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 Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 4:36 am
The brightly coloured Aeri shook herself vigorously in an attempt to remove the small pellets of ice that were trying to soak through her coat to her skin. The weather, it seemed, had finally decided that as it was winter it ought to be doing something horrible. Heavy hail of fair size interspersed with freezing sleet was the result.
Nyx sighed inwardly and gave another shake. She was very glad of her heavy build at times like this; her body seemed to retain heat better than the more slender breeds' did.
The grass beneath her hooves was mostly obscured by a layer of hail and the blue spotted mare was forced to scrape the chilly substance away with a hoof before bending down to nibble at the chilly fodder.
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 6:03 pm
 There was no shine to the golden pelt as she shook the torrenting hail from her body. The winter had long taken care of all Nequus' beauty - leaving them a fluffy ball. For her it meant a white undercoat, just enough to keep her warm above several strong ribs. Hunger had driven her out from the shelter of the tree. She could do nothing but strike out in anger against the hail that had fallen. No matter how hard she cursed it, it still came down, perhaps faster than ever. Mocking her. Taunting her very being.
The icy air made her throat burn as she walked, her warm breath steaming up into the overcast sky. Her footfalls were still proud, but her ears were layed flat, head low, to try and keep the stings from reaching vulnerable areas. How much she hated this vile weather, wishing only to chase it from the earth.
A familiar whisper broke her dark thoughts. Tidings of evil washed about her head. They shouldn't be this strong, not now, everyone was sleeping - away. A hoarse cough broke from her mouth, sending her into a spell. This was no time for such events! She needed to keep her wits.
Even with practicing everyday - and the success with Lucius - she could get no hold on control of this curse. It only made her head ache further than before, and her body scream for relief from the weary days and nights spent awake. They kept her up, all day, all night.
The only way to make them stop was to kill the causers, but there were so many. Not right now, only this one was causing her grief, and she'd either chase it away, or end its life. Whatever would give her peace. She snorted in defiance, feeding off the sharp fire in her lungs.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:17 am
Nyx paused in her cropping of the grass, ears swivelling as the cough floated through the night. The Aeri raised her head and cast around, trying to work out where the noise had come from. She hadn't expected to have company in her grazing but that had definitely been the cough of a Nequus. The orange and blue mare smiled slightly to herself - company was always a good thing.
Deciding which direction the noise had come from, the blue-winged Aeri abandoned the patch of grass that she had excavated and set off. For some way she saw nothing through the black of night and the pounding hail but eventually the mare's blue eyes made out a shadow. Well, if it was a bush then it was remarkably Nequus shaped and probably something to show to the foals.
"Hello," she called to the probably-not-a-bush. "You're out late on a wild night, are you looking for grazing too? There's grass enough under all the hail, frozen though so it'll die back once everything thaws sadly." It would take a little while for it to grow back, too. She might have to move the group quite some way to find enough food to go around.
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Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:17 pm
Storm decided to ignore the other presence as it approached. Chances are it wouldn't see her, but she was very wrong. Her ears flattened against her skull as the equine crept nearer to her golden coat. The mare stamped her foot in agitation, but gave little other sign that she had heard the newcommer approach. She always liked to be descreet about her attacks. It was their own fault for venturing too close, she didn't plan on giving them warning.
The female didn't come within kicking range, however, and Storm found she wasn't completely dull in the head. The voices swarmed about her, overwhelming her own thoughts and angry emotions. The result made Storm bitter.
Even in the cold this other mare had a sort of Charisma. Storm lazily disbanded it as anything important. Apparently the other was completely off their rocker. It was cold, and she was miserable, everyone else should be thusway as well. Not to mention the other was placidy stupid. There was not a fear in the Aeri's body that approached - simply a wish for love and companionship from everyone. It made Storm sick.
"Go away little Aeri," she snapped, though the other was far larger than her. She'd known the race to be very calm, laxed in any evil intentions, but that didn't make her like them any less. She knew perfectly well that the grass would die away - she'd been here for enough seasons to know the basic principles of the world, she didn't need another telling her it. "No," she remarked dryly. "I've come to freeze my soul away in this weather." Stupid, stupid, stupid.
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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:00 am
Nyx frowned slightly at the voice's aggression, not quite what she'd been expecting; she herself would be glad of company on such a miserable night. Ah well, no help for it; hopefully she could un-ruffle the other Nequus somewhat.
"Forgiveme for asking," she said with an internal shrug. "I was just trying to make conversation, to be friendly. I'm didn't set out to annoy you."
Now that she squinted, the orange and blue Aeri thought that she could make the figure out a little better. Slim, long maned and tailed with leathery tings like her own and a horn. Not shaped right for Reya though... I wonder what she is? Besides hostile that is.
Well, it was a very unpleasant night; enough to set the most pleasant of folk on edge. Hopefully the slender figure would warm to her once she realised that no hostility was intended.
"My name is Nyx," She said after some moments of silence. "I hope I didn't interrupt your grazing."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:20 pm
She would do nothing of the sort. Forgiving wasn't a term Storm included often in her vocabulary. This was certainly not one of those pristine times. They all started out that way. 'Let's be friends!' With their little cocked-eyed grins and buck teeth. It was if something had pulled them out of the ground and put something strange in their water.
She snorted in response to the other. Hardly anyone sets out to annoy another, but they always seem to. Did they ever reason perhaps she didn't like company? Socialism was another assemblance of letters that she didn't use.
"Yes," she grumbled. "As a matter of fact you did." Tramped right through my miserable silence. The swirling voices that smacked constantly in her head were not much help to Storm's mood. She found Nyx's thoughts simple, and pointless.
"A bit hostile, but it keeps the orange flies away." She flicked her tail and ventured farther down the slippery hill, careful to keep her footing. She didn't bother telling the other mare her name. As far as Storm was concerned, the less that knew it, the better.
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Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:27 am
Nyx's frown deepened; she knew she hadn't spoken that thought aloud... but she must have. How else would she have heard me? The tall mare watched the haughty figure stalk away for a moment before setting off after her. Orange flies... She means me?
The Aeri paused at that thought and pawed at the ground uncertainly. Should she go on after the agressive Nequus or return to her grazing? Curiosity urged her on but the other mare's hostility and apparent wish for solitude held her back.
Well... I suppose it can't hurt... She'll tell me to go if she really gets annoyed, won't she?
Reaching her decision, Nyx walked on into the night, squinting against the hail to make out the shap of the being she followed.
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Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 10:48 pm
So off Storm went, winding her way around the icy countryside, over dying grass. She kept moving for hours, keeping Nyx at her side for 'company', not telling the other to leave or stay. She had something in mind for the creature, oh yes, and it happened to be in the thickening fog of the Fyhi tel Oren. The red dirt was barely visible beneath her feet as she climbed its slopes. She knew how treacherous they were, and how far they stretched, so no other creature could readily make it across.
Still, she had a mind map of the very bottom stretch of the stony outcrop and Storm knew exactly where she was going. It wasn't far, but it was steep, and could be brutally painful on the hoof's. If the other chose to follow her this far, Storm gave her a bit of credit for her determination, but nothing more.
An eerie feeling washed over her head. She was getting close. Her mental map was telling her danger wasn't so far away, but she trudged forwards, knowing the moves and procedure she'd worked through so many times before. Her wings flexed in anticipation, popping from lack of use. Not too long now.
At last she could feel it, the pounding of her heart within her breast became louder. She could feel the beat in her hooves, wings, and head, but she kept moving. The muscles in her legs tensed and she finished the last few steps, and fell, right of the edge of a cliff, but she knew it was there. She hoped Nyx would be too stupid, and the fog too thick, to tell there was a drop off, and she would come plumetting down the side of the mountain. Granted, she could probably fly, or so Storm hoped. She didn't really want to injure the other, just give her a fright.
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Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 9:56 am
The silence between them had held for hours, or so it seemed. Nyx was sure that she had long ago left her usual haunts behind but something about the golden mare drew her on. She had stumbled several times already, catching herself each time just before the point of skinning her knees. The rough terrain they were now crossing did not agree with one used to the kind inclines of D'ob.
The Aeri frowned slightly; was the horned Nequus before her tensing? Nyx's ears swivelled, hoping to catch the sound of whatever was worrying the other being but the fog muffled her ears as fully as it impeded her vision.
There was definitely something odd about the white-winged mare's stance now. The spotted Aeri cast over her shoulder, wondering if the danger came from behind and-
The world fell away from underneath her.
Nyx gave a yell of shock and flailed at the air with her hooves for a moment before snapping out her leathery wings. Her fall became a somewhat ungainly swoop and the mare gasped for breath, her muscles trembling with the shock.
Where had the other mare gone? Nyx cast around through the foggy air, hoping to catch some sign of her companion. "Horned-one?" she called through the still air. "Hello?" What if she hadn't reacted to the drop in time? What if she had fallen to the ground below?
Nyx shuddered at the thought and swooped down, hoping to see the white-maned Nequus spiralling down to safety.
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Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:19 am
Oh it had worked so perfectly! Still airborne, Storm tossed her head wildly, snorting with laughter as she saw the creature plummet towards the earth. She couldn’t see the events that followed, but the fog echoed the distinct sound of opening wings. The Nequus was safe. Storm doubled over in laughter, it was the most perfect thing she had ever done, and the other didn’t even see it coming. In fact, the strong emotions from the orange and blue told Storm she was actually worried about her ‘little horned friend.’ Silly girl didn’t suspect a thing.
Still madly laughing she banked to the right, keeping the air beneath her solid white. She didn’t want any cliffs suddenly appearing in her vision. Flying in fog was beyond dangerous. Towards the bottom of her descent the fog began to separate, just enough to give her a vague view of the ground. She curled her wings against her side and dove, plummeting the last little bit to the earth. Storm kept them tucked till the last moment, snapping out the leather just in the nick of time and gracefully arching upwards. She moved her feet carefully, so she would get a running landing, and touched her hooves to the ground.
No sooner had she made it, and then she was off running again, across the grass, laughing at Nyx all the while, her voice bounding of the thick mist. She doubted anything could, or would, follow her after that.
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Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:30 am
The laughter carried to her ears even through the muffling fog. A trick. It had been a trick. The patterned mare spiralled on towards the ground, watching despondently as the golden-bodied mare galloped away from her. Well, she'd known that she hadn't exactly been welcome but she'd never expected the horned Nequus to do anything like that to her.
Nyx's hooves thudded into the ground and once she had slowed down enough she stopped to let her thundering heart calm itself. People could be so cruel at time, if the mare (who's name she still didn't know) had wanted her to leave a word or two would have been enough.
The tall Aeri sighed to herself and turned her face towards home before setting off at an easy canter. With any luck, she would be back before anyone noticed she had left and the whole incident could be forgotten, along with the laughter of triumph that still echoed through her mind.
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