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 Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 1:59 am
A great many resources had been spent in the search for the young mare. At the request of the Alpha of the herd, Sylph had thrown much of his weight behind the hunt for the missing soquili. Unfortunately the attempts to locate her either alive or dead had been unsuccessful. Had it not been for the tale he had been told by Yei Umeko he would have given up his search within a few days. However, rather than give up so soon the guards have searched high and low for at least three weeks before coming to the conclusion to an unfortunate conclusion. The missing mare hadn't been abducted, she hadn't run away - the truth of the matter is that she was dead.
Throughout their search they had questioned a variety of individuals; Usdia, regular soquili, sea life and forest creatures. The skyborne had sought out the birds and asked for their accounts and each one had confirmed what the Overlord wished they hadn't. There had been a terrible accident, one that had forced a mare meeting Equinox's description to plunge to her death. If it was any consolation her sacrifice has ensured that a young foal was able to walk away safely but at this moment in time, Sylph doubted that the family would take comfort.
He hated this side of his job.
There was nothing worse than interrupting a parent's day to inform them that they had outlived their child. To explain to them that one they loved so dearly had suffered and perished. It wasn't pleasant, nor would they find solace in the fact that no guard had been capable of retrieving the body for a proper burial.
He steeled himself and prepared for the onslaught of emotion that would test even his mettle. His jaw tightened and he could feel the hair on the back of his neck raise just a touch. It was rare that such a massive beast would feel the cold, but even he gave a slight quiver of apprehension. He could fight in wars, slay countless enemies, but put him against a family bearing horrid news and he very nearly crumbled. Had he been human there would have been a high chance that his palms would sweat and he'd be sick with nerves!
Nevertheless, steadying his breaths, he pushed through the immediate forest cover and cleared his throat. He was rarely so far down into the territory as this (the lowlands weren't the locations he tended to patrol) but he couldn't expect his subordinates to break this news.
"I would request the presence of Marut or Raniero, immediately if you please!" he announced, his deep voice rippling through the trees with just a touch of effort. Suffice to say, there were benefits to being a military leader, you learnt very quickly to project your voice without going hoarse.
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 4:26 am
Marut had been dozing in the summer sun, her back against the rough bark of a tree, her tail lazily flicking at any flies that threatened to interrupt her quiet time. And it was quiet time, she'd not seen any of her children for days, and a small part of her mind that wasn't being lulled into sleep by the warmth of the sun pondered how they were doing. Well, they blessed with Raniero's intelligence and her athleticism so she could only hope that they were doing well in the world, but she did wish they would drop by more often to see their old mum.
Chatura returned home every once in a while, but even she had been gone longer than usual...she opened her eyes, startled by the voice that boomed and echoed amongst the trees. What the? She got to her hooves, blinking her eyes and stifling a little yawn, shaking herself and then moved out and towards the owner of the voice.
'Hello?' she said, a brow raised at the sight of the stallion standing there.
'I'm Marut, can I help you?'
She had no idea who this male was, let alone why he would be calling for herself or Raniero. She was curious, not suspecting anything untoward and so she favoured him with a smile to go with her greeting.
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 9:31 am
When the ebony stallion had come to power he had made certain that one of his duties would be to introduce himself to the individuals within the herd. His intentions had been good and he had started off well, but more important events had turned up. His responsibilities had hit him full force and he had been required to hit the ground running. He had done so and had embraced his immediate duties but in return for this quick switch he had been forced to place many more 'mundane' tasks to one side. Unfortunately, introductions had been one of these tasks and as a consequence not everyone was aware of who he was.
...They might know his name.
But that meant very little when you came face to face with a creature.
He deeply wished that he had taken at least an hour out of each day to complete his introductions though, now more than ever. Her hospitable smile was enough to make his stomach clench and his jaw tighten just a little more. He had no doubt disturbed her during a leisurely afternoon and he was about to sour her day further with what could only be described as horrendous news. When he had taken this position in Islagiatt he had forgotten one key element, one which he should have been aware of given his previous position elsewhere. The leader of a military organisation was both admired and hated, they were always the devil's advocate and nearly always brought the bad news.
"I ask your forgiveness for the intrusion," he began after a few moments. He had taken a quick instance to gather his composure and drew himself to his full height, it was better not to slump in these instances. "I am Sylph Forcas, I command the borderguards and secure the surrounding herd territories," he bowed his head in greeting, satisfied that he had given a reasonable introduction.
"However one of our duties is also to oversee the security of those individuals who are part of the herd, regardless of their location. I have received reports as of late pretaining to a mare that I have reason to believe is your daughter," he allowed this rather long winded sentence to sink in before he continued. "It is for this reason that I have been forced to interrupt your afternoon, for which I apologise but given the circumstances it could not wait."
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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 3:46 pm
'That's okay.' Marut replied, still more curious as to what he was doing here. When he explained who he was, she really was not any the wiser but merely nodded. Maybe Raniero had told her about him, but she'd not been listening..or something.
'You didn't disturb anything important.' she replied, before he spoke again. As he continued to talk she felt like the ground was being taken away from under her hooves and she struggled to keep her composure.
'Is it Chatura?' she asked first, having knowledge of what her daughter was researching, and then swiftly adding.
'Or Equinox?'
She strove to keep her head, assailed as she was with guilt for not knowing anything or not going to search herself for her wayward daughters.
'What's happened?' she finished, her voice plaintive.
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 8:56 am
"We received reports approximately two weeks ago that there had been an accident in the lowlands," he responded softly. He felt no need to draw out the inevitable and small talk would just make the situation worse. "A mare was involved in an incident and disappeared off the coasts to the east," he heaved a sigh and adjusted his weight from one hoof to the other. His expression shifted to a grimace and he steeled himself on to the deliver the news.
"A search was launched to locate this individual and further investigation confirmed that the mare in question was one of your daughters," he glanced briefly at his hooves, regathered the shreds of composure that threatened to unravel and finally bit the bullets. "She was identified as Equinox and it with great sadness that I am here to inform you that despite our efforts, we were unable to locate her..." he allowed these words to settle for a few moments. It was a lot to take in, regardless of how quickly they had been said, the weight alone was enough to swallow some whole.
"My scouts have confirmed that the injuries she would have sustained during this accident would most likely have proved fatal. It is unfortunate that despite our best efforts we have had to call off this search and return with such grave news," his jaw tightened and he cleared his throat, shooing away this fluttering in his stomach that gave him the sudden desire to lose his breakfast.
"I am deeply sorry for your loss," he murmured gently. "The only consolation that I can provide is in confirming that the young foal involved in the same incident managed to survive due to your daughter's decisive actions," he finished.
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 2:42 pm
Marut listened, her heart sinking, the words coming as if from far away. She couldn't think, could not express a cohesive thought as this virtual stranger stood in front of her and told her that one of her children was dead. Her little girl..her Nox.
She started shaking, and strove to stand, her head going from side to side now.
'No.' she finally managed.
'No, no, no you must wrong, it's a mistake.' the mare said, looking at him with a pleading expression, begging him to say it was all just some tasteless joke, that any moment her daughter would pop out and she would see that Equinox was whole and healthy.
She couldn't listen to his condolences, his attempts soothing the blow. He was wrong, he had to be.
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:30 pm
"My scouts and I would not have delivered such news if we believed there was evidence to the contrary," Sylph grimaced and lowered his gaze a touch at the mare's response. Disbelief and denial were to be expected, he knew as much and thought he was capable of dealing with it. Unfortunately when faced with this genuine response it was far more difficult than he had anticipated and that queasy feeling felt much worse - if there had been a way to clench a fist around his lungs then it was being done to him now.
He didn't want to argue with her, dearly wished that this was all some sick farce but unfortunately it wasn't. His scouts had hunted high and low, they had interviewed and investigated. They had entered territories that they would generally give a wide birth and to no avail. When the mare had plunged into the ocean she had disappeared absolutely and one could only assume her remains had sunk to the sea bed. Alas, he had no desire to consider the option that they could have been torn to pieces on rocks, there was only so much heartbreak anyone could take even if they were only the messenger.
"We sought any sign of her survival but none were forthcoming, even those creatures that lurk in human settlements had no knowledge of an inured mare," he shook his head slowly and heaved a sigh. He really wasn't an individual well suited to consoling her, she would require someone more suitable for that... a family member perhaps, something to that effect at least.
"There is nothing more I can say and anything else would be unsuitable, if you would prefer I will locate an individual of your choosing. Obviously I am not one of those soquili who is appropriate in the given circumstances."
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:56 am
'Equinox!' Marut wailed her daughter's name, sinking to the ground as her legs gave up any further attempts to support her body. Her head dropped and she cried, bereft at the thought that her girl had gone.
She realised that the stallion was still there, and she shook her head.
'I can't, I can't even think.' she managed to say. Oh spirits how was she to tell anyone! Raniero, Chatura and Aod - they would all have to be told and that was beyond her right now. She still couldn't even think the thought that Nox was, was..that word, let alone say it out loud to her surviving children and her mate.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 8:26 am
Sylph nodded just a touch in recognition of her grief. Rather than make her more uncomfortable by staying he murmured his condolences and made his exit. There was nothing more he could do for the mare, he carried no magic wand to bring her daughter back. He was no miracle worker and was renowned for his sound logic but unfortunately, because of this he recognised that 'miracles' simply didn't exist. Her daughter had perished and no amount of praying or dances with the devil would return her to this world - it was a rather sickening realisation but it was something that he had to accept.
It was as this male left that another one 'arrived' - or rather, the other male made his presence known. He'd completed his research for the morning and had been on his way to 'disturb' his mate when it became apparent that another individual was there. He had drawn to a halt, quietly in order to remain unnoticed and there he had listened. Unfortunately he only heard a small segment of the conversation but given his mate's distraught expression and her wail of grief... Well, it was clear very quickly that something was very, very wrong.
Breaking his cover and picking his way carefully from between the tree trunks, he came to a halt beside his bereft mate and lowered his head until he could nudge at her tears. He'd never been great with emotion, empathising had never been his strong point given his nature. However, in those moments he felt a rather illogical sense of rage, no one under any circumstance was allowed to make Marut cry! No one.
Even him.
"Marut?" he murmured gently, "What is all this?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 8:46 am
She only realised that the stranger had been replaced by another, much more familiar presence when Raniero spoke. His soft words and just knowing he was right with her elicited a fresh flood of tears. Her heart sunk even further, though she wasn't sure that was really possible and it was with a great effort that she drew her head away from her chest and looked up at her mate.
'...' she attempted to speak, but all that came out the first time was a sort of gulping, hiccuping noise of grief. Marut tried again, trying to find the words to tell Raniero that they'd lost one of their children.
'..nox.' she managed this time, her tail flicking on the ground in her agitation.
'She's gone. Oh Raniero she's gone!'
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:29 am
His jaw didn't drop, merely tightened at the revelation - granted he had known it was bad news from the beginning but even his practical mind had favoured denial. The words seemed hollow and his ears seemed to be filled with cotton wool. It was a revelation, news that didn't quite break him but definitely fed that feeling of rage in his stomach. He hadn't quite mastered the art of 'sorrow' but it would be safe to say that his rage spoke on behalf of that particular emotion in volumes. In a cruel manner of speaking he knew that these things happened occasionally and the loss was most unfortunate but he had never anticipated that it would happen to him.
"What happened?" he enquired coolly, his voice not quite his own and surprisingly distant as he attempted to piece together a fragmented puzzle. Unfortunately for him, he would find that many of the pieces were missing. Marut had been too griven to receive all the details from Sylph and she couldn't be faulted in this, but it would leave a great many unanswered questions. What had happened, where had it happened, how long did they search? More importantly, were they completely and utterly certain that she had perished or was she merely considered missing, what gave them the right to pronounce her dead without proof?
All these questions tore through his mind at a mile a minute and for the first time in many years he felt unsteady on his hooves. Grief was handled in very different ways by individuals, some wept, others isolated themselves and others felt anger. Raniero seemed to favour the last, his mind harking back to the countless remarks his own father had made. He'd placed so much pressure on his grandchildren, forced them to believe that they were worthless. He'd even gone so far as to challenge them to 'prove' him wrong.
...It had resulted in the death of his daughter.
Ironically, a part of him wasn't surprised by this, his father was callous enough to consider such a method of disposing of a problem. What hurt was that Raniero had overestimated Paramekia and assumed that perhaps he would soften to his grandchildren in time. He had been foolish in this and as a consequence he hadn't protected his family properly, it was inexcusable.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 12:31 pm
Marut's sobs were slowly being brought under control, to be replaced with a hollow calm. The sorrow had not passed, far from it but was being pushed away for now and she would likely succumb to it again later. For now Raniero needed answers, and despite her wanting to cry on his shoulder and grieve she had to give them to him as Sylph had delivered the terrible news to her.
She took in several long and shuddering breaths, trying to put herself in the frame of mind to answer whatever he asked though it was difficult.
'He said..' she began, her voice as shaky as her state of mind, and she paused before continuing.
'There was some sort of incident..accident or something. Involcing Equinox.' she said their daughters name and nearly dissolved again but strove to keep talking.
'She was lost off the coast - he said, that Sylph said that she would have been too hurt.' she sucked in a breath and shut her eyes tight.
'He said they looked. Searched. She, nothing was found.'
Marut looked at Raniero, and then past him into the distance.
'Our little girl..'
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 3:22 am
He didn't really have words to express how he felt in those moments, it was one of those rare occasions when a male renowned for his ability to explain anything floundered. He couldn't be blamed of course, no individual was truly devoid of emotion and he was no exception. Over the years he had softened and while he was ever practical, there were certain things that riled him much more efficiently than others. In essence he had developed vulnerabilities and while he had sworn he never would as a colt, he now recognised that they were unavoidable. When he had given himself to Marut and he had sired a family, he had willingly placed himself in the firing line. Unfortunately, he hadn't done a very good job of securing his defences or rather, he hadn't done a very good job at protecting what he loved most.
Now was not the time for a 'live and learn' moment.
Now wasn't the time for anything really and as he watched his mate cave in as she bestowed the news upon him, he had absolutely no idea what he was going to do. He didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to act and he wasn't sure that the anger boiling up inside him would be appreciated by Marut. Tears weren't his forte and never would be, he expressed his hurt in other forms but at the same time if he erupted with rage at this exact moment then it wouldn't be very well received...would it?
"I'll kill him," he muttered, before his mind had had the opportunity to rein in his tongue. His eyes clouded just a touch and he refrained from elaborating on his words. Instead he lowered his head a little more and nuzzled gently at Marut's neck, his nose pausing now and again as he regathered his tattered composure. "I'll look for her myself, they may have missed something," he continued with a ragged breath, one not disrupted through tears but anger. "Just to be sure, they have many duties and may have been recalled before they could stumble across the necessary information."
...He had his spies, he could use them, right?
It hadn't occured to him that his very own daughter might eventually choose to purposefully hide from her own family.
"We'll figure this out, I promise."
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 7:55 am
Marut had dissolved back into tears, the news duly given and her ability to hold back her sorrow weakened by her mates attentiveness. Of course he wouldn't weep as she did, she hadn't expected that but through her grief she heard him and managed to get a hold of herself to question him this time.
'Kill him? Who?' she attached herself to his words as though they were an lifeboat on an unkind sea, was there someone to blame for what had happened to their dear daughter?
She pressed her nose against his neck, striving to find any comfort she could from Raniero.
'Okay..' she replied, her voice cracking. She couldn't fall apart again - and she had to tell Chatura and Aod next. She wasn't sure if she should feel hope that maybe the stallion had been wrong, and that Equinox was somewhere...what she didn't want to do was accompany Raniero and be present if, if..she swallowed thickly at the thought of finding a body and her eyes teared again.
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 1:06 am
"No one," Raniero replied quietly. It wasn't the right time to express any of his fury and certainly not towards the mare who was so distraught. She had just lost her daughter, she didn't need to hear that it was probably down to Paramekia's unwavering pressure. His petulance and problematic nature were not for Marut to deal with, this was a dispute that would need to be settled between father and son - pistols at dawn so to speak, though Raniero had no intention of slaughtering his father. Contrary to belief, Raniero was not the same as Paramekia in that respect and possessed no desire to annihilate either his siblings or his parents.
...Truth be told, he absolutely doted on his mother.
"Absolutely no one," he repeated, sifting through the various things on his 'to-do' list. Every last one of them would have to be rescheduled, cast to the side while he dealt with the immediate issues. If his suspicions were correct then he had no intention to let the same fate fall upon Chatura and Aodhan - they didn't deserve the pressure and never had. Ironically, it was time for Raniero to 'man up' once more. Despite arguments that he was already a grown stallion and was his own being, this wasn't strictly true, up until now he had always been led ever so slightly by his father. Time to cut the apron strings, nyah?
"Marut, grant me just one request," he lowered his voice and took a deep breath. "Promise you will keep this from Chatura and Aodhan until we are absolutely positive of Equinox's fate," he murmured gently. "It would be cruel to break such news only to find it inaccurate, I would prefer they didn't have to be subjected to such things before it is right," he explained. Admittedly he would have preferred it if Sylph had located him first but when it came to himself, he could appreciate that he was difficult to tie down on occasions. "If we're sure then we can let them know - together. But until then it's best if they remain...ignorant of the news," he finished.
Hopefully she would understand his point.
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