corvus oculum corvi non eruit [any]

[Estonia]

During the warmer months, there is a thick haze that blurs the lines between the earth and the sky. The humidity can wear out a traveler in a matter of only a few hours before they need to rest and re-hydrate. The young mare-child considered this thoughtfully before bedding down during the zenith of the sun. It was smarter to wait for the cool of dusk to begin her journey.

Long lashes lift from covering the amber eyes. She looks around with a sleepy smile before finding her legs and giving a good deep stretch. Her shadow is long behind her as the sun begins to set and with a fine chiseled skull lifted high the mare begins to walk. Each foot fall draws the silver blood bay mare closer to the Falls. She had heard some horses talking about it and decided to set out on her own to find this place. Humming gently as she walks, the hours still draw long out but she knows the journey will be worth it.

Long silver tresses lick upon the blood hued body of the National Show Horse mare. Long limbs move with precision that was in her blood. Brow furrows as she nears the outer edges of the Falls. "Hello?" The question lifts melodically from her throat to announce her presence into the land...almost uncertain. Nostrils flaring and scenting for other equines. Hopefully they would be welcoming towards the girl but she stills herself for whom or what ever may meet her.

*estonia

corvus oculum corvi non eruit

[Texas]

and I discovered that my castles stand

upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

He has spent most of the summer dozing; it is a habit that is hard to break. The humidity of the temperate climate reminds him too much of another land, and it is better to sleep than to think of that.

Sometimes though, he walks the borders, the lone guard patrolling the kingdom. He never expects to find anyone, and those occasions when he does are few and far between. His shadow is as long as the trees by the time he hears something, and he falls still, only his dark ears flicking to catch the source of the noise.

Texas had heard hooves, and so when the other horse calls out, the bay stallion has already turned around and begun to head toward her. He picks his way through the thin forest with practiced ease, his bay coat hard to see against the bark of the trees and the leaves and debris that litter the ground. The mare that had called out is easier to see, and Texas whickers a quiet greeting before they are close enough to speak. When they are, he settles between her and the rest of the kingdom, looking her over curiously. She doesn’t smell of another kingdom, but rather of another land. Not a diplomat then, he thinks; what could have brought her here? He is the only recruiter in the kingdom and he would surely remember her.

“Hello,” he says, nodding his head in some semblance of a polite greeting. His eyes linger slightly too long, but his smile is charming and his eyes mischievous, which is always enough to excuse him. “Welcome to the Falls. I’m Texas; What brings you here?”

texas

[Estonia]

After only a few moments of being a damsel in distress, a rather large stallion makes his way through some shrubbery to find Estonia. At first the mare side steps to avoid hooves or teeth that may be on the end of that large skull but thankfully no lash came. Instead red lady is met with a rather ruggedly attractive stallion with coy eyes and a playful smile. She can tell that not much spooks this man by how closely he approaches. She also can't help but watch his eyes. She likes his eyes and this also draws a little girlish smile across her own lips. Lobes flicker forward as she stretches out her tiara to the stallion in greeting.

His words are like a cool sip of water on a hot day. Soothing and smooth and almost sweet.

"Texas." The two syllables roll of the tongue a little too easily. Surprisingly, Estonia likes this too. Well, Texas, what brings me here is in fact that I'm homeless and the herd life is just not for me." She speaks low and soft. "I heard of the Falls from the lips of acquaintances so I decided to see for myself." Dark pools shift from his ears to his toes and back up. "So far...so good..." The fire woman can't help but laugh as she attempts to tease the male who she has just met.

After a little chuckle that starts to become awkward, she lifts her skull to peer out from beneath the silver tresses. Hopefully he cracks at least a smile. "I'm Estonia."

Heh...oh boy...

*estonia

corvus oculum corvi non eruit

[Texas]

and I discovered that my castles stand

upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

Though he patrols the borders, Texas is unlikely to enforce them. It’s gotten him in trouble before, when he chose to ignore the diplomatic regime of the kingdom, but has made him no less likely to change his ways. These days he does’nt even know where the Falls stands. Not that he ever did – they’ve always been rather terrible at that – but lately he’s begun to worry.

He doesn’t worry, so the emotion in itself is disturbing. Worry is for those that care about the future, for those that make an effort to hold on to something, and Texas has not been that type of creature for eons. At some point, of course, he had cared for this kingdom and the people in it; he had ruled justly and well. But those days are long gone, forgotten by any with living memory (often including Texas himself). The kingdom had belonged by blood to Believe, but Texas was the stallion, and so the bulk of the ruling fell to him. He’d been hopeful that Tiberios would be the turning point for the Fall, but he’d gone and died like the rest of the mortals, leaving a sick queen and a princess that never showed her face.

He’s beginning to be both worried and irate.

It’s a bothersome combination of feelings.

Of course, he’s always been rather excellent at shelving away unwanted emotions, so today when the blood bay mare appears on the borders he’s not thinking of any of that at all. He’s free to return her smile with a carefree one of his own, and so he does. He does not miss her teasing, but he’s more than experienced at such games, and knows that hitting on strangers at the border is not always the best idea. They might want to join the Falls, as is the case with Estonia, and Texas would rather not have to deal with the child-sized consequences that often result from flirting carried too far.

The bay stallion does smile as she looks him up and down, and tells her that: “It only gets better,” with a mischievous smirk. He waits for a brief moment, then gestures behind him, as though he’d meant only that the kingdom gets better from where she stands. Texas finds that he’s rather enjoying himself, and that while doing so it’s hard to be worried about the future. “We’ve got a waterfall capable of healing all injuries, so that’s nice.”

He takes the chance to look her over again, clearly presumably for injuries that might be in need of magical assistance. “Anything you need fixed?” He asks with a brief grin, “Or did you plan on becoming a warrior who’ll need frequent healing?” The army the he leads consists of himself and Tyra, who he has not seen in nearly five years. Perhaps she is here somewhere, but she is doing little for the kingdom but adding her name to their ranks.

There he goes, worrying again.

Perhaps Estonia is inclined to offer a distraction.

texas

[Estonia]

The mare promptly tried to turn her laughing into some obvious fake coughing before clearing her throat and a pretty good attempt at a stern "business-y" look. She picks up her skull to meet Texas' gaze. A faint flicker of a smile touches the whiskered maw before he gestures the red woman to follow him. Dark pools trail off in the direction of his words.

The waterfall was absolutely breath taking and Estonia allowed herself to be dwarfed and swallowed by the natural beauty. She had never laid eyes on such a thing before. The slender neck twists so she may look at her serious escort with a large smile. "Beautiful." It was a simple word but the most fitting for the scene they shared at this moment.

Limbs move the lithe form, silver tresses licking upon her haunches as she looks to drink in the full surroundings. The Falls certainly lived up to it's name. A small sigh of relief exits Estonia's lips as contentment begins to fill the place where anxiety once lived in her chest. The woman feels what you could call 'safe'. But safety would come about in time.

Her focus returns to her companion as he inquires about injuries...of being a warrior. The skull tilts slightly as she thinks before she replies. Best to not sound like a totally dud in front of what could very well be the king. "Injuries? Not as of yet but as for a warrior? I can be whatever the Falls wants me to be-" She hesitates for a moment. "If the Falls will have me." Amber eyes meet Texas. She realized she was getting ahead of herself. To assume was to make an ass out of you and me (ass-u-me, haha!) so she was careful. However as her words trickle off, she sees a flicker of something else in the other equines eyes. Her own squint slightly in return as she looks to try and see and understand but the emotion and moment are fleeting and she lets the it go. Best not to inquire too much on your first five minutes of being in your potential new home with your potential new kingdommate(?).

Eff it.

"Are you ok, Texas?" Her concern is obvious in her voice as she stretches out to bump the male's shoulder softly. Perhaps she was over stepping her boundaries at this point but it was better to ask than not. The weight of the world isn't as heavy when you have a second pair of shoulders to help carry it...or he could just tell her to mind her own damn business.

*estonia

corvus oculum corvi non eruit

[Texas]

and I discovered that my castles stand

upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

This was the fourth place he’s called home, and as the decades tick past it’s becoming the place with the longest hold on him. He’d like the Tundra, the Wildflower Plateau, and the Golden Plains, but they had never been home the way that this place was. Perhaps it is death and the ties of the afterlife that bind him here, the knowledge that his body truly belongs beneath the water where it will one day return. It does not feel so morbid though, and he looks at the waterfall as Estonia does, imagining for a moment that he is seeing it for the first time.

The silvery granite that makes up the majority of the stone of the waterfall glints here and there with quartz, and is streaked with pink and black and white, all shimmering in the mist-filled air. The caves behind the waterfall are just barely visible as a dark shadow, and the pool where the water falls is so deep that light doesn’t reach the bottom. Beautiful is right, he thinks, and turns back to look at Estonia.

She doesn’t immediately admit to being a warrior, but she seems open to possibility. The bay mare asks if they’ll have her, and says response. “Of course we’ll have you,” he pauses for a moment, “We welcome most anyone here.” It’s an unfamiliar friendliness, but he’s slowly been realizing that it’s well past time that he drop the careless act. That was true, at some point, but he’s been living alone in this kingdom for nearly a year, and he can no longer say that he doesn’t care.

“I’m fine,” he says, well aware that it’s more than obvious that he is not telling the truth. He doesn’t try to hide it, and for that reason alone the lie itself is softened. “I imagine everyone feels like this when they realize they lead a kingdom.” He’s not ever said the words aloud before, but as he does he realizes that that is what had been missing. He’d claimed inactivity due to inactive leaders, but the responsibility was his own. His responsibility, and now his kingdom.

texas

[Estonia]

The silver bay watches closely as the larger equine struggles briefly with his response only to confirm what she knew he would say. Stallions always did that. Always fine and always okay but Estonia was a smart mare and knew to just give him a soft smile and a nod of her head as she allowed it to appear as if his answer contended her as much as his little lie contented himself. "Well thank you for letting me stay. I do not believe I could find any other place more suiting." She flashes him a quick grin but it fades slowly when he does confirm his role as the king.

Estonia was not accustomed to such modesty by the kingdom's leader. She considers her strong, quiet companion. "Well now I surely am blessed. The king himself has invited me here...it would only be the utmost insult to refuse." She laughs softly as she gives him a gentle look. Estonia enjoyed Texas' company and it made it easy for her to smile and laugh. She knew that he was troubled and wished there was a way to ease the burden he seemed to carry but perhaps in time he would learn to trust the ruby mare with the silver hair. Perhaps she would hear his laugh one day as well.

The sound of birds tinkle like a silver bell on the delicate breeze. It tugged and tossed the mare's mane lightly and pulled the scent of the falls with it. She inhales deeply and exhales with satisfaction that this was to be her new home. Already she was proud.

"Now about the warrior-ship that you mentioned. Texas-" She pauses just a moment to confirm within herself that she was ready. "The Falls are now my home. I would be honored to be a warrior for you and the Falls." The normally soft voice thickens a bit with her new found confidence in her decision. She feels it deep in her breast that she has made the right decision. The mare finishes with the small smile that seemed to always touch her lips. She hoped Texas would grant her the opportunity.

*estonia

corvus oculum corvi non eruit