[PRP] Abrupt Meetings (Lockes and Octobre)

[belloblossom]

Lockes rarely spent much time out in the open these days, preferring the safety of the trees, which she hoped could disguise her from the eyes of other Soquili. She seemed to only attract disaster. Anyone who came into contact with her either left Lockes trembling in fear-like the Skinwalker by the Hot Springs- or covered in their blood.

Sometimes, it was easy to feel the blood lust rising in her when she met someone. After all, you can't just stop being a killer and there were still so many imperfections on a Soquili. It could be something as broad as having a dusty coat or something so detailed as a single hair out of place that could set her off.

It was no good talking to her familiar, Grimm, about it. Grimm had bonded to her because the alligator fed off the corpses Lockes had produced. Even now when she had isolated herself from the company of others, her familiar looked at her with disappointment in her eyes and rather than going to hunt for herself, now expected Lockes to feed her. Not wanting to starve the poor reptile, Lockes would go out and hunt smaller prey, rabbits or boars or something of that kind. She was skilled with her blade, she found, able to make quick incisions that killed the beast and splattered her coat and theirs with red. It was becoming her least favorite color.

It was the color she was wearing today, due to her familiar's ever present hunger. She had slain a deer to appease Grimm and her light coat was staining. While Grimm fed, she had gone off to find a stream to wash it off from. She would loathe for such a gruesome color to stain, but she had to be quick, for it could be even worse if someone else came upon her that day.

[Eskimo]

 

[[Eskimo]]

Time was a strange creature. Imperceptible in its movements, inaudible in its words, yet ever present in the lives of the few and the many, the good and the bad, the evil...

Evil...

Was that what Octobre had become? What did the word mean? To use others for one's own gains...to disregard the will of another for the sake of oneself...is that what it meant? To be devoid of compassion, consideration, love...to be driven by selfish desires...to become greed itself...was this what Octobre had truly become?

No, she thought...she was not yet devoid of love. Her heart still yearned for the one she had driven away. It hurt. She hurt. Had she really pushed him away for his own safety? Lies, deceit...why hadn't she trusted him more? She had failed at every turn she had hope to succeed at. And now here she was, alone and afraid, running from everyone, including herself. And yet despite all this, she was still a slave to her obsession--blood. Even now she pursued it. Even now she felt her tongue heavy in her mouth. She despised it, despised herself. Yet she couldn't break its ties. Why had she been foolish enough to believe she could by herself? Alone. Where had she ever gotten alone? What a sham. A farce. She was so tired...

The scent of blood shocked Octobre's nostrils out of their complacency and lit her eyes with visible thirst. Her steps quickened in pursuit of its source. She had been following it for some time. It was something like deer blood, yet different. Perhaps a breed she'd never drank from before? A native species to those parts. New. Unique. All miserable introspection had been replaced by her newfound focus. She forgot all about her regret. She forgot everything.

Water mingled with the smell she was tracking, and she almost let herself feel irritated by it. But irritation was an interruption. She ignored it and kept on, finding herself at a wide stream. She nearly rushed into its waters without a second thought, but the sight--not scent--of a white mare glowing in the shade shocked her out of her hypnosis. She choked on a startled gasp before recovering. The mare was wide-eyed and covered in blood. The blood Octobre had been following. This mare...had she killed what Octobre sought? But what to do? What action to take? Was she dangerous? Octobre could fly if need be. Say something? No...

Octobre merely stared, blank face masking a racing heart.

belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Lockes was hard at work on rubbing the blood from her coat. By rubbing her stained legs together, the blood seemed to spread and thin, but where it came up around her chest was significantly more difficult to work with. She had to continuously lower her chest into the stream, let the cold water seep into her fur and then raise herself up again to let the blood and water drip off of her. If the mare had wanted this process finished with faster, she may have braved the Hot Springs again. Maybe she could have found an alternative route to get up to the hot pools so that the skinwalker wouldn't notice her presence?

She was deep in this thought, for the work was beginning to drag her down, equal parts mentally, for she was becoming tired and physically, as the water was getting very heavy. She was about to say "Oh, forget it!" and storm off towards the direction where she had left Grimm, so they could find a bigger stream or river, when she stilled. Someone was nearby, she could feel it.

Raising her head slowly, she turned it to look directly at the stranger who stared at her wordlessly. The creature was a Soquili and bore no pelt of a walker, but its nostrils flared and its eyes were dark. Lockes trembled and not from a result of the cold water. She sometimes wondered if she would be taken into the realm of the dead by a grim reaper and by looking at the Soquili in front of her, she wondered if the said reaper was finally here.

Don't be silly. Say hello. But why wasn't this Soquili saying hello? Why did it just keep staring at her without any sign of movement or emotion in its body or eyes. Probably because it wanted a drink and found a strange mare washing blood of their body in the middle of its stream. Move, you silly thing. Her inner voice chided her and Lockes stumbled back.

"I-oh-um... D-Do pardon me!" Lockes said, the stream now between the two Soquili. Lockes glanced behind her at the blade she carried, stuffed into the head of the "Mama Bear" that rested on her back. If this Soquili were violent, would she have to raise her weapon against another today?

"It's not what it looks like, I promise. I didn't... Well, what I mean was... My familiar was hungry, so..." What was she doing, trying to explain herself to this dark stranger? "I... Who are you?"

[Eskimo]

 

[[Eskimo]]

Pardon her?

Well, that was wholly unexpected. Octobre hadn't anticipated proper manners from someone who, err--...seemed...well, rather than finish her thought, Octobre waved it off, realizing she was dangerously close to becoming hypocritical.

"No pardon is required," Octobre answered flatly, though it sounded just a touch warmer than her usual coldness. She took a steadying breath and reminded herself that this mare could still pose a threat. Strangers were strange. It was a wise motto to live by. At least, she thought it was. And yet there was something about the mare that reminded Octobre almost of...a filly.

Upon mention of a familiar, unease set in again. Octobre didn't understand the idea of pet-keeping, and she also didn't understand why one would choose a carnivorous pet. And since that was apparently the case here, she felt her eyes dart about the area briefly in attempts to locate said pet, but to no avail. "My name is Octobre," she replied absently, as her attentions were still temporarily elsewhere...but then she realized her near mistake in etiquette. She looked back to the mare and added, "And yours?"

belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Lockes felt uneasy with the way that the mare's eyes continued to move between Lockes and their surroundings. Was the newcomer planning an attack? Should Lockes prepare to defend herself, or would her flight instincts overwhelm her?

Shifting her position slightly, so she could turn more easily and bolt if need be-she had shed enough blood for one day and had no desire to kill again, unless it was impossible to avoid. She shifted again, trying to erase the growing discomfort that seemed to stretch and grow with every breath she took. Then, the mare had introduced herself and after a few beats, asked Lockes for her own name.

"Lockes." She blurted without thinking and then kicked a fore-hoof into the ground. Why hadn't she used an alias? She turned her eyes to the greenery around her and then suddenly felt embarrassed. What if this wasn't so much a threatening encounter so much as one of social anxiety? Yes, she had been caught in an odd set of circumstances, but she had also not spoken with another Soquili for quite some time.

She sighed, straightened and looked at the other mare across the stream.
"I'm sorry, I'm not used to company anymore, so I'm a tad spooky around strangers. I hope you'll forgive my..." She gestured with her head vaguely, as though to indicate everything. "At any rate, I'm sorry if I frightened you."

Lockes‘ eyes turned to the sky and she smiled a little.
"It's a pleasant day for an outing. Are you headed anywhere in particular?"

[Eskimo]