"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
For the first time ever, Lupei has found a mare who’s not so incredibly droll. Para’s nip does nothing but encourage his bad behavior, rousing a light buck out of the stallion before he leaps forward with a bold laugh to stretch his youthful, slender legs into an easy gallop. They cover some ground quickly, exiting the meadow and venturing into the field before he slows his pace back to a trot and then, when they’ve come to the edge of the field and the mountains begin to loom like great purple giants in the distance, he slows to a rambling walk.
“Well I’ve never come across a mare who rose to the occasion quite like you have.” He says, his breath coming in short, rolling gasps from the exertion of their travel. The great forests that border the Chamber greet them quickly, their dark, secluded depths closing in around them as they venture further from the gathering areas. It’s quiet now, with only them to make noise as they travel an old, worn path that wound its way into the heart of his home. His eyes casually slide over her, assessing her in the moment of solitude. “Are you a fighter, or a peace maker?” He queries, trying to work out where she'll be placed within the kingdom.
He wonders if Straia will have a negative reaction to him bringing Para here. They were preparing for an all-out war and Lupei doesn’t want to burden the kingdom with a new member. But, at the same, they needed to flesh out their ranks with new blood if they wanted to truly come prepared to this fight. “This place we’re going to, the Chamber, I grew up here. I’m a warrior myself, newly initiated.” He explains, eyes turning once more to where they were headed. The night was quickly approaching, and his weak eyes in this body were beginning to get useless. He sighs, stretching his neck to the earth so he can huff the needle-covered ground to try and make sense of the path.
“Straia is our queen. She has magic, and she’s not anywhere as nice as I am. Two rules: don’t be an idiot, and don’t embarrass yourself because that comes back on me for recruiting you.” He speaks, his voice stern. There’s a hint of a joke beneath his stony exterior, but Lupei was being completely serious. He wouldn’t bother with her if he didn’t think she was worthy enough to join, but that didn’t mean he’d be some knight in shining armor. He halts, the dark finally getting the best of him. With a toothy grin he peers over his shoulder at her, ears flattening against his skull.
“Stay close. I’m not the only wolf prowling through these woods.” He chuckles, teeth snapping together before he hunches his back. In a moment, almost invisible to the eye, he shifts - turning from a large horse into a hefty, thick-furred black wolf. The creature shakes out its coat and turns to look back at Para, nose curling back to expose his fangs in a toothy grin. Without another sound, he trots forward, easing through the dark with prowess that comes from someone who has walked this path a thousand times.
In short time, they come to the Chamber and Lupei the wolf slips past the borders without blinking an eye. He halts a few feet in, shifting back to his horse body so that he can talk once more to the red mare. With a thin smile and only the low, autumn wind between the pines, he faces her like an equal. “Welcome to my home - to your new home, the Chamber.”
Para couldn't hide a grin as the stallion bucked at her nip, turning on her heels to lunge forward as he moved into a lope. She kept her gate slower, briefly, to admire the stallion as he ran; he truly reminded her of the ocean, and for a moment, she felt peace. She shook her head, mane flowing around her, lengthening her stride to keep up with Lupei as the field and meadows flew past them, the mare paying little attention to these surroundings. She doubted she would ever come back here. As the mountains seem to suddenly loom before them, she drops to a walk, breathing heavily from the speed of their run, exhilarated as she takes in these new surroundings.
"I will only presume that to be a complement." She grinned in his direction, shaking out her mane as she tried to regain the natural rhythm of her breathing. How exciting this stallion was! She mulled over said stallion for mere moments, the massive forest taking over her thoughts. As they continued into the secluded area, a strange feeling settled onto her shoulders; she felt both at peace, and on edge. The ground was soothing to her sore muscles, the path smoothed down by other hooves, the quiet a wonderful relief from the continual birdsong she had been subject to. Lupei's voice startled her out of her thoughts, and she refocused on the stallion as to not seem disrespectful. The last thing she wanted to do was piss him off. She thought for a moment, but her answer came rather quickly: "I was a peace-maker before I was Para." Her answer was slow, hinting at the thoughtfulness behind it. "But I no longer want to be a delegate. I want to fight, now, and I am willing to be trained." Her ears trained onto the stallion, her voice raising above the softness she had kept in her tone. Peace-making caused the things she was running from, and there was no desire to return to such a job.
The stallion seemed to be in deep thought, and Para had no desire to pull him from his thoughts. His posture hinted at things she couldn't fathom, and her curiosity rose in a wave that she suppressed, instead focusing her ears on the forest around her. It was getting darker, and while her vision was good in many lights, this was an almost oppressive darkness, and her ears were stronger than her eyes. "Then I'm glad to have met someone trusted by more than I." Her remark wasn't unkind, but matter of fact. She was wary by nature but the stallion's words set her at ease. If he was a warrior, there was no better companion to someone untrained in physical warfare.
She noticed how he scented the path and wondered, fleetingly, if they were lost, but the stallion's voice showed no cause to worry. "Straia." She tested the name on her tongue, practically tasting the reality of it. She could hear a jest underneath the harder exterior, but her ears pinned back nonetheless. "I promise I will not make a fool of myself." Her voice briefly cooled, despite the fact she knew he was trying to prepare her. "Nor will I do anything to make you appear less than the warrior you are." She paused when he stopped in the path, his coat barely visible to her eyes in the darkness of the trees. She made out the grin and her own ears flattened back briefly before pricking up again, her hooves shifting on the needled ground.
She went to ask him just what he meant by 'wolves', but was instead drawn to the hunching of the stallion's back, her eyes widening as his form shifted. She snorted, her ears flattening onto her skull immediately, bewildered by the change from equine to...canine. It was still Lupei, she knew that, but it still took a few minutes before her ears slowly shifted forward once again. The toothy grin couldn't help but serve as a reminder that this stallion could kill her, more easily than she had figured; against a wolf, she would be dead in seconds. More than a little set on edge, she trotted after Lupei, the wolf, her ears flicking in all directions as she struggled to get her bearings. The only familiar thing for her now was the smell of the forest and the path beneath her hooves.
Only a few minutes passed, it seemed, until they entered what she assumed was the chamber, and once again Lupei, the horse, appeared before her. Questions were swirling around in her head but she met the stallion's eyes readily, straightening her posture. He seemed to face her as an equal, his words seeming to take on a different tone - this was obviously his domain, and she was honored to be in it. She kept her eyes on the stallion's but dipped her head in respect. "I will serve this home with my entire being." Her voice regained its natural softness, but there was an edge that promised she was ready, her head raising, her jade eyes never leaving the stallion's. "I will repay you, somehow, for this. You did not have to bring me in, yet you did. This is a kindness I am willing to repay with my life, if that is what I must do."
“Your servitude is all the Chamber asks.” He tells her, looking her over once before nodding solemnly. It was fun, playing the adult for a while. The way Para’s eyes looked to him for confirmation sent a little thrill through his gut, and he understood now what it felt like to have the upper hand over something for once. He looks away, shaking his head to release the tension between his shoulders and to try and relieve himself of some of the constant burn on his internal organs. He should think twice about who he eats in the future. With a muffled groan the blue-green stallion stretches his body, feeling the satisfying pop of his back as the tension slowly fades from his joints. It hadn’t exactly been a walk in the park to get back here, but now that they were settled with the night growing deeper, Lupei begins to feel the call of sleep.
“If you want to fight we’ll spar sometime.” He offers, finding that he’s not really for it or against it. Her gender was becoming less of an issue the more time he spent with her, and he doubts he’d have any regrets about throwing his weight against her. If she wanted to join the army on the precipice of war, that was her choice. He won’t be the only stallion she comes across. Besides, if his dam could hold her own and bring back a male prisoner, then he thinks Para will be capable of doing the same. “The other kingdoms in this land are mostly against us. The Valley is the only kingdom we’re truly allied with, so friendly fights with any of their members would be a good idea too.” He suggests.
He’s circling, much like a dog would do, but he won’t shift just yet. He can’t communicate with her in that form and he doubts that Para is a telepathic. It’s more of a habit by now though - he was so used to being a wolf in the night and nearly all through the winter. “Of course, I won’t go easy on you.” He boasts, as if he’s battled a thousand enemies already. He chuckles dryly, finding that he rather perfers her sarcastic remarks. “If you want to battle another mare first though, I suggest challenging Astri. She’s a Lieutenant in the army here.” He tells her, his eyes finding the outline of her body in the dark. He leaves out the fact that Astri is his mother, he won’t be tied to the sickly green woman if he can help it.
“Anything you want to know? Questions?” He asks nonchalantly, finally settling into a relaxed position opposite from where she stands.
"Then servitude I will give." Her own tone matched the stallion's solemn one, her eyes keeping on his moments longer until she looked away, trying to observe with her eyes of their location. She tossed her head slightly, attempting to clear her long forelock from her eyes as if that would help her see in such darkness. She was drawn back to Lupei as she heard a pop coming from his direction; judging from the satisfaction on his face, she could assume there had been some tension that 'pop' had released. She couldn't blame him for that - her own bones and joints were starting to ache in a way she couldn't ignore for much longer, and her eyes were starting to feel heavier the more she strained to see the forest around her.
"I feel you may crush me." She admitted with a dry laugh, remembering the size of the stallion and the hidden strength she saw below. The stallion would provide a good spar, that was obvious, and a few cuts and bruises would be commonplace in her new home, it seemed. She shifted her weight around, her tail flicking around her legs in the moments of silence, thinking about nothing in particular - meaningful questions would come to her later, she knew. "Perhaps I'll have to go and do such a spar. But I'll go only if you guide me to the Valley." A smirk played over her lips, and she moved forward to where she assumed the stallion was to give him another nip by his withers. Even in such a gentle graze of her teeth, she could feel the power underneath his coat. She returned to her previous place soon enough, hearing him starting to pace around their area.
Lupei's words drew out another laugh, her ears flicking at the boastful tone. What a stallion, always trying to prove their strength and skill to an opponent. The mention of a Lieutenant gave her reason to flatten her ears against her head, a laugh that sounded more like a snort slipping out. "I'm sure such a powerful mare would crush me even more ruthlessly than you would." She pawed briefly at the ground, restless, but she couldn't keep a grin from tugging at her muzzle. "But alas, I don't know your fighting style, do I? No doubt you're more powerful than I could dream of." As Lupei settled, she found herself tired of being uncomfortable and sank down to her forelegs, her hind following her down as she settled into the ground, legs singing in relief. "I'm sure that by morning, I will have quite a few questions. But as of now, my mind calls for sleep."
