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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


    [private]  One song from you - Breckin
    #1

    Leilan
    Your beauty is beyond compare -
    oh, if I could hear but one song from you
    I shall hail thee Queen of Birds...
    Fine, he's done it - ran away, petitioned for his freedom, laid out his ideas to Brennen, visited his parents, visited his sister and his nephew -
    that leaves but one left, before the execution of another quite stupid idea of his.

    Somehow, he's dreading it, he knows - but it's silly to be nervous, so he just shakes it off, that can't be it. Perhaps it's just the idea that staying in Loess for the whole year would mean he'd maybe not see her again, or not in time, who knows what she would be doing, would she leave Nerine if she thought it didn't fit, would she find another kingdom to settle or -gasp- some other guy she would fall for -

    Again, don't be silly, she's not the type.

    Is she?

    He stops his trot through the kingdom mid-step and sighs, unable to actually walk further for the moment. He really needs to clear his head. Girls had always been able to grasp his intention, but for one to actually keep it was something that made him completely unsure of how to continue. If at all.
    there's something here that doesn't make sense
    let's go and poke it with a stick

    @[Breckin] Last but not least! He surprises me, too. But don't worry, he won't show as long as she's staying super nervous and unsure to say even hi, so I guess there's that Tongue
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
    |
    #2
    Breckin

    It feels as though time is slipping by so swiftly.  She'd only just formally committed herself to Nerine a brief while ago and yet somehow has managed to enter a tournament, visit Hyaline for her first diplomatic visit, find a recruit, and gain a promotion.  Somehow her life had quickly become a whirlwind of duty and development, guiding and shaping her into a sturdier version of herself.  Scorch had been the first to say that the speckled woman would do well in the Sisterhood, and it was impossible for Breckin to deny the truth of her words at this point.  Though her pride and confidence grew with each new dawn, there was a hollowness lingering in the shadows.  There was a void that increasingly demanded to be filled, and though she was aware that something still felt like it was missing, her naivity continued to keep her in the dark.

    Today the kingdom lacked it's usual blustering winds, allowing the warmth of the spring sunshine to brush against her back.  Her eyes close dreamily, giving herself over entirely to the simple pleasure of feeling embraced.  At some point her thoughts become caught between the blur of dreaming and reality, her blackened vision hovering over thoughts and images of precious metals or cool sensations.  A gull cries suddenly and she is jarred from her slow transition into sleep.  Brown eyes reopen and narrow, partially due to the suddenly blinding sunlight and partially to issue the rudest thoughts she can come up with at the annoying bird.  The bird manages to elude her sight somehow, but an odd glimmer of something in the distance catching the sunlight draws her attention.  Curious as ever, and now fully awake, there is little left for the maiden to due but seek out the oddity.

    Little time passes before the dark, shining silhouette becomes a figure she recognizes.  There's a small flutter in her chest as she recalls the name she had first learned at the beginning of the tournament-- Leilan.  As if on their own accord, her legs pick up the pace.  Quickly closing the distance, she comes upon him from behind, nearly stumbling into him as he suddenly stops mid-trot.  Breckin had not seen it coming and somehow she manages not to slide into him, but comes precariously close as her hooves slide to a stop in the terrain.  The momentum shifts her forelock and part of her mane to fall over the left side of her face, blocking the vision of her left eye and sending the blue feather nestled behind her to stick out at an odd angle.  Perhaps the polite thing to do would have been to say hello first, but the lingering irritation from being startled by the gull and now stopping a collision, that was not the first thing that came to her mind.  Her voice is not unkind, but laced with surprise and confusion, "Why did you stop so suddenly?"


    chase the sky into the ocean



    @[Leilan]
    #3

    Leilan
    Your beauty is beyond compare -
    oh, if I could hear but one song from you
    I shall hail thee Queen of Birds...
    Nerine is full of women, and children too these days, as spring usually gives all these women babies. At his brief thought at the spotted mare, he'd thought of that, too, but recalled with relief that she had not seemed with child when he last saw her at the Tournament (though if she'd wanted to she could have hid it and maybe he could not tell. He has never paid full attention to a woman bearing a child, simply because they will never pay attention to him in return). Why this reliefs him slightly bothered him, causing him to a stop.

    As if recalling her alone had summoned her, the white and dotted's voice catches up with him, sounding confused and blunt. His ears swivel back at the sudden sound, he'd been too lost in thought to hear or smell her approach, and it's like suddenly she's here too soon to call upon him, and for a moment his heart flutters with a fear-excitement he cannot place. Slightly out of breath, he releases a long breath before turning his head (eyes still a bit wider than usual for a short moment, until he blinks). "I thought of something. And I didn't expect you here." Not that he hadn't expected her in Nerine, he knew she would be here, she'd told him as much and the Tournament had him be sure about it. But he hadn't thought she would be this close, close to the touch of a hot exhaled breath, in fact, he'd only have to reach out a little...

    But no. She probably wouldn't appreciate that. Besides, he'd have to do his best to uphold his irritable reputation, even though she had said before that she hadn't thought him so irritating as maybe another would. As he tilts his head then, he looks her over, pretend-innocently. "So why exactly are you following me around?"
    there's something here that doesn't make sense
    let's go and poke it with a stick


    @[Breckin]
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
    |
    #4
    She gazes at him from beneath a pale forelock, tracing the familiar yet foreign outline of him as he turns to face her.   As finished his turn and came to a stop, she was all too aware again how close they stood, not so unlike when they have first happened upon each other in the Forest.  Before she had the tense urge to move away, now she remains unfazed and relaxed; as if their close proximity was the most naturally, comfortable thing in the world.  It had been nearly a year that she had properly conversed with him and in that time she had begun to grow into her personal goals and desires.  They were so close in fact, she could feel the warmth of his breath upon her sun-kissed nose.  His words cause her brows to quirk in interest and a one-sided grin to emerges, ”Well what did you expect? You don’t exactly blend in.” Her voice is playful as she boldly ventures closer to him, tugging gently at the ends of his metallic mane.

    The leopard mare lingers close to his neck for longer than what was probably necessary, breathing in the odd mix of scents that clung to him.  Something was definitely different this time, but what it was exactly eluded her for now.  When she finally does take a small step away, her gaze dragging along the line of his mouth before his head tilts and his eyes trace over her.  Breckin had heard his smart-ass question and the first thought to cross her mind was to reach out and bite the smirk off of his face that she knew he was most likely concealing, even though it wasn’t showing.  But she manages to refrain as another thought presents itself—what if she reached out and just gently touched where that curve of his lip would be…

    But wait.  She stops her head from rising further as a different thought occurs to her—what if he hadn’t come to see her?  There’s a strange knot developing in the pit of her stomach at the realization, that perhaps she had been too quick to assume that he had pad her a visit.  The more likely truth was that he was here to visit his mother whether it be personal or some dutiful visit on behalf of Ischia.

    Averting her eyes slightly, she chooses not to move away just yet.  There’s a small smile on her face, but her eyes hold the dimness of imagined disappointment, “I would think you would be used to girls following you around, with your good-looks and charm.”  The leopard maiden laughs lightly, further trying to loosen the remaining knot of disappointment that settled into her stomach.  Softening her brown gaze she looks back to him, “I’m sorry if I came upon you so quickly.  I hadn’t considered that you might have been expecting someone else.  I can help you find them, or I can leave if you’d prefer.”

    @[Leilan]
    #5

    Leilan
    Your beauty is beyond compare -
    oh, if I could hear but one song from you
    I shall hail thee Queen of Birds...
    Whatever his mother had pulled out of her, she'd probably made some assumptions where actually nothing (okay, not that much anyway) had happened, but shameless as he was he was content to leave her in the dark about what's what. Breckin herself then, he didn't really know what was going on in her mind (if he had known, it's entirely possible he'd have pushed their interactions a little further, so perhaps that's for the best). But she did seem more at ease this time. If it was due to getting used to him, or being secured by the idea that he was visiting in her home where she knew her way, or she had just grown a tad bit bolder over time; that he could never be sure of.

    When she tugs his mane, he can't help but grin at her joke. It's not like she blends in herself either after all. But whatever answer should have travelled from his mind to his vocal cords didn't make it, as he forgot what he was about to say or do. She looked like she was about to do something more than just tug his mane, but just when he thought she might make a move, she averted her gaze, and says something entirely weird. Girls following him around? He chuckles. "Usually the other way around, dove. But those in Loess are terrible at that game anyway." he grins, then nips at her ear softly (he wants to tease, not to use his teeth). Not that he ever had the impression any of them was really uncomfortable when he did that, because if he had then he would find another victim soon enough.

    She blurts out more words than he can register in the short moment, and his smile falters for a bit when he considers them, soon to be replaced by a very stubborn look. "Oh, no. You're not getting rid of me that easily." His head finds her neck, just behind the ear, giving her a friendly push in a place he might otherwise have pressed a teasing kiss, but with her, he dares not push too far and get rejected. He'd rather they keep being friends if it would prevent the tear of breakup, so he takes baby steps with her. So far he's not encountered a boundary yet, but he's pretty sure he will find it if he moves any quicker.

    Instead, he pulls away with a teasing smile, then trots a few steps forward. "Come on, perhaps Vi is around somewhere. Did Scorch tell you she has a baby?" Vi would not let Drustan out of hearing range quickly, he knew, but perhaps she wouldn't mind them visiting and maybe take the blue roan boy for a stroll. That is if they could find them, of course, instead of ending up wherever they might get lost with all those caves around. Hey, come on, guys can dream too sometimes.
    there's something here that doesn't make sense
    let's go and poke it with a stick


    @[Breckin] up to you if you want them to keep teasing each other or actually go find someone. Doesn't need to be Vi per say, could be anyone you want to tag Tongue
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
    |
    #6
    Breckin


    Loess.

    He mentions it somewhere near her ear, while her own head was hovering motionless near the corner of his lips.  But the gentle warmth of his mouth meeting her lobe gives her little time in that passing moment to think much of the southern kingdom as her breath catches in her chest.  On their own accord, pale ears dip to rest upon her poll though not in anger; she couldn't recall ever having been touched by someone's lips before in that way, and surprise is held in her eyes at the realization that she didn't mind his teasing touch.

    Ears remain against her crown at her latest offering of helping him to find whoever he came to Nerine to see in the first place.  They turn upright when a playful pressure is felt behind her ear, at last turning to gaze back to him to see him move away from her with an inviting smile.

    Breckin looks at him quizzically, considering his words.  She hadn't met Scorch's daughter yet, though she had heard of the mare's surprise return by travelling word of mouth.  But the news of Vi having a little one was something the leopard mare had in fact, not yet heard.  A soft smile presses into her features then, but it is quickly dropped in favor of a hard line forming on her lips.  At last a previous string of thoughts were beginning to spin together, melding into single question that Breckin could not ignore.

    "Wait," she says to him firmly, closing the distance he had drawn between them in the sand.  Coming to a stop, she is standing so close to him, their noses could touch with the slightest shift in movement.  Dark eyes boring into his, there would be little Leilan could do to escape the mare's desire to get the answer she needed to hear.

    "Why were you in Loess?"

    chase the sky into the ocean



    @[Leilan]
    #7

    Leilan
    Your beauty is beyond compare -
    oh, if I could hear but one song from you
    I shall hail thee Queen of Birds...
    The spotted mare responds well to his small quips, returning a smile or something close enough to it that he knows she did actually, secretly enjoy that. Good to know - he intends to tease her more often, and not (only) with words.

    His inviting three steps forwards active her, but not in the way he expected or intended. She lets her pretty smile fall, drop into a frown, calls him to a halt. He turns back to watch her, curiously, questioningly, and a little afraid. ”What’s wrong?” he demands to know. He needs to know, because whatever he did or said must be made amends for because he really needs her to be here, to be happy, and most of all not be angry with him for an unknown reason. She wouldn’t be angry would she?

    His split-second panic is intensified when she trots up close to him and stares him down, and then deflates in the heartbeat she asks about Loess. Oh. ”Nobody told you.” he concludes softly, his voice sounding both relieved, puzzled by that idea, and mesmerizing, musing to himself rather than talking to her. He blinks and looks at her apologetically. ”I didn’t contact you here for some time, because Arthas thought it a great idea to steal me to hold prisoner in Loess, as an example.” he smirks a little, attempting to bring it lightly. While for him, personally it had been a hardship to not be able to go out, venture about, and most importantly tell anyone, bodily he was just fine, they hadn’t wanted to harm him. He was just a prize to be displayed on the cabinet, polished to shine for them for a while, to carry the measage that Loess should not be messed with. But hell, it was so boring to be a prize, shiny and taken care of, but having no say in where to go.

    He shrugs. ”As you can see that’s nothing to worry about. I escaped, so now I’m back in the game.” Whatever the game was, he’d play. He attempts a smile. She wouldn’t be worried about it would she?
    there's something here that doesn't make sense
    let's go and poke it with a stick


    @[Breckin
    One train post for you
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
    |
    #8
    It feels as if the world is slowing spinning past them and the glare she holds is unyielding as she impatiently waits for his reply.  Loess  was a place she had never truly travelled within, merely skirting the edges when absolutely necessary.  The reputation the kingdom held was not a dark as Sylva, per se, but it was enough to raise some questions about what exactly their intentions were.  So when he mentioned the terrain offhandedly, an alarm had risen deep within the recesses of her mind, though her focus had been clouded by the surprising heat of Leilan's touch.

    The way he reacts to her question initially is not what she had been expecting;  a laugh or smart remark--yes, watching him visibly deflate as though he might have expected something else-- no.  Brows raise in mild confusion before they rise higher in surprise at Leilan's answer.  A myriad of emotions flood her senses at the same time--sadness that he had to go through imprisonment, anger that she had been too busy to know anything about it and for Arthas to even initiate a steal, happiness that Leilan looked and sounded rather unscathed, and annoyance.  That final emotion was brought on by that stupidly cute smirk that followed after his admittance as if the whole happening was just a minor glitch in his life.  Narrowing her eyes, her glare hardens further, "Oh, is that all?"  A flick of her ink tipped tail against her barrel displays her agitation in a different light.  

    I escaped, he says, as if that fixes everything and there was nothing to worry about.  But there was plenty of worrying for her to catch up on.  He could have been maimed or tortured for who knows how long exactly since he had managed to slip away.  Or she didn't want to even begin to imagine the worst case scenario of the scenario.  The image brings a sudden pang in her chest that travels to her gut and it's just enough to make her eyes soften and break away from his.  What would her world be like if Leilan was no longer a part of it?  She wouldn't, couldn't think of that possibility; it was too much for her to handle right now.

    And just like that, a foreign all-encompassing feeling was beginning to blossom in her chest, spreading its warmth as it travelled throughout her.  She had wondered what it would feel like to have this kind of feeling for someone else, and truth be told it was exhilirating and unnerving and left her feeling weak, scared and powerless.  A horrible combination of feelings, she thought, as she struggled to find any words at all to break the fallen silence.  But nothing came to her in that passing moment and it was all she could do to turn her now glassy eyes back to him.  There would be no way of knowing how he felt unless she asked him directly, but she just couldn't bring that pressure upon him now so close to the release of his captivity.  She simply refused to put that burden upon him.

    "I'm glad you're safe," she says quietly with a smile tainted with resolute sadness.  A quick step brings her closer to him, and she at last places the lightest kiss upon his jawline before withdrawing a few paces backwards.  As she begins her retreat she finds her voice once more, "I should probably be going, I've strayed from my duties for too long now..."

    @[Leilan]

    Okay sooo, Breckin had a little bomb dropped on her right now and she discovered a certain emotion wayyyyy sooner than what I was intending, but it just wrote so well to me I couldn't stop it. XD  So I left the ending open ended in case Leilan wanted to stop her or just let her go brood over her complicated mess she just discovered haha
    #9

    Leilan
    Your beauty is beyond compare -
    oh, if I could hear but one song from you
    I shall hail thee Queen of Birds...
    Leilan is not at all as puzzled as Breckin is, or was just before - he just doesn’t want to admit that he can have feelings for a mare longer than, say, a week. In fact, it’s been a year now, which brings with it the implication that, whatever intoxication it is that she is to him, it is a very, very addictive one, and he could be yearning and craving for this drug for the rest of his life. Damn. His parents had set this example but he never figured it would be something that could overcome him, too.

    But, however well he stashed it away, it shows. Perhaps not in the regular ‘I love you please don’t leave me’ way, but rather in the way that he doesn’t feel like he deserves it, doesn’t deserve her, and that she most of all deserves to be happy - whatever it was that made her happy. He’s on the point that instead of simply seducing her like he did with so many others before, he would be willing to leave her if that’s what she wanted of him. Because sometimes true love means giving up on it, for the sake of the subject of said love’s well-being.

    Breckin, however is a tough nut to crack. Not only to him, with his earlier mentioned baby-steps trying to get her out of her shell, but to herself too, he sees now. She had never made any real move towards him (except very literally coming to see him just now, which could have been as a friend) and while she also hadn’t made any moves to turn him away either, he never dared approaching her too boldy. After all there was still the chance that she might get scared of him, or be disgusted by him, and that he would break whatever fragile friendship they had.

    When he tells her that he had been captured, luckily by the least of the evil kingdoms, but that he’s here now, she does the exact opposite from what he asked of her - she does worry, apparently overwhelmed with the simple idea that he might have... had to stay there, perhaps? No, that can’t be it, the fairies’ rules say it can’t last longer than a year. Perhaps he hadn’t realized the danger, himself, unwilling to accept it; if Sylvans were free to roam Loess they might have been free to hurt him like they did Jesper. Once again he owns his figurative brother, he thinks - without him they might indeed have gotten bored and do just that, take it out on Loess’ prisoner. Although Arthas was an okay-ish guy, he was only king of about three horses, so he would not have been able to stop it.

    It passes in his mind quickly, while Breckin’s eyes turn away from his sight. He can tell she is upset, and he has no way of telling how upset until she looks back to him, her eyes watery, glazy. What? She didn’t cry over it, but she’s been close. He’s standing in front of her still, but his heart beats fast in fear of having perhaps broken something inside her just by mentioning the possibility of evil kingdoms’ steals. She’s very upset, he can tell, she’s not responding to his quirky smile, which is definitely not a good sign. She places a kiss to his jaw, stunning him a moment, saying perhaps she should leave him alone now. In his dazed head, none of it makes sense, and he shakes it, both to clear his brains and to deny her the need to leave. ”Hey.” Yes, very smart of you Leilan, what does ‘hey’ even mean? he scolds himself.

    He shakes his head again. ”Don’t go.” He’s actually feeling confused now by her actions, staring at her almost blankly, slightly frowning, voice not at all as confident as it should be. What is it that she was so upset about? ”I didn’t mean to upset you.” Anything but that, please. He has a million questions about what happened in the last five seconds, but he doesn’t know how to ask and he’s afraid of the answers. He can only just stand there, asking her not to leave like this. It doesn’t feel right.

    Actually, it feels almost like a break-up, but he’s never known one before and doesn’t recognize the awful, sad, beautiful, tragic, loving feeling he has now, and he just doesn’t know what to do with it other than pointing out that this isn’t the way it should be.
    there's something here that doesn't make sense
    let's go and poke it with a stick


    @[Breckin]
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
    |
    #10
    This whole interaction was becoming too much.  She had felt the rise of anxiety pressing into her only seconds before brushing her lip along the line of jaw.  Whatever time she had left to depart was quickly fleeting while the tension swarming within her grew in its wake; if she didn't leave now, she feared she would begin to ask the questions she was even moreso afraid of knowing the answers of.

    When he tells her not to go, it takes all of her willpower to not heed what he says, especially as she watches his characteristic smirk fall to a frown.  It was almost her undoing, she realizes, as the ridiculous desire washes over the mare to do whatever it takes to bring that small light back to his face. No. She snuffs the urge to do just that with raw stubborness, reaffirming in her mind that her departure was for his benefit.  The rambling thoughts cause her to pause briefly, but her backward movement resumes just as quickly as it had stopped.

    The outline of his frame begins to blur as her vision begins to swim with unshed tears.  Don't do it, Breckin, don't cry.  You don't even really understand what is happening right now to even allow yourself that luxury.  Somehow she manages to keep the tears from spilling, merely shaking her head in response to his last statement, as if the gesture alone would be enough to tell him that she wasn't upset for the reasons he was probably thinking.  With a final shake of her head, she finds enough strength to rearrange her facial features into one with the composure of a rising diplomat.  But she didn't dare speak again, out of fear that her voice would deceive her.  Casting a final apologetic smile in his direction, she turns on her heels away from him with no destination in mind.  Just not back to where he still stood, her head pleaded with her heart.  There would be so much hell to pay in the aftermath of this rendezvous, she realizes.  There was so much she had to figure out and not the slightest idea of where to start.

    @[Leilan]




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