[O] you’re turning yourself into a half-hearted song;

[Deleted]

hildegard

Uncertainty beat about beneath her breastbone like a trapped moth, fluttering, fluttering. She was used to its return, and continued travelling through the copse of white trees, tinged with young growth and heavily dappled in light. Doubt had lost its voice days ago, when turning back was no longer an option. Now it raged in silence, ever weakening, as Hildegard sought out her place in the world. Leaving had been the farthest thing from easy, but the pull of each horizon had been stronger than the last. Who needed a destination when you had freedom like this?

The spring sun at noon was hot, but barely so. Sparks of red amid gray gleams brightly on her back, her mane a twisted, untamed fire. Her nostrils suck curiously at the air as the forest becomes more fragrant, its source a mystery until she reaches the tree line— finding a swaying, knee-high field of dusk-colored flowers spilling out over the open hills. An uninterrupted sky stretches, blue and cloudless, to all corners of the visible world. The sight of it felt like swimming far from shore, where the water’s depth was a mystery.

The openness of it all made her legs hum and her heart accelerate, calling out to the core of her. Her limbs dance in place, head dipping to place a kiss at her heart before she lets her spirit fly, rearing forward into a charge. The lavender’s perfume is heady, and she can taste it on her tongue. She becomes dizzy with it, delighted by its strangeness. She strikes out in bursts of reckless abandon, changing her course on a whim. Her young body is strong and lean, evidence of her Arabian lineage in the curves of her athletic form. Her legs, long and suitably agile, are knobby in a way that maturity would never rid her of.

A fresh wind flattens down the field, bringing with it the scent of pine and rain from beyond the horizon. Her head clears as she comes to an abrupt halt, her ears stiff and her nostrils flared. She had been silly to let her guard down in a strange place. Why did she never seem to know the error of her ways until the mistake had been made? Youth, her mother would say by way of explanation, shaking her head. Hildegard snorted, sought out fresh air again and found only the heavy allure of lavender. It was cloying now, distracting, and the burnished copper of her tail whipped in agitation.

To double back seemed against the spirit of things. She pressed on.

TAG -- WORDCOUNT 419

[Kezz]

d r a c k e n , 

The previous winter had been long and arduous; one that he wished quickly to forget. It hadn't so much been the weather - though reminders of its icy wrath lingered still in the thickness of his sable coat - but the journey, and the loneliness. Dracken was not a man dependent on the company of strangers but certainly he thrived upon it - like a dimly lit match growing upon oil. For the son of dragon and fire was indeed darkness: it hissed in the deep caverns of his heart, calling to him in a voice that was silent and yet entirely familiar. And to wander alone for too long was to commit himself to the gentle howl of insanity that rang in his ears, ever so softly - there was but one way to squander the thoughts of madness, and of his past, of course: to seek the hearts, eyes and words of others. His mother had been a woman loved by many; Dracken had always admired her ability to blossom before people like magnolia in the spring - her smile had been a beacon in the night, always. His father? Dark stormborn eyes narrowed at the thought of Rhaegar, and his lip curled, the sunlight glinting against his pale enamels. Oh, his father had been enigmatic, truly, but what was power worth when your quick tongue sewed lies and your broad smile sheltered sin? Dracken snarled, tossing tangled black hair from his gaze as he swept on over the hills.  

He didn't notice the girl for a while, his head lost in the past and the sickly scent of lavender cloaked his senses. But when at last she moved into his peripheral vision he came to a slow, silent pause. Her skin was deeply roaned, the sanguine hue reminding him of his desert family. Dracken felt relieved; at last a respite from the cyclical repetition of his brooding and he moved toward her with purpose. "You there -" he called gruffly, voice thick and unaccustomed to use, "do you know where we are?" The smoky black stallion stood tall against the sky, the sharp lines of his face were impassive, closed, windswept.

@edo the end is abysmal, apologies. his bio

[Deleted]

hildegard

Bumblebees were hard at work among the blossoms, bumping their fat bodies confusedly against the young mare’s ankles as she crossed the meadow. A transient smile reached her lips as she watched their earnest labor. Turning her gaze to the farthest reaches of the fragrant sea, she detected the dark band of a tree line, marking its end. Beyond, like a range of blue-gray mountains, sullen clouds lumbered. The sighs of this distant storm ruffled at the almost too-perfect serenity of this place, and Hilde welcomed the fresh, ozone-tinted air into her lungs.

A shadowy movement over the hills called her attention to the second traveler. The mottled dame halted to watch, the open space useless for concealment. She was amenable to most interactions, but strangers put her guard up, left her feeling tense and suspicious of hidden intent. Her head inclined as the smoky stallion set course for contact, her limbs shifting, betraying her anxiety. She remembered to breathe, and willed her heart be confident.

You there. Charming introduction. She blinked back at him, still flustered enough to barely register the chafe of his words before he continued. The question he put forth confused her, until she remembered that not all strangers in a strange land were locals aside from her. Of course. The wind threw her ruddy tresses across her face, and she felt equal parts irritation and embarrassment swell inside her as she answered, “I don’t know.” She shook her head, cleared her vision. “West of where I was. That’s all I know.”

TAG Kezz WORDCOUNT 256

[Kezz]

d r a c k e n ,

“West of where I was. That’s all I know.”

Dracken stared from beneath a dark brow, his expression thick with dissatisfaction. It wasn't the answer he'd been looking for and this was etched clearly into the striking lines of his face, whilst his eyes passed above the mare to gaze across the field. So, still this place remained nameless, unknown to him for many days now. The man had travelled a long way, longer than he'd thought possible in fact, and for a while it had seemed as though he would never find somewhere to settle, until now. But, he daren't keep his hopes up - mother had always said you can't be sure of anything, and inside he grimaced blackly at how true that had turned out in the end.  

"I see." He snorted, whipping his long ebony tendrils around his hind legs irritably. What would his brother have done, now? Drogon had always been the more confident of the two: more sure of himself, more proud, and though it couldn't be said that Dracken was a nervous sort, he had never held himself in the manner of the firstborn. Perhaps he had simply felt overshadowed, undervalued, ignored, by all of course but Elia. That, I suppose, is why he had loved her so.

He shifted. almost uncomfortably, unsure as to what to say next. The smoky stallion's dark lips felt suddenly dry and his tongue stuck to the roof his mouth, a flash of self-directed frustration tore violently down his spine and it echoed in the bleak petulance of his voice. "Who are you then?" He didn't know why he was asking, it wasn't like he cared.

@edo

[Deleted]

hildegard

Irritation swelled up inside her as she realized he was disappointed, and even critical of, her ignorance. He doesn’t know either! As if she was expected to know. As if she was accountable to him. She stood there before him, straight shouldered and challenging. She cocked her head to the side, considering him. He was nearly a hand taller than her late-adolescent form, out of which she would never grow. His muscular structure dwarfed her own significantly, she who owed the curve and stretch of her form to her Arabian lineage. She whipped her fiery tresses impatiently. If he wanted to make an attempt at polite interaction, it was up to him.

She watched his expression change, lips turning down at the corners at his insecurity. Who are you then? Her chocolate eyes flash dangerously, as she brings one rear hoof down in anger. Her voice is strong and biting, as if the name were a testament of her character, a badge of honor. Something he would do best not to forget. “Hildegard.”

She tosses her head as the wind throws her russet mane into her face, sidestepping gingerly until her vision cleared. She looks the man over again, aware suddenly that he was not so far from boy at all. He was probably a year her senior? Not so intimidating any more, but she still eyed him with a touch of anxiety. She was unconsciously preparing for the worst. “You know that it’s proper to give your own name first? Who are you?”

TAG Kezz WORDCOUNT 253

[Kezz]

d r a c k e n ,

He was young, and undeniably naive. His childhood had been entirely sheltered; life beyond the walls of his father's desert estate he knew nothing of, until four months ago, and upon stepping into the world outside he had learned a great deal about himself: he had learned that he knew very little, if anything at all. Rhaegar and Elia had kept their children close, perhaps unhealthily so, in the absence of their own intimacy - meaning that the two boys rarely ventured past the kingdom borders. Those they met, who did not belong to their herd, knew of them, and in general treated them with the respect their infamous, wealthy family had earned. So to encounter people from all different walks of life, people who knew nothing of his past, was something he hadn't quite grown accustomed to.

Dracken read her anger easily, it was etched into every fine line, and he tilted his head back ever so slightly - nonchalantly, defiantly. He watched with cold distaste as her eyes flashed, and her hind dagger stomped, at this the man could not help but scoff. Why was she throwing such a tantrum? "Hildegard." And then - “You know that it’s proper to give your own name first? Who are you?”

The howling in the back of his head had ceased, at last, momentarily, and for that Dracken was grateful, but to be in the company of somebody so temperamental as she set his teeth on edge. Of course, he failed to note that perhaps it was his own gruff intolerance that had exacerbated her temper. "Do I look as though I care for what may be proper and what may not?" Irony - all his life he had been taught how to behave in the manner of a prince so that whence attending royal functions he would not embarrass his father's house, but in truth Dracken had never particularly paid attention. "I'm Dracken," the thick drawl of his voice hanging stiffly between them, sarcasm and cyanide dripping from his tongue: "it is a great pleasure to meet you, Hildegard."

@edo they're getting along swimmingly c;

[Deleted]

hildegard

She really hadn’t come all this way just to make enemies. Really.

What she had come for and what she was still seeking existed nebulously in her own mind, urgent yet withholding, even from herself. Friends? Home? She had had many friends, more like an extended family, actually. And she had known a home as well. It wasn’t that she could blame any of them for her departure, their faults about as reasonable as they came, no- her choices were her own and this was probably as close as she could come to the heart of the matter: choices, and the freedom to make as many of them as possible.

Right now her choices solely revolved around the man in front of her. Speaking of, he had clearly chosen to remain, following their… conflict? If that’s what you’d call it, all attitude and friction. Perhaps he just wasn’t one to walk away from an uncomfortable situation until the damage was complete. Do I look as though I care for what may be proper and what may not?

“I’m not sure I could tell,” she answered, voice pointedly level. She was still irritated by his tone, yet she, too, had chosen to stay. Probably for the same reasons. The wind grew increasingly enthusiastic, its zephyrs running through the field in a way that caused the tall flowers to dance and her mane to knot. She briefly turned her eyes to the distant clouds to find them still distant, a looming promise of storms to come. Her gaze cut back to the smoky traveler and his sardonic words. She stared at him, chin raised as she appraised him for a beat longer. Thankfully hidden, her heart thrilled at this verbal sparring match they had entered, impromptu. It was unsettling and exciting all at once. A challenge no one was judging but themselves. “Better.” She nodded once, apparently in approval. She was very pleased with herself.

This would be the moment to leave, except she didn’t. She had been fearful at first, and afraid of appearing fearful, but now she wasn’t. And the rest of this place was so very empty. “How did you come to be here then, Dracken?

TAG Kezz WORDCOUNT 368
Lol, they have a lot in common actually