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 Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 1:53 pm
He wasn't a hero and he'd always prided himself on being a master strategist... that generally implied that he was intelligent and unlikely to make ridiculous decisions. Alas, it appeared that when it came to duty, and perhaps some level of desperation, 'ridiculous' merely meant that you took a gamble. If he'd had his way he would have had longer to recover, longer to regain his strength and recondition the wounded limbs...alas, this was not the case.
She'd sent word late in the night, interrupting the much needed rest he had been instructed to take by the fluttercorn who had recently come into his company. Alas, Lys's missive had been absolutely crystal clear and she had ensured that her messenger indicated the gravity of the situation...
Syntyche was on the move.
Worse?
She was getting braver and Lys had indicated that there was a high probability that she would attack the next day. She couldn't say when, where, who or how, but she knew that it would happen. Suffice it to say that Tempest had been given no time and it had been with a curt nod to the messenger that he had risen to his hooves and galloped back to her last known location. He could only assume that Linaha would be safe for the time being and he trusted that eventually she would return home on her own - the Purewalker hadn't followed them so she had gone somewhere else.
...Someone else was going to get hurt.
Thus he had disappeared in the night without even a whisper of farewell with no guarantee that he would return.
Fortunately he did return and he was decidedly worse for wear. While he hadn't received any additional wounds and nor had he come into direct combat with the purewalker, the strain of the gallop had taken its toll and the last of his reserves had been wasted. He was absolutely exhausted and every fibre of his being shrieked in protest at his apparent stupidity.
As he returned to where he had lain, the sun once again casting its evening shadow upon the trees, he could do no more than utter a few tame curses followed swiftly by the occasional, hobbled limp.
"Ow, ow, ow..." he murmured with each heavy step...
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Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 3:13 pm
Lina had felt that she was in good shape, and well-used to a relatively fast pace when traveling, but these notions were quickly driven from her head after a very short time of travelling with Tempest. Even injured he set a very grueling pace that she was hard-pressed to keep up with. But keep up she did, and though it was difficult, Lina refused to complain. She would not show weakness.
Therefore she was grateful when they found a place he deemed safe enough to stop and rest. It would give them both a chance to recuperate. She would get the chance to recover her energy, and his wounds would have an opportunity to heal somewhat. She slept deeply that night. Deeply enough that she didn't notice the messenger. Didn't notice it when he left.
She woke slowly luxuriating in the leisure to take her time, and not just jolt to awareness. She had woken up and just started to look around -and get a little nervous when she didn't see her protector nearby.
She started to get upset when she heard the rustling underbrush and the low 'ow,ow,ow.' Though the sound was distressing in a way, it was also amusing. So, the big, strong stallion could feel pain. And show it. It was almost amusing. At least when it wasn't being caused by her. Then the sound registered. He was still injured, did he do anything to aggravate his existing injuries. Did he get any worse injuries? How? Where? She was in a fine tizzy when he came into view.
Puffing up in her anger to appear larger than she actually was, she fluttered over to Tempest to see what was wrong with him now and how she could help him. 'How did THIS happen? Are you stupid? I told you to take it easy, unless you actually wanted these injuries to be permanent' She fluttered about him and looked the wounds over. Thankfully there were no new ones that she could see. 'Really.' She grumbled and fussed.
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Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 4:09 am
Shock was the first emotion to register in his mind as he realised that the petite female was still where he'd left her. Admittedly he hadn't been gone for any major length of time but she'd still had plenty of opportunities to make a swift exit. He wouldn't have blamed her either, particularly when she had been so bent on returning to her family. She had quite the distance to travel and he had delayed her in some respects - he would have apologised, had he not then be swept away by another emotion as the tiny creature puffed out her cheeks and attempted to appear larger than she truly was.
He was bemused, enough for his eyes to glint as she provided her brief and succinct lecture regarding both his stupidity and the state of his existing wounds. However it was when she huffed her final 'really' that his lips cracked into a smile, fangs momentarily bared as he choked back a bubble of laughter. He'd never had company before, most of his acquaintances passed on their messages and went about their own business; as such it was a somewhat foreign experience to be told off for his condition.
...That was usually his business.
"I went for a run," he replied mildly, failing to elaborate as to the reason immediately. "A very fast one, to be quite honest I would probably refer to it more as an obstacle course than a simple run," he mused and then shook his head. Lifting his aching leg, he rested the rest of his weight on his more healthy hind limb and lifted a brow.
"There was even a cat at the end, a big one. Had I not intervened it would have devoured the unfortunate Cerynei for good," he finished, making light of the situation. When he was satisfied with his vague response, he hobbled passed the mare once again and glanced over his shoulder with a small snort.
"You sound like my mother when you do that."
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Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 7:39 pm
Sarcasm wasn't her common state, but to have him so blatantly just try to brush her off with an excuse that wouldn't fool even a youngling...it was more than a little insulting. 'Honestly, if you don't want to tell me where you were or what happened, you don't have to but don't treat me like some child or weak minded imbecile.'
She sighed as she looked him over. 'The good news is, you only opened a few of the wounds, they should be fine, and there are no new injuries. These will heal well, as long as you don't overdo it.' She fluttered about anxiously, grateful she was able to get a full night's sleep to replenish her energy stores. 'If you would just hold still I'll do what I can.' She was relieved that there were no muscle tears or worse to deal with this time, and she wouldn't have to poke and prod, causing any unnecessary pain. And it wouldn't take too much energy, this time. It wouldn't take enough out of her to cause her to slow down and cause them any delay.
She glimpsed up just in time to see a smile come and go in the blink of an eye, almost fast enough that she wasn't sure if she saw it or not.'I was right. You do look better when you smile.' She shuddered at the mention of a 'cat' still anxious and nervous after her run in with the creature. 'It is fortunate that you were around to help the cerynei. But still you ought to be more careful with your health. What would happen if you had overestimated yourself while trying to save someone and your strength failed. Where would that leave them?' The …and where would it leave me was left unspoken but still present and understood.
'I'm not sure it's a good thing to remind you of your mother, but perhaps you would listen to her better than you do to me. After all she is blood and me, I'm just a stranger you happened to rescue…' She tossed her mane before continuing. 'Just what is your family like any way? Your parents must be pretty remarkable ….'
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Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:38 am
Linaiha did not appear to appreciate his sense of humour in those moments, dismissing his description of his whereabouts with obvious exasperation. Ironically, he hadn't even been lying! What he had described was indeed what had happened, regardless of how far-fetched or ridiculous he had made it seem. It was for this reason that he gave her a very level stare as she bustled about and saw to his re-opened wounds, thankful to Divinity that she was not tearing him to shreds as she had done the previous time.
"I did tell you where I was and what happened," he supplied, keeping his amusement in check. Every now and then he would move a limb, lift it or tense it according to her needs. Fortunately for Linaiha he was an exceptional good patient when he needed to be and he knew how to keep still. He fell silent for a short while, savouring the moments in which the sharper clips of pain became dull thumps and aches - she may not have been pureblood, but her abilities were still highly useful.
"As for the Cerynei, regardless of my fate I suspect she managed to get a suitable head start to stay safe," he pointed out. Nevertheless he did take Linaiha's point to heart; he'd already reminded himself that he was in no condition to fight properly, he may not admit it out loud but he knew he had been playing with fire and fate.
"I don't listen to my mother very often either," he confessed, pursing his lips as he recalled a number of the disagreements he'd had with his parents (namely his father) in regards to his faith and methodology. His mother had always been suitably more understanding, respecting his views even if she didn't agree with them...but his father? Not so much.
"But if you are genuinely curious I suppose that my family would be large, in every sense of the word," he tilted his head to the side, gracing her with another small smile. "Tall, broad, generally fierce-some and reasonably numerous," he mused, taking into account who he was related to and what each of them was like.
"My mother is a normal mare, my father is a cursed beast; they love each other dearly. I have five brothers and one sister who is not the strongest of individuals and needs constant medical supervision. My uncle is a doctor...a unicorn with considerable strength -" he paused and tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing just a touch as he recalled the patriarchs of his family lines, one adopted, the other by blood.
"My adoptive grandfather guards the rivers of time and my blood-grandfather is a reformed sadist and murderer," he gave himself a curt nod. He may not have mentioned his nieces and nephews, but for the most part they had experienced quiet lives and were not 'of note' in quite the same way as his own generation, and those before him, were.
"We have a great deal of history flowing through our veins, as a whole I am sure we are quite interesting to regard, but as individuals some of us are bound to be unremarkable."
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Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 4:55 pm
Throughout the course of traveling with Tempest, Linaiha had come to learn and realize that he was a very blunt stallion, honest almost to a fault, so she had no doubt that what he said was true, but to refer to blood, to family, as monsters and murderers and sadists… Well, perhaps he was over-exaggerating things.
No one so stalwart and upright could have such shady characters in their background… could they? She shivered slightly in apprehension. Or perhaps he could. She didn't know the stallion very well after all. And he could be far from the knight she had taken him as. There was that rather intimidating snarl that seemed to be an almost default expression… But before her imagination could run wild and come up with more and more gruesome scenarios, each one ending with her death, she caught his smile. She wasn't wrong about him, she couldn't be. Surely it wasn't as bad as he had been making his family out to be.
She took a deep breath.'Wow. …But, it must be difficult sometimes to be part of such an illustrious lineage.' She paused briefly, wondering if she should reciprocate and divulge some information about herself.
'My family is somewhat different than yours…. I was raised by my nena and auntie. My father abandoned mom, my brother, and me and we were attacked. My mom and brother were killed. I was all alone until they found me. At least that's what they always taught me. But after finding my father… The story doesn't seem right. There was more to it than that, but nobody tells me the truth about anything. The only thing I know for certain is that both my mom and brother were killed…'
She got excited when she heard him mention siblings. She had wished, more often than not, that her own brother had survived. She missed that bond, even though she'd never had it. 'You have siblings? That must be fantastic. What are they like? Are you close?'
'I'm sorry,' She sobered slightly. She shouldn't pry. It wasn't polite. 'You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's just a way of passing the time. You really shouldn't be travelling just yet, and this is as safe a place as we've found…'
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Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 2:08 pm
"It has its advantages," Tempest agreed, though his tone was unusually hesitant as he considered her question. While he loved his family dearly, he came into frequent disagreement with them and more often than not he spent any visits home in the middle of an argument. If it wasn't his father, it was one of his brothers, none of them could simply settle and let him pursue his duties while they pursued their own. He had long since grown deaf to the protests, but he was always left with a sense of exasperation and the occasional lack of motivation to return home simply because he couldn't be bothered to listen to any more of the nonsense.
...Or what he perceived to be nonsense at least.
"There are a lot of rules, traditions and expectations," he said at last and shook his head. "Some do not necessarily fit my agenda and it can cause some disagreements," he explained. He elected not to elaborate, preferring to keep the details of his disagreements to himself. A charming as the small mare might be she was not a part of his family and he wouldn't be providing her with any secrets regarding them! Granted, they weren't important secrets but it was for the best that few knew of the internal conflicts.
"As to whether or not I am close to my siblings," he pursed his lips and then nodded. "I would say that I am closest to my sister, but I love them all dearly."
Nevertheless, rather than pry for further details she elected to return the favour and granted him a brief insight into her own family life. Suffice it to say that it was not what the cream stallion had been anticipating and he had to resist the urge to gape somewhat. By the sounds of it, the mare had endured quite a bit and it had culminated in the death of nearly all of her family. However what had been surprise soon turned into a form of disapproval, predominantly due to the fact that those who knew the truth would not speak honestly.
"Might I ask why they have elected not to tell you the full story?" he asked, latching on to the topic of conversation as a distraction from his aching muscles. "Is this an issue of them regarding you as weak, or simply that you do not deserve to know?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 12:39 pm
She did not understand the dynamics of a close-knit family. Did not understand the way they could get on ones' nerves and how one could be beyond frustrated or disgusted with their family but still love them dearly. All she could tell from his tone of voice was he was exasperated, and so she could only guess that it had to do with her. But then he answered about his sister and there was affection there, so she was a little confused. Was he or wasn't he frustrated or annoyed with her. She just couldn't tell. And it caused her to feel anxious, and she curled in on herself.
She cringed at his question. It wasn't something she hadn't heard before. She had often been derided. Too weak. Too fragile. Not able to handle to truth. She had been able to handle it, when it came from others she really didn't even care about. But for some reason, when he asked … when he made the insinuations, it hurt.
'Sometimes, when they were trying to be kind, they said they were trying to protect me. That they cared,'She ducked her head and tried to hide her eyes, not wanting to show any weakness. 'But truly, it was because I am not one of them. I might share a part of their blood, but I was tainted. I was nothing to them but a tool to be used. Or perhaps a pet. Not someone who deserved to know the truth.' She took a deep breath. ' Anyways, we're almost back to my home, and provided you take care and don't overexert yourself you should be… fine. I think I can make it the rest of the way on my own. '
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Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 10:47 am
He had soured the mood - he certainly had a knack for that and he no doubt suspected that this was why Pom and Catalyst were the only individuals who tolerated him for long periods of time. For Pom, his gruff demeanour was simply comical and the little bird loved to jest about it, but for Catalyst... her ability to remain indifferent to nearly every emotion prevented her from feeling offence. While her state of mind was unfortunate in social situations where she strove to be more 'normal', it at least enabled her to cope with Tempest every time he shot himself in the foot. Granted, he wasn't entirely too certain of what he had done, but he could safely assume it probably had something to do with asking for further details about her family...
Ah, but upon the description of their view of her, he was almost certain.
His lips parted and then he promptly pressed them together again in a thin line. He wasn't entirely aware of what he should have said, whether or not he should have apologised, or if there was anything else he could have done to improve the situation. He was not a stallion who provided pity and even more important, he didn't think that Lina was the type to accept pity. Instead, he did the only thing he could do and offered an apologetic nod before offering up a tidbit of information that may not necessarily have brought comfort to her, but at the very least, might show she wasn't alone.
"My father suffered a fate similar, though perhaps a more unfortunate one," he murmured and shook his head. "One of impure blood, tainted - in his mother's herd he was a monster and they shackled him, built him up to become a weapon." he fell silent and then released another of his heavy sighs. "Eventually his mother had enough, broke rank and set him free, but he was never privy to the details surrounding certain aspects of his life either..."
He paused.
"At least not until he went back as an adult and they had no choice but to grant him the information he sought." he tilted his head to the side and smiled wryly. "He is not one to be crossed and his demeanour says as much too, but I suspect you would not be capable of such intimidation," he mused. Another pause and then he cast another look to Lina, particularly when she made reference to her home and effectively dismissed him - ah, but that rather put him in his place didn't it? Strange how it gave him a twinge of irritation.
"I see," he murmured and then shook his head. "I apologise but I would prefer to see you directly to your home rather than take for granted any security you might have in place, after that I will leave you be," he stated, indicating that she was stuck for him for a little longer at least. "Rest assured I will not intrude any longer than that, I simply wish to make sure you are returned safely to your family."
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Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 11:09 am
It was tempting to just leave on go off on her own, but it wasn't the most intelligent of ideas. But it was one option. She held it in reserve, for if his company became to unbearable, or if she got over the fear she'd felt since the attack. She hated that the fear was controlling her so, but she did have to admit she preferred the safety Tempest's company offered to the uncertainty of travelling alone.
As Tempest offered up the tidbit about his father, it occurred to Lina that perhaps the misunderstandings that seemed to plague them were not maliciously meant. They could be the result of their very different upbringings and a cultural gap she seemed to experience dealing with almost all the soquili she met since arriving in the Kawani lands. Taken in this light, she felt bad about her short temper, hasty judgment and snappy remarks. Even if it seemed like he had insulted her, hadn't she done the same? Perhaps it was time to start over, to begin again with a clean slate and open minds... at least she would attempt to keep an open mind, she didn't know about him.
She wanted to bristle when he remarked offhand that she wasn't likely to be able to pull off intimidating. Her kneejerk reaction was that he was probably saying that because she was a flutter or smaller than average or female. Not that any of those individually could preclude being intimidating. But altogether, and in her case, she couldn't deny the truth of the observation. She just couldn't pull it off. Not that she ever desired to be seen that way. But still to be dismissed so casually... it was disheartening.
She decided it was time to offer an olive branch. And while she hated to seem weak or fragile, she would put aside her pride for this. To clear the air between them, so to speak. But she refused to do so by talking to the back of his head. 'Perhaps... if it isn't too much trouble....' She tossed her head. She wasn't good at apologizing, and didn't know what to say to get her thoughts across. So she just decided to go with blunt.
' Look. Neither of us is good at these social situations, right? So maybe we could just start over.'
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Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2013 8:25 am
He paused at her words, mid-step of course, and after a second of delay he turned round as well. In those moments he was sure his mother would have been cheering at the sudden display of manners, or would it have been 'thoughtfulness' in this case? He had no time to dwell on this for the moment and instead he fixed his darkened gaze on the petite female, forcing his expression to remain passive. Suffice it to say that when most individuals did this his eyebrows shot up, as he had already offended her more than once in the space of a short walk, he suspected that wouldn't have helped matters.
Alas, when she mentioned rather bluntly that he was bad at social encounters he did have the decency to look sheepish for a second or two. Fortunately he soon recovered, his lips pursing as he considered what she had said. 'Starting' over seemed to imply that she was doing what his sister would occasionally do, that forget-everything-I-just-said kind of moment; admittedly she tended to do it when embarrassed but he supposed this counted for the same thing?
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied blandly and shook his head. "I am exceptionally good at social encounters, my mother has made frequent observations about my appalling manners," he pointed out. It was clearly a joke, though a dead pan one, and then he hazarded a wry smile. Outside of his family she had been the first to point out how he acted and how awkward it could be, despite her small and intimidating stature, she was worthy of his respect...and frankly if she needed to be scary she could summon him by proxy, he could give her that much.
A witch-like fey, capable of conjuring demons!
"But if you would like to start again then I am open to that," he added. "I will even start with a less abrupt introduction, less teeth and growling, everything," he offered. "Perhaps that would suit?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 1:21 pm
As she didn't know what was going on in the stallions mind there was nothing she could do but wait with bated breath for his response. Hoping that she hadn't offended him too greatly or made too much a fool of herself....again. And there was no expression on his face to tell whether or not she made a mistake, or how he felt. She winced. She must seem like such a flighty airhead. And normally while the opinions others held didn't bother her, there was a small part of herself that wanted the gruff stallion's approval... though she would die before admitting it to anyone but herself.
Thankfully she didn't have to wait too long. Though she wasn't sure at first if his dead-pan delivery was serious or not - and she couldn't help the second wince she had made yet another faux pas, how mortifying- by the end she realized that it was just his dry sense of humor, and was relieved. Perhaps, given time she could get used to his sense of humor, and even grow fond of it.
'I don't think it's necessary to start over from the very beginning. I was fine with the snarling and teeth, it's just... all the misunderstandings that came after.' She shuddered at the thought of their meeting. The ripping pain, blacking out, the demon... no, it was better that that got forgotten as quickly as possible. ' We can start with a clean slate from here on out.'
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 4:42 pm
Her remarks puzzled him for a few moments - from what he could recall he had been all teeth and snarling from the very first moment she had seen him. It came with the territory; it wasn't as if he could have said "Sorry old girl, but would you mind terribly if you just shuffled on. She doesn't much want to be eaten!" to the Skinwalker, so he had to surmise that he had done something at some point that she deemed to be a misunderstanding. In a manner of speaking he assumed that he owed the mare an apology, but as she was going to need to be more specific about which instance it was...
He opened his mouth, shut it again, then opened his mouth once more - eventually he thought better of what he was going to say and merely shook his head. He had never really 'understood' females and one who had just endured a trauma probably wasn't the best one to start learning from. No doubt it made sense in her head, even if he was utterly lost as to which point she had selected as that of misunderstanding.
"Right," he said at last, agreeably of course, and gave a small nod. He then glanced from the mare to the beaten trails that lay ahead of them and raised both brows expectantly. It would have been safe to assume that the mare would not be allowed to escort herself home, he would stick to his word of leaving when she was at a suitable range to home and then he would leave her be.
...Chivalry and all that.
Or more accurately, his mother would have his head if he didn't do it - frankly, everyone in his family would.
"Well then, shall we keep going? We shouldn't cause your family concern, no?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 12:45 pm
Linaiha was ready, and more than ready to return home. Or at least the glen where her father lived. It wasn't really home to her, at least, she was not yet comfortable calling it that. The whole 'family' thing was still just too new, and they were all still getting used to one another. But she knew she did love her father, quirks and all, and she could eventually grow fond of his mate, though they were rather wary of each other yet. As strange as it was, it was her family. And she wanted to be home.
So she picked up her pace, following fairly close by his side. Eager for the journey to end, though perhaps not so eager to leave the stallion's company.
The fact that at the end of the journey was a safe place, and there would be peace and time and herbs to help her wounds heal were a secondary consideration, but no less important than the first.
She soon started to recognise some of the surrounding trees and there was that bush that, as Bailey had put it, looked something like a mouse. Or was it a fish? Well whatever it was, this meant that she was now entering familiar territory. She was almost home.
'No, we wouldn't want to cause them concern, and I have already been gone longer than I had said. I really... thanks. For coming with me this far.'
They were nearing her family's home, and so it was nearing time to part ways. She didn't want to have her escort come any closer. Not because she didn't trust him, but who knew what her father would say if he happened to be out looking for her and saw her with a strange male? She couldn't bear to even think of the off the wall and completely baseless conclusions he might come up with!
'Anyways, this is near enough. The glen is no more than an hour or so away. I am safe enough to travel from here on my own.' She shifted back and forth on her hooves.'So I guess this is goodbye. Goodbye, thanks and take care.'
Gathering her nerve, she quickly nuzzled him before darting a few steps away. Getting ready to make the last leg of her journey home, by herself.
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Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 1:26 pm
Tempest was still unhappy with the idea of allowing the mare to walk on her own, but this was perhaps more of an instinctual response than a logical one. Fortunately his mind was one capable of distinguishing between the two and with a small bow of his head, he acquiesced to her wishes. While he may not be thrilled that she wished to walk alone, he conceded that this was more appropriate - not only would it grant her much needed confidence, but it would also prevent her parents being spooked by him.
"Of course," he murmured and took a few steps back, allowing the mare to take her leave. He did, of course, elect to watch her until she had disappeared from his view, and it was only then that he spun on his heel and returned in the direction he had come from. He had taken a considerable detour in returning the mare to her home and now he was entirely dependent on his companion's instinct.
It would be up to Catalyst to predict her next location, or he would have to find her trail quickly.
Alas, he could only hope that he had spooked her back in the direction he was headed, lest he would find himself on yet another wild goose chase! Ah, but if only he had been aware of the reprieve is grandfather had given him, he had plenty of time to relocate his prey...
[FIN]
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