[PRP] It's in the Blood (Shinoma & Taraxippus)

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Shinoma moved with no particular purpose in mind. No particular destination either. She was vaguely hungry, her appetite just stirring, but not enough to push her anywhere near where she might find something to kill.

Well, that was a lie really, she was actually hoping that she would run into anyone of the Soquilis she'd met when she was just a little filly; Shyam for preference, but she had no clue where she would find him, or where to start looking.

Her father would do as well, she'd been spending alot of time with her mother lately, and whilst that was all very well, Izusa still had a tendency to slip back into her old habits of spouting inanities, and she could use some sensible conversation. Plus she wanted to show her daddy how well she'd grown up. With this in mind she cast her eyes about, starting to track now, listening and scenting the air all the while as she went.  

[Sabin Duvert]

Perhaps it was memory, perhaps instinct, or perhaps just something in the shadowy blood that swam through Shinoma, but as she wandered, the woods began to take on a familiar look. The trees seemed slightly more bent, the shadows deeper, and a hint of malice clung to the area.

And then, the ghost of a familiar scent, a flicker of movement between the trees, and finall, the shadows themselves seemed to take shape as a stallion stepped out from between a cluster of trees. Once he may have towered over the crimson filly, but now, his amber eyes were on the same level, the wry smile dead ahead as he looked his daughter in the eye.

"Shinoma." He crooned with a wry quirk to his mouth. "I had wondered when you would find your way to these woods again. It has been too long, and my... how you have grown." There was a touch of sarcasm in his words, as he stated what might be a normal greeting in any family, or an old aunt to a niece. He was fully aware of the irony. And yet, despite the irony, there was unabashed pride in his eyes as he looked over his demonic daughter. She was his, his blood mixed with Izusa's, the fierce Kalona.

 

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'Hello Father,' Shinoma grinned at him, showing off her pointed fangs, her tail tendrils lashing at the damp, cold ground. For her these woods were positively homely, where others might run away from the oppressing feeling, she felt relaxed.

'Time brings all things to pass.' she said with a look.
'You could have found me before now, it wasn't like I was hard to find.'

Shinoma hadn't minded spending more time with her mother than her father when she was growing, but now was the time to strengthen those ties. Besides, he would know better than Izusa what her siblings had been up to.

'Am I the only one grown so well?' she asked.  

[Sabin Duvert]

Taraxippus's eyes wandered over his daughter possessively. She had grown into a fine mare, bristling with confidence, danger, and intelligence. This was HIS daughter, there was no doubt, and despite the fact that she had grown up primarily in the care of her mother and not him, she had grown finely.

"But it speaks well of you that you found your way back to me, daughter." Taraxippus responded evenly. "I knew that you would return when you were ready."

His lips spread in a toothy smile when she inquired about her siblings. "Your sister, Seance, has also grown into a fine mare." He looked over his shoulder, where the shadows of the trees compounded with the fading light of the day. There, a mare stepped from the shadows. At first glance, she appeared to be nothing more than a brightly colored unicorn, however the shadowy heritage that was reflected in Shinoma's own consistancy was evident in this newcomer to the scene. Despite the apparent lack of any outward Kalona features, there was a hardness and intelligence in her eyes that betrayed a nature that defied her breed.

"Greetings, Sister." the unicorn spoke boldly.
 

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'Or when I was tired of my mother's strangeness. She is mostly coldly sane but every now and then..' Shinoma responded archly, her ears flickering as she got the sense of an other in the vicinity.

'When she is perfectly lucid she speaks of you alot Father, in words that I really don't need to hear about my own parents.' she'd had an interesting upbringing, her mother had been pefectly candid about everything, her history, her relationships, and everything that was to do with the more intimate relations her daughter would one day experience.
'She wants to see you as well, I imagine she'll be searching you out soon.'

Shinoma caught her sister's scent before the words reached her, and she angled her head towards Seance, frankly appraising her. It was amusing that Seance looked a great deal like her mother, but had nothing of her hardness physically. She seemed more wisp than warrior, that was her first impression. Red eyes looked straight into purple, and she could see that looks were deceiving.

'Grown as well..has our brother?' she looked briefly at Taraxippus when she asked her question, but her gaze returned to her sister, still sizing her up.  

[Sabin Duvert]

Taraxippus tossed his head in a nod, amber eyes never leaving his kalona daughter, folowed by a breathy, whickering laugh. "I see. Well, regardless of her candid words, it seems that you have been raised well. Be it due to Izusa's guidance, or your own precocious mind. I am pleased that you have sought me out, daughter. It is a monumentous day that the two of you are here with me, grown as you are."

His eyes drew to Seance, who stood solidly on her ghostly hooves, her own eyes raking over her sister, pausing on her kalona features that she, herself lacked. However, there did not seem to be jealousy in her eyes. Interest, surely, but there was no lack of confidence in Seance's posture. She was poised, intense.


"I would be pleased to see your mother again, Shinoma. I do hope that her clearity has not been too poor. As for your brother... I was charged with the upbringing of one basket....  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'I would have found you out whatever or wherever you were ..' Shinoma said with a hint of arrogance.

'Though if Mother had not chosen better this time the meeting wouldn't be going as well as it has been. I've drawn the best from you both, and I have pride in my blood, even if I might seem diluted to the pure ones.' she snorted. She looked back at Seance.
'Don't say much do you?'

Shinoma shrugged at her father;
'I've seen about as much of my brother as you have, I think he got reared somewhere else. Mother doesn't seem worried though, I think she checks up on him every now and then, and I suppose as he's the same age he would have grown as well.' she gave a short laugh.

'And soon please! Nah, like I said she just slips every now and then. She told me she was lost for so long that isn't surprised that her sanity falters now and then.'  

[Sabin Duvert]

"I am sure that you would have, daughter." Taraxippus crooned. "You have your father's sharpness." He concluded with a confident smile. "You have every right to be proud, as do I. It is unforunate that it sounds as if your mother may have been lapsing recently. I must pay her a visit again sometime soon. There is much that we can do now that you and your siblings have grown. We are sharp, intelligent, strong. We are a force to be reckoned with." His tail flicked from side to side in his approval. "You are hardly diluted. With my blood, I believe that it only lends you power. The power of the shadows and cunning of the mind. And Seance and I, well, while we may appear to be the benign unicorns, that pause for thought only grants us another, different advantage, doesn't it Seance?"


Seance smiled wildly. "That it does, father. You have taught me well. The things that drive the hearts of most soquili. The things that they desire and what they do not want to believe. I can be quiet, my sister, like the cloying shadows, but when I wish to speak I am fully capable. I merely do not always see a reason." She smiled with a nod of her head.  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'You know that pures would think otherwise father, and they will try to kill me and my siblings.' Shinoma growled in a low voice. She had probably more bloodlust in her than most so-called pure Kalonas.

'They can try though. I'll take them all on, and collect their teeth. I've met those who are half, and don't live up to their blood. Pathetic weaklings who don't deserve the gifts they were given..I am far from those. I don't shy from blood.' her wings rustled, the leathery parts making the sinister sound, and she dug a gouge into the ground with a cloven hoof.
She looked at her sister.

'You speak when you need to, I can understand that. Actions speak louder after all.' Shinoma slipped to her sister's side, and wrapped her tendrils around one of Seance's legs.
'And does my dear sister hunt?'  

[Sabin Duvert]

This time, before Taraxippus could speak, something seemed to come alive in Seance. "Do I know how to hunt?!" She responded with a hysterical laugh. Her eyes darted to her father, as if this had been some sort of insult. "Father! She asked me if I knew how to hunt!" Her leonine tail flicked, shaking off her sister's tendrils. "I am a fine hunter, Shinoma. I am nothing more than a shadow, a whisper in the woods as I stalk my prey. They never see me coming until it is too late." She finished smugly.

"Perhaps you and I are lucky, sister, in that despite our mixed heritage, we do not display it. We can pose as pure races. But I have every bit the cunning and ferocity as our parents. There is a strength to being able to choose which cards from your hand to show."

Taraxippus shook his head. "You are no mere halfbreeds, daughters. I am no mere unicorn," he said with a snapping emphasis.  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Shinoma snickered, batting at Seance with a wing.
'My dear sister, I didn't ask if you could hunt, I asked if you hunt.' she flicked at one of her fangs with her tongue tip.

'Everyone is physically capable of hunting, but it's the drive most lack. The bloodlust, and the hunger for landing ones prey.' she snorted in amusement at her sister.

'Of course you can pose, you look like a dainty unicorn, all prettily coloured. I'm glad it's just a front though. I'd hate to have to tell mother that I had to kill my siblings for being unworthy of their blood.'

She drifted over to her father;
'I did not say the word mere, I'm just not blind to the prejudices of our kind Father dear. When one is careful who they mate with, they can strengthen our hand, not weaken it..' she smirked.  

[Sabin Duvert]

Seance flicked her eyes upwards and a smirk settled itself on her face. "My dear sister," She echoed with a confidence, "I certainly hunt." Her eyes lingered on her father with an obvious respect. "Father has taught me to hunt for all my meals. And it is more than their flesh that I nourish myself on. The pursuit, the hunt... it is as vital to me as the air that I breathe." She rolled her shoulders, stretching languidly.

"And I would mind you words about presuming about my inferiority. You presume to be judge on my worthiness? Do you not think our father capable?"

"That is plenty, Seance." Taraxippus snipped. "From what I have seen, " He said with a look to Shinoma, "You both have grown to be fine, strong mares. And it is wasteful to squabble between yourselves. Not when there is so much more strength working together. You are powerful hunters, deadly warriors. Surely, there are better targets for this... enthusiasm." He chuckled.

"Come, ladies. Let us fuel this energy with a hunt. And then, over our meal, we shall talk." His amber eyes appraised his two fine daughters, pensively. "I shall foray into the woods, the two of you shall shadow me on either flank. When my tail flicks, I have spotted prey, and it is to you to close the trap to either side." Certainly, they were powerful hunters, but how well could they work together?"  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

'Our father yes, he has proved himself by siring me.' Shinoma replied with an arrogant grin. She knew her worth, just not her sisters or her brothers. And whilst she didn't hold the belief that pure was best, bloodlust and being a predator was.
She cast a nod at her father with a smile;
'Maybe it is, but it's fun as well.'

A hunt sounded like a good idea, she was eager to see both her father and her sister in action. The vague hunger had grown as well whilst they were talking and now her belly groused at her.  

[Sabin Duvert]

Taraxippus stopped talking as he slipped silently into the forest. He focused, his nostrils flared as he scented the wind, the earth. His amber eyes scoured the ground looking for disturbances, the bushes for snapped branches.

His daughter was confident, almost overly so. It was time to put her, and Seance, to the test. They were newly physically grown and while they had hunted, Taraxippus doubted that they had been seriously tested.

He was sure they had hunted rabbits, deer, even the ill spirited boar. But how much bite was there behind Shinoma's brag... and how ready was Seance with all of his careful training? Could she stand up to a real test?

Taraxippus had never been secretive about his long term plans. He wanted to rule, he wanted power. And he knew that that was a long battle that needed powerful allies. With these two strong daughters, he was hopeful. He had already been cultivating connections, making certain to stay in a dominant position with them. It was time to begin implementing that.

So Taraxippus flowed into the woods, carefully investigating. He picked up scents of rabbits.... and later deer. But he continued on, casting a secret glance backwards to see if Shinoma or Seance noticed the trails, and if so, what they did when he passed them. Seance's brow furrowed momentarily, but she said nothing, looking back to her father seeming to trust him.

He continued on, and finally, there was the scent he sought. He had seen this particular quarry around his territory before. A yearling foal, soquili foal. If the foal had parents, Taraxippus had seen none since he had noticed the colt start hedging in around the edge of their herdgrounds. The winter had been harsh, and it was obvious that it had been harsher on him. The ground foal was skinny, with mats in his fur.

Taraxippus had given him one warning. He had confronted him, bared his teeth and warned him away from this territory. It was time to prove his mettle.

And it was time to test his daughters. They did not know he had warned this yearling once.

He went still, his tail flicked, and he waited to see what they would do.  

[Sayuri_Nitta]

Shinoma had hunted much on her own since she had come of age; no more skittering rabbits for her, unless once happened to blunder straight into her path and ask for its death. So it had been does, and the occasional elderly buck or sickly buck, as a healthy one was a greater challenge with its flashing antlers, and large bulk. Shinoma was after all not a great deal bigger than her mother, and Izusa was a small Soquili for all her fierceness.

As she quietly followed her father, she picked up the scents that he did, noticing occasional tracks. They were obviously going for something larger in the menu - or something more interesting. Her ears flicked as she realised what exactly it was that they were to be hunting - Soquili. She couldnt see it yet, but the scent had become unmistakable - a young male. It was too much to hope that it was a young Angeni.
Shinoma stopped in the undergrowth, flashing her father a look, mouthing at him;
'Herd?'