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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


    I'm breathing in the smoke of my mental illness's cigarette // Wolfbane
    #1

    Trekori

    i'm freezing, it's not winter yet
    but my fingers and toes
    are shivering beneath these sheets
    and i feel so alone
    i don't want to die, i want to sleep


    Despite my newfound fealty to the secret Ischian brotherhood, I cannot help but to bend to the insatiable need for travel and discovery. Perhaps it's a genetic predisposition, considering the heavily nomadic natures of both my parents - and look at all my siblings. It would seem that the only place that ever captures our attention is Ischia, and even then, our activity is questionable at best. So far I've done the best job with reliability (Nihlus goes off to screw a new boytoy every other week, and as far as I know, Takei is still just settling in), but hell, if I want to fly somewhere, I damn well will.

    From Ischia, the journey to the forest is barely a journey at all; a short flight over the bay and I'm there. My pale golden wings bring me on a smooth descension until I stand among the many shadowed trees of this land, the end of my gnarled horn glowing obscenely. How I'd like for that little thing to just chill sometimes; but no, I'm doomed to walk around like a glowstick, as Andulvar would affectionately have it. I smile at the thought of the stallion, and shake my head almost sternly at some familiar looking mushrooms I spot on the forest floor. Not today, my magical friends. Not today.

    Huffing, I give my wings a great stretch before shuffling them to my side. Blinking my purple eyes, I turn my head from side to side before deciding to sniff around the caves that line this area. For a while, my snuffling nose is all the can be heard, and I lose myself to simple thoughts, enjoying the afternoon for it's natural tranquility.

    Snap.

    My head bounces to attention at the sound, ears perked and nostrils flaring as I scrutinize the dim forest for the source of the sound. "Hello?" Comes my voice, forced deeper by my slight alarm; the feathers on my back ruffle defensively, lending me the illusion of largeness. "Who's there?"



    @[Wolfbane]
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    #2

    Wolfbane

    “Oh relax already,” Wolfbane calls out in response to Trekori’s barking question, “It’s just me, another wanderer.” He provides, assuming that excuse will quiet any further uneasiness from the patchwork stallion. He’d made it up off the top of his head, of course (In truth he’d been cloaked, totally invisible and watching Trekori with a bored sort of nonchalance until the gig was up) but it sounded good all the same. That word - Wanderer; the young Tephran felt made anew by it.

    “I thought this area was open to anyone?” The yearling poses, stepping out appropriately from behind the cover of an oak’s hefty trunk. It was simpler than just appearing right out of the blue. Most didn’t take too kindly to the obviousness of being observed without their consent. “You aren’t like, the Forest guard or something, are you?” Bane laughs heartily, his own wings fluttering with the action.

    As he closes the distance between them, his drab olive eyes flit over the fine points of his newfound companion. This other loner was of good stock, it seemed; between them they shared not only a similar base color, but also a set of impressive wings. Wolfbane had been hard-pressed through his upbringing to always keep a distance, to always be observant first and trusting last, but Trekori seemed the type one either liked from the get-go or if not that, one who could easily be tolerated.

    So Wolfbane likes him enough already to flash a wide, fanged grin as he pulls to a halt. “Nice uh, nightlight you got there -” He starts, head nodding to indicate the glowing horn embedded within the other palmino’s skull, “- I’m sure it gives poking holes in horses a whole new light.”

    Damn he’s funny.

    “But on a much more serious note, I see you too own a set of bird arms.” He wags his eyebrows, as the dual wings atop his spine flex proudly, “You pretty good with them?”



    @[Trekori] ooc: "wanna compare wing spans bro?"
    [Image: Wolfbane2.png][Image: 3bCHvj.png]
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    #3

    Trekori

    i'm freezing, it's not winter yet
    but my fingers and toes
    are shivering beneath these sheets
    and i feel so alone
    i don't want to die, i want to sleep


    There's a quick response to my barked question, coming from one who identifies as another wanderer. Well, I wouldn't quite call myself that per-say, but I let it go, taking up a sense of curiosity instead as I crane my neck to see who might be the source of these words. He sounds to be about my age, and of those I have met very few. Wishbone, Khaedrik - not this fellow, however.

    He comes out of cover with more flourishing words, though in truth its his appearance that catches me somewhat off guard. Winged as I am, he sports not a horn but fangs that glimmer with the words he speaks. But his joking tone puts me at ease, and suddenly I am relaxing my ruffled feathers and grinning at him as if we are just two dudes out for a stroll. Which is very strange for me - considering that I've never actually had a dude friend.

    "It'd be quite the face off if I were, we're pretty evenly matched," I answer, gesturing my wings and horn to his wings and fangs. Even more than that, we share a common base coat, though he is blue where I am white, generally speaking. "I bet I could take you if I was the forest guard. Now that you've said it though, we should make it a thing." What kind of thing, and the logistics of it, I leave up to his imagination.

    He's quickly approaching, a wide grin splitting his blue lips. I find myself mimicking the expression, cocking a brow at him curiously as he halts and nods towards my horn. I'm about to reply when he continues with his pun, and the words I'd been about to say slip from me in a whoosh-hahhah of laughter. "What a fangtastic observation," I offer dryly and lamely, not expecting the joke to be well received.

    Luckily, he moves on from the quips to challenge my deftness in the area of flight and what not. I scoff easily, pshawing at the way he wiggles his eyebrows at me like a baffoon. "What, these bad boys?" I say in my best impression of a douchebag, stage-yawning and stretching until the tip of my golden wing buffets my new friend in the face. As if satisfied by this releasing of tension, I resettle my wings and look at him with a competitive excitement. "They'd give your bird arms a run for their money, pal."

    Stepping away from the caves I'd been so interested in, I feign searching for a clearing - though we're quite deep in the forest at the moment. I glance back at him, cocking a brow and offering that smile again, the one that feels weird on my lips. "If you don't mind chatting with me while we walk, I'd take you up on a little flight-dueling. Or whatever."



    @[Wolfbane] I love them.
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    #4

    Wolfbane

    The idea of a Forest Guard? Droll. Trekori’s biting humor and eager rise to the occasion? Much more interesting. He decides to forgo one for the other; too much work for the former, anyways. “That’s a lotta confidence,” Bane jousts, pausing as the gold wingtips find their way into his mouth, “ftr somthbothy who, pffftttppptthhhtttt, for somebody who fakes being threatening.” The wildcat boy manages to spit out.

    In an instant, Wolfbane’s face goes rigid, eyes wide. His nostrils flare and it’s then that the mimic of Trekori’s scared-face from earlier takes shape. “Hullo?” He parrots, the pitch mockingly deep while his own, white wings tremble at his sides. "Who's there?" He finishes then, bursting into a jovial fit of youthful laughter before prancing lightly with the anticipation of a good match. Gansey always took the gold, maybe with this newcomer he’d finally stand a chance …

    “Sure sure, whatever you need to do to stall, I won’t stop ya.” Bane shrugs, coming to stand at the ready. Temperature-wise, things seemed pleasant; even with Winter fast approaching there was a less-than-subtle breeze to rustle the strands of his colorless tail. He was up for a walk/chat if the end result was putting their words into action. “Guess you’ll be wanting to know the name of the guy who’s about to school you.” He sighs, petty to the end.

    “Name’s Wolfbane; the one and only. What's your story?”



    @[Trekori]
    [Image: Wolfbane2.png][Image: 3bCHvj.png]
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    #5

    Trekori

    i'm freezing, it's not winter yet
    but my fingers and toes
    are shivering beneath these sheets
    and i feel so alone
    i don't want to die, i want to sleep


    I'm chuckling at the other colt's expressive spitting-out of my wing almost to the point of full blown laughter, but then as I'm resettling my wings, things go a little sideways. Caught halfway between a chuckle, I watch with a slow frown building as the palomino makes an obvious jab at me through impersonation. His eyes are too wide and his voice too deep, wings shaking comically at his sides. If I'm being honest, it's hard to keep the grown up, cause a grin is working it's way on to my stubborn lips - and then my new friend is in a fit of laughter, and I don't have the self control to remain straight faced.

    "Well, let's just say that I started off this interaction trembling in fear, but it won't be me again at the end." A lopsided smirk colours my expression now as I watch the pretty boy prance about excitedly at the prospect of some horsing around (no pun intended). I've been sparing pretty religiously with anyone Brennen can find to throw my way over in Ischia - if I want to prove myself as a warrior brother, I have to practice after all. And what better way than organically, in the forest, with this fanged hothead?

    Ignoring his little jab about stalling, I come up alongside the boy and gesture with my wing for him to lead the way. "Ladies first," I offer dryly. As the snow crunches beneath our hooves, a slight breeze blows at our tails, but I pay more attention to his drawl than to the weather. I make a noncommittal noise when he implies that he'll be the one doing the schooling, but the egotistical fellow doesn't need much encouragement to finally introduce himself.

    "Wolfbane is it? I'll try not to forget." A particularly narrow pair of trees sits ahead of us, and as we pass through it, I shove him playfully into it - most likely getting shoved right back, and we end up ping-ponging in between them for a sec. "I'm Trekori, a brother of Ischia," I continue once we pass through. "No story really, just tryna do my duties and meet some cool people. This happens to fall under both categories."

    "What about you, Wolfbum?"



    @[Wolfbane] I just realized that Kori bet money in the last post. Because that's something that's feasible to them. Right? rofl. >.<
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    #6

    Wolfbane

    It feels almost too natural to fall into step alongside Trekori. The outside world feels much the same as Tephra did - full of surprises and interesting creatures. Wolfbane revels in the less-enthusiastic barb from the horned stallion, “Ladies first,” feeling all at once the familiarity of a scorned sibling. He hardly minds at all when the taller boy jams into him unexpectedly as they walk, forcing him to take the brunt of the narrow trees against his shoulder before slamming back against Kori with as much power as he could muster.

    Like squabbling brothers.

    “You’ll be saying it enough when you tell other horses this story.” He grunts in response, settling back into a normal pace as they pass through the tight squeeze. “Ischia huh? I’m your next-door neighbor.” He says, after rolling his eyes at Trekori’s lame jab. “Tephra born and raised, out looking for a new home and also some cool people.” Bane chimes in. “I guess you could call yourself that.” He groans, snickering as they finally reach the outer edge of the Forest. Only the shade of a few sentinel trees are cast over them now, and the blank area between this territory and the Meadow stretches ahead of them.

    “First one to land in the grassy fields of the Meadow is the winner, SEE YA!” He practically shouts, darting off into a leggy canter before flicking his wings apart in one smooth, practiced motion. The vagabond youth whoops mischievously as he springs into flight, all thoughts about winning or losing forgotten in the moment of surprise. He knows Trekori won’t let him get away with cheating and for that, he’s excited.

    He hasn’t felt this carefree in a while.



    @[Trekori] ooc:  Lol I've got $50 on Trekori
    [Image: Wolfbane2.png][Image: 3bCHvj.png]
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    #7

    Trekori

    i'm freezing, it's not winter yet
    but my fingers and toes
    are shivering beneath these sheets
    and i feel so alone
    i don't want to die, i want to sleep


    Smarting in a perfectly enjoyable way from how he'd pushed me into the tree, I perk my ears to his words and snort with a pleasant derisiveness. None of my brothers are remotely close to me in age, so I've never gotten to jostle like this with them before. In the deep recesses of my admittedly boyish heart, I wish that Wolfbane could come home with me and be a real Brother of mine - but I don't bring it up just yet, figuring I'll just get some snark in return or something.

    That is, until Wolfbane literally requests a new home.

    "Well, Ischia is always looking for men to fill the ranks." I offer with somewhat more involvement that my last few sentences. "And I mean, everyone there is way cooler than I am, so you'd be pretty set." Although I am hopeful that he will respond in some kind of positive way, we've just come to an opening, and before I can get a word in edgewise, the youthful fool is springing into the sky, hollering some jargon at me.

    Whinnying after the blue-striped colt, I leap forward and unfurl my wings in a practiced motion. As the thermals catch on my feathers, I am carried higher and higher, laughing although I exert myself to the max trying to catch up to the fellow. In truth, I'm not concerned about winning or losing - to be racing next to another free spirit on this winter day is too lovely.

    Before long, we're settling on to the ground of the meadow, breathless and grinning and gangly and boyish. My wings flutter to my sides, a quirk I've always had, but I'm not thinking about what he'll think about that. Inhaling as if to speak, a grin replaces the words, and a mischievousness overwhelms my common sense. Half-rearing, I shunt my bottom legs forward and angle my head to the side and down, towards his neck. He should be able to dodge the skewering motion - but I mean, stupider things have happened.

    "Long live the Forest Guard!"



    @[Wolfbane] I forgot to move this to the meadow but. I don't.... Care :|
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    #8

    Wolfbane

    Their journey is short, but long-lived. Above the earth obstacles disappear, leaving a whole new sort of terrain for them to swoop and dive, loop rings around one another before spiraling or banking like odd, squabbling birds. Trekori has a natural gift for precision - the way he slices through the clouds or disappears altogether give Wolfbane a healthy respect for his new friend, but he still personally revels in the fact that his own speed is still growing, and that his launch-and-landings are a thing of beauty.

    Each of the well-matched stallions posses strength, and Bane attributes this to the fact that Trekori is Kingdom raised and trained. He ponders over the offer of Ischia as they land, the thought not unpleasant when he considers it, but still … it seems too close distance-wise to Tephra, and for now Wolfbane needs his space from that volcanic lump of earth.

    “Whoo!...” He exhales in the form of a loud, boyish whoop once his feet jar against the ground and bring him to a stop. Trekori feels the energy too; there seems to be a palpable electricity growing between them that causes the others to scuffle away. Not one of them is interested in catching a stray wing or hoof, and so Bane dances on proud, glittering blue legs through the brittle grass without much of a care while Kori grins like a madman.

    For a moment, his attention is caught by a stray passerby and the striped palomino looks away - but Trekori’s hurrah about the Forest Guard snaps his head around just in time to see that his companion is intent on goat-ramming him with that corkscrew between his eyes. “Woah fu-” Bane squeaks out, throwing his weight instinctively onto his hind legs. In a an unexpected sort of way, he manages to twist aside, leaving his shoulder to take the brunt of the hit.

    No lie, Kori’s horn was bloody sharp. It nicks Wolfbane well enough that he retaliates by flinging a long, white wing out in hopes of knocking the tobiano upside his silly head.

    “Sheesh be careful with that thing!” Bane hisses, tucking that same wing back against his ribs as he surveys the jagged tear in his skin. It was nothing, really, he hardly expected it to scar, but all the same he turns his ears aside and mumbles, “Do you always try to kill your friends?”

    And then he laughs.

    “You know, I think I’ll come visit your Ischia sometime. See what it’s all about.” Bane says, the blood hardening on his shoulder all but forgotten. “But for now I’ll leave you to your caves and pretend duties.” The nomad growls, smartly.

    “See you around, Trekori from Ischia!” Wolfbane ends, laughing as he wheels away to hop and roll over the meadow. In a flicker of motion his wings unfurl and soon enough, he’s gone away again - but not for the last time, to be sure.



    @[Trekori] Oops oh well :] Just let me know whenever you want to thread these two again!
    [Image: Wolfbane2.png][Image: 3bCHvj.png]
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