Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Printable Version +- Beqanna (https://beqanna.com/forum) +-- Forum: OOC (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=24) +--- Forum: Archive (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=81) +---- Forum: Field (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=2) +---- Thread: Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] (/showthread.php?tid=761) |
Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Astri - 04-14-2015 Am I supposed to have meaning? I'm not sure. With a flick of my unusually "festive" mane I inhale and blink to hold back the regret and tears. I knew this day would come; I'd have to leave the place for foals (the only home I've really known) and make my own way. But how can someone with no past make a solid future? I'd had shit for parents, so the rules of this world were still new to me. But I could try. I'd do my best.
.:Mantis green girl of Yule and Astrah:.I lift my head, set my mismatched sights for the field and begin the short journey. I fake confidence, hoping it'll deter the worst of scum, and quickly slip between the throng of horses and other ... creatures. Some are flashy (and I suppose that I'm not so normal myself, what with my bright green fur) with wings and horns and fangs, but there are others who are more subtle. Splashes of color and then normalcy. With a deflated ego I mumble a quiet introduction and choose a spot to graze for a bit, hoping to seem unassuming and available without coming off as completely ignorant. This was going to be harder than I'd imagined. Before long the others disperse and I'm left somewhat alone. Separate, yet still near the dwindling gathering. I finish up and peer curiously to them - wondering off-hand if my color makes me blend too well with the green forage. Astri RE: Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Texas - 04-15-2015 Though he’s been progressively at ticking off all the boxes required of a kingdom horse, Texas has begun to grow bored. He had known that the Falls was a quiet kingdom, but he had not expected all of Beqanna to be quiet as well. It grates beneath his skin, a constant reminder that he has no ultimate plan, that he is simply surviving and making no attempt at living. He’s brought a new member to the kingdom, tried a steal, done a challenge. Check, check, check. Today would be a good day to laze about in the kingdom. The summer sun is bright overhead and the breeze keeps the air from being too still. It also blows the tangled strands of his grey streak mane into face, and Texas snorts irritably as he pauses to shake it away. He is in the Field instead of napping, and while there are several potential prospects, the weight of his productivity has already begun to chafe. He decides to stand very still, and see if anything changes. Hours pass, and he falls asleep instead of observes, and when he wakes the majority of those around him have been captured or convinced to leave the Field. There are a handful of mares and stallions, and then there is a bright green figure a little off in the distance. Texas has never seen a green horse, despite his years, and he immediately forgets his irritation. He approaches her, and while his brown eyes cover every inch of her figure as he draws closer, his gaze is not at all lascivious. The bay stallion is intrigued and appreciative of this novelty, and when he settles a comfortable distance from the young mare his smile is warm and charming. “You’re quite the looker,” he tells her, the drawl in his tenor voice stretching out the words. He says it as though it is a fact to be acknowledged, neither teasingly or flirtatiously. Texas is quite clearly just a bay stallion with friendly eyes. “I’m Texas, from the Falls. What’s your name?” RE: Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Scorch - 04-15-2015 WATCH THE FLAMES CLIMB HIGH INTO THE NIGHT Scorch Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle RE: Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Camrynn - 04-15-2015 so you wanna play with magic? Ah yes, the carnival of misfits that is Beqanna. We've got quite the freak show here, don't we? It seems like nowadays every horse is boasting something special, or at least hiding something special carefully concealed under a trenchcoat. Scorch and Texas both are – she conceals twilight manipulation behind a flashy skin, and he is immortal. And they are just two of many, little segments of this glorious gallery. And what is Camrynn in all of this? She's no freak, and she's certainly not normal. She is the ringmaster, the keeper of the zoo, the one who gets to make all the rules and then break them. She doesn't dance to a different drummer, she is the drummer, and her tune is ever changing. But you better keep dancing – she won't ever let you stop. Tucked away within the sands of the Deserts, Camrynn peruses the field. It is one of the (many) advantages of magic, this ability to cast her vision wherever she wishes it to go. Although really, when you can blink your eyes and appear wherever you want, what does it really matter? She watches the same assortment of horses that Astri sees, the menagerie in full, moving as one uncoordinated surging mass. But what interests her most is not them; it's the green girl standing apart from all of them, watching the spectacle with a remarkable degree of self-containment and self-awareness. If it were a story, this girl would almost be breaking the fourth wall. In an instant she appears along the treeline. She never travels anywhere by foot if she can help it, choosing to appear either right next to her intended target, or as here, far enough away that she can approach without immediately revealing her certain talents. In this case, she has an ulterior motive: she knows that Scorch will arrive, and she doesn't wish to open that particular can of worms and wider than it already needs to be. While she watches, the scene unfolds exactly as it had in her mind. Texas approaches the girl first, and then Scorch comes, lingering in the shadows like Camrynn herself does, waiting for recruiting sisters that will never come. Once both have said their piece, Camrynn moves from her shaded position. She is a beautiful thing, deeply black, her coat shining with health. She is delicately built, well muscled but undeniably elegant. Her mane and her tail are both free of tangles, her tail long enough to almost sweep the ground. She is entirely unmarked save for three distinctive elements. The first is a large gold crook and flail, blazoned proudly across her chest. The second is her eyes, which tend to change color. Right now, they're a green that harmonizes well with Astri's but does not copy it. And finally, across her left cheek there is a trail of small gemstones, diamonds and emeralds and rubies. It drapes like a beautiful necklace, catching the fading summer light in a beautiful way. Beautiful – everything about her is beautiful, and she will allow it no other way. She approaches the group without hesitation. She may have history with Scorch, but the dragon mare can't touch her. Camrynn is immune to most everything, from everyone, save perhaps the most ancient of magicians. As she approaches, her elegant lips curl into a delicate, friendly smile. "Room for one more?" she asks the green girl with a wry grin. Her voice is almost impossibly pleasant, like settling into a warm bed, or curling up beneath a heated blanket in the middle of winter. It is the opposite of Scorch's voice: polished, feminine, and never brusque. She settles in with the others easily enough, her eyes tracking over each of them, her gaze analytic but not unkind, her smile never wavering. "I'm Camrynn, Queen of the Deserts." she says offhand, as though commenting on the weather. She takes a surprising amount of pride in her title, but she doubts that flaunting it brazenly in front of this girl would win her interest. "Texas." she greets the old stallion with a glance, her voice neutral. "Scorch." she greets with the same tone, both her magical and lay senses keen to see how her former mother would react, Her gaze returns to Astri. "You have lovely eyes. I'll bet your name is just as lovely." The fact that she could pull that name out of the girl's head is entirely irrelevant. What matters is that she didn't. CAMRYNN co-queen of the deserts, magical, mother of badassery RE: Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Astri - 04-21-2015 Two Queens and Texas. The gathering I'd unconsciously drawn was beginning to look like a poker hand. In hindsight, it really was a game. Two truths and a lie, to be exact. My mismatched eyes flicker between them and I shuffle the deck. Who among them was the lie? I'm nervous - it's obvious to these other horses. They can sense it through my body (or by other means). But I'm not afraid. I clear my throat, steeling myself for the age old dance and begin with the most obvious reaction. "I'm Astri." I begin, letting my words build themselves instead of stumbling over them. I wasn't a filly anymore - I was necessary, I just had to convince them of this. So I offer a quick, half-hearted smile and choose to reply to their queries in order.
.:Mantis green girl of Yule and Astrah:.Texas first then. "Thank you, Texas. I've never received a compliment quite like that before." With some measure of grace I move on to Scorch, knowing that I'll never forget the likes of her from henceforth. She was hard to ignore. "I've lived in Beqanna my entire life, your grace. I was abandoned as a foal." No sense in crying over spilt milk, my past was far behind me. With a wary eye I continue on to Camrynn, feeling my throat grow dry. There was ... something about her nature that made me feel uncomfortable, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Some of us are blessed, but I try very hard not to dwell on outer appearances your grace. Often times I find that what may seem pleasing to the eye isn't necessarily as pleasing underneath." I'm more wary of her than the others, and I trust my intuition above all else. But she'd offered me no harm yet, so I only nod my head and then gather myself to talk to them. "What I'm curious to know is how I'll fit in with each of your homes. I've been alone my entire life - no family, no support system. If I'm going to pledge myself in servitude to one of you, I don't want to be forgotten. I want my life to have meaning." Astri RE: Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Shaytan - 04-24-2015 I call her the devil Shaytan and every time she knocks RE: Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Texas - 04-28-2015 The fire covered mare is queen of the Amazons? How unfortunate. Texas is not certain that he’s ever seen anything quite as unattractive as the tattooed creature, and he does his best to avert his eyes. Though he knows that it is unlikely, he desperately hopes that she’s no descendent of his, and that if she is she got the ugly genes from the other side. She certainly didn’t get them from Texas. The second mare is a queen too, and comes with that slimy feeling that Texas equates with magicians. This day is turning out absolutely horribly, and Texas turns his greying head back in Astri’s direction in the hopes that she’s a saving grace among this odd congregation of things that Texas dislikes. “Servitude?” He repeats, darks eyes going a little wide at the word. “I’m not sure what you’ve heard about kingdoms, but the Falls doesn’t expect slavish devotion from its members.” Amazons, check and mate. They have their weird little voodoo and slashed chests on betrayers. Gods forbid someone gets tired of living in a disgustingly humid jungle and moves to a better climate. He wonders, perhaps a little late, if it is wise to have such free-floating thoughts near a magicians. Probably not, but he’s survived this far, even with his immortality slipping away with every day spent in the Falls. “A kingdom is a place to live. If you want to make yourself great, you can do so anywhere.” Sure, if she has magic and sisterhood to help her she might have an extra boost, but no assistance comes without a cost. Hence Texas’ almost entirely solitary life. “The Falls has need of members with drive though. Members, I think, like you.” He might be a terrible recruiter, that’s true. It might be because he’s surrounded by his least favorite things, or it might be that the creak in his bones is finally getting to him. “We also have control of the waterfall, of course, if that sort of thing appeals to you. Healing waters, and all that.” RE: Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Scorch - 04-28-2015 WATCH THE FLAMES CLIMB HIGH INTO THE NIGHT Scorch Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle RE: Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Camrynn - 04-29-2015 so you wanna play with magic? Well, in any situation where someone is going to be a lie, it's always going to be Camrynn. Astri is not wrong to be a little bit uncomfortable around her – she's the only one among their little gathering who could wipe the other three off the face of Beqanna (and the planet) without warning and without so much as moving a muscle. Wonderful thing, magic. But she isn't, and she doesn't, and she won't. That would give Scorch far too much satisfaction. She can feel the other woman's seething anger at her, and she entirely understands and sympathizes and fully intends to rub it in a little bit. She offers the Amazon queen a gentle, earnest smile, looking her way delicate eyes during a lull in the conversation. When Astri addresses Camrynn, the black mare chuckles gently and shakes her head. "Very perceptive, and very accurate." the black mare doesn't miss the implication, nor does she miss the woman's coldness toward her. Oh well, nothing to be done other than try her best. "No need to call me your grace, Astri. I'm not that formal. Just Camrynn will do, or Cam, if you prefer." Her voice is earnest, friendly. She doesn't mind the trappings of queenship, but she doesn't need it. The respect is nice, but she earns respect in ways far more interesting than simply being the queen of a kingdom. And then she is silent, letting the girl speak, knowing that it is the way of Beqanna that the conversation will circle around between the others, only eventually coming back to her. Even with the interruption of the Chamberling – and oh, wouldn't it be interesting to sojourn into her mind – that is still the way of it. The question she's asked is an interesting one, almost as interesting as the answers that Texas and Scorch give. Camrynn is not surprised that the old stallion throws a barb at the Amazons – he likes them almost as much as Covet does, which is to say, about as far as he can throw them (which is not very far, considering horses don’t have arms). And before long, the conversation has circled round again and it's Camrynn's turn. "A kingdom isn't really about pledges of servitude." Her voice is quiet, earnest. "They're about family. I'm sorry you never had family growing up, but you might yet know what it's like through one of our kingdoms." she smiles gently. And yes, she did include the others – the Deserts may be the best, in her opinion, but she knows that the girl will find kinship whichever one of them she chooses to go with. "The Deserts is…" she pauses for a moment, staring off into the distance as she thinks "A family. A lot of our residents are very family-oriented, and many of them live there with their families." she thinks of Yael and her children. "But it is also a thriving kingdom, one where you could make yourself whatever you want to be. The Deserts does not judge; our people are willing to let you discover who you are amongst friends, to make the choices you want to make, and decide who you want to be. And we'll be okay with whoever, or whatever that is." she smiles gently. "The Deserts also has a long memory. There is a tree in our oasis dedicated to Vanquish, our former king." She pauses again, her voice quiet. "The sands don't forget." CAMRYNN co-queen of the deserts, magical, mother of badassery RE: Nothing's right, I'm torn [Any] - Shaytan - 05-05-2015 I call her the devil Shaytan and every time she knocks |