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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


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    [open quest]  i can see the whole world down below
    #21

    The stallion wakes with a rather strong headache, his gut twisting in multiple directions as he stands, shaking his body violently to get rid of any leaves residing on his back. The male feels the urge to step up, deception was not enough, he had to play a trick on someone.
    With a grin the stallion sets off, walking toward a small opening inside the forest, scanning the clearing to make sure nothing would get in his way "Perfect" he whispers as he closes his eyes, his legs gently sinking into the ground, he will create his own masterful scene.

    The thought of someone falling through the earth and into a pool of water amuses him, even if the idea is simple, it will at least be easy to execute.
    After a moment of clear silence the earth begins to rumble underneath him, a smile spreads across the stallion's face as he feels the roots beneath his feet shake, tangling around his legs as he begins to shape the earth around him, first the stallion creates a large crater not too far away from his position, the crater is full of magnificent minerals and crystals, an eye-catching scene to any horse passing by.
    Next, the stallion feeds water into the crater, creating a stream by digging out a small trench, feeding from a nearby source of water.

    Aziz opens his eyes for a moment to look at his creation, so far so good. The bay male now shapes a ledge to overlook the crater, the ledge features a false floor, something that will crumble easily if walked upon. "Perfect" the stallion smiles, climbing out from the earth to leave four perfect hoof shapes with small roots decorating the floor.

    The male settles in the foliage, overlooking the large crater, within minutes he can hear his target approach, unfortunately, it happens to be the foal from before, somehow the small foal had managed to survive.
    The stallion sighs audibly and walks toward the small creature "Hello again, have you come to gaze upon these magnificent crystals?" Aziz teases, pushing the small foal toward the ledge, encouraging him to fall for his trick, though he does not need much encouragement, the foal walks toward the edge, wary at first but entranced by the glimmer of the crystals. Somehow, the foal is rather trusting, or perhaps just so entranced by the shiny objects that he did not notice that it was Aziz.


    The small foal is now right where Aziz wants him to be, but he appears too light to trigger the false floor. The bay stallion frowns as he walks closer, his brow raised "I'm sure if you jump you will get a better view, there are some real gems down there" he smiles deviously, watching the foal who now begins to hop, causing the edge of the ledge to split and come crashing down, taking the foal with it.
    The foal crashes into the water, managing to avoid being hit by all the falling rubble "Oh dear oh dear, it appears you have gotten yourself into a bit of trouble" Aziz teases as he turns away, delighted that he has succeeded in tricking another soul, now he may rest.

    With his trickery complete the stallion retreats to the nearby foliage, slowly fading into a deep sleep as he listens to the splashing in the nearby crater.  

    Aziz

    —lost and forgotten—

    [Image: N3F7IUd.png]
    Reply
    #22
    He likes the idea of this brand of chaos. It is innocent, for the most part, while at the same time being so mischievous that it makes the boy’s heart tremble with joy. He wakes in the early afternoon, clearly exhausted from the bout of troublemaking the rose-mare had cooked up for them the previous day, though he can’t put a finger on why he would be so tired. The desires from yesterday – deceive – have morphed into something new, and he grins wickedly as he wonders what kind of trouble he will get himself into today. His first thought is to prank Starsin, but before he can set off his little brother scampers up, mischief flaring in his colorful eyes.

    He’s excited as he explains his plan, and Meraxes giggles at the thought of Starsin’s face when she sees him pushing her dearest baby off of a cliff. “That’s perfect!” he agrees with a grin as his brother spins away and races off, and Mer follows along at a slower speed. Malone makes sure to gather up his dam as he travels for the cliffs, bumping into her shoulder and continuing on his speedy path. Meraxes sticks his tongue out at Starsin as he passes her, and when she falls in behind them he laughs out loud.

    They laugh as they scramble up the rocks to the top of the cliff, and he makes sure to glance behind him a few times to make sure that Starsin is still following them. She is probably yelling at them to stop, and to come down from there but the boys pay her no heed as Malone spins at the edge of the cliff and rears up to meet his bigger brother.

    Meraxes tumbles into him, skidding to a halt as his brother cries out in pain, but it is too late to stop their forward momentum and Malone falls backwards off of the cliff. “Oh, fu--,” Meraxes manages before Malone rights himself, and he watches his little brother with his sides heaving with fear until the boy is safely on the ground. Knowing that he is between open air and the wrath of a mother who probably thinks he just killed her only son, he tears along the cliff face until he is forced to descend, leaving Starsin in his wake as quickly as he can.

    The sun is beginning to set and he’s starting to tire again, but before he can settle back down, the scents of Starsin and Father overwhelm him. He knows that Starsin can’t be here yet, and Father is stolen away to Sylva, and a wicked smile crosses his face as he emerges from the trees to the couples’ resting place. A quick glance around reveals no one nearby, and he giggles as the flames tickle his throat and he sets their bedding on fire. Once the soft ground is alight with flames he darts away, eager to find a sleeping place for the night.

    After a few minutes he slows, yawning heavily as his exhaustion fully hits him. He is near where he woke up, he realizes – there is where he fell asleep last night. Sinking down into the familiar resting spot, he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.
    Reply
    #23

    i never said that i would be your lover
    i never said that i would be your friend
    i never said that i would take no other

    The Primarch drifts off, tumbling into sleep on the soft sweet swell of the magical woman’s laughter. Her sleep is dreamless and restful and upon waking she his drawn away again by the irresistible pull of magic. Let the children sleep and play on their own when they wake, today she must see to this hunger for mischief.

    Again she teleports away from Hyaline and steps out of other waters. Waters belonging to Pangea, because where better to pull a little prank? Conveniently it belongs to her dearest and she is free to wander. He’d probably permit her to make a little trouble too, if he found out about it. Of course she considers pulling her bit of trickery on the shadow-master himself, knowing that she’d only be rewarded passionately should she vex him. However her mind changes quickly when she spots an unfamiliar stallion making his way into the once-drowned kingdom.

    The stranger seems to look around eagerly for someone to greet him, and Kensa knows she must strike before the twins or Litotes himself detect the man. He has not seen her yet, a mirage rises from the sun scorched earth and folds her up into obscurity but in a few more steps he will look again at this spot and be able her standing there, rippling like an oasis before a dying man.

    Perfect.  

    The stallion spots her at a distance, and even her blurred image is enough to make him stop and stare. She had not expected to bring beauty in to her little game but it only helps. ”Hello. She says clearly over the long distance between them, flicking her flaxen tail at her hocks. The unfamiliar bay leaps forward, loping towards her shimmering shape. Thirsty fool. Laughs the sabino to herself. She still stands in the river and so disappears into it before he can get close enough to be certain she was there at all. Not a footprint left behind.

    She rises further downriver, it has spilled into the canyon and so she splashes a bit in the shadows. In the sunlight a ways away she can see the bay sniffing around for her. In her silvery voice she calls, “Hello?” The fool nearly falls over himself to turn toward the sound of her voice and as he scrabbles down the scree slope into the canyon she giggles and teleports away again just in time.

    He splashes through the water, calling out, as she rises again in the silty shallows where a beam of sunlight glittering and hazy with dust spotlights her, her gold and white makings glaringly bright to his shadow accustomed eyes. “Here I am” Kensa purrs, and when she hears him splash towards her she laughs once more and whirls into the dark, his eyes so trained to the light that he loses her again before she teleports.

    Kensa leads the man deep into the winding canyons, always just ahead. He does not give up despite his confusion. After a few hours and her many tricks to lure him into being completely lost she stops in the shadows and watches him walking in confused circles around a mineral-blue pool. He is quite turned around and will not find his way out of the canyons easily. Perhaps she will tell Lie where to find him, her husband will enjoy hearing this stranger tell all about the beautiful spirit haunting his home.

    Before she abandons the man to the labyrinth and it's haunting music she teleports once more, this time into the pool. Swiftly sliding herself close to the tall bay she presses her lips to the latch of his throat and then escapes once more back to Hyaline. The stranger is left confused and utterly lost, with nothing but a quickly drying kiss to prove the beauty was real.  

    In Hyaline Kensa finds her children beside the lake, and tells them a story of sirens leading foolish men into trouble. They bed down beneath the summer sky beside the looking-glass lake, and Kensa drifts off still laughing softly to herself.

    kensa
    love is madness
    Reply
    #24
    The game grows far more interesting. The genie follows along, an intangible presence as they play their tricks. Some use magic, and she nods approvingly at the crystalline pit and the game of liquid tag. The boys work together to deceive their mother, and Djinni pauses only a moment to stop the spread of fire before it consumes much more than the target. She is omnipotent, but not immune to the wrath of the fairies. Better to not burn down Beqanna for a little game. The screech of the little monkey brings a smile to her rosy mouth, and after she returns to her resting place on the mountain, content to play with their dreams a third time.

    There is only one she does not whisper to, content to let the boy slumber in (almost) peace. Some things she leaves up to fate, and this had been one of them. Djinni cannot help herself though, and does not leave him totally untouched. Into his twitching ear she wishes something that amuses her.

    She whispers in their ears in her soft musical voice, and tells them to take. Theft is step further than what she’s asked of them before, but they will recognize the desire just as they had the previous two. They will take something, anything, though she doesn’t mind much how long they are able to keep it.


    ---

    - Soleil has withdrawn from the quest
    - Malone has been eliminated by random chance. He will suffer from an aging curse, where he will wake up each morning a newborn and age through the day until he is ancient at night. He’ll die and be be reborn during the night. This curse can last for as long or short as you’d like.

    - Your character is wakes up where they went to sleep
    - You have been overcome with the desire to steal something (can be another character or an NPC)
    - your post should end with your character falling asleep at the end of the day
    - The deadline to reply to this quest is Wednesday, July 3rd at 11 pm CST
    D J I N N I
    genie | rose gold tobiano dun | trickster
    Reply
    #25

    Just when the male had thought all the mischevious feelings would cease another seemed to conjure inside of his brain, his mind flipping a couple of thoughts like a coin as he slowly lifts himself from his deep sleep. This time the stallion is overwhelmed with the desire to steal.
    The bay male lunges forward into a stretch as he tries to overcome the need to go back to sleep, he shakes himself violently as he moves forward, trying to get rid of any debris that still remains on his body.

    First, the stallion visits the pit he had created, oddly, no sounds seem to come from it, it is perpetually silent as he comes close to the ledge, arching his neck to peer downward. He studies the pit and manages to spot small hoofmarks making their way up the steep banks of the pit, which meant that the foal must have found a way out or was possibly aided in escaping his trap.
    Nevertheless, the stallion is annoyed by the witty escape, his disgust now clearly expressed on his fatigued face.
    He will have to find the foal, it will be the perfect opportunity to take from him, to express his own anger on something smaller and innocent.

    With the male's quick movement it does not take him long to find the small foal, quietly resting in an opening inside the forest, still seemingly alone though this time with a small stone structure to accompany him.
    At first the stallion remains quiet and watches the small horse playing with the structure, he tilts his head at his bizarre antics and after a moment of complete silence he moves forward, his footsteps now audible as he enters the small clearly "Why hello there, I see you have managed to outdo me once again" the stallion grins, his smile wicked as he circles the foal in a predatory manner "I see you are still alone" he comments teasingly, ignoring the small stone structure for now.
    As he walks the foal seems to freeze in place, terrified by the sight of the bay male who now circles him quietly.
    "I see you do not want to speak to me. While that is rather rude, I shall take no offence" his tone is sharp now as he closes in, facing the foal directly.

    The small horse seems to pull the object in closer, he seems attached to the item, as if bonded to it and in search of a motherly instinct.
    The stallion flares his nostrils, almost annoyed at the foal's movement "I'm afraid I cannot let you have that" he sneers, lunging at the object and quickly whisking it away from him, stealing it for himself.

    Aziz attempts to speak again but falters, failing to produce any type of argument as to why he would take the item from the innocent child, though he feels disturbed, almost angered by the presence of the youth.
    "I hope you never find what you seek and rot in the depths of hell" he lifts his head, peering down at the small horse as he walks over him, his body carrying him into a trot as he leaves the scene.

    On the way back he stops by the large pit he had previously created and throws the stone structure into it, watching it sink before returning to where he had previously slept. With his task complete the stallion felt whole again and started to drift off to sleep, happy to have succeeded at what needed to be done.

    Aziz

    —lost and forgotten—

    [Image: N3F7IUd.png]
    Reply
    #26

    Her sleep was filled with rambunctious play, innocent rouble, and one angry Dexter. When she woke up the rose gold mare had not been done with them the previous day.

    steal  

    She was becoming unsettlingly comfortable with the rose gold mares voice bouncing around her head.

    When Felicitey had opened her eyes she expected to find her mother not far off grazing,  waiting, for her daughter to wake. She found no such thing. Her mother had left to "take care of business" once again. She rolled her eyes and huffed in frustration.

    Her father. She was sure that is where she must have gone. It was entirely unfair that she got to see him - so she assumed - and she had only gotten to meet him once.

    steal

    Who better to steal from then her illusive father. She knew where she wanted to go, all she needed was Dexter. She knew he wouldn't be far off. He dangled in a tree above her head peering at her softly. She smiled and shifted to her lion form, as Dexter joined her.

    They traveled quickly as a pair in this form, one melding close to the other. They crossed the meadow and snuck into Pangea.  Though she didn't much have to sneak, it wasn't like her mom was around.

    They wound and curved through the slender canyon breaks. She kept low to the ground her belly grazing the red earth. Quickly and more suddenly then she expect she came upon the home of her illusive father.

    It was nothing special, she thought, a hole in the wall. She hid behind a thicket watching. A cave draped in moss, that tangled in the wind. It curved up and out, a lookout stop it.

    Fit for a king. A lonely king.

    Her mother nor her father seemed to be around. Felicitey protruded from the thicket, staying low and quiet. Almost mute to the outside world. She crept between the moss coverings. The cave had been well worn, even if she could only pick up one scent so it seemed, her fathers. Not her mothers... or not a recent one.

    Her face shifted around the cave, her mismatched eyes adjusting to the darkness of it all. It seemed pretty bare, comfortable, but bare. Save for a reflection tucked into the corner of the floor. She inhaled.

    Her mother.

    She made her way across the small cavern. As she closed the distance the rather large, white, opal feather took solid form. It was bright and harsh against the darkness of this place. Not knowing why, Felicity became devoured in a need to take that feather.


    Why did her father deserve it anyways. He did not love her mother. Her mother did not love him, did she? The confusion and anger solidified in her head.

    steal

    He did not deserve such beauty amongst his lonely home. Gingerly she took the feather in her toothy mouth and turned her head to pass it off to Dexter, who tucked it safely between Felicitey and himself.

    Noone, even if they stopped her to question her, would know the feather was tucked away.

    She exited the hole in Pangea and made her way slower this time back to the meadow. The farther she trailed away the more at ease she became, as if a deep rooted itch had been sufficed. By the time she made it back to the meadow and their small resting spot, her mother had returned.

    Cocking an eyebrow at Felicitey she did not question her only watched her patiently shift from lion to horse - she seemed to be handling this better than she used to. Siddling up to her mom she closed her eyes as she tucked herself beneath those opal colored feathers.

    And she slept.

    felicitey

    who do you think you are? collecting your jar of hearts.

    LitotesxNimueIsolde
    Untitled23-1
    Reply
    #27
    There is a newer, more sinister desire echoing through his mind when he awakes the next morning. He rolls slowly to his feet, talons digging into the soft dirt beneath him as he stands up, shaking sleep from his eyes as he looks around. This game had started innocently enough – deceive, trick, cause general mischief – but this new turn is interesting, and he isn’t one to back down from a challenge. He wonders what Malone will do – he is just a boy, after all, and can’t possibly understand this part of the game. He briefly wonders if he should find the boy, but the desire is too strong, and he turns away from the idea.

    Take.

    So take he shall, once he finds a prize worthy of stealing. Starsin crosses his mind and he grins wickedly for a moment, before realizing that she’s probably already completely disgusted with their behavior of the previous day, and probably wants Mer’s hide as a decoration. Perhaps taking something from her wouldn’t be a good idea, but maybe Father? Or that stallion from two days ago? He had been such an annoying dude and he could be fun to mess with... but already his mind is wandering away from the two of them as he sees a mare with a collection of flowers in her tail.

    They are all sorts of flowers – roses and daisies and lilies and wildflowers, a rainbow of colors that catch his eye from so far away. His icy blue eyes are drawn to the vibrant colors of a dragon lily near the bottom of her tail, and he just knows he has to have it – he's basically a dragon anyways, right? It’s perfect!

    He approaches her silently, his taloned feet just barely touching the ground as he sneaks her way. She isn’t paying any attention the the gold-and-white yearling that slinks around her, making a large enough loop to get behind her that she doesn’t seem to notice. She is busy grazing, hardly lifting her long, dark tail to swat at the flies buzzing lazily around her, and he wonders if this task will be too easy.

    Still though, he continues on until he is nearly within reach of her, and he thinks that maybe she must be deaf to have not noticed him by now. Nevertheless, he stretches out a taloned forelimb, snagging at the flower until it comes loose. This she notices, and swiftly he brings his head down to his foot to secure the flower in the long strands of his mane. She yells something at him but he is already spinning away, racing deeper into the heart of Loess and wondering what he will do with the flower now that it is his. Maybe he’ll give it to Cyprin – maybe she’ll like the gift, stolen or not.

    Eventually he stops running, weariness from his activities the past few days beginning to take hold. With a sigh he lowers himself to the ground and curls up there, succumbing to sleep almost instantly.
    Reply
    #28

    i never said that i would be your lover
    i never said that i would be your friend
    i never said that i would take no other

    In the cool morning air Kensa wakes and quenches her thirst at the lake’s edge. She has again slept soundly and finds that in the place of the desire to deceive is a need to possess, to take. She turns her gemstone eyes out to look upon all that is hers as if to wonder what else she could possibly covet.

    She would take Litotes from Pangea, or wings from the backs of the flyers, given the opportunity but these are things that require effort or magic that she is incapable of achieving. Of course in her looking around herself she gleans inspiration from what she already has (one simply cannot have too much of a good thing). This time she leaves Hyaline on foot, heading south into the forest that borders her home. She knows of a certain monster living deep in the woods and he has exactly what she wishes to take.

    The creature Tunnel lives in the forest with the other beasts unfit for anything but shadow. He is a collector of precious things and though he may hoard with a dragon’s greed he has never demonstrated any interest in the gilded Primarch who so often delves into the forest in search of entertainment.

    Kensa does not have to look long for the bulky blue beast and his pets. She conceals herself downwind and picks out his favorite, a black sabino who has grown into womanhood in his possession with her wings full of long sharp thorns, another girl younger and more frightened of him, and another. Time creeps on but Kensa is patient. The smallest and newest babe in the stallion’s possession is a filly (black as night, as seems to be his preference), it falls asleep like a fawn in a thicket  and does not notice as Tunnel and his other precious things drift away to another haunt. This is a lesson, the Primarch knows, but she is about to spoil it.

    Once they are out of sight Kensa sneaks out of her cover to nose the infant awake. It does not bleat when startled but rises bleary eyed to its feet. As she has with her own young over the years she tucks the babe into her warm side with a press of her muzzle and then leads it directly to the river. It is lucky the child follows rather than panicking and as soon as they reach the shallows she teleports herself and the filly away leaving behind only the musical sound of smug laughter.

    They do not return directly to Hyaline. She knows the monster in the forest will not be able to follow them but she is going to teach this child the way home to Hyaline now that she has stolen it for herself. The meadow allows one to see all the landmarks that point the way. So she tells the girl about the Mountain and the river, and the snowy peaks that guard Hyaline. They make their way slowly through the meadow, Kensa is pleased with her theft. Glad to have rescued the tiny girl and acquired another child for herself. She collects too, but only to give of her abundant love and a life in the paradise that is her home.

    Having not yet reached the shadow of the Mountain Kensa hears the shrill call of another mare and stops because the child at her side turns toward it fretfully. Not far off a grey mare stares at them and takes a few anxious steps forward. “If that is your mother go quickly to her and do not stray.”Kensa says almost at once, because she will not keep a wanted child from its dam, not today. Nodding and tripping over her long legs the girl dashes away from Kensa to meet the stranger. It is a sweet reunion though the other mare keeps her distance from Kensa nervously. No matter, she needs no thanks for liberating the child and she will have another of her own come the next spring.

    Thus having taken and also returned the Primarch trots home with the setting sun warm on her left shoulder. Once settled in her nest she reminds her children about strangers but does not scare them with monster stories. She drifts to sleep with her head resting on Valek’s back with Risk and Kelynen curled against her sides.

    kensa
    love is madness
    Reply
    #29
    She drifts, an intangible presence above Aziz, and waits for him to wake. When he does she follows, drifting above to watch as he explores the put he’d created, then tracks down the child he’d trapped in it previously. The genie is a lover of mischief, but there is something deeper than that in Aziz’s behavior. Something darker.

    It suits him, but it does not suit her, and so when he falls asleep tonight it will be to wake without dreams of the rose-pink genie. His tongue had been sharp, too sharp for the creature who loves children, and he will find it dull when he wakes, though with a reminder of his time acting out her whims.

    Next she finds Felicity, stalking through the desert on padded feet. The girl is focused, though Djinni cannot fathom why she would choose this cave and that feather. A child’s reasoning, she thinks, and gives it no more thought. Meraxes takes a feather, sneaking carefully toward a floral mare, and a disembodied laugh echoes across the hills at his success before she finds herself above Kensa. The golden mare steals away a child, a far larger prize than the others, and Djinni is even more impressed when the woman releases it to its dam.

    Satisfied with the finalists, Djinni arrives once more in their dreams.

    “Bring me a gift.” She tells them. “Bring me a gift you think I would truly enjoy.”

    And then she settles in to wait in the same meadow from which she had originally called them.

    ****

    - Aziz has been eliminated. He will have difficulty speaking clearly for any period of the player’s choosing. He also now has the image of the stone structure he took from the foal somewhere on his body (you choose location and size)
    - your character wakes up where they went to sleep.
    - they must find a gift to bring to Djinni in the Meadow.
    - end your post with your character giving her the gift and she explaining why they chose it for her
    - you have until July 14th at 11:59 CST to reply
    D J I N N I
    genie | rose gold tobiano dun | trickster
    Reply
    #30

    i never said that i would be your lover
    i never said that i would be your friend
    i never said that i would take no other

    A dream of the rose-gold djinn ends and Kensa wakes. Blinking slowly as she rummages through her many ideas for just what the woman would be pleased with. After a few minutes she shakes off the rest of her sleepiness and delves into Hyaline’s forest.

    First she goes to a certain nest she knows, made up of sturdy twigs assembled carefully in among some branches. There’s no way she can reach into it but she does not need to. The chestnut mare rears back and settlers her knees against the trunk reaching until she can snag her prize from the side of the construct and tuck it beneath her tangled mane.

    Then she searches the ground, among the tumbledowns of feldspar and quartz where old dead leaves have drifted together. Nosing away this rock and that, pawing at the leaves with her pale hooves. Again she selects and object, taking it carefully in her mouth before leaving at once for the meadow.

    Djinni is easy to find, whether Kensa is compelled or simply eager to return. She presents her ‘gifts’ right away. The first she sets on the ground before the other mare, it is oval shaped and a soft white just barely iridescent. “A moonstone symbolizes mystery and the power of women, it would suit you.” Her voice calm and clear. The object shines dully on the ground between them. Next she plucks from her mane the long blue feather of a Jay, barred in darker blue and tipped with white. “As you are fond mischief I chose to bring you the feather of another trickster, stolen from his nest. I would guard it if I were you, he may try to take it back.” This too she sets gingerly down upon the ground between them, her smile pulling the corner of her pale mouth. “Yet you did only ask for one gift. Kensa blows softly on the white oval so that it shivers and rises up on tiny legs before flying off, never more than a pretty beetle that looked like a semi-precious stone.
    Deception, trickery, and theft. These are her gift for Djinni.
    “The feather should not fly away on its own. Thank you for the adventure of these past days.” She is sincere and at last draws back quietly, her topaz eyes bright and full of mirth.

     

    kensa
    love is madness


    A moonstone for mystery (its actually a beetle)
    A blue-jay’s feather for trickery
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