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 Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:16 am
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:17 am
The setting sun dyed the sky and earth the same bloody color. Long shadows stretched out like dark tendrils seizing their pray. The heat of summer clung to the air like an over enthusiastic pup. Such weather often inspired laziness and yet the entirety of the world seemed to be so full of life this evening now that the fog had vanished. Birds sang their final songs for the day and wolves cried out to welcome the night. All manner of creature stirred either for the night’s hunt or to reach safety and sleep. A large stallion moved among them. Powerful muscles covered a light frame. He held his head low like a wild cat stalking it’s pray. His ears swiveled taking in every sound but his fierce liquid gold eyes focused on the path before him. Mice scurried out of his path and rabbits watched curiously, frightened, from the bushes. He paid them no mind; his thoughts were elsewhere after all.
For months, maybe a year even, he had fought his way to this place. Across great treks of land and raging seas he had traveled with only the lazy Wolf as company. Now, he was so close he could smell it, literally. The crow he had met just that afternoon had proven quite useful and just when he had thought that his hunt would end in failure. Now he could tell he was on the right track. All the sounds of the forests had faded into near silence the further he went. At the same time the pungent scent in the air was growing thicker. A cold smile spread over the stallion’s lips as he stopped to take in a deep breath of the familiar odor. It burned his nose and made his stomach churn and yet his smile still grew.
We he began moving again it was at a dead gallop. His hooves flew over the ground tearing up dirt and throwing about in his wake. His short shaggy mane flopped around in his eyes and on his neck; his tail was like a thick coal streamer. His breaths were raspy and deep. It had been a long time since he had run so hard for so long. He ignored the discomfort he was feeling, the scent in the air was growing stronger and stronger until finally it made him feel nauseous. He started laughing and slowed until he strolled casually into a large clearing. In the middle of it, even in the fading light, he could see it plain as day. It was a large pit with dozens of large scavenger birds flitting in and out of it with scraps of flesh dangling from their sharp beaks.
He burned. His eyes leaked tears of relief and he began to tremble. His chest felt tight and his heart hurt. He knew this place. It looked almost as it had at home. It was so predictably him that it was painful. He was laughing so hard that he was choking. “Hisoka…” He murmured finally calming down. “Hisoka…you’re so close…I know it.” He grinned in a very predatory fashion. This was his hunting ground. This was where he would come. So this was where the Tiger would wait.
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:18 am
As the sun sunk completely below the horizon Hisoka set off for his nightly hunt. His freshly lit lanterns danced against his sides like giant fireflies. They promised safety and warmth and any number of truly wonderful things. Only a handful of creatures knew the truth behind those lights though. Very few had learned that to seek shelter in their light meant fighting for your life later. Hisoka knew how many creatures looked to light for safety and knew that the lanterns were employed for just that reason.
He moved slowly weaving in and out of trees searching for some ‘company’ for the evening. Some days it took the entire night to find a suitable target. Sometimes he never found one and others they came to him within minutes of setting out. Then on very rare occasions they discovered his plans long before he ever encountered them. The stallion paused mid-stride as his thoughts drifted back to a single white mare. It had never been his intent for her to find him out. Still she had and then she had gotten away leaving the night completely unsuccessful. He growled slightly at the memory. He couldn’t handle multiple soquili on his own. It was times of that kind that made him want a partner again.
Pushing the thought to the back of his mind the red marked stallion pressed on. Now was not the time for him to be dwelling on what he could have. Now was the time for work as the voices in his ears so blatantly told him. Picking up his pace he began to trot smoothly along the paths he had committed to memory that ran deeper into the woods. The further he went the darker everything became until the flickering flames in his lanterns cast off the only light. He could hear the creatures of the night slinking away from him wanting nothing to do with the strange ghost that tread in their world. He ignored them and continued on his way slipping down lesser known paths until he attracted someone’s attention.
After nearly three hours of almost pointless wandering he heard a small voice call out. He turned to face a small mare and he quickly gave her the once over to evaluate the danger level. She was very small; her shoulder was level with the bottom of his chest. She had no horns, fangs, claws or unusual tail to speak of. Her mane was a dusty rose color and she had a vibrant image of a crimson butterfly painted on her chest. Hisoka smiled gently at her as he turned to face her.
“You are lost?”
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:19 am
The mare nodded her head quietly ignoring the angry cries in her head. She was lost and she needed help that her friends couldn’t give her. She had only been trying to take shelter from a rain shower the previous evening. Then somehow on her way out she had gotten herself terribly lost within the labyrinth of trees. “Can…you help me?” She asked, voice just barely above a whisper, ignoring her friends’ angry cries and warnings entirely.
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:20 am
Equally as quiet he nodded to her. “Is this direction.” He said taking the lead. She fell into stride behind him and he smiled internally. The lost ones were always the easiest. They couldn’t tell where he was leading them and often didn’t realize that they were headed in the entirely wrong direction until it was far too late. After a mere ten minutes of walking he could tell that this was exactly the case with the small mare. Not once had she voiced any concern about the way they were headed. However, every now and again she did mutter something to herself about everything being okay. He ignored that chalking it up to her just being scared of the dark. That was nothing unusual.
Deeper and deeper into the trees they journeyed until one could scarcely make out the sky overhead. The trees were not the only things growing thicker. The air and silence also grew until their presence was stifling. Hisoka, used to the scent didn’t have a problem ignoring it but he could tell by the shuffling behind him that the mare was struggling to accept it. He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a faked reassuring smile.
“Is safe. Just stinking plant.” He said calmly bringing himself around to walk by the mare’s side. A comforting gesture for most was nothing more than a cheap trick of sorts for the stallion. If she got scared and tried to run, which he greatly suspected she would soon enough, he could more easily stop her from here. Thankfully she seemed to calm though she kept speaking to herself under her breath. Again he ignored it thinking it to be nothing and just kept driving the mare towards his goal.
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:21 am
The longer they walked the fouler the air became until the mare’s chest was heaving uncontrollably. Over and over they told her to leave but she hadn’t a clue where to go. She felt trapped. The light had been pleasant enough at first allowing her to see the ground before her feet. Now the scent in the air was causing her to panic and she had realized something about the light, she could see nothing in the inky darkness outside of the lit circle. It was like a cage.
She glanced at the stallion that now flanked her. His piercing golden eyes were fixated on the path ahead of them. She didn’t know how he did it but he navigated the trail perfectly, moving out of the way of obstacles before they were in the lit circle. She stumbled over them. What was stranger still was that he was slowly building speed until the snares in the road were in and out of the light before the mare could even process that they had even been there. All the while the stench in the air kept building until it was suffocating her. The voices of her friends called for her to flee one more time, begging her to leave. The mare finally listened. In the blink of an eye the mare had turned sharply away from the large white stallion and charged into the shadows. She ran blindly, stumbling over roots and dips in the land but she did not stop. She wouldn’t stop. She would never stop. She was in danger and she knew it. “Help me!” She cried. “Somebody please help!”
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:22 am
He had been expecting her to run. However, he had not been expecting her to call for help. Growling fiercely he charged off the path and into unfamiliar territory following the sound of her voice. He hated it when this happened. No. He despised it. The voices of the dead shrieked in his ears to catch her or there would be consequences. He knew that already. Everything had consequences. Everything always had consequences and they were never good. Never. They were always painful. Gritting his teeth he continued blindly forward stumbling as much as the mare had on the road. He was off the paths he knew. He was in as much trouble as she was.
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:23 am
The Tiger had just begun to get sick of waiting when something screamed out into the night. The stallion straightened up at the cry. His ear’s swiveled about like a bat’s trying to locate the sound as he stepped out of his waiting place in the bushes. His heart was racing with excitement. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew exactly what was going on and a familiar growl confirmed it. The creamy white stallion’s heart twinged. Then without a second thought he charged out of the clearing and along a narrow path that brought him closer and closer to the mare’s voice. She was still shrieking into the night for a savior, clearly she hadn’t noticed the lack of life in the area. That suited him just fine; she would lead the Fox right to him that way.
He had only been on the move a scant few minutes when his eyes, already well adjusted to the night, caught sight of a form moving through the growth off beaten trails. He stopped moving and grinned in such a way that he was almost sneering. The idiot mare was moving right towards him still begging for help. Judging by the way that she moved and the fact that she still hadn’t seen him told the Tiger that she was still night blind. He chuckled cruelly as she neared the path that he was on.
He stepped into her way still smiling wickedly. “Be careful who you ask for help.” He whispered leaning down to reach her ear. Then in one fluid movement he pulled his head back and kicked her square in the chest silencing one final cry from her. Then with cold eyes he watched as she dropped to the ground. He gave an extremely restrained kick to her head for good measure, she needed to stay down, and waited again.
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:25 am
The sudden silence spooked Hisoka a bit and the stallion stopped running. It was not normal for things to just go completely silent in the middle of a scream. Not without some outside assistance at any rate. Completely on guard he slunk slowly through the bushes keeping his eyes and ears alert for anything unusual. As he grew closer to a thinner path he rarely used the wind turned and he caught a scent of something he knew did not belong to the mare. The Fox gasped his eyes going wide as he took a few more steps closer something came into the circle of light. A pair of legs with black marks closely resembling his own red ones.
The white stallion with red marks froze in place. He knew those legs. Hisoka began to tremble slightly as he clenched his jaw. He should have known better. He should have known that he would be found eventually. He should have known that they would never let him run off just like that, not when he had taken something so precious from them. He steeled his will to stop himself from running off yet again. The painful absence of the dead shrieking in his ear made it all that much harder to do. He had to rely heavily on logic to stop himself because while he was far swifter than the other stallion he knew that he would tire long before the Tiger.
“虎尾…” He muttered sounding absolutely defeated as he approached. “What are you doing here, Torao?” To the vast majority of the Kawani inhabitants his speech would be confusing. The “foreign” words for them, however, rolled easily off his tongue with greater speed and fluidity than any kawani words ever did.
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:26 am
It very nearly broke Torao’s heart to hear his name said in such a dejected way. He snarled angrily as he looked over the Fox. His white and red coat was every bit as pristine as it had been back at home. His mane and tail were still sleek and well groomed; a beautiful raven black and snowy white mixture. He looked well enough though he seemed thinner than he once had if that were even possible. His eyes met the Fox’s as Torao blatantly ignored the presented question. He had waited too long for this moment to get into a question and answer session now. Everything about the younger stallion had been the same until his eyes. What had happened to his beautiful pools of amber? They had grown dull since that time.
“密か君…” Torao frowned and took a step closer to the other. “What happened to you?” He responded in the same language. It was the language of their homeland, the one that really spoke to them. When Hisoka drew away from Torao with angry eyes the ever so slightly larger stallion began to scowl. “What’re those eyes for, huh?” He demanded quickly losing patience. He’d come way too far and searched way too long to get this sort of poor reception. “I came here for you.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:27 am
Unlike many Hisoka did not flinch when he was met with Torao’s ferocity. After many years he had grown used to such behavior and it rarely affected him any more. When his eyes were mentioned he only made his expression harsher. “To drag me back right?” He spat. “These eyes are for you! Are you happy?” The temperature around them was slowly dropping into sub arctic levels. It was very clear that both were minutes away from tearing each other apart.
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:30 am
Torao growled and took another step closer to Hisoka drawing himself up to his full height. Unfortunately for the Tiger Hisoka was no longer as small as he once was. Even though Torao was broader and slightly more muscled he was still only a few centimeters taller than his partner. “I’m beyond happy.” He snarled. “I’m so happy I might just die.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:30 am
“Good.” He muttered in Kawani knowing that Torao would still catch it. After all, the older stallion had been the one to teach him in the first place. Hisoka was done speaking with his former partner. “You trouble...” His cold golden eyes looked over to the mare that was meant to be his kill for the night. She was unconscious and Hisoka did not have the strength or patience left in him to try and drag her to the pit. He scowled unhappily feeling rather like growling himself. He had failed his hunt all because the stupid Tiger had interfered and now he didn’t even want to start a new one.
“Forever trouble.” He snapped giving the tiger pelted stallion one last icy look before turning to leave.
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:31 am
Torao watched Hisoka’s retreating back for only a few seconds before following him down the trail. “You’re mad about the female?” He asked forcefully clearly thinking the conversation to be far from over. He still had things to say to the stallion but based on Hisoka’s silence the Fox had nothing to say to him. After several long, frustrating, minutes of nothing but the sound of hoof steps Torao growled again. He picked up his pace only to find that Hisoka had already done the same thing. Over and over again he tried increasing speed to gain on the pure white stallion but each time Hisoka had done the same thing. There was a problem with trying to hunt your partner; they would already know your tricks. If Torao hadn’t been feeling so agitated by everything he would have found it quite funny. Unfortunately for Hisoka the older stallion had already gotten fed up with his partner’s antics.
In a sudden and unexpected burst of speed Torao charged and knocked Hisoka into a tree. He pinned the other as best as he possibly could aiming to make him listen. “I’ll just snap her throat if you’re mad about that.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 9:32 am
He received no answer, just more glaring at first. Then Hisoka began struggling slightly against him finding that he was pretty securely stuck he stopped. “Get off me.” He growled throwing his weight against the other stallion. It did Hisoka no good. Torao didn’t budge an inch and every angry glare, snarl or growl was met by an angrier one from Torao. No words were being exchanged, both were well past words and they both knew it.
Hisoka just wanted to go drown himself in an icy bath. He wanted to wash Torao out of his mind and make himself believe that this had all just been a dream. Those plans were made impossible by the bulk that was still trapping him against the rather sturdy tree. “Get off I said!”
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