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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2015 23:08:25 GMT
@malidoodle
The average (read: sane) horse would have likely been content to amble up the slope at an easy pace, following the contours of the land to arrive at the top of the hill on their own time. Not so Aryel. She took the sight of the grassy hillock as a challenge. That was why she was now powering at top speed up the hill, tearing through the underbrush heedless of the brambles that scratched her legs and chest as she ran. It was strenuous work, but she refused to give up until she reached the top. Her breath came hard and heavy, nostrils flaring in tandem with her hooves striking the ground. Exhilaration soared within her as she raced to the top, forcing herself to go as fast as possible. When she crested the hill, she screeched to a halt and kicked out with her back legs, tossing her head proudly. For a short mare, she could move (at least, she thought she could).
As her breathing gradually returned to normal, Aryel dipped her head to examine her legs. There were a few bramble marks, where red blood beaded against her dark leg markings, but nothing serious. She lipped at them for a bit before raising her head again and shaking her neck out, sending flecks of lathered sweat flying away. It felt good to stretch her legs. She then cast her eye out to the lands around the hill, marveling at the view. She was a strange to Tathra, but she hoped to seek her fortune here, whatever it turned out to be. She was interested to see what kind of horses called this land home, as well as if they knew anything about the odd bipedal creatures she had encountered earlier. She had seen a large group of them again, traveling with canines and horses. That had interested her, and she had wanted to approach in the hopes of speaking to the painted, feathered equines, but memories of her last encounter with the upwalkers had kept her at a safe distance.
Satisfied that the surrounding area was free of danger, she dropped her head and began to crop the lush spring grass, enjoying the feeling of the cool wind on her back. Yes, she could certainly learn to like this new land.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2015 23:37:19 GMT
 WORDS: 282 | TAG: fennecfyre | NOTES: he's so awful at openers
The red and gold chimera tilted his head upwards to see the very top of the heavily overgrown hill, one side of his dark lips twitching in thought.
Mundaring Hill...
Why did he come back? He didn't have the greatest experience on that rise the last time he had climbed the butte and was a little apprehensive about passing by it a second time, unsure if that mass of a woman would still be around. The impression Ra'avis had made was not the best and he had no intention of running into Comala again any time soon. It had been a full moon cycle and half since he had met her. A good second cycle and he would be able to comfortably converse with her again. Maybe.
He let out a snort and shook out his frame. Casting his sage green gaze about the scrubland, he took a few steps away from Mundaring's base to circle around it and continue south. But, something caught his eye. Vis turned head back towards the hill's top in time to see the grulla lash out at the sky with her white capped back legs. The warmblood mutt watched as the far-away figure settled down before finally powering himself up the slope(albeit a little more carefully than the short mare had before he had caught sight of her).
Cresting the butte, he came to a halt a few meters from where she grazed, facing the older gal at a slight diagonal towards her rump. "Last time I was up here I didn't get to taste the grass." He dipped his head towards the vegetation below his company's hooves. "How is it?"
the red dragon of nowhereFor shipwrecks and sirens 16.3hh|5yrs|chestnut/palomino chimera|belongs to no heart |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2015 4:38:54 GMT
The sound of hooves in the grass was unmistakable, even wrapped up in her thoughts as she was. Curious, Aryel lifted her head and looked over her shoulder to see a rather distinct equine making him way up the hill. However, his posture was clearly nonthreatening, and so when he drew closer, Aryel nickered a greeting. Her ears pricked as he spoke to her, and she looked back down at the grass, swallowing the mouthful of clover she had been chewing. She put her head to the side and considered. "It's still a bit early in the seasons, so pickings are a bit sparse," she said, "but I think, come summer, this will be the perfect spot to graze." It really was: good foliage, a cool breeze, and an excellent view to spot incoming danger. She tossed her head in the direction she had come, remembering the briars that had scratched her on her way up. "Those brambles might give berries in the summer, too." Wild raspberries were a favorite of hers, well worth a few pokes in the lip to get.
Her review of the region finished, she looked back to the stallion, studying him with interest. His markings were new to her, like the color had been faded in just a few places, rather than all over. But the oddest thing about him was his complete lack of a mane. He had a perfectly normal tail--just no mane. Of course, she was one to talk, being little better off. Her black mane, aside from the forelock, was barely a couple inches high, and insisted on standing straight up. "If you don't mind me asking," she said curiously, "how come you didn't get to eat the last time you were up here?" Had something chased him off? She hadn't scented any predators on her way up, though, admittedly, she hadn't really been looking for them. The last thing she needed was a wolfpack snapping at her heels.
@malidoodle
(Since the thread with Ra'avis and Comala isn't finished yet, if you don't have a reason for why he couldn't graze here, he could just say it's a long story or something)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2015 22:07:31 GMT
the red dragon of nowhere16.3hh|5yrs|chestnut/palomino chimera|belongs to no heart
His dark lips broke into a stupid, lopsided grin at the grulla's nicker. It was a simple little gesture that made him giddy and chest swell. A similar sound to the one she made rumbled softly from his throat, returning her greeting. Maybe Ra'avis was being childish, getting all worked up over something so common, but the last-
No. This mare didn't deserve comparisons, at least not until the warmblood got to know her beyond his odd little question and her thoughtful answer. She was interesting. Short and polite with an odd little mane and dark eyes that intrigued him. When they left to cast the stranger's gaze over the few broken brambles with a toss of her head, his own turned with them. Vis' head tipped and his mouth pursed slightly as she spoke of berries. "Will they? Could you guess what type or is it too early for that?"
Even though the red and gold stallion had a good year over his company, he was far from versed in berries. It wasn't a terribly important tidbit to know, but he was curious nonetheless.
As their conversation went on her head turned back towards his while the chimera continued to search the brambles a few moments longer. Her question was what made his attention snap back to the robust pony, brow slightly furrowed and lips pursed once more. "It's a bit of a story, nothing too exciting." Ra'avis' features softened with a flick of his palomino ears. "What about you? Any exciting tales a stranger can share?"
 words: 264 | tag: fennecfyre | notes: ohmygosh, i am terribly sorry about the wait! life got a bit hectic and it was hard to get back into posting :< |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2015 1:51:18 GMT
"Hm..." Aryel set her head to the side, studying the brambles. "Can't tell yet. Blackberries, maybe. Or wild raspberries. They were rare in my homeland, but I loved them." Her small size had had at least one upside--as a child, she could crawl into berry thickets that the other foals could not, getting at treats out of their reach. She disregarded the bushes for the moment as he spoke, unwilling to divulge much on the reasons he had left the hill in the past. At least it probably wasn't carnivores, then. Still, she remained curious, though for once she didn't press, reasoning that it was none of her business. He asked if she had any interesting tales to tell, and she blinked, recalling a particular occurrence that had happened soon after coming to these lands. "As a matter of fact, yes. On the borders of Tathra, I ran into a pair of strange two-legged creatures. I had never seen anything like them before, so I trailed them until they noticed me." She snorted, laying her ears back. "They didn't seem dangerous at first, mostly just curious, until one of them tried to get some sort of tether around my neck. I wasn't having any of that." She had been able to leave them behind quickly, as it seemed they couldn't run very fast at all. "Since then, at least. I haven't seen much of anything dangerous about. Tathra seems to be a very peaceful land."
As idyllic as it was, however, part of her did wish for something interesting to happen at some point. Otherwise, there wasn't much to do aside from graze and chat (not that she didn't mind talking with others). However, the more sensible part of her mind was aware that while a brawl here and there might be fun, herd wars were significantly less fun, particularly when conflict spilled over from warriors to civilians. Her home kingdom had mostly know peace, but there had always been the constant threat of bandits and brigands, who stole mares and harassed anyone caught outside the herdlands. As a child, Aryel had idolized the soldiers of her home herd, often following after them on patrols, determined to become a warrior too. Such a dream hadn't really been encouraged, due to both her gender and her small size, but she had still been able to convince or two of the old veterans to teach her a few basic moves.
As she reminisced, she realized her mind had strayed off the topic at hand, as well as away from her fellow horse. "Ah--sorry. I was lost in thought there for a minute." She bowed her head briefly. "My name is Aryel, Tathra's newest vagabond."
@malidoodle
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2015 4:45:10 GMT
the red dragon of nowhere16.3hh|5yrs|chestnut/palomino chimera|belongs to no heart
"I don't believe I've had raspberries." His mismatched limbs itched to move closer and inspect the spiky bushes, possibly memorize their characteristics in case he came across them in fruit. Vis wasn't one hundred percent confident in his berry picking abilities, but, if this girl said they were a favorite treat of hers, he would make an effort to try them should he get the chance. "I just might have to return to Mundaring Hill come summer."
He felt a small wave of relief wash over him as his company let his curt answer pass. The stallion was half expecting her to press for more information, preparing himself to give some half-assed description of his last scene atop the hill. But it never came. Instead, she let it slide and moved on to his next question with quite a story to tell.
Two legged creatures?
His ears took on a slight backwards angle, mirroring her own as she snorted and continued the description of her encounter with the creatures and their... tether. Ra'avis had seen similar odd, hairless beings long before his arrival on the borders of Tathra. He had kept his distance, uncertain if they were harmless wanderers or they would make an attempt to hunt him. Hearing the grulla's little story made him glad he hadn't approached them and a little wary about the numbers that may be roaming this new land.
She had a last comment to tack on; one that brought up more memories and the thoughts that accompany them. The stranger drifted off and they were left in silence for a moment. Tilting his head towards the view before them, he mulled over a question - or maybe it was a prompt? - to ask the gal. She was the first to speak, though, apologizing for the brief bout of quiet and offering her name with a dip of her blaze-marked head.
"No worries, thoughts happen. Pleasure to meet you, Aryel. I am Ra'avis, the not-so-new vagabond. But Vis, the not-so-new vagabond would be preferable." The warmblood mutt could barely contain the grin that slowly spread across his features as he bobbed his head once in return for her gesture. "You know, if Tathra ever gets too peaceful, we could always find a cougar and pull its tail."
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2015 17:05:06 GMT
He had never had raspberries? Oh, he was missing out, then. Though they were only ripe for a brief time, it was Aryel's favorite part of the summer season. He introduced himself as Ra'avis, but asked that she just use his nickname. "Vis, then." she said, mirroring his grin. "People don't really use my nickname much, but you can call me Ari, if you wish." The grin gave way to laughter at his suggestion. "I like the way you think," she said, briefly stomping a hind-hoof. "Maybe we could chase one up a tree, turn the tables on it." Aryel understood the whole circle-of-life deal that determined life and death in the wilderness, and she held no personal hatred towards carnivores, but she certainly wouldn't mind messing with one a bit, just for fun.
Comfortable in Vis's presence for the moment, she dropped her head and grazed, beginning to feel a bit hungry after her run uphill. The grass wasn't quite as lush as it would be in the summertime, but there was enough to fill a horse's belly. Tathra seemed to be a rather lush land, and she wondered why horses hadn't settled here sooner. Perhaps it was the presence of the two-legged creatures that scared them off? They were easy to avoid if you were careful, though. She looked up again, at the mountains far off in the distant, turned a faint blueish color by the atmosphere. Maybe it was because the region was so secluded. You'd probably never find Tathra if you weren't looking for it. She glanced back at the stallion curiously, considering that. "What brought you to Tathra in the first place, Vis?" she asked. "Were you looking for something, or someone? Or did you just want to see the world?"
( @malidoodle
Bleah tiny post)
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2015 8:16:18 GMT
the red and gold dragon of nowhere16.3hh|5yrs|chestnut/palomino chimera|belongs to no heart
"Ari is perfect. Full names are a touch formal for two plain ol' vagabonds, no?" His grin broke into rumbled laughter as she added on to his little proposal, nodding his large head enthusiastically. "I wouldn't turn that down. Maybe we should go cougar hunting some time soon and give that a try?"
Their conversation seemed to wind down for the moment, the pair simply comfortable in the lull in each other's company. The short blue roan lowered her head to continue her grazing Ra'avis had originally interrupted. After a short moment, the stallion let out a soft huff before he dropped himself onto the short grasses beside Ari. Lipping mindlessly at an itch on his right shoulder, he trained an ear back in her direction as she spoke once again.
"Me?"
He angled his large head up to the short-maned Aryel, cocking a palomino brow at her features that had been painted over in curiosity. The question had caught him slightly off guard and he couldn't help but chuckle a bit at having not been wholly attentive to his company. "It's a bit clique, to be honest. There's time to tell everything in excruciating detail about how I'm running from my 'oh so evil' father if you'd like? If not, I suppose you could just say I'm an avid traveler who heard a few words about an unsettled land and couldn't pass up the opportunity to see it if I happened to wander its way.
"But I'll probably continue on further South to travel along the coast after we've chased a cat or two." Turning back to look out over the brambles and scrub towards the rest of the Eastern lands, Ra'avis let out a soft huff. "I was meant to follow a pair of cousins around, but I've since lost them and haven't really found anything else to keep me here."
He uncurled one palomino front leg to strike the grassy earth close to Ari's hind legs. If she had drifted off in his rambling it would aim to bring her back to reality or, if she had somehow stayed awake, it would simply be to indicate she was next to give her own long winded accounts.
"And what about you, Ari? You have a terribly tragic backstory or a reason for seeking out these lands?"
"Ra'avis" "Aellae"
words: 391 | tag: fennecfyre | notes: damn the finicky nature of muse and vis talking too much |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2015 22:28:49 GMT
She rolled her shoulders as he cautioned her that there was a long story behind his arrival in Tathra. "Suits me just fine, if you're willing to tell it. I've got nowhere to be til...never, I guess." As a traveler, her life wasn't nearly quite as structured as it had been in her home herd. No lessons, no hobnobbing, no pressing matters of any sort. She was subject to her whims and her whims alone, and she quite liked it that way. He spoke of problems with his father (she supposed she could sympathize somewhat, though, admittedly, her father had not been particularly cruel, just distant) and his plans for travel, and missing relatives, then indicated for her to speak in turn.
"I was born in a pretty big herd. My sire was the leader, had a bunch of mares who had a bunch of foals, the usual deal. I was just one of his daughters, and given that it was a pretty traditional herd, I didn't have much of a future there. Some of my sisters had already been paired off with stallions from other herds, and my elders weren't about to let me join the patrols. I couldn't do anything of note there." She stomped a hoof, frustrated. "I was never going to amount to anything." More than anything, she realized, it was that lack of self-determination that had driven her away from home. She wanted to make her own way in the world, whatever that turned out to be. "So, I struck out on my own for Tathra." She chuckled. "It'd probably be too cliche to say I'm an adventurer, but I guess that would be the most accurate label for me at the moment." She looked back at Vis. "Any plans, now that you're here? Besides finding your cousins, I mean." Despite her dislike of her home herd, Aryel had actually been good friends with several of her half-siblings, which she supposed were the closest thing she had to cousins. She wondered how they were doing, and if any of them wanted to become a loner like she had.
@malidoodle
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2015 6:44:16 GMT
the red and gold dragon of nowhere16.3hh|5yrs|chestnut/palomino chimera|belongs to no heart
Ra'avis was surprised when she rolled her shoulders and gave him permission to carry on with his story with a little melancholy comment tacked on the end. "I-I didn't think you'd care to hear, it's probably a lot more boring than I originally made it out to be." a bit underprepared to tell this little piece of his past, he stumbled over his first few words before regaining himself. "I won't go all out, but I can start by saying my pedigree's pretty shoddy. An obsessive mare and an arrogant, lone stallion she followed around religiously make up the whole of what I know about it.
I think my sire despised Della, my dam." The red and gold warmblood shifted his hindquarters into a more comfortable position as he tossed his furrowed gaze across the horizon and thought for a short moment. "No. I'm certain he did. He did take pity on her once, though, and she used it to attempt to bring her twisted version of a family together with a child. But, if you couldn't already tell, I wasn't the perfect colt she had wished for. He ended up ignoring any notion of our existence after my birth and the thought of losing her lover forever forced my grand ol' mother to cast me away while I was still fairly young." A half-hearted laugh slipped past his lips. "Yup. Those were the days. Hatred, fear, shame, or a combination of all three had me running the second Della lounged at me and I don't think I've ever really stopped.
Or ever considered stopping."
When it was Aryel's turn to speak, he could feel the irritation wash from her blue tinted frame before she even stomped a hoof. The warmblood mutt pursed one corner of his dark muzzle and turned his head to look back up at the small mare. She told a tale the he could imagine was a common tale upon younger mares, but she seemed to have that something many lacked and had broken free of the cycle. He could certainly admire that, even if he could be off in believing she had done so out of her desire to make her life better, more exciting.
The comment she tacked on about her label earned her an amused snort. "Clique? Who didn't dream of becoming an adventurer at some point in their life?"
At the mention of himself, his mood dampened and his jaw tightened ever so slightly. "On the chance I do end up deciding on staying in Tathra, it'll probably because I've put my efforts into a band." Biting the inside of his cheek, Ra'avis cocked an eyebrow up at Aryel. "That'll probably be a while from now, but, I feel like I kind of want to offer you a small something. If your own plans are as flaky and uncertain as mine, of course."
"Ra'avis" "Aellae"
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2015 2:02:44 GMT
His story wasn't boring, but it was certainly tragic. His family had been dysfunctional from the start, and he had left home far earlier than he should have. The little mare was saddened by how cruel fate had been to him, and found it amazing that, after such a rocky start, he had grown into something other than a nihilistic loner. She admired his resilience and optimism. The grulla laughed as he dismissed her embarassment at wanting to be an adventurer. "I suppose so. Though adventurers are typically always busy slaying monsters and deposing evil warlords and whatnot. There seems to be a dearth of both in Tathra." She cocked her head as he mused about creating a small herd of his own. "You'd be a good leader, I think. I'm not very good at telling others what to do myself. horses tend not to listen to me." A slight grin accompanied her self-deprecation. It was one of the few times she was willing to make fun of her own short height.
The grin was replaced by a look of surprise at what he was implying, and she blinked. "'Small something'? You mean you'd want me to join your band?" It wasn't an offer that she disliked, not at all, but she was somewhat hesitant anyway. She broke eye contact with him briefly, looking back out over the plains. "I mean, there's still a lot out there to explore." Her tone was quiet, almost wistful at the prospects of a whole new land to run amok in. Did she want to give that up already? "I did just get here, after all..." Still, he had said that he wasn't going to try a band for some time. Maybe that would be enough time to get the wanderbug out, and give more thought to settling down again. She looked back at Vis. "What sort of leader do you think you'd be?" she asked. This time, there was a slight challenge in her voice. Aryel could learn to respect others, but her allegiance would always be given freely, never under duress. Vis seemed like a good sort, and she highly doubted that he would confess any evil plans he happened to have just because someone asked, but she tried to look deeper this time, scrutinizing his words and expressions for any hidden meanings or secrets.
No matter what, her main goal in life was to maintain her freedom. If she ever did join a band, then her leaders would have to put up with some wandering and questioning. She wasn't an anarchist, she didn't hate authority, but she believed that titles or bloodline alone did not grant the right to rule. The patrol leader of her home herd had been a stuffy, strict man, but every order he gave, every action he took, was meant to keep the herd safe from predators, brigands, or anything else that threatened them. She had respected him, even as she had caused him an endless amount of annoyance by attempting to follow along on his scouting missions. Vis wasn't nearly as pompous, but she still found herself wondering what his intentions were in creating a band. Did he simply want power? Mares? Or a safe home for his friends and family?
@malidoodle
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