Things you've never seen {Any}

[Astri]

It’s the gentle thrum of the afternoon, a sound that beguiles the listener into a false sense of safety. Rising crescendos of insects with the occasional tick of a bird, all falling and rising with some instinctual cycle. Astri allows for the hum of it all to press against her, to lull her into a few borrowed seconds of calm while she considers her predicament. The stretch of Chamber territory rolls out before her, foreboding in its eerie silence, and Astri cannot seem to make up her mind.

She’d heard whispers of the kingdom while she’d spent her winter in the meadow, a forlorn place that was growing ever stronger despite its lack of rumored activity. A shadowy place, not so much desolate as it was mysterious. It had sparked her interest ever since the winter snow had begun to melt away into a rather promising spring, and Astri was keen to make herself known there.

There was only one problem: She hadn’t exactly been invited here. Her jade-colored coat makes her an easy target in the still-dead wood so she figures she hasn’t got much time to gather her wits and proceed with whatever it was that she planned to do. The festive-looking mare instead wrinkles her nose and paces along the border, settling on a plan of action before exhaling and choosing her ground.

With no further hesitation she calls out into the empty space, wondering how her presence will be received.

Astri

.:Mantis green girl of Yule and Astrah:.

[Chezter]

As I wandered, I soon realized I had left the meadow. I looked around. I saw no one but a pretty jade colored mare. "Hello? Could you please tell me where I am?" I asked, "I'm new here. Its a wonderful day, huh? Um, uh."

[Gryffen]

There wasn’t much else to do but haunt the Chamber, so haunt it he did. His wraithlike figure gliding effortlessly amongst the decaying branches of the trees. Always withering, dying, no matter the season. His glowing red eyes had spotted the praying mantis already, watching from afar as he liked to do. Nothing was hidden when it came to this place, the shadows were always watching. Her color is most unusual, he had never seen an emerald horse before. It was intriguing in itself, even more so was her pacing along the border. She seemed to be arguing with herself on what to do. The ghostly stallion says nothing, does nothing. Simply watches until she finally comes to an agreement with her inner battle and calls out into the darkness. Instantly he is in motion, his hooves sending up dirt as he gallops across the stretch of the main kingdom land that brings him to the border. Only recently has he started to feel an odd thumping beneath him, coming from the land itself. It was faint but he felt it, the flittering of butterfly wings. Like a pulse, like the Chamber had a heartbeat. By the time he reaches her, another has come. This one a stallion who was obviously lost. ”This is the Chamber.” He snarls at the newcomer, having wanted the jade mare to himself if only for a moment. ”And unless you’re here on business..” A pause as he considers the female. ”Or have a valid reason for being here..” Another pause as his red eyes lock back on the stallion and he bares his teeth as if he was a wolf and not a horse. ”Then you’re trespassing. We don’t take kindly to trespassers.” G R Y F F E N *********the big bad wolf

[Astri]

At first, he startles her. She won’t admit to using the word scared because her reaction is that of fight, rather than flight. Though initially she’s embarrassed at being so unaware of her surroundings (she attributes this to her internal debate earlier) the emotion is quickly replaced with hostility. “Get out of here!” she hisses, partially because she doesn’t want this wanderer associated with her, and partially because she fears that this is not exactly the most prudent place for a seemingly polite creature to be.

Coincidentally, they’re interrupted. It was a feeling, more than the knowledge that their party had grown. Astri’s head whips to the newcomer and she draws herself up, tense and utterly silent. Her eyes, once narrowed and cold, are wide now and intent on the pale predator. He’s all business, as Astri had expected, but there’s a sharper edge to him that exudes a promise behind his thinly veiled threat. She cannot help the way her ears bury themselves in her skull.

Her breathing is soft, and she takes into account the way his unnerving stare rests on her for an instant. Her window is narrow, but she proceeds to take the opportunity to try and entice him with her offer. “I’m no trespasser.” She states, finding that her voice is surprisingly bold. “My name is Astri, and I’m here to serve the Chamber.”

Astri

.:Mantis green girl of Yule and Astrah:.

[Chezter]

I look over at the newcomer. I wonder which way I came, and where to go. I look over at the wraith and I remember him from my past. Yes! Things are coming slowly now. All I remember was him. I shudder. "He's the one who killed my Da!"

[Straia]

She wasn’t going to be bothered with the newcomers. She knows there are two on the border. The walking plant and the other one that actually seems like a horse. The ravens have no strange name for him. The ravens also mention that Ghost is watching, and so she doesn’t worry. Gryffen can handle the border, and she’s got plenty to keep her busy. Stupid diplomats that insist on coming to visit every five minutes. Recruiting. Running a kingdom and all. She rarely gets a moment to herself, but with the growing number of Chamberlings, she finds that she doesn’t need to be everywhere anymore.

But the ravens keep coming with news of the meeting. The plant wants to stay, the ghost is speaking of trespassers, and the horse mentions the killing of Da. What’s a Da? They ask, and she can’t answer, because she has no damn idea. Dad? Probably. But Straia doesn’t particularly care who killed who, as long as someone didn’t kill a member of the Chamber. The bay and white queen has no familial love as far as her own father is concerned, and little empathy for those who do.

She finally turns from her place in the pines, the shadows drawn around her like a blanket. With an audible sigh (though likely no one else is around to hear her), she slips through the pine forests to the gathering. She forms a raven made of ice and he perches on her shoulder, the tips of his feathers sharp and deadly, glittering in the sun. The Chamber ghost may have veiled threats, but Straia is not so subtle. She’s not pleased at the disruption.

After a few moments, she joins the group and settles in next to Gryffen. “You,” she says to the green thing, “Are you useful?” She doesn’t mind newcomers wandering in, but she’d like them to prove that they have enough backbone to stay here. Then she turns her attention to the other horse. “And you. Do you have any actual business here? Because I really don’t care who killed your Da.” The raven on her back shifts just enough to draw attention to itself.

straia

the raven queen of the chamber

image © Squirt

[Chezter]

Was I useful? She obviously didn't make it out much. I watched foals, worked my butt off helping my lame adoptive parents and also trained horses for battle while i lived in paradise beach. "Yes, I am helpful. But I am allready a resident of the falls. I need to assume throne of paradise beach. I love Eld, but she rejected me. Any way i can woo her? Who is your father?"

[Gryffen]

His patience had run out. His scarred white body moves in the direction of Chezter, ears pinned flat and hidden beneath the mess of his forelock. His red eyes are blazing as he snakes his head out, teeth snapping at the idiotic stallion. ”If your ‘Da’ is anything like you then I probably did kill him for his sheer stupidity.” He hisses, knowing exactly how many deaths he was responsible for and he was quite certain that Dera had been a female. Fuck it, he could kill this one and add to the list. His hooves thrash out as he throws himself into a rear, intent on seriously maiming him if not at least running him off. ”Nobody cares. Get out or I promise you that you won’t leave here alive.” When he is finished with the stallion, he returns to stand by Straia. Tail lashing against his hindquarters, teeth gritted. Agitated and blood pounding in his ears. Wanting nothing more then to beat Chezter to a bloody pulp but restraining himself as long as the foolish male was gone. Instead he breathes deep, focusing on the green as the red fades. If she had brought along that… thing, then he wasn’t quite sure she had much to offer. G R Y F F E N *********the big bad wolf

[Chezter]

I glare at him. Agitated, I Rear and attempt to strike his back. "I may be blind in one eye, but I am not the stupid one . Also, it least I know who I am going against." [OOC: should this part be in the challenge area?]

[Astri]

Things escalate rather quickly. The idiot who’d wandered into the Chamber behind her and inadvertently ruined her chances at possibly becoming something of value oversteps his boundaries and draws the unrequited attentions of the white stallion. Astri sees no reason to intervene, and she feels the judgemental stare of the cold mare. Undoubtedly she holds some form of power (how much, Astri cannot be sure) but she refuses to let the painted mare find fault in her. So with an easy step backwards she allows the two males to fight, only watching with an unchanging glare as the white beast tears into the foolish stranger.

After a few quiet seconds she turns her attentions back to the mare, focusing on her original intentions. “I came here alone, to serve the Chamber in whatever way she may need. I have a few, rough skills, but any block of stone can be hewn into a masterpiece.” Her head nods then, hoping that the mare will find sense in her words. “Accept me into the Chamber and I will do my best to prove myself.”

ASTRI

mantis green girl of Yule and Astrah