Two paths met in a wood... (Yazmina and Nikolas)

[Samuel Carlin]

It was nighttime again, of course. When else would she go looking for Nikolas? When else was it safe to go? He was a creature of the night, or so he'd claimed. She'd seen it for herself, the way the sunlight seemed to sap vitality right out of his coat.

She'd seen other things as well. Heard him explain that he needed to feed on other living creatures. That he had an urge to do it. And she'd been frightened. Scared, she amended to herself. Terrified, really, but she'd managed to get past it. To talk with him, to follow him to the place he'd chosen to rest.

And it was there that she returned, a little wary, a little nervous about having come back. After all, he'd made quite the invitation, the offer, the last time they'd spoken. It had been constantly on her mind since, and yet here she was. Daring the demon, so to speak.

She tucked her wings against her side, stretched her neck a bit, and called out, "Nikolas, are you here? It's Yazmina..."  

[Kesmi]

This night was much like any other as he strode through the lands looking for any means of entertainment for the most part, company perhaps as well. Nikolas was a darker mind then his brother whom said he would meet up with him later on. Stepping thought puddles of moonlight and shadow, his coat giving off soft flashes of light as he moved. One thing had really been on his mind, someone whom he hadn't really thought about from their first meeting. Her coat as white as his own with flakes of purple on her wings and stripes up her legs, Yazmina. When they last parted he had given her an offer, one he didn't know what the answer would be to.

Stepping past another pool of light he stopped at the stream side where he had last rested those few weeks ago. Following it backwards, he caught the sounds of anothers steps. Ears perching themselves forward and his steps becoming more of a predator's steps, silent. Or nearly. It was only the voice that stopped him and tilted his head some to one side, Yazmina? What was she doing out here? Then again, he always asked that and always got the same answer it seemed. Shaking his head he stepped out from where he had been... Standing and looked toward the mare as she stretched out her neck a little.

"You know, that looks quite inviting." He teased leaning to one side a little. "Hello Yazmina. Didn't think I would be seeing you out here again, not after last time that is." Oh yes, he remembered what happened, if he hadn't that small bit of control he would have attacked her... But... That was now the past and this was the present.  

[Samuel Carlin]

She was far from a predator. Grass would have a hard time fearing her, really, and that was her only prey, so to speak.

She drew her head back when she heard Nikolas's voice. More so when she registered the words and realized that, yes, she really was being sort of careless, baring her neck like that to the night and just anyone. Color in her cheeks, she readjusted her wings and composed herself. Why was it, exactly, that his arrival made her heartbeat speed that way?

"Well," she said. "No one gets anything done or learns anything by being frightened all the time, and honestly, it's not so bad being out here when I know there's a ...a friend nearby." That was very bold, calling him a friend, but she thought that maybe he was. At least a little.

He hadn't tried to eat her or bite her. That had to count for something.

"How have you been?"  

[Kesmi]

Nikolas straightened himself up and chuckled softly as he noticed Yazmina's cheeks flush a bit and he stepped over to brush against her trying to ease the tension. He wasn't out to hunt, he had done that a couple nights ago, there was still color in his coat to show that he had fed and fed well on something. His beast was tamed for the moment and sleeping quite heavily deep within himself. Stepping back he watched the Alicorn a moment before looking a away a little.

"I've been well. Training little ones of mine and my brother's ways. How about you?" he asked looking back toward her, a calm expression on his face, more calm then it had been the last time they had met. "How are those you live with doing?"

Ok, so that question was a little out of the blue, but if he was going to be friends with her, he could always try and ask how those she knows are. It was a friendly thing to do at the very least, Nikolas wasn't always the cold heartless beast he tried to be all the time. Hard maybe, but that was how he was raised when he was younger, his brother having been taken from him until they found each other some years ago. Lost within his own past, Nikolas almost leaned too far to the side to fall over into the water. Straightening himself up some, he felt a heat come to his own pale face and he wished his had the dark coat of his brother...  

[Samuel Carlin]

Oddly enough--or maybe not--being brushed against only made the color in her cheeks more noticable, no matter how she laughed at herself and tried to play it off. He looked better than the last time she'd seen him, so some little portion of her concern for him melted away.

"Are they learning well?" She couldn't imagine any grown Soquili wanting their foals taught to feed on other living creatures, but if those in the brothers' care had no parents, well. Then it was up to the guardians to teach them.

She smiled in response to his question, ducking her head. "They're well. We're all well," she amended. "Thank you for asking." She hesitated a second, then asked, "Did I disturb you?"  

[Kesmi]

Nikolas gave a small shrug. "Some learn quickly, others don't. It all depends on the fledgling." He pointed out as he remained still where he was standing. "Good to hear that you and your friends are well. It's getting to be a bitter season already."

Glancing away from Yazmina a moment he looked out over the stream at the side, already the fringes of the water were coated in a thin layer of ice. It wouldn't be long until it was completely frozen over and that of what lived within would be cast into a cold sleep. Looking away from the that and across the wooded lands. It too would be freezing over and training would become quite complicated.

"All this snow is going to complicate things." He muttered before looking back to Yazmina. "And easier for predators to get around." Not that he was looking to scare her with the thought. "So, what brings you all the way out here?" he pondered looking at her with a somewhat straight face, the blush from his own pale coat subsiding. "And we will be having company soon. Well as soon as the little ones are abed and he's able to sneak away from them."

This he was speaking of his brother, somewhere between home and there, Kristopher was making his way toward where Nikolas and Yazmina were standing. His dark coat acting much like a shadow in the white lands, his pale hair barely visible as he moved to and fro. Kristopher was quite eager to meet this winged mare his brother had told him about, the one he had unselfishly saved from the wolves and himself. Concerned, yet delighted that Nikolas wasn't as closed in as before, Kristopher might have to give his brother some credit if all this were true.  

[Samuel Carlin]

He may not have meant to scare her, but it did bring the memory of the wolves back to the fore and a very small tremor ran through her, just enough to rustle her feathers and nothing more. "We'll all have to be very vigilant and keep our eyes and ears open for their return, then," she said reasonably. "No one wants to go through what we've gone through." That made sense to her to.

She looked out over the freezing land as well, but other than the notion of predators, it didn't trouble her so much. She sort of liked the lacy edges of ice and the blanket of white covering everything. "I seem to have developed an ... interest in coming out late at night, now," she confessed. "The world looks so different." And? And. Could she admit more? She took a breath. "And I was hoping I might see you."

She looked back at Nikolas when he mentioned company though, ears tipping forward and head tilting curiously. "Company?"  

[Kesmi]

Nikolas only stared at Yazmina for a moment as she spoke of the wolves, those were things even he didn't want to contend with any time soon. Though beating up a couple would calm his hatred for them... Well for a little while at least. Shaking his head, black eyes glanced at the snow that covered the open grounds and the ice that seeped from the trees. The times were changing and soon it would be much colder then even he liked.

"Yes, the land of the night is different, has more dangers perhaps, but very different then the day lit world." He paused recounting for what else she had said. 'And I was hoping I might see you.', had he really heard that right? Had she really wanted to see him? "Well, to tell the truth, I had hoped to see you again too. And well..." He paused again as something attracted his attention.

Something else was moving just behind Yazmina, perhaps a little off to one side, but black eyes met black eyes as the shadows almost seemed to stretch as an ebony colored stallion stepped from the shadows. His head framed by a mane of white, a white tail flicked behind him as well. Kristopher had arrived, though in less grace then normal. In truth there wasn't really much telling how he and Nikolas were brothers besides the matching marks on their flanks. Nikolas's was black, Kristopher's was white.

"Am I early?" The ebony brother asked his pale twin before looking toward Yazmina. "And you must be the one Nikolas has told me about, Yazmina wasn't it?" He looked back to his pale brother whom only seemed to nod as Kristopher stepped over to stand beside his brother.

"Your actually on time, for once. Then again, around here there's really no sense of real time." Nikolas said to his brother, "And the little ones?"

"Asleep, safe and sound. Nothing will get past the cave of voices." Kristopher answered and his brother nodded slowly, stepping away from his brother and over toward Yazmina some, so that they were in a cough circle.  

[Samuel Carlin]

Oh. Good. That was a relief, knowing that he'd hoped she'd turn up. The one thing she didn't want to be was an imposition. Well, no. She didn't want to be a temptation, either. If he was going to resist the urge to give into his darker nature, she wanted to be a help, if she could, not a hindrance.

"And?" she prompted before Kristopher spoke from behind her. She startled, of course. Predictable, that part of her, wasn't it? She startled, eyes widening and wings flaring open for just a moment as she turned to face the darker brother. Not a predator, then. That, too, was a relief.

"I'm Yazmina," she agreed with a bob of her head. She glanced sideways at Nikolas and back again. He'd been talking about her? Well, of course that made sense, since he'd extended an invitation and Kristopher would have to know about that. Still. "It's nice to finally meet you."

Curiosity made her tilt her head again. "Cave of voices?"  

[Kesmi]

Nikolas had forgotten that he had ended his sentence a bit too soon, though lost what he was going to say. If it were important he would remember, though the coming of his brother had startled even him and made him forget. Nikolas could have begrudged his brother, but then again, he had done that a long time ago and never forgave himself then and he couldn't do it again now. It was Kristopher had answered Yazmina, though wasn't the bit surprised that she was startled. He had come across them quite silently and in an unsuspecting way.

"'Tis my pleasure M'lady. Sorry that I had startled you. I sometimes forget that my steps are quite." He smiled bowing his head some. "Nikolas has been speaking much of you. But I'm sure he hasn't spoken much about myself. My name's Kristopher." he bowed his head again before looking over toward his brother.

"Yes well, it never really came up." Nikolas said turning his head away some to avoid his brother's stare. Clearing his throat some, Nikolas went to explain what the cave of voices was. "The Cave of Voices is the tunnel that leads to our home. It's full of hollows and columns. There's also a long drop off somewhere inside off the beaten path... But It's been blocked off so nothing falls. But if someone were to shout within the tunnel, their voice echoes for a while before fading off. If the winds blow through it, it wounds like thousands of voices are whispering to you."

"And that is why we call it the Cave of Voices." Kris concluded his brother's explanation. "I had often stayed within the caves listening to the voices when I first found it. The winds were harsh and the cave was shelter, not that I had realized that the winds whispered within it."

Nikolas glanced at his brother some before looking back to Yazmina, whom seemed curious about the cave. He was willing to take her to see the cave, though the winds weren't blowing within it. So there wouldn't be many whispers and it would be quite dark as the moon light didn't shine too brightly to illuminate the cave, but at the entrances. Perhaps that would be something to do if he were ever awake in the daylight when the sun was shinning and the winds were but a gentle, but cold breeze. Given the time of year and all.

"If you'd like, someday we can visit the caves. When the sun is up and the winds are gentle so that the caves will whisper." He offered, this would be atop the other offer he had given her a while back when he had been fighting with himself.  

[Samuel Carlin]

"It's all right. There's no need to apologize." She looked toward Nikolas again. "I suppose it makes sense that one brother would be as quiet as the next, doesn't it? And we've had a bit of bad luck out here at night, so I'm likely more easily startled than usual." Not by much, but maybe a little. "It's nice to finally meet you."

She listened to the brothers explain about the cave, even more curious when they finished than when they started. "Did they keep you company, when you first found the place?" she asked Kristopher. "Even if they aren't really voices at all."

Nikolas' invitation drew another smile out of her. "I think I'd like to see it, if it wouldn't be trouble." After all, he didn't like the daylight. "If we have the opportunity." Part of her still wanted to try luring him into daylight more often, just to see if his color would improve or his troubled mind might heal.  

[Kesmi]

Nik was watching his brother as he finished what he had been saying, but only shook his head letting the ebony stallion answer Yazmina's questions. Though there were some headed in his direction. "Yes, I suppose so. Kris is my only sibling besides on I don't really like to think about." he looked away again, hoping that it wouldn't be asked of him. Not that he really remembered this one he didn't want to talk about. Just a name, a voice and a small face.

"The caves did keep me company, but the first night there, I was scared out of my wit wondering what was going on. It was that time I nearly fell down the long drop." Kris shivered at the thought. But I managed to avoid it and stop in time. But after time, the caves became company and almost seemed to tell stories. Though Nikolas here would rather not listen to them."

Nikolas merely sneered at his brother and shook his head. He wasn't going to have any thing to do with that comment. In a way he didn't think his brother should stay too much longer, but he wasn't going to be rude and tell Kris to leave. The brother would leave on his own in due time, but not soon enough he reckoned.

"Well how about tonight? Nik here needs to show you at least something of our home." Kris smiled at the glare of his brother. Wouldn't be any trouble at all."

"Tonight? Kris," Nikolas was going to say something, but he stopped and just glared. Though all his brother could do was smile before bowing toward Yazmina.

"It seems I should be off before Nikolas here blows a couple veins. T'was a pleasure meeting you though." Kris winked some before looking at his fuming brother. "See you when you get back home. And don't play too long, the kids might think you are up to something." Not really hanging around for an answer, Kris turning and loped into the shadows and vanished.

"That little, too bad his older or I would mash him into the ground." Nikolas snorted looking back to Yazmina. "Brother, can't hate them, but can't live without them sometimes." He nervously chuckled.  

[Samuel Carlin]

Oh dear. She'd managed to bring up another unpleasant memory for Nikolas without even trying or knowing she wandered in dangerous territory. She seemed to do that a lot. She watched him, concern flickering into her eyes again, but she kept her peace. No use and no help in asking if he didn't like thinking about whoever it was.

She watched the interchange between the stallions, a little amused, more curious, as was her usual state, and mostly silent. She bobbed her head to Kristopher's answer and gasped audibly when he mentioned the long drop. "There's a place where you might fall? That must be very dangerous with foals around." Though she was sure the brothers took pains to make sure that none of them fell through.

And then Kristopher was loping off and she wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. She blinked a few times and looked back to Nikolas. "I don't have a brother, but I sometimes wished I had one. Still, I can imagine that someone knowing you that well might get a little troubling sometimes." Especially in the case of twins.

She took a hesitant half-step toward him. "But you don't have to show me your cave tonight, not if you don't want to. Taking someone to your home isn't something that should be a surprise, I think. I would like to see it, some day, but it doesn't need to be now." She dared a little smile. "No matter what your brother says."  

[Kesmi]

Shaking his head, Nikolas took a deep breath to calm his nerves. It wasn't like him to get all hot headed at his brother like that, but something about all this has flustered him. It wasn't Yazmina though, it was perhaps himself, something inside was changing and he wasn't too sure if he was liking the change or not. Stepping over toward the half frozen stream, he lowered his head to get a drink, hoping that the cold water would clear his head and calm the fire that he felt inside. It seemed like forever before he straightened himself again and turned back to Yazmina.

"It would just be too dangerous to go at night as there's really no light besides at the entrances." Nikolas pointed out calmly. "As for the drop off, Kris and I have blocked it off so nothing can go down it besides water. Or is someone's crazy enough to jump the pile of thick branches." He chuckled slightly.

He tilted his head some as she spoke of not having any siblings, sometimes he wished that he didn't either. But as it was, he had his 'shadow' always following him around when he just wanted to be himself again. To reclaim the old traditions of their kind and not the ways of his brother. Lost in his mind he could feel things tugging at him. thoughts of the old days and such. The days he killed once a night and took those he wanted for his own. Ah, the good ol' days.

"Sometimes I think it would be easier if I didn't have my 'shadow' following me around all the time. Then again, can't really tell him to go away." Though he mentally wished he could. "But you do have those at the human home to fall back to if something happens. I'd say that, that is just as good as having siblings any day." he nodded.  

[Samuel Carlin]

She watched him drink and thought she knew that trick. Finding something else to do rather than answering a comment or question. She'd caught herself doing it quite often lately, when one or the other of the herd asked her where her thoughts were or why she'd been wandering away so late at night.

"Then we just won't go now," she decided. "I'd rather not risk tripping over something and crashing through your branch barrier." The odds were good that a hole big enough to fall down still wouldn't be wide enough for her to get her wings open and to save herself.

She thought about his words and had to nod and agree. "I suppose they are like siblings, or close enough. If something were to happen to me, or if I needed help, I'm sure I could ask them and they'd come and do what they could. No matter how they might complain at the time." Dia would complain. Diego would tease her. Blossomforth would just cheerfully help.

"Having your shadow must be better than being alone, though," she offered quietly.