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 Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 7:53 pm
Halp!This is a BIG herd RP between Taraxippus and most of the rest of his herd, preparing for the assault on the Thunderbird herd. This is a private RP Involving the following owners/teepees: Sabin Duvert, Kamiki,[+Katch+], Nymphalidae and anyone else who has a soquili in the herd - if I forgot you pls don't hesitate to drop me a line!Sabin Duvert's Soquili involved: Taraxippus, Anju, Megaera, Infernum, Firestarter, Mixcatl, Grimoire, Malfeas, Psyche, Teumesia, Barghest, Pooka, Xibalba, Lamia, NocturneKamiki's Soquili involved: Seance, Legion, Diogenes, Europa, Tisiphone[+Katch+] 's Soquili involved: Inkling & Chemosh Nymphalidae's Soquili involved: Lycaenidae
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 7:16 am
 Taraxippus looked over the gathered soquili before him with a smoldering sense of pride. Nearly the entire herd had clustered around him in a semicircle, here in the very center of the tangled labyrinth that was the central herdgrounds. The hive, as it were - carefully cultivated, seemingly dead and tangled and thorny trees formed a maze to the common area, and the rumor of their strength and ferocity had already circulated to herds in the area. He had carefully gathered his forces over long years: the strongest, the most ferocious, the most monstrous... all here and awaiting his speech.
Well... most of them, at least. Some of their number he allowed to come and go - and some of them would... not have been up to snuff had he been forming the herd today. The simple stallion Nodin, and the go-betweens - the small ones... Taraxippus didn't even bother to remember their names. He had no use for them today.
The stories and rumors were music to Taraxippus's dark soul, but it was not what he truly coveted. True power. True influence. To be a lord, a commander, a king of herds, not just the captain of one. And today was the day he set that long-seeded plan into motion.
He had sent out familiars - particularly the avids Haruspex and Omen and One of Us to spy on the herd in the mountains. And they were formidable. Even the familiars had a difficult time sneaking past their sentries - and there were always sentries. And from the reports, the size of their herd easily dwarfed his own. Most estimates that came back to him put their herd at at least twice the number of his. Each and every member capable of flying. The target that Firestorm had set them on was no cakewalk. But Taraxippus preferred it that way. if he could spread the word that he had dismantled one of the strongest and most populated herds in the region, then all hooves would quake in fear and respect for him and the power of his herd.
Besides... they may have the gift of flight, but his herd had all kinds of diverse gifts. Elements and claws and fangs and more. They were unpredictable, and they were ferocious. He did not know the mettle of the members of that herd. Even if half their numbers were competent fighters - a high estimate for most herds - then surely they could best them. They did not even need to kill them all... just send them scattering, defeated, and more soquili left to tell the tale of the horrors that had set upon them.
Taraxippus lifted his head from his revere, regaling in the silence and respect that he commanded from those gathered around him, waiting for him to speak. And before he put word to voice, he made sure he met each one of them eye to eye, letting them know that he saw them... that they were accountable.
"Tonight..." he began in a commanding voice, "I have gathered you here for the true purpose that this herd was formed with. We are at the evening of a great night. A night that we will spread the stories of our greatness across the lands, and earn a true badge as the mightiest of herds. We will have the respect and fear of ALL soquili. There will not be a place that we cannot travel, a soquili that we will meet that has not heard of us, and whispered our names with terrible reverence. Every foal will have herd of the Shadows that ebb from the forests - shadows that can not just snatch foals in the night, but can consume whole herds. Shadows that are the true KINGS of all the herds.
"Tonight... we set our sights on conquest. We have been training for years for this, and I trust each and every one of you with my own life. The kings have perched atop their mountainous throne for too long unchallenged. They have cast away their own progeny in fear of the true power that lurks outside their walls. They shun their family - and get fat eating grasses and fruits outside the reach of mundane predators. It is time that we show them that they cannot close themselves off from the dangers of the world. That there is a penalty from letting themselves grow too complacent.
"In one week, we will launch an attack on the Thunderbird herd. In one week, we will send them scattering - broken, defeated, and shaken loose from their herdgrounds. We will claim those lands as our own, and put into power those that are in OUR service. We will spread like the shadow of night across these lands, swallowing up herds, and we begin with the pillar that will prove our worthiness to all other herds. WHEN we defeat them, others will swear fealty to us without a fight, for fear of the death that will meet them if they resist. "
He paused, for effect, seeing the words having an effect in the eyes of his subj... herdmates. Before issuing the command.
"You have joined this herd, or been born to it, knowing the destiny that awaits us. I ask you now to realize this destiny. To join us in claiming this throne. Here and now, each and every one of you will answer my call, or tell me why you shirk from your duty." His eyes flashed and his hoof stamped in warning at that "option".
"To the victors, there will be spoils. Those that wish to reside in the mountains can do so as our representatives and lords in those lands. There will be resources and more. But the greatest prize of all will be the defeat itself.
Now.
Who will join me?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:28 am
The first to answer the call was Taraxippus's most loyal, most stalwart mare, Megaera. Ever since she had been a foal and looked up to Taraxippus like a father, her loyalty had been assured. While she was almost a unit with her sisters, the "furies", they often drifted apart from one another for periods of time. She relied on Taraxippus for advice, for guidance... for the intelligence that she held no shame in admitted she lacked. Perhaps the slow-mindedness, in truth, was a lack of confidence nurtured by Taraxippus to produce a sense of obligation and reliance on the shadowy Machiavellian stallion. But regardless, when he asked her to leap, she asked how high?
She had given up some of her first offspring when she had made a mistake and been swayed by honeyed words of a flutter. Only Psyche had stayed with the herd - a powerful mare in her own right. She had mated with the somber, incendiary stallion, Sheol, when Taraxippus had set them up, and found the matronly, motherly side when she raised her stalwart son, Infernum.
And now, when Taraxippus demanded that she lend her hoof in the battle, she didn't question, didn't even think or make the connection that the very herd that she was being called upon to battle was the one that sheltered two of her children.
"Of course I will go, Tara." She uttered as she took a step forward. She was never a mare of many words, or complex thoughts. Of course there was no question, nor did Taraxippus even consider her a variable in the equation of the participants. She was loyal, and she was predictible. Just how he liked it.
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:32 am
Infernum, the soldier. Infernum the dutiful.
Infernum was the proud result of Megaera's arranged breeding with Sheol, and Taraxippus smiled a little every time he saw the steadfast result of his plan in the herdgrounds. He was everything the shadowy stallion had hoped for when he had arranged the union. Not only physically: possessing Megaera's great wings and flames, but he had the bulk of his father and a true warrior's soul. However, beyond that, like Megaera, he had been raised knowing his place in the herd, knowing his fealty to Taraxippus, and not questioning orders. He was content to let Taraxippus do the thinking for him. He was a soldier - happy when he was serving his duty, proving his strength. As per the arrangement with Sheol, they had only kept one of the two sons in the herd, the other the bargain price to the father, but Taraxippus was pleased with what had emerged from the basket that they had kept. From what he had seen, the other child appeared to have much of his granddam in him - and while Taraxippus exalted in the baskets they had recused from the mad mare who lived near the edge of the herdgrounds, a madness like that could not be trusted, could not be controlled.
Infernum strode up alongside his mother, "Of course you have my service, sire." A battle like this was what Infernum felt like he had been training for his entire life. As soon as he heard the word breathed by the stranger that had come to their herdgrounds... the father of the beautiful Firestarter, he knew what was coming, and his muscles tensed for it. A battle. That he could understand. It was in battle he could prove his worth to his herd, to his family, and to his mate.
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:34 am
Megaera smiled as her son joined her by her side, showing obvious affection with a nibble at his ear. While ever-loyal, the once spirited and vengeful mare had mellowed much in her longer years and motherhood.
Quietly, she looked to the mare that her son had taken as mate, Firestarter in askance, as well as her elder daughter, Psyche, expectantly.
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 1:05 pm
Firestarter scowled bitterly as she shifted from hoof to hoof near Infernum. Normally, the filly had no qualms about speaking her mind rather vociferously. But now, it felt like her stomach was full of spiders. She was impetuous, she was full of fire and normally, on any day, would love an excuse to get into a fight. And Infernum ... well... he made the filly in her swoon. She wanted to see him in battle.. crushing his opponents underhoof!
But this was her father's war. Her father. The one who had abandoned her without a second thought to get his way. Her father who had claimed that this endeavor to take over the Thunderbird Herd's territory was for her and her siblings. Liar! He didn't do it for her - all those stories he told her about growing up, it was all leading up to this?!
She grew up HATING the Thunderbird herd, and despite her father trading her off like some little noble lady or worse - some piece of food, she still hated them. She still wanted to see them torn apart by her NEW family.
But she didn't ... no, she couldn't be a part of it. She couldn't help HIM get what he wanted.
"No." She said lowly, her hoarse voice almost a growl. "My father wants this. He can go ******** himself, all the loyalty he showed me. I'm not going to help him any more. I did once, and all it got me was abandonment."
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 1:06 pm
Infernum looked sharply to Firestarter. In the few weeks that they had grown to know each other, he had never known the young mare to back down from a fight. But as he listened, his frown deepened. And for once, he felt a pang of conflict.
He wanted his lady to be at his side, fighting along with him. That she wouldn't be there, it seemed to take some of the steam out of his enthusiasm.
"My lady..." He began, "For the honor of our herd, if not for your father. For the fear we will strike in the other herds in the land. For our glory..."
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 1:10 pm
Firestarter shook her head resolutely. She was stubborn. Once she had made up her mind it was nigh impossible to change it.
"Look, Infernum. Everyone. My loyalty now is to you. I wish you a great battle, and a great conquest. And were this fight on behalf of any one else, I would be there - by your side, fighting with you. And in the future, when you DO exert our might over the other herds of the land, I will be there with Infernum, setting the world ablaze.
"But I will NOT help my father. Sorry, not sorry."
She wasn't surprised, nor did she care that Taraxippus glowered at her as she stepped back a few paces. She'd watch the rest of the proceedings at least.
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 2:22 pm
Psyche looked from side to side before stepping up and joining on the other side of her mother from her younger brother. She cast a brilliant blue light over the orange flickers that the two cast.
There was more hesitance in her eyes, than the stalwart resolution that seemed to echo in almost blank eyes, Psyche found herself thinking cynically. Megaera was her mother, and she had raised her with love, albeit simple love. And Psyche loved her, but that didn't mean that she didn't see the mare's shortcomings, sometimes.
She was more independently minded than her mother or bother... but that didn't make her disloyal. She KNEW Taraxippus could be manipulative; she was bright enough to see that. But she wasn't going to be disloyal or contrary for its own sake. She didn't really know much of the herd in the mountains, or who lived there. But if it was important to Taraxippus... hell... if it meant getting out some with a good excuse, then she didn't really have a good excuse not to. Besides... she loved it here... the tangled woods, the precious treasures she often found in it. And she loved her family - blood and adopted alike. She wouldn't turn her back on that, or risk expulsion.
Besides... the battle... the brilliant reds... the snapping of bone and colorings of bruises... she had imagined it before... what a glorious painting it would be. She wasn't much of a hunter - her brilliant colors and licking flames made her an easy predator to spot. But in a battle... well... that wouldn't be so much of a disadvantage.
"I wont' make excuses," Psyche said, "I'm able bodied, and I would love to see the play of blood and broken bone and wing over these soquili..." she mused out loud. Why, a battle could inspire her with beauty for years to come. Her flutter blood an appreciation of beauty had taken on a very morbid bent in the kalona hybrid.
"I will help." she finished with a nod and glance to Xibalba and Mixcatl - her best friend growing up, who had unfortunately grown distant since his encounter at his coming of age with Brigitte, and the mare she had raised as a foal.
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:06 pm
Xibalba roughly cocked his head to the side as the herd talked back and forth on the matters of the war. He did not need to listen to their words to make his decision. He just needed to listen to the spirits and what guidance they offered.
His eyes rolled around in his skull and he angled his head - ears twitching as if listening to words on wind as the rainbow miasma stirred around his hooves.
He listened to the wind rustle in the upper branches of the trees, the groaning of the trunk. The skitterings of insects in the underbrush and the distant yowl of a coyote. All of these were syllables in the great words of the spirits... most just didn't listen.
And finally, he looked down at his front hooves, waiting to see which direction the energy swirled.
The Spirits spoke to him.
He heard the wind wistling up in the mountains... the cry of an eagle... and the energy seemed to reach out towards Psyche and Hellfire and Megaera ((or perhaps their recent movement drew the energy towards them like air....))
"De spirits... they say dat my place be wit you, Tah-Rah-Hee-Poos!" He said with a wide, toothy grin as he trotted, high-stepping up next to Psyche.
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:11 pm
Psyche turned to look at Xibalba as he trotted over to join her with a bittersweet smile. He had grown... So odd since his meeting with Brigitte, even to the point of talking strangely, more like HER than the soquili he had been raised among. She still didn't know what she had done to him, but she had never entered her graveyard again since that day. Granddam or not.
Still... it was nice he was here, even if he had grown more distant and odd. And that was a fascinatingly beautiful half-decayed skull on his face.
And they had spent more time together when they had together helped raise his much younger sister, Mixcatl...
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 5:15 pm
Mixcatl frowned as she looked from Xibalba to Psyche, and over to Taraxippus. Her four wings flustered at her sides and she shook her head, feeling distinctly uncomfortable.
Soquili after soquili had joined up on this fight. And as much as she cared about Psyche and Xibalba - the closest thing she had had to parents - her stomach was knotting up. Like Xibalba, she had made a pilgrimage to visit with Brigitte when she was at the crest of marehood. But she had earned her skull-mask in a battle with a surly crocodile that she still believed the spirits had led her to. Unlike, Xibalba, gaining her "Face" didn't cause her to lose her mind. She was free-spirited, free-wheeling, and exalted in the wonders of the woods. She found her herdmates fascinating, and she didn't mind their predatory habits. But... war? Something about it made her feel nauseous. Yes... she was a warrior. A proud one... but to take the fight to the mountain herd? To warmonger...? Something deep in her blood stirred at that. She was a little glad that her daughter, Ixchel, had gone out to gather herbs today. She knew she wouldn't want to be here.
Mixcatl was wild, could fight like a beast, she was at home in the woods and didn't shy from confrontations with animals or soquili who threatened her or her family. But this herd had done nothing to them.
She didn't want to seem weak, though, in front of all of these eyes.
"This isn't my fight!" She said boldly with a toss of her head and a flick of her long, feathered tail. "If any of you have a problem with it, tell it to my FACE, now." She snapped, daringly.
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 5:17 pm
"Meesh...?" Xibaba looked surprised to his little sister.
She had never backed down from a challenge, and as she grew, often led the way into unknown parts of the woods. He knew her mettle wasn't the problem.
"Why do you not listen to de spirits?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 5:30 pm
"The spriits might be telling you to go, but not me, Xibalba." She retorted. Spirits... knotting in her stomach. Maybe it was the same thing.
All her other herdmates were silent. They watched her, but did not speak out. She could feel Taraxippus's eyes on her. She saw him draw a breath. Herd him say that he was disappointed in her...
"I don't give a damn, Taraxippus, if you're disappointed. I'm disappointed in YOU!" She huffed. He didn't control her. He wasn't even the progenitor of the herd. She unfurled her wings with a snap. She had other places to be right now. And with a spring, she clambored up to the skies, removing herself from the discourse for now. .
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:19 am
Teumesia was tired of waiting her "turn" her wings itched and she periodically snapped them open and closed, digging her paws into the earth.
One one paw, she was surprised that she still called this forest home. She had never intended on staying here so long to begin with. She had been nearly land-bound when she was fat with foals. The itch of the need to cause mayhem, however, had never been suppressed by this herd. She had even found others that would join with her... that she could egg on. And even after the foals were born, she could watch them grow and change and find their own twisted way in the world.
Mixcatl had grown to be the closest thing Teumesia had to a friend. She was wild-spirited like her, and while it was usually Teumesia that came up with the pranks and 'games', Mixcatl rarely shirked from them. Even two of their own foals, Barghest and Ixchel, had grown to be fast friends - born at the same time. Both staying in the herdgrounds and playing off of each others' strengths. They were like siblings.
Teumesia had fully expected that Mixcatl would readily accept this new challenge, but when she fluttered off, angry, Teumesia was caught by surprise.
She shook her head, her fur ruffling. For a moment, she considered setting of after Mixcatl but...
but...
What a big, glorious game it might be. Her antics to the nth degree. What chaos, what ... what fun it could be.
She might be wary of Anju himself, but Taraxippus, his son, never bothered her.
"I'll play your game!" She said with a growl as her tail lashed from side to side as she joined the growing ranks.
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