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 Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 5:57 pm
 Broken. Snapping and bending under the weight that was thrust upon the thin structure, hundreds of dried and refreshed greenery alike was surely suffocated under falling hooves. It was only after the weight was taken off did the small figure regain its shape. For what was life without the ability to stand back up after getting knocked down? Surely not as cracked up as it was with it.
In a flicker of movement the blood bay Jala had his hooves in motion, and a rather unethnical motion at that. It was a rare day for the wandering soul, for when he found his mind saturated with thoughts of fantasy, he often times threw himself into a much more unkempt part of his personality. A sweeping gaze from his dark hollow eyes told him of the freedom in this part of Urin, the total lack of prying eyes, and a quietness to the land that he found most inviting. Out from under his brisk trot, the blood bay discovered a rising urge deep in his restless muscles, one he couldn't quite keep away from his whim of the wind heart and soul. Breaking from his straight path against the terrain, Aitumn lowered a slender head and sloped at the shoulder. With an arch coming to his barrel and back, the stallion was sent upwards and into a sort of side-ways kick to the air. In an action such as this, his midnight forelock was sent out of his eyes, and a lengthy mane caught a wave of motion.
Without further prompting from the visable world around him, Aitumn came to what was most assuradly a balking halt. Pricking his ears to listen once again to all, if any, sounds around him, he found it quite a useless thing to do. His travels took him to many places in Urin, some that were mostly inhabited, and others that were in the middle of nowhere. This seemed to be one of those places. It was all for the better, he reminded himself, for despite a few choice encounters the blood bay normally was not much of a conversationalist. Craning a sleek neck to the side the stallion decided that it just might be a good idea to take a break from constant movement. Yeah, that sounded right. This place was peaceful enough, and he would be able to grab a quick meal before heading out once more. As quickly as the recklessness had come, it had subsided into a more subtle form of tensed muscles, and a constant flicking of his alert ears. After all, who wanted to be snuck up on while enjoying the silence?
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 6:19 pm
Grumbling idly to himself and running over the tasks in his head, he barely noticed the other Nequus a short distance away, and almost made another collision. Lucky for everyone, he happened to be paying close enough attention, and the other Nequus appeared to be full aware of his surroundings as well.
Xla'Lanan stopped, snorted as though there were danger, but he was assured. It was only another Jala. Perhaps not of the great race, but he didn't have to be spoken down to, not dramatically anyway. He was no Reya at least.
Muttering various things, and swinging his head around he trotted over to the figure so very close by. He wasn't sure how to approach other Jalas, he knew that they were to be treated as though another, but certainly not with the jestures of the royal house. Perhaps with a bit of disgust, then, but not the slave-speech that they gave the others?
"What are you doing out here dallying?" he demanded, his tail swinging to and fro. To him, everyone not moving was slacking on their herds demands, and he was inclined to take care of it.
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 6:58 pm
From the side, and a bit of towards the off-side of his vision, the blood bay had noticed a strange coloration making its way over. At first he was unsure if the other meant to come over, or if he wasn't even aware of another's presence. It was an after thought to Aitumn, for if it seemed a collision was in hand he would have simply moved out of the way and continued with his ponderings. At least, those were his thoughts prior to the voice that caught his attention. Dallying? And he thought he sounded old half the time. Craning his neck around to peer at the stranger with a side-ways glance, he allowed his dull hollow eyes that had lost all gleam years ago to fall upon the strangely patterned Jala. He seemed to be unthreatening, besides that brash demand, so there was no need to quiver; or more likely strike back with demands of his own. It was easy to see that Aitumn was in no hurry, for he had yet to speak up to the other Jala. It did agitate him quite a bit, though his eyes wouldn't show it, as they hardly showed anything at all unless severely prompted. Dead? He certainly seemed liked it. In the end, he allowed such a tone to slide off his shoulders, in such a mood that went completely against confrontation at the moment.
"Taking a break from a hard day's travel", he answered evenly. Though his mind did wander, was this guy so pompus he would stick his nose into another's business just like that? Or perhaps he had some strange mistake and thought he knew the blood bay? Whatever the reason, Aitumn wouldn't be prompted into action out of fury or repremend. Not one to keep his back to a stranger, Aitumn flicked the rest of his body around so he could keep a better eye on this guy and his 'impatience', or at least that's what it looked liked to the blood bay. "Not many pass by here as far as I can tell. What, if you may be prompted to answer, are you doing out here?" It was a curious thought, if not repremend in its own right, to the demand that had been made earlier.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:25 pm
Xla'Lanan could side with that. He himself had been known to take rests. "Mighty good then!" he beamed, tossing his head and trotting in a circle - perhaps a sign of his approval.
"I wouldn't know," Xla'Lanan mused, his eyes wandering about for the signs of others. "I've never been here, you see." He closed his eyes and looked rather satisfactory, though the wording of the Nequus put him a little bit ill at ease.
"Why, same as you. Travelling, mayhaps to the same place. Though I see no tears to mark your face." Then again. . . "Unless you are too dark to bear them? Perhaps they are black and hard to make out at this distance. You're from the queen's side, then?" It was apparent that Xla'Lanan was speaking of things which most could not comprehend. The members of his society would have a great clue, and probably chuckle at his wording and send him on his way.
Then again, he was the only one out here as far as he knew.
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:45 am
Huh, well asides from the earlier demand, this odd Jala certainly seemed to be a little more friendly. Aitumn couldn't quite place such mood swings, but he didn't bother to think on it any longer then he should have. Flicking his ears forward the blood bay tossed his head and removed a lenghty forelock from his line of vision, before listening further on what was said. "Its always interesting to meet a fellow traveler", Aitumn commented, allowing his feathered wings to shift easily against his sides.
The repremend before, as well, was put out of mind as the spirits seemed to lift, and Aitumn wasn't about to compromise that. In fact, it was the talk of tears and markings that some how confused him. He hadn't the slightest clue what he was speaking about, but apparently his earlier guess had been correct. Perhaps this fellow thought him to be someone he wasn't? Hollow eyes shifted their gaze to the horizon slightly, as he did to think most of the time, before returning to the face of of the brindle Jala before him. At this distance, he did happen notice small, light markings on the other's cheeks. Tears? Is that what he had meant by tear markings? The only time Aitumn had seen his own face, or even been told of it, was by the soft whisperings of a quiet brook or stream of which he had drank from. "Afraid I haven't these tears you speak of, nor know of the queen either." he spoke at length. It seemed to him, that such markings, and a title nonetheless, would make a story worth listening to, though he doubted such a thing would be presented to him. Not everyone had a flair for fantacy, nor the whims of great legacy that bore into their soul; so deep and so fiery that such a tale must be told. Lest the Nequus be driven into his own mind and concious, constantly on the subject of literate desires.
He dipped his chin slightly as a single feathered wing spread out from its perch along his side. The feathered 'limb' moved outward and forward, before returning to its folded position in a circular rotation. "You see, I travel vast areas of Urin without much of an idea of where I'm going to end up next, so there are many details that happen to escape my attention", he explained, again pondering about the story behind the tear markings he spoke of. Were there other nequus with those? Is that why he had asked about them? Aitumn could only guess.
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Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:15 am
Xla'Lanan couldn't agree. He'd rather stay out of the way of Nequus, not because he couldn't take them, mind you, but because they tended to have demands of him that he really didn't want to complete. 'Hey Advisor, can you give me advice?' More than anything he wanted to tell them to go to hell, he only worked for the queen, but that wouldn't look too spiffy on his record, or the royal family's, so he beared it.
Xla'Lanan looked hurt, horribly and seriously scarred. "You haven't heard of the queen." In fact, he appeared as though he were about to feint. His eyes were wide, ears forwards, tail up, and he went on bickering about how awful it was that everyone had gone and lost their memories. Surely he was just toying?
"Now, that's funny. You can stop being humorous now, hah, hah." Yet the other Nequus appeared to be completely and utterly serious. Xla'Lanan let his lower jaw shift to the side and stared some more. There was simply no way. "Well, you absolutely must meet her, via request, of course. If you throw me a name, I'll put her in favor." He seemed to be taking notes in his head, closing his eyes and whispering a few things under his breath.
"Yes, I think she's fairly free for the time, but I've been gone round abouts of a week. Clearly, though, you haven't travelled to experience our magnificent kingdom," he added with another distasteful cluck of the tongue against his teeth.
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 1:51 pm
Flicking his ears forward, Aitumn tried to perceive the sudden change in the strange brindled stallion's composure. At first he had seemed nearly overjoyed, what with the trotting in circles, and now it seemed to the blood bay that he may have fallen over out of horror. Concusing indeed, but the Jala merely shook his head to get his mind away from such a subject. Was he suppose to know of this queen? He wanted to ask that, but a nagging at the back of his mind told him that such a thing wouldn't be to wise. Heck, for all he knew the poor fellow before him might actually keal over if he did.
Though at the mention of meeting this queen he did bring his hollow gaze back up to the other's, apparently his interest had been caught. "The way you speak of her, she seems well worth-while meeting. And the name's Aitumn", he spoke, shifting feathered wings against his sides in a quiet, almost restless, gesture. If he wasn't engaged in conversation at the moment, his mind would have surely wandered, and along with it, his hooves, towards the vast unknowns of fantasy and terrain. He wondered at a time, if the Jala before him would mention a name, but he didn't push the subject. If he wanted it to be known, then he would have said it earlier. At the moment, he wasn't particularly paying attention to the other's mumbling, and it did escape his knack for details, but that was a small technicality on his end. Returning his attention to where it should be, he had to wonder about this 'kingdom'. What kind of place was it? Was it like a herd? He remembered being told of such a thing by a particularly perky Ichsa mare before, but he didn't remember much about what was said. Just that he knew he owed her a story next time they met, if at all, that is.
"What kind of place is it?" he ventured out, ignoring the clucking sound for what it was, and hooking his focus on the thoughts of travel. For a stallion that never had a destination in mind, this certainly would be worth seeking out.
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 6:31 pm
Xla'Lanan watched, and waited patiently for a response. "Well-worth!" the Jala exclaimed. "Why, she's the daughter of two of Jala's children herself!" The way he said it, it was if everyone should know. Of course, he always spoke that way, and those he knew had long since gotten used to it.
"I shall put in a good word about you." He chewed on his lower lip once more, as though he were trying to remember something he should do. Yet, the more he did it, the farther away he got from what he wanted. Finally he tossed his head and gave up, shrugging the matter aside for a later date.
"The most magnificent place you've ever been. In the deepest cliff regions of Fyhi, brilliant for flying and the master acrobatics of our kind. Caves of every shape and size, brilliantly adorned in the red sand and the jewels Savit'Taren has gathered for our people. It is the master world, for a master race!" He was beaming, his eyes staring off in some distance world on some invisible thing.
"Its worth the venture, let me tell you!"
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Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 7:02 pm
'Jala herself?' he thought swiftly, dull hollow eyes echoing his thoughts. Only a dim-witted Nequus wouldn't have heard the legacy of old, and being a stallion of fantasy and tales, he certainly knew of those stories. Whether or not they were true, he did not bother to question. And whether or not this queen was in deed a daughter, he too did not question. The pure fathom and posibility itself got his mind reeling, and the blood bay couldn't help but restlessly move his hooves in a shifting of weight. Had he the direction and invitation to do so, he would have taken off for Fyhi on the sheer web of tales his mind was weaving for him right now. Just imagine. A whole new branch of literature! Oral literature that is, spoken truths twisted into what the mind wants to see, and upholding many a false-afied character. With a hard bob of his sleek head he tried to imagine such a place, but simply couldn't place his hoof on it.
Oh... acrobatics? A very slight smirk, if one could see an equine doing so, formed along the ridges of his lips. He wasn't one to brag, but he had been known to pull a few unorthadoxed, quick-silvered, and just plain dangerous-if-not-done-right stunts of his own. "Certainly sounds like it! Heck, I'd come just for the chance to see such flying techniques", had he have stopped to think, he might have realized just what was being said. Master race? That could have been taken the wrong way, but luckily his mind was sternly on the subject of flying techniques. Gosh damn, for a stallion that held such a reckless streak in his decisions, his hollow, nearly lifeless eyes certainly lied to the outside world.
Quickly shaking his wandering mind away from that path, for he knew he would be stuck thinking for hours on end, the blood bay perked his ears towards the brindled stallion before him. "Wouldn't happen to know when such a venture would be aranged, would ya?" he asked, his once perked ears now swiveling from side to side, as if trying to catch any and all sounds that happened upon him. With such a whim of the wind heart and soul, the urge to move and travel was itching just under his hide, seeping up from his hooves, and stirring his feathered wings.
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Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:23 pm
Xla'Lanan grinned. The Queen would no doubt be proud of him, he'd mananged to spread their influence, if only slightly, into the lands beyond. That was, afterall, the task that she'd sent him on. Find who you could, and make sure to tell them that the Katilenuck would no longer stand for the treachery of the Reya.
Xla'Lanan shook his head. "As I did say, a fair word on your behalf will be put upon the queen. If she is so inclined, and I will hint, she will send me out to find you and such a meeting will be complete." The young stallion was proud to be telling this other of his home, and glad he knew the royal family at least on somewhat of a personal level. It gained him favor among many, even if his strangeness cast downward eyes upon his coat.
Perhaps having a nice figure wasn't everything, but he certainly hoped it was. "As it were, I must be leaving back to home," he ventured, and trotted past the other, leaving little argument on the issue. "We will be in touch, Aitumn. If ever another of my kind passes with ill hearts, tell them you're under the protection of a member of the royal court. That should shut them up."
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Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 4:22 pm
'Figures.' If such an invitation were to come it would be at a later date, and the blood bay was left pondering on wonderous stories that still held many unknowns. But then again, that was just his luck. "Indeed that's what was said", Aitumn reconed, allowing his swiveling ears to once again settle into a more normal spand of movement. Casting a gaze towards the other as he began to move off, Aitumn had no intention on calling out for a lengthy conversation. Now it wasn't because he doubted the words that were spoken to him that he mention his next words, but rather he liked to keep his bases covered at all times. "If such an occurance takes place, what name should I give?" he tossed over his shoulder towards the moving Jala. Craning his neck around to take a look over his shoulder, a flicker ofmovement was sent through his mane in a wave, but beyond that, the blood bay was unmoving. After all, his 'destination' was in the other direction.
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Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 4:30 pm
Xla'Lanan paused and looked back, drumming things over in his mind. A name, a name. He certainly couldn't give his own, that would leave people laughing, at least somewhat. He couldn't defend worth a crossbreed of a Reya.
"Ka," he answered simply, knowing the stallion would probably throw a fit about it, but his mother would simply calm him in that magical way she seemed to be able to work these things. It was good she was queen, her daughter, however, it was yet to be seen what to make of her.
Without a second glance he broke into a canter and tore off across the landscape. It was time to sleep in his own home for the first time in weeks.
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