The call that cried out into the land of the evening was one that beckoned any within its reach to come forth, come forth and see what must be shown, hear what must be said. Anxiety latched onto Instinct, immediately screeching to run as swift as able in the opposite direction of the cry. It was harsh, a summons, one that would be unforgiving if it was not heeded.
The man did in fact find his hooves carrying in the direction that was opposite the call for but a moment, ears back as he reacted as was second nature to him, run away from that which will not forgive. But memory bid him to still his hooves, bringing himself from the breakneck gallop he had broken into to a near immediate halt, ignoring the sensation that almost amounted to whiplash, but just barely avoided being so. Dirt was kicked up around him just enough to be noticeable if one looked, the end result of his sudden halt as hooves dug harshly into soil. The grasses looked a little trampled where his hooves had skidded across the ground.
The man bowed his head, ears twitching nervously as his teeth ground without his conscious knowledge.
He knew that voice, the one that struck a cord within him. He had heard it before, although not in such a tone. Not such a cry.
Not such an order.
Run.
His mind whispered.
Run to the edges of these lands and then run even further.
But what for? To escape the one who had offered him an official place within her borders? Protection?
But who is to protect you from her and her warriors?
The point was fair, and the stallion felt rather than heard the unbidden whimper that whined behind his closed lips.
He didn't notice that the grinding of his teeth had started up again, didn't register that he ought to stop that lest he have a headache from the strained jaw muscles later. He hardly realized that his hooves had begun to shift on the ground, body twitching in nervousness as he thought.
The woman had not seemed too horrible, and had not seemed too aggressive towards a wandering stranger in her borders.
An act.
But she had welcomed him. Offered him a home. Should he not attempt to return the trust that had been given? To welcome an unknown stranger into ones home and offer them a place within it as well was quite the show of trust indeed.
A lure until the time is right to strike.
But... it hadn't just been an offer of a home. The man was no fool, and knew that officially belonging to a court meant protection against that court's enemies. That the court would fight for you. It was a strange thought for the man who had lived with wandering parents whom had spoken nary a word about what court they belonged to.
But who is to make them keep their word? Or to defend you against them?
The thoughts were repeating themselves, but that only drove the point further home. Copper eyes flicked to and fro about the landscape as teeth worried at themselves, the man's head sure to ache later in the day. It was with a sudden movement that the man stomped his hoof, snorting almost angrily before seeming to withdraw to something closer to his previous state. But the dim glow that almost resembled fire remained in his eyes.
No... he had agreed to the offer. He would keep his word. Even if only for the promise of protection.
A lie.
But he didn't know that for certainty, now did he? And walking unknowing into a possible truth was better than fleeing from it, wasn't it?
Wasn't it?
But protection demanded loyalty. Guardianship demanded fealty.
The brown stallion still doubted quite heavily, but the possibility of the promise was too great to pass up, an opportunity never bestowed on him before.
Besides, if she truly was someone to be feared by him, if he fled, she would only hunt him down for his cowardice, no? And if she was not, then he made the right choice in going to her. So... running would solve nothing if the future really was dark, so was it not worth the risk to answer the call?
...
The whispers of fear had nothing to say in response, only dim mutterings that could have almost been thought of as mere repeats of words said before, no new threats to offer.
And with that thought settled, albeit with head lowered and eyes still brimming with nerves, the stallion slowly turned from his place to wander in the direction from which the call had come from, gait picking up into something faster on the journey as the thought of displeasure for him having been late swam in his mind.
He winced at the clatter hooves upon stone made, flinching as he nearly leapt up and back in surprise, before realizing it was only himself. The thought of being so loud settled with disquiet in his mind, but he had already made the decision to come here, and he would go through with it.
In time, and with only mild distress and confusion in an attempt to navigate the strange, stone enclosure, he soon found himself in the place from which the call had echoed from. It was both with a sigh of relief and soft grinding of the teeth that the man came to realize he was only the second to arrive, perhaps he had not been so late after all?
But it still unnerved him, to willingly approach another.
The woman was there, the one who spoke like a queen. And so was someone else, another mare. She looked darker in hue, more akin to the brown stallion himself than the mare who stood before them both, but she had white upon her form where the man had only the smallest (relatively to hers) of black markings.
She... didn't seem to intimidating, as she seemed to stand away from the mighty woman. Almost as if she too did not wish to be put in the spotlight, to be observed by all.
Or perhaps she was watching and waiting for a chance to strike.
Suddenly eyeing the unfamiliar face with wariness, the man slowly crept to a point that put him at the farthest distance he could attain from both women without being closer to one over the other while still remaining in what was clearly to be the meeting area. He tried to turn his eyes on the mighty woman, the one who had called them both here, waiting to see what she had to say, but he found his gaze nonetheless drawn back to the other one from time to time, feeling the need to keep watch of them both.
He had no true reason as of now to not be on his guard around both of them.
It didn't help his nerves that despite being the one stallion between the two of them, both of them looked a sight more fit than he and also, even if just by a little bit, taller.
No, it really didn't help at all.
@Rannveig
OOC: He's trying
Also he doesn't have schizophrenia or anything I just often write characters doubts and subconscious thoughts as being 'voices', but they're generally not schizophrenic, just throwing that out there if anyone was curious.
