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 Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:12 am
Lydia. Alice. He still missed them, however long it had been, but it didn’t hurt anymore, not really. Life was life, and death was a part of that. Admittedly it was also the last part, but it was natural, and natural to miss people you had once loved once they were gone but it was also natural to move past them.
Smiling faintly to himself at vague happy memories, Lucius waded out of the lake and shook himself off. In some ways the loss of them was good. He had needed to devote so much time to caring from his crazed mate he hadn’t had much time to keep himself trim, to search for idiots who needed a good kicking or anything like that. Now the grief was gone, he felt free again.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:40 am
She'd see Sereva in a few days. It wouldn't bee to hard to find her, or at least Storm hoped this fact to be true. The months had worn on for too long. It seemed as though just as soon as they'd made ammends, something was tearing them apart again. But the good knews was that they'd both lived under some miracle. They had stacked the decks, that much was true. And never again, Storm thought, would there be a war that lasted so quickly and left both sides thinking they had won.
She wondered how well Melantho had taken the whole thing. If she'd be changed like many of them often were, or if she'd still have their lighthearted spirit. In the end, it didn't really matter. So long as there was Mel and there was her and there. . .
. . . was Lucius.
He was shaking himself off by the waters edge, and had he not been wearing the large, red bones, she may not have recognized him at first. His mental patterns had changed slightly. He had changed in general.
Working the limp out of her leg, she picked up the pace. She didn't want to miss him in case he was in a rush, and it had been a long time since she'd seen the boned ally.
"Lucius," she called lightly, though she assumed he'd already seen her. And that lake behin him was looking mighty inviting.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:49 am
Indeed, his eyes had seen the golden shape but his mind hadn’t registered the information until the mare called out to him. Lucius paused and turned, taking in every detail. Storm. It had been a while... It looked as though she had been in a fight, but she was moving with ease and there was no gushing blood so he saw no reason to worry. Whatever conflict she had been involved in, she had no doubt come out on top of... was she... different?... Oh.
Lucius raised his brows behind his bone helm as the mare drew closer and smiled to himself. ‘Storm,’ he thought purposefully ‘your wings are feathered’. How had that happened, he wondered? Well, if she knew herself perhaps Storm would tell him. He had missed her; he couldn’t think of anyone else who could challenge his wit like she could. It had been so long... before he’d met Lydia? He thought so.
“It’s certainly been a while since we last met,” Lucius said aloud at last. “I’m glad to see you again Storm... Can I assume you won?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:58 am
It was hard to imagine that it had been that long since they'd seen each other. Ignoring his statement for a moment, she stepped into the lake and waded out into it. The icy chill sent shivers down her spine and she flicked her tail in agitation. It did it's work, however, and the numbing in her bones started to ease away the ache in her muscles.
"I am genetically a Jala," Storm told him before she dipped her head into the water and washed her face clean. Damn that lake was cold. But the air today was warm; perhaps it would be stifling later. "But we already know the gods like messing with my head."
That aside, she listened to what else he said. It had been a long, long time. He looked just as fit as always and just as menacing. The bones were more worn now. They seemed to fit him now better than ever, and had she not known him before, even she would have thought twice before tumbling with him.
"You could say I won. I didn't die, so I don't see much difference." Settling onto her knees, she rubbed her coat on the bottom rocks before returning to her feet and exiting the lake.
She looked him over before breaking into a grin. "It's nice to see you, Lucius. What kind of trouble have you been getting into?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:14 pm
Lucius raised his eyebrows again. “Really? Hum, well, it certainly seems that they do.” How strange, how fascinating. Mark you, everything about Storm was strange and fascinating so it was only to be expected really. Shaking his head to himself, Lucius bowed his head to scratch and itch on his foreleg using the front teeth of his skull helm. ‘I’m glad you won,’ he commented mentally as he did so, ‘and survival is always a good indicator of success in battle.’
What had he been up to? Well, a lot really. Lucius reached back in his memory for the last time he’d seen Storm and flicked forward through the major events in his life since then. Lydia. Becoming Lydia’s mate. Alice. Finding Vox again. Alice growing up. Losing the pair of them... No point saying any of it aloud, it was far easier this way; Storm would be able to pick out the gist of his life from that, possibly more, he had no idea how deeply her powers allowed her to see into his mind, especially when he willingly presented scenes to her.
“I’ve certainly been busy,” he said after a moment, “I’m quite glad to be on my own again though I suppose. I have time to be... Well, myself. I did love Lydia, but she was a burden at times.” It had been foolish to connect himself to her in the first place; he needed someone he could view as an equal, not someone who needed to be cared for day in day out. Where he would find someone like that, if he would, was of course a rather more problematic matter than just deciding that was what he wanted in a mare. Still, he would get there in the end no doubt, one way or another.
“So other than kicking arse and taking names,” the black stallion went on, “what have you been doing since we last met?” If only he too were a mind reader and could pick up news as easily as Storm could. Oh well, he imagined it came with its disadvantages as well; most things did.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:24 pm
She shook herself of water as his mind went bouncing through scenes. There was love, fear, joy. Tons of emotions mixed and spun and sent flying through the corner's of her brain. It was like watching a hyper-speed life unfold before her eyes. In fact, that was exactly what it was.
"Loves are always a burden," Storm said with a laugh. There was a strange fondness in her voice. Sereva was most certainly the largest burden that she'd ever come across. Storm was always worrying about her, always having to adjust her personality for her. It was an insane's view of life, but she couldn't get enough of it.
She shook her head as he asked and thought over it. "Too much to tell. But if I were to try. . . " She closed her eyes and thought on it. For a while she just sat there like that, but it would be clear what she was doing when images started to flood over Lucius' mind.
She took him quickly, and with little spouts of emotion, through meeting Mel, up through a fight, on the journey to the 'nuck lands. The queen, the biggot and the old magicman. From there through the travelling of the army, their plan, and its eventual success.
"Yeah, I've been busy. And, it's a secret. Or we there's more blood on my hooves than there already is." Sucking in a breath, she came up besides him and began to stretch out her front legs. They felt much better now.
"I'm sorry about your lover, but you're right. It is life." Which felt like a very cold and heartless thing for it to say, and it was. If anyone ever said that to her about Mel, she would promptly run her horn through them. But it didn't change the fact that it was true.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:37 pm
He blinked as the images flashed seemingly before his eyes, and yet not his eyes because he still saw Storm. No, it was though his mind, and of course it was; now he remembered her showing him the black foal killers this way. “Most excellently done,” he said eventually, “it seems you have managed to avoid the utter destructions of two herds... Not that the Katilenuck would be any great loss to the world. In any case, I congratulate you on an ingenious plan... and on an excellent mare it seems.” There; why couldn’t he have fallen for someone like... “Melantho eh,” Lucius smiled, “I met her Rit friend once, ages ago now.” He never had got to meet the mare herself, it would be interesting to do so. If Storm thought highly of her she must be quite something.
“Yes, anyway,” the muscled Aeri sighed, “it is life, and it was good while it lasted. More time with her and Alice would have been wonderful, but as it is I have found contentment again alone.” Perhaps he hadn’t loved her as other people seemed to love their mates. It was possible; he’d been a recluse as a colt, a young stallion... most of his life really so he didn’t really have any preconceived ideas of how lovers behaved and felt. Perhaps it hadn’t been true love, whatever true love was, or perhaps losing people was easier to get over than stories would have you believe. The latter seemed quite possible.
“I don’t know if I’m right,” Lucius added after a moment, “but it seems to me that your control over your powers have improved hugely.” Even magic needed working on he supposed, even the elemental Pyrus must have had to work at his art. Where did magic come from? With seers surely it had to be the mind, but might others come from the body, or from the soul? So many damn questions that would probably never get answers. Oh well.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:50 pm
Storm often times forgot about little Aku. Not in the sense that she ever completely disregarded him from her mind, but his memory often jarred her mind and left her slightly stunned. It was jealousy he threw her into. It was easy to believe that she was the only one that mattered in Sereva's life. But she had a whole herd to tie herself too, and this idea of family that did not involve her always left her slightly bitter. Eventually she'd find that this Rit was nothing more than another addition that made Mel who she was, but for now the thoughts of him would always come with a twinge of regret.
"He's an excellent friend of hers," she noted as she controlled her voice and returned her mentality to the present. Lucius was talking like one who had lived for a long. They both talked like that. It must have made it nicer to talk and believe like it was only just a life. It always had made the largest of difference after, during, before. As a seer, she really was sure of the fact that thoughts were everything.
"No, I do suspect you're right." She tossed her dripping mane from her eyes and looked off into the distance as if expecting some other Nequus to interupt them.
"I had a lot of practice during the war." Too much practice in fact. "It seems to affect the magic wielding in the same way one might condition themselves for running. I can actually put images and falsities in people's heads now. Their minds generally quickly catch on and throw out the memories or discern them as not being their own, but sometimes they soak them up. I believe illusionists might work the same way. If they do not honestly know you're there, their illusions don't seem to work." She admitted, she'd used Mordre as a test source to compare powers and how far they went. The war had been a fascinating giver of knowledge, but as always, it left her with many more questions than she had started with.
"There's so much potential for abuse," she said with a soaring grin. "One should hope I'm the only seer around, and the only one progressing at this rate." And, of course, she couldn't know of Undine's powers, or even how quickly the mare would catch onto the tactics.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:10 pm
Lucius grinned and shook his head internally. Even without seer powers, Storm would have been one of a kind... Or would she? It wasn’t for him to judge that, he hadn’t known her before they had manifested after all. Had she not gained them, her present personality might be quite different... And of course she could see all of this going though his mind. Something about that was satisfying; he had never been a liar, and never really spoken anything but his true thoughts. Honey-coating was foolish, not something he or Storm would appreciate. Stark honesty was best.
“Potential for abuse,” Lucius mused, “abuse... Well, my view of the world has always been that the most powerful deserve to control how things go. If seen in that light, there really is no abuse of your powers. If there is another seer out there, I have no doubt that you could best them and claim the right to be the sole mind-reader in Urin once more... It must be a great advantage to place false thoughts in the minds of your enemies.” An insidious tactic, truly, but all was fair in war, or just against enemies. It wasn’t things like that he hated, no, it was only back stabbing, betrayal of trust that made his teeth grind. Some kind of magic, some power like Storm had and like Pyrus had would be wonderful to possess.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 4:39 pm
She always did like the way he thought. Such strange, blunt honesty without hidden motive was a near impossibility to find. And when it came to power controlling? She could reason absolutely. That was why the herds ran where they were, and why she had stayed alive for so long. If they threatened her, they were beaten into submission. If she had to get them alone to make it a fair fight, or even skew it to her advantage, so be it.
"If there are other seers out there, I intend to meet them and learn their tricks. There's no sense in killing someone who can be useful." It was just a matter of fact. There was a possibility that there were those than knew more than here, but it was small. And if it was true, she had tricks up her sleeve to make herself seem better than she was.
From there, she could slowly outdo them and either ally with them, or burn them into the sand. The thing with seers that she knew was that they were forever isolated. They knew how the workings went on in other's minds. They couldn't be fooled to believe love when there isn't, or trust someone that wasn't true. So they always knew they were isolated.
Nothing, in theory, but another seer could understand, and maybe it was because that other seer could keep you out of their mind.
Thinking over how far she had to go, and that isolation, she came up with a question. "If you're not busy, you're welcome to join Sereva and I for a few days. I'm not sure where we are going now, but, knowing her, there's something on her mind."
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:22 am
Lucius nodded in agreement; of course there was no sense in killing someone who could be useful, no sense in killing at all unless to eliminate a threat come to that. So long as any other potential seers didn’t try to tangle with Storm, she was right; no need to eliminate them, only to best them. Being on top was what people like she and he did; second place simply wasn’t an option, not a permanent one in any case, you only stayed second best for as long as it took you to become stronger than the best and take them down. Not necessarily kill, just defeat, humiliate, ensure they were never foolish enough to challenge you again... Oh wait, Storm was speaking again.
Lucius pulled himself back to the real world, and smiled as he processed the tall mare’s words. “I should like that very much,” he said with a nod, “other than keeping myself strong, my life has been rather aimless of late. It would be good to have company again.” Good company too, and he really did want to meet Melantho, or Sereva as Storm called her. He really had got used to always being around people since he’d met Lydia, it was still strange at times having nobody to voice his thoughts to most of the time.
He would, Lucius decided, have to find himself a companion again, not a mate necessarily but someone he could be around more often than not. Life, he had found, was a lot more enjoyable when you shared it with other people, people who menat something to you in any case. It was no good associating with people who you couldn’t give a Rit’s arse about. Friends, family, lovers; people you respected, who respected you, who you could count on to watch your back in battle for preference too. Yes, that was what you needed; Nequus were not made to live their lives in isolation.
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