I'm broken, lying helpless, shattered,
surrounded by the world
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![[Image: SnEpwRE.png]](http://i.imgur.com/SnEpwRE.png) R E I C H E N B A C H
The scent of jasmine wafted delicately through the air, reaching the ocean just before Reichenbach did. It lifted on the sharp, briny breeze and was lost to sea as the Night Court Warrior stepped to the cliffs edge, silver eyes staring out and over the everlasting horizon. He breathed it in - that familiar smell of seaweed, sand, salt, brine. He'd lived by the ocean before, for a summer that had been filled with madness and laughter, teens falling over each other in their attempt at seduction. The thought brought only half a smile to his handsome face - for those memories came tainted with shame, with regret. He could not differentiate one from the other, not when he saw red hair and freckles grinning back at him.
The wind whipped at his ebony curls, sending them into a wildly sporadic dance, stinging his cheekbones every now and again with their slick ends. On that breeze came a familiar scent - like old booze, musk and... Solterra. A tentative light entered his eyes as he cast them downward, to the beach. There he was - Rostislav. Reichenbach grinned as he watched the jovial Solterran rolling in the damp sand, eyes flickering from him to the beach path before deciding to head downward to join his fellow warrior.
By the time he had reached the bottom Rostislav had already begun a slow wander down the shore, an unmistakably sandy figure. Reich grinned and bounced into a trot, calling out:
"As if you didn't smell enough already Rosti!"
His voice was taken by a salty breeze, winding it's way lazily toward the Solterran. Music danced in the syllables, a baritone, pleasurable sound filled with humour. @Rostislav
R E I C H E N B A C H
There is no lack of humour as Rostislav turned and approached, his own grin matching the easy, jovial thing slung across Reich's black mouth. As the other males deep voice graced the air, that grin only grew larger, and Reich shook out his ebony mane with a chuckle of his own.
"Perhaps not your best - but better than usual" he admitted, silver eyes alight with humour as he watched the muscular man meander toward the ocean, stepping unhesitatingly into the cool, salty water. Reich only watched as he proceeded to get deeper and deeper, a crooked smile and shake of his handsome head his only response to the depth that Rosti had walked out to - braver than most, to risk going so deep. Then again... Reich looked over the horned figure once more, running a keen eye over the hefty muscles that limned his back and neck - perhaps the ocean couldn't have washed Rostislav away so easily after all.
Reichenbach himself had a deep and unyielding respect for the ocean, and adored a swim... when the occasion called for it. His resounding laugh flung out over the waves as Rostislav returned, his lips pulled wide in a barely concealed smile.
"It's a wonder they aren't flocking to you" was his wry answer, a brow raising smoothly. Yet he couldn't contain the warble of laughter that escaped his throat as Rosti's joke, his eyes alight with pleasure at the company.
"In that case, I think I'll stick to the hard liquor" he laughed, grabbing at the wet strands of Rostislav's sodden mane in a friendly tug, much like a slap on the back. "Why must you live in Solterra, Rosti? I'll admit I enjoy the heat, scalding as it is but... Denocte is surely more to your liking? Haven't you seen our gypsy girls?" his words were light, jovial, despite their less than trivial matter. Before now Reichenbach hadn't considered asking the vast man his opinion on his living status, though now that the two were closer he couldn't help but to try and tempt him back to the city of starlight.
@Rostislav  He had never seen the ocean before. At least, not as a mortal. It was incredible. The moment he stepped over the last of the crags and the azure expanse came into view, he felt his breath taken away. It was so blue, in every possible shade, from a shallow aquamarine to a rich indigo, broken by dark forms of coral reefs. The rushing wind brought the smell of brine, like that of crushed leaves and fish mixed with the tang of salt. The sky was falling to grey, passing from a cheerful blue to a stormier silver as the winds came and went, threatening a storm but never truly brave enough to unleash their might. The ocean's waters broke into towering, white-rimmed waves the closer they came to shore, finally breaking in a tumbling rage upon the worn crags and abandoned corals that lined the sandbar. He felt himself smile. He closed his eyes against the breeze, letting the very feeling of the wind against his skin take over his very being. The brief sensation was enough to send shivers down his spine. Having had his fill, he moved onwards, cautiously stepping across the rocky cliffs. Here, their elegance became a threat - they became uneven and unpredictable, and the wind threatened to tip Kaladin off his feet should he step in the wrong direction. He strode cautiously on, unfazed by the dangers, eyes rooted to the mesmerizing meadow of rippling water, beckoning to him like a promise. He found a thin, treacherous path cut in the cliff-face, and stepped cautiously downwards, admiring the determination of whatever mortal had taken the time to chisel this river of stonework into the unforgiving crags. As he walked, he thought that if he had still been a god, and he had a relic to drop to the earth, he might have dropped it here. Indeed, he had never felt so close to his past divinity before. He was not alone, however. As he found his way down to the short sandbar, he sighted two silhouettes in the distance, standing quite near the reaching waters. He squinted against the wind, but his mortal eyes were much too weak to recognize the strangers from here. He approached with caution, staying as hidden as he could, his flank pressed to the surrounding crags as he took in the two men upon the sea banks. They were brutes made of war, their limbs and girths thick, their voices a deep timbre on the wind. One was mousy grey, his face bristling with a trifecta of lethal horns. The other was not quite as remarkable, but his roaned ebony hide was familiar to Kaladin. It was the man called Reichenbach. He'd given the man his respect, Kaladin recalled, if not his friendship. The older equine had held the gravitas of experience and a weatherworn sort of joy that balanced on the edge of melancholy. Now he smiled at his companion's antics, watching him enter into the waves, splashing about, his rowdy laughter carrying on the wind. He then turned and approached Reichenbach. Their words were lost to Kaladin's weak hearing, but he could tell their witty banter to be lighthearted and honest, hinting at some ancient friendship between the two men. A pang of jealousy snapped in him, twanging like a breaking lute string. He wanted to be like them, he realized. His heart ached for that shared camaraderie, for laughter and jest and easy familiarity. But how? How did they do it? Where did they find this lighthearted goodness, this ease of existence? He could only watch, desperate to learn from the older men. He felt his heart might be shrinking and withering, like skin left under water too long. He could never be like them. For who could love a broken, useless sack of mortal flesh, who did not truly comprehend his own existence? He would feign confidence before his peers, but in truth he knew only how to be divine - and he had not done well at that, either. Standing upon a smaller stone, mane swept aside by the wind and amberglass eyes rendered blue by the ocean's hue, he looked a forlorn landmark, lost in the ocean breeze, ready to be swept away by the many foaming mouths of the ocean. He wondered, briefly, if he should turn and leave - simply acknowledge his loss and abandon hope. And yet, curiosity drove him froward - he would not be abandoning these lands quite yet. He edged his way anxiously down to the waters, close to the two men but not near enough to exude familiarity. He did his best to ignore the pain and loneliness he felt, unable to approach the strangers - instead, he turned his efforts to the briny waves that lapped, time and time again, almost brushing against his hooves. He took a breath, inquiring of the ocean's feel but also weary of it. Finally, he stepped forward, close enough to be within reach, and - SPLASH! the water struck against his front legs, and he reared back in alarm at the frigid touch. He stumbled away, laughing and shrieking at once. He turned, seeking anyone to share his mirth with, before realizing how foolish, how childish he must look. He quickly quelled his outburst, eyeing the two men standing close by. "H-how...how did you do it?" the question was directed meekly at the horned roan, who he'd seen enter the waters moments before. Goddamit, man, you were a god! Get yourself together. he growled at himself. "The water is freezing." finally gaining composure, he tipped his head and smirked, feeling more himself now that the water had nearly shocked the wits out of him. "Also, I think you give the women of Solterra far too much credit." @Reichenbach @Rostislav this is terrible heCK
R E I C H E N B A C H
The friendly jostling of the two men left something pleased and golden in the atmosphere, it was something easy and simple, a connection that lay bright and lazy underneath their muscled exteriors. Reichenbach grinned at the eagerness with which Rosti regarded the women of Denocte - and in truth, Reich knew them to be the most beautiful mix of savagery and society, wild and free, bursting with laughter and life... and he'd had a fair taste of them when he had been younger. Until Swallow had stolen his lust for anyone but her, until she had unknowingly rejected his bloody heart and returned it a little bit heavier, a little bit darker. It had been a while since the mahogany skinned man had taken anyone to bed.
Rostislav continued, his roguish voice warm in Reich's ear - and though Reichenbach listened intently, his silver eyes wandered to the cliff path, following a familiar horned stallion as he drew closer and closer to the water.
"It's your's to consider, Rosti. I don't mind a bit of heat every now and again, if you should choose to stay" he flashed a genuine smile, the offer for Rostislav to visit whenever he should like hovering eagerly on his lips. His eyes flashed back to Kaladin, who was laughing ( laughing ! ) and shrieking as he dabbled in the cool Terminus waters. His lips curved in a barely concealed smile, amused and delighted to see the stoic man enjoying himself so. He noticed the flick of his companions ears as Rostislav observed Kaladin and let slip a bark of a laugh as he approached, watching the two of them closely through merry silver eyes.
He could sense Rostislav's hostility before he responded, and regarded his rough friend curiously before turning to greet Kaladin.
"Kaladin!" was his boom, his voice full of laughter. "Any luck on your relic search?" Reich turned to Rosti, explaining "Rosti, this is Kaladin - I bumped into him not long ago in Denocte." He slid another wry glance between the two, gauging the tension. After a moment of silence he added, "Kaladin - meet Rostislav, an excellent warrior and a good friend of mine."
@Rostislav @Kaladin ! lololol love the tension between rosti and kal! |
