[PRP] The Knight (Garland x Tannin Nox)

[Ryuukishin]

((Ryuukishin's Teepee | [+Katch+]'s Teepee))

Today was a day for adventure, Garland decided. He hadn't consulted his parents, or even told his siblings. He'd simply woken up, saw it was bright out, and that was that.

He trotted purposefully towards a neighboring forest, shivering at the wind. The trees were still leafless and, spread as they were, didn't provide much ample cover for him. At the very least, he was certain the sun would make up for it in due time, and he took a bite or two from every bush he passed to compensate. He'd been taught at an early age that eating would help him stay warm, and he'd made use of it numerous times during these cold winter months.

Suddenly, a chirp. Garland froze and looked accusingly at the sparrow that had spoken. Bloody little devils they were. He would never forget the day one had plucked his mane for a nest, and he fluffed his tail at the memory. He was sure they were worse than the Skinwalkers he'd heard of and, with a contemptuous puff, he thrust up his nose and trotted away. Or at least, he was about to.

As he turned, he'd spotted a wolf eying him from behind a bush and froze once more. Legitimate fear coursed through him and, with a shrill cry, he ran.  

[[+Katch+]]

Tannin was off on patrol, since his mentor had come back he hadn't been out as much, but her time away had made him restless, so he roamed around, enjoying nature while listening and watching for any sign of trouble. A shriek split the afternoon air and birds fled from their trees, alarmed by the sudden noise. His ears pricked up against the cool bone of his helm, his eyes glowed in the shadows of the eye sockets. That didn't sound like it came from the throat of a grown soquili...a kid~!? He quickly turned and thundered through the bushes in the direction that the cry had come from. Creatures large and small got out of his way, after all, he looked like something out of a nightmare trampling through the daylight world, who WOULDN'T get out of his way? His nostrils flared as he caught the sharp scent of wolf, in broad daylight~!? his ears flatted against his skull as he focused on finding the source of the sound, he heard a frantic scrambling from a bit away and charged towards it, the scent of the wolf getting stronger the closer he got. This was a bad situation, he just hoped he wouldn't get there too late!  

[Ryuukishin]

[+Katch+]

Propelled by panic, Garland was able to maintain a good distance away from his persecutor. But it wouldn't last for long. He was still only a foal after all, and he didn't have the physical strength needed to keep up his speed. He was slowing down, and quickly.

Winter had not been kind to the wolf. It had been weeks since its last meal, and its hunger made it desperate. Garland knew he would not outlast the beast, that his time was running short. His breaths came in short gasps now, but, despite that, he tried another call for help.

Then, out of nowhere, a soquili blazed into view. Garland's attempt caught in his throat at the sight of the otherworldly horse, and he made a strangled sound. He didn't know whether the nightmarish stallion at his fore was as dangerous as the wolf at his flank, and he veered to the side to avoid them both, only to topple into the bushes and lose his footing.  

[[+Katch+]]

Tannin exploded out of the brush, his bone hooves digging into the ground as he landed, his red mane wild in the wind and his eyes blazing from the inside of his skull helm as he faced the wolf. He found the colt, for surely it was a little boy, tangled in a bush, the whites of his eyes flashing in panic, his little hooves struggling for purchase. He glared down at the predator pursuing the little one and It regarded him warily, a new threat to the easy meal he'd thought he had. He growled at the wolf, a low eerie sort of sound that seemed to crawl it's way down his throat and between his rather large fangs. " Leave this young one alone you mangy cur, find an easier meal, or you shall deal with me."
He stomped one skeletal leg to prove his words, pawing the ground, if the creature didn't leave right then and there, he'd have a scuffle on his paws.

He glanced towards the bush " I am a friend young one, so don't go anywhere, running from a predator won't help. Just stay hidden there." He just hoped the kid would listen to him  

[Ryuukishin]

[+Katch+]

Garland shivered when the newcomer spoke, the male’s voice like a snake sliding out into the open. He remembered the tales he’d heard of soquili that hunted their own kind, and believed the stallion was competing with the wolf to see who’d have a young colt for breakfast today. Though he liked to imagine himself a brave knight in armor, he was never really one for heroism: his only thought was to flee.

His ears pricked at the stranger’s words, but he shied from the male’s fearsome appearance. At the moment, he was not very inclined to trust the stallion, and the only reason he didn’t leave then and there was because the bush kept a vigorous hold on him. He was tired, too, and unable to struggle much harder.

The wolf flattened its ears with distaste, but it knew it couldn’t take on a healthy adult alone. When it became certain it could neither scare away the stallion, nor herd the foal away, it reluctantly left in search of a more promising meal.  

[[+Katch+]]

Ryuukishin

Tannin watched the wolf skulk away, his burning green eyes following it until it vanished in the far tree line. He swiveled one ear towards the bush, then turned his head, trying his best not to make any sudden movements as to scare the kid further. " I'm probably not what you were expecting but I DO promise, i'm not here to harm you." He peered down into the bush and raised an eyebrow under his mask " And i'll bet all that struggling you did got you tangled up in there huh? You'll just have to trust me, i'll get you out, ok?

He smiled, close lipped, his smile was usually quite garish and full of fangs, he know the kind of effect it had, he was trying to make the colt more comfortable, not scare him to death. He'd nearly been someones lunch after all. " My name's Tannin, what's yours?  

[Ryuukishin]

[+Katch+]

Garland watched the wolf enviously as it left and put on his bravest face when he saw he was easy pickings for the stallion. His trembling legs gave him away, but no matter. Rather than appearing fearsome, he looked as if he’d just eaten something sour, anyway, so there really wasn't much dignity left to lose.

He remained quiet while the male spoke, stubbornly refusing to believe the stallion could be anything but evil. Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to admit he’d tangled himself in the bush. But still! The stranger was wearing a skull, and that had to count for something, right? Although it was true the stallion hadn’t eaten him yet despite having an ample opportunity, and he did sound surprisingly nice...

“It’s Garland!” he suddenly screamed. It not only answered Tannin's question, but served as another cry for help, too. If anyone else was nearby, surely he or she would come rescue him from his newest foe. It was an inglorious plan indeed. Tannin wouldn't suspect a thing.  

[[+Katch+]]

Ryuukishin

He sighed at the little colts exclamation, he knew the kid was frightened of him, and possibly EVERYTHING at this point, but he was going to call more hungry creatures here with that much racket. " Well Garland, there are probably more hungry creatures like that wolf about, if you make that much noise they'll come a sniffin, so calm down ok?" He chuckled kindly, the kid probably thought HE was there to eat him anyway. What would his mentor say? he was sure she'd get some kind of kick out of this. He thought of something and flicked his nose upward, the helm he always wore scooting back over his face, he rarely took it off, it seemed like it should be a part of him, but with it back over his neck, he let the colt see his face, a normal face, with black fur and a tan muzzle. If you ignored the too bright eyes and the sharper than normal teeth, he looked like any soquili. Unless you looked down. " Look see? I have a face under here, same as you."

He circled the bush, trying to see from another angle how to get Garland out, finally he set a hoof against a stiff branch and broke it with a snap, releasing a whole chunk of foliage, an opening for him to get free. " There, see if you can get out" He smiled down at the colt. " If you've got any scrapes we can put some medicine on it so it doesn't bother you later" He assured him, having blundered into many a bush when he was a young thing. He chortled at the memories.  

[Ryuukishin]

[+Katch+]

Garland pressed his lips tightly together after the warning. He remembered he’d heard it before, and from a more trustworthy source, too, and didn’t doubt it now. He cursed at his folly, but it was too late to take it back, and he was left to watch warily as Tannin gave a curious flick of his head. When Garland saw it was a face that looked like a normal soquili, mistrust gave way to reluctant dependence, and he reached up curiously to take a closer look. Yep, flesh and blood, just like his own. He wanted to poke it to make sure, but alas, the stallion was too tall.

“I suppose,” he mumbled, refusing to give a clear affirmative. It would mean his initial assumption had been wrong, and that just wouldn’t do. He was never wrong – at least, that’s what he liked to tell himself.

“Thank you,” he said as regally as he could when he found himself so quickly and thoroughly freed, acting as if he’d trusted Tannin all along. He didn't feel too hurt, but he looked over his shoulder to see just in case. He was still uncertain on his feet, however, and he ended up tripping over his own legs as he turned, and fell face-first in the snow.  

[[+Katch+]]

Ryuukishin

He smiled down at the little colt, trying to save face and act tough. That was the tale of many little boys he had known, including himself. " Well you're very welcome Garland." He watched as he turned about trying to get a look at himself and face planted in the snow. Tannin raised an eyebrow and walked over " you alright down there? I may not be able to see if you have other injuries immediately, but lets get somewhere warmer and we can see about those scrapes and bumps." He tilted his head " what were you doing way out here anyway? And by yourself?  

[Ryuukishin]

[+Katch+]

((Sorry for the wait! x_x;;)

Garland snorted and shook the snow out of his face, too bewildered to try and remain dignified as he wriggled about. Though it slid off easily, the snow was still cold and he instinctively neared Tannin. The stallion’s legs may have looked dead, but he nevertheless had the warmth of life in the rest of him.

“I’m fine,” he protested, but followed the male anyway. Tannin had shown he could be dependable, and besides, now that the danger was over, Garland was curious. He wanted to know why Tannin looked like dead things, with the unmoving feathers in his mane and the skull on his head, but had a living fire in his eyes that didn’t burn him whole. It reminded him of the rings of light his mother carried and he wondered if they were the same.

“My family’s close, but I left ‘em,” he said. It almost sounded as if he was admitting to be a runaway, but the easy confidence in his voice assured that his leave was only temporary, and most likely a common occurrence. Regardless, he didn’t seem too bothered. Already he was showing the resiliency of children, the near-death experience forgotten.  

[[+Katch+]]

two years later~ XD it's aliiiiiiiive~ *frankensteins around*

Ryuukishin

Tannin raised an eyebrow at the young colt, already back to his cheeky self, it brought a smile to his lips " Just like that, you left them? That seems sort of reckless, look at all the mess you got into" He eyed Garland " get into a fight with your folks or somethin?" He was making small talk, trying to keep the youngster from slipping back to being spooked for any reason. He so rarely got the chance to talk to little ones. "I remember being your age" he continued " I ran away once but I got lost and scared, jumped at every shadow that appeared, I was no fighter back then, but my father found me and told me if I wanted to train some I wouldn't be so scared anymore" He chuckled " it doesn't seem that long ago at all"