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 Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 7:52 am
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 8:33 am
It had been under the ruse of a scouting trip the Lorenna had chosen to go on this trip. The reality of the situation was she hadn't wanted to stick around in the middle of the emotionally charged chaos that had consumed their headquarters. Wolf's mother had vanished and Carmine had offered to help look for the missing mare with Wolf and her father Lamb. The flutter mare had no interest in disrupting business in such a way and had no troubles misleading her boss. Carmine was under the impression that Lorenna had taken Othelia on a trip to check the plains for Wolf's mother. Really Carmine was the only one with this impression. Everyone else knew that the flutter didn't care. However, only Othelia was made privy to Lorenna's real intentions: an item of some value had recently been found just past the floodplains. Lorenna would claim that item for the UnderGround and upon return she would simply tell Carmine that she hadn't spotted Wolf's mother but she had stumbled upon something else.
It was a little too easy to trick their boss. The wind mare trusted them far too much for her own good. Lorenna glanced to her right where the kalona mare Othelia loomed over her. Carmine was working with too many dangerous creatures and warped creatures to let her guard down so easily. They weren't trustworthy. Why else would they all be considered criminals? She gave her head a shake before clearing her throat to catch the kalona's intention.
"When we meet the fellow that found this item you are to be silent. I will do the talking and you are to stand there looking menacing. I know this won't be a problem for you." It was cruel irony that she found herself working with Othelia so frequently given how much she hated kalona. Othelia knew it. Wolf knew it. Even Carmine knew it. Yet she always found herself working with the mare. It was unfortunate, if she had been a larger breed she wouldn't need a creature of nightmares to back her up.
Othelia didn't bother to hide her irritation as the flutter began barking out orders, as usual. She rolled her eyes as her tail lashed out at the ground behind her subconsciously as if to remind the mare who was really in charge here. Lorenna had deluded herself. She thought herself to be powerful just because she was smart with a sharp tongue. If she was so smart than surely she would have realized by now that it wasn't Lorenna she worked for. It was Carmine who had earned the kalona's allegiance by freeing her. If Carmine wished it to happen then Othelia would happily tear out the flutter's throat. It would be a nice headache to be rid of.
Unfortunately Carmine wished for Othelia to work with and look after Lorenna. So with a grumble she resigned herself to just do what the delusional mare asked of her. "Understood." She said simply before returning to he silence. It was always the same routine with Lorenna. Let the flutter run her mouth and stand in the back thinking about hunting bunnies. The fluffier she imagined them the more intimidating she appeared to others it seemed. This generally left her feeling hungry after but Lorenna was always happy to part ways from Othelia after a business dealing. That gave her plenty of time to catch her fill. Even without functional wings she made a fierce hunter.
It was the promise of a hunt that made these events bearable and that was a very good thing because she could see the 'fellow' they were meeting now. The only trouble was he didn't seem to be alone.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 9:16 am
Cain didn't know precisely what this thing was that he had found. What he did know was that someone hundreds of miles away had some interest in claiming it. He studied it closely turning it over and over with a front hoof. It was made of stone but bits of it had been chiseled away to make it look like the stone had a human form. It wasn't much larger than the golden cross he wore around his neck. He couldn't even begin to imagine who would want such a thing but he had to believe what he heard down the information grape vine. Somehow muttering about it in range of an orangeish and black fox had led to a horned bird paying him a visit to collect information.
"Why would anyone want this? It's ugly." He said rolling it over one more time. It didn't even sparkle and now it was covered in mud as well.
From where he stood Nexus could hear his uncle muttering to himself. Today had been a sort of family gathering, meaning that they had all bumped into each other at the river. None of them really lived far from each other just far enough that they could get some privacy. It was for the best. In a group they couldn't seem to stay out of each others business. As far as family dynamics went they were dysfunctional at best. The parents played favorites. The siblings were known to develop bizarre bonds with each other. To top it all off not a one of them seemed completely sane and they only truly seemed to band together when outsiders were around.
"I couldn't agree with you more..." He said as he peered around his dark uncle. "It might be the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Which brings up the question of what shorted out in your brain to make you grab it." Without waiting a second Nexus was already dancing out of the way anticipating his uncle's aggressive response. He didn't tolerate teasing.
Nexus had been right to move because the second the little insult slipped out Cain was on the move opening his wings with a snap in an attempt to smack the red head. "Get back here so I can rip your head off!" He snarled his ears pinning back. He regretted his reaction the moment he noticed his mother was watching.
"You will be nice to my grandson." She ordered striding over with her only daughter close behind. "He was only teasing you ungrateful dark thing." Thorn was the queen of playing favorites. She preferred the children that looked most like her beloved mate, Seraphia and Karius. After that she preferred the ones that resembled herself, Zareen and Ciar. Cain was a misfit and her least favorite out of all her children and grandchildren. Where had such a dark and wicked thing even come from?
Seraphia was considerably less interested in her squabbling family. She was far more concerned by the pair of soquili approaching them quickly. "Mother...we have company." There was a certain dazed sing-song tone to her voice as she spoke. She looked more or less normal with the exception of the positively arctic look in her bright golden-green eyes. These were strangers she didn't like strangers.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 9:50 am
Lorenna made a point to collect as much information as she could on the cluster of soquili they were walking towards. Undoubtedly the dark one was their client, of a sort, for the day, Raven had been very clear on the detail that he had been dark with gold. The others all seemed to be various shades of a golden white color. Three of them bore wings. That put them at a bit of a disadvantage. Othelia was vicious but she was an underdeveloped kalona, she could not fly. Lorenna could fly but she was not particularly dangerous. The best she could really do was make a mess of a target's eyes. The worse news was that they seemed to be a violent bunch attacking each other.
"I have new orders for you Othelia." She whispered keeping her face forward as though she weren't talking. If they were violent she did not wish to make them more suspicious of herself and Othelia. "If things go south, make sure the statue gets to me then we will meet back at head quarters." If things did take a turn for the worst than running was their best bet. Othelia's kalona pride would probably keep her behind. If she got killed then they'd be losing something valuable but there were bound to be other kalona out there who would work for them. Perhaps even that nuisance Xelloss would consider it.
Othelia nodded just enough for Lorenna to catch the motion. She could see what Lorenna was thinking and could practically smell her nervousness. She was doubting Othelia's abilities. Sure they were outnumber but snap a wind's wings and they were practically out of the battle. Crippled by blinding pain and a general lack of ability. One of these days Othelia would have to show their 'second-in-command' exactly what she was capable of. She didn't spend entire days sparring against Wolf for no reason.
As they drew close enough for Othelia to make out eye colors she fell back to take her usual post behind Lorenna. She did her usual routine of stretching, shaking and yawning to draw attention to all her traits. A predator's maw, a sharp spaded tail both strong and flexible, cloven hooves sharp by nature and horns built for stabbing and scratching. With that out of the way she began day dreaming about fat, fluffy rabbits scampering away, eyes wide with fright.
Lorenna could hear Othelia settling and decided that now would be the optimal time to speak. The focus would still be on the kalona behind her and with any luck they would all be intimidated into cooperation. "Greetings. I am Lorenna and this is my associate Othelia. I believe you were expecting us." She locked eyes with Cain. He was almost as tall as Othelia. Wonderful, she'd be leaving today with a cramp in her neck.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 10:17 am
The four soquili simply watched in silence as the pair approached and settled in. Nexus was the first to react. He burst into a fit of mocking laughter as he looked upon the duo. They were seriously going to act like that? It was so rehearsed that they looked completely ridiculous. He just couldn’t take them seriously which was fine because clearly they took themselves far too seriously. It was seriousness to the next level.
“Wow.” He said as he slowly calmed his laughter. “Just, wow, really? A kalona and ‘I believe we’re expected.’ That’s what you’re going to show up with?” Perhaps he was foolish for laughing at them but he really didn't care. They weren't as important as the clearly thought they were. They were just some random midget and a kalona. It wasn't anything special and it was obvious that they were trying to scare them. Those tactics might have worked on another family but everyone here was a bit off their rockers.
Cain was considerably less amused by the situation than his nephew was. Did they intimidate him? Not in the slightest. He just didn’t care that they were obviously trying too hard to puff themselves up. He was, in fact, expecting them though they weren’t exactly the faces he had been expecting to see. The information network belonged to a bunch of girls? He supposed that shouldn't have been as surprising as it was. Girls and their gossip chains. They probably just wanted it because they had no taste.
"Yeah, I was." He said sounding almost bored. "Here." He gave the stone woman a good kick and sent her skidding over to the flutter mare. "That's what you wanted, right?"
Seraphia looked on curiously frowning when her brother kicked a muddy thing over to the two mares. "Brother dear, whatever is that thing?" She asked looking at it hard. It looked like a mud-caked rock. Those mares had come to claim a stone that could be found practically anywhere in these lands? That didn't make any sense. She rubbed her cheek against his neck and peered up at her younger brother. "Whatever do they want it for?"
"It's some sort of carved stone mother." Nexus chimed in happy to assist her today. "No one would want it. It's ugly." He gave the two mares a pointed look and smirked.
"The last I heard it was intended as a gift or something." Cain concluded with a shrug. The bird hadn't been to big on the details of why someone was going to come collect a weird rock. All he had told Cain was that the intended recipient was not going to be coming to collect the prize.
Seraphia frowned and pressed against her brothers throat hard knowing it would make it uncomfortable for him to breathe. "But for who dear brother?" She asked still managing to sound sweet and innocent.
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 10:48 am
Lorenna had to force herself to remain calm despite being laughed at. She had met people that didn't take them seriously before but she'd never seen someone mock them so openly with Othelia present. Either this red-maned fool had never encountered a real kalona or he had a death wish. She turned her head to look back at the kalona mare and swallowed. She did not look happy.
Othelia had been perfectly content thinking about her rabbits, hungry but content. Then peels of laughter had interrupted her daydream quite rudely. She found the red stallion laughing at them and she wasn't sure how long she could fight back the desire to run him down and choke the life from him. Her ears had gone back and her eyes had narrowed viciously. The dark stallion cooperating was the only reason why she had not left her spot. It was all going well and Carmine would be very unhappy to hear that she had botched the mission just to feed her anger.
Lorenna redirected her attention as the sound of the sculpture skidding towards her reached her ears. Othelia was behaving for now, it was time to focus on the mission. She took a few steps forward to reach the stone and frowned when she saw it. The whole thing was coated in mud and dirt. It would need a good wash in the river before she could display it with the rest of the UnderGround's collection. "Yes this is what I...wanted...?" She looked up to find the golden mare rubbing against the dark stallion. So they were family? That explained the similarities. It also explained why they all seemed more interested in themselves than Lorenna and Othelia.
She shrugged the disinterest off and picked up the statue. They'd gotten what they'd come for. As she returned to Othelia's side she caught one last question and exchanged looks with Othelia. It wasn't meant to be a gift. Not really.
Othelia shook her head. She didn't know what was going on either. "Raven must have said something." She said turning her back on the strange group. "I guess in a way it's going to Carmine?"
Lorenna shrugged as best as she could. Talking wasn't possible with the statue in her mouth. She would have to drop it to speak. Because of this she just started walking back home assuming that Othelia would follow. Everything had gone better than expected and now she wanted to get home.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:02 pm
There was a prolonged silence as the group watched the two mares retreat a single name still hanging in the air. Carmine. All of them knew that name. Carmine. The daughter of Dark Mousey and Thorn's once 'precious' Scarlet.
Cain spoke first voicing the thought the family shared, "They know Carmine?"
It was continued by Nexus, "They're friends of that lot?" He couldn't quite believe it. There had been no word of any of them for ages. The only hint that they'd ever been there was Dreyden's occasional appearance.
"Carmine?" Seraphia's voice was quiet at first but unusually pitched. Her eyes widened as her hysteria began to grow more apparent. "Carmine?" Her voice grew louder and louder still. "That thing is for Carmine?!" She was furious. Carmine. The daughter of that b*****d thief. Her dear cousin Carmine. Carmine. Carmine the thief. The tramp. The daughter of Dark. Dark. That stallion. She had wanted to kill him once, yes. Not anymore though, no. He was strong. He was without mercy.
She let out a ferocious cry before charging at the two retreating soquili. If Carmine wanted that statue than she would smash it into pieces!
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:26 pm
Lorenna didn't quite know what was going on. In her eyes everything was done. It had gone perfectly. They hadn't needed to make any outright threats and the others didn't seem to want any sort of payment. The chatter she heard could only be them returning to normal activities. The only thing that seemed out of place was the sound of rapidly approaching hooves.
She turned to look over her shoulder to see what was going on and the next thing she knew she was on the ground with her hat and the statue several feet out of reach. What had hit her? She didn't get much time to consider before a hoof light in color and coated in a spattering of what appeared to be blood came crashing down inches from her head.
They were under attack.
Othelia didn't know what to make of the small golden mare as she came streaking past. The second she hit Lorenna, however, everything became clear. This small mare was a threat to them.
Setting her distaste for Lorenna aside Othelia darted at the mare and snatched at one of her feathered wings. She wasted no time in hauling the blonde off of her partner and hurling her to the ground. There was no room for gentleness in matters like this just as there was no room for forgiveness. She took her place between the two small mares and snarled savagely lashing her tail at the ground. The second that mare made another move Othelia would have her throat.
A bit shaken Lorenna rolled to her feet and gathered herself. Kalona were good for something after all. After barley a second she stood and looked to Othelia and the other mare sprawled on the ground, glaring. "Return to your kin or I will not stop her." Lorenna didn't even want to know what had provoked the mare. She just wanted her gone.
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