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    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura


    Seeking An Alliance (Ruan)
    #1
    Many moons had passed since the golden stallion had been recruited into the Taiga, and he was grateful for every day he spent here since. He had been uncertain about this kingdom at first, when he'd made the decision to leave the bachelor life behind and try to be a part of a herd, or kingdom, whichever, of a horses once again. He was still technically a bachelor, as he would be until he found a mare to be his companion.

    He had an idea of who he wanted once upon a time, but with recent discoveries, and the changing of the seasons, that idea had been flushed down the river and left the stallion a little depress. But with his job to the Taiga just as important as one day finding a companion, Aten pushed his own heartache out and tried to focus on his own responsibilities.

    And, as he so often told himself, as long as the mare was happy, he would be happy to. That's all he wanted for his friends, even if they'd unknowingly hurt him.

    Aten hadn't necessarily distanced himself from his friend, but he had been hanging out with her less. Mostly for two reasons; so he wouldn't say anything stupid, and so she wouldn't feel threatened by having another stallion not related to her nearby. Aten had seen it in harems before; if any stallion not related to a mare came near, unless she was interested in him, the stallion was chased away by either the mare or the herd stallion because the other was a threat.

    The gold one had a feeling that he could be considered a threat too, whether to the mare or the unborn foal growing within her belly.

    He wanted to find something to occupy his time, something to try and fill his mind with different thoughts other than that of his own sadness. At first, he couldn't think of any good ideas, until he remembered a conversation he'd had with Ruan and Jinju several moons ago. It had been shortly after one of Jinju's escapades to the Field. Ruan had shown worry for her before informing both Jinju and Aten that he would be journeying to the Tephra territory to go see an old friend of his. He'd then requested for Jinju to go to the Nerine territory, with Aten as her travel companion.

    But with the black filly showing more of her pregnancy, Aten was unsure of Ruan still wanted her to go in the first place. It would be a valuable alliance if he could get Nerine and Taiga on the same side, and so, one day, he made up his mind. If Ruan denied his request, he would not be mad of course, but there was no harm in asking.

    Leaving the main grazing site, Aten journeyed closer to the forest. He remembered how Jinju said that Ruan could always here, and since he had a tie with the wolves it seemed, being close to the forest seemed the best way to reach him if Aten couldn't find him in person yet.

    Once he neared the edge of the forest, the gold one stopped just short of entering its dark confinements. The forest gave off a bit of an ominous feeling to those who had never been here before, or even those who had lived here but still weren't used to it. Aten himself, sure, sometimes the forest did creep him out, but only because he knew what lived in it. He knew the wolves wouldn't hurt him, but by nature, horses were prey animals. It was in their instinct to be afraid of animals that had razor sharp teeth, capable of tearing flesh from bone with something as simple as a flick of their head.

    Which is why, whenever he was here, Aten made sure to show the forest the utmost respect, as he did not want to offend the wolves for multiple reasons. A chilly breeze danced across Aten's muscular back, reminding him that winter was not incredibly far away. So, if he wanted to try and visit the Nerine territory before the heavy snows set in and possibly trapped him away from the Taiga for a time, he had to get a move on.

    But first, he needed permission. Carefully, the horse cross the edge of the forest line, and it felt like he was walking into another world entirely. A heavy feeling settled on the stallion, but not one of hostility or anger. No, just a heavier feeling, made possibly by the fact that he was surrounded by humongous trees and how the light layer of fog drifting in form the see made this forest seem like a ghost world.

    The golden one sucked in a breath to remain calm and then let out a calling neigh. It wasn't one of urgency, just at first to see if he could get the spotted stallion's attention.

    "Ruan," he began by addressing the leader through name, "I was wondering if you have some time to talk? I'd like to discuss an important matter with you."

    @[Ruan]
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    #2
    He was drenched in sweat, having run himself hard again. His breaths came in deep sucks of air, and his muscles burned from the exercise. The season was hard on him. He'd never had one without his wife, not since the last one when he was too consumed in grief to desire much of anything, and his natural instincts were powerful. Hard to ignore. But he fought it. All he had here at home lately were his daughters. And he fought it.

    His head turned at the call ringing through their trees, and the wild flashed in his eyes before dimming. Aten. Just Aten, not a stranger. And he made his way to him with an even pace, his steps deliberate with the natural ease of someone accustomed to traveling lightly, quietly. A hunter, like the black wolf he used to be.

    "Ruan," the golden stallion greeted him when he came into view, and he nodded acknowledgement with an easy smile for Aten, blue eyes bright and curious. "I was wondering if you have some time to talk? I'd like to discuss an important matter with you." His brows pulled together briefly as he wondered what may be so important to him. But his expression smoothed again, because it didn't matter. Whatever it was, he was sure they could find an answer together.

    "Of course, Aten. What's on your mind?"

    He continued closer, drifting through the natural fog of their homeland. It settled and swayed between the trees, swirled slowly away with his movements. He liked the coolness of it, the darkness of their home beneath the trees and the chill in the air that smelled of pine and mountains and rain. Even their small meadows were beautiful, and he suspected those may be Aten's favorite places. He paused, still with a smile, and waited to hear what was concerning the golden stallion.



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    #3
    When Ruan came into view and joined the golden stallion to hear what he had to say, Aten was mentally prepared to inform the spotted one of his plan to go visit some of the other kingdoms to ask to form an alliance with the Taiga. But when he saw the condition of the kingdom's leader, how his body was covered in sweat, he hesitated to voice his own plans.

    What in the world had Ruan been doing that he was in this kind of shape? It was obvious he'd been exerting himself, possibly through physical exercise or the like, but had he run himself into the ground? Aten had seen his dam's friend Raxa when she did a lot of running and not even she looked like this. Though, perhaps because she was more used to it since she ran every day.

    Aten wanted to ask his leader if everything was all right, but held it back for now. If it was a problem Ruan wanted to discuss, he'd tell him. So, instead, Aten went on to tell the stallion of his plan, albeit changing some words around to avoid making it seem all about him. A sly invitation for Ruan to tell Aten what was bothering him, but only if he picked up on it.

    "I was thinking the other day, Ruan, about a conversation you had with me and Jinju a while back when she returned from a trip to the Field." They both knew what that trip had to have been about, but neither of them would say anything out loud. "I remember you had requested for Jinju and myself to take a trip to another one of the kingdoms to see if they would perhaps join in an alliance with us.

    "It has been some time since then, and I figured it would be good to journey there now to talk to the leaders. Offer what Taiga had in exchange for an alliance and see what they have in return. But, now, with Jinju carrying her foal, I do not think it would be the safest route for her to take. I will not fight against your decision, if you decide to let her go, I just thought I should voice a worry I think we both have.

    "If you trust me enough to journey outside the Taiga to a kingdom of your choosing, I would be glad to go there and propose an alliance between them and the Taiga. I will follow your orders and be proud to help the kingdom gain the allies it needs," Aten told his leader, waiting patiently once he was finished to see what Ruan would have to say to that.
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    #4
    He could see the question in Aten's eyes at his current state, sleek with sweat as he was and breathing hard, but they both chose to ignore it. Thankfully. Instead, Aten reminded him of when he'd asked the gold stallion to help Jinju visit other lands. As usual, other things had come up before they'd gotten the chance to; Heda leaving, Nayl coming, an uncertain relationship with his only daughter by blood. Now Jinju was far too pregnant to be taking on such a task.

    They were both in agreement on that.

    "If you trust me enough to journey outside the Taiga to a kingdom of your choosing, I would be glad to go there and propose an alliance between them and the Taiga. I will follow your orders and be proud to help the kingdom gain the allies it needs."

    Ruan nodded in acknowledgement but said nothing at first. It was a big task to settle on Aten's shoulders, and even though the man was willing and offering, he was still reluctant to burden him. "We do need to visit the kingdoms," he agreed, pensive. He'd wanted to, after all, had even asked Aten and Jinju help him do it. But one thing after another seemed to come up, and he sighed quietly. It was hard to ask for help.

    "I am hesitant to form alliances," he said carefully, gauging Aten's reaction to that. He'd turned down Djinni's merge of Sylva and Taiga forests. He didn't really know Djinni, had barely met her once before. Couldn't possibly assume her intentions. Alliances were probably easy for others to break the moment they decided to, but it was harder for him. Too damned loyal. And it wouldn't be the first time someone he thought he knew turned out to be a completely different person.

    "Continue to Nerine as we planned, but I think we should get to know them before we make formal commitments. Learn who their friends are, who their enemies are, what kind of people they are. If they can be trusted." He watched Aten as he spoke, then paused. Considering. Could he trust Aten with such a major task? He already trusted the man's judgement, maybe this was only a step above that. He was afraid Aten hadn't had to learn the hard lessons in trust that he'd had.

    He softened, eyes warm. "Be careful, Aten. Sometimes people only seem trustworthy. Listen to their actions more than their words. I trust you to speak on behalf of the Taiga."




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    #5
    Aten remained silent as Ruan began running through options, not offering an opinion or specifics when the spotted stallion talked about how they should visit other kingdoms and his hesitance to form alliances. It seemed those were statements directed more toward himself than the golden stallion who had asked for permission in the first place. It was not until Ruan fully had a plan in mind that Aten really began to listen, gauging what his leader had to say regarding this important matter.

    With permission, Ruan gave Aten the order to go to Nerine as was the original plan. But, true to his alliance hesitance, he requested for the golden stallion to get to know the kingdom first, see who lived there and so on. To put it in simpler terms, this was more of a reconnaissance journey, rather than seeing if a kingdom would accept an alliance to begin with.

    Aten could see good reason behind Ruan's directions. When kingdoms offered alliances, they often had something to offer each other. Before the Reckoning, when the Falls still existed, it had a magical waterfall and river with healing properties. It was a powerful tool to offer during negotiating. Now, with the Taiga, there was nothing like that to offer. Yes, the kingdom had its merits, like its dense forests with ridiculously tall trees that provided a hiding spot for those who knew this land, and a confusing puzzle for those who didn't. It formed a practically impenetrable barrier, and by the time the enemy would've reached the other side, the Taigans would've been ready to strike. There was also the matter of the wolves, a predator that any wise horse would fear. Even Aten found himself uneasy around them sometimes, even if he'd grown use to their presence. Instinct, he guessed, but he wouldn't trade it for the world.

    There was also the fact that Taiga was still a growing kingdom. Though it had a fair number of horses living here, it was not near enough to be a respectable fighting force against possible threats. True, there were some gifted living here, and other experienced fighters, but would another kingdom really want to align themselves with Taiga if it seemed pathetic in their eyes?

    Aten listened to the last of Ruan's words; a warning, to watch those he put his trust in and to listen moreso to their actions. Aten seemed like a trusting being, but in reality, such a gift of his was rarely given out. The only reason he'd given it to Jinju and Ruan was because they'd accepted him without many questions, saying he was worthy to be here. He didn't fault them for their caution, but it seemed they didn't have any qualms about taking him in. They'd taken care of him, given him a home. How could he not place at least some trust in them?

    Knowing how big the task ahead of him was, Aten dipped his head to Ruan, showing he understood, "I will take great care when I visit Nerine on behalf of your kingdom Ruan. And know that I will be cautious of those I come across to see if they are trustworthy or not. When I return, I hope I will bring nothing but good, if not acceptable, news for you. I will take some time to prepare myself, my spiel, so to speak, so that when I arrive at Nerine, I will be ready. I will not let you down."
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