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 Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 11:24 am
❥ Legend of the Past
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This is a private RP between The Prince "Kozue" ( Epine De Rose ) & Amaltheia ( Candle Wick Ghost ).
Please do not post without being invited to do so! Thank you.
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 11:43 am
Amaltheia was on a mission. She had offered her services and they had been accepted. She had been asked to do something she was both pleasantly surprised with and delighted to do at the same time. Advising. Educating. Now, ever since she was a foal it was something she was felt she was meant to do and here she was on her way to advise as many people as she could find about the Purewalker problem Tempest and Catalyst was having to deal with.
Since meeting Catalyst she had thought it best to stick to the open fields and near a water source of some sort. She believed it would be best to avoid the forests for the time being since she was alone and the PW, if she came across her, would surely kill her out of spite considering Fetcher had done a great deal of damage to her eye and obviously she wouldn't be pleased about that.
She had taken to following the stream down to an open body of water. Deeper in to the open plain. Other soquili usually went there to quench their first and sometimes in great numbers. If that was the case she could advise quite a few people at the same time having the 'killing two birds with one stone' effect. She stopped by the edge of the water and leaned her head down, taking a few mouthfuls of water whilst she waited for others to appear.
Fetcher was growling, her other plants were growling. Either they were hungry or it meant someone was nearby. Or both and that, was never a good sign.
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 12:01 pm
Years had passed him by since that fated day when the Cerynei homeland had been completely destroyed and in that time his kind had successfully integrated with soquili society. While he had been a presence during the initial arrival, ensuring that all of his kind were safe and secure, they now no longer required him. In fact, it had been many years since they had required anything from him and it was safe to say that Kozue, if anything, was a memory at best. Consequently he had drifted into silence and isolation, no longer the leader he had once been - to any of the younger generations he was nothing of note. He was a Cerynei and a relatively old one at that; he held his head high and unlike those who had now mingled with society...he had no mane.
For all intents and purposes the stallion was unimportant and he liked it that way; creatures left him alone and he was more than content to idle his time away in peace and quiet. He had his routine, a quiet one that often involved contemplation and relaxation, interrupted by periodic trips for food and drink. This morning was of no exception to this particular soquili who sauntered through the long grasses towards his quarry.
...There was a time when he would have bounced, leapt in a way that Cerynei only knew, but that required effort and energy that he simply didn't have as of late.
Yes, it would have been safe to say that the fabled prince was extremely unfit. Then again, he failed to see why it was a requirement given that he rarely kept up appearances and no one bothered him!
Cracking a muscle or two, the stallion continued on his way and though he might have seen Amaltheia, he elected to ignore her, lowering his head to take a sip of water and see to his hunger. Amaltheia might have been nearby but she was a young buck and they always left him be.
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 12:20 pm
Not this one!
Amaltheia wasn't a stranger to anybody and even just to be polite she always greeted others even in passing. This time wasn't going to be any different. Looking off to the side while she drank she spotted the stallion filling his own needs. He was drinking from the water, just as she expected, someone would turn up to the pool if she waited long enough.
She hadn't been expecting someone to come so soon and she smiled to herself at the fact she had been both right to expect a visitor and that it had been an almost immediate blessing. Lifting her head, the remains of the water dripped from her lips and down her chin, eyes solely focusing on the other.Her triffids were being rude, they still growled and cried out at the presence of the other Cerynei. She had to roll her eyes at their moaning. "Shush, you guys. You might scare him away." She mumbled, turning her head to shoot Snappy a glare.
He couldn't see her and the scolding didn't phase him, he simply continued to screech out. She let out a deep sigh and shook her head, her leaves brushing her cheeks as she did. Ignoring Snappy, she turned her head back towards the other Cerynei. He was a handsome fellow in coloration and his antlers were very uniquely shaped. Moving forward, she walked over to him. Stopping a few paces short of his stance as to not completely invade his personal space.
"Hello there!" She greeted, offering him a happy smile filled with the excitement of her mission. "I'm sorry to interrupt you but please can I take a couple of minutes of your time?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 12:33 pm
Really? Really?
He lifted his head, his ears flicking just a touch so that he could scratch them against his antlers. With a clump of grass still in his mouth, he continued to chew it with a bored expression. At first it seemed he had ignored her and then finally the brown stallion turned his head just a touch and slid his gaze towards her. Amber eyes levelled on the peculiar Cerynei and he could only surmise that at some point one of her parents had been adventurous - well, she had plant-life on her and he had seen a few soquili like that.
One glance and he could already tell that she was not as sorry as she claimed, a further assessment and it became abundantly clear that she was one of those meddling types. They tended to ignore him, they often looked at his overweight form and bored expression, then promptly realised he wasn't of any use to them whatsoever. Unsurprisingly, the male Cerynei elected to provide her with the same bored expression that he often reserved for these kind of encounters.
"I have no interest in any religion you might want to provide, I am perfectly comfortable with my weight and I have no interest in purchasing whatever magical herbs you might have at your disposal," he replied. What would have come as a surprise was the rich tone and foreign accent that leapt from his throat, one that seemed wholly out of place in the complacent stallion.
"Consequently if this is what you are aiming to waste my time with then I would advise you find someone else."
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 1:03 pm
The stallion didn't look interested in what she had to say what-so-ever and she did feel a little intimidated and deflated by his lack of interest due to the fact she felt so much more motivated and determined than usual. She would not let this stallion ruin her mood with his bored expression, no, that just wouldn't do!
Then he began talking and Amaltheia's eyes widened. Did he think she was here to sell him something? Make an exchange? Did other soquili really do such a thing? This was something new to her, that the watering hole must have been a popular place to discuss similar matters. It wasn't what he was saying that really interested her but the way he was saying it. His voice.
It was deep and charming, unlike how usual common, regular cerynei spoke. She picked up on that perfectly fine and noted that she would have to ask him if he was of noble blood later once she had achieved what she had set about to do.
"Religion? Magical herbs?" She finally piped up, shaking her head casually. "You have it all wrong!" She gave a girly giggle and flashed him a pearly smile. "I'm not here to try sway you in to believing something you don't want to or have no interest in I'm simply going to warn you of recent events and dangers that are lurking in the area." She gave a hasty nod to confirm this, keeping her eyes on his shiny amber's.
"Theres a Purewalker out on the prowl, I was attacked not so long ago by her and saved by a stallion who is attempting to stall her efforts. She isn't just any ordinary Purewalker but one with a religious motive..." She began wondering if he was paying any attention to her but he should of been, this could ultimately save his life one day!
"She tends to stalk the trees, so you would do well to stray from any forests and remain in the open plain when you can or stay within groups and numbers." She wasn't done yet but she thought it was best to let him ask any questions and let him speak if he had anything to say before she continued.
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 2:29 pm
He wasn't providing her with his full attention, that much was obvious, and even as she spoke he continued to chew on the grass in his mouth until it was no more than cud. He soon swallowed and lowered his head to take another drink, his ears occasionally flicking, twitching or swivelling to give consideration to half of what she was saying. It was only when she lapsed into silence again that he finally heaved an exasperated sigh and levelled his bored stare on her once more. She was terribly enthusiastic, evidently charged with a duty of passing on the gossip... neighbourhood watch perhaps? It seemed plausible.
"If you are referring to the one who went hunting for bison the other day then you are wrong," he replied flatly and shook his head. "There are multiple purewalkers wandering about these parts and I can safely say they do not stick to the trees," he rolled his eyes and looked away again, regarding his reflection for a few minutes. A tilt of his head, a lift of his brow and he returned his attentions to Amaltheia, his lips pursing into a line.
"In fact I saw three the other day, two hunting the bison and the third scavenging after one of the pair had departed," his brow lifted higher and his tail gave a very abrupt twitch. While he knew how to avoid skinwalker and knew all too well of their dangers, he failed to see how her advice was accurate, especially when the purewalkers voted to hunt in a rare pack. It was almost unheard of but he recognised the logic in their predatory minds.
"Company will not protect you, nor will being in the open, if they want you then they will take you," he released a sigh and returned his attention to his food. "If you want to give advice on those beasts then tell folks to travel in herds of more than five, learn to breathe under water and stock up on chopped onions."
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Posted: Sun Jul 14, 2013 3:15 pm
Amaltheia continued to watch him as he went about his business, patiently stalling in her speech whilst she waited for him to react to what she had told him.Her ears twitched every time he ground his teeth together in chewing and when he supped at the water. What was even more evident was the fact he took a moment to check his reflection and to her, he appeared to be admiring himself.
It soon became clear why he wasn't all that interested in what she was saying because he had already encountered SW's or at least, he had observed their hunting habits. Very well at that. She figured he must have been fairly close to the group when they were killing Bison to have noticed them. He barely noticed her and she had been stood right next to him!
Again... She figured that was lack of interest.
"Oh were they?" For a moment her eyes held a not so amused gleam in them, staring in to his eyes which held a similar gaze on her.
"Yes." She added, agreeing that was what usual skinwalkers and Purewalkers did except with subtle variation to the way they went about hunting. "I am aware of how the usual PW and SW work. The forest close to my home has a family of them living in the deeper part of the wood and they constantly cause our herd problems." She refused to allow his arrogance to affect her and tried to lift a smile on her lips even with the passion and seriousness she felt on this particular topic.
She would not make a mockery of this and be an insult the task she had been set to do.
"Unfortunately this PW doesn't work in the same way. She is trying to re-imagine the vision of her lord master which she calls Divinity." She took a moment to remember what she had been informed of and collected her thoughts, allowing her eyes to roll over the stallions frame then sought out his eyes again. "She won't hunt out a herd. She has a very specific set of requirements and separating someone from their herd takes considerable time and that is something she does not have."
She stepped closer to him. "She has a damaged eye which will work to our advantage but that won't stop her forever in fact, she was supposed to be licking her wounds before she pursued me but she bounced right back. I imagine it won't be long before she is hunting somebody else to sacrifice to her demon master." She whispers, looking from him to the lake.
It was hard to think such a violent act had taken place when she was stood in the middle of a peaceful setting, with someone as carefree as the stallion in front of her.
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Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:54 pm
Kozue continued to look unperturbed as she spoke, biding his time until she had finished informing him of the Purewalker problem that had now begun to plague the lands. They had been few in number when he first arrived, but evidently the numbers had increased either through breeding or satanic rituals. It was not his place to dwell on it, so long as they left him be and he knew how to evade them, he had nothing to be concerned about.
What was curious though, was the fact that others were now taking an interest in their activities - perhaps a little too late, if his own observations were anything to go by.
"In the end, they all do the same thing," he pointed out patiently, his tone level as he continued to observe his reflection. She was passionate, and she was young, failing to see the facts that lay immediately in front of her eyes. Whoever had put her on this path, or whether she had found it herself, was of no concern... but she would have to leave the naivety behind at some point. "They will kill you, regardless of their methods the conclusion of their activities is the same, no?"
"Sacrilegious or not, her target always falls, she may not eat it but another will," he lifted a brow and flicked his gaze back to the mare. "So why take immediate concern in warning of the impending threat of one specific purewalker when there are many?" he enquired, his lips pursing. "Why give information that may potentially put you at risk, or render you vulnerable to others?"
He fell silent and returned his gaze to the lake.
"I know the one you speak of," he said at last, a dark smile lifting onto his lips. "That damaged eye you speak of?"
Silence again.
"It's gone, ripped from her skull by one of her own."
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:29 pm
Amaltheia was listening to him but her vision remained on the lake. It switched to his reflection which was clear in the water and watched as he continued to place his interest within it. She let out a soft sigh and finally turned her head to face him once more. She nods.
"You're right." She would agree with him on the matter, he did speak some level of sense but she didn't feel he was grasping the urgency in her message and wondered if any ever would. She was a simple cerynei to most, a deer who had many predators that took a keen fancy to their kind. So often they were assumed to be fearful of a great deal more than most.
"I was saved by someone and I offered my services to him to show my appreciation of his bravery. he offered me the opportunity to seek advice from someone who is aiding him in his cause and in the event, gained further wisdom and advice on how to deal and avoid said problem." She mentioned in a hushed tone. "I think it's hard to set aside the obvious when like you, have a great deal of knowledge over these creatures because of your observation skills. You have seen many, watched how they kill and scavenge. Witnessed how their instincts lead them to act and not always in the same way..."
"What you're forgetting about is that not everybody has seen such things and by informing them of the dangers and the threats, they may take further caution in the future which may allow them to reach an old, peaceful age without having encountered the demons. If they do? Hopefully educating them will have served it's purpose and proved useful. I think everybody should have that chance and ultimately you cannot put a price on somebodies life."
"To you? I am merely repeating what you already know but to others. Who knows..." She breaks a smile and gently shakes her head. Eyes inevitably widening at the news he broke. It was a shock to her, how fast something like that could happen and how quick the news had travelled on the wind. He couldn't possibly have seen the sight of another ripping the eye from her skull himself, could he?
Her jaw fell loose. "D-did you see it happen?" She asks, leaning her head forward to inspect him closer. Ears lifting to cup the words sooner. She couldn't believe it. No. It couldn't be true!
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 3:18 pm
Kozue was beginning to suspect that the mare rather liked the sound of her own voice and as a consequence, he had to call upon all of his restraint to sigh in exasperation. It was all very well that she had received some sort of duty from another individual, but if he had anything further to say on the matter, there was no point in advising an individual who already knew of the risks! Still, she may have been somewhat simple minded and determined to use her pre-determined script which she had no doubt practised for hours on end until it was perfect. Come hell or high leather she was going to finish it even if the individual in question had already been schooled.
There were days when Kozue missed the older generations of Cerynei and their traditions. That sense of culture, consideration and respect that ensured that the young didn't run their mouths when it was all too clear the adults, or adults in close proximity, had no intention of listening. Ah, but that was a time that had now long gone, all such traditions had been replaced by those of soquili who... Well, the politest manner in which he could put it was that they were very vocal.
...They certainly had their opinions.
Nevertheless she eventually grew quiet and Kozue cast a grateful (but silent) regard to whatever god, spirit, or otherwise, that had caused her to agree with him and eventually to leave him be on the subject. That being said she may also have completed her predetermined speech at which point she may have expected some round of applause or gratitude, neither of which she was set to receive.
Instead, he had momentarily distracted her with a bored tidbit of information. All things considered he should have known better as the mare instantly grappled on to the subject and promptly questioned him further.
Urgh.
Closing his eyes the buck reined in his temper and silenced his nerves, only when he had settled his frustrations did he finally look at Amaltheia with a decidedly critical gaze. He was not about to regale her with any dramatic tales, he wasn't about to give her any secrets either but if she was truly this morbidly curious then he would at least shut her up. After all, the events hadn't occurred too far from here so it didn't require much in the way of effort.
"Come here," he instructed. He turned at this point and drifted away from the river, towards the plains that she had indicated were all but safe. Evidently she had been given a choice as this was most assuredly the end of the conversation, she could refrain from doing as she was told, or she could trail after him... regardless, there would be no further questions for now.
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Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 11:46 am
Amaltheia felt the frustration bubble up inside her. She wanted to know what had happened to the Purewalker who had hunted her down and for the first time her patience was waning enough to say she wanted to know now rather than later. He wasn't giving her any clues, at all! She was helpless right now, felt helpless.
She sucked in a stingy breath or air, her bottom lip following suit and upon closing her mouth bit it hard and kept it caged. Her nerves were stinging on the end of their threads and it wasn't doing any good for the anxiousness she was feeling.
What if the skinwalkers were there, what if they saw them? She was assuming this safe haven he had taken for an observation spot was a safe distance away but was it enough? She wasn't going to lie. The last encounter had been a huge shock on her system. She had hidden it well with her endless need to fill her curiosity but now... She could feel the fear consuming her, to be so close to one again.
But! Perhaps they wouldn't be there and hopefully she was working herself up for no reason at all. She just didn't know and the only way to find out was to follow him...
Not like she was being given much of a choice on the matter. It was obvious the stallion had grown fed up of her voice, didn't want to listen to her ramble on any longer than he already had to. He held an aura of authority and spoke with commanding tone. It only furthered the need to know who he was. Playing on her earlier thought regarding his voice and his composure.
Had he been a leader of sorts? No... He didn't look fit, didn't look like he cared enough to lead anything but his own desires and doing nothing but on his own terms.
She would ask him but not now. Not yet.
She found herself pushing forward, one step after the other. Carefully trailing a close distance away but placing her hooves in his tracks to the destination he sought. All the while wondering, if she would be there and how much of a coward must she have been to be feeling afraid right now when Tempest chased that hell bound creature from one end of the earth to the other without the thought of what may happen to him.
She remained silent which must have been to his delight and wasn't in any rush to let her thoughts escape her until they had seen whatever he wished to show.
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Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:50 pm
Was she aware of how obvious her fear was? Her body language had changed to the polar opposite of what it had been, and the Cerynei who had once imbued her footsteps with so much enthusiasm was now dragging them at a snails pace. Evidently, for all her chatter, advice and 'experience', the mare was more frightened than she let on. If that was the case he did have to wonder why she had chosen to take this path - it was a rather risky one and in time it would come back to haunt her, especially if she wasn't careful!
Alas, he was thankful for small favours and he would take her silence over idle chatter or her inane definition of 'advice'. No doubt another individual would appreciate the advice, or perhaps even the idle gossip, but neither were something he had been willing to receive. Consequently, instead of tempting fate the Cerynei made quick work of his journey, placing distance between himself and the river until he was once again in the forest.
Still in silence, he proceeded forward and navigated his way towards his goal - ducking here, pausing to step over obstacles there, or twisting his head to the side to avoid his antlers getting trapped in something. Admittedly the buck was going to be very happy when his antlers fell off for the season, it made travelling so much easier!
Eventually he reached his destination though, coming to a halt at the 'edge' of the forest - the light shone through the thick tree trunks and yet...there seemed to be no 'land' ahead. Once Amaltheia approached she would soon realise that they had in fact, been wandering uphill, to the point that they now stood upon a precipice looking down onto the plains... And on those plains?
Well, there were no walkers, pure or otherwise, to be seen; but the mess they had left was very clear. Strewn about the plains beneath them lay multiple corpses, some devoured down to the bone while others were still in the process of being feasted on by scavengers. It had been a while since the walkers had left and that much was clear, but they had certainly killed more than they could eat.
On closer inspection the mare would see that the corpses were bison, a considerably larger beast than any soquili...
"I see everything," he stated in a flat tone, and moved away from the precipice once more.
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 12:02 pm
Amaltheia had no problem following him, that was the easy part but when they approached the forest her heart began to flutter. Everything she had just spoke of was washing from her ears in to the wind. What she had said just didn't matter to this stallion.
He was obviously experienced enough to know how to handle himself and didn't need a young doe telling him what was good and what wasn't...
She was afraid and she wasn't ashamed to admit that. It was a natural thing to be evasive of death and the thought of drawing close to it once again was at odds with her nerves. Nerves that had never been very good to her to begin with.
She didn't want to die but for a just cause she would.
That was why, she was happy to take on such a task. She didn't mind dying if it helped even just a few on the way but to risk it for the sake of curiosity? She knew where to draw the line, mostly. Whatever he was leading her toward, whatever he wanted to show her she hoped was something that would be beneficial in educating others in the future and if not? That the risk they were taking wasn't one with a disastrous outcome.
The longer they would walk in the silence the more she would study in to the way he had acted so far in their meeting. She was starting to put faith in his words, his actions. Even if that might be out of hope that by being in his company, it would be safer. His seriousness being one of the things she did admire and trust in. It made her believe that he wouldn't say things for the sake of it but that he would continue to be straight with her and wouldn't have had her follow him in to the forest if he didn't think that it wasn't important for her to see.
She sighed deeply, stopping at the border. Closing her eyes, she lifted her ears and remembered what her father had told her as a filly. To listen to the forest, to feel the energy coming from within it. She could hear birds singing their endless songs and the pitter-patter of rodents feet. She smiled to herself, the forest wasn't quiet, it was very much alive.
Opening her eyes again, she saw that the distance between her and the stallion was now great and leaped after him in a hasty attempt to catch up. Once close enough to him again, the obstacles came more frequently and posed more of a challenge but instead of trying to battle them on her own, she followed his movements.
Her triffids taking the opportunity to feed. They bit on branches and chomped at bark from the trunks that they passed. Fetcher took flight to chase those that were in the air.
The light started to pour in, spotting the forest in shades of yellow and greens but there was no sign of land. She narrowed her brows and switched her gaze this way and that to see if she could spy it from another angle.
Nothing.
Coming to his side she was set in to disbelief. They had been climbing a hill and the top oversaw a stretch of land. A land smeared in crimson. It was a complete and utter massacre.
She gasped, sucking in as much breath as she could take in and held it in her lungs. She couldn't believe anything could cause so much death. It was despicable. It may have been the way the food chain worked but at this rate there was going to be no more Bison left to see the light of day.
As much as she despised it, as much as it repulsed her, she just couldn't bring herself to look away from the plain of corpses.
She frowned finally, the creases etching deep in to her expression. Hearing his words, she didn't move nor look away from the scene but took to asking one thing that had been playing on her mind this whole time.
"You're no ordinary cerynei... So please, could you care to enlighten me as to whom you're exactly?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 5:37 am
The location had had the desired effect on the mare, for she lapsed into silence and seemed momentarily mesmerised by the massacre beneath her hooves. The buck had assumed that the fallen bison would have the necessary impact, but life was full of surprises and rather than it acting as a guarantee, it had merely been a gamble. Regardless, when he acted he tended to do so for a reason, and when she had spouted her nonsense regarding the walkers, he had deemed it fit to correct. If she was intent on spouting her warning to the world then she would need to know the facts, and her current ones were incorrect.
He had seen how they moved, seen how they acted - their merciless tendencies and instincts made it so that when they needed to, they could achieve almost anything. Whether they be in the forest, the open, alone, or in a very rarely sighted 'pack', they were a force to be reckoned with and nowhere was safe. Well, there were safe places but the vast majority of soquili within the world would no longer be capable of finding them... after all, they lacked the necessary traits.
...It seemed even Amaltheia lacked the necessary and very vital skills that all Cerynei, at least during his time, had possessed from birth. The irony was that she did have the necessary traits to survive, even if she didn't know how to use them.
Unfortunately the brown buck hadn't anticipated that Amaltheia would have further questions, and as she had opened her mouth he hadn't immediately caught her query. He drew to a halt as his mind replayed the query, initially misinterpreting it as another statement regarding walkers - except it wasn't, and his mind quickly corrected his interpretation. Ah, but she did seem to have some form of intelligence in her if she was able to work out what did, and didn't fit, in a world like this.
"I am most assuredly ordinary," he replied, glancing over his shoulder with a grimace. "I would go so far as to say I am one of the most ordinary and pure of blood that exists," he continued and released a small sigh.
"Or perhaps the only one of pure blood that exists," he corrected and shook his head. "Suffice it to say that my fellow Cerynei did not waste their time when it came to mingling with the native soquili on our arrival," he stated and with that, he gave a loose roll of his shoulders.
"Part of the reason they make such an easy target for predators," he added, more-so as a musing to himself than her.
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