|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2013 11:05 pm
 Tepey R'Pat and his brother had been traveling in the wilderness for far too long. It had been years since they left their family home in the icy mountains of the north, seeking south for better pastures and new people to meet. And, well, to get away from their father. It was traditional for the sons of the family to leave at a certain age, but unlike other brothers and cousins before them, they'd decided to stick together. Blood was thicker than water...or something like that. It had almost been reflex. Tepey made a melodramatic speech about how his family didn't appreciate him or recognize his great beauty and what an asset he could be and how he was the natural choice for head ram...and Cometary followed him. There hadn't been a discussion, and there had been no surprise. Tepey left and Cometary came with him.
But traveling from place to place all the time didn't sit well with the vain older brother. He wanted to settle down, somewhere where he could keep himself clean and neat. He needed to find such a place soon, because the nomadic life was starting to drive him crazy. However, he wasn't particularly enthused by this forest in front of him. It was thick, it was branched, it was dense with underbrush and branches, as if the limbs of all the trees were actively fighting each other for light. Oh, did he mention that? It was dark, too. How could anyone appreciate his good looks in darkness?! So no. He wasn't particularly interested in going in and getting his mane all mussed up.Cometary didn't argue when his brother snorted, stamped at the ground and turned around. As tempting as those dark branches were, if Tepey didn't want to go in, he wouldn't be going in either. Unless there was something in there that his brother wanted. He himself? Well, he'd like to explore. From the smell of it, other stars lived in here. Maybe he could have someone different to talk to, someone other than his brother, just for once.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 6:19 pm
Blodeuwedd had decided to do a patrol herself for once. Retinadeath's forces were still spread a trifle thin on the ground, so, until the ranks of the Dark and Death Knights were swelled a bit, it was necessary for all herd members to at least periodically patrol, and Blod was doing this sector. She made no gesture or sound expressing her opinion in any direction on the necessity of this task. It was necessary, so there was no reason to cause a fuss over it.
Blod then heard some crashing in the dry underbrush ahead of her. She quickly and quietly maneuvered herself into a more sheltered, secretive patch, peering around with her pure white eyes to see what had caused the commotion. Not even new members of the Shadow were this noisy, and nor were members of the blasted Sunflare Herd. Both herds, even their new members, took care to be discreet as they moved through the undergrowth.
It didn't take long to spot the cause of the commotion. Two darkly-colored, handsome Algiedi stallions, close enough to pass for brothers; one, the handsomer of the pair, was petulantly storming through the underbrush, while his friend or brother seemed almost resigned.
Well, well, well. What did Blod have here? New recruits? If the handsome, petulant one proved dim-witted and easy enough to manipulate, possibly a consort into the bargain. Regardless, this was quite the occasion. Stepping out ahead of the stallions and in plain sight, she called out, "Good afternoon, handsome travelers. What are you doing in the lands of my herd?" she asked, almost purring with curiosity and a decision to find out whether these stallions were potential new recruits or not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 9:43 pm
Cometary stood by quietly as his brother paced back and forth, trampling the undergrowth. It stretched out a little from the trees, and he seemed quite determined to squish it. He wasn't going anywhere near the trees, though--he didn't want to get twigs in his hair. "Are you done?" he asked. He knew Tepey was, but it did to ask. It was a good idea in the long run to act as if his brother was deep and mysterious rather than shallow and predictable. It stroked Tepey's ego, and when Tepey's ego was happy, everyone else could be.
Tepey sighed. "I guess so," he grumbled. "But I'm afraid, dear brother, that I have a confession to make."
Cometary waited patiently.
"...I'm lost," he said dramatically. "I have not a clue where we are, or where we go from here, or what we should do. We need to find a place to rest, and the only shelter are these blasted tr--" Before he could finish his sentence, he heard a voice. Cometary heard it, too. Both of them turned towards the trees to see a fair, pink mare stepping out of the trees. Neither of them had seen her sneak up on them, and with the grace she moved with, she was clearly at home here, even before they registered her question.
"I am Tepey R'Pat," the elder brother said quickly. "This is my brother, Cometary. We're looking for shelter for the night."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 12:13 pm
Well, odds were good that they were either both dim, or simply both clueless. After all, as the second-oldest herd in this world, the Shadow Herd wasn't an unheard of herd, it wasn't unknown that the flaming-bright, skull-helmed Blodeuwedd was its queen, and those that knew that much probably knew that the Shadow lived in a dark and twisted wood.
Regardless, it was better to find out than to just simply assume.
"Both of you are welcome to my lands, handsome Tepey R'Pat and elegant Cometary." Stroking the egos never hurt anyone, and if it could help tempt these stallions into becoming members of her herd, this was not necessarily a bad thing. "Have you traveled very far to these lands? For there are very few who wander here who do not know of these lands or those who live here." True, and vague enough to not give too many hints, assuming that they were simply clueless. Besides, almost everyone in these parts were members of one herd or another. Strangers were indeed quite rare.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 7:04 am
Tepey may have preened at the mare's sweet words, but Cometary was more suspicious. There wasn't any point to backing out now--now that she'd called Tepey R'Pat handsome, she would have guests for the night. But just because Cometary would be staying with her didn't mean that he was going to turn off his brain. She'd called the lands her. Well, true, this was her home, but something about the way she emphasized her words--or perhaps the way she'd called her land lands plural--set off warning bells in Cometary's head. She was obviously very powerful. And obviously up to something by the way she praised them right off the bat.
That having been said...she'd called him elegant. Him. Cometary. Brother of the splendid and magnificent Tepey R'Pat, had been complimented on his looks. That...felt surprisingly good, to have his ego stroked. He bowed his head in gratitude and kept his submissive posture to this obviously very powerful mare.
Yes, that was right. Handsome. Tepey puffed up a little with pride and nodded his head. "Yes, we've traveled north some ways. And I'm afraid we've had precious little news, or we would have traveled more quickly to meet such a radiant and magnificent mare such as yourself." After all, pay back a compliment with another compliment, and you might just get one in return! Suddenly, the thought of spending time here didn't seem so bad. Sure, it was dark in those woods--and thus made it more difficult to see his beauty--but this mare seemed very nice (and attractive, to boot!). She was offering them shelter for the night, and anything she had to offer had to be better than an open field. He just hoped that she didn't expect him to go crawling through the underbrush to get there. "Is your place far from here?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 2:25 pm
Probably clueless, though Tepey might be dim and shallow, which was fine with Blod. Shallow idiots could be controlled. Cometary still looked a little wary, so he probably wasn't stupid. Better to continue as before, keep them convinced that her ways and she herself were some of the best things that they could've run across lately. Tepey's question confirmed that they weren't from these parts. No one else would have no knowledge of Blod or the Shadow. Or the fact that these were merely the borderlands.
"I am afraid it is some ways distance, for the edges of these woods is the boundaries of my herd's territory." Keep the sugar and honey of a gracious hostess coming. After all, the treats could be spiked later if the cards were played right. "If you would be so bold and wise as to follow me?" she offered, with a deceptively delicate toss of her fey head.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 2:37 pm
Who in the name of Ares and Capricorn called following someone "wise and brave" unless it was a threat?! Oh, Tepey, what have you gotten us into this time?Tepey huffed that they would have to go very much further into these woods. Then again, maybe they wouldn't be as thick later on? "What is your name, o Queen? Do not tell me," he added, "that you are any less than a queen. One of your beauty and grace could not possibly be of simple and lowborn blood." It wasn't just empty flattery--his voice betrayed his honesty. Tepey was a simple creature ruled by his sense of aesthetics, and all of his philosophy and worldview came from that. Beautiful people were powerful. Creepy people were evil. Ugly people were imaginary. It wasn't hard to understand, so why did everyone go so far out of their way misinterpreting him?
"I find myself excited by the idea of being your guest for a day or more," he said. "Cometary feels the same way, too, don't you?" He turned his head and waited for his brother to quietly nod before continuing. "He's very quiet. You might notice that about him. Almost disappears into the background."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 11:47 am
Blod smiled in a rare moment of honesty. "I am indeed a queen, the Queen of these lands you now traverse, as my esteemed grandfather was king before me. My herd calls me Queen Blodeuwedd." Yes, emphasize bloodlines. After all, she was increasingly certain that Tepey would make an excellent consort. Proud, shallow, dim-witted, and good to look at. Domineering to pass for a royal consort, while clueless enough at anything resembling diplomacy and scheming to have any real power, if she understood him correctly. Excellent. She just had to find a way to seduce him enough and get Cometary to stay and to stay quiet and obedient. Then, everything would fit.
"Shall we, noble travelers?" she asked, indicating a wider path that they'd probably missed. It was wide enough to admit two abreast in places, and the branches grew arched over, forming almost a tunnel that led straight to the clearings that formed the court area of the herd's territory.Geyser Eelborn I think we can start to wrap this one up. owo
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:51 pm
The way that the queen emphasized her bloodline creased Cometary's brow. He didn't doubt that she had noble heritage--he didn't have any reason to, beyond general distrust of her and, if he was being honest, spite towards his possibly-smitten brother--but the fact that she hadn't elaborated gave him something new to think about. It implied that she either didn't think it necessary to elaborate on who her grandfather was (meaning that he and Tepey should know who her grandfather was, and the sort of star who expected them to know who she was was not a particularly trustworthy one), or she simply didn't want them to know who he was (such as if she thought they would get spooked if she told them). So...she was seeming more and more suspicious. But Cometary couldn't leave his brother, and with all the flattery being poured on them, it didn't seem likely that Tepey would take it in mind to leave.
Besides...she'd complimented him. So she either was being genuine (and that was a genuine-looking smile on her face) or...she thought him worthy of manipulation. That was a new idea to him. It made him feel...worthy. Important. Cometary forced himself to smile. Okay. Nothing to worry about. Nope, not at all. Well, okay, plenty, but...he could also let a part of himself enjoy this, just a little.A previously unnoticed path to the side of the trail opened up into a grand entranceway where the tree branches above had been woven together to create a vaulted ceiling. Tepey mutely nodded his agreement to the queen, but was thoroughly distracted by this scenery. The path was a welcome change from the thick, tangled mats of the outer rim of the forest. Here, it was neater and the dust underfoot had been trampled into a harder surface. Pits between trees to the side provided space for dust baths, and shelters woven out of blackberries, ferns, and saplings provided shelters where brightly-colored stars chatted with each other. Some of them turned as they passed; they bowed their heads towards the queen. One brightly-colored lyra stallion gawked openly at the algiedi stallions. Tepey winked back. Cute fellow, obviously star-struck. Tepey continued on his way, paying the stallion no mind.Cometary noticed the same lyra stallion to the side and smiled at him. That smile turned into a disappointed sigh that he swallowed down. The lyra stallion wasn't paying him any attention. That's always how it turned out, Cometary reflected bitterly. He and Tepey were brothers; they were attracted to the same sorts of stars, but more importantly, the same sorts of stars were attracted to both of them, and they always picked Tepey over Cometary. It wasn't fair. He averted his eyes from the gobsmacked lyra and followed the queen closely.Behind them, Feral tore his eyes away from the algiedi stallions, glad the queen had passed by the time he'd seen the stallions. The queen leading a couple of beautiful stallions around? Obviously, she'd found a consort. Damn it all...elfstar89 I think we probably should, yes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 7:46 pm
Blod's mind was moving on to other plots and schemes as she led the way down the path. She casually noted the Stars on the periphery of her vision, mostly Dark Knights and the like under Retinadeath. Not too many Dark Courtiers yet, but the few they had were not close to Retinadeath, and mostly had to fight for either Blod's attention, or Plamen's, and all three leading personages were more likely to pay attention to those around them of lesser rank if they were impressed by said lower-ranked individuals.
However, Blod did take note of Feral, her brother's ex-lover. Blod couldn't see the gobsmacked gaze of the heretofore emotionally dead Algiedi, the one individual whom Blod was very, very wary of allowing to get to power. Even if Feral wasn't of Blod's kindred, Feral had almost been, and could've tried to gather support. He hadn't, of course, but that didn't stop Blod from being cautious.
Now, with some concerns about the future allayed, and no new reason to watch anyone in particular, Blod prepared in her mind to discuss Tepey becoming her consort, and announcing it to the rest of the herd. Her son, Belenus, wouldn't be pleased, but, quite frankly, Belenus could use some healthy competition. Blod herself had been at best third in line when Moloch disappeared, and her father had been the expected favorite. Oh, yes. The coming of the two brothers would change things, definitely for the more interesting.Geyser Eelborn I think we can call this done when you're ready.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
