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 Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:10 am
 Cold winds whipped through the air and the sky was darker then it could be because of the clouds gathering. Would it snow soon? Tch. What a day it was. The sun was shining but cold winds blew past the mare and caused her to shiver with a sigh. She hated the cold. Hated it with a passion but then alot of others loved the cold. What was wrong with them? The ice bit at her nose like a hungry dog and she snorted softly, shaking her head. Cold winds, cold air. Must be winter soon which was nothing enjoyable by any mean. Her footsteps were slow and steady like the beat of a drum and her hair slid over her shoulder to halfway lay on her back. Her head rose up to look up at the sky and her dark eyes looked over the dark grey cotton balls in the sky. Just then she remembered looking up at the sky with her parents. They were gone now but that day was a happy day. They had found their new family and they were welcomed with open arms and open minds but once her father opened his rough mouth, it was over. They were discriminated against because of her fathers rough manners. She remembered her mother yelling at the stallion for the actions of ignorance. It didn't start right away with the 'family' it was a slow process. Her father....was a rough stallion. Seeing so many things of death and disease he was just wrong. But that was understandable on her part but not so much on her mother's. She hated her mate with a great hate but never showed it around him. Seemed it was like Macbeth, the two plotting while Lady Macbeth had a hidden agenda. All women had a hidden agenda....did they?
A soft snort left her nose and she lowered her head back down at her hooves as she moved on through the bare area. Nothing but trees around her but she had broken into a clearing. A cold clearing. She should have known better then to go into a clearing like this. Danger. Lions tigers and bears oh my? Her dark eyes peered around for a moment with narrowed eyes, searching for anything that may be there. She never was one to be oblivious to what was going on around her. Some could say she wanted to be followed but that would be out of ignorance. She hated being followed, especially since she was a loner with no herd. No help there if she was to get hurt. But she enjoyed that. Independence. But she was lonely sometimes. The cold wind blew once more and she lowered her head once more, a sigh leaving her lips. But she was always followed by someone. Someone was always around. She knew it but she could never put her finger on what it was or who it was. It was annoying in a sense.
She shook her head and snorted, her face annoyed. At least she didn't have a randy stallion following her. She hated that. With a passion. The males around here were to nice or just ignorant. Especially the flaunting. She just wasn't into the mating game. No stallion had caught her eye and she doubt that she would find anyone around the area that would. Her green pelt was clean and the sun that peeked through the clouds reached her mane, kissing the soft hairs that laid there. Soon she came to a halt and looked down at the ground seeing the grass was a dark green. She cocked her head for a moment, getting distracted by the bug that crawled on to the leaf to peer at her. "What are you staring at?" Her eyes narrowed at the bug that waved it's front legs in the air, cleaning itself. She snorted lightly and continued walking, almost stomping on the bug itself. Here she was alone and talking to bugs. Oh what fun.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:50 am
He was a "busy bee" as his mother would have put it - meeting after meeting had been and gone leaving him with a considerable number of aspirants and a lot of work. Not that he minded the work, there was nothing this particular stallion thrived on more than what some may regard as a suffocating workload. He enjoyed the pressure, his disciplined nature and desire to see everything running smoothly guaranteed success. The work wasn't even that difficult, all that was required of him at present was to secure positions for his aspirants within the order and to ensure each of them had a mentor for the foreseeable future - it would only become busy when each of them began the Gauntlet and proved themselves worthy of a permanent position within the KotC.
Nevertheless, he had been granted a rare moment of peace as he stalked through the woodlands. He had left the Islagiatt territories behind him a few days ago, his meetings required him to be within the Lowland. Actually, his meetings had taken him all over the Kawani province and despite himself, he was rather enjoying it. Oh, he craved to return to the slopes to continue his duties but there was something to be said for stumbling upon rather secretive and magical locations every now and again. It would be something to tell his nieces and nephews, perhaps even brothers and sisters if his parents chose to have more.
However, while he may have been granted this moment of peace it wasn't really something he used or took advantage of in the same fashion as a traditional soquili. He appreciated the silence (of course) but this didn't grant him permission to laze about. On the contrary, his pace was fast and most would have had to trot after him - he would argue that lazing about made no sense though. What was the point in moving slowly from one point to another, if he had a place to be then he would get there. If he saw something interesting on the way then he would pause; truly, the faster he moved the more likely he was to find something interesting more quickly.
Heh, it worked for him.
Alas, being within the lowlands was not without it's trials for the mutant stallion. He was monstrously tall and towered above every soquili he had encountered in the province. Truth be told, he towered above everyone except his own family. He'd grown used to it over the years but it did become somewhat exasperating when passerby gawked, marvelled or regarded him with suspicion when all he cared to do was conduct his interviews and leave. Seriously - if he had wanted to eat anyone he would have done it without having a pleasant chat in the corner first! Still, with unbridled patience that so few seemed to possess nowadays he answered the queries of curious foals and dismissed the gawks of those who assumed he was a Kalona.
He paused briefly in his wanderings and gave his neck a twist to the left and then the right as amber eyes regarded his surroundings with something bordering on indifference. There had been very few issues for him in the last few days, mares had avoided him as he provided them with the 'cut direct' and stallions tended to slink around him due to his overall appearance. Truth be told he would have found it all very boring if he had been younger!
It was going to be one of those days.
He heaved a sigh and pushed on after the momentary pause. His footsteps were rather quiet despite his size and the only indication that he was there was the faint 'shhh' of grass and foliage as they parted to let him through. Keeping his head bowed slightly to duck beneath the low lying tree branches, he seemed completely unaware of the company he may have found himself in - forest creatures after all, caused him no concern. However, to say this sense of indifference lasted for long would have been inaccurate as the hair on the back of his neck leapt to attention and his gaze shot up immediately as he entered the clearing. It wasn't a 'full' clearing so to speak as the forest surrounded him on all sides, but it was a brief blip in the tree canopy.
It wasn't the blip that caught it attention though, it was the fact that he wasn't alone that made him straighten. Right before him stood a petite mare; well, by Kawani definitions she may very well have been tall but he wouldn't know! He wasn't frightened of mares, nor did he abhorr them, but it did beg to question whether or not she was going to lead him to a headache as so many in the lowlands had recently.
Opting for silence, he drew to a halt a reasonable distance away and merely gazed at the mare. When it came to mares, he found it much easier to let them act first - they always gave themselves away within the first few moments afterall and couldn't hide their initial intentions. It was just as well he was unaffected by the biting winds or this stance would have been terribly uncomfortable for him - there was something to be said for being a mountain-soquili in the lowlands, his winter coat had come through well in advance of the more delicate soquili and it was significantly thicker too.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:07 am
Her ears flickered back as the sound of the birds chirped and wings fluttered from the trees at a pace that meant something but Arcadia wasn't interested in what they were running from. Let them have a fear in them that made them take flight. Scared creatures they were even though sometimes they were bigger then the carnivore after them but they still took flight over fight. She always took the tough road. Funner it was. And it was a challenge. Her life was what you would call boring and she wasn't about to not try and spice it up. Something to make everything worth it. But at the moment, she was bored out of her mind and felt like stomping on a ant pile just for the hell of it. They were small and she was big. Bye bye ants. She lowered her head for a moment, her tail flickering slightly. Searching for some form of entertainment. A swish of grass and small sounds made her head rise and she peered around, her ears pulled back in a annoyed look. Birds. Stupid birds. She sighed lightly and cocked her head to the side, curious why that feeling of being watched wasn't gone.
"Damn creatures...."
She hissed before snorting lightly, shaking her head. But something caught her eye. Her head turned lightly and she saw it. Amber eyes peering at her and she knew it was looking at her. She held her head high and cocked a brow at the figure.
"You know, that's considered spying and I myself don't like to be watched." Her eyes narrowed at the figure. Something wasn't just right about it but hell she would take on the devil himself if he rose up and got in her path. Sometimes this was ignorant and she could really end up getting hurt. But wounds heal but pride doesn't. Well....It takes a long a** time to. Might as well not seem like a mouse to a giant because what does that say about herself? She was no coward.
"So if you would be so kind and just turn and return from wince you came, this conversation won't continue."
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:47 am
As anticipated, she revealed her true form rather quickly and he continued to regard her with abject stoicism. He refrained from lifting a brow at her remarks and resisted the urge to give her a snippish remark on her final words. He was accustoemd to this of course, mares were more notorious for this behaviour than stallions but on occasions they could be as bad as each other. When it came to this sort of personality timing was everything and to raise a brow immediately would have been a wrong move - if she wanted to play the role of spoiled princess then she was entitled to it; but under no circumstances would he fall into the role of twittering servant or considerate knight in shining armour. Disregarding the fact that he bore such armour and that it did gleam, of course.
He'd give it at least two minutes.
When he had decided that a sufficient amount of time had passed he lifted his brow in a supercilious fashion. He remained where he was standing, made no attempt to bridge or extend the distance between himself on the mare. In this, he made it completely clear that he had no intention of humouring the mare if body language held any weight in her mind - suffice to say, she may have been the sort who was completely clueless to the intricacies of body language and would therefore ignore it.
"I would advise you to seek another tutor, your understanding of the Kawani tongue is decidedly lacking," he replied smoothly. Rest assured, he was not affected by her behaviour in the manner she would have assumed he should be! "To spy, would imply that I wish to acquire information through secretive means for hostile intent," he pointed out drily and shook his head, long locks of thick hair caressing the muscles on his neck. "Rest assured, you do not require that level or secrecy, tact or skill - you are an open book," he added in a tone that would imply she lacked intelligence as well as manners.
"The verb you seek is 'to observe'," he offered after a few moments, his eyes narrowing in a scathing smile, though his lips failed to mimick the gesture. "In case you were pondering the correct word."
It was then that he paused again, another few moments passed and then he heaved what was arguably a very heavy and wearied sigh as though he truly was taking the time to consider her request. Unfortunately, he was certainly not inclined to accept them when they were addressed in such a manner; more importantly, it made no sense for him to go back the way he had come when he had appointments in the opposite direction.
There was no method in her madness.
Same with most women really.
"However, as much as you desire for me to remove myself from your presence you are without luck. Only an idiot would suggest that I return from whence I came when my appointments take me in the opposite direction," his brow lowered as though he saw no reason to expend any energy in expressing how truly foolish he deemed the mare. The stoic expression returned and in a manner of speaking, his gesture designed to point out that she had proven herself the idiot and it would be her that moved on.
Still, he did have one more thing to say.
"If you do not wish to remain in my presence then there is nothing to stop you from shifting your own weight. Move your own backside, it is not yet large enough to prove a difficulty for you."
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:41 am
The silence that moved through the air for a moment let Arcadia have a moment to sit and sigh. Rude Stallions as it seemed came in packages and she was not about to let some stallion, no matter how big he was bully her around. Oh no no no. It was not going to run that way at all. But his scent was still near and she knew the male hadn't moved an inch. A scowl crossed her features and she turned to shoot a glare his way. Who was he? Some big guy with nothing better to do but follow mares. She was not in his way nor was he in hers. There should have been no conflict. Normally they just took her words and moved along. No doubt he would though. She hopped he would but hell, she wasn't about to back down to a challenge. As he spoke, that scowl was back in place. Calling her tongue lacking was just as bad as calling her ugly. And nobody called her ugly. Her nostrils flared and a soft snort left it her head rising up.
"A spy or the act of spying also means to seek or observe something secretly and closely. And you were hiding in the woods like a coward." She shot back, her eyes narrowed as his words slashed at her. Ignorant. Lacking Mannerisms. Damn, he reminded her of her father and she was not enjoying this bout of words with this Stallion. Normally she wanted to bout with a Stallion, crushing their little dreams and escapades to get her attention. They all seemed to be the same but this male was pushing it. That was a conclusion she came to and her mind reeled in ways to throw back his words. At his 'to obverse' mock she bared her teeth and turned away, a scowl on her face. Sure, save your own darrie aire when you were caught. She thought icily, refusing to think she was wrong.
At his sigh she flickered her tail, hopping he gave in and turned and left. Where ever he went, she did not care, as long as his presence was away from her. Just being near him was bringing her ire to a boil. But she kept her mouth clamp shut since she already said something that he was going to debate with her once more. His words swam around her head and once the word idiot left his lips, she snorted loudly, her ears pinning back as she turned towards him. Deficient accusations in her way made her more displeased then anything. Then he called her fat. She let out a frustrated whinny, her own muscles quivering as she forced herself to stay where she was.
"Look who is speaking. I was here first and therefore I shall remain here. So get you pompous a** on your merry way and quiet this futile battle of words." The mare snapped out, her eyes narrowed at the Stallion. Fat....Stupid...Idiot. Who died and made him judge of everyone? He could kiss her rear end if he thought she would tuck tail and run. The only reason she kept her distance was to prevent anything from where it was already. Her eyes travel along the dark stallions hide and she felt like a small colt arguing with her father once again. Back to the day she did push the boy in the lake but because he bit her bottom. The lecture she got was not worth it at all but now she was just being insulted. Last time for the Stallion to hit the road.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:58 am
"Once again, you misinterpret your words," he mused calmly, his face remaining unreadable. Now he was beginning to understand why certain stallions within Islagiatt got a kick out of teasing their flustered mates. Oh, he by no means considered the mare such a thing but she was terribly easy to taunt and as with all mares, she was loathe to admit she was wrong. She was in essence digging her own grave and he was patient enough to let her do it - eventually she would need a helping hoof out again and it would be then that he would drift off, back to his original plans of pursuing his appointments (though he was well ahead of schedule on that score).
"You make reference to the word 'secretive' which is indeed a feature of espionage. However, what you fail to realise is that if I had chosen to partake in such activities I would not be visible now," he tilted his head to the side and fixed his gaze firmly on the stubborn mare. She clearly had no intention of budging on this one but he was accustomed to the awkward and unfortunately she hadn't met some foolish sop on his way to the clearing. Rest assured, Sylph Forcas was well aware of the activities of lowland stallions - spring or not, they would still be in pursuit of a new lover by Yule. "There is a great deal of difference between proceeding through a forest towards one's destination and 'hiding'."
It was then that he lifted a supercilious brow again, his tone becoming a bored drawl.
"Would you care for me to define the act of hiding for you as well?" he offered coolly. There were times when he could be polite, but now wasn't one of those moments. "I am fairly certain I could stay here all day and educate you in relation to vocabulary if I were a worthless sop with nothing to do than pursue ninnies such as yourself..." he trailed off briefly and shifted his weight, crunching his neck on one side - a considerable relief of tension if he dared to say so himself.
"However, I am a busy stallion with a number of appointments so truly you must make your choice. If you would care for a definition then ask of it, if you do not then move your rump to the side and silence your tongue," he dropped his brow once more and flashed a sly smirk. "Because I assure you I have no intention of deviating from my path when it is the most logical and efficient route to my destination. You may be a bumbling fool but I am not."
Holding his ground the black and cream stallion leant back more heavily on his hindleg and pursed his lips. Schooling his expression into a deliberately provocative one. If she sought to attack him then he would put her to the ground but he had no intention of moving. The words 'I was here first...' never sat well with him, it was such a childish remark and one that tended to fail miserably in both the warzone and on diplomatic grounds.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:24 pm
When he started speaking, she let out an annoyed sigh. Arcadia just wanted to wring somethings neck. Preferably his but she wasn't about to go charging at him like an 'idiot' that he proclaimed her to be. She wasn't stupid and she was a colt. But he was pushing her down to nearly breaking. And she was not ecstatic about him talking again. Blah blah blah this blah blah blah that. God...she was getting tired of this like a teenager and their parents. The dark eyes that the mare had glanced away boredly but her tail flickered in annoyance. Why today? She mused in her head. Why must you choose today? She got her excitement that was for sure. More then she probably bargained for. This was becoming something else. A argument. Was he sizing her up just like a fish in the market? A soft snort left her nose. By no means was she a smelly fish. But her eyes watched him calmly as he rambled on, his drawl becoming more and more like a buzz.
"Go on and leave me be. Foolish I may be but I know when to pick my fights and when to back down from arrogant fools such as yourself who thinks himself so high and mighty." She snorted lightly and tossed her hair before stepping away for a moment till she was a considerable distance from him. "Be on your way stallion. I have no use of your bout any longer." The cold wind licked her ears forcing them forward but she watched the male quietly. She was enjoying this though. The bought and the fact that he was taking her words fairly well unlike alot of Stallions that ran home sobbing to their mothers about her words. But she had no reason to fight him. He was just pointing out her flaws and she knew what was wrong with her but by no means was she going to change for anyone because they call her stupid or fat. And she knew she wasn't fat. She was smaller then alot of the mares around and that was a factor that helped her in some cases. But she was not afraid of him. She just wasn't in the mood for any bruises or wounds. Hell, it was getting colder by the second and she wouldn't last the winter with an exposed wound. Something daddy dearest taught her.
A shiver ran through her as she turned her back from the male. Let him do as he wills. Mock her whatever but she was starting to feel the effects of the cold since her ire was slowly cooling. She hated the cold and by no means was she going to humor him by standing aside as he waded by in his coat of warmth. Stupid long haired horses. Always had a nice thick coat to protect them when she nearly lost her knockers last year. Probably did. Her breath was now in the air and she cast a glare at the stallion before she pleasurably lowered her head to grass making small remarks as his words ran through her head.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:51 pm
She was jealous of his coat! Ha ha! There certainly was something to be said for living on the slopes, his thick and burlesque coat made him much larger than normal but it also kept him incredibly warm. He may have been breathing cold air and the vapor may have been seeping from his nostril with every exhale but he gave no other indication that he was cold. She was the stubborn sort though and he could see her fighting against her own vulnerabilities to the hostile weather, she didn't want to move as this would be an admittance that he had won. Instead, she seemed more than happy to die from exposure before accepting that he was better educated or at the very least, better at verbal jousting.
That being said, he had never called her fat - he had simply pointed out that unlike most lowland soquili she hadn't reached the point where weight and size could be an excuse for sloth like behaviour. If anything it was a rather backhanded compliment; the gods knew that his herd Alpha would have easily twisted that round to a compliment anyway, she had a way with words and tended to run circles round him on many occasions. Granted, she never won the argument (as he always caught up in the end) but he would have taken his hat off to her if he possessed one for her attempts.
Nevertheless, when she mentioned 'high and mighty' his buttons were pressed and without his expression ever shifting from it's stoic statement he finally bridged the distance between them. It scarcely took three strides, his ridiculous size and gait capable of clearing the distance in record time. When he did come to a halt he was more than happy to invade her personal space as he lowered his mouth to her ear. Let her buck and kick as she chose, she would cause a few nicks here and there, possibly a bruise or two but he could deal relatively quickly.
"If I were so high and mighty as you profess me to be then you would not be standing here now - you would be on the floor in agony after I had had my way with you," he was of course referring to their differences in size as well as the potential issues with her deliberately provocative behaviour. An egotistical stallion would have been happy to put the mare in her place; Sylph had other means of doing this though and it didn't involve activities that would place his honor in jeopardy. "You never had use of my 'bout' to begin with either - do not place yourself in such high regard," he withdrew and deliberately flicked his tail out, whipping the mare upside the flank as he drifted passed with easy steps.
"You would do well to shut your mouth, child," he didn;'t bother to look round, coming to a halt on the opposite end of the grove he had come through as he he debated the best direction to head in from that point. He could hear a stream near by but was unable to decipher how wide or deep it would have been - the winter seasons tended to affect such things and the 'readings' provided were generally wrong.
"It is neither attractive to a stallion of worth, or appealing to a mare of high standing. If that is not enough to persuade your slug-like mind then I will leave you with this..." He did look round at this, aware that she would only see him through her peripheral vision. "Your stupidity and foul tongue will get you killed - you need not dispute this (as I know you will) but just be aware of it," he turned away again and seemed to look to his left as if that direction was the more appropriate of the variety he had been presented with.
"The gods know I have seen it before - I can assure you that no matter how closely your pretty coat would match the grass, the blood is an eyesore and the innards you possess... Even more so."
Well, he hadn't been raised a gentleman and while his education was unparalleled he had spent much of his life among men. When it came to visuals he had little consideration for what was and was not appropriate for the ears of a mare. Frankly, gender was irrelevant in his eyes when it came to such things. When a lesson was to be learnt, it would be learnt in the same way - the outcome would be the same.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:21 pm
The air sent a cold lick down her skin and she snorted lightly, her nose freezing. Look out flu here I come....She thought sourly and Arcadia snorted lightly into the grass. Envy and Wrath was something that she was raised around and a habit to break and she couldn't help but mutter once more under her breath about spoiled creatures with their coats. The fact that the one's that hadn't been through anything, hadn't been through half as much as she did and had to travel as much as she did, but by the Stallions words he was a traveler himself and she excluded him from that large group. He probably had more important matters then have a joust of words with her. Let's just say she had more of her share of unkind words and always was she on the offensive side. Why bother to defend yourself like a coward when you can be the first to strike.
She heard his hooves on the grass and her ears flickered back and stayed there. As his head moved near her, she did not budge and didn't move a muscle. Long learned. When in doubt shut your mouth and stay silent. Also he was larger then she thought but once more a better challenge. But like hell she was about to kick at the male. He could squish her like a bug if he wanted to which would be pretty funny if it wasn't happening to herself. Free entertainment was a must. At his words she couldn't help but see his logic but her mouth pursed none the less. Of course alot of the males were afraid of her just by the whip of her tongue and rarely did they send something back her way that made her want to curl up somewhere. But this Stallion made her just fall deeper in the hole that was dug all so many years ago of self disgust. As he moved away, her ear flickered but as his tail flickered off her flank, she bared her teeth at him with a scowl. There was truth behind his words but her arrogance and pride would not let her show that she knew he was right.
She stepped away and shivered lightly before looking back as he spoke. Child? She was by no means a child. Though she had no colts and no mate she was a adult and she knew she was but sometimes her antics were childish. She knew this but like hell she would admit it out loud. Her ears were forward as she watched him waiting for a lecture. Which was more then likely to happen. She snorted lightly and turned her head away ignoring his lingering presence. That was one Stallion that the respect that she rarely gave out had alot of brownie points. He was right of course but she was not looking to impress anyone or to even find a mate that could deal with her foul mouth. But death was something that she was not afraid of. Death she welcomed with open arms when it came time for her to go. A old tactic taught by her father to his colts. Mainly the boys but she would sneak and listen like a excited child who was listening to one of those stories about Goldie locks and the three bears. She enjoyed more real stories but she was living in a mind of a child right at the moment. A snort left her lips and she shook her head.
"Save your words preacher. I have heard this before. Many many times." And with that she turned away and moved into the cover of the trees opposite of him. She lolled a eye in his direction before shaking her head. He was interesting that was for sure and he was nearly the only stallion that could make her feel like child doing something wrong. Her mind was a mess now because of the encounter with him and it was interesting to see what she came up with. He was scary but he was wise. Wiser then herself. Maybe she needed someone like that. Keep her on track. She snorted lightly. Crazy trains didn't have tracks just motives. Some called her a loony and a child but she was as lost as a colt without a mother. But never would she admit this, not to the wise sharp tongued Stallion or to a future mate. Weakness were just another reason to be killed and that was something she lived by.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:39 pm
Perfect, she had finally relented and when he was sure that she'd drifted to the otherside of the clearing he deemed it the right time to make his closing remark. With the slightest of movements, he turned his body just a little so that he could fix his gaze on her once again. He had shaken her, that much was evident, but pride or stubborness; perhaps a little of both, was imbued deep within her and she refused to bow completely to his prowess. He could accept this, she had relented and while she hadn't said it in so many words she had surrendered. He wouldn't push her any further now that his point was made and he could finally behave in a manner his mother would deem appropriate.
...Well, not wholely appropriate but close enough.
When it came to mares, he definitely wasn't a casanova and while his voice was typically silky (a family trait) he really couldn't see the appeal in it. Admittedly quite a few mares enjoyed it's mellow tones but that was of little concern to him; all he was thankful for in regards to his voice was it's calm air and how it generally tamed those he had to negotiate with!
"So, I am accurate in assuming that you have no interest in discovering the warmest area in the woods?" he lifted a brow, this time without the supercilious intent and shook his head. A small, low chuckle escaped from the depths of his throat, "Even I can see that your coat is not coming in as quick as it should - however, if you wish to die from exposure then by all means..." he trailed off into silence at this. His own flanks gave a shudder of protest at his peculiar position though and he soon found himself shifting his weight again. Truly, putting up such fronts was such a waste of energy but when needs must, even he would adopt them.
He made no attempt to inform her that if he'd been a preacher he would still be spouting utter nonsense and instead proceeded to nudge the lowest of the branches to the side. Now he'd chosen his path, he saw no reason to move on - if she was prepared to swallow a little of her pride and request assistance then he was fairly certain he'd hear her. He hadn't spent all of his life training as a soldier not to detect such disturbances.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:59 pm
The mare's ears flickered as she heard him move. Yes, she had senses that were sharp but that was because of the games she would play with the smaller colts in her pride when she was a mere colt herself. She was the best at hide and go seek. She lowered her head to move under a branch, not moving away from the clearing but just moving around it in a sense, waiting the male out. Waiting games she won just as starting games. She could stare down anything even if it was as big as the mutant thing that was nearby. At his words, her dark eyes shifted over to him and she cocked her own curious brow. Wasn't the conversation over? Wasn't he done crushing her ego into the ground and not bothering to put flowers on it's grave? She took a moment to debate on what to say but as he didn't comment on her smart remark, she figure he had enough of it. A sigh left her nose and she lowered her head once more, her ears pulled back in annoyance.
"That it hasn't but that is because it's not fully winter yet...it take it's time..." She mummered softly not bother to say any more on her coat. Let him think what he liked. Some times she raised her voice but this was on rare accounts. Normally it ran along a monotone of a soft sound on account of her mother always shushing her obnoxious voice. So now it was just a small sound. She shifted the weight on her hooves and rose her head up a little higher and cocked a small curious brow.
"And you do know were it is?" A simple question. All ire and arrogance out of her tone. Why bother. He exhausted her mind from that little bout and she had no intentions of going through it again. But warmth sounded wonderful. Some kind of warmth anyways. The wind nipped at her heels and she moved forward slightly.
"Because I am freezing my a** off if you haven't notice." She humored softly and sighed after wards, pausing in her steps, the dark eyes rising with her head peering at the Stallion.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:27 pm
Ah but of course, lowland soquili and their winter coats were about as predictable as his herd Alpha. They didn't get their coats until well into the dead ends of winter, it was utterly ridiculous in his mind but made him ever thankful for his existence in the mountains that towered above the plains. If there was one thing he would never want for, it was warmth. In fact, he generated so much heat that he seemed to radiate it - on his troops' more humourous days they would infer that he gave off steam and really, how was he meant to respond to that? He was still working on a sufficiently abrupt and smart a** comment to that one.
He'd figure it out eventually.
"If I did not know of a place then I would have kept my mouth shut," he pointed out in a surprisingly sharp tone. Gone were the scathing remarks and the dry tones, they had been replaced with his usual manner. He was often abrupt and when his logic was questioned he always had a rebuttal - he was not a stallion that thrived on making empty promises in the hope of gaining small favours. He had been raised better than that, his father would have boxed his ears for lying and then subjected him to further punishment until he had been made completely aware of his mistake. Suffice to say he had learnt long ago that if he were to offer assistance in any form, it was only appropriate to do so when success was guaranteed... empty promises were meaningless and more worryingly, they could destroy a reputation. Thankfully he made no reference to her own rather rebellious mouth, she seemed much younger than he (though he was by no means old) and could be permitted a viper tongue even if it got her nowhere with him... at the very least, she would be able to keep the sops at bay down here. It was a valuable quality indeed, though it probably would have served her better if she employed it at the right times.
"Rest assured I was well aware of your discomfort the moment you opened your mouth," he added flatly and shook his head. His thick mane batted against his neck again before caressing and embracing the fur, his coat may have been designed for winter but even he had weak spots and his neck was one of them. He took a great deal of pleasure in knowing that his family by blood alone seemed to have incredibly thick hair to make up for that fact - did the spirits know they would all end up living on the slopes?
Probably, they knew most things.
"You are as stubborn as a mule but also ridiculously easy to read," it was by no means an insult, he merely meant it as a statement. She was entitled to an explanation at the very least, he knew how disconcerting it could be for one to be read so easily without knowing their own vulnerabilities...although there was something to be said for that openess; it wasn't always a good thing to stay so secretive.
"It is this way," he didn't give her the opportunity to respond to his remarks and held open the pathway he had already chosen to take. It was in that direction, he could sense the heat and more importantly he had grown to respect and recognise certain quirks that nature possessed - he knew the heat would be there even without that telltale breeze. Perhaps he would impart that information on her at a later date but for now he was in no rush - he'd give it to her when he got there.
...Afterall, he had to decide if she was worthy of such information to begin with!
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:26 pm
A sigh left her lips. So much for small chat. Arcadia nodded lightly at his statement and glanced aside. She was taught lying was a useful tactic when the time called for it but rarely did she lie unless her life was on it's own line. Sometimes it was better to just keep your mouth shut but she was a smaller mare so she bit the hand that fed or smacked her, figuratively speaking in a manner. As his mouth started to run off she snorted and could feel that annoyance rising once more. Of course he was just as stubborn as she was from her point of view but that was a twisted one to begin with. She kept her mouth shut but he eyes were narrowed on the male that stood before her claiming she was easy to read and such. Maybe she was but to put it so bluntly and offensively, she grounded her teeth together. She just kept thinking of the warmth and nodded slowly. She preferred to be ignorant then to know everything. That was probably the difference between the Stallion and her. She sighed lightly and moved past him through the path way he had indicated. She peered around and paused for him, not about to wander into no where. Her black eyes looked up at the sky with a sigh as the cold air barely made it to her hide. So she was alittle better but his looming judgmental stature made her weary. Might as well put on a okay face and stick through it.
//Ohseesee: Writers block. DX//
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:01 pm
"You are annoyed," he pointed out softly as he ducked passed the branches. The moment his horns left them, they snapped back in protest and whipped across his flanks - suffice to say, he was rather glad that his hide was so thick in those moments or he would have been left smarting at the unpleasantness of it all. Instead he was left with a slight tingling on his left side that would disappear in a short while, but would serve as a minor irritation each time he brushed passed another branch - foliage rarely managed to reach his flanks in the forests but stranger things had happened, he was fairly sure that could tickle at his 'wound' too, if only to get a rise out of him. To his credit he hadn't flinched when impact had been made and nor did he make any attempts to smooth over what had occured, he'd been through worse than that in his training, if he wept over something so small and unimportant he would have lost every shred of dignity he had and he genuinely wasn't prepared to sink that low.
Luckily for Arcadia is mother had never raised him to be a sop and his father simply wouldn't have stomached it. Oh, he and his brothers all had very different personalities but the one thing they had in common was their strength of character. Each was set in their ways, possessed their own quirks and stuck to them - Azuell was the gourmet, Penance the romantic and Sylph was the soldier. It would not take a genius to figure out the lifestyles that each favoured, it should have come at no surprise that Penance was the first of the three to have sired foals and with a mare he completely and utterly worshipped. It was terribly cute (even Sylph could see that) and there was a certain appeal to his sister-in-laws bubbly nature, but she was also living and breathing proof as to why 'married' stallions needed to avoid war like the plague.
...She'd been kidnapped after all!
Still, he returned to the topics at hand and promptly silenced his brain as it attempted to do some further woolgathering. There was a time and a place for everything, when in the company of an irritated female it was best not to do it... Unless it was your mother or you were married to her - Arcadia was neither of those things and even he had a suitable amount of manners, though some in the world might beg to differ on that score (she being one of them). This in mind, he flicked his tail lightly against his now irritable flank and slipped passed the mare with surprising grace to take the lead. Once he was there he bowed his head slightly, ducking beneath the branches (it was a time when he envied the petite) before proceeding forward. Every now and again his horns appeared to grasp at the low lying branches but he chose to continue walking, he was safe in the knowledge that if they swung backwards they would miss the mare's head by a reasonable distance at least.
"Your jaw tenses when you become irritable," he was referring to something that happened to almost every animal. It was a difficult thing to mask, control or hide and spoke volumes during negotiations. Even he struggled with it and could only just school his features into something somewhat unreadable during such periods. It wasn't easy, it wasn't comfortable and he loathed to do it but it was a necessary evil on occasions. In a manner of speaking she deserved at least that tidbit of information, if she was unreadable in terms of her irritation then she wouldn't be an easy a target for a Kalona - the same couldn't be said for a Skinwalker, but it took sheer strength and brutality to spurn one of those.
"It makes you an easy target," he negotiated his way through the trees, keeping his gaze ahead as he spoke. "It is advisable to cover it, though it takes a while to master...It could save your life."
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 1:09 pm
The mares ears flickered back as he noted on her...current mood. Of course she was annoyed. He just kept pointing out her problems like when you would sit in the movies and someone would point out the most obvious thing happening on the screen and as much as you shush them they chatter on and even louder. Her dark eyes stayed forward, her ears still slightly back. Let him think what he wanted she was just cold. And being cold and annoyed by a male made Arcadia extremely grouchy. But she kept her mouth. She had enough of the tongue lashings today. But of course she wasn't going to keel over the moment he said to do something. She waited for the male to take the lead of the walk and she peered around, her ears pulled back still. Being in the woods never made her comfy but hell. If there was warmth she would fight a bear for it. But she also remember the giant size of the male and had the worries swept away. If he was a good stallion and all these other things he claimed he wouldn't sit by and let her get mauled by a bear. Or at least she figured this. Nothing to really ponder on. The orbs she held followed him as he moved in front of her, her ears moving forward for a moment. She waited for him to get further ahead before following after him, a sigh leaving her lips. The walk was on of silence but that was fine with mare. Silence was golden but it was also entertaining to watch the male duck under the branches when she could just slip under them. Of course she kept her snickers and such to herself just remaining quiet. Better not have him turn around and say something.
As he broke the silence with his words she lazily looked away from around them and focused on the large male. Her jaw tensed? Her lips pursed as she pushed this into her mind thinking. She would have to work on that because she hated people picking at her. Next time she met this male if there was a next time she would be a blank canvass that no one could read. Or she hoped. Some of the creatures around, especially the skinwalkers were getting extremely dangerous and she was in no mood to fight against one of those abominations. So, she would take time and such to work on masking. Maybe find a small sap to help her. That was easy. Just look around and there was always one around. She snorted lightly at his words and shook her head. Like she didn't know that she had to work on it. But even if it got her killed at least she wasn't playing a game with the devil, pretending to be a fake symbol of something that probably didn't exist.
She lowered her head and looked at the ground, a sigh leaving her snout. "I figured that...." She mummered and shook her head, following like a obedient mare but she just wanted the warmth. Never had she liked being cold. When she was a colt, the herd she was in would crowd together, the body warmth warming the colts. That was the main focus. The colts were the future of the herd so might as well freeze our asses off while they are nice and cozy. Stupid in her mind but if she was ever to have a colt...she wouldn't know what to do. How she would react. Possibly terrified.
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