[PRP] Misery begets...not misery? (Dark Side and Afanasy)

[spelldancer]

This is a Private RP between Dark Side (Kyrieko) and Afanasy (spelldancer)

 

[spelldancer]

As Tritone gave him a tongue lashing for messing up and scaring off a mare, Afanasy hung his head and showed all the submissive signs he had learned over his time with Tritone. Afanasy knew it was his fault and that Tritone was right to scold Afanasy as he was. And that if it happened again there would be violence.

He wasn’t expecting the n** on the shoulder. Last Afanasy had known, Tritone had been a few feet away and his talking had covered the fact that Tritone was moving. So Afanasy reacted more dramatically than usual to the slight pain and odd but familiar feeling. Jerking back and rearing up just a little Afanasy quickly returned to standing and hung his head even lower. Tritone scoffed and dismissed the other stallion, and as Afanasy turned to go Tritone laughed softly at Afanasy.

Everything drooping with shame and sorrow, Afanasy continued the lecture in his head. How could he screw up so badly? Everything had been different since Nayeli left. Tritone had been more on edge, which made sense, and Afanasy couldn’t seem to do anything correctly anymore. He knew he was distracted, but that was no excuse. Afanasy was just walking in misery with no particular place he was headed. He was just going away as Tritone had told him to do.

Kyrieko

 

[Kyrieko]

It had been a while since she'd really stretched her wings. What with raising two foals and waddling around for some time before that? Oh and then there had been the entourage of batlings that somehow - it still eluded her as to how Bix possibly managed it - her familiar had sired. Then there was the simple fact she didn't want to leave her mate's side, enjoying his company as much as she did.

But the sky was calling to her, and her wings itched to answer it. So, she'd allowed herself to answer that call.

She had originally intended to use her little joyous flight trip as a way to scout out where her daughter, Vermillion, was currently located. The mare had not been home for a while, but it didn't bother Sidi. She knew Vermillion had her really close friend, Arcadia, she went to visit. Sidi suspected there might be a little more to it, but she wasn't going to call her daughter out on it. Yet. This thought made her lips twitch.

Movement out of the corner of her eye had the mare beating her wings heavily to slow down and make a wide circle. Was that Vermillion? She frowned, narrowing her eyes. No... no that didn't look like her. But something was clearly wrong with the soq down there! Feeling her insides squeeze, the purple mare made a slow descent downwards, allowing the... stallion, she realized once closer, to see her before she touched down.

Shaking her mane out of her face, Sidi looked over at the stallion. "Hello, there! I'm sorry if I startled you at all. I was just flying over when I saw movement. I thought you may have been my daughter... but clearly I was wrong!" She grinned at the stallion, eyes softening as she took in his posture. Something was making him hurt. "What's your name, if you don't mind my asking? You can call me Dark Side. Or Sidi."

spelldancer

 

[spelldancer]

So wrapped up in his own mind, Afanasy didn’t notice the shadow of the mare, hear the flapping of her wings, or any of her approach. So when she started talking to him he was very startled. He jumped, shied away eyes rolling, and looked around widely. Finally he focused on the purple mare next to him as the only thing around. Expecting her to move along, because why would anyone want to talk to him, Afanasy began to move out of her way. But he stopped when she asked after his name and introduced herself.

Afanasy looked around one more time to make sure that she wasn’t talking to anyone else, then looked at her strangely. Soquili didn’t usually approach him and he didn’t really know why, but mare were even less likely too talk to Afanasy. He was well aware that he was ackward when he finally did talk to anyone and that always made him more nervous. “H..he…hel…hello,” he finally stuttered out, feeling that he had to say something under her expectant gaze. Afanasy was still ready to bolt if she made any move towards attack, which was not unheard of happening as well. It was normal for Soquili to be kind and then attack after all.

He looked at her, waiting to see if that was what she had wanted. Would she go on her way now? Or ask him some questions? It took a beat for him to remember that she had asked him a question. But Afanasy wasn’t sure he should answer. Names gave people power it seemed to him. Everyone who knew his name had power of him, these days anyway. It was so hard for him to remember the days before the trauma and when Tritone found him. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful to Tritone for saving him as Tritone had, it was just that, well, Afanasy sometimes still wished that he had died. Life might have been better for him. Not that it wasn’t good now, he quickly assured himself and the mental version of Tritone.

But he had to get out of his head and back to talking to the mare. Dark Side was what she said her name was. Very nervous, and sure that he would mess this up too just as he did everything else, Afanasy attempted to talk with Dark Side. “M..my nnnna..na..name is Af…” That was all that he could get out before his throat closed up in fear. He stared at the mare afraid of attack and ashamed of himself. Slowly he lowered his head but kept his eyes on the stranger. He still remembered the nips Tritone had just given him. What would she do now?

Kyrieko

 

[Kyrieko]

Her heart was in her throat as she watched just how skittish this stallion was. She had no idea what he'd undergone, but it was painfully clear he'd suffered some sort of trauma. Sidi froze where she was, making no movement to get closer, keeping her wings tucked firmly along her sides. He was already quite spooked from her landing and speaking. No need to do more damage.

When he finally did speak, and took on a more submissive stance, Sidi felt her maternal side flare up like an angry bear. Who had done this to him! The poor thing could barely look at her! Her. She wouldn't harm a fly. But he seemed to expect it. She frowned at him, trying not to let her pity show. Or the anger brewing at such treatment of a sweet stallion.

"Shhhh... it's alright." She said in that soothing voice only a mother could master. "Just relax. Inhale and exhale. Don't think about anything else but- " she hesitated for a split second, looking him over and not seeing any wings, "...how easily it is to take a step. A simple motion. Just like your breathing." Very slowly and deliberately she stepped closer. "Slow your breathing. And we'll try again. But first," when she was close enough, Sidi extended a wing to very gently rest along his back. "Do not fear me. I will never harm you."

She didn't know his story. Didn't know what he'd been through. But Sidi did not want to leave him alone. Didn't want him to have to suffer more. However she knew, from this amount of torment, it would take quite some convincing.

"Lets start easy, shall we? Simple yes and no. Doesn't even require speech!" She smiled sweetly at him. "You live near here, I am guessing? And went out to have some quiet time to think?"

spelldancer

 

[spelldancer]

Afanasy’s eyes widened even more as the mare told him that it was all right. Things were not all right in anyway. Afanasy knew that he should be trying to convince the mare that Tritone was a good Soquili to follow, but he couldn’t even get out a word. Afanasy felt great shame over the failure to his master. Afanasy would have ignored her instructions to breath, but they were an order, and in the shape he was in any order would be followed. He breathed in, he breathed out. He thought about taking a step, he slowed his breathing. He followed along right up until she touched his back with her wing.

Afanasy jerked to the side and fell out of the trance he had been in. But he knew better than to move. Besides the fact that he was trained to stay put even when he wanted to rear and kick, Afanasy was afraid that he would break her wing, and that would only spell more trouble for him. What she was offering was so tempting. To not have to talk but to still be able to communicate. But the questions! Afanasy was not sure if he should tell her where he lived. She was so nice to him, and Afanasy didn’t want Tritone to get his hooks into her. She should just stay away. Stay away from everything here, including Afanasy.

But he could not lie to her either, so Afanasy nodded yes and then shook his head no. Yes, he lived near there but no, that was not the reason that he was out alone. He had been banished. Sent away. He knew that eventually he was expected to come back to Tritone, but for now he was on his own.

Taking a moment to actually look at the mare that was talking so nicely too him, Afanasy was startled by the way her body was divided in two. He just hoped that her personality wasn’t split as well. That thought made him tense up a little more removing all the relaxation that she had managed to get into him earlier. It was hard to keep an eye on her wings, her head, and her hooves without loosing track of one of them. Afanasy kept switching between the three as quickly as he could, afraid that he might miss the change in behavior or attack. But he never thought of fighting back or leaving. The kindness was too tempting to him, and the thought of hurting her actually scared him. So, Afanasy stood there, eyes darting around, waiting to see what happened next. He just hoped that it was not too painful because he could not hope for anything better than that.

Kyrieko

 

[Kyrieko]

For that whisper of a moment, she could see the stallion start to relax. Until her wing brushed against him. The way he jerked, as if expecting pain, had the dark mare pulling her wings in as tightly as possible and she stood very still allowing him to see she wasn't going to hurt him. Whatever had been done to him... it was bad. And had been going on for some time, she reckoned. It broke her heart and there was no masking the sympathy she felt for him.

What could prompt someone to even do such a thing? Sidi had a hard time even fathoming that there were such cruel individuals out there. Unless… it was a skinwalker. A skinwalker would find great pleasure in something like this, wouldn’t they? For a moment, her blood ran cold. But she shook it off the best she could. At one point she would have automatically thought kalona’s. But her mate was proof of that being wrong. A skinwalker though? Sidi dearly hoped that wasn’t what she was dealing with.

"Shhh... forgive me. I did not mean to startle you so. It's alright." Sidi spoke softly, never raising her voice. She made no more moves to approach him, simply standing still and making herself look as harmless as possible. "Shhh... " Her eyes slowly traveled over him, noting every little detail that struck her as being wrong. The way he held himself. The markings that looked like scars. Injuries.

A tiny bit of progress! The simple answers seemed to be working. Yes, he lived around here. But he was not out here for some quiet thinking time. A frown creased her face. So whatever situation he was in... it was close to here. That made a small alarm ring in her body. Whatever... or whoever had done this to him, was close by. She would have to keep her senses alert. But she didn't want to frighten the stallion.

"Okay, so you live around here." Sidi nodded. "Do you live with others?" She already knew what this answer would be, but she wanted to distract him. To find something to keep him from looking at her like he was waiting for a blow to come. "Sweet one... I promise to you, but the very stars in the sky, I won't hurt you." She whispered sadly. "Now lets see... have you eaten recently? There is a grove of trees not too far from here that I know has some ripe apples growing. Tis the season for them." Maybe getting him further away from here would help relax him? Or make his anxiety worse. But she had the sneaking suspicion he had not eaten very well. "Come. I will show you." Very slowly she turned and then waited before taking a few steps. Then stopping and glancing over her shoulder.

spelldancer