this is the road to ruin - anyone

[Kreios]

kreios don't you tame your demons, but always keep them on a leash I’ve heard unfamiliar voices in the Falls over the last few days; the result of Ygritte’s tireless recruiting, I’m sure. I still have hope the Uhrura will show up as well; the journey from the Field to the Falls is a short one, but full of rather curious distractions. I have been spending most of my time keeping watch at the borders, making sure that our small kingdom has not been breached by those that might wish us harm. We have no magical barrier, no glittering air filled with fire, no monstrous limestone or frozen wall; we have only nature and our senses to keep us safe. This spring has been rainy, and it is easy enough to tell if there have been trespassers. The only footprints I see today are the toed-hooves of the deer and elk that populate our kingdom; they have become much more plentiful once the wildcats had sensed competition and moved to the hills in the west. Having circled the entire kingdom – I’d started at dawn and it is midmorning, bright and sunny – I turn back toward the heart of the place, following the sound of the crashing water, and hoping that I come across a member of the kingdom, be it Ygritte or one of the newer recruits. The meadows that I walk through are full of wildflowers, and the tall grasses brushes against my pale legs pleasantly. The prints that I leave behind most strongly resemble a mountain lion, were a mountain lion three times the usual size and weighing over two tons.

[Ygritte]

BETTER BEWARE, I GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
DEVIL-MAY-CARE WITH A LUST FOR LIFE

Autumn had managed to slip in right behind summer. The silent and chilly grasp engulfing the territory seamlessly so that Ygritte had not noticed the thickness of her fur. When autumn came she could always feel and itch as her coat thickened, her coral tresses lengethed and catching in the slightest breeze. This year happened gently, like a calm after the storm. Amber tinted lenses frequently scan the kingdom. With word of the war drawing out, the bay woman breathed a little easier.

Slept a little deeper.

What causes her stern features to relax though now was the sight of Kreios moving against the wooded backdrop. Ygritte watches him from a distance as he moves. The feline paws moving with a soundless grace as they pulled the massive stallion along their home's border. It was good to be alone sometimes. Ygritte could understand the king better than he may realize for now that the twins were old enough to play alone, she could breath a little more freely.

Lobes flicker within the flower crown that rested upon her poll. The heaviness that seemed to drag each limb of the spotted stallion down, perhaps thoughts were that drove him onward though (after all his features were mixed with a bit of concern). After a few moments of watching him, Ygritte says his name- "Kreios." The two syllables of his name touching the roof of her mouth as lips purse with the final 's' of his name. A small upward tug accompanies her features as she greets her friend, her fellow ruler. Lithe form moves to side near the taller stag, bumping her maw lightly against his shoulder in a friendly greeting. "Good to see your face." The edges of her lips pull to form a playful smile as she laughs lightly for it really was good to be in his presence, perhaps even alone with him again. Perhaps on this autumn afternoon. the could just sit and chat and be normal.

Ygritte.

[Kreios]

kreios don't you tame your demons, but always keep them on a leash I never tire of the change in seasons, even when I feel child to the bone in the winter. I had not seen enough of anything but summer in my childhood homes, and the bright colors of autumn are enthralling. My breath steams the air in front of me, and I turn at the sound of hooves landing in the leaves. It is Ygritte, and at the familiar shade of salmon, I smile warmly in greeting. She is alone today, I see; perhaps the twins are finally old enough to be on their own. I’m never quite sure how long that is: I had not been there for Paxton or Szeth and the ways of the savannah were different than of Beqanna, though I had watched my sons mature there. “S’good to see you too,” I reply, returning the friendly press of her muzzle with a gentle tap with my own atop her crest. My height makes some friendly gestures a bit more difficult, but I’ve always managed to adapt. “The kingdom’s growing,” I say with a happy smile; most of this is due to her relentless work in the Field, I know, “mostly thanks to you, of course.” For a moment more I’m quiet, listening to her reply if she has one, and then add with an ostentatious look to her slim barrel: “What about you? Are you and Mandan planning on adding to the kingdom again this Spring?” I’ve not seen the bay stallion is sometime, but I am sure that he must be around somewhere. His presence is what has kept my interest in the pretty bay mare at a distance; I respect the claim of previous affections. Still, I am most accustomed to the life of a herd stallion. The mares around me have always been mares that belonged to me (and I too them; I am no archaic misogynist), and especially come Autumn it is hard to ignore the most base of instincts. I persevere though, I have enough control not to act (though perhaps not enough to stop my mind from wandering where it should not every now and again).

[Ygritte]

BETTER BEWARE, I GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
DEVIL-MAY-CARE WITH A LUST FOR LIFE

The appaloosa has been the most consistent thing in the woman's life as of late. She had said naught of Mandan as she had hoped to see the pair of horns come poking over a hill one day but as the year had pressed on the heavy bands of the rusted iron creaked as they clamped over her heart. Yes, she had laid with another and she had her two beautiful twins to show for that. She would not torture herself for that. No.

Josselyn, her bay girl with the little pink star, was in and out of the kingdom as she pleased. The girl was old enough to be alone and do as her wild heart willed. The child was curious, a wanderer. The older girl had an insatiable appetite to learn the workings of Beqanna and studying anyone she met. A quiet and reserved child but smart! She was the only one between Mandan and herself but she was a perfect concoction of the two horses. But not long after that did Mandan's presence seem to fade like the soft light of dusk, fat and full till it slivers and winks out completely.

She had ached then had mourned in her silence, never allowing anyone to know. It was her burden and she accepted the consequences of loving too deeply too quickly. The candle perhaps burned at both ends?

Her smile is soft and genuine. Lobes trained to him as they stood on the grassy knoll that they both seemed to favor in their kingdom. The mare closes the gap between their bodies as she stands close to taller stallion. He always managed to make the mare smile despite her thoughts and worries but the name of the horned stallion on Kreios' lips cause the slightest flinch that could be missed if he were to blink at the very second. "The kingdom is thriving because of us." The mare addresses that firstly because it was true. She nods the wildflower crowned poll, inclining it towards the stallion. There is hesitation when she attempts to form the words to follow. "Mandan-" it was the first she had spoken his name in months, "he left some time ago." Her voice splinters slightly but she steels herself and the jaggedly thud of her heart. "But no, not this year." The woman turns to look at Kreios with a soft smile despite the wetness that now glosses the honey hued pools. "The twins do keep me rather busy." Ygritte knew that Kreios' would recognize the twins as to not be Mandan's but he was a good stallion, a kind partner and would not judge hopefully for their conception came about long after Mandan had vacated the Falls. "What of you? Little ones planned with anyone I should know about?" The mare spoke teasingly as though jealous (though she pried because maybe, just maybe, she was a bit jealous if he said yes)
but Kreios is a very attractive stallion. Mares of his choosing were to be blessed to carry the king's young. Ygritte looks back over the land that they called home, the remnants of her smile curling slightly at the edges of the pink muzzle as she moves to stand beside the large male's left side, listening to his reply.

Ygritte.

[Kreios]

kreios don't you tame your demons, but always keep them on a leash I am too fond of the herd life to be monogamous; the idea of a single true love has always seemed to me to be a kingdom’s substitution for the natural order of things. It is well and good, of course, and I do not deny that those who feel it do in fact feel it, but it has never been something that I wanted. Even Lucrezia - who if I had been the romantic type would surely have been my true love – with her smiling eyes and our spotted son, has never caused more than the familiar warmth of being needed to burn in my chest. Love is something that I feel for my family – my herd mares and my children – but it is not something that I seek out. Though I suspected that the blue-tipped twins belonged to stallion other than Mandan, I had never mentioned it; who Ygritte chooses to lie with is her own decision. I had wished briefly that it had been me instead, but with that thought came a streak of possession that I was not entirely comfortable with, and I have not thought of it since. Still, when Ygritte says that Mandan is gone, I do not feel the appropriate disappointment at the loss of a member of our kingdom. I should mourn his absence, not picture Ygritte rounded out with pregnancy and a pink spotted foal at her side. I do anyway, of course, and its only respect for the formality of kingdom life and the respect I have for the bay mare that keeps my gentle touch on her shoulder platonic. The teasing jealousy in her tony is only that, teasing, so when I tell her: “Maybe one.” I do not expect her to react with anything more than surprise, the way I would were Mandan to return and renew his claim on Ygritte. “Teali will be here soon,” I tell her, “So I suppose I did manage to do some recruiting of my own.” At that I smile, knowing that finding a mare to play house with a king is far less daunting a task than recruiting a willing and loyal member to the kingdom.

[Ygritte]

BETTER BEWARE, I GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
DEVIL-MAY-CARE WITH A LUST FOR LIFE

Standing close to him as the first of the evening stars begin to open their eyes and wink playfully, the mare can not help but notice the heat that was felt from the spotted skin of her companion. Autumn was giving way to winter and she very never very good at growing a lush coat but she would fair as she always did every winter. The woman's skull cocks slightly when he mentions that there is in fact a lady in his life. Surprise catches her features and probably more than it truly should. "Well, you devil you." She allows a small laugh to follow through the pink lips. Her attention shifts out over the lay of their land. The stallion deserved a companion and silently Ygritte made a point to seek out this mare. Malicious intent? No. But she was a queen after all and she had a right in which to see who dwelled in her kingdom, right?

Of course.

A soft sigh follows her teasing statement like a flutter of dove's wings. It's soft and slow on the chilling breeze, a small plume encasing the sound. Amber eyes flicker back to Kreios as the light is fading and his features are darkening with the crest of light. She watches him now, noting how the shadows highlighted and traced the handsome ruggedness of his jaw, the very way his mane lifted and fell back disheveled.  She decides to not break this moment with anymore talk but simply leans slightly over to touched her right wither to his left and then lean her own skull against the weight of his neck. So rarely did moments of peace exist like this in Beqanna with such simplicity. "I'm glad you're here, Kreios." The words lingering on the frosted air. "I wouldn't be able to do all of this without you." He truly gave her security when she had none. He helped her become the queen that she is at his side...and it was nice to feel a connection with another equine after so long of mortar and bricking the walls so high that she wasn't able to climb out. Hopefully he did not mind her weight against him for in this moment it was a comfort that she did not realize she had been missing.

Ygritte.

[Kreios]

kreios don't you tame your demons, but always keep them on a leash I glance up at the stars as Ygritte stands beside me, tracing the familiar constellations. They are the only thing that has stayed the same despite wherever it was that I lay my head at night. I am fond of them, and I am fond of the way that they are reflected in Ygritte’s soft brown eyes when I turn my gaze back to her. I do not miss the surprise in her expression, and it does not take long to determine why. I had been slow of tongue as a child, but never of mind. I meet her gaze solemnly, though when she says that she couldn’t do this without me, a smile touches my pale mouth. “Of course you could.” I reply as she leans against me, “You could do anything you put your mind to.” She feel warm beside me, and when I stretch my neck across hers and press my muzzle to her opposite shoulder, I cannot be sure if it is a conscious motion or simply instinct. I do not withdraw though, because regardless of intention I know that this is what I want. She is small – not especially so, but beside me who is not dwarfed? – and I can feel the birdwing thrum of her heartbeat beneath her mahogany coat. I nibble gently at her shoulder: playful, yes, but followed by another that is equally decisive and cautious. I want her, but she is as much a queen as she is a mare. I want her, but if I take her it will be just as much her choice as mine. I know that I had not misread the surprise in her expression when she heard of another mare, but there is some distance between jealously and desire. I do have our solitude to bridge the gap, of course, and the starry night, and the heady scent of autumn I’ve no intention of violating another’s claim, but I do not easily surrender what I have taken as mine.

Bow chicka wow wow

Also I’m juuuuuust saying if you wanted to continue this thread and also for there to be a baby I have no problem with that and I’m just coincidentally putting his stats right here and would also hypothetically play any baby and use a genetics roll ;)

(but also if you (or Ygritte!)  don’t want a baby no pressure – I know you said she has her hands full with the twins xD)

Kreios
Percheron hybrid stallion
chestnut few spot appaloosa (ee/aa/LpLp/PATN1PATN1/patn2patn2)
TEGteg [wildcat imitation*][TELEKINESIS][dragonfire]

Gender pick for girl named Raene
Other Girl names: zhalia, xielle
Boy names: valdr, hjal

[Ygritte]

BETTER BEWARE, I GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
DEVIL-MAY-CARE WITH A LUST FOR LIFE

The touch of his lips on her shoulder is a warm sensation, like the way you skin warms when sitting next to a hearth side fire, the feeling spreading across your skin and deeply inside you. Amber pools do not seek his gaze but she knew he would see her approval by the way her lips curled into a smile, blooming like a sleepy lily in spring.

The security she feels next to him is one that she had not known she had missed till now. She had gotten so use to being the strong one, the quiet one. She had become so independently detached from others that the slightest kindness from most stallions was viewed with suspicion. She had learn to be guarded and hard for the sake of her daughters (to be a strong mother) and for the sake of herself. But now...now it was melting, melting, melting. He is drawing her out and inside the shield maiden's chest, her heart is franticly beating it's delicate wings against the iron clad cage. It is desperate and starved.

But not today.

Today she will accept his caresses and little murmurs. Today she will reciprocate with a small chuckle as he tickles her russet skin, light eyes dancing against the star lit sky. There is something happening between them and Ygritte is not sure if she wants to fight anymore. She was tired of the heavy chains she used to keep herself level and tied, rattling them to remind herself of when she gave her heart to another. But perhaps Kreios is different. perhaps he will want to see what could happen when Ygritte freed herself of those heavy shackles.

Ygritte.

I ran out of babeh slots this last season or Ygritte would be getting plump again! I like where they're going :) it's super cute that Texas arranged their positions but they're starting to have some feels! <3<3 yay happy stories! I'm looking forward to a little one next season if you are :D

[Kreios]

Kreios

wildcat of the falls

The night stretches on around us, dark and quiet. In the distance, the waterfall echoes, and nearer is the quiet chatter of the herd that Archam is beginning to assemble in our kingdom. I’ve met a few of the mares, and most of them seem to be meek little creatures. Not kingdom material, I have thought, but I am wary of disrupting the most populous residency that this kingdom has seen in decades.

I am thinking of none of that now.

I feel the vibration of Ygritte’s laugh against the thin skin at my throat, and pull away with a chuckle of my own, and a tug at her salmon pink mane. I’ve always been fascinated by the color – it is so very not natural. There is a plethora of patterns and spots in my family, but they are markings of the natural kind – tobiano, sabino, skewbald, appaloosa. She is a color I’ve only ever seen in the bear-flayed sides of the fish that swim up the waterfall every winter.

“Where did this come from?” I ask, nibbling playfully at the pink strands of her man that I’ve not yet dropped. “Your father was many things, but he was not nearly this colorful.” I smile, the memory of the old stallion coming at his mention. I’m not certain where he’s gone, but I’m sure he’s happier there. “Did you run into a fairy, perhaps?” That’s how I’d ended up with my own talents, of course; the strange feline traits I possessed were not inherited from either side of my family.

i’m screaming the name of a foreigner’s god

image by connor obrien

[Ygritte]

BETTER BEWARE, I GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
DEVIL-MAY-CARE WITH A LUST FOR LIFE

His presence alone seems to fortify the woman. There is steeliness in him that Ygritte recognizes within her own being. Had you asked the woman if he would turn into the stallion he was now at her side only a month ago she would have been doubtful, perhaps because she was not the mare that she is now as well. They had come together like a great sonic boom, two separate entities, two minds, two hearts...

Ygritte can feel herself blending into his being. They were becoming as one and it was funny the actions that had led up to this very moment, under the night sky of constellations with only the soft song of crickets at their hooves. The tussle of her mane grounds her back to the moment. She feels herself slowly slipping from the rusted shackles that bound her away from all contact and care. There had been such hollow bleakness but now...now the imagine of a spotted half horse/half cat was slowly filling that empty place like grains of sand through an hour glass.

(it scares her)

His playful question weaves through the fog of her brain, a web of his touch and his heart beat spinning around her. "Hm? Oh my 'pinkness'..." She can not help but laugh though as a foal she was taunted, chastised for it. A symbol of Nativity's promiscuity. "My mother I suppose. She is an immortal with a knack for changing colors." Amber eyes look down at her pelt momentarily before looking back to the masculine features. "I suppose we know what color she was when she and Texas made me." This does truly bring on a peal of laughter for it was obvious.

"And you?" She gives a nod towards the feline portion of his limbs before leaning in close with an over exaggerated look-about. "What's it like to have toes?" Ygritte smiles broadly at this handsome, strong, silly man.

Her man.

Ygritte.