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 Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:28 am
The sun had just risen from the sky, a giant red orb moved lazily across the sky, slowly illuminating the valley Lucifer had wandered into a few nights before. He stood at the edge of a steep hill, his eyes focused intently on the sun. He shook his heading, shaking his mane into more messy spikes.
He turned, climbing his way down the hill, he had no real motive to wander,he had great family and a spoiled life with his mother, but he longed for something more... A void filled him, which he had yet to fill. He had tried everything spirituality, research and even physical endurance, but nothing made him feel complete, this venture was just another cry for something he lacked, and he was going to find it, even if it killed him.
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 10:47 am
 The night had made him restless. A red moon was never a good omen, and seemed to drive the Skinwalkers wild; wings furling and unfurling tentatively, Viraj made his way along the edge of the clearing, all the while keeping an eye out for any sign of danger.
He wasn't scared, he knew, of Skinwalkers or the threat they posed. After all, he had wings, and if it came to blows, he would hopefully be able to put up enough of a fight to enable some sort of escape. Curse being new to these lands! He huffed out a hot breath, shaking his head. His pursuit of somewhere safe to sleep had kept him up all night, as well as the ominous sky looming overhead.
His tail whipped to the side as he walked, neatly bending bits of tall grass so he would not lose his way, should he decide to double back. Soon, he would be taking to the sky again, as walking by hoof was so tiresome for so long. His wings longed to be stretched again, to which he gingerly did so, allowing them to unfurl to their greatest length.
Giving his head a light toss, Viraj was about to turn into the forest when something caught his eye; a lone Soquili? It was heading down the hill, into the valley. He couldn't discern whether it was male or female, although abundant amounts of mane were evident. Believing it at once to be a skinwalker, he braced himself, feeling his body tense all over.
His suspicions were laid to rest when the Soquili came into better view. A stallion, and certainly not a skinwalker, or a kalona, or anything menacing. A regular Soquili, simply wandering the night by himself.
Feeling perplexed at this, Viraj stood to his full height to better examine him. The chance to gather underlings seemed to have found him, at last, to which his lip curled.
Stepping forth, he approached the other Soquili, wondering absently if the moonlight reflected strangely on his skin. He must have looked like a disco ball - hopefully not, because ridiculous was not what he was going for at the moment. He ignored that notion, snorting out a short breath.
"Well, well," Viraj began in a low voice, a smirk slipping onto his face. "And what are you doing out here, alone, young man?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:19 pm
Lucifer's muscles tensed and he frooze as he heard the voice, he relaxed just a bit when he realized it wasn't some blood crazy skinwalker, he examined the other male, give him a once over and then responding to him. "Well, I could ask you the same question, but to answer, I'm... Not quite sure." Lucifer looked around. "Something calls to me, and besides, why should I have a reason to be afraid of the dark?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:35 pm
Pretty thing. Thankfully, Viraj wasn't the type to maim another creature without a reason; although he may have come off as threatening, he really only wanted a bit of fun. He was grateful when the soquili didn't respond with the typical fear he'd been expecting. In fact, he didn't seem bothered at all that he'd just been approached by a kalona in the middle of the night, alone. Tossing his head, Viraj decided this one would be worth his time for a bit.
"Something calls to you, eh?" he asked, casting a half-lidded gaze over the field. "I suppose that's as good of a reason as anything. As for why you should be afraid of the dark..." He stamped a hoof lightly, snapped a twig. It didn't make much of a noise, but the familiar sound reminded him of bone snapping, something he was certain only he dwelled on.
"There are things that... lurk in the darkness," he muttered, tail flicking lazily. "Dangerous things. It isn't safe to wander alone." Lip curling once more into a smirk, he added, "Aren't you afraid to die?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:44 pm
Lucifer held the urge to laugh at the kalona. "Of course I'm not afraid, Death is a maiden that will haunt us forever, honestly speaking." He looked at the snap twig , pushing a small bit of dirt over it. "But when death finally comes for me, It'll be because it's my time, not because I was maimed or ripped apart. The things that go bump in the night...don't intimidate me. Atleast, not anymore."
"But perhaps, an introduction is in order..." Lucifer bowed his head for just a second. "My name is Lucifer Von Helson, you can call me Luci or Lucifer." He smirked. "And your name would be...?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:54 pm
"Haha!"
Shaking his head, Viraj allowed himself to relax in front of Lucifer. He had no reason to put up airs, after all, in front of someone who simply didn't care. He was a bit old for that bravado anyway. He folded his wings carefully at his sides, expression nonchalant, and let out a low whistle.
"I don't say it to scare you, child," he said smoothly, casting a glance over the soquili. "Only as a warning. Not everyone is as decent as I am. But I suppose that doesn't matter right now. My name is Viraj... Lucifer."
He couldn't see himself calling a male Luci; it just didn't seem to fit. The boy was pretty enough, to be sure, but it still seemed demeaning. It would have been a great tool had he wanted to get a rise out of him, but this one seemed too content with himself to care.
"So tell me, Lucifer..." He began to slowly circle the soquili, examining him as he went. He was only one of a few he had met thus far, and Viraj was very interested in learning all about the inhabitants of the Kawani lands. "Have you figured out what has been... calling you lately?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 8:25 pm
"Heheh, I can understand what you mean." They had all heard stories of these species, ripping other Soquili to shreds, it was only their nature though, thought Lucifer, but Viraj proved him wrong. "Viraj... I'll be sure to remember that, heh."
"What calls me? That's a good question." He drew circles in the soft dirt under him. "Y'know, In my life I've always felt I've needed something. When i was younger, I was...weird." He chuckled. "I always sought something, I've tried everything... Religion, Knowledge, anything you can possibly imagine.." He looked away. "But I've never found it...It eats at me, and I'm sick of it."
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:30 am
"Perhaps all you need is... to belong somewhere."
As he said that, he let his wings stretch out gingerly, feeling once more their stiffness, and the need to fly. It would have to wait. He shrugged a shoulder, his voice casual. "Sometimes, there are things we cannot fulfill ourselves. Perhaps that is why you feel empty."
It made sense to him, anyway; peering into Lucifer's soft face, he decided this was probably the case with him. Loneliness, eating away at him, and the poor kid had no idea how to combat it because he didn't realize that was the problem. Well, IF it was the problem. He had no way of knowing until it was confirmed.
Looking up and at the moon, he added in a low tone, "Does that sound like you?" As he said this, he turned, angling his body to cut off any escape route toward the forest. A smirk slowly began to place itself on his features as he recognized one of his first chances to recruit someone.
Although he was passive in tone, his body language may have suggested... a threat, almost, in that he was now effectively blocking the stallion from running anywhere but back up the hill, a feat which wouldn't get him far should he try. He was new to these lands, and upon finding a first possible companion - well, he would call it, 'companion', but the proper word was probably 'victim' - he was certainly not going to just let a good-natured, possibly weak-minded soquili go.
Perhaps it was the kalona blood in him. Either way, he smirked charmingly and expectantly at Lucifer, extending a wing to his side.
A first notch under his belt? He hoped so.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:38 am
Loneliness... The word seemed to choke his throat and rattle every fiber in his body. "I-i..." He studdered his words. "I never quite thought of it that way." He looked up at Viraj, closing his eyes as he spoke. "But yes, It does sound like me..."
Lucifer would make no attempt to run at this point, his mind was too weak to think anyone of this new Kalona, in fact. Lucifer didn't even read his body language.
"I've never had friends, Viraj... It was always my mom, and my sisters... But as everyone grew older, even they dissapeared." His mind flooded with memories, and there was always the same pattern. Little Lucifer, watching his sisters play or fight, but never himself involved with anything. "And my father.. Well,he was never the role model, even when he was around."
Lucifer smiled. "But now, I have a new question to answer for myself, where exactly is it I belong?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:51 am
As he watched Lucifer's face, he got an idea of what was running through his mind from his troubled expression. Hit the nail on the head, he thought, his smirk widening a bit. His victory was short-lived, however, as the ever-curious soquili continued to pique his interest with questions.
"Never had a friend to call your own?" Under his breath he muttered a light 'hmph'. These types seemed to find their way to him, much to his inner delight. Hoping to incite some sort of reaction this time, he took a step closer to the boy, extending his wing to barely touch the tip of its leathery ends to Lucifer's mane. Although it could have been perceived as an intimate move, it wasn't so much that as it was, he hoped, a comforting gesture, the best he, with his appearance, could muster. He inspected Lucifer's eyes quietly for a moment before clicking his tongue.
"Such a shame. However, there is a bit of luck for you today, my lonely friend..." Flicking his tail, he gave the boy's mane another light nudge with his wing. "Come with me. I will be your friend." Leave your family, be someone. He didn't say this last part, but he knew the connotations were there, and would probably be a hurdle for the lonely soquili to overcome. "You will find where you belong."
It was certainly forward of him, a bystander might have thought; to have literally just met a soquili, and then ask them to remain with him. But this was how he worked. He needed to be able to dominate, to rule over another; in this, he also gained company, someone to talk to. He wanted others to depend on him.
He said nothing after that, and he didn't realize he was holding his breath.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:01 pm
Lucifer's heart told him to accept Viraj's invitation right as be spoke, but his mind held him back for an instant, thinking before he acted. His mind didn't want to be played a fool... He thought back to the last time the family had been together, it was when Lucifer had told his parents he liked other stallions... And that was months ago.
"No, no friends..." His tone was soft, almost an attempt to whisper, he felt the leathery tip of the wing on his mane, and thought for a moment of retreating back, but this was the closest thing to affection he'd ever gotten, and Lucifer wouldn't rip that away from himself.
"I- I'll go." A sudden burst of energy came when he said that, not necessarily being hyper or loud, but definitely an improvement from his soft tone of earlier.
Lucifer looked at Viraj once more, this time connecting looking him dead on in his eyes , his own eyes pleading not to be let down.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:22 pm
He said yes.
... he said yes!
His breath left his chest in a 'whoosh', and he tried to contain the excited flicker in his eyes. Finally... finally, he wouldn't have to walk alone. He would have someone to talk to, to dictate as he pleased. He was aware that his wants and needs were conflicting; a tyrant, as he planned to eventually be, did not value the minds of his underlings, and yet he did. He brushed this thought aside. It would clear itself up when the time was right.
A bit taller than the stallion, he was able to look down into his eyes and - he hoped - mask any sort of boyish glee with his hair and the darkness. He knew he wasn't likely successful, for he could clearly see the pleading look in the delicate male's features. He withdrew his wing, his smirk fading to a look of honest seriousness.
"Stay with me, and I promise you will not be lonely again." His tail flicked out to the side, curling aimlessly about the stallion's ankle. It was not a tight grip, but rather, an offer of physical contact, of reassurance that he meant what he said. He knew his appearance was frightening, but this hadn't seemed to bother the stallion up to now.
To confirm something, he said in a low, but very direct, tone, "I do not know where my travels will take me." Would this bother him? Best to get that out of the way now. Whether or not the boy was ready to give up the spoiled life, to follow a life of uncertainty. It was a difficult decision, he knew, but it had to be asked, as indirect and hidden as the question had been.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:38 pm
Lucifer smiled."I would rather walk a thousand miles into the unknown with with, rather then walk those thousand miles myself." He nodded, reassuring his new companion he knew what he was doing, and the seriousness of the choice he had just made.
Lucifer realized just then how good this could be for him. He was never a natural born leader, in fact, in human terms , Lucifer would probably be a noble, but never a king.
Lucifer chuckled. "Heh, I take my promises serious." He said in a playful tone, his mood was already livening up, such a surge of energy he had never experienced before.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:40 pm
It was interesting to note the sudden shift in personality Lucifer seemed to have undergone. Although he'd only known him a few minutes, he had gone from being a depressed and awkward stallion to an upbeat and, dare he say it, confident one. It pleased him, nonetheless, to see he had already made an impact on Lucifer. It didn't bother him that the real reason likely wasn't he, himself, but rather, the thought of having company for the boy.
Offering a small grin, he ran his tongue over his pointed teeth in contained excitement. This one hadn't been difficult to persuade at all; he loved a challenge as much as the next horse, but he was thankful, nonetheless, that his first follower had not given him much trouble. It was a relief, considering the day he'd had.
Slowly uncurling his tail from Lucifer's ankle, he lifted his chin to peer at the sky. The moon was as red as before, and it cast an eerie light over the area. He would be lucky to avoid running into skinwalkers tonight.
"I won't ask you to leave with me immediately," he began, bringing his face back down. "Spend the night with your family, and we will discuss your life from there." It was clear that he already felt that he owned the stallion, but he didn't mind if his intentions were obvious or not. Lucifer had already given him his word that he would stay. He would have it no other way.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:05 pm
Lucifer nodded at Viraj. "Mother won't have issues with me leaving, she's used to not seeing me for days and perhaps weeks at a time." He shook his head again, sending his messy spikes into a frenzy of movement, then standing still, looking as if nothing had happened.
Lucifer had heard him say "discuss you life" , but thought nothing of it, this stranger had given him a confidence boost that no one had yet to achieve, so he'd let Viraj do to him what was necessary to keep Lucifer this happy, even if he had to leave his mother and the Two-Legger shaman, he'd do it willingly a thousand times over.
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