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  • Beqanna

    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


    Nowhere Can Man Find A Quieter Or More Untroubled Retreat Than His Own Soul [Agave]
    #1
    Ever since his self-imposed exile into the Forest, Aten rarely made the journey out of his new home to explore the lands of Beqanna. However, there were those few days when he felt confident enough to go, in the hopes he could just do his work and not worry about meeting any other horses. He'd seen a few here and there on occasion, but he would always steer clear, not ever feeling in the mood to talk to another creature.

    His work outside of the Forest was simple, but efficient. He would walk the bank of the river to see the life that teemed outside his home, in addition to checking for issues that arose with the river itself, to make sure that the Forest and the Meadow would not suffer for it. The efficiency with this task was that he got a good amount of exercise, to keep himself in shape, he got to taste grass that didn't grow inside his home, and he got to... well, that was about it. He sure wasn't coming out of seclusion to meet any horse, but he had to admit, when he felt like it, it eased the strain on his mind to get out once in a while.

    Running in the Forest came with it's challenges, but it was quite an entertaining experience. Racing through the tall trees as fast as he could, dodging branch after branch to make sure he wouldn't be slowed down, testing his footing on the dirt paths that were covered in pine needles and leaves that would expose his position to a predator. But he didn't care; running helped him to forget the pain within his mind.

    But on this day, the beginning of spring, Aten was content to walk calmly along the River bank, stopping every so often to take a small drink before resuming his trek, following the stream's current. At first, he didn't see many creatures besides those he often saw living in the Forest, in addition to some who had come from the Meadow for a water source. Only after the sun was in the sky did he see a horse, so he quickly ducked away from the River bank, but did not hide among the trees, keeping his distance but allowing the other to know he was there.

    It was a mare, it appeared, grazing at the river bank alone. At first, that's what Aten believed, until he heard the bushes nearby rustling, as if something was hiding among them. His brown eyes gazed over to see what was making such a racket, a few moments later spotting a tiny wobbly-legged foal come bounding out to return to it's dam's side. For some reason, Aten felt a little lighter in his heart at seeing such an innocent display, but he shoved the emotion to the side, not wanting it to stay longer than it had to. Plus, the mare, sensing his presence, looked up, her ears going forward at seeing him before she called to her little one. Nudging his flank after checking him over, the mare ushered her foal away from the River and back out in the direction of the Meadow, leaving Aten to his lonesome.

    Which was fine by the stallion, and yet, he couldn't help but feel more lonely than when a day passed where he didn't see any new horses. The stallion let out a heavy sigh before walking back toward the River, stopping once his hooves clattered against the rocks on the bank. He lowered his head to gaze at his reflection in the water, for a moment seeing himself before the flowing current played a trick on him.

    In a flash, Aten saw himself staring at not his own reflection, but that of his sire, the roan stallion's messy forelock much like his colt's, the same kind but hardened look in his eye. Aten's own eyes widened, thinking he hadn't just seen that, and when he blinked a couple of times, his own reflection had returned. Believing it to be a hallucination, Aten lowered his head again for a drink, but once again, the current had other ideas. The main difference was this time, the reflection was that of Aten's dam, her kind face and eyes staring back up at her youngest son, her smile making Aten feel safe as he had in his foal hood.

    But it had to be a trick, Aten knew this. He rapidly backed away from the River again, shaking his head and trying to get his bearings. No way that could've just happened... he was just seeing things, right? Even if it was a trick of the light, nothing could make his parent's reflection look so much like them...

    But Aten had no idea just how much like the both of them he looked. Once he got a hold of himself, the stallion approached the River again, his eyes, out of slight fear, squinting shut to avoid looking down at the current. He lowered his head, slowly, but quickly opening his eyes to try and see if he could make the hallucination stop. This time, again, it was his own reflection looking back up at him, but Aten would wait a moment, wanting to make sure there were no more tricks.

    Agonizing seconds ticked by, but the reflection of the golden stallion did not change. Somewhat satisfied that the trick playing was done, Aten, one last time, lowered his head and dipped his lips into the frigid river water. He took a couple of sips before testing the current's tricks again, but, seeing his own reflection, Aten just felt silly. Finishing his drink, the stallion turned away from the River and settled in to graze a bit, moving under the shade of one of the tall trees while listening to the sounds of the forest edge around him.

    @[Agave]
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    #2
    Agave
    So much has happened in her life, at first it as just her and her twin sister Agapi...but then they found Titus who was there long lost brother...who also had a twin sister...She had two siblings she had never known about! Agapi was really fond of Titus, not that she was to bothered by it....but she missed it being just the two of them...Today she decided to visit the river, it would be a nice break from all the cloudy thoughts in her head, no Agapi, no Titus...Just Agave.

    She was in her ocelot form and prowled through the tall grass. There was a bunch of equines in view, and she truly thought about chasing after them for some fun, instead she settled on a squirrel. She spotted the fattest squirrel she has ever seen, slowly she creeped up on the squirrel. She accidentally stepped on a twig that snapped and with it the squirrel locked eyes on her. She gave a small roar and bolted towards the squirrel who gave a damn good chase, he pounces up into a tree and Agave follows suit, but he knew all the quick routes and soon enough lost Agave. She hisses in disappointment and on that note she drops from the tree.

    Her chase caused her to be thirsty, and she shifts back into her equine form and bounds towards the river. It took what seemed like forever but eventually she found herself at the rivers edge. She lowers her head allowing the cool water to quench her thirst. Her gaze shifts to a young stallion, what truly caught her attention was his pelt. His pelt shimmered similar to hers, although he had roaning that she did not. She watched him for a few moments and his gaze was fixated on his reflection. She tilts her head confused by his actions, she watches as he drinks and heads away from the river. She bounds towards him following him under a tree that offered shade for them both Hey! he yelled out...greetings were never her strong suit. Are you ok? I saw you....uhh at the water was it rude to mention his odd behavior?

    Tread Lightly


    @[Aten] SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT
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    #3
    Some time passed while Aten remained under the shade of the large evergreen tree, the shade providing good cover from the warm sun shining above his head. The grass tasted fresh on his tongue as he grazed, his tail lazily swishing back and forth every so often to get rid of the occasional fly that landed on his croup. Whenever a sound not native to his ears reached Aten, the stallion would lift his head, but upon seeing there was no immediate danger, he returned to his grazing, content with this so far lazy day. Up until the river incident, that was.

    More excitement stirred when a voice actively called out for him, something that intrigued the stallion. Lifting his fine head, Aten's eyes searched out the one who called him, easily spotting her against the green forest backdrop. For a minute, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him like they did in the river's reflection. He could have sworn that it was his dam approaching, her coat being so similar to this filly's. However, when she got closer, Aten noted the black coloring of her mane and tail, somewhat dampening the joy in his heart. He did not let it show, instead standing up a bit straighter as the filly neared him.

    The filly openly questioned Aten's odd behavior staring at the river water a few moments ago. The stallion was surprised by her lack of a filter, not thinking she would have confronted him about something so personal without so much as a proper introduction. But Aten had nothing to hide, did he?

    "Yes, I am fine," he answered calmly, his deep voice rumbling in his throat, "I thought I saw something strange in the water, something I hadn't before. I tried to get a better look, but it had already disappeared by the second time I looked down."

    Shifting one of his hooves, the stallion decided to question the excitable filly. Once again, he had a lingering thought about his dam, wondering if somehow, this filly could belong to her. But he was the youngest of his siblings so far as he knew. Even though he hadn't seen his dam since she disappeared from Sylva, how could he have gone this many years without knowing he had another? Their similarities were quite striking, all Aten needed was a dark mane and tail, and all the filly needed was his roaning to pass for siblings.

    But he didn't question her on that. It'd be quite the outlandish thing to do, especially since the two were complete strangers. So, instead, he asked her, "So, who are you, stranger? What are you doing way out here in the forest?"


    OOC @[Agave] It's all right, no worries. Life's a busy time
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