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 Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 7:51 pm
Claudette gazed down at the body of the stag with glassy eyes, her wispy black curls sticking to her face where the blood had splattered. Her knife was stuck hilt deep into the creature's side and the rich metallic scent filled her nostrils, she inhaled deeply, pupils dilating and then contracting in quick succession before taking a few staggering steps back.
"Nooo." she moaned, "No, not again!" thick red droplets dripped rhythmically from the tip of her horn and her wings fluttered nervously as she glanced anxiously to either side. She was visiting her father and her sister, had left them for a short stroll in the moonlight before the deer had darted across her path. She had reacted without a thought, driven by instinct... Neither of them must see this. Her stomach twisted with guilt. She had never killed something this large before. It was easy enough to conceal the carcass of a rabbit or squirrel, but this.... She leaned down to grip the leg between her teeth and began to drag it away from her family as quickly as possible.
Claudette had brought this on herself. Her mother had told her to meet with her great grandfather, Vincento. She had said learning about her heritage, and coming to terms with her nature would allow her more control over these cravings... What Jezabelle didn't understand was that Claudette had control. Nothing took her over when she killed, nothing overrode her authority over herself, not like Belle and Jessamine... So did that make her a monster? She simply liked blood, and everything her father had ever taught her told her how wrong it was to do what she had just done. She didn't need the blood, not the way her mother did. So why couldn't she stop?
She didn't know where she was going, she just knew she had to find some place far enough away that she wouldn't be disturbed while she tried to bury her kill. Something snapped underneath her hoof and the smell of old death permeated the air. Surprised, she dropped the leg and turned around, her mouth dropping open as her wide crimson eyes focused on a most curious sight.
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Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 9:03 pm
 The night was young, but diligently the grave keeper had made his rounds nearly twicefold around his slice of morbid paradise. Everyone was tucked in tightly, all accounted for, in their cozy beds deep within the soil below his hooves. The warmth of the night caused a mist to hover low; swirling and whisping as each leg pressed forth through the night; the hollow clacking of his bone adornments echoing through the night.
On nights like this he felt peace with his almost manic obsession, eyes calculating but holding a deep seeded warmth erring on psychotic for his one true love in life. Pausing at one fresher grave he recalled the poor abandoned filly he'd nestled into her forever home; never to be abandoned or abused again by life's harshness. "How are you today, Princess?" Deathbringer coo'ed inhaling deep the scent of freshly turned soil still lingering in the air. "It is warm tonight, a little damp, but once the sun comes tomorrow it will dry your soil and you'll feel better." Leaning his head closer, a manic smirk crossed his lips as if he was listening to whispers. "I will see about bringing you some flowers, Princess...they do grow so well in the nutrient rich soil here. Sleep well..." He dipped his head and moved on...that was till another enticing smell reached his nostrils.
Blood.
Fresh...blood.
Slowly and silently he moved through his graveyard, following the harsh metallic scent of that beautiful life liquid. It lead him to one of the stone arches of the cemetery, decayed by time but still a pillar of what laid just beyond its gate. Stopping at the passage he stared at a most peculiar sight as well, a mare who he could see was flutter by breed dragging a dead stag; freshly killed as its blood was smeared in a delightful trail on the ground from whence she came. Once she got closer he could see more through the confines of the mythical, large bird scull he adorned on his face. The murder weapon still embedded in the creatures side; blood still pooling around its puncture point.
Without realizing his immediate and strong drive, he took a step haphazardly and crushed a stick under hoof alerting the mare of his presence. No matter, his mouth already was salivating at the sight of such a magnificent corpse....he would estimate only at most several minutes he'd been departed into the beyond. Looking up to the mare he knew he had to have this corpse, and by the looks of such a mare...she might be in the market to get rid of the body.
"Greetings, and welcome....it is not often I get to see both the inflicted and the inflictor in the same breath. Dear lady...where are you heading with such a prize?"
Oh please, oh please say she wasn't going to eat it. Bones were enticing, but untouched fresh carcases were just so hard to find....and delivered to his door was just a treat in itself.
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Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 1:13 pm
Claudette tilted her head slightly as she beheld the dark stallion, eyes wandering over the large skull mask concealing his face as well as the various other bones ornamenting his body. She followed his gaze to the weapon still stuck in the meat of the stag's side and blushed. Her mother would scold her for being so careless with the knife, what if the stallion had meant her harm and had caught her unarmed?
"No where in particular." she responded, a little breathless from exertion, "I was hoping to find a safe place to bury my friend here." She nudged the corpse with one hoof. A small surge of guilt twisted in her stomach, less intense then when she had been a foal but still ever present. She managed to keep her voice steady to conceal how shaken she felt by this entire situation but her heart was hammering in her throat. Claudette leaned down to tug the blade free with her teeth and tucked it into the cloth tied around her thigh, still dripping. She would need to clean off before returning home regardless as she was already a gruesome sight, a little more blood couldn't hurt. The stallion didn't seem disgusted by what she had done, rather the opposite. She appreciated that, running into someone squeamish could have complicated matters significantly. Especially if they knew of her father.
There had been times she had drank the blood of her kills, as her mother did or tried a bit of flesh, but she wasn't hungry tonight. She had simply reacted to the stag's presence without much thought, likely due to forcing herself to abstain from killing over the past weeks while visiting with Laertes and Desdemona.
"I am far from being lady" she countered with a grim smile, "But I appreciate the courtesy, sir. My name is Claudette and I would like nothing more than to rid myself of this inconvenient...prize." He was not unfamiliar with death, that much was certain. She didn't know if he had ever killed himself, but he took the sight of the dead body in stride so likely he had seen others. Where else could he have gotten his morbid adornments. "I must find a spot to hide this..."
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 6:49 pm
With his eyes trailing to her kill even as she spoke, it was lucky that his skull mask hid so much of the lower half of his face as his smirk was growing wider and wider by the minute she kept talking. When she said those magic words, Deathbringer thought he'd gone to heaven.
"Well, then you've happened upon a most opportune place; Claudette." He nearly purred, walking forward to move beside her as he looked down at her kill. So pristine, so fresh, so elegant. The antlers on the stag was enough of a prize as is; but to put the whole package in the ground was just....almost too much. "This is my home, a quite large and expansive graveyard. My business is well....our friend here." He smirked, motioning his head down to the stag. "Perhaps I could interest you in a bit of a proposition?"
Deathbringer felt his heart race, seeing the blood dripping from her knife but he held it together. Killing, eating - wasn't truly his forte. While he'd dabbled in it before he was more interested in the after....the death, and the corpse. Looking to Claudette he could sense something off about her, for the sheer fact she'd killed this stag but he was not one to pry. Why they died never mattered to him...unless it was a skinwalker. Those were just messy.
"I, Deathbringer, could guarantee no one would ever know of your friend here, and your deeds. He would get nestled into a deep, comfortable grave..." His tone dropped, almost serious in a bit of a delirious state. "He would be mine for eternity, and it would be as if it never happened. I keep a rather strict policy here, but its fairly easy as no one really comes here to visit. If anyone undesirable comes...well they might find themselves a resident." The warning was true, if it was one thing Deathbringer always kept a promise to his clientele.
"This of course, comes at a reasonable price." He added smoothly, drawing his full attention to her. "Once that is settled, you can say your goodbye to your friend and I will be more than happy to take care of everything else." Deathbringer grinned, would she bite?
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Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 5:44 pm
Claudette's heart was fluttering within her chest as the stallion moved to stand beside her but her head lifted at his words, soft curls bouncing around her face as she stared up at him, eyes narrowing for a moment, "You'd do that for a stranger..?"
She gazed past the stallion towards whence he had come and noted the mounds of freshly turned earth, a graveyard? She had never heard of such a thing, but it seemed a fitting name for a place like this. Her nose wrinkled a little as her nose again caught the scent of rot, she had never stuck around long enough for the bodies to decompose around her, the aroma made her stomach clench unpleasantly but the stallion didn't seem to mind so she held her tongue.
Her eyebrows lifted as the stallion made his offer, she turned it over in her head, wondering what Deathbringer might want for his services. An involuntary shiver shuddered down her spine although it was not exactly from fear, she was intrigued by this morbid male, unbidden she found her cheekbones aflame as she nodded in agreement.
"He will be yours then, for all time." she conceded, backing away from the corpse a few steps to allow him room. "What would you have of me for payment, I don't have much, but for this favor you certainly deserve more than simple thanks. Anything you desire I will give, or do my best to find for you." Claudette had a feeling he was only too happy to take the body off her hands but she didn't mind the fee, he was giving her his silence as well and that was worth much to the young mare.
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Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 6:06 pm
"Of course. A stranger is only a temporary name after all. I know your name, you know mine....why we are probably considered acquaintances by civilized standards." A flash of a grin, noticing by the way her body reacted that her heart must have been fluttering as him. It was only up close that he could pick up these traits of the living - perhaps it was the slight dilation of her pupils but that was not here or there. "So yes...I would do that for my acquaintance."
Letting his ever calculating and insightful eyes draw back to the corpse of a stag, marveling at how beautiful he was in all his undead glory. To how he had such social insight was beyond comprehensive as his usual company consisted of the...dead.
"Anything hmm?" He pondered, humming as ideas rolled around in his head. Turning to face the mare he took a few steps forward to reclose the distance between them. Flicking his head up the skull mask slid back as he revealed his serious face; tilting his head to the side only slightly. "Then how about your first born foal?" Deathbringer remained stoic for another moment or two before offering a small chuckle and a smile cracked on his face. "Just kidding ~"
Dropping his head down so the mask slid back on he turned to look to the stag once again; stepping back to give her some space. "On a more serious note though....what I want is a flutter, for my "garden"...if you get my drift. Perhaps its from seeing your wings...but such pretty things I would like to add to my collection. This task, will also fall under my protection so no one will be able to connect you to my payment....Male, female, old, young...it doesn't matter to me. Whether you do the deed or you come across one already dead; as long as the wings are unscathed I will accept it." Deathbringer smirked wildly, looking back to Claudette.
"What do you think, Claudette....do we have a deal?"
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Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 3:49 pm
Caludette's throat constricted at his first demand, a somewhat shaky laugh escaping her lips when he finally shared the joke. But his second offer proved only slightly better than the first. Kill another soquili? The blood drained from her face as she considered her father's reaction. A wild animal in the forest was bad enough, but to hunt down and slay one of her own kind... Her wings swiveled back with abhorrence at the thought yet she was forced to grit her small even teeth as bloodlust saturated her body, leaving her feeling hollow and exhausted as she forced it to abate through sheer willpower.
She was grateful Deathbringer had been busy examining his prize, the mare didn't want him to see how much his request had jolted her. Then her mind finished processing the rest of his proposition... She could find one that was already dead, certainly there was nothing reprehensible about that. Claudette wasn't sure what most soquili did with their dead but burying seemed just as good as any other method to put a spirit to rest. And if the family of the deceased didn't know about it... well they certainly wouldn't have anything to complain about. She was not yet sure how to go about finding a flutter's corpse but she would cross that bridge when she left this place.
Deathbringer's somewhat morbid grin was riveting to her. She had never met someone so openly macabre. While a small portion of her was afraid of what the stallion seemed capable of, a larger part found his mannerisms fascinating. Her mother's side of the family had always been, different, darker, but that side of their nature was often concealed, even to her. Claudette had rarely seen that side of her mother or her relatives. Deathbringer simply was without shame, it seemed a much less complicated way to live.
'I have to admit I find it somewhat...unnerving that my wings make you crave a comparable corpse... " She mused, "You have your deal, but still, I wonder, why send me out to find another body? You've had plenty of opportunity, why haven't you simply killed me and carried me off to become part of your collection? No innocent third party, no mess, it seems the simplest solution." Claudette felt absurd, pointing out the logic of ending her life here and now but she wanted to know and she didn't think he intended to harm her. "It's in you're name, 'death-bringer,' why haven't you brought it to me?" She tilted her head as she gazed up at him. " I suppose that its not saying much to admit I've never met someone like you... I haven't met all that many people as of yet, but you intrigue me nonetheless. What is the draw in all of this? Will you show me your graveyard, what you do? That is, if you still mean to go through with our deal and don't intend to kill me, I might just be on may way if that is the case." Her eyes searched his as she smiled up at him crookedly.
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Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 8:59 pm
Ignorant of the conflicting emotions running through the mare's head be it on purpose or he just wasn't watching close enough to how her body was reacting the stallion was more or less waiting for those magic little words for this stag, as well as another prize to his garden. When she finally spoke he may have let out the small breath he'd been holding since suggesting his price; and if he didn't have the mask currently covering his lips that manic smirk would have been plain as day.
Success.
Tilting his head a tad as she brought up what was on her mind he felt a little taken back by what he was hearing. Why of course he'd debated killing her...as he did with anyone who came into his paradise with intent to make mischief or well...make him mad. However perhaps in her favor she came with a treat, and he was but a coy dog begging for such a tasty reward.
"It crossed my mind..." He said rather truthfully without much thought. "I protect what is must valuable to me - this graveyard. So of course when anyone walks near my home it makes for quick judgement if I need to drive them off; welcome, or well....take care of business." The stallion drew his eyes to her, not breaking contact in a rather thoughtful stare; perhaps a little unnerving coming from dark eyes behind a skull mask. "Simple is not always the most desirable solution. I have an eye for beauty; which is not shared by many in my time here. What better way to keep such a beautiful thing for eternity than to nestle it within the earth's loving embrace." His tone changed to almost an affectionate one int he way that he spoke....the stallion was always such an emotional mess when it came to talking about his most favorite thing...
"Ah, but there you are mistaken...partly, Claudette." Deathbringer looked off to the direction of his graveyard as he spoke. "That is not my real name. The Kawanii tribe which used to live not too far away called me such for a long time. Since they were so close when the other animals spoke of death I couldn't stay away. I may have taken one or two of the bodies back here for safe keeping. They translated from a medicine woman who had spoken to this crow...Deathbringer...it just kind of stuck." The stallion shrugged his shoulders and looked back. "I don't remember my real name, my sister might remember; but I haven't seen her in a long, long time...since I moved into this graveyard." Such a shame, his beautiful, dark sister. "I guess its true though, while I am not active in this bringing death nonsense...I used to show up only when the dead was present and only occasionally may have lost my composure to warrant that name. ."
Well what did you know, she had a fascination with him. That was certianly new. " Really now....well see, there is yet another reason I didn't just off you. You're more than just a pretty face, and although I love the quiet of the graveyard - a little lively conversation wont hurt." Clearing his throat he turned around and headed the few steps to the stag. "I wanted you because what better way to secure a flutter....with a flutter. I know even though you are mixed blood, same species have a habit of being naturally drawn to one another....with the ability to shrink this makes it more of a challenge for me....plus the fact I do not leave my graveyard." Perhaps a little scarred since the last time he left graverobbers had wreaked some of his beds...in his rage he might have added a few more before he calmed down enough.
"Oh, I do not back out on a promise Claudette. Not ever." Quite serious, he leaned down and grabbed the stag by his impressive antlers with his teeth; hoisting his head up as he flashed her a glance and a muttered tone thanks to his actions. "I will show you, come with me." He said plainly, still understandable as he dragged the stag quite easily through the stone gate; heading into the depths of his graveyard.
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Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 3:56 pm
Claudette nodded thoughtfully, curiosity sated for the moment. She wasn't offended he had considered killing her, she had wandered into his home unannounced and covered in blood. Perhaps killing the stag had saved her life this night, if Deathbringer had not had something else to draw his eye, he may have decided to keep her for his collection after all. She fluttered her wings involuntarily.
The mare listened to his story in respectful silence, "Does it make you sad?" she inquired, her eyes widening slightly after he finished, "To have lost your true name?" So Deathbringer had a sister, it was strange to think of the stallion behind the bone mask having a family, having a childhood. She tried to imagine Deathbringer as a foal, frolicking with a faceless sister as she had with her own siblings not all that long ago. He had an aura of agelessness about him, it was difficult for her to picture. "I have a sister too, and a brother." Claudette revealed nonchalantly as the stallion led the way into the graveyard, impressed and a little intimidated by how effortlessly he dragged the stag along with him, she knew from experience is was heavy. She minced along behind him a little awkwardly, unsure if it was impolite for her not to help him carry the body. In the end she decided it might be more impolite to handle what was now his property without being requested to. Her great grandfather was quite firm about such proprieties.
Claudette ducked her head a little, peering up at him through her eyelashes shyly, no one had ever called her 'pretty' before, even in passing.
"I suppose I never thought of it that way, I know my grandmother uses her appearance as a weapon to lure in prey but I never thought of doing the same...." Not that she would be killing anyone, she reassured the guilty part of herself that cringed away from casually discussing murder, just body snatching. It was probably still a deplorable act in Laertes' eyes, but she thought she could live with it. Idly, Claudette wondered what her mother would think of this entire deal, Belle was much more understanding about the darker sides of the soul, and didn't tend to be squeamish, however, this was unfamiliar territory.
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Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 4:45 pm
Pausing only a moment in his step to look back at the smaller mare as she asked a most peculiar question...Deathbringer realized he wasn't quite prepared to answer a question quite like that. To lose his name wasn't something he dwelled on; he supposed once he had something to call himself, an alternate version....he'd just accepted it. The only family he could remember was his sister in his mind's eye...every detail, right down to the shadow spirits which clung to her body. Much of their childhood had been blurred in his mind...however one thing always stuck out. The first heartbreak he'd ever felt.
"The loss of my name doesn't necessarily make me sad. Its only a word, a calling. Not seeing my sister....that makes me sad." He revealed, pain evident on his tone that if she was paying attention. "A part of her is terrified of me and my world. The other is not. I'm not sure if any progress has been made with her, but I can't leave to find out - my only hope is if she comes here one day." He murmured with the antler still in his mouth, shaking his head gently before moving on. "Are your siblings like you? " Of course, he was prying at what he was currently dragging through his graveyard; a murderous side.
Once they reached the location there was a line of three graves dug up quite deep, rounding one of the holes and gently resting the stag's head down on the ground beside the first open grave. "There are many ways to meet one's end if you think about it. I don't think there is really any easier, or more morally clean way to do it aside from the two categories of accidental or intentional. Death is death...in my eyes. Perhaps it was fate...or one's time in the grand design of life. Killing isn't my high...which might be the case of your grandmother. I enjoy catering to whats left behind." Very carefully he pushed the corpse into the ground; watching as it landed neatly at the bottom in almost a curled sense; head bowed into his chest as in Deathbringers mind he was now perfect, one with the earth. "I wouldn't label it compassion....a death is a death. Like this one, over here." He stepped back to Claudette, standing close at her side as he motioned to a smaller grave with the soil freshly turned. "This was a filly I found just outside the graveyard. Could only have been a few weeks old. There was no signs of attack so she must have died from something...and her family left the body to rot." His eyes trained on the mound, the image of her small face appearing in his mind...it was a morbid talent to recall minute and near photographic images of each body he'd put into the graveyard. "All they took of her was the pain in their heart....and left the rest to be devoured, ripped apart; gutted by maggots and leave nothing but some bones to eventually be dust in the wind. Now...this little princess has a place to rest, nestled in the earth's warm embrace for all time. The last image she will have left with this world is mine...of a still little body still in pristine condition. What happens under the soil is that of the earth's....but instead of being exposed to death's abuse as but a hunk of rotting flesh she is safe; dignified; and her final moments are now mine for eternity."
Turning his head he looked rather intently to Claudette; ever serious - even in his rather unnerving topic. "That is the draw....the reason and what I do. A body is a body to many, but not to me. It is important where we rest into the afterlife; and when I die someday there will probably be no one to offer the same treatment for what I do....but it is a fact of my work."
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Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 9:29 am
"I'm sorry Deathbringer, I can't imagine what that would be like." Her tone was warm and compassionate rather than pitying, she would not want sympathy in his place. "Its good that a part of her can understand you at least, everyone needs someone who can accept them as they are, even if they can't do it all the time. I'm sure she loves you, and will find you when she's ready."
She glanced sidelong at the stallion, a somewhat droll smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "To some extent. My brother, Saxon, and I were raised by our mother. I think he feels some of the same urges as I do, at least he used to. My sister Desdemona... She went with our father, a Fluttercorn. If she craves blood the way I do she has never expressed it to me.... And I haven't the courage to ask." Claudette glanced down at her hooves, she had never been as close to her sister as she might have wished, it felt like they came from different worlds. She wished she could be as good of a daughter to Laertes as Desdemona was, but she feared if she revealed her true self, her father would despise her. Her sister as well. "My mother kills out of necessity and craving, my grandmother out of impulse and bloodlust, I kill.... For pleasure." She winced, "It is a compulsion, not uncontrollable but strong. It is not their death I crave, simply their blood... Rather like an unorthodox sweet tooth."
Claudette stopped beside a soft mound of overturned soil and watched as her companion selected a grave for their mutual friend. Her large eyes scrutinizing the dark open maw in the earth that waited to swallow the body up with slight trepidation. She had never heard of burying a corpse before. Still she listened as Deathbringer related the story of the young filly, her expression solemn at the thought of such a young life extinguished. She imagined what must happen to her kills when she left them, picked apart and devoured by wild beasts, decomposing openly for anyone who happened by to see, it felt disrespectful... She thought she saw what the stallion meant, the dead deserved consideration, to be allowed to decay in privacy. "It sounds almost poetic when you put it that way... As much as the thought of being entombed so deeply beneath the surface feels unnerving to me, I think if I should die, I would want to be remembered as I lived. Not with my flesh sloughing off and creatures tearing pieces off of me. This seems much more peaceful."
She turned to face him, her long raven plait swaying with the smooth movement. Her eyes glowed like twin garnets despite the darkness, the white of her coat seemed infused with a soft luminescence that faded into swirling shadow where her legs blended in with the creeping gloom. "What brought you to this place? Drew you to this graveyard and began all of this? If I'm not being too forward that is" She wondered aloud, feeling a sudden rush of shyness after the words passed her lips. Letting out a small breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, Claudette rolled her shoulders a bit and forced herself to relax as she awaited Deathbringer's reply.
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 9:51 pm
Turning his sights back to her, he could see the emotional investment even in her tone...while the situation often played in his head of could have been's and how things could be different. "It is what it is, Claudette. She may never come, she may be here soon. Often we can not change others...only ourselves. The fact that there is love somewhere in her is all I need. My love for her is a fire unable to die." It was true, he loved her nearly on par with his graveyard and that was something to say. His hope would not die, not for a long, long time that she would visit him again someday.
As he listened to her story of his family he was intrigued, although it seemed she knew little of her siblings. "Why not?" He inquired, courage seemed to be the nill point of the matter - yet that could have been his forward and abrupt way of thinking. "They are your siblings, why is it that you hide from those of the same blood?" She said it herself, her lineage held some of the 'dark' traits society deemed, so what would be the problem in inquiring? Even as she winced the stallion's brows dropped to a frown, becoming a little irked to say the least. "Why do you do that? Belittle who you are." What a strange notion, if he did say so himself, he was never secretive about his passions, or darkness. Deathbringer knew he was not evil, but many would see him as such. However he cared little of what they thought - if they didn't like it they could see how it would work to tell it to his face or leave. "For Pleasure, need, unknowing....there is no difference; the end result is the same. If there are those out there who disapprove, so what? They simply wont have the pleasure of knowing you. As for family....I would pity your father and sister if they wrote away a relationship with you just because of a quirk. It would be one they would regret in their life."
Yet....all that aside, he needed to get something in the clear. "However...when you are here you are in better company. I will not have someone put any shame on the truth. The truth for you...is you can kill...and you enjoy blood. My level of caring is none...although there is intrigue." The darkness wasn't for the weak, and he could feel she wasn't - so he didn't want to see her drawing back around him.
Nodding his head he smiled, despite being hidden by his mask. "Well I'm glad you are able to see my reason." In truth, he was. There were little souls out there who could see the beauty he did, and could only get as far as the dead bodies before being completely engulfed in nerves. "I can see why the two legged prefer this method and build such elaborate gardens as this. Its a beautiful notion."
"Ah....well that is a bit of a story in itself." Forward? No...he enjoyed her forthness, better than when she was unsure. As he was the stallion was rather abrupt and forward so it was more in his nature to get to the point. He enjoyed this about her, and it seemed their little communications were wasting no time. "I followed a skinwalker once while I was wandering, I saw it was hunting and killed another. It was gory, but I was fascinated...never having seen a kill in action before. I followed for a while as it dragged its prey past the cursed graveyard...got a little too close before one came after me. I ran like no one's business and luckily I was still in my younger days and got away....but I lost him in this graveyard...the smell of death thwarted my smell and the skinwalker left. I saw how the kawani buried their dead after a few days here....carved stones and erected crosses....it was fascinating. It was a piece of paradise and I was done wandering...so I never left; It got a little duller once the Kawani moved, but being so close to the cursed graveyard isn't for everyone...my scent has become nearly one with the dead here that I do undetected for any hungry predator. My satchel helps too..." Perhaps carrying rotting flesh didn't help...but better a smelly stallion than a dead one.
"Now, its my turn to be forward." He smirked, tilting his head as he watched her curiously from behind his mask. "For someone so against their own darkness, what makes you so curious about mine? Surely someone weary of their own capabilities should have reservation about someone who is asking you to kill again? Not that I don't mind... just merely a passing thought in my mind..." Oh...how he was ready to hear her reasoning - if she had one at all.
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 11:47 am
Claudette admired the strength evident in his words and she hoped his sister would find it in herself to seek Deathbringer out. His security in himself and his passions even when it meant being feared by one he obviously loved dearly was moving. She had always admired strength of character, perhaps embracing her darker impulses rather than constantly trying to evade them was that first pivotal step down the path towards finding more confidence and self possession.
"I think I've spent most of my life until this point trying to change myself into someone my father could look at with pride. My parents split up because of my mother's bloodlust, he disapproved and she couldn't be anything other than what she was. I'm afraid if I stop trying to be as virtuous and good as he expects me to be, he will leave me too and I will be left without father or sister... And yet the more I try to conform to his morals, the less control I have over my own darkness and the less I like myself." She marveled at the blunt logic in his arguments, his words washed over her and seemed to wake up a part of her brain that had been shoved to the side since foal hood. Why should she hide? Her mother loved her, her mother's family loved her as well. She loved her family unconditionally, perhaps her father would look at his daughter with more acceptance than his lover. She thought it was time she found out. Deathbringer wouldn't always be there to help her hide the evidence, a small smile played across her face, still, Claudette knew she would visit again anyways, she owed him for his efforts and somewhat surprisingly, she simply wanted to see him again. She enjoyed the openness in their conversations.
She received this story with wide eyed fascination, a skinwalker! She hadn't realized how close they must be to the cursed graveyard. She had never seen one of the demonic creatures herself but she had heard of them from relatives when she was young, scary stories before bed that had sent delightful shivers down her spine when she was safely nestled between mother and brother in the herd's sanctuary. Out here, one her own surrounded by countless bodies tucked beneath the earth, the shiver that electrified her nerves was significantly less enjoyable. Still, she immediately noticed what the stallion meant, the odor of decay was strong and pervading in the cemetery. It would easily mask any other scent in the area. Skinwalkers liked their meat fresh, they weren't likely to track the scent of something that had clearly been dead for a while. Her gaze flicked to the satchel at his side, "I had noticed that before, do you use it to help with the burials?"
She felt his steady scrutiny through the openings in the mask and nodded, she didn't mind his questions. "Its difficult to explain. I love my family, for all their strengths and faults and violence. It is simply their nature, they are predators. On one side I was raised to embrace that primal darkness, on the other I was taught to reject it. My mother shielded my brother and I from much of our family's violence when we were growing up, I'm not entirely sure why, I suppose she thought it would be for the best. I never saw them hunt or kill, so even as I was taught in part to accept these things about myself their actions made it feel mysterious and shameful rather than a part of our lives. Add that to my father's lessons about what was good and moral.... It lead to a very confusing upbringing."
"...But you. You just are. No hiding, no shame, no confusion. I like that about you. I think I would like that for myself as well, you make me think that I've been going about this the wrong way. I'll admit I have some reservations, but I think one way or another I will know myself better after all of this, somehow it seems as if I have you to thank for that." She shrugged, feeling flustered sure her cheeks must be blazing judging by the heat in her face. She knew she must be leaving soon, Desdemona and Laertes would begin to look for her before long and she didn't want to worry them. She would leave her father and sister in the morning to begin her search but she felt a strange regret at the thought of leaving this place and this stallion.
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Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 8:16 pm
The stallion remained pensive and still as he listened to her open up about her family in more depth. As far as he could remember his family didn't have problems per say - they were dark; that was all there was to it. The balance was set into the other side of the spectrum, no battles between good or 'evil'. "You may be left without a Father or Sister...but they will live with a daughter who is not even herself. What good is a false facade - when you are trying to prove yourself to them as someone you're not?" Flicking his ears to the side as he heard some sounds far off...he dismissed it as nothing - but he was always alert. "You cannot illuminate the night with a single light, nor can you darken the day with a shadow..." She was getting it, slowly, as he could see the revelation in her eyes. While he was indeed glad that she was slowly coming around from her self reservations...Deathbringer wondered momentarily why he was so invested on changing her view. He'd already gotten what he wanted, didn't he?
Maybe he should charge extra for this little self esteem boost chat.
No matter, his eyes fell down to his satchel with a deep rumbling chuckle. "Not quite...This is full of miscellaneous things...stuff which didn't have a body. Skins, hunks of flesh and the sorts..." He trailed off before turning his body a little so it wasn't in plain sight. "Its not for the faint of heart...and the smell when its open is pungent for those unaccustomed to it." The stallion also didn't want her to lose what might have been left over for her supper.
Heaving a gentle sigh, he could feel the heat begin to rise in the temperature around him. Daybreak was approaching, and soon it would be time for him to slumber amongst the hottest hours of the day. Where had the time gone? Watching the mare he wondered if he lost track because of her company; while it was rare for him to have visitors...if was even rarer for it to last this long.
"You will find your way. You are not as hesitant as when you first arrived - your muscles have even relaxed." Such little things he'd pick up, but that was his scrutiny - it was the details that he excelled in. This of course meant he more than saw her blush, in fact it brought out a bit of mischievous nature in him. "To be anyone but me would be a menial life, besides, if I wasn't exactly how I am I wouldn't have the same effect to bring a blush to even your pretty face." Snickering, he stepped closer and tilted his head back so the mask slipped back and exposed his dark face partially covered by messy bold white bangs. Leaning down he 'accidentally' brushed his cheek against hers so he could whisper in her ear. "Besides, you're fortunate I don't charge for motivational conversation."
None the less; the birds from beyond the graveyard began to chirp - drawing his attention away from the mare as he stepped back, looking to the depths of the graveyard. "Morning approaches...You best be going." It was true - that flutter corpse wasn't going to waltz into the graveyard for her. Unless it was a zombie...in which he'd have one hell of a fit. "I will be here, whenever you return with your debt." He smirked, dipping his head so his mask slipped back on his face, awaiting her reaction and to see if she would head off....doubting she would be crazy enough to want to spend more time here. It wouldn't be the first crazy notion though...but it just didn't seem her style.
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