If I Was A Flower...

[Camdis]

Camdis Lohir

Of course, of course the magic had not ended upon the shores of the Terminus. Of course it had merely laughed at his assumption of freedom and simply yanked his heart in an unseen line and onto yet another sojourn. Now, as he strolled aimlessly throughout the massive, bramble entwined maze, the stallion had to work not to grind his teeth down to nubs. It had been hours since he had entered the maze and he had only succeeded in getting miserably, woefully, lonesomely lost. 

Not that he minded the lonesome part, for the stallion had many things on his mind. 

The youthful Charlemagne, and the gentleness that the boy had coaxed out of the gruff male, the paternal stirrings in that broad, scarlet chest that pointed toward some sort of potential that Camdis wasn't aware that he possessed. Part of him rejoiced at this flicker of hope, that yes, he was capable of being a good father, that he wasn't a failure in all things. Another piece of him, though, mourned the ease with which he opened his heart to the lad. It felt like a betrayal, like a cruel insistence that he was everything wrong with a father; the truth that he could not stick around to care for his own children but he could adore the child of another was a cruel one. 

Then, there was the matter of the courts and his place within them. He knew, just from his venture in his seemingly endless search for this relic, that the Night Court was the most densely populated, that Calligo was no longer alone behind her wall of mountains. No, it seemed, rather, that the demi-goddess had slipped into the hearts and smiles of countless equines. And while that warmed the scarlet splashed stallion's heart, it also created a cloud of fear that hovered about his shoulders, nipping at his spine and sliding down his neck in a frigid caress; what if he was forgotten within the confines of his beautiful Denocte? What if, in the sheer numbers that had flocked to his beloved deity, he was cast aside for someone, anyone?

He shivered, less from the slowly dropping temperature and more from the terror of being rejected yet again. 

There was a huff from his nostrils, warm breath so at odds with the chill that Camdis felt in his chest.

Where could he go if the Court that he already loved so dearly pushed him away? Where could he go when he could no longer fit into his own skin?                                                                                                                 

 
@RandomEvents @Random Events @'RandomEvents' lmao nothign is working @Random Events

[Random Events]

The Shaman Has Appeared!

As you enter the maze, the world around you seem to dampen and grow darker, the tall hedges casting shadows from every direction as they seem to lean in towards you. The air cools the further you venture in, crystals of ice covering a few delicate leaves on the hedges, the ground hardened under hoof. Each breath of air you take is cold, and small puffs of frost are emitted with every exhale. From somewhere up ahead comes a high pitched cackle, disembodied in the mist.

Rounding the next corner will show a lone figure standing there, his skin as pale and thin as stone, tangled locks obscuring a good portion of his face. Across his body is draped the skin of some animal you don’t recognize, covering frail shoulders.

”Is it the relic of almighty Tempus you seek, Camdis?” he asks, his voice youthful despite his aged appearance, carrying a lilt you cannot place into any of the Courts. You do not know how he knows your name, for he is a figure you have never seen before, and you can only wonder what more he knows about you. ”You will have to follow me to find it.” And with that, he turns and takes off further into the maze, ever leading you northwards. His speed belies his age, for he is constantly just ahead of you, sometimes disappearing into the dim but never venturing far. As he disappears around the next corner, you become aware of another creature lurking somewhere behind you, one of the many beasts to have make the maze its home.

---

@Camdis you’ve found the Shaman! However he is not one to stay and chat, and has already taken off into the brambles. It is up to you to hunt him down or not, but be warned: the maze contains many hidden dangers and beasts lurking within it that you might just get caught up in!

Feel free to write in your own obstacles or beasts, or tag the Random Events account if you would like one given to you! You have until Wednesday, July 19th to get your next reply in, at which point the Shaman will again respond.

Happy writing!

[Camdis]

Camdis Lohir

Worry laden thoughts were interrupted as an eerie cackle burst through the silence. Horned head jerked upward as the stallion lurched to a stop, thick body still save for the occasional anticipatory twitch of muscles. Darkened ears swiveled about, scouring the air about him for any more hint of sound, any other whisper of that mad laugh. With a deep inhale, Camdis found that where he could scent the damp earth and sun-warmed foliage that graced the tops of the hedges only moments ago, the scent of spring flora had vanished from the air. As he exhaled, twin plumes of vapor rising from his flared nostrils, the pair twining about one anther before coalescing into nothingness, Denocte's proud son at last noticed the ice and frost coating his surroundings.

He hadn't been that lost in his thoughts, had he?

No, he was sure that he couldn't have been drowning too deeply in his own head, not in a hedge maze that sprung up from the earth like magic, not when he was slowly being consumed by the bramble twisted walls of this endless labyrinth. 

Another shiver wracked the male's chocolate and scarlet skin, though this time, it was from the cold. Silvery eyes trailing downward, Camdis lifted a single front hoof, noting how the blackened edges were limned in the supernatural frost. Gingerly, he pressed his hoof to the earth once more, almost jumping at the crackling of ice beneath his weight. You live in a literal castle of Darkness, fool," He thought to himself with no small amount of annoyance, You cannot let some chilly weather scare you. With a glare at nothing and a shake of his skull, the stallion steeled himself, those nerves of his returning to their usual frigid dependability. 

Taking a few steps forward, the rogue felt a fluttering in his chest, that invisible string of the relic's magic going shockingly slack before yanking forward again with an almost painful force. He gasped, the sound ripped from his lips in his surprise. Pale eyes narrowing, Camdis Lohir stopped, ignoring the horrid yanking in his chest as he took a moment to twist three sections of both his mane and tail into braids, then take those three plaits and braid them again - the result was two squat, thick plaits that hung from the stallion's muscled frame. The style was heavy and not exactly comfortable, but it prevented his beloved locks from touching the ground. 

With another deep breath, the stallion rounded the corner and felt his ears pin while his brow furrowed in shock and confusion; yet he had no time to wonder what the creature was before him before it launched into speech and sprinted away. Blinking furiously, Camdis only had time to call out a bewildered, "Hey! What?" before giving chase. 

The creature - The Shaman? - led him through a series of turns, vanishing into the brambles and mist only to reappear again, sometimes so far ahead of the bay that he almost lost sight of it, other times it reappeared so close that the stallion feared he would crash into the monster's frail form. As the creature rounded another corner, dipping into invisibility as it was engulfed in thick fog, Camdis Lohir bellowed out a frustrated "LISTEN HERE --" Though he was cut short by the sound of a grating coo at his back. 

Swallowing, the stallion whirled, eyes going wide with agitation as he saw what lurked before him. 

The beast was massive. Draped in thick black fur whose color seemed to absorb light instead of reflect it, the monster's hunched, muscled shoulders stood level with the tops of the hedges. With a ruff of gleaming golden feathers ringing the quadruped's bulky neck and covering it's lengthy, leonine tail in it's entirety before coating his back haunches and thinning out back into that oblivion coat at the creature's waist and groin. It's body was feline and bear-like in nature, thick and muscled but with an undeniable lithe quality that coated it's frame. Camdis shivered as he met the gaze of the beast, two sets of pupilless eyes the same color as his own. They were set in a spiderlike manner, with the smaller of the two sitting behind one of the larger in a diagonal direction and blinking in tandem. 

The monster's huge, fanged muzzle and deep chest were awash with blood, red and glistening but too coagulated to drip to the frozen earth. Saliva dripped from the creature's jaws, yet as Camdis stared, hypnotized by terror, into that depthless gaze, he did not find rage or malice. Instead, the beast almost seemed curious, even as it took a tentative swipe toward the stallion with a colossal clawed paw. The stallion leaped back, barely missing the killing-at-worst, breaking-at-best blow from the creature. A choking keen fell from the beast's maw as Camdis' jaw hung open in horror, the scent of the towering creature's breath blowing over the male with a shocking frigidity. 

"H-h-h-hello," Was all the stag could think to say, all that he could think to do when faced with the possibility of mauling, "I am... I-I-... My name is C-Camdis." He attempted a weak smile, though the effort of not screaming and running in the other way was nearly overwhelming, "It.. seems we match." Camdis swallowed and tried to force the grin to reach his eyes as he motioned toward the scarlet that stained his neck, chest, and face. 

"Who... Who are y-you?"                                                                                                     

 

Holy cow this is SO MUCH FUN

 @Random Events

[Random Events]

The monster sneers, red liquid dropping from its fangs to the ground where it steams and sizzles, and heat meeting the frozen earth. It lumbers closer, stretching its muzzle outwards in order to get a better look, as if its eyesight is not what it used to be. For a brief moment the two of you are still, locked into a tense staring contest mere inches from one another. And then a smile splits the creatures face in two, a gruesome laugh bubbling up from within its throat.

“Your worst nightmare.” With that the beast lunges, seeking to pin you to the ground to tear into flesh. After all, there can only be one red-stained monster.

---

@Camdis I wasn’t sure if you wanted the RE to play the beast or not, but here goes!

You now have until Saturday, July 29th at 11:59pm PST to get one last reply in before the Shaman reappears, so please reply accordingly! Note: Camdis has a slightly looser timeframe as they have a current away post!

Happy writing!