Longer I run; Voudou, Any

[Voudou]

{you remind me of the babe}

{{X}}Of course, Jason wasn't normal.  At her words all he did was lean away from her and tell her to stop.  

{{X}}Fine, if he didn't want to play this game he didn't have to.  Voudou snorted at him and turned away, ears slightly pinned and tail swishing.  Part of her was tempted to just hop back into that crystal clear water and swim out as far as she could.  He wouldn't follow her and from there she wouldn't be able to hear him.  It felt as if someone had dropped a brick in her stomach, and she couldn't pin down whether it was sadness or anger.  In truth it was both, but Voudou, being her stubborn self, refused to accept that any sort of rejection could hurt her.  It was anger, in her mind, and whatever wasn't anger she would turn into anger.

{{X}}She was about to go back and plunge into that water when a figure appeared before her, another painted mare.  Voudou rolled her eyes, completely prepared to tear this little thing into pieces.  This creature was chipper and happy, even better.  Tearing someone out of their bubble of naive ignorance was always easier than crushing a creature that already lived in darkness.  The stranger spoke, followed swiftly by a cheerful greeting on Jason's end.  Voudou practically threw up.  Too much happiness in the air, she needed to get out.  "What do you want?" she spat harshly at the innocent mare, before swiftly turning and throwing herself back into the water.  This time, the cold did hurt, it shot into her like thousands of needles, and she even visibly winced as the water reached her chest.  As soon as the water was deep enough, the ebony mare briefly ducked underneath the surface, clearing her head on the inside with a blast of cold pins on the outside.  

{{X}}Her eyes narrowed as she swam, following the bank but staying several yards away from it.  She followed the bank past where Jason had been standing, and kept on moving away from both of the other equines.  Voudou didn't need them, hell she didn't even need this home.  Frankly, going back to the Field sounded better than staying here just about now.  

{{X}}Voudou kept swimming, completely ignoring the actions of the others, until she couldn't stand the cold anymore.  Only then did she pull herself out of the ice bath, landing herself in several inches of mud on the shore.  She had made up her mind to leave this place, screw them, screw him.  If Jason wanted to find her he could track her down.  As the vixen shook she felt her back foot shift and sink down into the mud.  Even before she tried to move she knew something had caught her foot, hidden beneath the slimy sludge.  Nothing a small tug couldn't fix right?  Wrong.  Even more anger boiled in her gut as Voudou realized she was more than just briefly inconvenienced, she was stuck.  Very, very stuck.  Her back leg was covered in mud about 8 inches up, and however hard she pulled it only sunk deeper.  "Ah shit," she mumbled under her breath.  

tags Jason // Fiasko, 525 words.
notes, Voudou is a drama queen xD.

   

[Fiasko]

fiasko

She can immediately tell she’s interrupted something. Crap.

Jason is open and friendly, but the black mare looks like she’s ready to spit daggers. The look the mare gives her, followed by the harsh tone in her words, makes Fiasko want to shrink into herself and disappear. She stands strong instead, focusing on something her father had said to her long ago. “I love you exactly how you are and if they don’t, then they aren’t worthy of being in your presence.”

She shoots back a polite “I only wanted to welcome you”, but the mare is already gone, dashing back into the icy cold of the lake. Her single eye turns to look at Jason, questioning. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

Her eye travels back to follow the mare’s path through the lake, watching as the black head bobs through the water. She briefly entertains the idea of following the mare, but quashes that thought. She doesn’t even know the mare, and following her would likely seem another intrusion at this point. She watches as the mare gets out on a distant bank, stopping in the muck. She stands there for a moment, before …

“Oh … I … I think she’s stuck!” The bank is faster to reach by swimming, so she plunges in, gasping in shock when the cold hits her. She focuses her mind on the far bank, trying to shut out the chill. It takes her a while (she hasn’t done much swimming), but after some time she reaches place where the black mare has become stuck. She gingerly steps out of the lake, testing the ground before her to make sure she doesn’t sink and become stuck too. Finally, she fixes the mare with her single orange eye. “Do you need help?” Of course, she’s not exactly sure how she’ll be able to help. But she’ll try.

i'm still waiting for the world to end

[Jason]

Jason sees the annoyance and anger plastered all over Voudou’s face. It feels loud. He almost cannot focus, but Fiasko. His eyes dart to her when Voudou speaks, and he frowns. That wasn’t nice, he thinks. It was uncalled for- to take their problem out on an innocent bystander. His eyes turn apologetic. ”No, no…you don’t need to be sorry.” He says to Fiasko before turning back to Voudou who is now submerged in water. ”Oh come on!” He yells to Voudou once she reemerges. Her sudden departure felt more like a temper tantrum than a valid exit, and Jason was irritated by the behavior. ”Voudou, really?” He said when she passed him. ”…really…” He muttered as she drifted further away. He knew he wasn’t going to allow her to simply leave. He had committed to her, promised her a new home. At the very least he needed to make sure she was okay, but before he would do so she needed to calm down. Jason turned to Fiasko, thinking that perhaps her mare-ish ways could offer advice (not that Voudou was the average mare). His eyes pleaded, dumbstruck. Before advice could potentially be exchanged Fiasko noticed something and exclaimed she was stuck. Whose stuck? Jason froze. Oh! Oh! Voudou! Jason followed Fiasko as his brain began to catch up with his legs. He hesitated for a moment before jumping into the lake, but with growing concern he took the plunge. The cold hits him, and he holds in a vocal shock. He swims and swims fast. Once he reaches Voudou, he shivers. He follows Fiasko’s lead, pulling out of the lake prior to the muddy shore. Jason then steadily trots over to the stuck mare, and he laughs lightly. ”Didn’t get too far, eh?” He feels the warmth collect back into his cheeks. jason magical son of eol and ashling

[Voudou]

{i'm a reckless mistake}
{i'm a cold night's intake}
{i'm a one night too long}
{i'm a come on too strong}

"I don't need your help, I just felt like you needed a bath."

{{X}}Her words were cruel and dark, laced with the venom that she spat towards the new mare.  Voudou hadn't asked for help and she never would.  Frankly, the raven colored mare would rather sit in that mud hole for a week than accept help or admit she was even stuck in the first place.  That new mare had a strange face, one side entirely made up of a single, giant scar, and whatever had happened had taken the mare's eye with it.  But as much as she wanted to hate Fiasko right now, Voudou aimed at Jason once more.  The hell if she needed his sarcasm right now, and as the stallion spoke a growl grew in the depths of Voudou's throat.  

{{X}}At that precise moment, Voudou wanted only to beat the shit out of Jason; the mare wanted to sink her teeth into his oh so pretty blue pelt and draw blood, and leave bruises and scars in her wake.  And at that moment, Voudou forgot just how stuck she was and attempted to spin and lunge at him.  With a leg still stuck behind her, she ended up sliding to a fall, her large figure splatting down into the mud.  She groaned and gave up, satisfied then just to stand back up and look away from them both.  Her newly cleaned coat was now caked in mud from her shoulder down, and her leg was buried up to her hock, now dragging her remaining 3 legs a little deeper into the mud.  

{{X}}"Jason I don't care what you say, I'm not staying here.  I'm not sure why I came in the first place, I don't need a home, and I definitely don't need friends.  You and miss whatsername here can go, I'll just trot my little butt back over to the field where someone else can stare at it.  It's all I'm good for anyway, posing so the men can look at me.  I mess everything else up, apparently I can't even pull myself out of the goddamned lake."  Initially, her words were sharp and harsh, but as she spoke they crawled closer and closer to borderline sadness.  By the time she was done, Voudou's voice was on the verge of quivering, and she was furiously blinking back salty tears, refusing to let them see her cry.  What was truly sad was that in some way she deeply believed what she had said, and it hurt her to the core to realize that Jason had really just taken all that she had; her power over men.  What was she if she couldn't even get a man to respond to her flirting?  Not much.  

{{X}}Just an angry mare with an attitude problem and not a friend in the world.  

tags Jason // Fiasko, 470 words.
notes, ....

[Fiasko]

fiasko

She’s never been terribly good at reading others.

It’s a symptom of having lived the first year of her life on her own, scrounging out a life on the outskirts of Beqanna.  She had few encounters with other horses back then, and it seems that her social ability has not yet recovered from that deficit.  

But, even with her poor social skills, she can tell that Voudou (whose name she catches from Jason) wants her gone.  

She stands awkwardly on the bank, torn over what she should do.  The mare doesn’t want her here, but she can’t in good conscience leave her when she’s in such a predicament.  Being stuck in such a place could put the mare in serious danger if they are unable to find a way to get her out.  “That remains to be seen, but you do need help.”  The black mare isn’t going to like that she’s sure.  “After we’ve gotten you out, I’ll leave if you wish.”

Jason soon arrives beside her, adding a little jibe that Fiasko is sure won’t help to soothe the mare’s anger.  Ugh.  This might not end well.  And unfortunately … she’s right.

The mare bursts into a tirade, ranting about not needing a home and posing for men.  Fiasko’s more than a little dumbfounded.  There’s clearly something else going on here beyond getting stuck in the mud.  Had something happened between Voudou and Jason?  She shoots the grey stallion a quick, curious glance before turning her attention back to the black mare.  “I’m sure you’re good for far more than that.  And I think most horses would find pulling themselves out of that muck a challenge.  I certainly would.”  She can see the tears brimming in the corner’s of Voudou’s eyes, but she doesn’t comment on them - she doesn’t want to trigger another outburst, especially when she’s not even sure how to handle the first one.  All of that said though, they still have a problem to solve.  “Jason, do you have any ideas on how we can get her out?”

i'm still waiting for the world to end

[Jason]

Jason’s sarcasm had been a bit of a dick move, but being a guy he felt it to be oddly appropriate. Voudou, on the other hand, didn’t agree with such an assessment. The thick growl under her breath broke Jason’s smile and caused him to take a mini step back. Her eyes looked fierce, filled with anger and zero compassion. Jason’s eyes mirrored back her stare with unease mixed with amusement. As serious as the situation had become he couldn’t help but find comedy in it all, and to top it all off Voudou suddenly fell. Instinctively Jason lurched forward to help, but as soon as he did so the mare managed to stand up. She was completely coated in mud and looked as silly as could be. Her words though that were soon spewed were not nearly as silly. She spoke. She raged. Jason blinked and listened. She said she wouldn’t stay which broke him, and when her words began to shake he shattered. ”Voudou…I…” He began to speak without thought, and his voice drifted. He didn’t know what to say or what to address first. The cry meant much more than just words. It spoke of Voudou’s happiness, of her insecurities. Fiasko soon looked to Jason, which broke his processing. She then speaks and for that Jason is thankful. Fiasko’s words state truth, and Jason nods although he knows there is much more to say. ”Voudou, If you are not happy here I will not force you to stay, but I want you to stay. You are wanted here.” He rests his eyes on her. His expression soft, welcoming ”You’re worth more than your looks. You’re intelligent and clever, and I’m sure there’s more for you to share with me….with us.” His voice flows easy. ”But if you don’t want this I wont stand in your way.” He grins ”But I may have to go to the field and stare at you with all the others.” He allows his voice to grow a little bit lighter. Even though the supportive speech may be done they still had a feat to overcome. Fiasko was the one to approach the obvious topic next, how were they going to get the mare out of the mud? ”Well I do have an idea.” He steps forward and places his hoof into the mud. His eyes close and he focuses on thoughts of the desert- of an arid dry land. Slowly the mud around his hoof turns to dirt. His eyes open ”Would you like our help, Voudou?” jason magical son of eol and ashling

[Voudou]

{all my life}
{i've been living in the fast lane}
{can't slow down}
{i'm a rollin freight train}

{{X}}No, no she did not want their help.  But did she really have much of a choice?  Want and need were such vastly different things, and it was funny how often the clashed in Voudou's mind.  The mare had tried once more to pull herself out as Jason spoke, wanting only to get away from them both, even with just the two of them watching her she felt claustrophobic and she was about ready to scream if she didn't get some space.  Her efforts did nothing more than sink her leg a little deeper and her ankle hurt, oh god did her ankle hurt.  Just standing still she could feel it getting hot and swollen in the cold mud.  Something to do with the fall she supposed.  By now the tears were gone, once again replaced with hatred and anger, though admittedly somewhat tamed from a couple minutes ago.  Voudou was tired, she wanted to disappear and sleep.  For a week.

{{X}}And while Jason had spoken, Voudou hadn't really been listening.  She probably only caught half of it, and even then Voudou tried her hardest to ignore him.  Fiasko of course had spoken as well, but to the charcoal mare Fiasko's words were of no use, and even the tone in her voice suggested she was lost as to how she should react.  How useless could she be?  Clearly she wasn't wanted here, the proper response was to leave.  Then again Jason wasn't wanted here either and he hadn't made the tiniest bit of an effort to leave.  Useless.  Both of them.  But trapped here, Voudou had very little say in whether they stayed or not.  

{{X}}"You know, Jason, somehow I feel like even if I told you to f*ck off and go to hell you would stick around until I was halfway to the Field.  I don't have much of a choice do I?"  She had turned her head to look him in the eye, and as they met hers were cold and dark, completely unforgiving without an ounce of sorrow in them.  Though her words were sarcastic, it wasn't in a cheery way, more in the tone that suggested he was already dead to her.  And for something so stupid!  Voudou knew she was definitely overreacting, but she also wasn't about to back off until he apologized, and he had to know exactly why she had been mad to begin with, none of this "I'm so sorry about how you feel" crap.  She would hold onto that grudge until she felt he really understood how she felt about everything.  But would she talk about it with him? Probably not.  It was easier to just stay mad and find a new man to tease.  Besides, anger kept nosy beings away from her, while vulnerability brought with it pity, and Voudou certainly didn't need anyone's pity.

{{X}}Voudou wanted to be alone, but she also knew there was no damned way she would be able to pull herself out of the mud without help.  As she finally looked away from Jason again, fully expecting some stupid sarcastic answer that Jason knew would do more harm than good, Voudou spoke again, quiet and slightly mumbled, "But I'm not too dumb to know I'm up shit creek if you don't help out."  Though not an apology, and though she wasn't directly asking for help, it did send a sick feeling through her stomach, and a stab of pain to her heart.  

tags Jason // Fiasko, 577 words.
notes, _______.

   

[Fiasko]

fiasko

Jason too speaks up in full support of the mare, trying to reassure her and emphasize that she does not need to stay if she doesn’t wish to. As they stand there, Fiasko can’t help but wonder what had happened in the mare’s past to make her so angry. Fiasko too has had a difficult past - she’s lucky to have survived the first year of her life. But she doesn’t have this burning anger that Voudou seems to have. Perhaps though … perhaps she could have. She’d been lucky. Kaelie and Finnley had taken her in, given her a home. If she hadn’t had that … what would she have been like?

It’s a bizarre thought, not something that’s ever come to mind before. But she doesn’t dwell on it. There’s nothing she can do to change the past.

Jason is speaking again, and she’s glad to hear that he has some sort of idea on how to get Voudou out of the muck. Because personally she feels clueless. And, thankfully, after a few more choice words in Jason’s direction, Voudou stops fighting them. The mare clearly realizes that she’s going no where without their help, and to continue fighting them at this point would be counterproductive. “Alright Jason, what’s your plan?”

i'm still waiting for the world to end

[Jason]

The situation seemed to be of epic misfortune. Nothing had gone as planned, and Jason was at a lost for what he should do. He had never before been looked at with such disdain especially after he had spoken kind words. The look in Voudou’s eyes and the lashing of her tongue stung deeply. He felt like he was standing before a firing squad awaiting his death. The poisoned darted eyes didn’t stop their hatred when Jason frowned. He felt the utter torment within them, and he felt the stark desire for him to disappear. Jason simply stood and stared. His mind had grown swollen in both confusion and sadness. Jason could have been there forever had Fiasko not broken the conversation and stare between Voudou and himself. Voudou’s last mumbled words had barely registered. Jason had simply grown numb toward the attack, and his heart had simply turned and ached for his own acceptance in her eyes. Sadly there would be none of that, and with Fiasko’s matter-of-fact words the glaze in his eyes began to fade away. ”The plan? Well..I can turn the mud into dirt, then we can simply dig her out or she may be able to just pull herself out of it.” He directed his speech toward Fiasko for he was too exhausted to speak of the plan to Voudou. With little encouragement Jason swayed his head toward the mud in front of him and edged his hoof onto the surface. He focused his magic, weak yet still accessible. Slowly the water evaporated from the mud turning it into dry, coarse earth. ”You’re free.” He spoke deadpan to Voudou. jason magical son of eol and ashling

[Voudou]

{you remind me of the babe}

{{X}}Voudou pulled as hard as she could as the mud dried into clumps of dirt beneath her feet.  She pulled, her leg inching out little by little, until her hoof was finally freed, throwing a spray of sandy dirt into the air.  Aha, now she could leave, put this place behind her and never have to look back an- holy mother of god did that hurt.  Just resting her hoof on the ground without putting weight on it had sent a shot of pain through her leg strong enough that even Voudou gasped, unamused with her new problem.  No bones had been broken, and the friesian imagined that it had much more to do with the fall twisting her leg in a funny way, and then being aggravated more by the pulling.  She just couldn't catch a break could she?

{{X}}Serves you right you stuck up princess her mind's voice nagged.  Of course the mare brushed this off, not eager to argue with herself when she had to focus on finding a way to walk that wouldn't permanently cripple her.  For now, she settled with gently and slowly cocking that foot and resting.  Her dark orbs were focused on the now-dirt at her feet, and a soft "thank you" was uttered from her lips.  It wasn't directed at either of them in particular, but they could take it as they wished.

{{X}}Now that the initial shock of the pain was gone, now subsiding into a constant throbbing, Voudou was getting cold.  That awful tingle was starting to itch at her skin as her soaking pelt transitioned into damp, and a strong shiver ran down her entire bodice all at once.  All that work to take a good bath in the sunshine and now she was covered in mud anyway, half of her body caked in the stuff, and her legs all covered thoroughly up to her knees.  

{{X}}"So, on the off chance that I'm not actually able to leave, I need somewhere to take a nap.  Any ideas?"

{{X}}All of a sudden the dark cruelty had melted away from her voice, and her tone held no hints of sarcasm or pain.  Perhaps if she kept them confused enough they would just accept it and help her out without making fun of her.  Though honestly, as much as she tried Voudou was finding it hard to hold onto that anger, it was washing away from her almost as quickly as it had arrived.  The charcoal mare found it funny that she understood most things in the world except herself.  

tags Jason // Fiasko, 427 words.
notes, _______.