[PRP] The darker side of normal [Nikolas & Yazmina]

[Kesmi]

It had been a few nights since he had a run in with a pack of wolves, much to say they haven't showed their faces in a while. Nor had he heard their howls since a few nights past. This much pleased him, he didn't really want to see another wolf for a long time. Nikolas prowled the trees and woods for something to ear, his dull black eyes reflected his hunger as he moved with agility and swiftness through the trunk and branches. He had hoped that something would just present itself to him, tough luck on that happening. So he headed into the shadows to hunt.

Stopping at a human's game trail, he looked around, nothing seemed to be insight, at least not yet. Shrugging a little, Nikolas headed down the path, his eyes watching the sides and ears listening to the night life for anything larger then a cricket. Stopping once, something rustled just past the trees, a young deer, perfect. Tongue escaping his lips and dragged across them, fangs elongating themselves some. Food, ears flicking backwards he crouched and headed into the trees. The deer becoming spooked, ran, Nikolas ran after until they broke into the clear. There he managed to knock the hoofed brethren off its hooves and to the ground. Before it could get back up, Nik let his fangs sink into the tender neck of the deer and the crimson from its veins wash over his tongue.

Regular he might have been, but he had his darker side. He wasn't like his kind hearted brother who fed only on only berries and sweet grass, no, Nikolas needed more. Nostrils flaring and ears turned back, the scent of blood flooded his senses and it didn't seem like there was anything to break him of it...  

[Samuel Carlin]

She knew better. She really did. The last time she'd left the herd at night, she'd ended up in that horrible situation with the wolves attacking and poor Nikolas taking the brunt of the abuse. He'd made her nervous even before the beasts appeared, that was true, but she couldn't have left him to stand against them alone. No matter how strong he seemed, there'd been more of them than him and they might have given him a worse injury.

She remembered being told at home that once a hunter had the scent and taste of something, they'd keep on hunting it until they scored a kill. That was why she was out tonight, making sure no other Soquili had been tracked down and cornered, or worse, by the same pack of wolves.

The sounds of a scuffle and the thump of something somewhat heavy caught her attention, ear twitching toward it, as she froze. Her heart sped up and blood pumped through her veins. She flexed her wings a little, readying them just in case, but she changed direction, going to investigate. She didn't hear the howling or baying of wolves, but maybe she'd missed it. Maybe they'd learned to be quiet.

She pushed through the trees cautiously, every step careful, senses on full alert. She looked out into the clearing and --spotted that bright white coat. The size of him, the shape. Nikolas, it had to be. Out on his own, again? She stepped forward to the edge of the treeline and stretched her neck. She could smell the tang of blood. And there was something on the ground. Had he killed another wolf? Was he bleeding?

"Nikolas?" she called quietly. "Is that you? Are you all right?  

[Kesmi]

Ear twitching, something caught them and demanded them to move, to obey. Though his black eyes remained closed and his head down as he fed, the voice called again and he released the deer. It staggered to its hooves and away from him and back into the trees. He hadn't taken much and it would survive... Unless something else got it before the night was over. Tongue lapping at the blood that was layering his lips, the white stallion straightened himself up and hook out his dark colored mane. It was only now did he open his eyes, they were darker and more alive. Flames burnt within their depths as he looked around.

Turning back to the trees, he caught the scent of a familiar mare whom he had been with a few nights past. Blood still stained the corners of his mouth as he watched Yazmina's hiding place, a hoof stomped as he watched in silence for the moment. What was she doing here? Hadn't she learned that it wasn't really that safe at night? Nah, most didn't he didn't think this one would learn that. At least not yet anyways.

"Yes, I'm fine. But you let my meal get away." His tone was heavy, there was also a weight of emotion within it, that not only had he taken a bit of essence from the deer, but also a bit of its memory had seeped into his mind. "What brings you out here again?"

Head turning to where the deer had staggered off to, he would let that one live for the night, again if it survived the night. Tail flicking behind him, an eye tilted some to look in Yazmina's direction. Worse come for worse, she could make a good snack, granted, he could keep her on the ground. No. no, must not stain that white neck of hers that would tarnish her beauty. A beauty he hadn't seen in a long time since coming here, nah, he would have to wait until another deer or something came along to feed again.  

[Samuel Carlin]

She was sure she'd recognized him. When it was confirmed, she relaxed and stepped free of the trees, a smile on her lips. But then the deer got up and stumbled away. And there were flames in the darkness of Nikolas's eyes. She lifted her head, alarm thrilling through her. Her ears were pricked forward hard, every bit of her attention on the stallion.

"Your meal?" she echoed, gaze flickering briefly after the deer and back. "You were eating the deer?" Now she remembered that flash of fang she'd seen on the night the wolves attacked. Kalona, a small voice in her mind piped up. She'd wondered if he was one of the demon-breed, at least partly, at the time, but she'd forgotten or put it out of her mind. It was back now. She swallowed and ignored the twitching in her flank that said she ought to get away.

"I'm sorry," she offered. "I didn't mean to interrupt your...meal. I didn't know you were eating." Or she would surely have stayed away. "I was. I came out to make sure the wolves hadn't caught anyone else. My father used to say that what a pred--a hunter," she amended, for fear of offending him, "got a taste of, it would come for again."  

[Kesmi]

Nikolas gave her the strangest of looks, him? Eat a deer? That was laughable, him eating a deer, He hadn't really 'harmed' the animal, merely 'sampled' off it persay. Tilting his head to one side, he noted the alertness of her actions. Was she scared of him? Could have been, but he merely smiled, though his teeth might have still been a little stained.

"Me eat a deer? Good heavens no." He laughed taking a step toward Yazmina. "I wouldn't 'eat' the deer, merely live off its essence in a way."

His head turned back to where the deer had vanished, barely thinking about it as he stepped closer to the mare, his eyes trailing down toward the tender flesh that covered her neck, watching the veins pulse as her heart forced the blood. Her essence through them, oh if only he weren't too 'mindful' of where he was and of who he was, now, his lips would have been at her throat and her blood running over his tongue. Shaking his head he looked away, the flames still burning within his eyes.

"I doubt those wolves would come again. Not after the beating 'we' gave them. But your father might be right about one thing..." He paused and glanced back at Yazmina, walking closer to her. "Once we get a taste for the essence of life, some of us become the damned and are forced to live off it."

By now he was close enough that he was bombarded with her scent, it filled his nostrils and his mind. Ears pitching themselves forward her uneasiness drawing him closer. Much like a predator closer to its cornered prey, even though she had more ways to flee then he had to chase. His expression coming over as a calm one, his eyes softening some masking that old predatory look from sight. He would have to try and calm her of her fright, though he might just end up making it worse.

"Now, now, there's nothing really to fret about. I haven't heard a wolf since that night a time ago." He trying saying comfortingly. "So, put that matter behind and walk with me? The stars are out again and the air is warm." His head tilting to the side, giving off that old boyish charms, where below the darker side urged him to get closer, all too tempting.  

[Samuel Carlin]

Oh yes, she was scared, but it wasn't a fear of him, exactly. She hadn't quite figured out what it was that frightened her about him. He'd been relatively kind to her when they last met, and if he'd snapped a bit, well. He was entitled. The wolves had bitten and scratched him and he was well within his rights to be a little cranky as a result. So it was less anything he'd done and more a sense of ...danger?

When he took a step forward, she tensed, then mentally scolded herself and relaxed a little again. Of course he wasn't eating the deer. That would just be silly. Wouldn't it? Then again, the way he looked at her made her heart speed faster. The odd, eldritch flames in his eyes didn't help, but she told herself she was being silly and skittish as she often was.

And he was reassuring her, so really, it must have just been her nerves and her overactive imagination. She huffed out a soft breath, telling herself to relax, again, and managed a smile for his sake.

"I haven't heard the wolves either," she admitted. "So maybe they really were scared badly enough that they won't come back. We can hope." Her smile warmed a little. "I'll walk with you," she said. If something came after them, better to have company with a stallion that made her a little wary than to face an unknown danger alone.  

[Kesmi]

Like a fly to the spider web. snickered the darker portion of Nikolas's mind, Now closer, to where you wan knuckle in.

Oh that idea was all too tempting, her uneasiness was giving away weakness to his senses and all he had to do was pounce when the time was right. No, he couldn't what would his brother say? He knew what his brother would say, he was going to kill him a brother that's what he would say. Shaking his head inwardly, Nikolas let the darkness wander a moment, not letting to take complete grasp over his consciousness just yet, perhaps something else would pop up and he would be able to ward off his thirst and have a peaceful evening.

Peaceful? Pah, Spat the small voice. Peaceful is when you've fed and the world of light rises to find the carcass of some dim witted animal laying on the ground. Now THAT is peaceful.

Biting back, he glared at the ground. Nikolas swatted away the voice like a fly hovering over his flank. He wouldn't hear any of it, he would quell that later, LATER! Willing himself to calm down, not knowing that he was panting still standing where he had stopped before. Eyes having gone blank and ears tilted backwards, he looked lost within himself. An inward battle of sorts was raging behind those glassed over eyes, who would win? Shaking his head he smiled back at Yazmina as apparently he won back his right to his 'body'.

"Sorry," he said turning to the side and started walking. "I have a feeling that the wolves have retreated or perhaps something else got them. Who knows." Giving a shrug Nikolas kept his black eyes skyward. "So have you picked out a star?"

What kind of question was that? Certainly not one that he had really thought of, picking a star? At the end of that sentence his voice had heaved again, an almost snarl like tone. With a quick clearing of his throat, Nikolas silently scolded himself, more so he scolded that feral urge at the back of his head. One he wished greatly to free himself from, but again didn't wish to part with it. It was apart of him and he would seem.. Incomplete without it. Tail flicking behind him, he tried hard not to glance at her neck, but it looked so tender. So easily to break with his fangs, no he had to keep his mind on other things... Or at least try.  

[Samuel Carlin]

Something was unmistakeably not right. Something was going on with Nikolas and she wished she understood what it was. He was panting as if he'd been running and yet he was standing still. Fever, perhaps? No, meager though her help was, she'd still seen his wounds heal. There was no reason why he should have gotten sick from that. And yet.

She'd been about to nudge him and ask if he was all right when he shook his head and came "back" in a fashion. He started moving before she could say anything, so she moved with him, half worried for him and half about him. "Let's hope that's so," she said quietly, willing the wolves and any other predators to stay away. Neither one of them, it seemed, were in condition for another fight.

The question startled her, making her ears flick forward in surprise. Then they glicked back as he...snarled? She was so confused. "I. I haven't picked out a star," she confessed. "There are those I recognize but I couldn't claim them as my own. I couldn't fly that high and ...Nikolas, are you all right?" She couldn't help herself.  

[Kesmi]

Was he alright? That was a good question, he wasn't too sure about it and he wasn't sure if she could help him even if he wasn't alright. Deep inside a beast was growing restless, like a lion caged from the wild. Always pacing, snarling at those outside its prison unable to get out. Head turning to let his eyes watch the ground that they walked on, he pondered her question to him. The short answer was no, he wasn't alright, he was hungry what he had gotten only earlier barely sated his hunger. He wanted more, having heard that maybe unicorn or Alicorn blood was m,ore nourishing then that of any common deer he was tempted to try it himself.

"Perhaps you should? My brother and I always thought when we passed on, we would go to one of those stars." He said in an almost dream like state as his head raised back up. "My brother picked..." He had to find it again. "That one to be his resting place, well true resting place." He motioned toward one of the many that flickered, its glow was dimer then the rest even in this hour of night. "Mine is be side it, Guess I can never be too far away from my brother." He chuckled, though it came more at a croak.

Turning his head toward Yazmina, his eyes growing darker as he stopped. No, he wasn't alright, he kept telling himself. Tail flicking and wars twisting themselves backwards. Behind those black eyes he was screaming at himself not to do anything harsh, or to really scare her, but the animal was free. The cage had been opened and the beast was released, Heaven forgive him if he did anything against his brother's wishes.

"No, I'm not alright. I'm hungry." He said quite clearly, the heavy mono toned voice sounded. "Please forgive me for all this, but that meager deer earlier was a mere snack, I have heard tell that your kind are more..." He licked his lips watching her, "Tasty." He stepped around Yazmina, inhaling her scent, lips curling back a little as his fangs elongated themselves a bit. "But I don't think I could tarnish that pretty white coat of yours. What would the other think? Shame on me..."  

[Samuel Carlin]

Yes, definitely confused. His brother had a star picked out for himself? "It's a comforting thought," she offered, uneasy. "Having somewhere to go when we've passed on. A place that can be seen and we know we'll be remembered." She wanted to look at the star he pointed out, but she spared it only a brief glance. She didn't want to take her eyes off him for that long.

She wanted to back up. She didn't. Not right away, at least, but her flank was twitching again and her wings shifted a bit, settled, and rustled again. When he confessed that he had been eating--feeding on--the deer, she did back up. A single step. She didn't get farther than that, because then he was pacing around her and she thought it better that she not move. She might be best off if she didn't even breathe, but she couldn't manage that.

And she couldn't stay silent. Her eyes were wide and dark--though not as dark as his--with fear. "N-Nikolas," she practically whispered. "I don't think I would. Taste very good. Not really. So I don't think you should. I mean, we could go and find something to eat, but I'd rather you didn't feed on me." She didn't understand how that was possible, but he'd said it. She swallowed hard. "If it's all the same to you."  

[Kesmi]

Nikolas could feel her fear, the fear of him, the fear of what might happen to her if the beast continued. But he was shoved to the back, as his muzzle sniffed along her unsettled wings until it came to the base of her neck. No! He couldn't let it hurt her, sure it might see her as a food item, something to leech off of, but he was more happy to leech off other things.

"Oh, but I think you would taste quite good. And it doesn't hurt, really, Not unless you want it to." He gave a grin, his normally hidden fangs, now elongated enough to look much like those of a viper. "Come now dear, no need to be afraid, I'm not like those wolves that tear flesh from bone. No, I just sample off the essence that travels through your veins."

The beast of Nikolas smiled again as he remained close to Yazmina, his eyes watching her as his voice had toned down to a more seductive tone. Small notes of music almost seemed to play off his tongue to the ears that listening. Nikolas, inside, shook his head before stomping a hoof to drive that of himself back into the shadows. Like a stallion would a predator away from his offspring. This left him winded as the darkness from his eyes faded and the fangs shrank back to normal and hid beneath his lips.

It all seemed like it was over, for now. Eyes closing and unseen wounds opened themselves all over his body, though not a scratch on his moral hide. Head hanging some, a shiver coursed over his body before he looked up again. Saddened was the expression before he turned away from her. Silent he remained, as silent as the stars over their heads, he didn't think he could speak after what had been spoken. Nikolas didn't even think the normal, 'I'm sorry' was going to cover the whole thing, actually he knew it wouldn't. From the feel of her fear that was resonating all around the small space, he knew it wouldn't help.

"You... You should go before it comes back." He said finally, voice strained as if someone were trying to strangle him. "You are not safe here, not even from me, as much as I try to protect those around me, I can't seem to protect them from myself..." He still didn't let his gaze stray away from the stars, in the back of his mind he hoped she would leave, then again he hoped more then that that she would stay and try to help him... If she could.  

[Samuel Carlin]

Still, be still, she told herself as a shudder rippled through her while he sniffed. If she bolted, he might chase her. She could certainly take to the sky and he couldn't follow her there, but would he follow on the ground until she was too tired to stay aflight? Then what? If she wore herself out up there, she'd never be able to fend him off on four feet.

And there was the part of her that wanted to let him feed on her. That part that had been lured in by the music and invitation in his voice. She felt like she was being tugged in two directions and she couldn't choose either, hooves stuck in place.

Then something changed and he looked away. Those terrifying fangs were gone and he wasn't touching her. Her head cleared and she backed up, twisted and moved away, putting a few good paces between them. He said she should go and she should. She knew she should. And yet.

And yet he had enough presence to warn her off. He hadn't bitten her or fed off her essence. Her blood. He hadn't hurt her, either time they'd met, and that counted for something. It mattered a great deal. But how could she trust him if he wanted to bite her?

She turned back to face him, but she didn't get closer. She shifted her weight, hooves stamping the ground as her wings shifted and her ears twitched. Deciding. How could she leave him in such a state? It took effort to find her voice, to ask, "What happened to you?"  

[Kesmi]

"I am... Damned, Yazmina." He put simply letting his gaze fall from the skies and drift back towards her direction. "I was damned before coming to this place, Damned as long as I can remember or from what I think I remember. My brother is also damned." He looked away again, but he didn't move nor twitch. He just, stood there, watching her from where she had backed off to.

He could still feel the fear coming from her, it was thick in the space between them. Nikolas wasn't the bit surprised in the fear, he had caused it. Well the beast within, the thirst had caused it. He didn't know why she had remained there, he couldn't, well didn't think, he could protect her from himself. Looking away again, he sought to continue what he was saying, hoping to shed a little more 'light' on what was going on with him.

"I've become a creature of the night, someone that lives off another every so often. Hence to me feeding off the deer earlier, it was to quell the beast that my brother has gotten control of long before me." He shook his head some. "He was trained not to kill others when feeding, that at times comes as an accident, in my case, I didn't have that teaching. So the beast within me is at times stronger then my own willpower. So you could say that I'm just as bad as the wolves with the beast is loose..." He stopped again to let the silence of the night fall in again, waiting for her reaction in this all.  

[Samuel Carlin]

"You're not as bad as they are," she said immediately. That was taking things to far. "I saw the deer get up and walk away, so you didn't kill it." That had to count for something. "And you. You stopped, just now. When you could have ...bitten me, I suppose." He had the fangs for a reason, after all. "You didn't bite me, Nikolas. You're not a monster."

And yet she still felt like another shudder would sweep through her at any moment. She still kept her distance. Ear flicking back, then toward him, she asked, "If your brother could learn to control it, then you can too, can't you? It. If he learned when he was young, it might be harder now, but ...you could try." She couldn't imagine foals with those fangs, feeding on other small animals. Her mind just wouldn't let her go in that direction.

She had to know. She swallowed and spoke again. "If. If you hadn't stopped. What would have happened to me?"  

[Kesmi]

"You came along and all I could do was just let it go. I could have killed it if I had been alone. Your the only reason why it's not dead." He stomped looking toward her. "And I haven't bitten you because I find that I can't." Nikolas looked away again, eyes dragging themselves upwards. "I could try, but I was taught to kill, to take what I needed to survive. My brother wakened more gently then I did. My awakening, felt like I was dying all over again. The only way to quell the beast was to kill."

He started walking away from Yazmina, his hooves feeling heavy against the ground like chains had been attached to them to anchor him in place. Deep within himself the beast was pacing again, waiting for its moment to pounce back. Its tail lashing back and forth, and burning black eyes watching, waiting, dwelling in the darkness as Nikolas made his way, away from Yazmina slowly.

"If I haven't stopped it, your neck would be stained with your own blood. My lips attached to the wounds and suckling like a foal to its mother's milk. But I doubt the beast would kill you, it seems more interested in keeping you around. But I won't let it stain that white coat of yours." He answered her last question. "Too many times have I seen creatures fall beneath my own need to eat. That I have refrained from." He shook his head. "Refrained from feeding on those that have become my kind, even though back then I fed on anything that walked."