[Quest] grief is not as heavy as guilt

[Random Events]

guilt is a secret waiting to break

The sun’s rays scorched the earth as the day reached the hottest point, the sky cloudless and azure. The grasses were soft and green, flourishing in the bright spring that was melting the snow away and bringing the promise of new life.
 
It was this day that saw a herd of elk traveling, the massive bull pausing as his cows continued. His chocolate eyes surveyed the land, catching horses in conflict. Conflict was something he knew well… he had recently battled for this herd of cows and nearly lost the battle against a younger bull.

A pair of mares caught his gaze and he flicked his ear and let a bugle color the air. He could smell the fury emanating from the darker of the two as she stared into the sky at something that was soaring above the battle. Something had caused the ebony mare to be in a rage… Shaking his heavy head, the bull turned and followed his harem into the trees and out of the range of danger.
 
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A mare charged across the battlefield, ears flicked back and teeth bared. She was ebony, the color of night and sin. Blue eyes sparked with fury as she took in her opponent, desiring nothing more than the destruction of the heavy silver dapple Champion. The Harpy Eagle that was the Champion’s bonded let loose a call and the soot hued mare snarled and narrowed her eyes.
 
“Are you using your overgrown songbird to spy, Champion?” She seethed, striking out with her forelegs in an attempt to land a blow. The mare was furious, feeling like she had been targeted by the silver dapple mare (and like she failed that she was caught at all). As she traveled through grass past her opponent, she leapt into the air to try to hit the eagle as well.
 
Taking a few loping strides, the small mare (who was quickly starting to feel like an animal trapped in a cage) turned to face Katniss and the coming attack. Each of her heartbeats came more wild and feral than the last, and her legs were trembling at the rage she could see in the Champion of Battle. But she still managed to sneer once more, knowing that sorrow makes them all weak, and lunged forward again with a battle-cry on her tongue. 

--because a battle-cry fell so much easier from her lips than a secret. 

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@Katniss is trying to serve her court. The mare before her had been caught fleeing from Denocte not long after the fires, and it has taken Katniss almost too long to find the possible spy. But when she finds her the mare is full of righteous fury and each of her steps drips with a guilt that only the body can betray. Katniss knows that she must defeat her to find the truth of why the mare was fleeing her home like the devil was nipping at her heels. 

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This quest was written by the lovely @Chaosy

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[Katniss]

The sun was hot on her back, the grass tickling at the feathers that draped over strong limbs. Spring had come and spring was leaving. The sun was here to stay, unfortunately, and with it came the rising temperatures and the rising angst of some of the fellow citizens that called Novus home.

For too long Katniss had searched for the ones who started the food store fires. For too long her home had gone without answers. And just as she was closing in on a possible intruder, the mare had caught onto her ruse and began to flee. Katniss chased her from Denocte, chased her all the way north through mountains, sand, and now finally the battle field. It was here that Katniss was determined to make her stand. It was here that Katniss would stop this mare and not allow her to take another step.

The ebony mare was charging her, coming at her full force with all the rage of a young child. Such rage was an amateur move. Katniss slowed her speed, coming to a halt as the mare came forward to take her on. Eyes looked to Finnick, the bird ever so loyal to his bonded. The eagle had alerted Katniss to the mare’s intent to flee, showing her that such a move had been rather telling of the mare’s guilt. But until she could confirm, she had to defeat this mare. “That overgrown songbird wants nothing more than to rip your eyes from their sockets.” Finnick had the strong talons of any eagle species. He could easily blind the mare, but Katniss had told him to refrain. This was her fight alone, not his.

As the mare came closer, rising up on her hind limbs, forelimbs reaching out to land a blow. Katniss was quick and nimble without the extra weight of her armor. She easily stepped back with a half-rear, the opponent’s hooves coming close enough that Katniss could feel the way they pushed wind into her face.

But it was then that the mare kept going, past her position and towards Finnick. Immediately she began to feel the rage boil within her. No one touched Finnick. And in a swift motion, Katniss turned on her heals and kicked off the grass, thrusting her body forward. With each step she gained momentum, with each beat of her heart, she honed in on the mare.

The sneer that was painted on the other mare’s face did nothing but anger her further. “No one touches him…” She continued further, her feet pounding the earth and making it vibrate with a thunder that was unmatched. “…and no one touches Denocte!” With each syllable her voice rises. With each thundering step, Katniss fills something building within her.

Magic is brewing inside the mare, a magic that is new and foreign to her. But even as it feel so strange coursing through her veins, it feels so right. As she comes to stand in front of the mare, her feet nearly dancing in place, she locks eyes with the stranger. “You have one chance to confess.” It was only a sneer and a grin that Katniss receives in response. And as she turns to face her rump towards the mare, she tapes into that magic, feeling the way her hooves suddenly grow thicker, stronger, as the keratin grows more layers. They feel more dense, but she also knows that their density will aid in her kick. And with a swift blow, the mare lands the intruder in the center of her forehead. The mare’s body twitches as it hits the ground, her opponent defeated. And just as the keratin made her hooves thicker and stocker, her body seemed to flake it off in no time, leaving her just as she was. This new magic, whatever it was, it was something that Katniss knew could be dangerous.

For now, Denocte was safe. But for how long? When would she be forced to use this magic again? The eagle, patient and obedient, landed upon his bonded’s back, their eyes meet, and all is well within the world again.

@Random Events