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 Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:01 pm
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:29 pm
Freedom. Freedom.
It was such a simple concept really, but not one that could truly be appreciated until one had experienced just the opposite.
Brutus had been a captive, a slave really, for almost his entire childhood and the beginnings of his adulthood. He was still young, but he had his hooves firmly planted in adulthood. Having been through the tragedy of losing one sibling before they got to see the light of day, and not knowing if the other had survived on her own... well that aged you quick.
But he had finally gotten his freedom back. The mare he had been protector for had finally released him from his bond and he was well and truly free for the first time in his life. Even so, he did have a mission. He was going to find his sister, or at least if he even had one still.
He had gathered what little supplies he had -mainly a small pack slung over his back within which he had a few bandages a coil of sturdy rope and some special snacks should he grow tired of munching on grass- and began on his way. He had a particular spot in mind to reach, but it would take him a few days to get there.
The stallion was patient and not in a particular rush to get there, but even so his large strides got him a fair distance the first day. As the sky darkened he began to search for a place to stop for the night, a small spring would do nicely, and it didn't take the not-by-choice trapper long to find a suitable sight to camp for the night. Setting his pack down against the trunk of a tree the stallion set about doing something relatively strange. He gathered tinder and then twigs and then a few small branches and set them in a bunch on an exposed rock a few feet away from the spring. Carefully removing two special stones from his pack, one flat and one sharp, and placed the flat one next to the pile of sticks. Stepping onto one end of the flat rock with a perma-singed hoof he held the sharp one in his mouth and with precise, practiced strokes hit them against each other until a spark held long enough to catch the tinder.
Gently storing away the special rocks, Brutus tended to the fire until it could hold it's own before finally allowing himself to take a well-deserved drink from the refreshing spring. Making fire was something that the young stallion had learned to do within his time with Grauen Kerze, and it was a useful skill to have, on a quickly chilling night such as tonight.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 4:37 pm
Things weren't going so well for Tairyn the last few days. After spending a lovely night with a handsome stallion she had woke up to his very angry mate. He had not mentioned that small detail when they had met. Of course that likely wouldn't have stopped her, but at least she would have had some warning. And she certainly would have made sure to wake up early enough to make her escape before that happened. Of course the worst part was the fact the large mare seemed to be particularly violent. It had been through sheer luck, and perhaps a bit of intervention on the stallions behalf, that Tairyn escaped.
But that encounter had put a real damper on things. She didn't want to stay too close to that area, knowing how mares could be particularly good at holding a grudge for a long time. So she had spent the last three days putting as much distance between herself and that mare as possible. Now, alone, tired, a bit miserable and cold Tairyn was not looking forward to spending another night alone. Though she spent a good majority of her nights curled up beside one stallion or another it had felt like eternity since she had done so. Life was so unfair at times. What she needed more than anything tonight was a warm body to lay beside.
Moving through the trees Tairyn was aware of the dwindling light as night approached. But more so of the steadily dropping temperature. Letting out a sigh Tairyn glanced around her surroundings. An odd scent reached her nostrils. It seemed foreign and yet she was certain at some point she had smelled something similar to it. Intrigued and having nothing else to do Tairyn headed towards the smell, using her nose to follow the wafting scent of...whatever it was. As the scent grew stronger Tairyn's prayers for companionship were suddenly answered. A large stallion stood at the edge of a spring not too far in front of her. A smile tugged at her lips. She wouldn't need to spend this night alone. And then remembering what had initially brought her here, Tairyn's eyes fell upon the small fire. Ah, there was the source of the smell. Taking a deep breath Tairyn stepped forward towards the spring. As she got closer she noticed his curled horns and fluffy tail. Tairyn nearly died with delight right there. She LOVED fluffy stallions! They were the perfect thing to cuddle up with on nights such as this.
It took every ounce of restraint to not simply run over to him and push her nose into his soft fur. Instead she came to a stop at the spring, lowering her head to take a quick drink, taking in the fluffy eye candy as she did so, before talking. "Well aren't you an interesting sight." Really? Had she just said that? Three days of running had totally killed her flirting abilities. She hadn't uttered something that lame since she was a foal trying to gain a much older colts attention. It had failed back then, she hoped this wouldn't be a repeat situation.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:04 pm
Brutus heard the mare -or perhaps dainty cerynei stallion- coming long before she made it over to the stream, but he continued to drink from the stream as if he hadn't. Such light hooffalls could not pose a threat, as far as he was concerned.
When she came over to the spring he allowed his eyes to wander across the surface of the water to catch her reflection. Colorful markings against a pale pelt, topped off with a lustrous black mane. Interesting enough for him to lift his gaze to her real form, but it wasn't until she spoke that he took his last gulp of water and lifted his head. Water dripping from his wet beard and muzzle, Brutus tilted his head the slightest amount and considered her... statement? Question?
"Why do you say that?" Brutus replied in a completely level tone, his grey eyes glancing down at himself and at his quaint camp. He didn't find anything here particularly interesting, but then again he was looking at himself and the things he owned. He was not offended, nor was he particularly pressing for a reply, but the... question?... did intrigue him enough that he'd be willing to have a conversation if the mare chose to reply.
His eyes came back around the area to the mare's lively markings. Skeletal, and yet beautiful in every way. Not that skeletal things would have put him off, but he had seen others wretch at the sight of dead things, so he figured not everyone could stand such sights.
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 12:28 pm
It was official. She had lost her touch. Damn that mare! Everything had been going so well until that encounter, and now Tairyn's most prized asset, her ability to lure stallions to her side, had disappeared. It's okay, she told herself, you can bounce back from this. The crackle of the fire seemed to mock her and a frown pulled at the corners of her mouth for a moment. She could turn this around, it would just take a bit of extra work, that was all. With a new determination Tairyn lifted her head more, letting her eyes roam over his deliciously fluffy hide once more. Oh yes, she could do this and win herself a nice soft cuddle for the night.
His question also threw her off a bit. Had he just asked that? It was not the typical answer to her statement. She must be worse off than she first thought. Taking a deep breath Tairyn prepared herself to turn this around and win this stallions affections if only for tonight. "I just meant that I don't often see stallions that look like you." No that's not what she had intended to say, but the way he had questioned her statement told Tairyn that she just might need to take this slow, if only to make sure he understood completely. Tairyn took a step forward, perhaps if she inched slowly towards him as the conversation built then she would be in snuggling range before he realized what she was doing or he would have reached the point where he'd accept her affection and then she wouldn't need to waste time getting to him.
"Your tail," She began lamely but then again Tairyn wasn't used to much small talk. "It somewhat reminds me of a Cerynei's tail." His ears somewhat did as well being larger than usual. Yet the way they flopped down wasn't typical of Cerynei blood, but it did make her want to play with them. "And your horns are almost like Kalona horns." She felt so lame talking about his features that it made her sigh slightly. Maybe it would cause him to say something that would help her turn the conversation to her favor.
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 8:19 pm
Brutus stood his ground easily, allowing the mare to begin her advance closer to him. She posed no threat to him, first and foremost, and secondly he couldn't say he wasn't interested in finding out more about her. She seemed to be trying to regain her composure, if he wasn't mistaken, even though he had not noticed any sort of falter. What exactly was going on here?
Piquing his interest, along with his scarred brow, the draft took another look over the mare. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, though she was quite beautiful in an unusual way. He liked all of the colors of her coat, and the contrast that her hide and hair made, but all in all she was still just a regular female, a kirin if he wasn't mistaken. If so, she should be lighter on her feet, but perhaps that wasn't her fault and just that Brutus was a very acute listener instead. That was probably it.
She was... describing his features to him. Strange... was this something that females did? Surely she wasn't describing them because she thought he hadn't seen them before... right? Were his features really that strange? Something wrong with them, perhaps? He arced his neck over the water so that he could check his reflection, turning his head one way then the next. Everything looked just fine to him. Without taking his eyes off of his reflection he replied, "I suppose so. I've had others call me 'Buck', or 'Billy,' trying to get on my nerves, or my attention." His eyes drifted over to the mare to see her reaction as he explained, "You know, like a goat. Not sure why they would have thought that as a good insult." Pausing, he pondered a moment before deciding to go ahead and ask, if only to be polite, and added, "You're Kirin, aren't you?" Perhaps that could guide her to some sort of point, if she was trying to make one.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 5:20 pm
Okay Tairyn, you can do this, you can be your old self. Tairyn was mentally solidifying her resolve to not let her last experience affect the present, because if she continued to let it there might not be a future with this stallion and she so desperately wanted to snuggle into that fluffy fur of his! His explanation brought a slight smile to her lips and she could feel herself relaxing. Perhaps this was just one of those encounters that would take a little bit more time and then she would have her man for the night. This would certainly not be the first time she had to do more than flash a smile to gain time with a stallion, some were just more challenging than others and this one was likely just that. That was okay, because Tairyn did like a challenge.
"Well, I can see why they would say those things." He did after all have that goat like resemblance to him. "But surely you did not let their words affect you any." He didn't look like the type that would be offended or lash out with joking names such as that. "Perhaps they could think of nothing else and so the only insult they could throw was one that described what you looked like?" There were those out there who lacked enough intelligence to think something like that would be funny or offend the other individual but in the end they only made themselves look silly.
Her smile widened a bit more and she took another step towards him. "I am a Kirin. Pure blooded and darn proud of it." She wouldn't have cared if she were a mixed breed in the end, the only thing that really mattered to her was that her life was filled with constant fun and handsome companions, anything else was just a nice bonus. "The names Tairyn Ezbra. You got a name big boy?" She slide a bit closer to him again, noticing how muscled he looked under that shaggy coat. Oh god she loved a strong male! "And what are you doing out here all alone?" Then her eyes drifted to the fire and they lite up some with wonder. "And just how did you manage that?" She didn't know any Soquili who could make fire let alone one that wished to be near one. This stallion certainly was not your ordinary run of the mill male, he was something special, and that meant she wasn't leaving until she had her fill of him.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:15 pm
Another step closer and he could see the details in her markings. He was especially drawn to the blue and red along her jawline and muzzle. It was her most striking feature, he would have to say, especially drawing attention towards her pale eyes that seemed to see more than she was telling. He snapped out of this detailing when she replied to him.
Chuckling, Brutus shook his head, agreeing with her. "Naaah, I don't think they were very... Well, they weren't very intelligent, to put it nicely." Shrugging he added, "Not like a goat's too different than a soquili. And anyway... it got me a good, hard head." He dipped his head in a mock-headbutt, but he flashed a showy grin. This was a very practiced move, many another head had the pleasure of meeting his hard skull, much to their chagrin, and Brutus found himself enjoying speaking about himself. It was something he'd never really gotten to do. Not much, at least. Being intimidating was easy to him, he did that often, but showing off just to show off was... well, somehow this mare had already stirred something new in him. Real exposure to the outside world itself, was new, so perhaps this was all just the first step of becoming part of the real world?
Nodding again, he acknowledged that she was indeed a Kirin as he suspected, and imparted her name as well. Straightening once more, he introduced himself, "I'm Brutus." He followed her gaze around his camp, and he smirked when her eyes lit up at the sight of his fire. As far as he understood it, not many soquili could light a fire of their own. So far he'd seen those that are calm around it, and many many more that were inclined to run from it. "Fire is not a friendly mistress, but she does offer warmth and comfort." His words were touched with a bit of something like a memory. The fire reminded him of Grauen Kerze, but now that he was finally free of her, he should be feeling nothing other than happiness, so he quickly changed thoughts back to the new mare, turning her question on her, "Why are you all alone in the cold and dark?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:36 pm
For a moment there Tairyn was certain he was studying her. Hell she didn't care exactly what he was doing, for she had his attention and she could feel herself melt slightly under his gaze. She was getting there, a bit more effort and that fluffy male would be hers!
When he dipped his head down in a mock headbutt she took the chance to look at his horns closer. They were very different from what she was used to seeing on the various males that crossed her path. And the way his eyes flopped when his head moved like that nearly send her scrambling over to him, it was so cute! She wasn't normally into 'cute' preferring handsome and strong over cute, but every now and then cuteness was just what she needed, and this stallion had it all. He was strong, handsome, cute and intelligent. Just thinking of that combination was making her weak in the knees. "Nothing wrong with that." She told him with a wide smile. Perhaps being run off by that one stallions mate hadn't been such a bad thing after all, had that not happened she might not have come this way and met this handsome shaggy stud.
Brutus. Even his name oozed manly strength. Tairyn had to take a couple of deep breaths to steady herself before she could do or say anything else. Her gaze returned to the fire for a moment, she desperately needed to look away from his handsome face just for a second to gather her thoughts completely. She had it bad and she couldn't let that affect her chances. But even as she did that and heard him speak about the very thing she was looking at Tairyn noticed a slight change in his voice. She almost asked about it, but decided it was likely best not to, at least not yet. Perhaps he had been hurt by fire in the past. Slowly turning her eyes back to him she smiled at his question. "I'm a bit of a free spirit Brutus. It's why I'm out here. As for being alone..." She finally took the last few steps it took to bring herself up beside him. "Well I'm not alone anymore am I?" Being so close now she just couldn't resist and pressed her nose into the fluff of his neck and let out a sigh. "The dark doesn't bother me, and the cold, well I think I found a way to keep warm." She said into his neck. Forget the fire for warmth and comfort! He was all she needed.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:14 pm
The way the mare looked at him stirred something in Brutus. Was this... pride? No, he didn't think it was... Could he be feeling... narcissism?! Oh hell, whatever he was feeling, he couldn't find the word for it, and it didn't matter. What he was feeling was good. He liked being admired, he found. And why shouldn't he be? Just because this had never happened before didn't mean this was a bad thing. In fact, he told himself that being admired instead of feared or revered for his strength was a good thing.
Brutus was beginning to wonder why this mare was taking deep breaths when she had no real reason to be doing so, when she took those last few steps and closed the distance between them. The gleam of the fire brought orange highlights all over her pale pelt, but the strangest of all was how it made her eyes shine and look as if they had all of a sudden taken on the same bright color of flame. Sure, just a trick of the light, but her pale eyes had very little resistance to another color's vibrance, especially when the fire was the only light source that night. But all of this happened in just a moment because just as he was caught by those eyes, she delved into his fluff and sighed. Instinctively Brutus' eyes slid closed and he sighed, too, heavily. This was not something he had ever experienced either, but in some way he knew this was just right. It was as if all of a sudden years of craving for snuggling and cuddling all washed over him at once. He was finally allowed to want this, and this mare had just unlocked that unknown desire.
Either lost for words, or simply having not heard anything she had said concretely enough to form a complete sentence, Brutus merely stood there with a stupid grin on his face, eyes closed and muscles relaxed and sighed once more, nodding lightly.
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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:00 am
The world disappeared around them the moment she heard him sigh. Oh yes, she had him good. And this meant she wasn't struggling anymore to gain his attention. She couldn't even remember why she had even struggled when first coming across the fluffy stud. All that mattered and existed in this moment was him and her, and most importantly the fact that she was finally snuggled up against his soft fluff and he seemed quite content to have it that way.
She slowly ran her nose up and down his next, taking in the luxury that was his soft fur and breathing in his scent. He was so soft, and yet the strength that was half hidden under all that fluff spoke volumes about him. He clearly kept active, and she could appreciate a well muscled stallion even more. And the way his fur tickled her nose as she rubbed against him send a shiver of delight down her spine. It was often she found such a winning combination or strong and fluffy. He was exactly what she had been looking for in her searches. That thought made her a bit weak in the knees and Tairyn quickly leaned her weight against his strong frame to help keep herself upright.
It took a little while before she could pull herself out of her reverie and remember where she was. The sound of the crackling fire came back to her, the scent of the smoke mixed with the woods and of course his own scent, the earth between her hooves. Slowly she lifted her gaze up and noticed that he stood with his eyes closed, but it was the big goofy grin that cross his face that brought her the most delight. "What's with the grin?" She asked in a slightly teasing manner while lifting her nose to tickle the underside of his jaw.
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 11:38 pm
With his eyes shut, the stallion's other senses were more acute. He had trained all of his senses to be the best that they could be, but in those moments he wasn't focusing any of them. Even so, with the lack of sight his ears though floppy and relaxed were listening to the mare's soft breathing and the crackling of fire in the background. There were no sudden sounds in the surrounding area, so there was nothing to draw him out of this calm stature. His nose picked up the mare's scent, and he found that strangely calming. Usually when he was almost this close to someone all he could smell was fear and sweat, and sometimes the intervening elements such as mud, dirt or rainfall. This was a nice change.
He wasn't about to call an end to this affection, though, so he just allowed his senses to be appreciated, for once. When the mare drew away and ran her nose under his jaw it sent a small shiver down his back, causing his sides to flinch. In some ways, tickles were worse than severe pain since they were so small and insignificant and yet there was usually nothing to do about them. But he put it out of mind, and in any case didn't have but a moment to dwell on it. Her tease jolted him into a backward step, eyes snapping open as he stumbled to say, "It ah.. I, well..." He snorted, causing his ears to flop a little and he flipped them back as best he could annoyed with their cutesy show and stomped a heavy hoof, "I'm allowed to grin, I'll have you know." Gruffly, he snorted once more and then backed away another step before turning to tend to the fire as he added, "Need to add more food to the fire so it won't go out during the night." And he set about to do just that, rustling up a few more logs that would do nicely and carefully throwing them onto the flames. He was not upset, but he didn't know how else he was supposed to have reacted. Not like grinning was a crime, and if it was, he was still entitled to do so. Mares were such strange creatures. He doubted he'd ever understand them.
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Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:54 am
It was cute when he stammered over his words. She could tell he wasn't used to expressing his feelings, perhaps hadn't been with mares much in his past either. It was an oddly endearing quality about the stallion. Normally she went for males that had a past, sometimes a mare filled past, and those that were more bad boy. But this stallion, while not her usual target type, had all the qualities she looked for wrapped into one fluffy package. Of course her happy thoughts were interrupted when he pulled away suddenly and stamped his hoof. Well, that wasn't the reaction that she had expected. Tairyn let out a slight sigh as he set about putting more wood on the fire. Hopefully this wouldn't put her back at square one with Brutus, but even if it did she was willing to give a second round of attempts with him.
Her pale eyes watched him work, noting how careful and precise he was when placing the logs on the fire. Tairyn wasn't sure if she would want to do such a task, what if the flames got too close? But Brutus didn't seem bothered by it at all. She moved to a spot that wasn't exactly close to the fire, but still left her in the soft glow of the flames and where the warmth only just reached her. Lowering herself down Tairyn's eyes moved back to Brutus. "You've been working so hard, why don't you come over here and rest." She motioned to her side with her nose. "It's good to just take some time off now and then." Perhaps if she got him relaxed again she could work on getting him to open up more to her.
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 12:06 pm
As he placed logs on the fire his eyes kept darting over towards the mare, a somewhat anxious watch. It was strange, but he was somehow feeling nervous about this mare. It's not like he felt she was a threat, no, this was different. He couldn't quite place what he felt... but it was almost like... like he didn't want her to leave.
Come to think of it, the dancing flame seemed similar to mares. He decided that it too must be female. It moves in strange but pleasing ways, and yet at a moment's notice can leap forward and inflict pain. The strong heat of fire was something he used to be more cautious with when he was younger, but with all his experience around it, he now met it calmly. Sometimes his hooves would get uncomfortably warm, or a fetlock would catch spark, but those rare occasions were always dealt with calmly. Fire, he could say, seemed easier to tame than females.
Casting his gaze over the mare to find her settled, Brutus had finished feeding the fire and was satisfied with his camp set up. She was beckoning him over, and after a quick glance around them he didn't see a way to refuse her without just being rude. Truthfully, he had also enjoyed her closeness earlier and wouldn't mind experiencing that again. He walked over slowly and without a word folded down to lie a stride or so away from her, trying to look natural. In the past he'd always had to give any female a good amount of space so that he wouldn't 'intrude' on her space, as if they'd expected him to do who knows what.
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Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:01 pm
A slight frown crossed her lips as she watched Brutus move away from the fire, come close to her but then in the end lay a short distance away. That's not quite what she had meant but she supposed it could have been worse. He could have laid down much further away. Unlike many of the stallions she had encountered in her past Brutus didn't seem to fall instantly for her flirtations. In fact if Tairyn was completely honest with herself she was certain that Brutus had never experienced such emotions before, might not have ever been with a female before either. It's why, for once, Tairyn wasn't rushing into this. Brutus was an intriguing challenge that she was willing to take her time with.
"Brutus." She said in a soft tone that held just a hint of command to it. "Why don't you come closer? It will be easier to talk if you are over here...with me." She made a point to motion to the ground right beside her to accentuate that point. Come on bring that fluffy body over here! is what she really wanted to say, but that likely wouldn't work and might even send him running.
Her gaze drifted to the fire for a moment. No other stallion, or Soquili for that matter, that she had met in the past had ever be able to make or control fire. Why did he know this skill? Why did he act aloof and yet seemed to enjoy when she had been cuddling with him earlier? He was the biggest mystery she had ever encountered. Returning her gaze to Brutus she smiled
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