[PRP] A Twisted Dance [Mest x Jasmine]

[xxx Yuki Bear xxx]

The following is a private, solo RP featuring Mest and Jasmine.



Timeline: Before the herd massacre

"Devotion save me now
I don't wanna stray from the hallow ground
I'll turn temptation down
I'm asking you to take me to safety this time"
- Devotion :: Hurts

 

[xxx Yuki Bear xxx]

Her grey eyes were heavy as she fought to stay awake. The females assigned to protect her every waking moment of her existence continued to cluck and fuss over... she wasn't even sure what they were going on about at this point actually. Jasmine let out a small yawn, politely nodding to the ladies as they glanced her way every so often during their conversation. This was absolutely dull.

She scanned the surrounding area, taking in the group of foals laughing and rolling around not too far away, and the clusters of mares and stallions chatting around the large clearing that was the home base of their herd. She looked for the bright flashy colors of her betrothed, but to no avail. He was off with his mother, the head adviser, and her father, the herd alpha, on a trip to strengthen herd alliances.

She missed Uzor's company. The bright cyan and orange stallion was quiet, but very knowledgeable. She enjoyed hearing him speak of his teachings with his soft and gentle voice. Jasmine smiled. Having a mate arranged for her had not been what she wanted, but for the good of what would one day be her herd, she had agreed. She was happy though. She could have ended up with much worse than Uzor.

Jasmine was comfortable with where she was. She never had to lift a hoof, and she had everything she could possibly ever want in her herd. There was a small, tiny part of her that yearned for a bit more freedom - maybe some adventure - but she could never act on it.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of hooves beating the ground.

"The warriors are back!" the mare on her left exclaimed, close to swooning.

The warriors. The group of elite fighters and hunters among the herd that did daily patrols of the herd lines and drove away anything that came close to crossing them. They were the pride of her father's herd - the fruit of all his hard work and training - and they were lead by the fiercest warrior under her father's command. The largest and most brutal stallion among the warriors. The quiet one adorned with the blood and skulls of his victims.

Mest.  

[xxx Yuki Bear xxx]

The large stallion snorted at the adoring glances being shot towards his group. His fellow warriors were looking at him with thinly veiled eagerness. He sighed before nodding.

"Go ahead," he said, releasing them to their families and friends. They smiled at him, departing from his side with grins and pleasantries as they walked to their loved ones.

Mest frowned. He used to love coming back from border patrol, but things had changed. There was no longer a smiling, blond-haired stallion waiting for him with twinkly, sandy eyes. His Uzor. No. No longer his anymore. They had broken away from what they had. Uzor's life taking him in one direction, while Mest's took him in a different one. It wasn't Mest's choice.

Mest felt eyes on him and found them quickly. There. Grey eyes widened and flashed away from his gold ones and he let a growl tear from his throat. There was the reason that Uzor was no longer his. The dainty little herd princess. Jasmine.

His hooves moved on their own accord, taking him along the trail to his sleeping quarters within the woods. The herd respected his privacy and generally liked to give him a wide berth. He was far enough for peace and quiet, and near enough to come running if there was an attack.

Before he broke the tree-line, he turned his head, locking eyes with the grey ones that followed him. How interesting that the little princess couldn't keep her eyes off of him.

'What would her betrothed think?' he thought bitterly '.... Wait...'

What would Uzor think? If Jasmine liked Mest, would Uzor become jealous? Would Jasmine break off the engagement? Would Uzor? If Jasmine was found to be with him, it would create a rift in the herd. He was always loyal to this herd for what the adviser had done for him, but now he was grown, and he had more important things to worry about - like the object of his affections slipping away because of an arranged mating.

The uncharacteristically devious thoughts swirled in his head as he kept his gaze locked on Jasmine's. 'It could work...' He was willing to try anything to get the one he loved. The herd alpha's daughter would just be collateral damage. He and Uzor could finally be together, and they could run away if they had to. A smirk stretched across his face as he turned to the trail to his home. He caught the ever-present grey eyes as he threw a heated stare over his shoulder and beckoned her to follow with a jerk of his head. Without looking to see her reaction, he turned and finally started towards his home within the woods.

Would she follow?
 

[xxx Yuki Bear xxx]

Jasmine watched the big stallion walk off into the woods with wide, uncertain eyes. Was he really... inviting her to his home? It was gossip around the herd that no one had ever seen where Mest slept and spent his free time. Except, it was rumored that her betrothed used to frequent Mest's before their joining was planned.

She had started noticing Mest quite some time ago. He was always with or around Uzor. It was a bit odd. Uzor was small and shy, while Mest was big and brutish, but they were inseparable. Once Jasmine and Uzor were betrothed, Mest and Uzor no longer spent as much time together. Jasmine had started noticing Mest looking at her strangely and avoiding Uzor. It was honestly the most baffling thing to her.

A little part of herself that she often stomped down had wiggled happily at the possibility that... perhaps Mest... wanted her. The thought had danced around her mind once in a while, and the looks - and now this obvious display - they backed up her assumption. Uzor wasn't around either... Could she...?

No. She was a faithful and loyal mare. Uzor was, of course, a safe choice - but also the best choice. Uzor was her father's choice. For her. Jasmine squirmed internally. Perhaps she should make her own choice.

She smiled at the mares around her, rising gracefully from the ground.

"Ladies, I'm off to bathe at the river," she said, ignoring their knowing looks and walking away. They didn't follow as her somewhat shaky hooves lead her down the path Mest had taken.

She was just going to talk to him. Tell him they could never be anything. Let him down gently and eloquently, as a future leader should.

At least, that was the mantra she continued to repeat in her head as she followed the heavy hoof prints of the dark stallion.  

[xxx Yuki Bear xxx]

His head was swimming with what he could potentially unleash with his actions as he continued his slow walk towards the cave dwelling that he called home. A part of him was so incredibly sure that this would benefit him and Uzor. Another, smaller part of him worried endlessly about Uzor taking it as a betrayl - which... in a way it was, and in a way it wasn't. Uzor and Mest were not together at this point. They had broken off their little tryst when it had been revealed that Jasmine was to be his betrothed. But Mest never stopped loving the small, shy stallion. No, his heart never strayed. In that way, he was betraying his own, battered heart. It was a small price to pay to get his love back, and it was for the greater good of their relationship. Jasmine was collateral damage, and he felt little to no remorse for whatever would happen to her.

His ear twitched at the sound of rustling far behind him. She was following, slowly, behind him. A small smirk danced on his lips. If he was this irresistible to the mare, there was no way that her and Uzor's relationship would survive. It was obvious to the large brutish stallion that the arranged engagement between the leader's daughter and adviser's son was not either of their choices. This made it that much easier to drive a wedge in between them. There was the risk of being found out by the entire herd - no, actually, it was definite that they would find out. Members paid specific attention to their superiors, and Mest didn't doubt that at least one of Jasmine's guard mares had seen her wander off after him. The gossip would travel swiftly and strongly, like a wildfire. There was little they could do now that Mest had lit the spark.

The consequences of his actions in the herd... well the worst they could do would be to exile him, and he would take Uzor with him in that case. He doubted they would do such a thing. He was their best warrior - the head of the entire herd's defense. To kick Mest out of the herd would not be in their best interest. And while the leader believed himself to have the absolute control of the herd, the warriors were loyal to Mest. After all, the leader was the one that sent them off into danger. Mest was the one that protected his own and made sure they came home to their loved ones. No... there was nothing they could do to him that would change his mind. Uzor was his, and he would do whatever it took to get him. Herd be damned.

He stopped near the mouth of his cave, determination set in his eyes as he looked into the reflection of himself in the small pond next to his dwelling. The hoof falls of his follower grew louder and louder as they neared, until suddenly they stopped. Flicking his hair over his shoulder, he turned slightly so that he could take in the mare.

"Hello, Jasmine,"

 

[xxx Yuki Bear xxx]

What was she doing? What was she doing! WHAT was she DOING?!

This went against everything her mother and father had ever taught her. Infidelity. One just did not cheat in her circles. It was unheard of. But really... she was not considering doing anything with Mest. When had she been thinking of that?!

She hastily backtracked in her mind. She would stick with her plan. She would let down the big brutish... strong... handsome - NO. She blushed delicately, her legs still shaking and thankfully impeding her progress towards her impending doom. This was really bad. But... it wasn't like her and Uzor were officially joined yet. That was set for her next birthday. Jasmine's official 'coming of age' ceremony, signalling that she would be ready to take on her father's place whenever he stepped down. The date was nearing at a frighteningly quick pace, and she may or may not be having pre-coming-of-age jitters. Okay, she was having them. Perhaps Mest was a symbol of these jitters. Perhaps he was even fate's way of throwing her an out. Or at least a little bit of fun before she was shackled to the herd and Uzor for the rest of her life. Just thinking of the heavy burden of all the responsibility made her feel a bit green.

Uzor was so kind. He was so sweet and thoughtful... but so soft and... Jasmine just didn't feel love or attraction towards him. Mest however... now he was all male. Whenever she saw him, he was ruffled and unkempt and covered in blood. His appearance was frightening, yet exhilarating at the same time. The stallion could have anyone he wanted in the herd, but remained single. The thought that maybe he had wanted her never surfaced in her addled brain, and now she was kicking herself for it. It was too late now. But maybe... this could give the stallion closure. Jasmine had no idea what 'this' would be. Her legs continued to move despite her not paying any attention to her surroundings. She knew where she was going. Her primitive, inner compass moving her towards the hot-blooded male in the distance. She could see his outline through the small copse of trees. He was big, and seemed to take up the entire clearing. His back was to her as he stood at the edge of a pond. Her wide grey eyes flitted from the cave to his left to his sturdy form. She was distracted by the morbid beauty of the bones and skulls adorning his body. Why was he so still? He had to be expecting her... right? She froze in place when his molten gold eyes locked onto her own.

Her name left his lips and all the resolve she had been attempting to gather flew out of her head.

"Mest,"