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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


    curiouser and curiouser (OPEN)
    #1
    Litotes wishes he had found this land earlier. Beqanna was full of magic. He was beginning to sense it pulsate around him. Even within his normalcy, he welcomes the feeling of life circling him. He discovered others - others that looked so vastly different and frightening that he kept his distance. Today, he was only just beginning to understand them.

    As he wanders deeper into the different lands, he has no idea what to expect. Those with wings, colors he did not understand, powers he could smell lying just beneath their surfaces - the curious man could not help but to feel the tiniest twinge of fear. He wants to know more, but will not bring himself any closer. The call of the wild in this land proves to be intoxicating - Lie feels his caution lost to intoxication with each deep inhale.

    “Hello,” he whispers  to the trees growing sparser with each second.

    He finds himself within mountains, the cool air refreshing and bold to the taste. Everything within this land was colorful, brilliant, full of supple and fruity scents. Here, he feels as if he could face what lies before him. Perhaps, these people are kind. Companionship haunts him.

    Suddenly the smell changes. He knows there is a border here, an invisible line he will not cross. Litotes gazes longingly at the terrain before him, outlines of mountains and the tempting scent of crystalline water whispering to him. The scent of people grows stronger; Lie halts. He will not pass through a herd’s territory (Was it fear of confrontation or fear of meeting those who may understand?). Here, he ponders turning back.

    litotes
    want u to be happier
    #2

    Among the Hyaline's summits, Warlight wanders. The day is clear and from this vantage point, she can see for miles. It is easy for the yearling to lose track of time as scurries like a mountain goat over boulders and across narrow ridge paths - with the sun on her back and the crisp wind in her face, her heart resounds in harmony with the rugged landscape. She is home. 

    After the harsh winter of brittle grass and snowdrifts taller than the studs of antlers on her crown, spring was luxurious. The bluegrass along the lakeshore cushioned her falls, the wisteria blossoms dotted her dark mane, and journeys up and down the mountains could be made in half the time. 

    And her legs had been still for too long.

    She sees him (how could she not!)  as he leave the Riverlands behind, his pale coat like a beacon on a field of dark emerald. He crosses the foothills with hesitation, and she charges down the mountainside with the speed of a falcon.

    Sun-burnt lips smile at him as she nears, confident and comfortable, and dark, sapphire yes drift across his figure. "I'm Will," she says instead of what her mothers' had told her to say to a stranger, "What are you waiting for?" 

    An honest question, and an attempt to bring him closer.

    Warlight
    Soul as sweet as blood red jam
    [Image: Warlightpageddoll1.png]
    #3
    Litotes is built on indecision. It wavers in his muscles like a sapling bends in a thunderstorm. He stands on the border of this strange land, slowly coming to the realization that he had been so lost in thought, he is not certain if he is standing in another herd’s territory. Anxiety speeds his heart rate. He prances in place, neck arching and eyes flickering from the left to the right. He is trapped, spinning in the thought, What have I gotten myself into?

    Hooves. Stricken, the man stops, stands perfectly still with curved ears pricked to attention. Her scent hits him - she smelled like the land, like perhaps she set the border herself. She belonged in the mountains. Was she coming to confront him? Before he could even consider leaving, he sees her storming down the mountain.

    Too late.

    With a huff to himself, Lie watches resigned as she approaches. He notes the antlers atop her head, the pretty splash on her back, her gangly body. Another odd stranger, this one he had no choice but to face. She was young - not much younger than him (he just barely leaving youth, a fresh adult, only recently turning three). He likes that about her, the youthful confidence she exudes. Litotes relaxes.

    “I’m Will,” she chirps. Lie blinks in response. She did not seem to want to question him.

    “What are you waiting for?”

    Taken aback, the pale man can only stare for a moment. He did not know - perhaps an invitation? She seemed to be offering him one. Curiosity and caution flooded his brain, though he would not show her his aching interest.

    “I’m Litotes, but you can call me Lie,” he replies slowly, taking a single step toward her. He takes a few more steps forward, shy, but deep down hoping desperately that he would be accepted in.

    “I’m not waiting for anything, really. I just thought . . . um, I thought,” he stops. He has no idea what to say. Now rushed, awkward, he softly exclaims, “I don’t know anyone here and I don’t want to intrude.”

    He was embarrassed. He felt his face redden. He did not want anyone to know how lonely he was.



    litotes
    want u to be happier



    @Warlight
    #4



    "Lie," the coffee colored girl tastes his name and finds she likes it. And his cautious steps forward are enough to convince her that today is going to be a good day.

    Boldy, Warlight swings her haunches towards him so that their bodies are parallel, and they both stand to look up at Hyaline's impressive mountains. 

     "You're not intruding, you're my guest now," she replies after his cautious words seem to have concluded, a little brash now that they are close. With eyes like the darkest of sapphires, she looks back to the stallion's face.

    "I want to show you the lake and the willows." With a wild smile splashed across her face, she nudges her slight hip against his own.  Warlight had yet to truly consider her appearance, to think about the way others saw her, or that the way she held her head could be seen as proud. The daughter of two queens, it would have been a while before she did.

    But as she stands looking up into the strangers pale and wary face she hopes he likes her.

    "C'mon, you'll like it," she assures him, "and you can tell me where you're from on the way." 

    Warlight
    Soul as sweet as blood red jam


    @[litotes]
    [Image: Warlightpageddoll1.png]
    #5
    “Lie,” she repeats back to the hesitant man. He is shocked to hear his voice spoken - even more shocked to hear it spoken so appreciatively.

    When the girl whips around, Litotes fights the instant urge to take several steps back. Will is nothing like the company Lie has kept over the last year or so. When he did encounter others, it was not for long, and it was usually a quiet relationship. He did not allow himself to be around boisterous creatures before, and he begins to wonder if he had just “wandered” into this land or if he was subconsciously ready to be found (to be accepted).

    “You’re not intruding, you’re my guest now.”

    She meets his gaze with bold, shimmering blue eyes. Surprisingly, the cremello finds himself relaxing into her warm invitation. Lie’s muscles melt into cautious curiosity.

    “I want to show you the lake and the willows,” Will smiles as she speaks, her proud and animated face shifting brilliantly. Litotes perks his curved ears forward, excited at the idea of familiarizing himself with at least some part of this strange land. She bumps her hip against his own, drawing him suddenly from his thoughts. The innocence and companionship sends a sharp ache through his chest. He does not shy away; instead, he hopes for more.

    “C’mon, you’ll like it, and you can tell me where you’re from on the way.”

    Lie knows immediately that he is not ready to delve into his past, but the thought of his old home does bring a sweet and subtle smile to his face. He nudges Will’s shoulder back and starts forth, fully expecting her to lead the way.

    “I’m from a place that most just called Mustang. I lived on a land full of ponds and cattails and the smell of damp soil. There was no . . . magic . . . there, like there is here. I can feel the difference in the ground,” Litotes starts, and soon begins to ramble. He stops himself, then begins again a second later, “I like the feeling I get here. It’s as if I’m on an entirely different planet. Have you lived here your entire life?"




    litotes
    want u to be happier



    @Warlight i figured i'd just say he was from the site he was born on looooool
    #6


    Warlight hadn't really noticed the tension which had held him, but as it seems to melt away she does notice a change - and she likes it. He bumps his shoulder into hers, and she smiles a little wider before rushing ahead to catch up, her stride springy from held-back of energy.

    "Yeah, I was born here," she tells him, as they trot side-by-side towards the formidable mountains. The coffee colored girl places an exaggerated emphasis on here to let him know she really meant here, in Hyaline. But right now she would much rather talk about him, and the place she has never been. 

    "Boring, I know," she adds with a flick of her short tail, ready to change the topic before he has time to agree.

    "Was it hard to leave, when you had no idea what would be waiting for you?" She thinks of her own experiences with her dream traveling. There was always the thrill of not truly knowing where she would wake up - would she be greeted by monsters or friends, or anyone at all? But Will had never been gone for a day, and she wondered how long it would be before she was brave enough to step out from under the long shadow her powerful mothers cast. 

    "I'm glad you did though, leave that is," she adds, just as she thinks that he must be very brave. 

    Warlight
    Soul as sweet as blood red jam
    [Image: Warlightpageddoll1.png]
    #7
    litotes

    Litotes smiles at Will’s unbridled energy. He relaxes even further, admitting to himself that he enjoys her spunky voice and regal face. She is an oxymoron, confident and proud in appearance but gangly and excited in practice. Deep in his mind, he hopes to know more about her.

    When she tells him she was born here, the territory with mountains and borders, Lie is unsurprised. She almost smells as if she created this land herself (and perhaps she will, her perpetual energy boils dangerously under the surface). Will tells him her birth here was boring, and before he can even think of uttering a word, she is onto the next thing.

    Startled and mildly upset, Lie fights the urge to stop walking entirely. His emotions are a candle in the wind, masked as skillfully as a con man masks his giveaway. Memories of Cattail Lake spin behind his eyes at alarming rates. His father (dead), his older brother (missing), his mother (scorned) . . . there was no escaping their eyes once they were in his mind. Litotes had spent a year burying them.

    All of this - haggard secrets and repressed emotions - here and gone in an instant. In the sudden, echoing silence in his mind, the haunted man realizes this is why he has hidden for a year.

    Litotes believes he cannot face who he was, and now he knows it is confess or die alone.

    So caught up in his hurricane thoughts, Lie processes her last sentence a second later than normal. He sighs, padding alongside Will with his eyes to the ground.

    “It wasn’t a fear of the not knowing that made it hard to leave, but a fear of knowing exactly what would happen,” he starts, then finishes in an almost silent tone, “I was a fool to live in denial.”

    Feeling guilty for being so solemn, Lie forces himself to perk up - something he has not done since he was a child, and something that felt really, really freeing.

    “Thank you, Will,” Litotes says with sincerity and a raw smile. He feels so adolescent, so embarrassed - a reminder that he is not the absolute adult he believes he is.

    “Now where are these willows you mentioned?” he questions teasingly before breaking into a gallop, hoping to stave off further questions. 

    i don't want your pity, i just want somebody near me
    guess i'm a coward, i just want to feel all right



    @[Warlight] oh my god I am so sorry I write him so dramatically
    #8

    She was used to saying something wrong. Outspoken and confident it wasn't uncommon for Will to enrage a sibling or even on a rare occasion, a mother. But most the time she saw that coming, most the time she did it -just a little bit - on purpose. 

    But this, this is something completely different. 

    There is a negative reaction, to be sure, but it's something she is unfamiliar with, and it's completely unintentional. Solemn and reserved he seems to withdraw under his own storm cloud. As he walks, lost in thought she would give anything to know what was going on behind his broody eyes and her own brow furrows. 

    When he speaks what he says only heightens the mystery. But she treads a little more carefully now, and when he changes the subject she is content to follow this new train of thought as he perks up. And she doesn't dare ask why he is thanking her, because he's smiling again and that's what she wanted.

    "This way," She calls as she springs into a gallop to match is own. She heads for a mountain pass where they are forced to squeeze between to cliff faces, shale tumbling away from her hooves as she slows to a trot. But as soon as the land is gently sloping and the soft grass of the inner basin is below them she is galloping again. She doesn't slow to allow him to take in the stunning landscape opening up before them, it had simply been the backdrop to her life. 

    The willow grove comes into view along the crystalline lakeshore and Will put's on another burst of speed, only ready to stop once she has reached the fabled willow cathedral. 

    Warlight
    Soul as sweet as blood red jam
    [Image: Warlightpageddoll1.png]
    #9
    litotes

    Galloping after Will and smiling like an idiot - this is the freedom Litotes has been unknowingly craving since he was a boy. The awkward dissension sheds from his brow and he thinks for a moment that if his new friend were to ask about his past now, he would confess every detail without blinking an eye. She does not, though - her carefree speed casting off any wayward worries.

    Litotes follows Warlight closely, eyes wide and surprised as they traverse over soft grass and dangerous rock. He loses speed, though, when the heart of the land spreads before them. Will, galloping, does not notice Lie now cantering with eyes so open they seem to reflect the entirety of Hyaline. The mountains are beautiful, so unlike Cattail Lake and so refreshing he gasps. The fuzzy green grass beneath him hugs his hooves, welcomes his haphazard steps. In his heart of hearts, the stallions knows he is home. He is where he belongs - safe - and he sends a desperate prayer to the heavens that this is not ripped from him as easily as his previous life.

    Reality quickly zeros back in. The cremello stallion begins galloping again and does not stop until his face is being whipped by the flexible arms of the willows. He laughs aloud, a sound so warm he even surprises himself (so warm, in fact, that his chest is ablaze and his cheeks go pink with embarrassment). He spots Warlight between the lush tails of the willows, searching for her gaze. He is so happy she brought him here, so happy she shared her unabashed personality with him.

    “This is so unbelievably beautiful, Will,” he laughs. “Thank you for showing me. 

    i don't want your pity, i just want somebody near me
    guess i'm a coward, i just want to feel all right



    @[Warlight] im so sorry this took so long




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