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 Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 4:55 pm
They had promised his fellow competitors and he a life of plenty, of recognition of nobility if they proved their worth, but the truth had been very different. They fought for the purpose of entertainment, a bloodbath enjoyed by the nobility who saw them as nothing but animals and in return, the competitors systematically massacred themselves and whittled down their numbers in exchange for a 'promise'.
It was nothing more than indoctrination.
It had been with great bitterness that Daevyn had been introduced to this reality and one of those competitors who had refused to fall. He had murdered his brothers all in exchange for recognition, equality and freedom... yet the freedom he had received was not that which he had dreamt of. He had been ostracised and shunned, regarding as nothing more than a beast who had catered to nobility's more corrupt and deprived tastes.
Perhaps he would have been accepted if he had put more effort into conforming to society... If he'd learnt some manners, tidied himself up and spoken correctly, but it all seemed to fall flat. It should have come to no surprise that he had left relatively quickly and sought solitude.
Many months of travel later and he had sequestered himself in unexplored jungle, staked his claim and made himself comfortable. A further few months to settle in and he had come to the conclusion that he was right at home - covered in mud and accompanied only by the sound of chirping bugs or the birds above head...
This afternoon would prove to be no exception to this rule, for the Raptor had made certain that he had painted this particular area in an unappealing light. Strange noises haunted the forest after dark and any who entered were greeted by the grotesque and monstrous form of mud and twig - not to mention the stench. For all intents and purposes this stallion had ensured that his territory was safe and that explorers gave it a wide berth...
Well, provided they actually spoke to the locals, but who elected to ignore the locals? He hadn't met anyone quite so naive as of late.
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Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 8:53 pm
Night wasn't far off, and the poor, dual-winged angeni had found herself terribly out of place. These parts of the jungles were most unfamiliar to the mare, and a small part of her bemoaned her stupidity as well as her fate! This is what she got for taking her brothers encouragement to heart! This is what she got for listening, for . . . for trying so hard to be brave. She should have never listened to their playful jibes, she should have never tried to pretend she was like her elder siblings, she should have never been someone she was not.
Now, here she was, lost, dirty, and afraid.
Of all the places in the world, she felt most comfortable within the edges of the jungles of her families herd. She had grown up with the plants, with the flowers, and the scenery was familiar. She knew the best places to find the prettiest flowers, the sweetest greens, and the prettiest views... at least, up to an extent. Faelwyn was a creature of habit, and did not often roam far from her home, or her familiar gardens and jungle paths. But today. . . today she had wanted to prove herself, wanted to show that she could be a little brave, a little bold, a little . . . less afraid.
What would wandering in to the jungles a little farther hurt? So long as she stayed on a straight path, so long as she remembered the way her hooves fell, she could surely make it back. Unfortunately, the skittish mare had not paid as much attention as she should have; the prettiest and most exotic flowers had called to her, a few twists and turns had been made during her search, and how quickly the jungle foliage grew back and covered her foot falls. By the time she had turned back to go home, flowers tucked delicately in her mane, tail, and feathered scarf, the winged mare found herself a bit turned around.
The foliage of the jungle was far too thick for her to easily fly, so until she found a clearing, she couldn't quite escape; furthermore, to be fair, she was not the strongest nor most talented of flyers; she was delicate, and spent more time with her hooves on the earth than she did in the air. Well, surely, surely she could weave her way back and out of the jungle.
Alas, that had been hours ago. The flowers which she had so carefully cradled upon her were slowly wilting, and many had been dislodged in her journey. The swamp she found herself in -- the stinking, muddy, filthy place -- was completely unfamiliar to the mare. It was dark, and the shadows were growing long. Would she have to spend her night here? The noises were unfamiliar, and the once kind sounding chirps and hums and buzzes of the jungle fauna were taking on a more hostile edge -- at least thanks to her imagination!
Her eyes were wide, her ears pricked, alert for any possible doom that might befall her. On the one hand, Faelwyn knew that the jungles were not necessarily unsafe; she was familiar enough to know the true dangers it held. On the other hand, the mare wasn't sure she had ever been so deep in the thick of it. There were stories, of course. . . rumors, legends, myths, monsters. . . But they were just stories, weren't they?
Looking around, Faelwyn wasn't quite so sure. Wings tucked tight next to her, she stepped shakily through the swamps, doing her best not to fall or lose her balance. All she wanted was a way out. Never, never again would she travel so far from the familiar.
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Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 4:07 am
This one had not spoken to the locals. This one had not taken note of the absence of sound, and now this one found herself out of sorts. The raptor's vibrant gaze peered out from beneath the layers of mud and grime, his nose wrinkling as the angeni meandered senselessly through his territory. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to her movements, none, she just went this way and that until she no longer had recollection of where she had come from. It would not take a genius to work that one out either, given that she had now developed a rather distraught facial expression.
He had watched her in silence for quite some time, padding silently after her as she had explored his world. Fortunately for the mare his immediate suspicions were dispelled as night closed in and she seemed completely lost. She had not been surveying the scene, she had not been seeking key landmarks, she had for the most part been foal like in her endeavours and now she was paying the price. As a reward for her curiosity she had been ensnared by the jungle, the swamp in particular, and it had no intention of releasing her without assistance.
A rippled whistle echoed from the raptor's throat, hoarse through lack of use but still there, it added to the already 'sinister' sounds and shapes that now surrounded the mare. Not that it was his intention to cause panic at this precise moment in time, but force of habit did ensure that he sent his greetings to the nocturnal life that lived in the trees... and in return, they often answered back with their own warped calls.
It was a mutual relationship of respect and understanding.
Nevertheless he did have a problem on his hooves at this moment in time as the mare was still very much in his land and based on her demeanour she seemed to have no intention of leaving any time soon. He wasn't the most sociable of sorts but he wasn't going to get anything done if he just left her there.
Urgh.
...And he thought he'd left the problem of females behind him.
It was with another disgruntled snort that the 'disfigured' raptor therefore took a step into the open, and then another. It was from the shadows that he emerged, covered head to toe in twigs, mud and moss to the point that he was unlikely to be recognised as a soquili at an immediate glance. Another chirrup and he tilted his head to one side, at last noting the wilting flowers strewn across her mane and scarf. Had she really come in here for the flowers?
Staggering.
"You are lost," he stated stiffly.
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Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 4:37 pm
Doomed.
She was doomed.
Faelwyn had heard the exotic whistling; worse, she had heard the noises that the woodland creatures responded with, in kind! She had never been so far from home, from the safety of her gardens, from her mother and father, from her far more adventurous siblings. She truly hadn't meant to wander so far, nor been so oblivious about where she had been headed. The problem with the jungle foliage was that it grew so quickly, and it did all kind of look the same. All of her landmarks had begun to run in to each other, and after so many hours, the poor mare had found herself completely overwhelmed.
She was going to die here.
Never, ever again was the mare going to trek out on her own. It would be safe, they said; she would be fine, they said. Oh, and her inexperience and her focus on finding the perfect specimens to return home with had turned out catastrophic! Most of her plants were now wilted, and while a few she had uprooted for a transfer might still be all right, it wouldn't matter if she never made it back to her herdlands.
She had lived next to the mouth of the jungle for years, and if she ever made it back, she would never, ever return.
Unfortunately, defensive and unsure as the mud-stained mare was, she could not mistake the movement of . . . . of that. Whatever that was! The pile of sludge and mud and twigs and moss was actually alive, and it was moving, ever so slowly, towards her. Her tourquoise eyes went wide, and she hastily retreated in fear. She had no idea who or what that was, but it was speaking, and it sounded terribly unhappy. Maybe it was her assumption that it would be her doom, and the fast approach of night didn't help her already tense and anxious state; they would never find her. . .
She was lost forever.
". . . . I . . . . " She couldn't seem to find her voice. Her words were barely audible, coming out more of a gasp. ". . . I'm sorry. I . . . I didn't mean to to lose my way." It never occurred to her to lie, and the embarrassment and shame she felt was clear. She was going to be ripped apart now by some mud monster, and that would be the end of Faelwyn.
Oh, what a sorry lot she was.
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 7:55 am
As he regarded the retreating mare his eyebrows lifted beneath the layers of mud. Positively saturated in mud and grime, this initial response to her words wouldn't have been immediately visible save for the very slight ripple across his forehead. Suffice it to say that he hadn't often encountered anyone honest or genuine in his home and he had not been expecting the truth to echo from any trespassers mouth, let alone a female's. It gave him pause for thought, and even as he continued to regard the now cowering mare, he came to a halt a reasonable distance from her form.
For the first time in many months he wasn't entirely sure how to progress; those who spoke with honesty should not be treated with the same disregard and contempt as the guilty. Thus, how was he supposed to handle an individual who had wandered into his realms with no ill intent? Granted she appeared to have kidnapped some of his flowers, some of which were now paying the toll as they wilted in her grasp... but he had witnessed worse crimes in his lifetime.
He chirruped again, his lips pursing into a gentle line.
"I do not think that anyone intends on losing their way," he pointed out coolly, shaking his head to shift the clumps of forelock from his eyes, or rather what should have been forelock. "Though I fail to see why so many regard it as a surprise when it happens," he cast his head to one side, the ever-piercing gaze remaining fixed on the mare and the flowers in her position. "After all, that is what happens when you enter a world you know nothing of," he pointed out.
Nevertheless, the stallion did not appear to exude any further hostility towards Faelwyn, as if he had accepted her apology.
Instead, he had concluded that he would have to approach this situation in a manner that was wholly unknown to him. A 'friend' had once informed him of this sort of situation and advised that he learn to deal with it... a shame he hadn't taken that advice to heart! Thus, he eventually lifted his gaze away from Faelwyn and placed it off to the side in an attempt to make her feel less uncomfortable.
"But you came in for a reason, no -" he flicked his gaze to the flowers. "What was it that you wanted?"
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