"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
I suck in the way that I was recruited forever ago, and spent most of my days fuming over events beyond the borderline.
Isn’t it a good thing those problems just don’t exist anymore?
So to hear the call of Lagertha, well, I needed something to occupy my mind with now.
I await as Turkish slinks from the trunk of a tree and weaves himself over to my body. He still looks slightly overweight from his abnormally large meal, but at least he will not be hunting rabbits and meadocre meals for the next while.
He is slow to wrap himself around my neck, lazy and practically useless. His body also weighs a large amount more, so obviously that I lower my neck slightly to compensate for the weight. He is why I am so muscularly built.
I walk, because I still feel full too regardless of my equine form. It feels weird, to feel my heart beating and know my mother helped contribute to such. She will be apart of me now, instead of the consistent white elephant she always was. Now, she has to be with me. No choice.
I am late to the show, part of me figured I would be. Just in time to hear Lagertha speak, but clearly not the first one to appear. I quietly meander to the side of a sister I have yet to meet, eyeing the spirit with a shrill of paranoia. Will the spirit except the monster I am becoming?
It becomes my turn almost too quickly, and my stomach lightly flips. Turkish—awake by now and slightly amused by my discomfort—has lifted his head to admire the ghost before him. He is always entertained by magic and paranormal activity; the world undiscovered entices him.
“To the Jungle, I swear my service, to the best of my ability. To this kingdom, I swear my body and my blood. To my Sisters, I swear my loyalty and love, for all the days of my life,” I mimic in a confident tone, wavering as the emerald eyes of the cat glance over to my familiar and then back to me. It senses me.
I am exposed.
I feel a heavy air onset to me as the black spirit elegantly walks closer to my frame. I can feel it’s aura waft over me like a strong fragrance.
“You are finding yourself, because someone allowed you to lose yourself. In doing so, you have become irresponsibly strong, and for that you will learn how to handle such a commitment. Snakes, for your strength, intelligence, and resiliance. Swords, for your undeniable talent to serve.”
My front legs begin to mould colours and lines. Bright emerald green boa’s swirl up until they meet in the centre of my chest, both trapping the handle of swords that form a large broad X from shoulder to shoulder, light red blood dripping down their blades. I tense.
It knew.
And it excepted me.
and I will return leading the pack
Smother has been kicking around for awhile, but with me being back from my away and her having not actually devoted herself to the jungle, I figured I would add this to the thread thanks!
02-21-2016, 05:43 PM (This post was last modified: 02-21-2016, 09:16 PM by Draconis.)
But the night fades away and gives way to the day
Draconis hears the call, echoing through the hot and steamy air, and her dark ears prick with sudden excitement. She can only guess that it is the Khaleesi who is calling the sisters together, as it seemed rather unlikely that anyone else would be summoning the kingdom to come together, and sets off in that direction. When she arrives to the gathering, the young mare realizes that she is the latest in a string of differently-timed arrivals, and this leaves her feeling nervous at having been the last to show up. She pauses to collect herself, then soldiers on and comes to a stop next to Lexa, her friend and really the only other female that she knew. She takes in the sight of the other mares, taking in each one's appearance and, if heard, their names. She knows Lagertha by sight already; some time ago Rhy had pointed out who the Queen was to the then-filly as they explored the Jungle together (though really it been the resident gold and white mare helping Draconis to familiarize herself with her new home, since she herself had already known the lay of the land....). Looking towards the Jungle monarch, she lowers her head and neck in the equine version of a curtsy. "Hello, everyone. My name is Draconis. " The huge jungle cat at Lagertha's side catches her eyes, and the firebreather can't help but stare at it for several moments. It was a very majestic beast....with how calm and relaxed both it and the crowd of sisters were, it could only be the Jungle Spirit she had heard of.
The star-blanketed mare had arrived in time to hear the Khaleesi's welcoming speech, and so when everyone before her has pledged, and there is a gap of silence, she takes a deep breath and recites those same words. This is what her life had been leading towards, after all, ever since Rhy had found her in the Den and given her a new home, a family, a purpose. "To the Jungle, I swear my service, to the best of my ability. To this kingdom, I swear my body and my blood. To my Sisters, I swear my loyalty and love, for all the days of my life.” The cat paces towards her now, as it had done to the others gathered here, and its mouth opens to breath a warm, welcoming puff of air onto her chest. She can feel it then, the itching upon her shadowy skin, and she looks down to see a tiny white cave appearing, stark against the black. A tiny red dragon emerges from the cave, coming to rest atop it. Draconis hears the Spirit in her head now, its voice surprisingly gentle despite its naturally fearsome appearance. "Welcome, sister. A tattoo to match your gift, which the Jungle may have need of in the days to come. " It gazes at her for a moment longer, golden eyes deep and endless, then turns away. She lets out a sigh as the Cat moves away from her. She was a Sister now....Rhy will be proud of her.
(I hope that it's ok that Draconis came in and posted! <3)
There's a song in your lung and a dream in your eye.
She recognizes most of them, familiar faces that have inhabited the jungle alongside her as they waited for the right time. For this very moment. She waits patiently, gaze lingering upon the now grown jaguar. Lagertha is speaking then, warning them of the potential outcomes should they conceal dishonesty and betrayal in their hearts. Joscelin has no fears in this regard. She had made her choice long ago. She would not change her mind now.
The red and white mare watches silently as others make their oath, as they receive the jungle’s gift. Behind her still features, her heart thrums a rapid tattoo, excitement and apprehension warring within her. The spirit seems to be speaking to them. She wonders what it might have to say to her.
Finally it is her turn. The jaguar is before her, gazes clashing as their eyes meet. Her voice when she speaks her oath is clear and steady, the words strong as they pass her cracked lips.
” To the Jungle, I swear my service, to the best of my ability. To this kingdom, I swear my body and my blood. To my Sisters, I swear my loyalty and love, for all the days of my life.”
The moment the last words leave her lips, the large cat is there, warm breath winding across her skin. The vine snakes up from her hoof, bleeding into her skin with only the faintest of tingling sensations. A dahlia bursts into bloom across her chest a moment before the tingling races across her back, leaving behind an intricate network of scrolling lines interspersed by tiny bright sunbursts.
Her attention is drawn back to the jaguar as it stares at her with unnerving intensity. Finally it speaks, the words whispering through her mind rather than the air. ”You know your purpose, Joscelin. Do not let them lead you astray.”
With that, it is gone, moving on to the next sister, leaving Joscelin to wonder at her meaning.
Joscelin
Tiphon x Elysteria
html c insane | picture c mikanicole.deviantart.com
She watches them go ahead of her, all the while, aware of the bright eyes, blinking like great, observant moons. The tawny coat and the pattern of dark rosettes, like dapples of dark and she is reminded of all she does to protect her daughter. When Lagertha tells them of the nature of this beast, she turns her eyes to it, inspects of relaxes curl of its tail and the deep hum of its breath.
She is scared and she is not.
Its expectation and its penalty ring warning bells down her spine.
Its expectations and its penalty make her steeled and content.
She closes her eyes. She finds resolves down in those nooks and crannies, where once she thought she had found home but had known it had not been real. It was a ‘now’. A present, in the sense that she did not see her future in that sway of soft green grass and the sharp trill of passerines. It had been kind.
But nature is not kind.
When it is her turn, she moves towards something she should spook from like a held spring. Something, that for a long, long time, she had kept from. Made space and more space – made love and made life in that space – and she wonders if it is disappointed. But of course, nature is not inevitable or preordained, either. She was meant for this place once before, when in its understory she tumbled from her mother. She was not meant for this place again until she stepped foot in it, and maybe not even then.
But she is scared of what the spirit can see. It blinks at her with bright hazel eyes and it breathes, a deep rumble from its predator’s lungs. “To the Jungle, I swear my service, to the best of my ability. To this kingdom, I swear my body and my blood. To my Sisters, I swear my loyalty and love, for all the days of my life.” Her voice is soft and thoughtful, it always it. ‘Welcome back, sister. Daughter and mother,’ its whisper, a strange rush in her head, through which she can hear the sharp teeth and soft pawing all at once.
She bends down to her level, as if commanded and feels the pressure of her paw, the possibility of her claws though they are kept safely sheathed.
Vineine feels her face tingle, and down the bridge of her nose green vines begin to tangle and take shape – in between her eyes on her forehead, a waxing moon, her two points facing upward towards her ears, and then a full circle tangled and adorned with a red passion flowers in the center, and then pointing down towards her nostrils, a waning moon.
They announce their names and even as she doesn't catch all of them. She feels almost like she is the last to arrive. How shameful. The lavender mare watchs as the group talks and then she speaks up quietly when the cat looks to her, almost like it was waiting for her to introduce herself. I am Kalamity She feels oddly confused for a moment when the cat does not look away, when infact it continues to stare unblinking, completely still. Predetory almost. This is Arkane She nudged the yearling forward away from its crevace in her side. Her belly already swelling with the second child.
Looking around she spots her sister its a relieved sigh that echos through her chest. She wasn't alone here. How could she forget that? She knew that she had the best sister in the world and if she thought this place was good for her then it had to be so. As the others repeat she mouths the words as well. To the Jungle I swear my service.If she was any service to begin with. To the best of my ability. To this kingdom, I swear my body and my blood. Well if anything could sound less pleasant then that she couldn't think of it. To my sisters, I swear my loyalty, and my love. Her eyes glimmer as she looks to her true sister. Faintly smiling towards her wondering if she had seen her or not. For all the days of my life Her earnest pleading in her eyes direct to her sister.
There was nothing that she could do to show how much she cared or thanked her sister for everything that she had done/sacrificed for her. And there was no way that she would ever be able to fully repay her... but mid thought she is interrupted.
The cat walks up to her predetory in nature. Claws long and sharp. Muscles coiling glossy black with power. Kalamity the whispy voice tingles in her ear just as a pin prickle crawls along her swollen barrel swirling, splitting, curling into a green decoration against her lavender coat.
The cat brushes against her skin Because of your curiousity. Becuase of your everlasting loyality. You're creature is the otter. You were born for this Kalamity. It touches her once more and she can feel something once mroe this time its in her mind. Tears form in her eyes as she remembers things that had been left in a ever present darkness.
Turning her face towards Arkane she notices a few things all at once. The silvery otter leaping its way around her hip. The bloody passion flower tucked behind her ear. And most of all the vines on Arkanes neck. The passion flower on the base of her tail. Then crawling along her shoulder a silvery spider makes its way around her daughters body. This was where they were meant to be.
--Kind of pretending it's before last birthing season. but it shouldn't affect anyone else, as I kept my post pretty enclosed to just Kat
While she was one of the first to arrive she was one of the last to speak. The black mare stood and watched as the others spoke the words and were tattooed by their interactions with the large cat. She stood as witness to all her new sisters, and even though she didn't know any of them she felt the connection that came with being united with one another under one cause. Slowly one by one the other mares completed the initiation. And finally it as Kat's turn.
The jungle cat slinked towards the mare, not threatening but not asking for an ear scratch either. he came to her, relentless in its gaze, and stopped about a foot or so away. It waited for the words it needed, the phrase that would bind the mare with the glowing star to the jungle. The mare spoke the words as instructed, "To the Jungle, I swear my service, to the best of my ability. To this kingdom, I swear my body and my blood. To my Sisters, I swear my loyalty and love, for all the days of my life." Her voice was strong, and all the while she thought of her unborn son. and what it would mean for him. At least she would be able to help her sister now and get her away from Kirin with the backing of her sisters.
As soon as the words had left her mouth, the lioness approached and rubbed against the mares right side encircling her leg with its tail. As the tail wrapped about the mare, a heat moved through her, it wasn't painful, but it wasn't comfortable either. She didn't move, as this was a ceremonial event. The heat moved up her leg and shoulder. Once it reached her neck she felt the heat grow, as is swirled and flicked up towards her head. One it reached her ear it flicked up her right ear and stopped as if the spirit moved through her then up and out her ear. In its place left a white tattoo that started at the base of her neck along the right side. It swirled and branched out and up towards her ear where the details shrank in size ending at the tip of her ear.
Cat dipped her head as the cat finally retreated. The guarded mare never thought she would pledge to a kingdom, but hopefully, this place would be different than her childhood experiences. Only time would tell, but all signs pointed to this being a successful pairing.
03-02-2016, 05:11 PM (This post was last modified: 03-02-2016, 05:12 PM by Lexa.)
the dead are gone, and the living are hungry.
There is no hesitation, the moment there is a pause in the swearing of new sisters, Lexa herself steps up to take the oath.
“To the Jungle, I swear my service, to the best of my ability. To this kingdom, I swear my body and my blood. To my Sisters, I swear my loyalty and love, for all the days of my life.” She bows her head respectfully as the Jungle spirit steps forward to smell her and exhales softly, the wild smell of jaguar filling Lexa’s nose. A feeling of warmth starts at her nose, then travels up her face, down her neck, and throughout the rest of her body. When she looks down, she can see the traditional green vine of the Amazons starting to swirl up her leg. When she looks back, she can see a stylized black caiman hiding amongst the spots on her side. A caiman, how interesting. She wonders what the spirit’s reasoning was in choosing that animal, but she does not question. The Jungle knows more than she.
Then she falls back to watch as other sisters step forward to take the oath. It seems that there’s quite a large group of them this time. A whole new generation of Amazon sisters. The new future of the kingdom.
thanks!
