but something's happening
things are changing soon
The doe had been traveling around the mountains curiously, partially to wait for her mate, her fiance, her other half to show up. She and Coy had decided they'd meet in Arma Mountains to see if it would be well suited for a wedding, particularly as it's close location to Caelum would mean that the fae horse would have an easier time helping them with decor (as Coy was determined to rope the poor mare into). Cally, didn't much care about how the place looked, so long as it was official. The horse-deer hybrid, had; however, stumbled across an odd portal, or rather another one. She'd found a couple of them now, had even ventured into another one with Luvena not long ago . . . but this one smelled of sea salt, and curious the doe was now carefully pacing around it. No sign of Coy yet though, so the doe pranced eagerly, wondering if she should leave a note, or hope he sensed her, or however he always seemed to find her, but either way, she wanted to explore.
There was still so much she DIDN'T know about these portals after all. So the doe raised her head, her horn gleaming in the light before she stepped through the portal. Instantly something was wrong, as magic flung itself to her, and she stumbled under the sudden pressure, a cry being torn through her muzzle as she stumbled, falling into the sand at the other side of the portal. Her eyes squeezed shut, feeling the magic practically ripping at her. Was this the end, was this going to be it for her? Was this how she died?! She hadn't even got to say 'I do' yet. Her eyes were squeezed shut as the magic spun around her, until it seemed to explode in her mind, and she blacked out.
She didn't know how long she was out before she slowly blinked her eyes awake. She climbed clumbsily to her feet, her limbs swaying as she stretched, and tried to take her senses in. nose twitching. She stomped a hoof, flicked her tail before pausing. Why did she feel so tall? Why was the ground so far below her? She peered down, eyes on her hooves and she hesitantly lifted it, did the portal tear weight from her limbs? Why did she look so thin in the leg?! She paused, before going to flick her mane back . . . . and nothing flicked back. She paused, before slowly she actually began to take catalog of herself. The moment she turned to look down her back, she paused.
This outline was wrong. The fluffy half pony pelt was gone. The odd tail with too long fur that mocked her as an almost horse's tail was gone. Her gaze continued to roam over her and she stared at the slenderness she had been familiar with so long ago. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she suddenly bounded towards the sea, before catching herself, and falling into the sand in shock. Bounding. SHE WAS ABLE TO BOUND AGAIN. Almost afraid, she made her way to the sea and turned her face down to cast a look at her reflection, her breath leaving her in a puff of cold air.
She froze, unable to take her eyes off the reflection staring back. She twitched each singular ear, one at a time, the reflection doing it back. She blinked once. Twice. Yes. Yes, this . . . this was her. Cervine face. The three pronged horns. Her heart was slamming in her chest now. This was her. This was who she'd been before Novus swept her into it's embrace. This was what she'd been like back home. Tears were blinked back as she slowly smiled, and then she was bounding away, steps light, airy, graceful, the wind ruffling her face, fluffing up the fluff of her chest, as the deer bounded in delight in a way her previous hybrid form hadn't been able to let her.
She was back! This was real! She was herself again! Her magic flared out, flowers blooming all around her in her joy, and she laughed. Wait until she showed Co- The sliding stop was the result of her thoughts sliding over her like icy water, ruining her mood. Coy. What . . . what would he think. She slowly turned towards the portal with a distressed bleat, before she slowly walked towards it, nervous suddenly, afraid to cross it back into the where he might be waiting, where he might see her . . . Where he might change his mind.
i'm pushing the edge, i'm feeling it crack
"Speech" Thoughts
@Huehuecoyotl Notes: Figured she could change first, and he can stumble through the portal after her. Up to you on how he goes through his form change, but . . . . this was how I planned hers, as it's almost the reverse of how she changed coming into Novus through a portal haha.
eing alone in a new place was ... disconcerting. Having forged her own path within the borders of Caeleste and forging strong bonds and friendships, suddenly being without them left an empty feeling in Requiem's chest. The silence was what got to her most often. No longer were her days filled with Nymphadora's endless chatter and flirtatious giggles, the squeaking hinges on the heavy wooden door as customers came and went, the deep baritone of Fergus' moo, or Fang's cheerful greetings. Life ... felt utterly empty now. There was no question in the girl's mind that she needed to pick herself up and start over again, but it wasn't an easy task. So many things had changed in such a short time that she didn't know where to even begin.
Sighing, Requiem glanced up at the sky. It had only been a few hours since she had escaped Caeleste and entered whatever place she was in now. The sun had begun to sink below the horizon casting shades of deep red, gold, and dark purples. The first of the stars were beginning to appear and a quarter moon was already taking the sun's place in the sky. Those celestial bodies, however, did not hold the answer to the question that was plaguing her mind. Where? How? Why? How many more times? The corners of her mouth pulled down as a frown settled on her pale face.
With the setting of the sun and darkness approaching, her decision had been made for her. Shelter would be where she started. She needed to find a safe place to stay for the night and in the light of day she would look around and see what she could find. Maybe, just maybe, the answers she hoped for would come to her as she rested and in the morning she wouldn't feel so lost and alone. The decision made, the golden girl began her search, unwittingly headed toward the very heart of Denocte.
Fight Type: Challenge Prize: Sovereign of Day Court Contact Made: Yes.
Character #1: @Leviathan Bonded: No. Magic: No. Armor: No. Weapons: No. Current Health: 9 Current Attack: 11 Current Experience: 14
Character #2: @Adonai Bonded: No. Magic: Yes, phoenix metamorphosis. Armor: No. Weapons: No. Current Health: 12 Current Attack: 28 Current Experience: 30
IT MUST BE LONELY
when you're up there looking down
He promised he would never do something like this again .
Crowns are something he would never chase after . He'd worn broken crowns before himself and had felt the taint and weight of them , had them weigh him down and break his spine and easily make him bow . Had broken his mind and his being because he had gotten high and mighty . Back then , he had been such a pompous child , wings ripped from his body , torn from the very skies he had sworn to conquer . He had been brought down to the earth and had taken it out on the people he had led . It had been an experience he never wanted to repeat , considering he had been stabbed in the back by the queens he had thought he could trust .
The thought still sours him , even years and years in the future . Blinking his good eye , he shifts his heavy bulk , resting at the Steppe itself and finding his heart somewhere in his throat . The brute has never been one for anxiety and yet --- yet here he is , uncertain for the first time in his immortal life . Would this be a good choice ?
It had to be .
Solterra was too quiet , and has been through too much . Drama in and out , and though Adonai had meant well , he too , had fallen silent . His voice had faded along with many of the others that had clamored for the top of the desert cliffs and to tame it , only to be swallowed by the hot sands . Leviathan has only ever been a part of them , surviving amongst them . It's time for a change , to see the court breathe again , to live once more and shake the dust off its columns .
Resting his heft on thick hooves , he tilts his head and scans his good eye over the Steppe , over the ages of bloodshed and tears here . The souls and sweat that have stained themselves on the grounds . It's a place that he feels more at home , waking the rust from his bones and sending his blood pumping with something other than anxiety as it shakes the sleep from him , and his breathing becomes that much deeper , nostrils flaring a little .
He's missed this , the call of a good fight . Perhaps this would wake up Adonai , and if it means his own exile in the long run , well . Then so be it , at least it creates something in the long run .
Summary: Levi has shown up , and gotten a little sentimental about Solterra and himself . Waiting for Adonai .
Fight Type: Challenge Prize: Sovereign of Night Court Contact Made: Yes.
Character #1: @Israfel Bonded: Yes; Solaris the Phoenix. Magic: Yes, Pyromancy at Vexillum level. Armor: No. Weapons: No. Current Health: 22 Current Attack: 18 Current Experience: 47
Character #2: @Ira Bonded: Yes; Massive Bonded. Magic: Yes, Shadow Walking. Armor: No. Weapons: No. Current Health: 10 Current Attack: 10 Current Experience: 17
daddy didn't love you
gotta burn it all down
This was not the first time that she stood upon the pockmarked soil of the Bellum Steppe. Nor was it the second, or the third, and she knew that this time would not mark her last and final visit. Israfel liked to think herself quite seasoned upon this battlefield, intimately familiar with the dips and curves of this sacred place that stood testament to battles previously fought. Their scars remained, confirmation solidified, a written novel of wars and bloodshed that required no scribe nor pages.
It was a dance. A song. A passion.
It burned in her veins, in her blood, like the fire that was hers to command. Merciless, all consuming, enraged and uncontrollable...
Israfel visited these lands often, but never with the brimming determination quite like what she felt now, never with this purpose.
A King would be dethroned today, but not out of malice or hate. No. Israfel respected Ira. She found him capable, when the time arose… But lacking. Perhaps if the world had been different, he could have proven himself, grown into such a heavy mantle bestowed upon him on the cusp of manhood. As it were, well… The Sun Daughter lacked the patience to find out, and she was driven by the words of Caligo herself. Perhaps in time he could find himself, but the Court could not afford to wait.
A single letter had been left in the Night King’s personal quarters, delivered by a Phoenix and accompanied with a red plume that remained warm to the touch, even after Solaris had left it.
Ira would know who left the letter. There were no other such birds of yore in Denocte.
Israfel had left on the chosen day, taking flight, leaving Denocte behind. She traveled to the Steppe, surveyed her surroundings, and waited.
The peak of Veneror loomed like a beacon in the distance, its outline faint in the dying light of the day. The shield maiden stood a stationary bulwark, gilded wings resting comfortably upon her ivory back, legs loose and relaxed, slowly inhaling, exhaling, waiting...
Her thoughts drifted back, towards home and the Court she had left. Towards her. How strange, that despite the distance, her heart still sung for Luvena’s touch, for her words, for her presence. A touch of concern filled the ivory mare’s breast, and she wondered briefly if perhaps she should have told Luvena about what she was going to do…
But Israfel was a coward in the face of love. After all, she hadn’t even admitted it. Not yet. Not out loud. Maybe after this, once she returned home… Maybe then.
Maybe. If cowardice didn’t hold her tongue and freeze her words.
How silly, that a seasoned veteran of battle could be daunted by matters of the heart? Yet, as Isra had learned, the injuries to the heart could be the most painful, could be profoundly crippling if the blow was done just right.
Maybe. Maybe.
Letting her mind clear, Israfel shifted her stance, keen, piercing vermilion eyes scanning the horizon of trees and brittle summer grasses to wait for the opaline male. Upon her croup, the lofty weight of Solaris shifted as the large avian also glanced around, silent and pensive.
It seems they were both nervous, but for vastly different reasons.
He hadn't gone back to Solterra after planting his hooves on Solis' statue in Veneror . No , he had been too angry to walk the deserts , to punish himself in the sands once more . Instead , he had turned south , past the chain of mountains and into the secluded court of the Denoctians . All his years of being in Novus before and even now , and he had never drifted out of Solterra and into another court . Perhaps it was time to see what the others had to offer , to ... mingle . To escape the heat of the sun and to find solace in other areas .
Perhaps the rest of Novus was as quiet as his own home was .
Levi's lips purse as he steps into the court , expecting hustle and bustle , but he is met with ... nothing . Not really . There are a few here and there , but Denocte seems as quiet as its opposite , and he feels his shoulders rise and fall as they roll , and he trudges forward with a groan . He heads for water , glowing horn leading the way in the dusk as it settles , and he finds it , plunging a scarred maw deep into the cooling liquid and drawing deep as his eyes close , both good and bad . He drinks and drinks until he feels that his belly may burst from it , only to lift his head and nearly swing his horn into someone , drawing back in a startled way , tilting his head so his good eye can focus on them as he eyes them .
" Pardon ... I didn't hit you , did I ? " It isn't really an apology but at least it's something . He's a guest here , and needs rest after such a journey over the past few days before he returns home . The last thing he needs to cause strife , but he doubts that there are any Sovereigns or people to even cause much strife with , and the anger churns , dusty and petered out for once in his life .
It's silent , and he hates it . His teeth tighten and gnash , sharp and bloody between his lips where they catch the scarred flesh before revealing and his massive hooves stomp the fragile tiles of the court in irritation . The Day Court is dead once more . Hadn't he been dead , as well , in a sense ? He had , but that was no reason for the entirety of a court to be as well . The new Sovereign had stepped up , had thrown a celebration , and it had all come crashing down soon after . Silence . Nothing but quiet and tumbleweeds in the heat of the summer , in the place where there should be bodies and training . Should be voices echoing back and forth .
The growl rips through him , enough to send him pacing to and fro , his muscles tightening over his bones as he does so , before he hefts his mighty weight and turns to go crashing through the empty court and through the desert . A journey that leaves him burnt and annoyed , squinting through his good eye and blinking sand out of it , but still pushing onward . Of course , he stops at the Oasis when he can , parched , guzzling down water and soaking the feathering on his hooves as well as deciding to simply plunge his entire body into the waters before climbing out and continuing onward . Letting it evaporate is a good way to stay cool at least for a little while as he makes his way towards the lone peak of the mountain , towards Veneror .
Typically , Leviathan decides to keep himself away from deities - he's had his fair share running into them and them pulling strings and toying with him . Playing with his life in many ways and pulling him apart , putting him back together . He no longer recalls his birth form , or if he's mortal or immortal ( immortal now , isn't he ? He isn't sure ) . But he does know that his personality has never changed , and he harbors a bitterness towards the creatures in the sky , towards the beings that watch over them and simply see their little courts . And watch as they sink into nothingness .
His teeth gnash again , and he heaves his scarred body into a full on gallop across the sands , storming towards Veneror , muscles stretching and adrenaline thrumming in his veins as the flames stoke to life in his belly . Leviathan generally keeps to himself , but it's time to begin flaming himself awake , to stretch and yawn , to devour what's in front of him . To become the flame that once had been feared , at least right now . To make it to the peak , and use his anger . He doubts it will make any difference to a god , but he has it in his heart that this anger is at least righteous , and it keeps him awake and strong the entire nonstop journey .
Until his massive hooves are slamming into rock and he's climbing the mountain , until he's punting shale and other debris out of his way as his nostrils flare , massive ears swiveling before laying back as his only working eye glows and focuses on his goal ( his right eye will never glow , pale and scarred over , capable of blinking but never to glow again ) .
It doesn't take much to make it to the statues , and by the time he's there , the adrenaline has his heart singing and his veins are thrumming with it , enough that he walks up to the shining golden statue and aims a solid kick at it . One sharp clang that echoes loud and clear as his head tilts back and he snarls . " Solis !!!! How dare you stay up there , while your chosen Sovereign abandons your people , while your court dies and turns to nothing but ash !! Why are you hiding up in your clouds , huh ?! Why not come down here and face your people , or at least the ones that haven't left !!! "
No one ever said Leviathan wanted to actually worship Solis . No , only call him out , scream at him for letting this happen .
Coy was walking on air, having had the conversation that changed his entire world just the day before. Cally was to be his mate, his wife. The knowledge was enough to make the normally flamboyant stallion even more so. He danced along the ground as he moved, his mind solidly on planning the ceremony and reception. He would need to seek out his sister, since she had come back to Novus as a blacksmith. Uzi would be the perfect one to create the marriage necklaces for the pair.
The day was getting late as he crested the mountains and stood tall. The sun was setting, bringing the colors that painted the clouds. He would be able to fly home to his beloved, shifting into a raven to cross the distance quicker. He loved that he was more capable in his raven form finally. It meant that he could cross distances faster, as well as bring the doe gifts in the process. There was a part of him that wanted nothing more than to shower the doe in all the gifts that he could.
His gaze drifted to the ground at his hooves and he noted a sparkle in the dust. Dropping his muzzle, he shifted the rocks until a striking opal glimmered in the fading light. With a smile, he picked it up and tucked it in a small pouch that he had grabbed for the day. Once the stone was safely secured, he looked about him again. He didnt often reach the top of the mountains in Denocte, though it was a beautiful area.
Visions of your pretty face send me into hyper space
Caught up in a palentary world
Unfamiliar. Different. Dark. Different.
The mix-match of feelings and themes seemed to cycle through her head, setting the mare ill at ease, not necessarily because of her location, but because of how unfamiliar it was. It wasn't what she was used to. Not . . . . Hot. Sun. Jane. The fragmented words slid through her conscience, shattered, unconnected. Communication was a heavy learning curve, and she kept falling off track all the time. But, slowly she was beginning to pick up a few words here or there. But the majority of her thoughts were colors, memories, and emotions. Those she understood better. And this land had a lot she could connect it to. After all, it was dark and mysterious like her own origins. Dark, Unfamiliar. Different. Dark Blue and Green, Gray and Black. Uncertain, different, unfamiliar . . . mysterious . . . . Old . . . . In a way, it did remind her of the cold darkness of space.
Floating endlessly, surrounded by darkness, intrigue, mystery.
This land seemed to have it too, and it did make her slightly curious as well. Which is why she had landed her, wings beating a few times as hooves touched the ground, galactic dust shedding off her flight feathers as she realigned them before folding her wings against her back. That same galactic dust shed ff of her mane and tail, wafting around her like a star plucked from the sky, ironically accurate. The star-mare moved across the plains she had landed on, steps light along the hilly terrain. She sniffed at random plants, nosed the green foilage of this rock. There wasn't anything like this in the Hot, Red place Jane had taken her to. The greenery was so vibrant in her eyes, a stark contrast to what she was used to seeing in the desert. She nibbled at the leaf, her head rearing back at the sharp pungent taste in her mouth. She hadn't recognized what mint looked like, had never experienced it before.
She turned away from the foilage, even as she felt it brushing against her limbs, her legs.
There was still too much to see, too much to learn, and she was desperate to learn. To learn everything. She wanted to communicate with these creatures that lived on this rock. She wanted to New. Unfamiliar. Stranger. New. The sense rocked through her, her magic tingling as her gaze turned up to the heavens, as if searching them for an answer. Her gaze landed on a peak of Mercury, tilting her head as she took in the angle, the way it glinted. A stranger, a meeting with someone new. She couldn't tell more than that, whether it would be a traveller passing through her life, or a new companion. The heavens were never that clear with giving up their secrets.
Her gaze turned away from the silent skies.
She'd decided early on not to put too much focus on this weird divining ability. It wasn't concrete, sure, easy to interpret, and she knew better than to try to live this life only based on what the stars and planets tell her. She needed to live her own life. So she kept walking, kept exploring. And if she ran into someone new, she'd be kind, considerate, and gracious. And if she didn't, well she'd assume Mercury made a mistake. He was a little tricky anyways.
FROM THE MOUTH INSIDE THE MIND
@Sebastien Notes:: Here you go m'dear!
Breathin' in you give me air, I'm living on your solar flare
Could you be my super nova girl?
and there ain't no way, i'm letting you go now and there ain't no way
and there ain't no how. i'll never see that day 'cause i'm keeping you
Callynite
forever and for always, we will be together all of our days
wanna wake up every morning to your sweet face, always
She could feel her heart jack hammer, it was a suddenness that had the flowers around her giggling silently. She huffed quietly, nibbling on their petals, even as she ignored them, she was too lost in thought. A thought that has possessed her heart and mind for a week now . . . Or was it that stallion that made up this thought that had possessed her heart, her mind. Even when he wasn't here, he seemed to take over her mind. And she always knew when he wasn't around. She knew when he does. A change in the air, a change in the energies. She recognized his own energy field even if her eyes were closed, and her back to him. She just knew him.
She woke the moment he would leave her side, rolling over to feel the grass still warm from his body heat, and his energy disappearing from the area. She instantly slept easier and cuddled into him when he would return at random. Settling into a deeper sleeper with a sigh of contentment. It's entirely his own fault. He did this too me. He made me fall hopelessly in love with him. A horse, a stallion . . . but then again, I'm part equine now too, aren't I? No longer the graceful cervine I once was. My antlers no longer tangle in the brush. My long limbs no longer carry me with grace through the forest. I've turned into a chubby little pony-deer, when I had once been something grander, older, beautiful. Graceful. Wild. And yet, he finds me beautiful now. When I look into my reflection and see a chaotic mix of magic, he sees a beautiful creature . . . Would he find me beautiful if he saw me as I wish I could be again?
If one of those portals she was growing more curious about ever turned her into a deer, would he find her as enchanting then. If it turned her back into the antlered, tall, slender mix of a red deer and Irish elk she had once been, would he still chase her. Would he still tug on her forelock, chase her down for some teasing, and gentle touches. Would he shower her with affection? If she returned to her true form, would he still care for her, or would they drift apart . . . No . . . no, she couldn't drift from him. She didn't want to drift from him. She wanted more. She wanted him, she wanted love. She wanted forever, damn it.
Her hooves were carrying her suddenly, with out her even realizing it, and as she trotted out, her expression shifted to determined. She could feel it in the air, something was coming, and she had made a decision about something she could control. And so she began to hunt him down, before the sun had even rose, her cloven hooves carrying her through the land, following the tug of magic, of energies that always seemed to lead to him. The sun was only just beginning to raise as she slowed to a stop at the sea. She glanced towards the sunrise, a faint smile, fitting for what she wanted.
So she turned towards where she could sense his approach, where she could see his form coming into view. She took a few steps towards him, before her voice rang out strong and clear, "Hey, Coyotl!? Whatcha say you wife me up already?" She demanded, with a stomp of her hoof, but a playful smile on her muzzle, and a sparkle to her eye that only ever seemed to appear when he found her again. Yeah, she was ready for a forever, if it was forever with him.
hey, say you got a long, long road you're travellin'
so just follow that track, send a postcard back
and you'll be okay
The trip was long over due, almost embarrassingly so.
How long had she back in Novus? And she was just now searching out her only friend . . . well, no, not only friend . . . . Huehuecoyotl was here too after all. But, Luvena was another story. She was familiar, her history so similar to her own. A friendship built on shared walks. They didn't have to imagine with the other, for they both understood some of where the other had been. And yet, it had taken this long for Caelum to come walking down the Markets, along back roads, a familiar path to the clinic that housed one of the few who could manage to draw slight smiles from her - real smiles.
When had it become so hard to give a real smile.
It was a fragile thing, like a new bud trying to push up through the snow, a small chance of surviving, a greater chance of disappearing. Her emotions felt like that, her smiles, her joy, her happiness. Fighting against the cold, the desolute, the nothing it was so hard . . . . so, so hard at times. Her travel was soundless, her wings fluttering, and shifting off a delicate amount of dust that settled on the ground around her, behind her, a trail of iridescence should anyone wish to follow her. Who would be interested in her though. She was a no-name here. She was a simple mare, with fairy wings. They looked at her and didn't see her. She was just another healer, another medic. No one knew the truth. She didn't tell them the truth.
She often wondered what they might do if they did know.
Know her healing came from the learning of an ancient breed of true fae steeds. That her magic would swell up soon, and that healing would heighten until she could practically counter death. She could bring new life to dead plains, she'd be able to breath and watch that breath give life to everything it touched. What would the others do if they knew the tea-master, when she would serve them in the future, was a Queen of her own nation. What would they do if she ever gave her proper titles, her proper name? She could imagine the awkwardness at the worst that would come from her muzzle if she did: Her Majesty, the Lady of the Fae, the Light of Summer, Queen Caelum Bella Knoxx, of the Royal House of Knoxx, the ruling family of Florumian Court, the Blessed Flower of Primulan City. She'd stop time if she introduced herself truthfully.
She'd be laughed out of the Night Courts.
She definitely didn't feel like a Queen. She liked being just Caelum. And that's what she was in these market streets. A few dipped their heads in greetings, others asked her how her tea shop was going. She exchanged simple pleasantries, told others that the walls were finally up, but it still wasn't near being ready to open. But she didn't stay to chat, she had a place to go. She stopped at the door, her hooves touching down, her wings folding flat, as she tossed her ivory mane from her face. A knock of her hoof on the door jam, a soft voice calling out, "Luvena? It is Caelum? I have some presents for you from my travels abroad." The pack at her side was proof of that, as she stepped more fully into the door way, "I apologize, deeply, for my tardiness to deliver these. I have been rather busy with putting up my tea shop. I do, however, bring you herbs and plants I gathered during my time away, as well as a few seeds from my homelands. Would you care to see what all I have for you?" She asked in greeting.
"Speech" Thoughts
@Luvena Notes: Swapping of Recipes and Samples! Brewing buddies man!
hey, say you got a long, long road you're travellin'
and if you feel unsure, well i been there before
and you'll be okay now
