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 Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 8:32 pm
Xelloss peered skeptically into the dark and foreboding cavern mouth. The rough marking etched into the stone outside it implied this was the right place but it looked a little dangerous. Immediately he could tell that the stalactites were unstable and just waiting to fall. Cracks ran all through the cavern walls and ceiling. It looked like there had been some geologic disturbance that had really loosened the place up. That could be possibly lethal if it decided to collapse on him at an inopportune time.
His brow furrowed in thought. He had reason to believe that the Demon Blood Talismans were hidden within that cave. The talismans had been a gift to him for his prowess in a great battle and he was rather fond of them. He had lent them to someone else for a time, a poor choice as it turned out. He thought they had left them in the cave, but it wasn't worth his life to drag them out of there. He needed...
He needed someone stupid to go ahead first. He needed someone to walk on all the weak points and test all the faults of the caverns. Someone to have the rocks fall on them so that they didn't fall on Xelloss. It was a lovely little plan. He didn't enjoy pain personally but loved watching others suffer. It could end up being a wonderful afternoon if he could work this out right. The only question was whether there were any gullible soquili close by the area. A devious grin already on his face, Xelloss set out to try to find someone.
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 8:45 pm
 Gaston was tired of observing. He'd even tried making a few acquaintances since he had come to these odd lands but so far it seemed to have been all in vain. He just couldn't find a way to relate to the other Soquili. Females seemed to dismiss him on approach and he seemed to be constantly chased out of certain sections of land by territorial males. The thought had crossed the stallion's mind to give up and return home with his tail metaphorically tucked between his legs but his pride would take a serious beating.
No.
He had to stick this out. He could not give up at this point. What could he do in order to get some recognition? He needed to find something that was daring, or heroic ... then others would start to come to him. Gaston stomped his hoof heavily into the ground as if he were sealing a pact with his own mind. He gave a quick look around at his empty surroundings before sucking in a bellyful of air. He released it suddenly in a loud bellow. "I WILL NOT FAIL!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 8:55 pm
Well. It was much easier to find someone than he expected. The stallion's voice could have carried for miles. Xelloss hurried quickly to the source of the sound, pausing only to briefly compose himself before emerging into view. When he came into sight of the stallion he made sure to make himself as nonthreatening as possible. He ducked his head slightly to decrease his height and tucked his wings in close to minimize their visual impact. He composed his expression to be one of unhappy worry. There were many foolish soquili that would discount the obvious danger of a kalona if they thought the "poor thing was upset." The odd avoidance of so-called prejudice of much of the population was something that Xelloss had taken advantage of over and over again.
"Hello?" He gave a tentative greeting to the burly male. A glance to the stallion's chest almost lost Xelloss his composure. He'd never seen a soquili with quite as impressive a thatch of chest hair. Not even Beastmaster was quite that shaggy, though the color was quite similar.
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 9:29 pm
He was being foolish, yelling out like that. And yet ... it did make him feel a little better; more resolute in a way to vocalize his emotions. Gaston scuffed at the large divot he had left in the ground before realizing that something was approaching. The low rumbling of hoof falls had Gaston craning his neck around in the direction of the approach. Would he feel the part of the fool if he was caught unawares and facing the wrong direction at the wrong time? Shaking his head Gaston stood a little taller before watching the horizon.
Soon enough he caught sight of another Soquili making his way towards him. The expression that the male wore could only be described as forlorn. There was something about the other male's appearance that sparked something akin to a warning in Gaston's mind but he shook off the mental psst before placing one hoof forward. The tentative greeting was echoed back with a little more oomph by Gaston. "Hello there. Pleasant day, isn't it?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 9:44 pm
And it looked like he had found exactly the sort of soquili he was looking for. Xelloss considered the correct response to a strange kalona approaching a non-kalona to be preparing for either fight or flight. Anything else was hopelessly naive, considering how prone to murder his breed was. "It isn't so pleasant for me, I'm afraid." Xelloss let out a morose sigh.
"It probably isn't something you'd be interested in." Rather than asking for help directly, he wondered if he could prompt this soquili to offer it unbidden. It was always a fun little game to see what he could get people to do. This one had a gallant sort of look about him. Time to see whether he lived up to his appearance.
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Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 10:07 pm
Gaston couldn't fathom why he'd gotten such a reaction. It seemed as if the other stallion had lost all hope in the world. His gave the male a searching look before sighing. He was probably going to regret sticking around. He'd never seen such a species though and probably could learn a little about who this stranger was. Perhaps he could even extract some information about these lands. He was still learning the ropes it seemed.
"So why is this day such an unpleasant one for you?"
The draft stallion stood straight and tall with his legs planted firmly on the ground. He'd asked what was on his mind and yet there still seemed to be something prodding his subconscious about the wrongness surrounding this meeting. Gaston shrugged the feeling away.
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Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:00 pm
Xelloss poked morosely at a fallen log with a hoof. The stallion was so big that he would be certain to knock anything loose down on him. If he could stomp through something safely then there would be no question of his own survival. If the stallion broke through the floor and fell to his doom instead, that was unfortunate. Xelloss would find another volunteer if necessary.
"A fox stole something from me," he sighed. Foxes were actually one of the animals that he had a liking for. They were clever and sneaky. Some were even a little like himself. If he was going to invent any imaginary thief of his talismans, a fox was the most suitable. "I think it hid them in a cave... but it's too dangerous for me to go in alone." Mixing truth with lies, Xelloss thought it was a vaguely believable story.
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Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:49 pm
Now the dots were connecting in Gaston's mind. This Soquili had lost something that seemed to be of value to him. Gaston knew the feeling when he'd "lost" his home. Of course it had been by his decision to leave the beach but who would have stuck around after the harshest prank ever played? No one could have foreseen the actions that Gaston would have taken but still ... they could have been a little kinder to him.
Turning his mind back to the situation at hand Gaston pondered the quandary that this stallion faced. He could offer his help to find these items but the stallion had mentioned something about a cave. Caves normally weren't dangerous except for the occasional cave in ... so what made this cave so special?
"I see. That is quite a dilemma to face. My question to you is this though: what makes this cave so dangerous?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:03 am
Maybe he wasn't so thick-skulled as he seemed. Xelloss gave him credit where credit was due. He'd have to take a gamble with what he said here and he thought quickly for what the winning strategy might be. "I think there is..." He started, then hesitated briefly for suspense. "A bear." Bears were formidable foes even for kalonas. Xelloss had never personally tangled with one and had no intention of ever changing that. He had heard stories of bears knocking a soquili's jaw off with one swipe of the paw and he completely believed them to be true.
"I'd understand, of course, if you didn't want to help." Now he tested the stallion's ego. "Most soquili wouldn't want to face a bear in a dark cave."
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:34 pm
So there was a bear in this cave? Or was this just a story concocted by this seemingly charming stranger. Gaston wrinkled his nose a little bit. Story or not it seemed as if this stranger really needed his help. He shifted his right hoof to drag it along the ground. The furrow left behind was a sign that he didn't just look strong he was strong.
"I suppose that I could help you sir. But first I would like to know your name. I am Gaston."
Gaston watched to see if this stranger would actually concede in giving up his name. It wasn't like if he didn't that he would change his decision but Gaston didn't want to keep calling this individual 'sir.' There was a thought running through his mind. If he could aid this individual perhaps someone would learn about it and others would talk. There was a chance that this task could be the start of something new for Gaston.
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 8:44 pm
Xelloss grinned. "My name is Xelloss, Mysterious Priest!" He said it with enough humor to make the title less suspicious than it could have been. It looked like this stallion was as strong as a bear himself. Depending on how this worked out, Xelloss definitely would consider trying to tap Gaston for future projects too. There was always use for a big strong stallion who could follow orders, though Xelloss didn't yet know on that last bit.
After the introduction, he let his enthusiasm fade to a more casual optimism. "But thank you. Most soquili wouldn't help a kalona." Cautiously, he reached out to pat his temporary minion with the spade end of his tail. "Some of us really aren't all that bad." Some of them weren't bad, no. Some of them were worse.
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 12:32 pm
Gaston noted the name and apparent title before letting the rigid stance he assumed fade into a more relaxed pose. He looked over Xelloss's features. So this is what a Kalona looked like? His eyes took in the spaded tail just before Xelloss used it to pat him on the back. The tail must have been prehensile in order for that to happen. Gaston was learning a lot through silent observation it seemed.
When Xelloss made his remark about most people not helping out a kalona he had to hide a small tic of his face. Had he walked into something that he was going to regret later?
"Why do you say that Xelloss? Should I watch my back around you?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 9:36 pm
"You don't have to worry about me," said Xelloss, trying to calm the worries of his recruited companion. "It's the bear I'm more worried about." He paused thoughtfully, seeming to worry about what might be ahead of them. "Do you mind if we get going? I'm afraid that it might be more active at night, so it's probably best to get this over with quickly."
The longer they spent standing around chatting, the longer Gaston had to potentially change his mind. "It's this way," said Xelloss, looking over his shoulder behind him. "Not too far." He had been lucky in that he had found Gaston so close to the cave entrance.
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Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 1:04 am
Gaston's eyes showed a little confusion at Xelloss's urgency to proceed quickly but he shrugged off the niggling doubt that something could be off. He gave a quick sigh before following the Kalona towards the cave. Gaston had to admit that this was better than just sitting around doing nothing.
"So what exactly are you looking for - what does this 'something that was stolen' look like Xelloss?"
Gaston had still not forgotten the incident which brought him to these strange lands and he was hoping that his new companion wasn't trying to deceive him. He drug his hooves into the ground before pushing solidly off the ground in a small leap. Never say that he was one to deny himself a little bit of fun.
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Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 6:15 pm
"They're my talismans," sighed Xelloss. "They were given to me by someone I admire very much and have a lot of sentimental value. They're red stones set in silver." He didn't have to fake his wistfulness at the thought of getting them back. When he wore them he felt invincible. He had been given them in his prime and it was almost as if that same strength came back to him whenever he donned the talismans.
He would have added more, but the stallion's sudden jumping caught him off-guard. His bulky frame did not deceive. He really was a strong fellow. Xelloss made a mental note to not aggravate Gaston overly much. A fight in a tight and unstable cave with a bear of a soquili wouldn't do anyone much good.
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