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 Posted: Sat Jun 29, 2013 8:15 pm
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From Son to FatherRP between Ethan RP Located Here
Ethan looked out over the green fields, chewing on a long stem of grass with a wistful sigh. It seemed so unreal somtimes. This was his home now. A REAL home. With a family... HIS family.
Sometimes it was awkward - Ethan was really not used to being around THIS many soquili on a daily basis. He had grown up just him and his mum... in his travels, Cricket had almost always been with him, but all these new faces he still felt like he was learning the names too - massive stallions - at least it seemed at first with their intimidating wingspans - and mares like Hunter. He was one of the few members of this herd that couldn't fly, and for a time, he just ... kept things simple with Hunter. Kept to themselves... caught up with her... really got to know this flirty, brash, adventurous mare that had captured his attention years ago. He was worried at first that his memory of her was over-glorified. That he'd made the decision to step up and stay and he would find they had nothing in common. That this angel of a mare who could ride the skies was so far above him.
But Ethan found, as time passed, that thankfully that was not the case. His confidence grew, and having known her as an individual, an approachable, fun individual despite her wings gave him courage with the new herd.
And then... a whirlwind. Foals. New ones. Two sons and a daughter burst forth after spending an idyllic summer with Hunter. And his hooves were more than full.
But more and more, spending time with foals - foals that he saw SO much of himself in... from his daughter Donnfhlaidh with the same set of features that set him apart so much growing up, to sons with strong wings like their mum.... it reminded him of the traditions his own mum had shared with him growing up. Powerful memories that led to bonding - bonding he had missed with his first daughters. Maybe they could have a Samhain bonfire... or celebrate Beltane... share the stories of his homeland.
He shook his head out of his reverie, and swished his tail, trotting back to find Hunter. He had traveled a long way, seen fights, seen strange soquili and a lot of the world, and he had rested on his laurels long enough. This was his home ,and he needed it to feel like it - not just some stranger. Besides, it wasn't just his own life he was responsible for any more.... .
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Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 8:51 am
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Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 5:39 pm
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Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 8:48 am
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Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 4:57 pm
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Hound without a MasterRP with Cerberus
Months had passed since Cerberus finally chased Kumiho from the territory that they had shared for a dog's age. He hadn't doubted for a day since the confrontation that what he had done was the right thing to do. He had saved the live of his three children, Youko, Naberius, and Marchosia, he named them after the sorts of names he remembered from his years of servitude... and come to the realization that serving the purewalker was not the task that he had been sent to these lands to do.
But the hound had felt so... hollow. Purposeless. He did what he could for his foals... kept them fed... chased off predators. He even reasoned that they figured out how to hunt their own food and take care of themselves thanks to his tuteledge... but he never felt...quite right around them. Certainly not paternal.
He had made the cave that they had shared his own. He had a sense of pride of it - his domain, his territory. He protected the foals fiercely - if anything, Cerberus knew how to do that. And he made absolutely certain they knew who their mother was - what she was - and what she had tired to do. He kept the piece of Kumiho's tail, however, hung on the wall of the cave as a reminder - both to the foals as well as himself of what had happened.
Naberius, as he grew, took on qualities that Cerberus had only been able to recognize from the outside. Confident... commanding... independent. He snarled at him, berating him for ever having bowed knee to the fox - not understanding the duty he had felt... the role that he served as long as he could remember.
Youko reminded Cerberus sometimes too much of Kumiho: he was vulpine, and sported multiple foxy tails. He was vain, often disdainful, even maipulative... but, mercifully, he didn't seem to have quite her cruel streak. Still... Cerberus had a difficult time growing close to the colt.
He wasn't surprised as the three foals eventually grew and left his side. He wasn't happy to see them go, but he had no sentiments of possessiveness, and no illusion that they would stay with him for longer than they needed him.
But once they were gone... the hound was empty again. What was he supposed to do? Where was he supposed to go? He stalked his territory, found food to eat, and chased off anyone that got too close. But the worry crept at him. Kumiho knew where he was if he stayed here. He knew the grudge that the skinwalker could carry. He had seen it personally. And as much as he prided himself in his vigilance... Kumiho's craftiness was a concept that was alien to Cerberus. It made him uncomfortable.
And what reason did he have to stay here, anyway? A place that still stunk sometimes of the vixen. Now that the foals were gone. Maybe holing up in the cave wouldn't provide Cerberus with his direction, but maybe he could find answers outside ... out there... somewhere in the world.
He padded around the cave one final time and, after a moment's hesitance, snapped up Kumiho's tail that he had claimed, and set off into the woods, hoping that whatever he had been sent to this world to do... it wasn't too late.
Cerberus just hoped that there was a reason. |
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Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:40 pm
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What Comes After Happily Ever After?RP with Fianna, Dae'Ruil, Garret, RP Located Here   Sabin's Teepee
Fianna didn't know how she could have gotten so lucky. She felt like she didn't desere it - foals that loved her... and her very own knight in shining armor... one she had rescued from an evil witch. Ignoring the fact that the foals weren't her love's...
This time a year ago, she was battling depression. Dae'Ruil was there, he was helping her raise young colts, but there was a wedge between them. Who would have thought that nearly losing him would have made her appreciate just how much she honestly loved him... to let herself forgive herself for her tryst with Einarr.
Cayden and Garret had been so happy to see Fianna emerge from the swampy woods with Dae'ruil. Garret listened raptly to the story that Dae'Ruil told about the witch of the woods, her evil magic... and the mask. A pang of regret hit the foal when he realized that Dae'Ruil's mask was gone. He was more fun when he wore it - told adventurous stories and would play more with him when he wore it. But, as time passed, he realized that since he was "rescued" (and Dae'Ruil made no secret of the fact that it was Fianna that had rescued him, he was more fun. Braver... took him and taught him things. And Garret set about memorizing the story that he had told, adding it to a building repetoire.
But Garret and Cayden were growing by the day. The days melt quickly into weeks... and into months... and one day, Cayden spread his wings and flew away - off to find his own adventures the likes of which his parents told.
And Garret, he found himself wandering further and further, eager to meet other faces, to tell stories he had learned from Dae'Ruil and Fianna.... putting his own spins on them, testing out his silvered tongue. He learned how to convince other people to give him gifts, or found things to trade at the trading posts. He had an eye for the finery -he wanted to be every bit as glamorous and dashing as Dae'ruil... and had a very discerning eye for quality.
Fianna knew it was only a matter of time until both her little "colts" were gone. And a part of her hated herself for the sadness she was feeling. She had never wanted foals to begin with - not here, not now. She had been on an adventure - one that ended abruptly with these foals - it was entirely jarring. But now that they were leaving, it was equally so.
And it seemed to promise to bring up the dreaded question: What now?
And then, one day it happened. Garret, too, came to his mom and Dae'Ruil with a strange smile and said that he wanted to see more of the world. To learn more stories, make his way of it. There was no convincing him otherwise - he was always stubborn.... just as stubborn as his mother.
He teased her, that if she ever wanted to, she would know how to find him - she was good at that. She'd found her dad... rescued Dae'Ruil. And he expected her to find him some day... with siblings! He threw as a final joke/retort back to her with a wink toards her and Dae'Ruil. It was obvious, even to the young stallion, that his mom and "her friend" cared deeply for each other.
Fianna tried not to cry. Stubbornly, she held them back until she could no longer see the vibrant orange of Garret's tail, and then, in a rare show of weakness, she collapsed against Dae'Ruil's side and spent the evening just.... with him.
It wasn't until after she had woken up long past noon the next day she spoke again.
"Now what...?"
"My lady?" Dae'Ruil inquired, confused and surprised at the sudden words from his mate.
"Now what?" Fianna repeated, some of the bravado back in her voice as she got to her hooves and looked Dae'Ruil in the eyes. "They're grown up... flown the next. Spirits know that I could barely be restrained back in mom's herd once I learned to fly lest they had clipped my wings. There's... there's no reason to be sad. It's natural."
Dae'ruil smiled softly, recognizing Fianna's preemptive defensiveness and justification to herself why she shouldn't be upset. "Of course, Lady Fianna... They were wonderful foals... but now they are stallions. And they will make their own stories. I do not think the spirits themselves could have held them back much longer."
"Right! Exactly.." She smirked, "And don't call me lady Fianna" She added with a rueful eyeroll. "So... what now? I found my father.... I rescued you... but ... Now what? We were off on these adventures before we got sidetracked. But I don't know what to do now. We... had our lives on hold raising these foals. And we did everything we could for them. But these lands... they aren't our home. We haven't even made it our home."
Dae'ruil understood what Fianna was implying and he frowned, averting her eyes for just a moment. He had been happy to follow her, participate and aide this mare in her quest - she had been his inspiration, his wings... his reason. But in all their time together, Dae'Ruil had been most frightened by one thing - telling her about his past. And she seemed to have noticed it was a sore subject - she never pried... and admittedly, part of her charm was listening to her talk about her past, her thoughts and feelings.
".. I mean... I guess I could go back home... WE I mean... WE could go back home.... could meet my mom, my sisters. But... " She shrugged, "What am I supposed to say? That I found Dad and he's a loser? A foal in a stallion's body?" She scuffed her hoof. She didn't have any better ideas. She had never expected to be in this position - she thought when she found her father things would fall into place for her. He'd give her a purpose.
"I... had a home one..." Dae'ruil's voice was soft, hardly more than a whisper.
"Deirdre will probably just say "I told you so." She huffed, "She was right - she didn't think dad was anything but a loser from the start and.... what...? What did you say, Dae?" She blinked, surprised. She had never heard Dae'Ruil talk about his home or his family. Just ambiguous stories of knights and heroics.
"I... never told you," He took a breath, "It is not that I was ashamed of myself... but.." He shook his head, "Well... I suppose that those words are not quite the truth. I ... did not live up to whom I was supposed to be. I did not want that part of my life to follow me.."
Fianna smirked, "Come on, Dae' - spit it out! You haven't been this shy since before Drusevere!"
"I was a prince!" He blurted out.
Fianna couldn't help herself. She blurted out laughing."What!?" Da'e... I think you've been telling too many stories-"
"No, my lady... on my honor it is the truth. I was a prince in my kingdom - of fluttercorns... all of our noble line bore wings of dragonflies. The crest of the dragon was on our heraldry.... "
Fianna's hysterics faded into skepticism and concern. A prince? really? A prince had followed her around, waiting on her wing and hoof? Princes were the things of fairy tales to BEGIN with... but Dae? HER Dae...? But she could see the earnestness in his eyes. In his voice. The way he spoke, the storie she told.... and not to mention the finery he wore and how she virtually had to TEACH him to get his hooves diry.... She swallowed, but listened. "Why.... why didn't you ever tell me?"
Dae'ruil was quiet for a moment. "I was ashamed. I ... had fled from our kingdom. I was not the crown prince, not by a large margin. I had a number of older brothers who were constantly bickering and squabbling. I was the subject of their jokes, their pressure. And... they were right - I was weak, scared... pampered. I was just a foal compared to them, and I was so lost by their politicking. And then one night, I went to this masquearde representing my kingdom and I got that mask. Everyone there was put under a spell - we forgot who we were. We ... we became someone else. I turned into this confident, charming stallion. I mean... it was terrible, not knowing who you were... but after the spell was broken, I had this memory of confidence - of.... of who I COULD be... who I SHOULD be. And.... well... I did not have the nerve to do it. I kept the mask... it helped me... helped me remember. And I set off not long after that to try to ... well... I suppose find my nerve. And it is thanks to you, my lady, that I did find it."
Fianna listened, to her credit, not interrputing. It was overwhelming - the implications. "Do.... you want to go back...?" She asked quietly, and then, finally, she spoke up - the other question. "If you did... would I even be ... I dunno... allowed to go with you?"
Dae'Ruil blinked, not even having considered that. "Of... of course. I could not wish it any other way. My older brothers - those in line for the crown... they must be very choosy with their mates, but I... well... I do not care what they think. I love you, and I would be honored to have you by my side."
Fianna's long, skinny tail swished behind her. Her? In a court? Like... with princes and princesses and nobles and all? Wouldn't they all laugh at her? this rough-hewn mare with a face full of freckles and a skinny, hairless tail? What if they hated her, what if she hated it there? If Dae went home and she didn't like it there, could they leave? Her mind was frought with questions, and Dae'Ruil must have noticed the stunned expression on her face.
"You do not need to decide today, Fianna," He spoke up, snapping her back to the present.
"Wait... you mean it's my decision??" Fianna asked with a voice three octaves higher.
Dae'Ruil flinched. "It... is not that I wish to put such a burdon on your shoulders... but I do not wish to go anywhere without you. And... when I left my kingdom, it was with the intention to never return. And... I am willing to follow through on that intent. But I have been unfair in keeping the truth from you, my love. And Your opinion means the world to me... we are not a you and I... but an US. And I wish for us to move forward together.... And... I would be honored to meet your mother if that is your decision instead... or even before."
Fianna nodded... for once with a loss of words. THe implications swirled in her head - the weight of the decision. Two massively contrasting possible futures.
Finally, she found her voice and gave Dae'Ruil a soft nuzzle. "Thank you... for telling me.. Prince Dae'Ruil." She said with a lilting smile in her voice. "I... will give this serious thought.... but whatever WE decide... we will be together." |
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Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 8:38 am
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:16 pm
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Skin and BonesRP between Xibalba, Lamia, Brigitte  
Lamia had often snuck close to the graveyard as a foal, hidden amongst the tall grasses and watching it for hours. She knew the mare that lived there. Not personally. Not yet, but her mother and aunts and cousins all had stories about her - the mad Brigitte. Some told stories of her unpredicitiblity - her anger or violence. Others spoke of a wisdom behind that madness - that whatever thoughts tumbled through that skull of hers were the voices of the spirits themselves. Surely, nothing alive could have a form like that - of bone and shadow. But even the mosters that Lamia called family had respect, and in many cases, a modicum of fear of the mare. Unlike any other intruders on their land, they not only left her alone, but allowed her to live there. They even tended to stay out of the ancient graveyard that she apparently called her home... or haunted -it was hard to tell. Taraxippus even maintained that she was an.... honorary herd memeber, though it was obvious from Lamia's observations that the concept of herd was probably an unfamiliar one to the dark mare.
But it was stories from soquili like Xibalba and Mixcatl that fascinated Lamia the most - they and Psyche were the closest soquili to Lamia outside of her immediate family - her mother and sisters.
Lamia hung on Xibalba's stories of their family.
Xibalba told her that it was Brigitte herself that gave him his "face". That a bone mask was a mark of pride, and a certin distinction, even amongst their herd. Mixcatl had not been born with one, but one day, when she was a young mare, she ventured into the woods and FOUND her own face. She batled a massive water lizard and had emerged successfully, taking its skull as her own. And Brigitte had seen her, and approved of her. Her daughter, Ixchel, was a medicine woman - she often ventured into the woods to find herbs and flowers and other strange beetles or plants for her mixtures. One day, the plant she sought was resting underneath a fearsome predator - one not unlike her mother's quarry, and in a location that Mixcatl swore was the same place she had battled.
The spirits had chosen Ixchel, too, it seemed - to carry on the tradition. Ixchel, while a healer, was also a warrior and proved her metle that day. And it is Ixchel that often brought Brigitte the spicy peppers that the strange mare would often dine on. She knew where they grew, and the mare's odd fondness for the painful "fruit".
But, the fact that Lamia had been born with it was surely an auspicious sign. Xibalba had taken her with him one day, into the woods where he had shown her an elaborate set up with flat rocks balanced on top of each other. There was swirling markings drawn in the earth, an in places, even in the stone itself.
When she had raised her voice to ask him what was going on, he shusshed her, saying that the spirits obviously had a message for her, and he was going to find out. She sat patiently... mostly at least... as he had set a few smaller bones onto the rocks, and nipped a piece of her mane to add to it, before calling her over. He bid her to strike a piece of dark stone against one of the rocks. She had wedged the sliver of rock between one of her bony hooves and struck it against the rock once... twice... and on the third and final time, ther was a burst of orange fire that caught the herbs and leaves, filling her nose with a strange but enticing smell that reminded her of fruit and meat and all things delicious and made her head reel.
And when she looked down, not only had the dried leave and sticks caught fire, but so had her hooves. And on fire they remained.
Xibalba had laughed - that strange deep laugh of his and knocked one of his hooves against hers - the ones that swired with the colorful miasma of energy. "You see?" He said. "You and I - we are kin - not just in blood but in spirit as well. The spirits - dey know us, dey mark us."
Lamia loved Xibalba's stories, but she wasn't quite sure about all of this. But she listened, and Xibalba had given her this task - to when she was ready - to find Brigitte, and speak with her. The spirits, he said, bid her that.
And so, here she was, crouching once more outside of the graveyard. She had been here often before - but then, it was just to watch. Today... today she had told herself, now she was grown - she would actually speak to HER.
It was as still as the death it contained; nothing grew here - just tangled, dead, thorny vines and a darkness that looked like it had been gutted by fire. But where fire stimulates new growth, there was nothing here.
And yet, despite the eerie chill and blasted land, there was almost a peace to the ground here - a sanctity.
And only when Lamia had been waiting for what felt like hours did she hear the sound she had been waiting for - a rattling of bones, and an almost muted crying sound. A pile of what looked like nothing more than detrius began to move, righting itself, and collecting itself into what only now could be seen as an equine shape. Darkness swirled and rippled over it - and in that darkness Laia could almost see moving, screaming or skeletal faces. And as the equine skull swiveled with a blazing red mote in the sockets, it stared right AT her. Into her.
Lamia had seen Brigitte before, but never before had the odd mare ever seemed to notice her. Lamia had stayed outside of the border of the graveyard, and Brigitte seemed to just go about her business.
Not today.
The bones rattled and the mare headed straight for her. "What in the *#*$( Hell do ye think ye be doin' here? Disruptin' the $#*(# peace o' the dead?" She said with a force of a voice that did not seem like her rickety body could contain.
Lamia was on her hooves in a flash, eyes blazing in surprise. But not fear. Lamia held her ground. She was not going to back down - not when this strange mare had held her fascination for all of her young life. She took Brigitte's mad, unblinking stare and returned it - unwavering, unblinking and boring right back at her.
Brigitte charged, cantering right up to Lamia who stood at the very edge of the graveyard. It looked like she was going to trample her, but then, at the last moment, Brigitte came to a sudden stop, the edge of her bony face nearly touching Lamia's. Her eyes were on even level with hers - glowing intently as they met.
The anger seemed to run off of the mare like water off a duck as the force of her fury changed as swiftly as the halt to her charge.
"I be knowin' ye." The mare echoed eerily.
"Know me...?" Lamia asked, confused. "You mean you've seen me here watching you before...?" Lamia, normally unflappable, and used to being the one that unsettled others, felt some of that power and confidence slipping in the face of this mare.
"No... I no be 'seein' ye... I KNOW ye. I know why ye came here, and I have the answers for ye. Ye hunger for them, don't ye? Ye always be hungerin'. Mama Brigitte knows dis.
Lamia's ears flicked back. She didn't talk about it much - but it was true. She often felt like she was starving... skin and bones... skin and bones she was.. Wait... had she always through that...? "What... what are you saying.... Maman...."
"It be de truth. I know ye. Ye be family You be like me. You have a face. A real face. I see you, Lamia."
Family... she was family... and that was the most important after all... a pity she was so hungry... she needed to go find something to eat, it was painful standing here. But she needed to stay - she wasn't done yet... there was something else... a meaning to this, righ?
"Yes, I know ye need to be leavin'.... " Brigitte said without any prompting. "But... Watch for de foals." She finished, with a serious tone - a tone of deep meaning.
And with that, she turned and walked back into the graveyard, as if she had suddenly lost what it was she was doing.
Lamia shuddered as the words washed over her, her madness clinging to the importance of Brigitte's pronouncement about foals. A task? a prophecy? An omen? Lamia wasn't sure, but one thing was for certain - she wasn't going to forget.
Finally, she turned as well, heading back to the herdgrounds, hungry... and off to find something to eat. |
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:03 pm
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Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 6:26 pm
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