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 Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 7:18 pm
It was all a sham. It was all a sham! Ashriel was disgusted, and ... well, he was very disgusted by what he had witnessed. Fool! Ah, what a fool he had been, thinking that one of Reaper's get could possibly be worth his time. The little black mare had at first seemed so shy and retiring, traits befitting a young mare of angeni heritage. ... Not that he thought that females ought to be subservient, or anything. It was simply that she had appeared to be more gentle than the others. But then, in moments of quiet, he had observed her trailing after various Kalona, a breed that he knew to be dark. Perhaps his niece believed that she would be more readily accepted among them.
... Perhaps. Whatever her reasons, it was unacceptable. In his frustration, he had left to vent his feelings on some rather unsuspecting leaves. He didn't quite realize how coltish he appeared while doing so, far too taken up with his thoughts to be worried about how his behavior might appear to others. This prancing (stomping!) amid leaves vaguely reminded him of his foal days, and the times he had gadded about, tail flagged high, running through the Fall leaves. He had loved those times, the early days before he had first stretched forth his wings to fly.
Life had been simple then, uncomplicated. He had not really realized how deeply his brother had betrayed the family. Lowering his head, he snorted, sending leaves scattering this way and that. Well, it was no matter. He could not stomp the evil out of his kin the way he stomped on these leaves. Huffing and blowing, he sent more leaves flying, a sudden delight stirring in that battle hardened chest. This... was fun. He had forgotten how fun it was to play. Carefully, he looked about, checking to see that there was no one nearby.
When he was certain that he was entirely alone, he used his nose to push the leaves together into a pile. He worked away at it for some minutes, gathering as many as he could. Then, when he felt fully satisfied with his efforts, he backed up a couple paces, and jumped on the pile of leaves. Leaves in shades of red, yellow, orange, and brown went fluttering everywhere, some of them finding their way into his mane and tail. He whuffed, letting out the air in his lungs in a rush, and felt a little silly.
What adult stallion did that, anyway? With some asperity, he shook himself off, pretending all the while as though he hadn't just acted like he was a days old foal, fresh out of his basket and struck with wonder at the world. With great, almost exaggerated dignity, he picked himself up and paced away from the explosion of leaves. That hadn't happened. But he was feeling almost cheerful now, and ready to tackle the problem with renewed vigor. Zahariel wouldn't be involving herself with an evil Kalona, not if he had anything to say about it.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 7:44 pm
While the young angeni had been building his pile of leaves, and taking out his aggression in a rather peculiar fashion, Shyam had been on the move. Amaya and he had separated ways, and while she had said she would seek him out when she was ready, part of the ebony stallion recognized the lie woven within her words. Perhaps she truly meant to seek him out, perhaps she genuinely meant what she had said, but the crimson eyed male knew that what bond they had formed had been temporary at best. She seemed to believe in some fantasy tale, and for awhile Shyam even believed he might have known her before his fall . . . but that was months ago.
Out of sight, out of mind, or so the saying went. With every passing day, her memory grew more and more faint, and the striped mutant thought of her less and less. He was on a mission, after all. He was meant to find someone . . . a her. . . or was it a him? Honestly, he couldn't remember and even more unfortunately he couldn't entirely place why they were so important. Still, with every passing soquili, Shyam had to wonder if they weren't the one that drove him to scour the world and find this missing piece.
Sometimes he wondered if he might have accidentally killed or eaten the stranger he was meant to discover, his soul-mate. But . . . well. . . he'd never know if he did and until someone told him otherwise, he would continue his search. It wasn't high on his list of priorities, but it haunted him enough to keep him moving.
New faces to meet, new faces to eat. . . Shyam lived a comfortable life despite his daily torment, his fractured memory and mind. This autumn day was no different.
Picking his way through the leaf covered landscape, the stallion gave pause when he caught sight of an unusual figure heading his way. It was mostly made of shadow and long red hair. . . but there were wings, he noted, and more than just a single pair! In fact, it delighted Shyam to realize he crossed paths with an angeni! Instantly his mouth began to water and he realized it had been quite some time since he ripped in to the most tender of all soquili flesh. . . . It truly was a delicate treat, a rarity, and one Shyam enjoyed hunting.
Still, despite the sudden craving to eat, Shyam took a moment to study the stallion. He looked a tad disheveled, and there were some leaves stuck in various positions on the stranger. Perhaps not too odd, since leaves were everywhere this season, but somewhat silly nonetheless. Thankfully though, the leaves might work in his favor. . . The stallion looked to be of a fine breed, healthy enough, and with a lovely ebony coat and crimson mane. . .
Very tasty indeed.
What luck that they should be crossing paths! Step by step, the chains that were eternally wrapped around his form clinked with every motion. Where Ashriel left a trail of leaves in his wake, Shyam left a trail of molten and greasy feathers. . . . Shaking a few bangs out of his eyes, he paused in his walk when he felt sure the other might notice him, and offered a smile. "My, my, my . . . it seems the spirits have blessed me this day! It isn't often I cross paths with kin." Well, ex-kin . . . he couldn't exactly call himself holy or pure any longer. His blood-stained horns were proof of that!
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 8:43 pm
Luck was with Ashriel. No one had seen him plunge into the pile of leaves. Or, if they had seen him, they were simply choosing not to reveal themselves to him. That was good enough. Ah, out of sight, out of mind. Now, if he could just find that mare and-- "Excuse me?" Ashriel said, slightly taken aback. Who was this? Thoughts flitted across the angeni's mind, showing very clearly on his face. He was not skilled at concealing his emotions, but the fringe of bang generally stopped that from being noticeable. Most Soquili, he surmised, tended to look to one's eyes to read emotion, and thus his own were not on display. Nor could Ashriel avail himself to similar means, but he was safe enough.
... So to speak. Ears pricked, he listened to what the stallion had to say, disbelief written across his features. Surely the male had confused him with someone else. Clearly he had. They certainly could not be kin, not even in the broadest sense of the term, unless one simply considered that they were of the same kind, both Soquili. He brought a foot up, and then set it down with a slightly anxious air. Something about this stallion was very unsettling, and he couldn't place what it was.
It put him on the defensive, and he waited for the danger to manifest itself. Circling around slightly, he turned so that his side was not exposed to the stallion, where he was most vulnerable. He drew himself up, standing as tall and strong as he could, and showing no fear. His was a slightly aggressive stance-- let this stallion dare to touch him! Let him dare try.
Ashriel was ready. "The spirits laugh, I think, to send one such as you to me," he said, prepared for whatever the stallion threw at him, surely. His slightly tattered wings were flared, neither set furled at his side and on his back as they usually were. He had no notion that the stallion was contemplating anything other than simple violence, if indeed he had anything in store for Ashriel. The young (relatively young) angeni was genuinely unprepared for anything but a physical confrontation.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 9:05 pm
They certainly were not kin in the familial sense, nor kindred spirits for the matter. But they were of the same race, or at least appeared enough to be that Shyam found the title fitting. An angeni was an angeni, regardless of its cursed mutations or desire to cure or kill. Wings, more wings, and a few more wings were what they looked like . . .the rest all came down to details.
His gaze remained pleasant, even as the younger male suddenly became defensive. He watched as he switched his position, as he seemed to hold his ground and stand a little bit taller, a little bit prouder. While Shyam couldn't see his eyes - he wondered what color they were, desired to gaze at them. . . or lick them - his body language was enough to tell him all he needed to know.
Ashriel expected a fight. It was almost cute, in a way, to see his muscles tense and his body language to all be scream his thoughts. He didn't trust Shyam, which was a good thing, but he seemed far too quick to assume he knew his intentions. As if he'd come out and bare his fangs and attack in such an obvious manner.
Heavens no!
While Shyam could easily deliver a confrontation, he wasn't quite endeared to the idea of battle. Not yet. While he was an evil creature, that didn't mean he had to be so blatant about the whole ordeal, and he did want to get to know this stranger better. Who said that those that feasted on blood and death couldn't desire conversation once in awhile?
His smile grew, eyes amused as his disheveled albeit stubby tail gave a little swish. "Laugh? Now whyever would you say such a thing?" He tilted his head, though he did pause a moment to allow his gaze to trace over Ashriel's figure. He was quite appreciative of what he saw. "I see this meeting as fortuitous. Obviously the spirits have a reason for our paths to cross, and while they may find some humor in the arrangement, I like to think they have bigger plans for you and I. Surely you know by now that there is no such thing as 'chance' or pure 'coincidence', this meeting was bound to happen for some reason or another. You see this as a time for battle, I see this as a time for other activities." Like conversation. . . or seduction.
Battle could come later.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 11:20 am
It had never once occurred to Ashriel that Shyam might not be looking for a fight. He stood fiercely there, waiting for the dark angeni to attack him, waiting for him to rush him. He was prepared for that. He would be ready for him, when the time came. ... But the twisted angeni did not come. Ashriel's ears pricked forward, and then lay back on his head, displaying the angeni's confusion and discomfort. He did not know what to expect from this... this creature.
He wanted to be aggressive, and drive him out of the area, but Shyam was coming at him sideways, was surely watching him with acquisitive eyes, and the young angeni didn't quite know what to make of it. He could sense it in the stallion's words, in his behavior, but could not place the reason for such a thing. He stomped a foot restlessly, hoof sending a small puff of dust up from the ground. "They laugh because you are clearly... dark. And I have only just come from another who is the same."
It was quite a stretch to say that Zahariel was dark, but Ashriel saw things in black and white, with very few exceptions. As far as he was concerned, if one was interested in mingling with Kalona, the very demons among Soquili, one was dark. Perhaps he should have protected her come to think of it. She was as young as he was-- younger, even, and perhaps she did not know better.
This thought troubled Ashriel as he strove to find a solution to his current predicament, tail swishing back and forth. It was true that his body language screamed his thoughts, but he did not know how to conceal them, or to feign other thoughts. Such was too close to a lie, even if it would protect him from the other somewhat. This other stallion, who looked at him with such apparent hunger.
Was he on the menu, perhaps? He could not read the stallion's behavior, was confused by it. He was not... acting the way that he expected. Had it been another dark one, there would have been an attack. He would have been prepared for that, surely. But this? This was another matter entirely. This was new, and different, and perhaps a little unnerving. "If they have a reason, it is not a kind one, I think." But who had ever accused the spirits of being kind?
Certainly not he. Some of them, he imagined, could be very cruel indeed. Or, if not cruel, then certainly mischievous and full of schemes both elaborate and bewildering. Somewhat akin to this angeni, here. "If I see this as a time for battle, and you see this as a time for other activities, it would seem that we are at an impasse." As those activities, whatever they might be, probably conflicted with battle. Where would he go with this? Where could he possibly go?
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Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 12:44 pm
Shyam was thoroughly amused by the 'righteous' stallion before him. He was young and looked absolutely ridiculously as he stood defensively before him. Did he truly think the mutant was going to pick a fight? Surely he had to realize that there were more than one way to break a soquili . . . .
While some were ferocious hunters, and yes, Shyam could indeed be a force to reckon with, he sometimes preferred a slew of different games. Mind games. And that was exactly what he planned on doing with Ashriel.
Red eyes stared at the stallion, looking him up and down, taking a moment to admire his figure. And why shouldn't he? It had been a long time since he had found a stallion willing to break his moral codes. . . a long time since he had properly seduced another. Shyam found as much pleasure in murder and savoring the flesh of another just as he enjoyed planting seeds of doubt or uncertainty in to the soul. To cause one to waver on a moral issue, to cause good to taste (even for just a moment) a little bit evil . . . i was bliss.
"It is true, the spirits can be mischievous. But perhaps they sent me here so you might defeat me, eh boy? Or perhaps they sent me here so I might defeat you. I suppose only time will tell. . . " Though the defeat Shyam wished to inflict upon the other was far from death.
Giving a nonchalant shrug, the stallion stretched his wings otu to their fullest before snapping them back in place. The chains which burned against his skin jangled, a reminder of his past sins, of his eternal transgressions. Some had tried to save Shyam already, had tried to get him to redeem, but it was and would never be so. He felt no regret for his past life, felt no regret on those he corrupted and killed.
If he didn't slay them, something else would.
"But truly, you should relax. I have no intention of bruising such a delicious looking specimen. Ripping in to your flesh is not my intention. . . Truly, I would much prefer some conversation. What's your name, boy?" It was both a question and a demand, though the mutant was in no way cruel or hostile about it. He wanted to know, though he was quite sure the young angeni would be obstinate and wouldn't oblige.
"I've been called Shyam, and I'm quite happy to make your acquaintance." His voice was confident and laced with a purr. Of course he was pleased to meet Ashrial. . . though it was for all the wrong reasons.
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Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 8:15 pm
Ashriel was truly... baffled. This was somewhat outside of his experience. The dark angeni did not seem likely to attack him at any moment, which is what he would have expected from one of his kind. He cocked his head slightly, and waited for the stallion to reveal his motivations through action or word. Odd. Distinctly odd, and rather ... hmmn, unnerving. Yes, that was the word. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Shyam, and he didn't know that he actually wanted to make anything of him. If the dark angeni would just shove off, that would be very well indeed.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem as though Shyam was at all interested in moving along. This presented Ashriel with a bit of a problem. He had never dealt with anyone so... subtle as this stranger. He had never had to try. Curiosity tugged at him, though he knew he would be best off leaving well enough alone. What was that tone in his voice? A lot that while hungry, was not quite hunger? At least, he thought that it was not. He was no expert on such things, truly. He did not know what he was looking for.
Nor, in fact, how to combat or discourage that look. "Perhaps they have... for they are fickle things indeed." Spirits were not to be trusted, truly. In fact, anything that was supposed to talk to you that was also disembodied? Probably wasn't trustworthy. Then again, there were corporeal entities that made Ashriel's skin crawl with a sense of wrongness that no spirit ever could manage to match. For example, this angeni? Definitely was giving him that crawling sense.
He wasn't in any hurry to meet his doom, young as he was. Perhaps it would be wise not to provoke this stallion when he did not know what he was capable of. ... Of course, that was working under the assumption that Ashriel really had any idea of what was wise, and what wisdom actually meant beyond a vague ideal. He had not yet developed some of the more intelligent methods of handling... darker individuals that older angeni tended to use. After all, he could not drive everything off.
"It is Ashriel," the young stallion said without thinking, that sense of politeness ingrained in him from when he had first learned at his mother's knee. It was simply rude to deny something so basic as a name, when asked by someone who by all rights was his elder. "If you don't intend to ... bruise me, or rip my flesh, what is it that you want of me?" Oh, dangerous words. But he did not know the trap that he was setting up for himself, could not guess at where all of the dangers lurked.
Hmmn. This was... a very different name indeed. "Shyam," Ashriel repeated, tasting the name on his tongue, and trying to get a sense for what it meant. What was a Shyam? Was a Shyam a dark, evil stallion? Or was he more of a neutral sort? That curiosity sparked, and he found himself wondering anew what this encounter would mean for him. "It is... a pleasure to meet you too," the angeni said, though he did not sound so certain as the other. He was being courteous, nothing more. How could it truly be anything more, when he felt little more than discomfort, now?
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Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:42 pm
Shyam watched Ashriel with a small smile etched upon his features, a light burning in his crimson gaze. That light might be described as both intrigue as well as mockery . . . for there was much to mock about the young angeni standing before him. There was much to admire, certainly, but he was young and foolish. . . . Naive.
Shyam was a predator and Ashriel was currently his chosen prey. If the white and black angeni didn't retreat soon, the striped male would have no choice but to attack. Likely not with hoof or tooth, but as far as Shyam was concerned not every game ended with a physical death or broken body. . . .
But for now, patience. The stallions name was Ashriel, a good name, a holy name. The purity of it was almost cringe worthy, but he allowed the name to roll around his tongue as he murmured it to himself, committing it to memory. . . or at leats trying to. His memory was broken, shattered, and sometimes . . . many times. . . he often forgot details . . . . He could very likely forget about Ashriel as soon as he walked away, but such was his curse, his burden. If the stallion were memorable enough, it might not be a problem.
Shyam's smile grew as the other questioned his intentions. Laughing, he gave a small snort and shake of his head. "I already told you - conversation. Is it so difficult to believe that I might crave, not blood or battle, but the company of another? Do you truly believe a creature such as myself could be utterly heartless and brainless, that I live only for crunching bones and destruction? Tsk tsk. . . " He clucked his tongue at the stallion, giving a slow shake of his head. "If such is your assumption, than you might be called a fool."
The stallion had moved forward as he spoke, casually shuffling closer. He didn't want to shout, after all, and it gave him an excuse to better examine his company. A very tasty specimen . . . . And a pleasant distraction. Not only good enough to eat, but humorous as well. Shyam wasn't at all intimidated by Ashriel. . . . but then, there was very little that upset the stallion, much less made him afraid.
Giving his wings a little flip, allowing some disheveled feathers to fall, he grinned at his companion. "There. . . now we can say we're acquaintances. Truly that wasn't so painful, was it?"
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