"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
The darkness clings to him, wrapping itself lovingly around the small of his body as he follows her (Iset is her name, but Maugrim has no use for titles). Their walk into Hyaline is dismal and silent as they move beneath the sultry moonlight, his pearlescent and green body splattered with patterns of silver that shines from above them. There are quite a few trees here in Hyaline, the permanent scowl that etches on the pale of his cracked lips showing his displeasure at the obvious lack of water. The realization makes him feel weak and vulnerable as he silently walks with the glittering girl before him, their hooves soft against the dew-strewn grass.
As they wander through the many different trees, the yearling is not afraid. He is not sure how Iset is feeling (partly because he doesn’t really care) but she is causing quite the trouble for her homeland and her brothers. Would she be able to stick to the plan that she had promised Levi? Perhaps it is one of the reasons the auburn stallion paired the yearling with her; Maugrim would make sure that her promise would be kept. His tail twitches idly. Part of him hopes she has somehow warned the residents without their knowing, so that he will be forced to do something to keep her quiet, to fill her throat with water…
The scowl on his face twitches. Maugrim found her particularly interesting. Maybe that was the reason he allows himself to follow her obediently – or maybe he’s hoping that this act of vandalism will go terribly wrong. He’d hate to miss it if it did.
As they continue to move, his pale nostrils flare. Water. He snorts sharply, eyes roving the area for the source. The silver moonlight illuminates the small lake in the distance like a welcome mat, glittering in the gentle breeze. With a grunt, Maugrim bumps the girl’s shoulder, eyes hungrily staring. He needs to be there; or at least, close enough to use it if needed. It calls to him, crooning and beckoning him closer with such force, that he nearly ignores Iset completely to make his own path towards it. The only thing stopping him from doing so was the promise of destruction and his own twisted hope of death, which made it impossible for him to stray from Levi’s plan.
He continues to walk with her, dark and near pupil-less eyes reflecting the lake ravenously in their depths.
No one will stop them; Maugrim would make sure of it.
m a u g r i m.
@[Levi] @[Iset] @[Deathwish] @[Kolera]
If anyone tries to interfere, Maugrim will be using water to keep them from doing so. Non-lethal, of course. Because I'm sure Iset will kill him before he even tries anything to do anything. :3
He’d missed his fiery sister, her easy companionship when he gave in to her will keeping her iron forged attitude cool. He missed the warmth of her body during the night, the way they’d lay hip against hip when they were younger than now. He supposed their easy dependence on one another would naturally wane as they grew older. And yet now, in this hour, beneath moon, dark and stars when his twin could shed her responsibilities, he’d hoped that they could just be them, Iset and Sakir, and unburden. But his twin did not haunt her usual craggy peak, which made him pause, though he did not give in to worry, not yet. And so high upon the craggily ridges of their mountain home, the wind twisting his hair into knots, Sakir waited for Iset to return to them.
-
She slid into the kingdom silent and as stealthy as a predator shadows prey. And he noted, the fine hairs prickling along the curve of his spine, his twin did not return alone. The young stranger she brought with her stalked her as tightly as if he were her own shadow. Sakir didn’t like it. There was something about the stealthiness of it all that didn’t sit right. Who was this stranger she snuck into Hyaline beneath the blanket of night? For what purpose did she bring him now? Sakir’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. His twin was exceptionally gifted in crafting trouble from air. He wondered what Amet had done this time? And with a jolt of guilt, he realised he’d not been as present for her as he should have been, too caught up in brooding on what was, rather then what is now. Whatever this was, perhaps innocent, perhaps not, he’d find out what was going on, he would be there for her.
“Iset,” he called from above, clattering a shower of loose rocks as he leapt and half slid from one craggy boulder down upon another. “Iset,” he called to her again, his shout loud with a bouncing echo in the once quiet still of dead night. He was a long way from them though he made his way as fleet footedly as the terrain allowed. Towards Iset and her companion and…
Butterflies of nervous excitement dance unhindered in her stomach, fluttering from her bellybutton all the way up into her throat until it felt as though her stomach would fall out her butt. She leads the way with Maugrim trailing close beside her, his breath hot on her skin and his twitchy tail occasionally snapping her in the back of the leg. Iset didn’t do very well with people encroaching upon her personal space, and it is because of this that she pauses, turns to the colt and snaps, “If you got any closer I’d be carrying you-back off.”
She is learning quickly that Maugrim is a colt of very few words, so she turns sharply and sets their pace again before waiting for a response. A short time later, his blunt shoulder nudges her own delicate one, a movement so like the ones that pass between her and Amet. A pang of guilt settles deep in her gut. She and her brother had made so much progress in the short time that they had been in Beqanna, both becoming more understanding and forgiving to each other’s quirks. The filly shakes her head to clear the thoughts of her brothers and tracks Maugrim’s eyes to where they rest greedily on her lake.
She pulls quickly and harshly on his mane, “No one gets seriously hurt. No permanent damage is done,” she growls, not giving the colt any room to question her. With that she picks her way more slowly and carefully into the craggy mountain peaks, knowing that they are less likely to come across someone in the difficult terrain.
She was wrong though, and before long a silhouette almost identical to hers was visible through the trees, albeit a fair distance off. She paused momentarily and her golden eyes squinted, trying and failing to identify the stranger in the trees. She had an inkling though, of who it could be, and the thought nearly made her heart stop.
Sakir couldn’t be involved in this. He had only just recovered from his previous stint in and escaping the Dunes, what if his body couldn’t handle this? What if they couldn’t find a healer this time? She couldn’t and wouldn’t lose her twin tonight. Rubble sprayed down from his hooves as he leapt nimbly from one rock to another, slowly making his way to them.
He called her name, once, twice, and Iset felt her heart stop at the danger he was putting himself in. With a hurried look at Maugrim, she pulls forward a few steps. She has to warn him, to make him understand that this is one thing they can’t do together, that he can’t be a part of. With another cautious glance to the colt at her side, she hurries forward a few steps before he has a chance to stop her. “Sakir! Go!"
She was not a lost boy. Or a lost girl. Deathwish was simply bored, saw a group of ravenous personalities her age, and filtered in. She looked down her lavender grey nose at them, silver eyes flashing, and had followed them to Hyaline, bringing up the rear, a bored look In her eyes. She had thought they intended to topple a society. The itching for power and destruction came from both her mother and her father, and she loved to see damage done. But this was no grand illusion… this was just a couple of kids vandalizing the world, and giggling about it over bootlegged beer and a bonfire afterwards.
This was not Ischia.
And for the first time, since that raid, she found that she missed her family. Though she would never say it. The resting bitch face was cool, her body pristine and perfect as she climbs the precipice, rotting all the grass behind them so as to cover their scent and their tracks—should they be followed. However, the tongue lashing that these kids would receive from their parents… or siblings, in this case… was probably deserved.
What was she doing here?
Iset the first sound called. The spoiled brat that suggested they go and smash up her own home. She, the princess of this land, had no pride. DW had snorted slightly at the thought of going to what was essentially Neverland to do their bidding. Or Paradise Island. Who would care if they were here?
Nobody. That’s who.
Iset came the call again, and she sees a boy about the princess’ age, bounding down the rocky cliff after his sister. The trees he goes past—DW cannot help it. She rolls her eyes, and with nary a thought the ground from underneath them is pulled away from their roots, withering actively in a way that would normally have taken decades. The pinecones, fall like assault weapons trailing over and around him as he approaches them all. Roots wither away, creating an unshaky foundation for the trees upon which to stand, causing some of them to topple over.
Let us see how surefooted the boy was after going through this little obstacle course. DW’s silver eyes light up with sardonic mirth as she twists her black lips into a smug smile. But otherwise she says nothing, as she comes up on Maugrim’s other side, noting that his purple markings bore a striking resemblance to—well.. her. One of the Covelings.
Interesting, that. No wonder they both had a penchant for macabre chaos.
06-17-2017, 03:21 PM (This post was last modified: 06-17-2017, 09:54 PM by Levi.)
The small band had traveled silently and efficiently over the land between their meeting place and their quarry - and now it seemed they had arrived.
The summer rains had not fallen for some time and the fall was begging to dry the world, which was good for Levi. Iset and Maugrim trail off to the right with Deathwish following along. As the three of them disappear into the gloom Levi hears a small unfamiliar voice. The earth rumbles - he grins. The practical side of him wanted to make this quick, but most of him wanted it to be as messy as possible.
“Kolera, stay with me.” He hisses into the dark before turning down a deer path away from the others. They are shrouded by copse of maple trees, but he keeps moving, fiery hoofprints littering the trail behind him.
He is practically leaking fire in anticipation of burning down the mountains.
Levi finally halts when the black lake appears below. It is still far away, but now he knows he is close to the heart of the kingdom. Hopefully he would meet the king of this supposed kingdom tonight.
His four alabaster legs, sink into the sand and stones as he grounds himself, arching his crest and collecting his fire neatly inside of himself. The earth around him begins to shimmer in the heat as he drives it down, into the stones and roots below them. In the air flames materialize a few inches above the rocky ground and small trees begin to combust. With pops of color, blinding in the night, the maples and cherry trees around them go up in flames with a pop, pop, pop.
He leaves that behind him, moving to a meadow closer to the lake. Across the pasture he sees the painted form of a young mare, wide eyes and staring, her pale coat reflects the flames which frame him from her view. He takes a step towards her and she seems to awaken. With a shake of her head and a small cry she wheels on her haunches, fleeing the heavy silhouette who woke her with flames.
A whip of solidified fire forms above him, it coils, then with an unearthly speed stretches out hungrily for the escaping girl. The feathery tip of the whip reaches her, wrapping around her pale white hock. A shriek shatters the night sky as she falls to the ground. The tongue of flame leaves her, whipping across the grasses and setting them ablaze.
The distance between had protected her somewhat, if the flames had caught her higher, they could have opened her ribcage. The scent of singed hair and blood floats to him across the meadow and he decides to let her go as is. Quickly she rises again, despite her injury, scrambling down the mountainside towards the lake below.
Levi turns, the flames would spread well enough on there own here without his help. He moves quickly in the shadows to an unburnt section of a neighboring mountain.
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
He is sleeping beneath his wisteria, amber eyes hidden beneath closed eyelids and heavy lashes. There is a comfort in being in Hyaline, deep in the center of the territory where the lake is rippling quietly and the only other sounds are the tree boughs and their leaves as they rustle.
A loud crash and the shaking earth startle the Akhal-Teke awake, his lean frame immediately bounding from beneath the purple boughs, his amber eyes searching for the source of the sound in the darkness. It takes his gaze a moment to adjust to the shadows and then he is off, searching for Iset and Sakir as a cold fear blooms in his chest. Another loud crash sounds and the dragon king pushes his gait so that he is galloping recklessly through the thickly-entwined trees, eyes wide and frantic as he searches, searches, searches.
Fire erupts to his left. The bronzed and gilded stallion whinnies loudly, calling for his siblings, for Tang, for Molotov. No one else matters.
The heat grows, the scent of burnt foliage thick and bitter, the flames spreading quickly towards him of their own accord. He coughs into the smoke as he runs through the burning trees, his scales offering him an added protection that Amet hadn't even considered when the Fairy had granted him his glittering armor. A scream comes from close by and Amet pivots hard, his hooves digging into the soft ground as he emerges into the clearing and spots Tang, frantic and injured, on the opposite side of the small, burning meadow.
"Tang!" he cries, rushing for the mare's side while his mind screams for him to follow the perpetrator, to do to the fire-maker what He had once done to Amet, Iset, and Sakir. But Amet knows, infuriatingly knows, that he cannot dish out the same type of magic, and that there would be no common ground for them to fight. "Are you okay?! I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault," he barrages Tang with his frantic words.
He forgets the fires and the fallen trees around him and spins on his haunches, screaming again, "Molotov!" He yells it aloud and in his head, hoping that the telepath will be near enough to hear him. Molotov, please, his mind pleads into the openness, tell me their names, tell me who they are! The golden king does not pursue the group, does not leave Tang's side, instead comforting himself with the thought of their powerful allies.
The acrid smoke didn’t startle him, nor did the heat of the fire as it began to spread through the trees and meadow. Instead, it stirred something deep within Castile, but he wasn’t quite sure what. He knows he is dragonborn, but he isn’t sure what that means or what it entails. Does it make him impervious to the inferno igniting before him? He isn’t going to test the theory.
Everything happened in such a blur and stirred him from a peaceful rest in a thicket. When his head lifts, it rises just above the reach of the grass, his ears like sentinels swiveling for information. The smells are shrouded by the stench of his world burning and the darkness is a curtain protecting the troublemakers. He doesn’t resign, however, or flee. Castile stands quickly and contemplates fetching mother; she is a guardian of this place, but he can’t bring himself to abandon the land so readily. He would wonder and worry about the others, and he would be frightened of being too late.
He hears the shouting above the roar of the fire, panic-stricken. His voice rings out before he can stop himself, searching for someone in the fire-lit meadow. The sound of hooves echo across the hills, confusing him as to who is who. But then he hears Amet. The boy’s voice rises above the others in familiarity. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, anger enveloping his mind, Castile takes flight with leathery dragon wings. He steadily rises and soars fairly low as to search. He sees Iset among the ruffians, seeing her features dimly illuminated by the catastrophe around them. There are others – quite a few – but he does not intervene, not yet. He tilts his body in the direction of Amet, alighting just a short distance away.
Black smoke coils around him and the heat gropes for his skin, but somehow it doesn’t faze him. Why, he wonders, but doesn’t linger on the possibilities. ”Your sister is involved in this,” he pants after having been flying – even just a short distance – as his mismatched eyes find those of the leader. ”What is going on, Amet?” Then he glances to the girl, taking note of the burns. He wants to help, but he is at a loss, dazed and confused. ”Tell me what to do…” run to mother, stay here, find the cretins… anything.
06-19-2017, 07:30 AM (This post was last modified: 06-19-2017, 07:33 AM by Tangerine.)
tangerine
face to the sun
She likes to look for the good in others, but her instincts are screaming at her to get away. Some have fight but Tang has flight. She is a lover, not a fighter and that is not going to change tonight. The dark silhouette moves closer, and she spins as quickly as she can to leave. To find Amet, anyone other than this dark form framed by fire. But she doesn’t get far before she finds herself on the ground, a scream echoing in the air around her. One of her hocks is searing, but the adrenaline in her system keeps her from being debilitated by the burn.
She is quickly on her feet again and crashing through the trees, blindly going anywhere that is not there. She nearly collides with Amet and her heart clenches in her chest “No! Don’t, go that way!” But he isn’t leaving her and she buries her head in his neck and heaves a sob. She is confused and hurt, inside and out.
But soon they are not alone, and she balks at the presence of the stranger. Putting Amet between the two of them. She is no warrior queen.
The stranger seems to know her dragon and her mind calms.
But her leg is still burning.
“Amet, you need to find your siblings, they may need your help…” she says threw gritted teeth. "There were voices... That way." She gestures in the direction of the first sound which had awoken her, before the flames had started. The heat in her leg is raging and she thinks of the cool lake waters. “I’m going to go down to the lake, I will hide in the waters and soak my leg… don’t worry about me.” She musters a week smile and places a kiss on his lips before turning to shamble down the mountain.
The evenings in Hyaline were peaceful... The moon hung fat in the skies, surrounded by an entourage of twinkling lights. Glistening off the mirror like surface of the heart of the land... Oh, did I mention WERE peaceful...
Her body had laid tucked under the periwinkle flowers draping a tent around her. Her mind resting... A VERY rare occurrence. Like a dream(or nightmare) a vision of the golden king appeared. He was frantic, calling her name. The golden and cream mare was there too, injured. Tell me who they are... Had he lost his mind?! Had she lost hers... Another appeared in her dream. Iset... His sister, she recalls her name in his previous thoughts. She was walking along. Another was on her mind, a colt, beside her and much to close as she protested against it. Maugrim... Thoughts of drowning others plagued his mind. A wicked mind full of torture and torment. The lake his attraction. Isets thoughts were torn just then as another sibling entered her mind. He was running to her until the ground crumbled around him. A devious mare commanded the lands to their death... How fitting her name, Deathwish...
Burning her nostrils now was the smoke curling about her, unkowning her dreams were reality. It filled her lungs causing her to choke before her onyx eyes shot open. A haze filled the area as she struggled to see. Rising quickly from her slumber, she steadied herself. Casting her powers out she saw the positions of the others now. Finding Amets through the chaos of it all she gave him the names of those she knew of thus far. They gathered near the lake so she thought best to do the same...
Breaking out into the open she began to take note of the destruction. Swirls of orange engulfed nearby trees and grass. Burning violent and hot. Gathering herself over trails of glowing embers, she moved quickly. The lake had been in view when she stopped suddenly. Ruby and onyx face turned as she found the source of the flames. His mind pulsed with adrenaline as he freed the flames again and again. Levi...
Follower she was not... But the promise of excitement beckoned her to follow. As the crew of miscreants traversed across the lands, butterflies fluttered within the confines of her rib cage. The suspense was unbearable for the coming two year old...
Stalking at Levi's hocks she high stepped upon her ivory painted legs. Her muzzle flipping upwards as she tossed her ebony forelock from her eyes. The poison inside her was contained... for now. Earthy brown eyes watched as three of the group parted ways. Levi commanding her to stay at his side. Together the duo rounded in the opposite direction, passing dried autumn grasses and wilting trees. It was as if she had released her demons upon the land, but she hadn't...
The usual passion he emitted for his flames ignited, as did the land around them. Eating up the dead vegatation quickly and violently. She stood near him, watching... waiting.
A figure lingered in the smokey haze, she did not call out to warn them. It would be so much more exciting to see what happens. Turbulent flames stretched for the figure, wrapping it's orange ombre around it's leg. She hadn't needed to look upon Levi's face to see his satisfaction. With a cry the figure limped off towards the reflective pond in the distance. Joined quickly by another...
This lake sustained the plants surrounding it. Nourishing them a bit longer than the rest. Still greened with life... We can't have that now can we... Her eyes latched onto a wysteria overlooking the crystalline waters. Summoning the poison from her veins to awaken, a devious grin upon her snipped muzzle. It boiled within her and soon spilled from her yellowed eyes. Kill it all...
Creeping upon the helpless lands she reached forwards. Consuming the grasses upon the ground and seeping into the life line of the trees. Their deaths are quick, as bark peels and leaves fall. Now all we need is a little fire. Moving her wake of dried foilage she traces back to where his flames danced upon the turf. Like a lover it coaxes the flames to follow. Leading them to a feast worthy of her...
