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+---- Thread: [P] sympathy for the devil (/showthread.php?tid=79)
sympathy for the devil - Seraphina - 06-02-2017
Sweat streaked the mousy grey mare’s coat in thick, clumpy streaks as she stalked through the winding canyons that served as Solterra’s southern border. Days without any sort of central leadership drug on in a nondescript blur, though she repeated the tasks she had been given in the past dutifully, if mindlessly. To a stranger, the empty passages of the Elatus Canyons might seem monotonous and winding, each twist and turn identical to the last, but she passed through them as thoughtlessly and listlessly as some wandering apparition. There was purpose to her paths, a method to her apparent madness developed from years of walking these passages at the sides of her fellow warriors. It seemed that the court had grown smaller without a leader; normally, she would be flanked by three or four of her kin, but she had spent much of the past few months in relative solitude. She wasn’t sure if the others had left, released from the loyalty that had bound them to their previous leader, or if they had simply set out to work on her own, but the Day Court felt short-handed and quiet – in any case, Seraphina wasn’t too worried about it. Solterra was vast, and she knew that she was not alone. It did, however, mean that she had to shoulder duties that were not initially her own. In a culture of warriors, particularly one situated in the midst of a desert, healing herbs were always in short supply; she wasn’t looking for velvet mesquite, per say, but if she stumbled upon any, she wouldn’t be opposed to bringing it back with her.
The midday sun beat down on her back, distorting the reddish walls of the canyon that rose up alongside her in rippling waves. She could hear the low whistle of wind bustling through the narrow passages just up ahead, and, though she knew she would be forced to crouch to make her way through them, she was grateful for the shade that she knew the enclosed spaces would provide. Seraphina dipped under a smooth arch of striped stone, weathered from years of sand and storm; the walls gave her little more than three inches of movement on each side, and, if she were claustrophobic, she imagined that she would be in a panic. As she was, Seraphina pressed on with the same monotonous neutrality that she used to approach absolutely everything, snaking through the passages until she came out of them, stepping out into a wide, craggy segment of the canyons.
Her gaze darted rapidly across the scene splayed out ahead of her, checking the narrow ridges scattered sporadically across the walls for any sign of life. Initially, she found nothing of interest; however, her eyes came to a rest on a somewhat spindly, bright green shrub that she recognized as her quarry. Unfortunately, it was on a ridge approximately twenty feet up, so she had some climbing to do. Gritting her jaw, Seraphina trotted over to a ridge that she was relatively sure she could clamber onto, and, with a kick of her hindquarters, propelled her body up onto the shallow outcropping. From there, it was a matter of working her way up the side of the canyon at an angle, pausing each time she reached a substantial enough ridge; there wasn’t room for error, but this was hardly the first time she’d climbed the walls. Cautious, meticulous paces eventually led her to the ridge that supported the velvet mesquite. She only needed the leaves and gum for medicine, but, given the difficulty of extracting gum alone and the benefits the rest of the plant provided, she decided that it was more economical to take the entire plant with her. Gripping the trunk in her jaws, she gave it a sharp tug, and, fortunately, she managed to pull it from the ground without upsetting the ridge or losing her balance. She deposited it on the ground in front of her hooves, and, sucking in a breath of hot, dusty air, directed the entirety of her concentration at the bush. She didn’t use telekinesis all too often, but she certainly wasn’t going to carry the bush back to the court in her mouth; it lifted gently into the air alongside her, twisting and bobbing in the gentle breeze. With that, she took a moment to use her present elevation to confirm her bearings. Seraphina liked to think that she knew Solterra like the back of her hooves, but she knew just how easy it was to lose all sense of direction in the canyons.
The midday sun beat down on her back, distorting the reddish walls of the canyon that rose up alongside her in rippling waves. She could hear the low whistle of wind bustling through the narrow passages just up ahead, and, though she knew she would be forced to crouch to make her way through them, she was grateful for the shade that she knew the enclosed spaces would provide. Seraphina dipped under a smooth arch of striped stone, weathered from years of sand and storm; the walls gave her little more than three inches of movement on each side, and, if she were claustrophobic, she imagined that she would be in a panic. As she was, Seraphina pressed on with the same monotonous neutrality that she used to approach absolutely everything, snaking through the passages until she came out of them, stepping out into a wide, craggy segment of the canyons.
Her gaze darted rapidly across the scene splayed out ahead of her, checking the narrow ridges scattered sporadically across the walls for any sign of life. Initially, she found nothing of interest; however, her eyes came to a rest on a somewhat spindly, bright green shrub that she recognized as her quarry. Unfortunately, it was on a ridge approximately twenty feet up, so she had some climbing to do. Gritting her jaw, Seraphina trotted over to a ridge that she was relatively sure she could clamber onto, and, with a kick of her hindquarters, propelled her body up onto the shallow outcropping. From there, it was a matter of working her way up the side of the canyon at an angle, pausing each time she reached a substantial enough ridge; there wasn’t room for error, but this was hardly the first time she’d climbed the walls. Cautious, meticulous paces eventually led her to the ridge that supported the velvet mesquite. She only needed the leaves and gum for medicine, but, given the difficulty of extracting gum alone and the benefits the rest of the plant provided, she decided that it was more economical to take the entire plant with her. Gripping the trunk in her jaws, she gave it a sharp tug, and, fortunately, she managed to pull it from the ground without upsetting the ridge or losing her balance. She deposited it on the ground in front of her hooves, and, sucking in a breath of hot, dusty air, directed the entirety of her concentration at the bush. She didn’t use telekinesis all too often, but she certainly wasn’t going to carry the bush back to the court in her mouth; it lifted gently into the air alongside her, twisting and bobbing in the gentle breeze. With that, she took a moment to use her present elevation to confirm her bearings. Seraphina liked to think that she knew Solterra like the back of her hooves, but she knew just how easy it was to lose all sense of direction in the canyons.
@Avdotya - forgive the rambling
RE: sympathy for the devil - Avdotya - 06-04-2017
She had walked these canyon trails many times and yet she still struggled at times to recall which turn led her where. Today, however, Avdotya could not afford a wrong turn; the woman had a particular set of orders to fulfill and she was not keen on falling short of anything but success. Every stride had purpose within it, like her legs were being guided by nothing else but blind determination. Her body hugged each corner she took while her neck snaked with amber eyes fixated on what lay ahead, though her focus seemed to break in a single half-second at the sound of tumbling rock. The mare immediately ceased all motion and listened intently- a flick of an ear, a minute turn of the head and she resumed her steamrolling pace. Now, though, Avdotya was tracking whatever happened to be scaling the canyon walls further up. Be it a simple sheep or perhaps a fellow traveler, she merely sought to determine whether they were a threat to her task. Her answer came swiftly, for it took only one more turn to discover the mare half-way up the stony ledge jutting out from the sandstone. She paused to study her silently, somewhat curious to know what this horse's purpose was; surely there was something worthy of the risk she now took to reach the top. "I presume you are not just climbing for fun." Avdotya called from below, glancing slightly off to the side in a moment's consideration of returning to her own assignment. Her desire to know won out. And she was disappointed with her answer. Herbs. While useful, Avdotya had no purpose for them in this particular moment. "Quite an effort for that. Do you keep stock?" She lifted a brow at the shrub that now floated beside the apparent mountaineer. Perhaps she was one of those nutty herbalists with a horde of ingredients crammed in some nearby crevice. @ |
RE: sympathy for the devil - Seraphina - 06-05-2017
The sound of a voice – distinctly feminine – from the ground below had her turn, odd eyes flickering down the red walls until they stumbled upon a mare, cloaked in a fluttering of blacks and greys. Her equally dark mane and tail were cropped at sharp angles, leaving the violent, ruby-red of her eyes as the only splash of bright color on her. She wasn’t dainty, judging from her patches of scars and the thick bearskin draped across her shoulders, but she was built light and lithe. (Probably all muscle beneath that thin coat, like a snake; the deadliest creatures often weren’t the bulkiest, as most anyone with much experience in the desert could tell you, and she was dangerous, if that pelt and those scars were anything to go by.) Charcoal ears swiveled to catch her confident drawl, accented with hints of something that Seraphina couldn’t quite place. It was not so unfamiliar as to imply that this mare was from another land entirely, but it did not seem like the traditional accent of the Day Court. Seraphina did not spend much time considering it, as she didn’t really think that it mattered – she had been asked a question.
“Hardly,” Came her cool response, eyes glinting like chips of glass in the bright sunlight, “but the court is in disarray without leadership, and a culture of warriors needs an ample supply of herbs. One of the herbalists requested that I bring her some velvet mesquite if I found any on patrol, so I am simply fulfilling her request.” It was always easier to climb down the cliffs than to climb up, she had found; she retraced familiar steps in a cascade of murky silver, flanks slick with sweat. The bush followed close behind her, bobbing precariously as her concentration waned. Once her hooves were safely on solid ground, she returned her gaze to the other mare. “However, I find that I am generally more drawn to combat than climbing walls in search of bushes.” She seemed perfectly aware of the ridiculousness of her efforts, but Seraphina was dutiful above all else – she was meant to fulfill orders, regardless of what those orders were. “Seraphina. Warrior.” Her eyes flickered across the other mare’s frame once again, meticulous and sharp as a knife, and came to a halt at her eyes.“I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“Hardly,” Came her cool response, eyes glinting like chips of glass in the bright sunlight, “but the court is in disarray without leadership, and a culture of warriors needs an ample supply of herbs. One of the herbalists requested that I bring her some velvet mesquite if I found any on patrol, so I am simply fulfilling her request.” It was always easier to climb down the cliffs than to climb up, she had found; she retraced familiar steps in a cascade of murky silver, flanks slick with sweat. The bush followed close behind her, bobbing precariously as her concentration waned. Once her hooves were safely on solid ground, she returned her gaze to the other mare. “However, I find that I am generally more drawn to combat than climbing walls in search of bushes.” She seemed perfectly aware of the ridiculousness of her efforts, but Seraphina was dutiful above all else – she was meant to fulfill orders, regardless of what those orders were. “Seraphina. Warrior.” Her eyes flickered across the other mare’s frame once again, meticulous and sharp as a knife, and came to a halt at her eyes.“I don’t believe we’ve met.”
@Avdotya - she has every right tbh all seraphina deserves is endless judgement