave sloshed up, wetting down the wild, red pipes of his hair. A needle of annoyance burst the previous indifference, the moss and shale-colored balefulness of the stallion's stare focusing on the caricature of an enemy provided by the sleek-bodied Kalona.
Beard dripping along with much of his face, Amarant finally raised his head to give her at least part of the attention such an indignity required, monitoring the way she traipsed over to the comfort of the shadows while still playing with the idea of carving a lesson into horseflesh. She was young, her brightness more blinding stupidity than sense if her new bruising and previous act were any indication. "You thank your kinsman for beating the snot out of you then?" His voice was rough without any need to dispatch emotion, the gravelly flatness of it devoid of even pleasure for her hurts. He had smelled another predator's perfume when she'd moved past him, mixed with the musk and furor that designated it male. The marks on already mottled skin hardly moved him, the scaly-seeming quality to her coat only noted because it might have been some sort of mange that would cause her flesh to slough off in great swathes of bloodied mess when slammed into correctly. He killed for less than what she'd just done, and her attitude was of pathetic credit to her race.
No longer in danger of dehydration, the salamander emblazoned mercenary stepped closer to where she'd settled, trying to decide on an appropriate rejoinder to her mock-attack. If she had experienced an unfriendly bump with one of her supposed buddies, that was hardly his problem. If, however, she wanted to pursue another battle to prove her mettle, he'd gladly swat her down like the bloodthirsty fly she was.
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 4:00 pm
Hook, line, and sinker--she'd snagged the galumphing oaf without hardly having to lift a hoof. Trust a stallion and his sensitive ego to lead to petty confrontation. Her muzzle slanted downward, allowing her to regard him with demure, sweet shyness while her laughing eyes flickered over his bulky off-blue body. "Only if they're clever enough to catch me, Red. Guess that won't be happening today--you aren't kin, and you sure as hell don't look that bright." Her tail twisted and lashed slowly as he lumbered closer, like some earthen serpent baring black barbed fangs. If he thought to pin her up against the rough bark, he'd be sadly mistaken. She regarded him coyly, tossing her horned head as though in mock threat before she laughed. What a piece of work!
"Just think of it as a free bath, Red. I know being clean must come as a real shock, but at least you didn't fall in face first and drown yourself. Doubt you could have gotten yourself out of that mess." She idly skirted around him, her movements languid and unconcerned with his nearness. It would have been all too easy to reach down and rip out a hamstring or two, but Theia had always been one to play with her food first. "Unless you're really that offended that I got the upper hand because you were too busy guzzling to watch yourself...?" Came the sly suggestion.
With a chuckle, the mare offered another toss of her head before fixing a bold stare on him. "Tell you what. You go off and nurse your poor, damaged manliness, and I'll promise not to tell a soul about your little slip up, okay?" Theia cooed, nodding with exaggerated sympathy at his plight. If this didn't rile him up, she'd be sorely disappointed.
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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:01 pm
The look she shot below her lashes wasn't about to unbalance him, not when it came with an overconfident ring to her voice as it tried out a few harmless insults. Girl had a mouth on her, if nothing else, and by all appearances there was little left to judge her by unless he took in the array of bruises. Whatever beating she'd endured obviously hadn't curbed her tongue much, impish demeanor implying that she expected a fight fresh on the heels of her last encounter. It seemed almost wrong not to accommodate her slightly, even as he watched her sidle away from the corner she'd been locked in, making no move yet to intercept.
"... You talk too much," Amarant offered once he was certain interruption was possible, recognizing that the being seen but not hear commitment had dropped out of the female gene pool somewhere along the line. Hardly a surprise, considering this one's mostly earthy coloring and unimpressive looks: it was either be loud or be overlooked. "Tell you what: stop with the nattering and maybe you can just carry the marks you've already got. Not a lot of sense in adding to 'em."
His body language was flowing and easy in turn, acknowledging that if he wanted to pick a fight, he would be ready. The peeking fangs were coolly noted, her horns curled at a backward angle that would make utilizing them as weapons difficult, but not necessarily impossible. Spikes slanted out of her shoulder near the feather and leather mess of her wings, but she would have to slam him fairly hard to do damage. That left her tail, the flat, arrowhead end of it capable of slapping with enough force to raise skin if he proved clumsy. All of it was quietly analyzed, a trick made to fool him into thinking he had more control than he actually did, self-discipline still lacking in spite of his daily practice sessions. She didn't present as much of an opponent, injured as she was, small and coiled like a rattlesnake that would undoubtedly land a bite laced with a less literal kind of venom. His hoof lifted almost idly to scrape against the dirt, its paleness like a stained diamond. She'd either keep running up the tab on her vocabulary or she'd get down to business; with any luck, flimsy as the concept was in his clutches, it would be the second.
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