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 Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 2:03 am
 Tove gently picked her way towards the graveyard she knew her red stallion friend and his mate lived with the powerful thudding hoof falls of her brother close behind her. Her ears were pressed back with nervousness and her wings twitched and flapped uselessly. Her brother turned out to be a giant and his mate....well...
Nash was not well liked wherever he went.
As she entered the graveyard, her stomach flipped with butterflies. She turned sheepishly to Kinak, noticing the cat sprawled upon his shoulders. "Please brother," she begged, "Do not cause the same trouble you did with my mate. Please just....stay here and act small." She stomped an unseen hoof to let Kinak know she meant it. The giant nodded his head, slowly falling into a down position. He tucked his legs tightly under him.
"As you wish sister," he rumbled nosing Nash awake, "Nishka and I will wait here for you." But in reality Kinak could not keep the cat still if he did not wish to remain still. He smiled as he watched his sister trot off.Tove found the entrance to Velso and Char's home easy enough. She moved the vines from her path with her antlers carefully, the bells of her dreamcatcher betraying her otherwise silent motions."Velso? Charnette? Hello? It is Tove! I..ah...found my brother..."
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Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 7:28 pm
 Brilliant colors filled the forest as the trees got ready for the coming winter. Their leaves turning the brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red. Barring the occasional evergreen. This was the one and only season in which he almost blended in with the landscape. The colorful leaves twirled through the air as they fell from their branches. They crackled nicely under hoof. Velso had gone out to enjoy a stroll, crunch leaves, and take as much in before winter closed in around them again. It felt good to kick up his heels like a foal again. He didn't often go out with nothing in mind. Although he automatically took note of where things were that might make nice offerings for the gravestones. His mate had gone out early this morning, and he hadn't seen her when he left.
 Charnette was a busy mare. Any season was a fun season if you only looked at it right. But fall brought some rare opportunities. She'd headed out early to gather the supplies needed for her next planned prank. It'd taken much work to gather all the leaves and weave a container to hold them. When she'd finally gone to set it up though, she'd realized she'd left without any twine. Since she needed it for several things, Charn gave a sigh and headed back to home.
With surprise she noted a buff stallion, with snow and evergreen trees on his back. "Weeeellll hellooooo handsome!" It wasn't often strange stallions entered the graveyard. She playfully batter her eyes at him. Then a familiar voice reached her ears which perked up. "Tove? Tove! Is that you?!" Charn looked around until she located the voice coming from their home. The mare must have gone in to look for them. "Outside Tove."
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 12:51 pm
Kinak glanced up in mild surprise as he was greeted by an odd looking mare. He shifted slightly to hide Nash from her view. He assumed Tove would be the one to tell them, not himself. And this time, unlike the last, he would block any attacks but not attack back. He was steeling himself for it.
"Hello," he rumbled a little late as the mare had already moved away. She seemed overly excited to see his sister, which brought a small smile to his face. He was happy his sister seemed to have found people to accept her for what and who she is.
"Nishka wake up," the giant snorted tickling the cat with his beard, "You need to be awake in case you need to climb a tree or something like."Tove heard Charnette call her name before she saw the mare. She carefully exited the empty space and spotted the mare instantly. Rushing over, her wings fluttering with joy causing her to go airborne for a few steps, she bumped the mare playfully.
"It has been a long time since I have seen you!" Tove laughed happy as can be. She saw her brother shift from behind Char and her stomach sank. She was here for a reason. To find them all a safe place with someone who knew of Nash's race.
"Charnette...um...I hope Veslo isn't around right now...um...I found my brother and he has his mate with him...please don't freak out or be mad...I have been with them for a good amount of time and what Veslo said about him doesn't seem to...fit...I'm sorry..." She ducked her head in shame.magnadearel To the point sorry for bluntness
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 10:15 pm
 Nash stretched and yawned a bit, flashing fangs as his claws dug into one of Kinak's trees for a moment. " 'm awake, I'm awake," he mumbled, shaking his wings out a little. He smirked slightly, eyeing the other stallion's back, where he'd been napping in his smaller cat form, so he could fit. "Anyway I'm already sort of up a tree," he couldn't help but point out.
Looking around then, the cat noticed the graveyard and raised an eyebrow. "Sorry to say this, but your sister has some odd friends..." Who lived in a graveyard, anyway? That was just. Kind of weird.
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Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 7:52 pm
Veslorurn let his mind clear and purposely didn't think about anything. Which meant naturally his mind wanted to think about everything. The crimson stallion wrenched his mind back to nothing. No cares, no worries. Nothing except how beautiful the landscape looked at this moment. Briefly his mind strayed to what his mate might be doing. If he knew her, Char would be setting up her next prank. She was always a cheerful bubbly sort who liked to spread laughter. He wondered if all her pranks came off as well as she told, and if the unfortunate victims saw the humor.
He let out a horsey breath and laughed at himself. Yet again his mind had wandered. He took a deep breath. The scents of the fall and coming winter filled the air. Winter reminded him of almost a year ago. A strange snow mare had drifted through his graveyard. Veslo wondered where she was. He hoped she'd visit again this year, but didn't expect her to show until at least the first snows fell. It gave him a reason to look forward to true winter. Despite the trouble it gave him in caring for the graves and finding nice offerings for them.
Charnette happily greeted the deer-like mare after Tove had exited her home. She gave a friendly bump back. "You're back! and so soon!" It was a true delight to see the mare again. She'd seemed so shy back when they had first met. The mare was happy to see Veslo hadn't scared her off with his tales of skinwalkers. "I'm so glad you could visit again. You absolutely must introduce me to your friend."
She went on the alert when Tove ask if her mate wasn't around at the moment. Her ears perked forward to hear this male was her brother. Char felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she continued to listen. The mare didn't say it so she did. "Are you saying he's a skin walker?" All the things Veslo had said ran through her mind and sent a chill up her spine that wasn't from the cool fall day. Tove had led a skinwalker to their home? At first she wanted to ask Tove if she was crazy for bringing a skinwalker here.
"What do you mean, he doesn't seem to fit?" She let her eyes drift from mare to stallion. He was a big stallion, probably even bigger than Veslo. And he had weird trees on his back. Looking closer she finally made out the third form with them. A winged cat. She wanted to screech and run, but held herself perfectly still as she stared at him.
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Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 8:33 pm
The giant of a stallion rumbled lowly, his blue eyes cold and sharp. His mouth felt dry as he tried to form words. His sister was so happy to see the odd looking mare and Kinak already made things tense with Savannah her mate....
"I am Kinak...brother of Tove. This is Nishka...I mean...Nash...Nishka is my name for him. If you fear him, that is fine. All i ask is to leave in peace. If you fight him, You will have to break through me. He has done no harm outside of what a cat does to a hare. No random killing like my sister has said his kind...should..." he breathed looking at Nash fondly. He shiftled slowly so his hooves, unseen as his sister's are, were tucked under him allowing him to spring up if the need arose. Tove visibly sank. She hung her head and her wings fell limply at her side. "I'm sorry Charnette," she breathed, "I really wanted you to meet my brother but he goes barely anywhere without Nash in case Nash gets hurt."
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Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 10:35 pm
Realizing that something important was probably going on, Nash sat up a bit more and noticed the new mare staring at him. Oh ... this was the whole skinwalker thing again, wasn't it? Sinking back down a little, he attempted to look as non-threatening as possible.
"Like he says," he spoke up, nodding his head toward Kinak. "I am not some evil killer. I promise. If it makes you feel any better, I can stay like this... I'm smaller, so I probably couldn't do as much damage if I even wanted to. Which I don't." He snapped his mouth shut, realizing he was rambling. Was every time he met someone new going to go like this..?
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Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 11:22 pm
Veslo aimlessly wandered. He didn't pick any direct because he knew such-and-such grew over there. No he merely ambled along and sampled what plants took his fancy. Most were getting ready for winter. Already he was starting to look forward to spring when the fresh buds and flowers came out. Spring always had the juiciest and most tender plants to graze on.
Charnette was faced with a serious dilemma! Face to face with a creature of nightmares. One friend saying he was completely harmless completely at odds with everything her mate had said. Who was she to believe?
The large snow covered stallion finally introduced himself, and the creature on his back. She completely sensed the irony of it for the stallion to say he was protecting the skinwalker. Surely the beast could protect itself at the least! Char glanced at her friend who appeared to be experiencing much guilt. "I'm delighted to meet your brother Tove. Nash gets hurt? More like when we get hurt!"
She glanced around to check for her mate. No crimson red hide showing yet. Thank their lucky stars! Veslo would surely flip his s**t if he saw the skinwalker. "Come. We must move away from here before Veslo returns. I can't begin to say how damn lucky you were he isn't here."
She hustled the group into the protection of some thick trees. Once safely out of sight, she faced the skinwalker again. For a long moment she eyed him warily. He seemed tame enough. But she knew it was not to be trusted. "How can we be sure? How can we trust you not to kill us in our sleep? How do we know you aren't lying?" She knew as far as her mate was concerned, nothing he said could be trusted. "You're dangerous no matter which form you take!"
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Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 12:44 am
It took the giant a bit more to follow Charnette and Tove to the grove, his bulk slowing him down. He had shrugged Nash off his back a while ago. The cat had four legs.
"Why did we move?" complained the giant moving to lean under a tree. To his joy, Kinak found a berry bush coiled around the base of the trunk. He snacked as the females figured his mate out...again.Tove sighed. "I know I was lucky, thank the stars, that Veslo isn't here. As for him killing us...I have been travelling with them for a good season or two. And Nash...he thinks he is bad but my mate beat him up. Even I can beat him up and I am not strong like my brother." As if to prove a point, Tove kicked Nash with a back hoof knocking him aside.
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Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 4:38 pm
Nash sighed softly, picking himself up from the ground to follow as they moved, after the mare said something about them being lucky her mate wasn't there. His ears were laid back at Tove's talking about beating him up, and kicking him, sheesh. He almost protested but... decided maybe for now it was better to keep his mouth shut. Defending his pride could come after trying to reassure yet another person that he wasn't a monster.
"What can I do to make you less nervous?" he asked, wings flexing a bit. "I mean, I know I can't force you to believe me, but I'm obviously not attacking anyone right now. And like Tove said, I haven't gone after any of them yet in their sleep or whatever. Why do all 'skinwalkers' have to automatically be evil, just because another one you've met is? Or because of rumors or whatever."
magnadearel XD Little does he know why exactly they hate skinwalkers...
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Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:53 am
Veslo looked up from his grazing to watch a small flock of tiny birds heading south. It was that time when all who could left, went into hibernation, or were feverishly gathering enough to hopefully survive the long winter. A sad time really. He would miss the bright cheerful calls of the birds as they watched him walk by, or the chittering of upset squirrels. Everything would become silent as the snows covered the ground and changed the landscape into white. He stamped through the leaves that fluttered across the ground. Some made a delightful crunching sound. He used a forehoof to kick some up, but he had to turn his head over his shoulder to watch them come down. It was unfortunate that he couldn't kick like a two-legger and have them fly up ahead of him.
Charnette fixed stern pale eyes on the large stallion when he complained about the move. "So we would not be visible by my mate should he happen home at just this time." She paused to think, then amended her statement, "no so he," she stabbed a forehoof at Nash, "wouldn't be visible."
"You don't understand, but Tove does. My mate hates skinwalkers. If he should encounter one here, I can't tell how he would act." Char let her gaze soften and turned to Tove. "You could have left them in the forest and come look for me directly." However, on the mare's comment that she'd been traveling with them for months with nothing happening Char had nothing to say. It utterly baffled her. She paced a few steps to think. It was surprising Nash didn't protest to the kick Tove gave him. But any smart skinwalker could do it. They were ruthless.
What could he do? Anything he or they came up with could always be countered by he was pretending. The one argument her mate would use. They could always wait and see for his true motives to be revealed, but by then it would probably be too late. Char let out a gusty sigh as she felt a headache developing between her eyes. A question occurred to her and she looked at Nash. "Why are you traveling with them?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2017 6:27 pm
Nash blinked and tilted his head at her question. "What do you mean why...? Because Kinak is my mate," he replied simply, padding over to the huge stallion and rubbing against a let with a soft purr. "I'd never hurt him. Or Tove, or anyone that they say is a friend of theirs."
Sighing softly, he sat down and curled his tail around his paws. "I know there's probably nothing I can really say to convince you if you're not going to let yourself be convinced. But ... maybe try to believe me?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2017 7:45 pm
The giant looked up as Nash moved to bump him. A berry red stained the giant's lips and a bit of his powder blue beard. With a low rumble, Kinak bumped the cat back.
"Nishka I love you too but keep rubbing my face and I will sneeze," the giant grunted going back to stripping the berry bush of even unripe berries. Tove bowed her head love in shame. One of her icecicles dropped to the ground and broke. Her leg moved and a hoof drag mark appeared on the ground. "I know I made a mistake...I just...was happy to have found my family and wanted you to meet my brother...who Nash is always with. And please believe me when I say he hasn't even tried to bring us harm in the time we traveled. He hasn't harmed my mate either...so maybe veslo could...see that? I would never bring danger here!" She looked like she was going to cry.
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Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 10:26 am
Veslorurn shook his head to shake the cobwebs from his brain. He'd been gazing into space thinking about nothing. Perhaps it was time to return home. Char clearly wasn't here or she'd have come to greet him. He must have missed her in passing. With luck she'd be back at home. He turned his head back toward the graveyard he tended and called home. There were strange scents in the air as he got closer. One he thought he recognized as the mare that had visited last winter. Eagerly he picked up his pace. It would be nice to see her again.
Charnette felt her mind racing in circles as it valiantly tried to come up with plan after plan to show this skinwalker was harmless. If indeed he was. However each successive plan seemed worst than the one before it. There didn't seem to be any definite way to prove he was in fact good.
The skinwalker's frank reply brought her thoughts to a tumbling halt. It was such an unexpected statement from his mouth. Did skinwalkers take mates? It seemed improbable given how Veslo said any group fell apart in time. So how or why would one take a mate? There was so much more she wish she'd investigated. Something naggled at the back of her mind but she couldn't place a hoof on it yet.
She bit back the question of what about one who wasn't a friend of Tove's or her brother? Char tilted her head at the skinwalker, no she could at least try to think of him by his name. Surprisingly they had names too. "It's not that I don't want to, but I have to be cautious. Think of it like this Nash. All your life you've been told an animal is dangerous and will try to hurt and kill you if you encounter one. Say a bear. Suddenly your face to face with one. What do you think first? 'Oh we can totally trust it and be friends?' "
The blue mare gave him a hard look. "If you think that your fooling yourself. No your mind races with all the horror stories you've heard and wonder which one will come true for you. I don't know your thoughts or motives. You could simply be using them without their knowledge to gain access to others. Honestly I'm not sure how we can prove your not evil as the stories say."
Char heaved a deep sigh and went over to nuzzle Tove reassuringly. "It's not your fault. You should be happy! It's just circumstance that makes things less pleasant. We'll work it out. Somehow." She paused and sniffed the air. The scent of her mate and growing stronger. "He's coming. Well it's now or never." She looked once more at Nash, "I am going to try to speak to my mate on your behalf. If you betray me though, you'd best kill me first or I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth." The tone of her voice changed to a cold steely note.
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Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 6:09 pm
The cat 'walker tilted his head slightly, ears tilted forward as he listened to the mare's explanation. He replied after a few moments with a slow nod. "I guess... I can kind of see your point. I'm not asking you to completely trust me right now. I know that's probably unreasonable. Just ... I don't know. Give me a chance? A chance to prove that I'm not what you think, just as much of a chance for you to be right. Like. Try to think neutrally? Not sure what to call it." He laughed slightly at his own confusion. Really, just the fact she was willing to talk to him at all was probably good.
When she suddenly said that her mate was coming, though, he couldn't help but tense up with apprehension all over again. He edged slightly closer to Kinak - not quite behind the big stallion but definitely seeking some comfort by being near him. He nodded at Char's words, though, still holding his head high. "I understand. I won't betray anyone."
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