"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
Hollow winds whipped through the tunnels of the underground prison. Bringing an unmistakable chill with it. Luckily her captors flames remained at the gates of her cell. Fanning enough heat into the nook in the rock to keep her, them, warm.
After he grew tired of his toy - leaving her trapped with only her thoughts - she was left to tend to her wounds. Small burns of flesh and hair littered her once flawless coat. Her sides - once heavy with child - burdened her body no more. It had been born after that night Levi forced himself onto her. Surely the stress had caused the child to vacate. In the dim light she could make out his patterned coat. Striking resemblance of his father's lineage. A two toned color, much like her own(both old and new). At his sides hung two leather-bound wings. Identical to the pair she sported most days. He was clean and dry. Fed and growing stronger each passing minute. Their was something special about this one, so she almost cared for it's safety. Tucking him away like a trinket not to be shared.
Finding herself pacing often, she went to the firey gates. Looking what distance her vision could strain to see. Levi came and went as he pleased. Unsure of whether to release her chains just the slightest. She wouldn't blame him. She'd attempt to escape the moment she could, if she was alone. The child wasn't one she planned on abandoning though, so her chains were tied to where the boy could go. Right now that wasn't far. Even with a set of wings he was no more than a few days old. Those would take time to master with his weight.
Levi would come soon enough, so she returns to where her pied foal rested. Standing over top of him protectively. Shifting her bat wings to hang loosely at her sides. Draping around him like a shield.
Karaugh
illicit daughter of nymphetamine and killgore
HTML by Call
@[Amorette] if you want to find her here in the cave that'll probably make most sense. Maybe @[Levi] comes back while Amore still there and they can get into it if you want
The caves hadn’t been on her mind for quite some time. It had been Levi who had reminded her of them, even if he hadn’t directly referred to them. He had merely said he had spent most of his time patrolling the beach. Amorette had held herself up on the beach for quite some time too, right after Lucrezia’s disappearance and Offspring’s rise to the throne.
The caves had made quite a comfy home, sheltered from the weather and prying eyes. The caves offered shade and Tephra’s warm climate didn’t reach the depths, and they kept anyone dry from tropical storms. With the seed – the memory of the caves – planted in her mind, Amore cannot help but to be curious. Curious to see if she still felt at home there, or if she had become too much of a social creature to be able to live in the solitude again.
She can hear the crashing waves behind her. The salty smell is another memory that gets pulled to the front of Amorette’s mind, one makes her smile. Silly how such a small thing could make one relive the past.
Like that she enters one of the caves. She strolls deeper into the darkness, but like the volcano hadn’t scared her, the cave does neither. Especially not one she knew so well. Like Amore had expected, nothing had changed. Still deserted, not a sound to be heard. The only scents are the vague ones of old habitants, much like herself.
Or not. And one of the scents is quite familiar. What business would Levi have in these caves?
Following her nose it doesn’t take Amorette long to find a more recent trail. He hadn’t passed through these caves too long ago. She glances into the direction she knows is the opening, the way out, but that’s not what calls to her. There must be something deeper, something hidden, perhaps?
She know she shouldn’t pry, and she would blame it to curiosity if he would stumble upon her, but she just had to follow Levi’s scent that travels deeper into the cave. With each step a second scent grows stronger, more define, and not much later she can see the faint glow of fire. She could smell and hear it too. ”Hello?” she calls out softly, both her ears perked forward as she carefully continues on.
What she finds is not something she would ever have imagined to find. Flames coming from the ground and all the way up to the ceiling, but it doesn’t spread or move further than the thin wall it became. ”What..?” she mumbles to herself, carefully stepping closer. The, through the flames, she can spot a figure. ”Who’s there? What is this?”
Since becoming a creature of the darkness, so many things had changed. Normal senses were heightened. The faintest of sounds rung loudly in her ears. Smells, even thru weather and distance were easily traced. The world for her has become something almost new.
So when she hears a clipping of hoof on stone, through the steady drip of water from the many stalactites, she can tell it's distance within the tunnel. The creator was just breaking into the mouth when she hears it. Quickly it becomes obvious that this was not Levi. Their weight too light, their path too cautious. A smirk curls on her lips as she draws in the scent of a female equine. For a moment she considers shifting away her bulky form and hiding in a crevice. In hopes the sleuth will not find her and simply pass by. That would be foolish to think as a firey gate holds her captive. One can not simply dismiss such things. So she remains equine with wings of the night hunter. Tucked away in her corner, concealing her spawn. If who ever Levi had sent to find her was a threat they would be dealt with accordingly...
A curious but cautious hello echoes through the cavern. They were closing in on her so she readied herself to fight. Lowering her muzzle to whisper her child silent. As she does and begins to raise her crown, her eyes turn to find a shadow dancing on the outer walls. Eyes peering into her cell. Questions falling from innocent lips. She hisses in the darkness, "My hell... That is what this is."
Stepping into the dim light of hells gates her form was made known. Skin wrapped wings aside a golden body. Dark accents trimmed her entirety. Burns scattered about her hide. The one along her cheek scabbing over finally. Remaining well out of reach, she looks over the mare that has come to find her. Her thoughts become words, "Did Levi send you to come torture me now? What are your wants with me? Abuse... Emotional torment... Rape..." A hard stare is given to the mare. There was no telling what kind of torture she was to be victim too. Looks can be deceiving after all.
When the mare expression turns to horror and not pleasure, she questions on if she had spoke too soon. She uses her body and wings to still hold a barrier between the newcomer and her foal. Trying to hide it's very existence even still. Waiting patiently for the mares answer. Time is all she has anyhow...
The answer offered shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it does. It seems fitting though, with the fire working as a way to lock the stranger in, like the gates of hell that had been shut. Amorette cannot blame the unknown voice to refer to her prison like that. ”You’re being held prisoner here?” she asks, even if she deep down knows the answer.
Only the idea of Tephra holding prisoners furies her. Nobody should be locked in the caves like this, stripped of all freedoms and rights that came with life. She dislikes the idea of someone thinking they had to right to rule about another’s life like this, and Amore is sure that this wouldn’t have happened under her father’s rule. She’s sure that he only wanted Tephra to be a sanctuary for whoever needed it. Not a prison, or a hell.
What comes from the winged silhouette on the other side next even baffles her more. If her lips would’ve parted in a silent gasp Amorette wouldn’t have noticed. Her ears flick back as she can only stare through the fire. She’s silent for a while, though it’s not so silent in her thoughts.
Levi, he locked her away. Another something that shouldn’t come as a surprise, she knew he had the ability to wield fire. Yet, gentle and soft-hearted as she was, Amore would’ve never thought her friend was capable of all that the mare accused him with. ”No..” her voice is barely a whisper, and she shakes her dark head in an attempt to clear her thoughts. ”Did.. he.. he did this to you?” she continues after a pause. Shocked eyes search the face of the stranger through the flames.
”He raped you?” As if being stung Amorette backs away, nearly tripping over her own legs as she keeps her eyes on the winged silhouette. Her head dropped slightly to the ground as her ears flick back, but her eyes are still wide in horror and shock. She could question the mare’s words, say she’s lying, but something in her voice made Amore consider her words. Even if she wouldn’t want to.
Slowly rage is building. Not directed towards the poor victim locked deep into the caves, but towards her friend, and whoever had decided to keep her here. This was inequine (inhumane but for equine xD) and not like someone should be treated. ”Where is he?” she asks, her neck bending to the side to glance towards the entrance of the cave. Maybe she could get the mare out. Even if she didn’t know a way to pass through the fire without harming her even more.
But, if Amore would jump through it, it wouldn’t be the soul locked away to have to deal with the burn. Fire had naturally kept her at a distance, just like the lava on the volcano. She’s afraid of it, yet at the same time she knows more of its truth than others ever would. ”I’m coming through.” She liked to believe she sounded convincing.
12-06-2017, 08:10 AM (This post was last modified: 12-06-2017, 08:10 AM by Karaugh.)
Whether it was the dark mares shocked tone or wide eyed expression - only visible by the flickering light - that drew her attention, she was unsure. Perhaps she was young and naive to the way of the kingdoms but nevertheless it intruiged her to answer with an almost heartfelt faux tone, "I've been down here for days..." She does well to hide the grin begging to be revealed. For now though her fangs have disappeared as if never there.
The mare stuttered and nearly falls over herself knowing who has done such a deed. Apparently her captor had his eye on another. Sooty golden head bobs as her tone now a faux sorrow, "Levi's flames hold me prisoner here. I hurt and am so very hungry..." Her voice lowers as does her auburn eyes. When the mare states rape and stumbles in her disbelief, she allows the dark mare to think whatever she was. Anything she said now wouldn't be as bad as what the mares own mind concocted. Not mentioning the winged child that lays dead still in the cavern shadows.
Ebony ears flick back as the mare asks where Levi had gone. Ideas float deliciously in her mind but none of those would get her what she wanted. So she convincingly lies again, "He left some time ago. Can you help us?" Hintingslightly to there being more to see. She considers her question answered when the mare states she is entering. Moving a step back, allowing her space. Thoughts wonder on how she plans on not burning from the flaming gate...
The dark mare crosses though and a brow lifts in surprise that she hardly is affected by the flames. Magic, she assumes. In hopes of creating sympathy she gives her name happily, "I'm Karaugh and this is my son Kryptic." Pausing briefly for the new information to settle in the mares mind. Not only was she captive but a child prisoner as well. "What is your name?" Holding her wings against her sides she allows the stranger to view her child in all it's entirety while waiting for a name...
One by one more things, crimes against this mare, get revealed. And the more she hears, the more upset Amorette becomes. Tephra had wronged this mare, and done something no kingdom never should. Locked away for days, tortured and raped, and not even fed for days. The idea that she had lived in a land with such monsters made the black girl feel extremely sick in the stomach.
What shocked her the most was that she wasn’t alone. Tephra held not one, but more prisoners. ”U..us? There are more of you?” she asks shocked. Amore peers through the fire, eyes narrowing ever so slightly in an attempt to see what exactly was on the other side. It was then that she saw the little bundle on the ground, now no longer hidden by what appeared to be wings. Hidden in the darkness she couldn’t make out what it was exactly, but her best guess was one that horrified her. ”A child…”
She pushes her hesitance and fear away. Yes she wouldn’t get through the fire unharmed, but she was needed at the other side. And she just had to make sure that the child was fine. She jumps through, ears back and eyes squeezed shut. The heat touched her skin, and the cave smells of burned hair, but other than slightly burned knees and some burned hair she is fine.
Glancing around Amore takes a moment to take in the buckskin mare, eyes ghosting over her leather wings, before he gaze drops towards the child. ”Is he okay?” she asks softly, taking a step in his direction but soon stopping herself when she remembers that his mother might not like it. Slowly her dark eyes find Karaugh’s and she drops her head in a silent greeting. ”Amorette. I would say it’s nice to meet you, but these aren’t exactly happy circumstances..” There is a wry smile on her lips, though her gaze is apologetic.
Studying Karaugh’s features it’s impossible for the short mare to miss the burn on her cheek, just as the others that decorate her skin. Her eyes narrow, and she’s about to reach out, then calls herself off. She shouldn’t do to Karaugh what she had done to Bragi, but in her own defence, she hadn’t been aware of her own power then. ”Are you hurt? I can help you..” she offers softly. As to indicate how she glances at her own knees, which are slightly burned. Amorette drops her nose to brush her muzzle first against the left one, then the right. From both the burns comes a flash, a bright hot fire and smoke fills the air. Then it is gone, just as the burns that had been there.
Her gaze slowly moves to meet Karaugh’s again, silently waiting for the other to accept the offer of being healed. It wouldn’t be without pain, but it would definitely speed up the healing process.
Shock and awe radiant from the mare, so she does not fear there is any ill intentions. Seeming to be kind-hearted and caring of all things, she did not fear, as a motion was made for her child still motionless in the corner. An inquiry of his well being is met with a bob of her golden crown, "He is fine. Confused but not harmed." If anyone were to harm him they would surely be met with sharp blades against their throat. The thought causes her to grin.
The mare gives her name followed by a weak smile. Amorettes statement renders a shrug of her shoulder. It could always be worse, she thought. Accustomed to caves she found it quite cozy. Even given the circumstances.
Soon Amorettes eyes are observing the many burns across her body. Taking special note of the one along her cheek. Reaching and then receding the idea without given first permissions. Offering to help her , she wonders how with an intruiged look across her face. Auburn eyes follow the dark mare bending her head to her knees. A small jet of flame emitting and then gone are her own burns. A brow rises at never having seen such magic. Healing, it was rare to find and healing with fire even more so. Thinking briefly to accepting help from a stranger as a bad idea but the mare seemed to only be wanting to help with no ulterior motive. Nodding her golden crown in acceptance at such an interesting offer. The thought of her flawed coat was grotesque in every sense of the word. "If you could, please. This one here is the worst," she swivels her face to expose her scorched jaw. Holding still, she waits for any sort of pain with a wince of her features...
When the wounds have vanished she looks across her once again gleaming coat. A smile crosses her maw as she speaks almost kindly, "Thank you Amorette. I feel much better already." A soft swish of her ebony tassels and shifting of her great wings is all the more movement she makes. A gurgle in the pit of her belly brings an aching to her gums. A burning need inside her to feed begins to ignite as each beat of the mares heart rings in her ears. Fending off the urge with small talk, "I take it you know Levi?" Assuming she knows the answer is yes but not wanting the mare to leave yet, she indulges in her diplomatic way of prying for information...
For a moment all she can think about is that the child is fine. Only confused, but that shouldn’t traumatize him. It’s a small relief compared to all that was secretly going on down here. Who would all know about this? No doubt Levi did, even if she wouldn’t believe Karaugh – which she naively did – she recognized his scent all over the cave. And the fire was one of his trademarks too.
She does not yet know what she would tell him when they would meet again, but Amorette definitely had the intention to not let this go. He would hear about it. What exactly was something she would worry about later, for now healing the abused mare was her first priority now the child was deemed okay. ”It will hurt” she tells the buckskin honestly. When she had accidentally healed Bragi it had happened without warning, but now she could at least prepare the other for what was going to happen. Amore had yet to master the healing, but she’s confident that the burn on Karaugh’s cheek won’t be a problem. After all, it was caused by fire and fire would heal it. Plus it wasn’t some big, life threatening wound.
All it takes is a small step forward, and once she’s within range the dark mare reaches out. The velvet of her nose touches Karaugh’s jaw just above the wound. Calling upon whatever it was that made the magic work, she focusses her attention on healing, while she does Amorette is oblivious to all other things in the world. Just like her own knees, fire lights up around the wound. Smoke and the scent of burned hair and flesh fill the air and then it’s gone as suddenly as it came. As she pulls back her lips curl up ever so slightly, where the burn had been now is a healed patch of skin and with time Karaugh’s coat would be golden once again.
”No no. It was the least I could do after …” her voice trails off and the short mare glances away. All that what happened to you. Taking a few steps back she allows the captive mare her space, though making sure to not stand too close to the fire. Yes, Amore liked the warmth on her skin, but she didn’t really look forward to setting herself on fire. Speaking of which, she should come up with a way to get them out. Without causing neither Karaugh and Kryptic more harm.
The question pulls her out of her thoughts, and perhaps for the better because she couldn’t come up with a way to get mother and child out without going through the fire. ”Hm?” Her gaze finds Karaugh’s again, an small apologetic smile on her lips. ”Yes.. but I never knew he was capable of.. this all..” she murmurs the last part, glancing away from Karaugh. Learning her close friend was a rapist and torturer wasn’t something that she could brush off easily. ”I’m sorry you had to go through that..”
Just a touch of Amore's velveteen muzzle was all it took. A small spark of flame and swirling haze was all that she could see, but the mares slight smile was hint enough to know it was working. Whatever it was. A mild burning was all she felt before the pain dulled to nothing. Even the faint rawness of before was gone now.
There was slight guilt in the mares dark eyes, even now. The way the mention of the fire stallions name made her stutter in disbelief. Amorette truly believed too much in humanity(doing the right thing.) Maybe she should show her the error of her naive ways. Just as she comes up with a devilish idea, a faint but heavy clip echoes in her ears. Someone enters the maze of tunnels and the fall of their hooves are very familiar to her. Perfect timing.
Lips curl into a devious grin as Amore's gaze shifts from her - once again - in slight shame of her friends debauchery. Amore had moved in closer to reach out to the wound on her cheek and in doing so cleared the path to the firey gate. With a flinch of just her one skin-covered wing she covers the exit. Sidestepping her body between Amore and the opening. Her curled lips reveal the pearl white of her now present fangs to the mare. Extending her neck to reach for the mares hide but settling with a warning snap of her jaws. Ebony ears pinned as her auburn eyes stare hard at the black mare. The heavy steps inside the tunnel were fast approaching. So she grins again, and with smug tone she states, "So nice of you to finally join us Levi. Amorette and I have been having so much fun... Haven't we Amorette..."
She wouldn't be shocked to hear the casual clip of his hooves become faster and more panicked. Having just heard Amore's name leave her lips. She wasn't above using the soft-hearted mare to her advantage. Knowing the stallion was sure to come knocking down hells gates in a fury of flames to save the girl she adds, "Do it and I'll rip her throat out faster than I will burn... Plus... You wouldn't kill a child would you Levi...?" The question needs no answer but she can only guess what is going through the stallions mind. She wanted something, and she was getting it. One way or another...
Her haggard face peers out from behind the flames like a demon in hell, and in that moment he hates her. The Lord only knows what he may have done had Amore not been there to force the mask of stoicism over his face and suffocate the acidic words which burn in his thoughts.
But.. she was the reason he felt this way towards his captive. She, Amorette, gentle and bright, she did not belong in this place. The air is ripe with the stink of childbirth and singed flesh and his disdain rises like bile in his throat.
"I'll kill the devil's spawn, and I'll kill its mother. Don't think I won't."
He didn't make idle threats - he would worry about repairing the damage later.
"I don't lie" he had told Amore not so long ago, and he still meant it. He doesn't have time to wonder how Karaugh had managed to snare her, he only has time for the anger and hatred he feels to materialize in spiraling wild flames along his crest and around his legs.
The chamber echoes with the snapping of flames as they consume the oxygen around them, the temperature rises, yet he remains on the outside of the firewall. Karaugh had been given too much time alone and he has no doubt she had a plan.
He would burn the bitch to ash if things didn't start going his way real fast.
"She is the only thing keeping the two of you alive - think about that before you move."
![[Image: BQLevipagedoll-DONE.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/25n6rx5J/BQLevipagedoll-DONE.png)