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 Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 12:59 pm
 Snow fell gently in the afternoon air as a big Nequus swooped out of the sky and landed with a resounding thud. His hooves skidded on the icy ground and ploughed up great furrows in the inches deep snow. Lucius recovered his balance after a few moments and gave a small snort of amusement as he glanced over his shoulder at the trail his landing had left.
Winter had roughened his coat and reduced the stocky, muscular quality of his build but he was undeniably still a healthy looking creature. Orange eyes looked up into the whitened skies and the stallion beat his great wings once or twice to see the patterns they made in the falling snow.
Winter, he felt, was worth all the hardship for sights and days like this.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 1:19 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 1:40 pm
Lucius blew lightly at the snowflakes that fluttered near to his bone-clad face. He'd heard it said that no two of the pure white flakes were ever the same but he doubted anyone had actually stopped to check, the never did. Perhaps somebody had taken a sample and decided from it that snowflakes were-
A crack of something, something living, something behind him.
Lucius spun about, ears flattened to his head in surprise; he had thought that he was alone. Apparently not, he thought to himself, relaxing his ears and muscles as he took in the form of another Nequus. A bay Jala Stallion he was and not looking in the least bit aggressive.
The red-maned Aeri reached a decision easily and set off towards the other with long slow strides. It had been many days since he’d last spoken to anything more intelligent than a cloud or a tree; the prospect of conversation was an attractive one if this feathered-stallion proved worth it. The morbid adornments that he wore on his back clicked audibly in the still air. The black stallion smiled inwardly and awaited the other Nequus' reaction to his strange, frightening appearance.
If the Jala didn't turn tail and run screaming right away he might be worth getting to know some little. If he managed that much then definitely worth at least the time for a casual chat while he rested even if further acquaintance wasn’t worth the bother.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 1:57 pm
He hadn't kept a good eye on the other stallion, so when he heard movement in the snow Aitumn craned his head around and saw that he had been spotted. Stopping in his tracks, since for him to just keep walking would have been a bit rude, the stallion took in the sight of the creature that was coming towards him. It took awhile for his hallow dark eyes to adjust to the distance, and when the other was close enough he raised his head a bit more to get a better look. Was that... bone? Intriqued by this strange turn of events, the blood bay perked his ears and watched the other, an Aeri he know saw by the bat-like wings, come closer still. He didn't think he ever saw such a thing before, and so he turned a bit to get a better look and to make sure the snow wasn't just playing tricks on him. Snow was tricky, in his opinion. Now normally Aitumn had no desire to speak with anyone at all, much less make the first move towards conversation, but this Aeri was very interesting. That is, as long as he didn't prove to be in anyway violent or ill-intended, for with the sight of him Aitumn figured it'd be better to leave things be instead of confronting this one, if this stallion did in fact prove to be ill-inted that is. "Hey", he offered as a greeting and left conversation open ended, for he somehow doubted 'what the hell is that on your back?' would be an effective subject to start out with. The blood bay kept watchful hallow eyes on the other stallion, just in case.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 2:19 pm
Lucius allowed his internal smile to slide onto his lips.
Good, very good.
For the most part, Nequus reacted to the sight of him and his extra skeleton with silent disgust or fear, perhaps with a gasp of indrawn breath. Oh yes, mostly they just tried to avoid his gaze, ignored him if he tried to strike up conversation. Some even fled. This one was different though. His intent expression revealed the fact that the blood bay had seen something that he found unusual, proving that he wasn’t blind or stupid, but there was no hint of fear of distaste in his dark eyes.
"Greetings," he called back through the freezing flakes, giving the brown-coated stallion another careful looking over. He looked the very picture of health as much as any Nequus did in winter. That raised the Jala even further in Lucius' esteem. Nobody stayed that well looking in winter by lazing around hiding from the weather all day long with idle dreams of soft springtime and the ease it would bring.
"My name is Lucius," he offered, coming to a halt a polite distance away from the feather-winged stallion.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 2:39 pm
Gazing on as he spotted a sort of smile on the Aeri's lips, Aitumn figured that any ill-intentions were gone and possibly never there to begin with, so he allowed his gaze to go fully take in the bone structure before making their way up to the skull and finally the eyes. Bones, what might have happened to make such a thing exist? Why? How? He kept his mind from wandering and bobbed his head at the greeting, trying to ignore the little speckled blanket of snow that again lathered his back. If it wasn't for this snow Aitumn would have been flying around to escape his self-obliged welcome to this part of the land. Always the traveler, and always the one in search for new terrain. When the snow became to much to bear he shook his mane out, restraining himself from opening his wings. After all, he had just met this guy, and he didn't want any startling going on for either of them by the other.
Pricking his ears forward when the Aeri came to a stop and mentioned his name, Aitumn did the same. "And I'm Aitumn", he spoke, mind wandering slightly like it did somethings. Stories, oh the stories he could tell in this kind of weather, and his thoughts ached to create them. But he held it back and returned the smile with a bit of his own. "Are you here often?" he asked, considering he himself never stayed in one place to long, he wanted to know if there others like him. Others that moved on the wills of their minds, that had wings and hooves as restless as his own. But again his attention was stolen away by Lucious' interesting structure. The best way to know about such things, was to the know the nequus itself, and so Aitumn left that subject untouched for now; despite how curious he was and the questions that swirled in his mind.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 3:00 pm
"Aitumn," the large stallion repeated with a nod, fixing the name in his mind. Humm, yes the Jala was definitely interested in him; the dark eyes roved every which way, taking in every aspect of the strange creature that was himself. Lucius swished his tail at a few flakes that had managed to settle on his rump; none of the little white things lasted long near the unnatural and unquenchable warmth of the bones he wore but ridding himself of the ticking feeling a little sooner was hardly a bad thing.
"No, I'm not here often," he replied. "I travel mostly; north south east and west have all been my home for a few weeks at a time but I don't like to stay still for too long, I feel like I'd stagnate if I ever decided that one place was my home for ever and anon."
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 3:51 pm
It became apparent to Aitumn that the longer he stood in the snow, the more his joints began to stiffen up, and he moved again slightly to crack them and keep them from getting to uncomfortable. This Aeri on the other hoof, was a very interesting individual. Not only because of the bones, but because of his wandering nature, and Aitumn found himself bobbing his head to the words before speaking up. "I travel as well, though I think a week on my end would leave me a bit stir crazy", he spoke, flipping his head back once so a few stray stands of his long dark forelock would find themselves away and out of his line of vision. The blood bay didn't have much of a liking towards winter and the cold, considering he didn't have much of a self-warming system like Lucius, save for the continous rustling of his featherd wings against his sides.
Flicking his ears from side to side the stallion pondered and thought, hallow eyes scanning the horizon before returning to Lucius once again. Perhaps if things went well he could ask this bone-clad Aeri for a bit of race or something. Anything for movement, Aitumn realized, for staying in one place to long was making him uncomfortable and very, very cold. "Have you seen anything interesting here, then, in your stay?" he asked, again wanting to know if this place would be a good setting for one of his stories. Yes, stories, his true ambition and desire for wandering and seeing new lands. "I'd feel kinda bad if I left this place without seeing much of it, despite the cold", he commented. Normally Aitumn wasn't much of a conversationalist, but his mind was on far greater things, even greater then the Aeri himself. And that was how stiff he was begining to get, a bit of a chilly-tingle nipping at his hocks and knees.
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:08 pm
"Well, a lot of snow and a lot of disagreeable Nequus to being with," Lucius said with a snort of amusement. "There's trees scattered about and little rises and brooks that no doubt babble charmingly in the summer but are all but frozen over for the present."
The orange-brown marked Aeri stretched out his large leathery wings and flexed them carefully a few times before settling into a comfortable pattern of gentle exercise to warm the muscles down. He probably looked damn silly but the red-maned stallion couldn't seem to care too much about that.
Better funny looks than stiff wings, he reasoned as he continued moving the limbs. "Do you mind if we walk about a bit?" he asked the other stallion, "I've been running and flying hard today, if I just stop all at once I'll feel terrible tomorrow and ruined muscles are not a good thing to have in winter time."
Still, he probably ought to think of something more interesting to say about the area. "The mountains over yonder," he gave a nod of his great head at the rock giants, hidden from the eye by curtains of snow, "look very impressive on a clear day with their pine forests and such. Not a good idea to climb them at this time of year, obviously, but they look rather good from a distance."
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:41 pm
Snow indeed, Aitumn thought to himself, the chilly little beasts that clung to his hide like no other. Though he had to ponder about the disagreeable nequus, not exactly something he'd perferably like to encounter, but things like that did happen to get a snort of discontent from him. As the talk turned to the envirment and the terrain once again Aitumn took a swinging glance around, seeing the blanket of snow that covered everything. Though at the mention of a walk he all to eagerly agreed. "Yeah, that'd be great, standing still is making me stiff", and he turned to the side slightly to start off on the walk, again his joints popping in the cold. Though at the mention of the mountains he did swing his head around to look at them. "I'm sure they'd look wonderful, but I'm not much a climber myself anyways", he spoke, and knew that was true. Rock climbing was something he'd leave to the more ambitious willing to work on such a feat, for he would never be able to stay that focused. "How about you?" he asked.
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Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 9:15 am
Lucius set off beside the Jala gratefully, his huge hooves crunching and squeaking in the cold white carpet on the ground. Pretty though the snow was, it made the air cold and chilled hard-worked muscles more quickly than he liked. Still, he was moving now and that was the main thing.
"Oh I've climbed a thing or two in my time," he replied to the bay's query, his mind wondering to the time he had acquired the bones that kept away the very worst of the cold. "It's good exercise but I don't know how far up those mountains I'd want to trouble to climb. Treacherous place I've heard from those who have gone beyond the bottom slopes. Maybe the fancy will take me someday but for now I'm content to observe from afar."
Actually, it might be quite interesting to go at least a little way up those icy giants; no cowards up there and fools wouldn't last long. All things considered, any Nequus he met on those slopes would likely be somebody he could respect at the very least, maybe even like. Whilst he didn't really feel the need to go around making friends with the whole world it might be nice to meet someone with such ambition. Lucius tucked the idea away for further consideration at a later date.
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Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 9:33 am
The movement of said joints allowed the Jala stallion to finally ease himself into what seemed like a comfortable pace, earlier he had been flying around trying to get from place to place, but with how the temperature was and the falling snow that threatened to sheet his feathered wings, he had decided it was better to to leave such things be and travel by ground. Unfortunatly, the snow had made that difficuilt as his hocks nipped at him with a biting tingle; even now Aitumn could feel it start to return to that feeling. But walking was much better then standing around and freezing, and so he continued to shift his feathered wings against his sides and back, in an effort to keep himself warm.
Glancing back over to Lucious as he spoke about climbing, the blood bay fastened upon his mind great tales of such a trecherous journey. He himself would never have the desire to climb and to focus on such a feat, but he could certainly tell stories of those who had. And with a shrug of his sloping shoulders he persumed that be his life-long ambition. To spread the stories of others and of characters he had created for various purposes. Now that is, if he ever got the mind to speak with anyone about them, for the Jala absoluted hated talking about himself. "It would be good exercise, though I'm betting it'd take a great deal of focus. More so then my own mind can fathom at most times", he commented, allowing his hallow dark to sweep over the horizon and towards the mountains that hid themselves so well in this sort of weather.
A wanning subject soon brought itself to Aitumn's attention once again as his gaze shifted to the Aeri stallion beside him, and back to the bones. He noticed that the flakes that settled near them didn't last very long, and he dared to venture out on a different subject. "If you wouldn't mind me asking, how did those bones come about?" He asked, once again returned his gaze to Lucius while flicking his ears from side to side in thought. He wanted to know if the Aeri had always had them, if he was born with them, had he found them somehow? For a wandering teller of stories like himself, his mind worked in wonderous ways, that at this moment fastened themselves to the bone-clad Aeri.
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Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 10:04 am
Lucius nodded to the blood bay's words, a lot of focus indeed. Seeking information on routs that could be taken up, seeking food, negotiating sliding pebbles and jagged outcrops. Not an easy task in the least to climb very far. But then I never did attempt to do the easy or the simple, what would the point of that be?
"Oh, these?" the Aeri smiled to himself; this story again. Well, it wasn't as if he minded or anything though parts of it still made him tense up with fury. "These bones are all that now remains of a once great Nequus," he began, "he was an Aeri, like myself, but more than that he was an elemental of the flame. His name was Pyrus and he was betrayed by weak minded traitors who feared change."
"The story goes that he had decided to gather all the Nequus in the place that he lived to himself and ask them to follow him. He had some vision, some dream for them, to improve their lives, to give them plenty and peace through all the seasons. None were forced to his cause but he made it clear that he would punish any who tried to claim a part of the future he had in mind if they did not work for it."
Beneath it's skull helmet, Lucius' face hardened. "A group of young stallions disliked the power he had, both his mastery of fire and his growing influence over other Nequus so they began to spread evil rumours about him. Most folk feared Pyrus and, much though they liked the idea of his future, their fear was easily turned to hate. Nobody seemed to care when those brave creatures earned Pyurs' trust and then betrayed him upon the summit he used for meetings. Tooth and hoof they smote him until he lay still and then, then they returned to their friends and celebrated his demise."
For some time after those angrily and bitterly spoken words, Lucius walked on in silence. Eventually, he sighed and went on. "When I was a colt I was told the story of their 'great conquest' by the last of the group that had slain the mighty Pyrus. He was an old fool, spinning stories to the foals around where I lived. The story... it disgusted me in a way I cannot begin to describe. That weaklings like those had had betrayed him with such cowardice was abhorrent to me and so I resolved to go up to the place that they had killed him and see what might be done."
The black stallion's eyes unfocused slightly as he recalled the exhausting climb he had undertaken to find the almost legendary plateau. "It was not an easy ascent but I made it to the top in the end, though it was night and full of storm by the time I did. At the centre of the flat, ice slick rock I found these bones. It took me but a moment to make up my mind; I couldn't leave them lying there so ignobly. I decided to carry his remains with me through life and to be something he might have approved of, to allow him to live on in a small way to begin amends for what others had done to him."
Lucius smiled slightly at his companion. "It is the most right feeling thing I have ever done and I feel that he approves of what I did too, in the warmth of the bones, the way that they have not fallen apart and do not restrict my movement."
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Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 10:57 am
Flicking his closest ear towards Lucious and craning his neck around to watch the Aeri once again, sending a ripple effect the chilled strands of long midnight hair. Usually Aitumn was on the other end of stories, so for once for him to be the listener and not the teller, it was quite odd. He hung on the words though, able to create such a scene in his mind by how it was told. As he walked he made sure to keep a steady and blanced pace, quite easily even if it was in the snow, so that he wouldn't interrupt the tellings with a slipping hoof or something of the sort.
It was while he listened to the first part, about the Aeri named Pyrus, that Aitumn tried to recall what information he had about elementals, but let that slip. He heard the tale of the 'brave' nequus, and flicked an ear as the tone of the story began to change. Even if he was just listening the blood bay felt his ears begin to twitch backwards towards the base of his skull at the the thought. They had lied their way into letting Pyrus trust them, twisted their true intents with a hidden malice and venom. It was indeed a distasteful thing to do no matter the reason, far less to such an extent as bragging about it and being welcomed back as heros. During the silence Aitumn flicked his lengthy tail in an aggrivated motion towards these so called heros that used lies and trickery as their own weapons. Not only that, but they had celebrated... celebrated! A clear form of mockery.
But when Lucius began to speak again the blood bay Jala forced these facts down and listened again, closely, and with a vivid interest that shown in hallow dark eyes. When the mention of climbing returned he unknowing allowed his gaze to shift towards the hidden mountains that had been pointed out earlier, and then back to Lucius himself and further to the bones that clung to his body. The very bones of that elemental stallion, and at the end of Lucius' tale where he had turned to smile and explain about them futher; Aitumn bobbed his head very visably and with force. "I'd have to agree with that, I may have just heard the tale of what happened, but from the way you describe it what you're doing now seems right", he spoke, his mind still tangled with the story of Pyrus and the carrying of his bones. Slowly his blood bay hide rippled as the tension allowed itself to let go, for Aitumn hadn't realized just how into the story he had been. But that was to be expected with an echo like himself, distant and only having the immense curves of his mind to follow.
Flaring crimson nostrils he began to shift his wings restlessly against his sides, before settling down once more. He knew now that these bones weren't something to be afraid of, nor of the nequus that carried them, but rather a wrong that was trying to be righted, and an honorable thing to do. In his opinion of course. Very rarely did Aitumn let himself get so in depth, and yet those hallow eyes of his were still dulled despite himself. "It was a noble thing to do", he concluded, finally. He let his gaze fall forwards once again towards what was in front of him. If only he could remember the life he had before adulthood, if only he had a story he could tell in return. But there was none, just a blank slate that held so much mystery before his life as a wander.
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Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2006 11:50 am
Lucius smiled slightly at the other Nequus' words. "Few enough seem to think so; two to date I think, yourself being one of the two. People seem to be afraid of my appearance and, again, fear is conducive to hate and the ascribing of every evil imaginable to the feared one. I am glad that you are not like that, it becomes... tiresome I suppose to have people scream and run, throwing curses over their shoulder at me as they vanish over the horizon."
The big Aeri sighed and gave the snow at his hooves a slight kick. "No getting at the grass," he observed, "there's a layer of ice over it where the snow started to melt and then froze again I would imagine." Well, it wasn't as if he'd expected any different from his observations of the weather over the last hours.
"Humph, no matter," the black stallion sighed. "I was expecting to have to work at it a bit in any case, just looks like I'll have to roll around like an idiot for a bit to melt the ice a bit." And better a full fool and to go hungry with dignity, Lucius thought to himself with a slight smile.
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