[AW] -- tied with a noose

[Avdotya]

Word of Florentine's winter celebration had reached the Regent's ear through passersby in the streets, the details of which she later happened upon when the formal invitation had found its way to her chamber. Festivals were no favourite of hers and a sour curl befell her lips at the thought of attending; she cared not for the passing of the seasons, nor did she ever find herself yearning to mingle within a crowd... but something drove the mare to slither past Dusk Court's borders towards its festivities. At the very least, she had an image to uphold in her own Court - for now - and it would reflect poorly upon herself if she were to refuse the invite. Nevertheless, every step was taken begrudgingly. She'd be damned if she was expected to actually show any shred of enjoyment, feigned or not.

When the woman rolled in, she was quick to slough the attention of others with a venomous stare. They were quick to realize their salutations were unwanted, though Avdotya lingered near them. She listened, quietly collecting bits of information until she found herself intrigued by one particular segment of the event. There were notes to be left in the haggard boughs of Tinea's weeping willows, personally written pieces meant to bring warmth to an otherwise frigid land. The viper grinned a dangerous grin, then peeled away from the crowd as though she had never been there.

As she skulked through the darkness of the evening, Feliks' lanky canid body joined her at her side at a languid trot. She knew not of where he had come from or what he had done in their time apart, but she knew she could always count on the hound to return to her when he was needed. Even in the infancy of their connection, they had become an effective pair; Solis seemed to know what he was doing when he brought them together, and so, Avdotya found herself moving with greater confidence as they pressed into the heart of the frozen swamp. With her note already written, it was simply a matter of leaving the parchment for others to read... but only at the most opportune of times.

She waited- waited until the last festival-goer had left the swamp for the inviting thrum of music that reverberated from Susurro Fields. Feliks himself confirmed their solitude with a subtle nod when no other scent but their own blew in the winter winds, but continued to patrol even still. Avdotya, in the meantime, easily wound her way through the forest of notes until she reached the very centre of them all. There, she hung her paper for all eyes to read.

"Once tainted,
a nation dies;
once betrayed,
revenge survives."

With no name undersigned, she left it for the hens to take back to their roost come morning light.

You’re playing my game now-- @ANYONE & EVERYONE!!! 

**NOTE: Although Avdotya has left, feel free to reply to this thread if you wish! :) Please be aware that there were no witnesses, aka no one knows who left the note!!!

[Auru]

Even he could never have expected what was to come. How could anyone have, really?

The Festival was a marvelous thing, and he even as he stood, jittery on the sidelines, even Auru Geniven felt eagerness dancing in his hooves and a lightness to his steps as the celebratory mood became far too infectious. He felt as if he could dance. And he had never danced before in his life. It was like a disease, and it was more contagious than anything he had ever dreamed of before.

If this disease had been one that killed, he was sure that all of Novus would have been dead by now.

But perhaps he was wrong, perhaps he was very wrong. Perhaps there would have been some survivors of the apocalypse had this disease of festivity been one that struck down those it contaminated.

The boardwalk creaked beneath his steps, the quiet thunks as his hooves struck the wood comforting, and a far gentler sound than that of hooves on stone, though louder than walking on the grass. It was a mixture between the two, and seemed to represent well the oddity of his current mood. He wasn't quite infected enough by the disease that was this joyous celebration to be willing to mingle and dance with the many who gathered here, but he was more social than he normally was.

Hell, he was actually taking the initiative to talk to people. That spoke great lengths of how far reaching this festival was.

There were many boardwalks to peruse, and the one he had left adorned with his writing was one of the further ones. After those thronged here had left, he had quietly snuck out of the regions of the swamps he laid his head in for the night, creeping from the little hollow he called home and the grasses, dirt, and brush he made a bed out of. It wasn't as though he wasn't supposed to be here, but that didn't stop the feeling in his breast that whispered that he shouldn't be seen.

That was alright, that was how he normally was anyway, and at least the swamps were not the favored gathering place of most, so after they left he was given free reign to walk among the boardwalks and floating torches, enjoying the quiet and solitude of this place that seemed to be eternally decorated like the evening.

As he slowly approached the very center of the sprawling walks, he saw not a soul about him, and felt contentment in this quiet peace. For once, even the whispering voices of his Anxiety were quieted, if just for a moment. He felt so very alone and so very surrounded by warmth and peace. He had snuck glances at written conversations. At love notes. At silly jokes and whispered words written in ink and hung for all to see. It was a wonderful feeling to read the words of others like he was speaking to them, to feel surrounded by the company he craved but not actually have to be around other horses, a concept which always stressed him out.

He could get the feeling of community without having to actually talk to anyone face to face, and it perfectly matched what he so craved.

His eyes were warm and lit by flickering torchlight, his skin warmed by the small flames that floated about and the friendly words that draped themselves across his spirit as he read. He was standing very near to the center, and saw a small note that had been tacked to a nearby tree. It read 'Hello!'. Auru exhaled quietly in fondness, before reaching behind him to grab a quill from the supplies, gently writing a 'Hello!' back should the festival-goer ever come to check on their note.

He turned after giving the note another fond glance, making sure that he set the quill back where it belonged. A paper hung from the tree that marked the very center of the festivities in Tinea caught his eye, and a copper gaze turned to read, curious and heart warm.

His heart went cold as a shiver raced down his back.

"Once tainted,
a nation dies;
once betrayed,
revenge survives."

He had no idea what it meant. But he didn't have to be in the know about the words to understand that they were very bad. Taint, death, betrayal, revenge. Less than 10 words in total, but bespeaking of something very dark on the horizon. Suddenly, the low lighting of the swamp felt less like the warm embrace of a summer's eve, even in the winter, and more like the time of day when anything could hide in the shadows, when one's night vision was forbidden by the light that still remained, but it was not enough to yet see anything in the dark.

It was one of the most dangerous times of all.

Swallowing in a throat that suddenly felt just a tad too tight, and breaths that felt just a tad too short, the brown stallion looked slowly over his shoulder, wide eyes seeing nothing with pupils that were little more than pinpricks of darkness in wide, copper expanses. He could feel his heart fluttering against his ribs, and it felt like there wasn't enough air anymore for him to breath.

What if whomever had left the note was still here, waiting, watching?

He looked over his other shoulder, still seeing nothing.

Except, he thought he saw the flicker of movement behind him. He spun around, hooves clattering against the boardwalk as his ears went back and lips curled to expose the far overgrown canine and wolf teeth that rested in his jaws. Not that he had the willpower to use them if threatened, but they were as large as a lion's, far greater than any horse's he had yet met, and he bared them as if to threaten any who skulked in the darkness to stay back. That he was a dangerous predator instead of cowardly prey.

He couldn't see anything in the place where he thought he saw something moving in the darkness beyond the torches, and he soon convinced himself that it must have simply been the flickering of the torch's firelight, that it was nothing more than his imagination playing tricks on him. It didn't stop him from staring at the place for several moments too long, even as he turned his body back to the note it took him longer to turn back his head.

He still felt the shiver of being watched as he looked back to the note.

This was... this was more than his Anxiety whispering to him that he should be afraid. This was more than Paranoia chirping that something was wrong. This was... this was genuinely, genuinely bad.

It almost sounded like a cry for war and bloodshed.

He felt pressure in his eyes as desperation welled in his chest.

But why?

Why?

Why now?

No one had been brought here under the false pretenses of harm, everyone had been invited for the purpose of celebrating the coming of spring and the new year. Why would someone act as though the invitation had been an invitation to battle, an act of betrayal and deceit.

Why would someone act like a celebration was a battleground?

Perhaps... perhaps it was just a nasty prank by some rude colts. Anxiety whispered that he knew that wasn't true, that someone was out for Dusk, for him, Paranoia's chirping joined in the chorus. He gritted his teeth and turned his face from the note, eyes closed as he breathed harshly through his nose, legs trembling as he fought not to break down.

No matter what it was, he couldn't leave it here. Not only would it ruin the festival for anyone else who happened to wander by, but the knowledge of it would haunt him, it's shadow would hang over his head like a nightmare long after he had fallen asleep. He would lie awake as he wondered what would become of it's words.

At least, if he took it with him, he would know exactly where it was.

It seemed undamaged by the elements as of yet, it mustn't have been here long, not like some of the others he had seen while walking by. He could only hope that no one else had yet seen it, other than they who must have hung it here for all eyes to see.

Using his telekinesis, Auru quickly ripped the note from the tree, folding it hastily and clumsily to keep it's words from any prying eyes. Not that he intended to encounter any.

A quick look left and right to confirm he was alone, and he launched himself from the boardwalk, holding the note high above his head to keep it from being hit by the splash as he began to slosh through the water and head back for the place he called home, taking the routes only he knew to avoid being caught.

He would need to bring it to Florentine, it may be nothing more than a mean prank, but Anxiety and Paranoia's whispers screeched that it must be a cry of war, and he gave into them far too easily as a terrified tear dripped from his eye. And something within him, deeper than either of his diseases, murmured that it may truly be something that boded darkness. If someone really was making a threat, it must be one far greater than from one horse to another. The note spoke of nations. The Sovereign of Dusk needed to know.

Either way, he couldn't ruin the festivities for her, for everyone, if it really was just a horrible prank. So he hauled himself to higher ground, running off through the darkness back to the hollow he laid his head in for the night, darting around any places where festival-goers may roam, and skulking through the shadows he knew well to keep the note safe from prying eyes, vowing to bring it before his Sovereign with the coming of spring.

The Festival was over, at least for him.

@Avdotya

OOC: Auru found the note and ran off with it, and he'll be bringing it to Florentine after the Festival is officially over. For now, he's taking it back to his little hideout in the swamp and is going to be keeping it from prying eyes so as not to let the Festival be ruined for anyone else, though it certainly has been ruined for him. :D