The stallion trudged through the snow, a look of disgust painted upon his normally coy features. The freezing season was usually one that left him bound to the desert’s sweltering hold, as he simply hated the cold. He had wandered too far past Solterra’s furthest reaches, and by the time the incoming snow storm had made itself known, he was too far to make it home before becoming trapped within the swirling snowfall.
So, that’s how he ended up there, upon the plains, complaining internally about his terrible luck. His trail, a solitary wake, was winding as he ambled across the scape that became so unfamiliar when painted in crystalized whites and pale blues. However, his displeasure at his circumstances were buried beneath a heavy blanket of confusion and intrigue as he happened upon a bizarre gathering.
Collected upon the wondrous winter landscape was a gathering of equids. Horses mingled with pegasi who spoke with unicorns, and, though many stood simply observing, some were playing. The coyote prince tipped his head as he watched some of them push the snow around, creating sculpted mounds out of the soft powder. This behavior seemed strange at the very least, and as he pulled his gaze away, his ocean blues landed upon a woman he recognized from home. They had never met formally, though he was involved enough to know she held power at home. Avdotya was her name, and though she probably wouldn’t know nor recognize his face within the crowd, he respected her prowess and sleek form enough to remember the name.
Moving forward, he made his way towards the snake woman, finally stopping within a respectful distance. He gave a quick dip of his head in respect towards the Regent, and a similar, though half-hearted, gesture towards the other stallion she stood beside, and began to speak. “Time wasting indeed,” he agreed, using the small snippet of conversation he had gathered with his eavesdropping to place himself within their circle. “Though, perhaps this is the norm for those who live outside the Solis’ grasp.” He shook, shaking the snow from his back, growing slightly perturbed by the way it clumped in small balls in his tail and mane. “I’m not sure why anyone would spend their free time frolicking in such bitter cold, anyways.”
He diverted his gaze from the woman, looking back over towards the others. Perhaps it was his lack of a true childhood, or the way he had traded in his own innocence in exchange for devious skills, but he just couldn’t understand why anyone would play such silly reindeer games.
@Avdotya @Tamran I hope you guys don’t mind if I just push him over here with you guys. I didn’t want all of my characters being weird outliers in this thread ;D
Little sparrow, look at all of this snow! Goodness, it’s beautiful, and though the first time you saw snow your heart received it’s first heartbreak, you learned to know better. Besides, you have always had so much fun in the snow. At home, you used to prance around, hiding behind the trunks of trees, wanting until Ktulu would walk beneath a snow-laden bough and then BOOM! You would give it a good kick and try to bury her beneath the icy cold.
All four wings beat as she crosses over the plains, the frigid updrafts cutting in beneath her feathers. Small clumps of snow are buried within the tangles of her mane, and frost became embedded within the velvet lining her antlers. Though born to the spring, the girl looks like she belongs in the winter world, painted like the churning clouds before a blizzard, her golden eyes the only warmth upon her grey, white, and black frame.
The world beneath her is pristine, glittering beneath the coolness of the day-lit sky. In the distance, small pin pricks of color appeared, dotting the snowy fields, and she cocks her head in curiosity as glides closer. Below, small bodies litter the landscape, and as she drops down in altitude she sees that they are playing. Many have begun working on snow-equines, decorating their faces with smooth stones, adorning the bodies with feathers and leaves and any other debris that may prove beautiful. A smile dances across the painted girl’s face, and as she becomes consumed by the sight before her, she nearly plows into another air-bound being.
“OH-MY-GOODNESS-I’M-SORRY” flies from her lips as she tries to avoid the collision, and as she tumbles from the sky she tries to avoid locking gazes with the irate and frustrated hazels of the stranger as she plummets. Wings beat clumsily as she attempts to right herself, which she is successful in, but not before realizing she is hurdling towards a gruff unicorn stallion and his hell hound companion.
She dives, managing to disrupt her fall and turn it into a graceful twist that turns her from right-side up to upside down then to right-side up again, before plowing into the snow as she made a less-than-light landing. “Oohnf!” A billowing cloud of snow leaps up before her, and as her vision clears and the snow settles, she hopes she hasn’t totally buried all of the stallion’s hard work. “Oh goodness, pardon me,” she bumbles at the stranger, shaking her wings free of snow before folding them neatly at her sides. “I didn’t mean to disrupt you!”
Looking at the small balls of snow before the pair, she gives an awkward, apologetic smile, and takes a step back. “I’d offer to help, but I’m sure I’ve already done enough damage. Though, I can probably help find some decorations, if you’d like.” Wings clap nervously upon the girl’s sides, and she watches and waits, wondering if she’ll be chased away, or if the man will allow the young woman to join him in his work.
@Rostislav Hopefully you don't mind Akeli joining in!
The forsaken queen knew this season for what it was - desolate, frigid, unforgiving. It was much like her, in a way, and though Kahli knew that the bitter season would give way to the warmly welcomed spring, for now she would suffer through the freezing cold and harsh realities of passing life.
The dawn had greeted her as it always had, and a message had made it to her that a certain delivery was en route to the shores of the Terminus Sea. That had been her ultimate target for the day, and as she left her lofts within the Night Court’s sanctuary, she knew the sooner she arrived, the sooner she could collect her parcel and return home.
Upon gilded wings she flew, her blackened form stark against the pale blue of the everlasting sky. She knew the way, for she had made this trip many times. She passed over many wanderers on her way, sparing nothing but a passing glance as she soared overhead. As she approached the plans, she noticed some who had collected, and they managed to find joy romping in the snow, playing winter games, with not a single bother in the world.
Though she didn’t understand why they would all converge here on such a day to play games, she also understood that her view was skewed. She couldn’t remember the last time she had devoted precious moments of her day to pure leisure. Unless, of course, you counted the hours she spent reading, yet that was more for knowledge collecting, and not for naive time-wasting. She could appreciate that others had still found time to use their time in frivolous ways, but she would rather confine herself to her quarters and live in silent reverie.
The woman would have passed over without more than those previous thoughts, yet some ridiculous child, so caught up in the going-ons of the land bound creatures below, nearly flew right into her. The girl yelled something as she tumbled away, and Kahli shot daggers at her with a look that could kill. As she attempted to right herself she lost her updraft, and with a defeated sigh beat her wings during a gradual and graceful descent before landing into a gentle trot in the snow.
She slowed quickly, tossing her head, and closed her wings. The feathers decorating the area above her tail fanned and moved, shaking loose any snow, before they folded as neatly as her wings behind her. Part of her wanted to move on, leave this weird gathering at once, but another part of her urged her to stay. She moved close, yet remained on the outskirts with several outer beings, who wore looks anywhere between wholly confused at the event, to bitter that others had the nerve to have more fun than they knew how to have. Ears twisted back as she looked on, but still she remained, and should any ask it was simply so she could rest her wings, but perhaps, deep down, it was because she wanted more.
OOC|| This is so naked but I don't have any tables currently, so please excuse the appearance <3
tl;dr; As Cynix, Isorath, and Messalina draw near, a group of equines gathering nearby, Po continues his snowman building! He looks at his nearly completed creation and--feeling something is missing--begins to rummage around in his packs for some new decorations. That is when he remembers the top hat he was given in the Night Court from an elderly citizen, and with a bit of a show sets it upon the snowman's head. Without warning, the snowman shivers, blinks, and comes alive, ready to unleash his jokes on everyone around him!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IPOMOEA
so lay me down in golden dandelions
One by one did they come, some hanging back along the edges and some showing no fear or hesitation, bounding right up beside him. Coupled with the company and the season, listening to the birds singing all around and feeling the snow crunch beneath his hooves, the Dawn Court Emissary in a jovial mood, even more so than usual for the expressive youth. There was no better way he could imagine spending his day of rest! He hummed softly to himself as he rolled the same ball of snow back and forth through the snow, watching it gradually grow bigger and bigger as he did.
As the bespeckled youth drew nearer, his curling wings reminding him vaguely of someone he’d met, quite some time ago now, Ipomoea finally lifted his head from the snow to meet his similarly pink eyes. “I’m looking for decorations,” he responded eagerly, emphasizing his point with another hoof pawed at the ground. “Wanna help? I need some shiny rocks and maybe some branches…”
Ipomoea’s voice trailed off as he was already moving, nose pressed against the snow. “It’s a snowman! I’ve… never seen one with feathers, but I’m sure it will work just as well!” In fact, Po couldn’t remember the first time he had built—or heard of—a snow man. Perhaps it had been with those merchants, who had traveled with him from the sands of Solterra to the peaks of Veneror? They had had all kinds of strange traditions and stories to tell, surely these funny-looking mounds of snow had been just another thing he’d learned during his time spent with them. Nonetheless, he invited the gangly, ear-winged youth to add as many decorations as he'd like. After all, the more the merrier! This could be as much @Cynix's creation as Po's, or anyone's for that matter.
He hardly gave the dragon-like @Isorath a second glance, accepting his appearance without question as he glided down the hill on silent wings. “We’re building a snowman!” he nickered, not thinking to offer an explanation of what exactly constituted a snowman. “Help us! We need some branches for arms… oh maybe a scarf for his neck…” The vision of his perfect snowman was racing through his head, hurrying his steps as he trampled the snow around his creation. The arrival of more equines only further fueled his excitement, so that Ipomoea was nearly overcome with the sheer joy of company.
“Hello hello!” he called out to the short, tawny @Tamran lingering by the trees; to the unicorn, @Adelheid, who joined him; and to the golden-hued couple, @Eden and @Leviathan, who wandered in next.
“Hello, @Messalina!” he called with a smile that crinkled up the corners of his eyes, prancing over to meet her in the snow. “And you match the snow,” he joked, nuzzling briefly at her crest. “It suits you!”
With a toss of his head, he trotted back to stand in front of his snowman. Ever so gingerly did he set the final stone into place, his stare intent as he twisted the rock this way and that way until the nose was perfectly centered. His smile now was smaller and self-satisfied, taking a step back to survey their work. “Be-e-a-you-tifull!” each syllable was exaggerated and lilted, a singsong tone accompanying the many vowels. “But something else…”
For a moment, he was quiet, forgetting the many equines that surrounded him as he studied his snow sculpture.
“Oh! I know!” Po twisted his neck to rummage around in the pack across his withers, home to the many keepsakes he collected during his travels around Novus. Even Alorus hopped from between his ears to help, and slowly they pulled a thick, black velvet hat from within its depths. The rim was curved slightly, its crown high and cylindrical. It seemed almost comical, and far too formal to be anything Po himself would wear. He had been hesitant to receive it, in fact, when the old Night Court man had offered it to him. ’A gift for the friend of our Court.’ Perhaps this would be the perfect use for the accessory.
With a smile and a flourish, Ipomoea settled the hat lopsidedly on top of his snowman. “Now it’s perfect!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the addition of the top hat, the snowman seemed to shiver, the twigs that made up his arms shaking visibly. The symmetrical pebbles beneath his brow appear to shimmer, snowy eyelids blinking over them and opening to reveal eyes! His mouth stretches and yawns, a hearty ’Ho ho ho’ing laugh booming through the clearing. With a shake of his head, the snowman fixes his eyes first on Po, then on the surrounding horses.
“I guess you’d all like to hear a joke, eh?” He swiped one wooden arm across his brow with a smile, hopping through the snow a bit to get situated.
“Alright, then! Why do seals swim in salt water?”
He looks expectantly at the gathering around him, nodding his head enthusiastically. Once it became clear he wasn’t going to get an answer, he finished his joke anyway. “Because pepper water makes them sneeze!”And with that, the snowman is overcome with laughter, nearly knocking himself over with the force of his guffaws.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ipomoea looked cautiously at the snowman, reaching one tentative nose out to sniff at him. Was he dreaming? This was his fourth winter thus far, and never had he seen a snowman come alive! His cerise eyes glanced quickly amongst the faces gathered with him, at a loss for words as the snowman continued to laugh at his own joke. His legs seem to move of their own accord, carrying him backwards a few paces and closer to the other outliers. Only now does he realize just how many equines have come to his clearing, from the spotted Cynix to the group of Solterrans to the sooty Night Court pegasus. There’s a whole group of them now, and their similarly-shocked faces seemed to reassure him. It would seem impossible that he was going crazy, if they were all seeing it, too… right?
Signos were sent out to everyone who made a post, thank you all for joining! This thread will keep going on, feel free to interact with Po or the snowman however you see fit (he’s gonna need a name!)
The once quiet plain quickly transforms into a flurry of motion and overlapping voices as each new onlooker approaches and adds to the commotion the young, cheerful stallion has started. It’s instantly intimidating to the dappled mare, all these unfamiliar faces crowding close, asking questions, making comments, too many to isolate and follow with any accuracy, impossible to learn or memorize for future use, and so few of them say any names to go with the voices! She shakes her head, ears falling out horizontally in either direction as her confidence flounders. Slowly her hooves shuffle backward, carefully extricating herself from the overwhelming stimuli when something altogether different happens, halting her escape.
Is this magic? She wonders, staring dumbly at the suddenly very alive and very animated ‘snow-man’ as he laughs and gestures, but the piebald stallion that spent so much time assembling him appears just as surprised as everyone else, scooting a few paces away from the creature and glancing around in obvious alarm.
For a moment no one speaks, and the quiet begins to soothe the mares frayed courage. She smiles uncertainly at the snowman, feeling sorry that his joke is so poorly received, only glazed stares and his own raucous laughter answering the punchline. She waits a moment, then clears her throat, thinking that whatever the creature may be, he’s obviously friendly and doesn’t deserve to be treated so inhospitably.
”What does it take to make an octopus laugh?” She posits, stepping forward slightly of the group. ”Ten-tickles!” A half-hearted grin struggles to curve the corners of her mouth up as she casts around the group of complete strangers for some kind of support, her eyes silently begging.
________________
Messalina tried hard to hide the excitement bubbling up in her chest, but she didn’t have much experience with suppressing her emotions. It was usually a struggle just to have any. As more and more stallions and mares alike trotted through the powdery snow towards them, their original group of five expanded to seven, eight, nine.... she quickly lost count. Never in her life had she been surrounded by so many unfamiliar faces, and it was overwhelming to say the least; yet she was intrigued at the thought of meeting others, so she resorted to bowing politely at the ones who met her distant gaze.
Without meaning to, the ivory girl inched closer towards Ipomoea. He was the only one she truly knew (and even then not that well) but she found his presence comforting and... surprisingly pleasant. The crimson painted boy’s gentle touch of greeting had surprised her—physical contact either received or given was an anomaly to the stoic dancer—yet a soft smile turned her rosy lips upwards nevertheless. "I do love the snow. And your snowman! How perfect it is.” Taking a few tentative steps closer, Messalina gingerly nudged her velveteen nose at the snowman’s large felted hat. She was so absorbed in inspecting it, that when slender twig arms started to quiver, the girl merely disregarded the movement as the wind—not the least bit disturbed.
So consider her aptly shocked when the snowman began to speak.
With a start, Messalina sprang backwards, almost landing on the Emissary in her fright. She sidestepped him at the last second, and with cerulean eyes as wide as saucepans, gaped at the suddenly alive creation of snow. Was it some sort of magic? Mother had enchanted her dolls to speak, so a talking snowman wasn’t a far stretch, she supposed. Yet Mother was considerably powerful to be able to cast such a complex spell; did someone in Novus possess such strong abilities? Puzzled, she peered sidelong at Ipomoea though snowy lashes. He had built the curious creature—perhaps the boy’s innocent cerise eyes concealed fantastical magical powers.
So bewildered was she that Messalina barely registered the snowman’s joke, wide eyes snapping instead to the roseate mare that stepped boldly out of the stunned crowd towards the snowman. What is she saying? Messalina wondered, quizzically surveying the dappled woman’s words and forced smile. Jokes were foreign objects to the solemn girl’s ears; she wouldn’t know what to laugh at even if she somehow understood.
Inherently wary at anything that involved strange magic (Mother’s spells had backfired more than once, and Messalina had often been the one to pay for it), she failed to pick up on the distress of the rose-grey lady and instead turned to the Emissary once again. "What... is this, Ipomoea?” she whispered, wholly astounded by the sight in front of her.
— ♕ —
@Ipomoea, @Adelheid notes: @ sid Messa is just plain confused, @ Townsen she left poor Adelheid hanging, so clueless ^^;
The silence surrounding the meadow was so heavy and so suffocating it was nearly palpable. Ipomoea stole a glance at the horses on his right: everyone was staring in shock, not at him, but at the snowman. He looked to his left also, only to see more shell shocked faces, paused mid-play. As if the world had stopped when the snowman took his first breath.
At least if this was a hallucination, he wasn’t the only one experiencing it.
Ipomoea breathed in slowly, eyes fluttering closed, filling his lungs to bursting. He held it for one heartbeat; then another, and another. As the pain began to take hold of his lungs, clawing its way up his throat to his dark speckled lips as if to force his airway open, he let out his breathed. And his pink eyes opened.
Nope, not a dream. Everything was exactly the same, as if frozen. The only movement was the steam rising from a dozen noses whose breaths were too painful to hold.
Until finally someone became brave. The dappled mare was as tall at the withers as Ipomoea was, but a pair of spiraling horns added to her height in a way the modest arrangement of flowers upon his poll never would. As if no time had passed between his coming alive and the poor reception of his joke, she added her own into the pile:
”What does it take to make an octopus laugh?”
Ipomoea wanted to laugh. Some others standing nearby did, or at least tried their best to: an awkward chuckle here, an embarrassed, painful sounding cough there. None of them could match the snowman’s own hearty guffaws, bubbling up high into the air. ”Ten tickles! That’s a funny one!” he roared, falling back into a position that was akin to sitting. Finally composing himself, he looked up at the horses with an earnest smile shining in his eyes. ”Isn’t laughter just lovely?” Ipomoea found himself nodding mechanically along with him, coming slowly out of his frozen daze.
”It’s the best medicine.” Had he just spoken aloud? That voice sounded like his own, but he didn’t remember giving his lips permission to move.
Messalina’s voice, quiet beside hi,, drew him from his thoughts. Subconsciously he pressed into her side for comfort, tilting one ear sideways to catch her voice. His eyes however, remained fixed on the snowman.
The snowman who had bent over and was using his stick hands to gather a clump of snow together, shaping it clumsily into a ball. As Messalina’s voice died away, he raised the snowball high over his head—and hurled it directly at another horse’s shoulder, standing near the back. ”Come on, snowball fight! Don’t any of you horses know how to have fun in the winter?!” Already he was preparing his next missile.
With wide eyes, Ipomoea turned his head to catch Messalina’s gaze. ”I have no idea.” He dropped his head low to the ground as he spoke, rolling together a few snowballs of his own using his nose and telekinesis. ”But maybe he’s onto something!”
What harm would it do to toss some snow and humor the quirky fellow, anyway?
