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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


    Playing with fire - Terran, Ruan?, any?
    #1
    Jinju
    She couldn’t be more thrilled that he agrees to go home with her. Jinju is aware that he hasn’t said he would stay, that he would think of the Taiga as his home, but it means a lot to her that he is willing to get familiar with it. After all, she loved her home very dearly. And maybe, maybe Terran would like it just as much as she did.

    ”Oh hush” she had told him before they had set off and as they walk side by side she is incredibly aware of him. His presence, the way his wing casually is draped across her back, the way their sides occasionally brush. She likes it though. It keeps their prior embrace, the way he had picked her mane, and the kisses fresh on her mind.

    Soon the deciduous trees make place for redwood ones and the air around them fills them with the needles’ spice. Home. Jinju cannot help it but to smile, her tail flicking to scare a lost fly away, brushing Terran’s side in the process. Her step quickens a little, the pull from the Taiga getting stronger and stronger. Eager to arrive, to show Terran the wonders of her home.

    When they halt in front of the river that is the border between the forest and the Taiga she tilts her black head to meet his gaze with her ruby one. They shimmer a little, perhaps due to her excitement and enthusiasm, and she reaches out touch his cheek for a short second. ”Ready?” she asks him a little teasing, but she does not wait for his answer.

    Crossing the river isn’t too hard, Jinju had soon learned where the current was at it’s weakest, where she could cross easily. She would have to show their child this spot too, but only when it was old enough to leave and explore on its own. No sooner, no later. And then they’re home, or at least, Jinju is. Massive redwoods rise besides them as she guides them further into the Taiga towards the little clearing in the forest.

    ”Welcome to the Taiga, Terran.”


    @[Calcifer]
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    #2

    .Terran.

    The time spent traveling between the Forest and Taiga is well-spent, in my mind. I begin to remember why Jinju had such a hold on me, why I was initially drawn to her after so many years of cold, awkward withdrawal. Around her I don’t feel a need to be anything but myself and besides, she’d been taken with me before the wings had even come around. She was far more golden on the inside that I would ever be on the outside. Our ambling pace is good for me, after being so long above ground. I can feel a slow ache winding up my legs and settling into my haunches, chest. We happen to mirror heights so the action of draping my wing across her causes me no discomfort or uneasiness. We were past the point of being formal, I would think.

    It’s when we come to the river that we stop, Jinju sliding out from underneath my protection so easily that it leaves my underfeathers a bit cold, so I tuck the open wing close once more to watch her with a warm smile. She’s soon to be in her element here. I can already see the change visibly in her body, her eyes, as she tips her head back to draw me in with that captivating gaze. She won’t wait for me, but she doesn’t need too. I’ve already spread my wings wide once more, sent them in a strong, downward motion, and lifted myself a few feet into the air so I can flap easily above the surface of the river to meet her on the other side.

    “No going back now.” I laugh, landing squarely while the backdraft from my descent sends a litter of newly-fallen autumn foliage away from us. From here, I happily let her take the lead while we wind blindly from path to path. It smells ancient here, from horse to predator and beyond, something like a great house where those who were accepted came and went as they pleased - but those who were not, never dared to enter. I’m not sure yet where I’ll be placed; friend or foe, but I’ll come back even if I’m not met with open arms. I sidle alongside her then, a silent strength while my bone-bare face peers out into the wilderness. “Hmm. Not as scary as I was expecting.” I muse, the primaries of my closest wing tracing a gentle pattern over her ribs absentmindedly while we wait.

    “Oh Daaaaad!” I yell then, letting the call waver for a moment before bursting into a rolling laugh. It’ll mortify her, I’m sure of it, but what was there to fear? Some old, probably black, stallion? “Dad we’re hoooome!” I scream a little louder, unable to stop myself from dissolving into chuckles and gut-wrenching snorts.

    I want to live, I want to give, I'm a miner for a heart of gold

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    #3
    He flinched when a male's voice called for "Dad." His only son still had not returned, seemed to have no intention on returning home. It wasn't his boy calling for him. No matter how much he wished it. It would never be his boy calling for him.

    He turned to the voice anyway.

    Jinju's scent was there as he got closer, but the other was a stranger to him. And laughing, he could hear already. It wasn't entirely common for Jinju to bring friends home, she kept so busy helping him out with caring for their forest and those within, and he often didn't get a chance to meet them when she did. But he definitely had never been summoned by one in such a way. He peered at him curiously as he entered the clearing.

    "Jinju," he greeted evenly without looking at her, bright gaze immediately snagging on a wing draped over her, drawing little swirling patterns into her skin. Not exactly a friend then. She would always be his baby, perhaps, and his heart clenched at the visible reminder that she really wasn't his baby anymore. A woman now. With men taking notice of her, taking claim of her. And giving her children. Only the one that he knew of, so this must be him.

    "I'm Ruan," he offered, forcing his eyes from the intimate gesture to stare into the other's gaze. Maybe nobody would ever be good enough for her. It was a father's right to think so, wasn't it? But he wasn't really one to judge others. His emotions were his problem, and he tried not to let that overprotective edge sharpen his eyes. Probably failed.

    "Will you be staying?"
    Care to raise your own child?



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    #4
    Jinju
    She should’ve known that he would chose to cross the river through the air, instead of walking through the water. Not that she could really comment on it, she probably would’ve done the same if she had been able to. ”Afraid to get a little wet?” she teases with a small grin as he lands besides her on the riverbank.

    Oh, apparently she did comment on it after all. ”Would I need to burn those pretty wings of yours to make sure you’re not running?” Oops, she did it again.

    The scent of pine needles is, to Jinju, the scent of home. She loves the slight spice in it, the freshness too. It’s simply impossible to not take a deep breath. Home. She was home, and she brought Terran with her, who’s words make her chuckle softly. ”Why would it be scary? Do I look like someone who would live in at a scary place?” He’s right at her side and Jinju is utterly aware of his presence.

    Just like she’s aware of her father’s eye the moment he shows up. Terran had called out to him, in a rather.. bold way. She had laughed at him, playfully nipped at his withers too, as she scolded him and told him that he should stay on her father’s good side. She wanted them to get along. Jinju eyes Ruan, ruby eyes watchful and even a little hopeful too. Though she’s comfortable at Terran’s side, she leaves it in order to press it against her father’s in a greeting – but not without brushing it across Terran’s dark shoulder first. ”Hey dad.”

    "Please dad.." she murmurs, her way of pleading him to be nice, or at least open minded and welcoming. Okay, this was more awkward than she had expected it to be. Much more nerve breaking too, because damn, what would she do if Ruan decided to not like Terran? Or when Terran wouldn’t like her family or her home. There were no words to express how much she wanted both of them in her life. But, Ruan’s question, though not asked in the way she would’ve like, is a question of which she’s very much interested to hear the answer.

    Stepping back she stands in between the two males and then she takes another in Terran’s direction. Her neck extends a little, but she does not touch him, ruby eyes on his face as she awaits his answer.
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    #5

    .Terran.

    I usually laugh at her sharp remarks - the girl had a tongue like a sword, after all, but when she quips about burning my wings (taking my freedom) I draw up with a start, stopping easily to glare at her with reproachful eyes. It’s just another reminder of our age difference, when she does things like that, but her rounded belly is my constant conscious; I sigh, instead of barking back at her, shake my head and move forward again to place a sorely forceful bite on her rump.

    This is a big day, after all, no need for a fight.

    Ruan is exactly how I imagined him to be. Grizzled, reserved, and exceptionally protective over a mare who, truly, wasn’t even his to claim as blood. These are minor details, though. I know that to Jinju, family is more than relation or look-alikes - it’s a bond built through trust and commitment. She really had no idea what she’d gotten herself into when she met me, did she? I let them have their moment though, her gentle touch against my shoulder quieting the proud smile over my lips. It certainly would be hard for me to meet the guy who knocked my daughter up. Jinju wasn’t a girl though … far from it, that’s what my eyes tell me as they travel the length of her spine while she whispers softly to her dad.

    His question seems to pique both of their interests. I laugh: easily, loudly, the deep bass of my voice echoing against the trunks as I move forward to meet the black damsel's outstretched nose with my own pale one. “As charming as Taiga is, I have reason to explore Loess as a possible home. I met your other daughter - Heda, she did a fine job of convincing me to give it a look.” I reply for both of their benefit. My lips are absentminded, finding their way up Jinju’s nose with warm, affectionate pecks. “But neither hell nor high water could tear me away from your lovely princess and our soon-to-be foal.” I murmur, amber eyes settling into those ruby ones opposite of mine. I hold her there, drink her in for a moment, and then let my attentions snap back to the father.

    “You can be sure of that.”

    I want to live, I want to give, I'm a miner for a heart of gold

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