[AW] There's No Looking Up For Heaven

[Rostislav]

It would be wrong to say that the two stallions are like one. Both pegasi, true, but besides that they differ in stature, coloring. I can't help but detect a slight difference in personality, though it's hard to pinpoint with such a small conversation. Somnus is the first to reply to my question and I listen with idle curiosity. My silvery eyes dance between the two, watching the unspoken communication, the way they touch wings as they follow me into the sunlight. Vhallen. It sounds lovely, and a gentle smile slips onto my otherwise gruff maw. Traveling to a new beginning. Both searching for purpose. What happened? The question is on my lips, about to spill, but there's more unspoken words. Not between anyone, but in their minds. What Somnus and Ulric tell me out loud is all the information that they care to provide. Prodding on my end will do no good.

And so I don't ask, but the thought of what might have happened buries itself in the back of my mind, cataloguing for the future. No intent, just information. He considers both questions posed to him - first about his role in the Night Court, then about Damaris. Wanna meet these Dawn Courtesans, eh? There's a rustling in the brush, and soon the midnight hound trots out of the shadows of the trees. Clenched in her jaws is a rabbit, still clinging to life as she stops by my side, lying down. She watches both Somnus and Ulric as she audibly cracks the spine of the rabbit, and the rodent falls limp. I roll my eyes and snort. You're about to tell them what I am. I'm sure they're not fools to think I'm a meek little puppy. A small growl comes from her as she begins to rip the rabbit, gnawing on the small carcass.

I glance at the stallions, gauging their reaction. I don't apologize for Damaris's manners, or lack thereof. In the back of my mind, a stray thought passes through: she's starting to take after me. "Damaris is a hellhound. I found her in an egg when I was in Helovia, my last home." A warm contentment washes through me, bringing a smile to my face that reaches my eyes. "I am sure there are others like her, other hellhounds. But I have never seen them myself." I stare in silence as the rabbit becomes an unrecognizable carnage, chunks quickly disappearing down the hound's throat.

"As for the Night Court.... I have only been there a short time, but I am the Warden there. When I first came to Novus I was drawn to Solterra, but found myself... at odds... with some of the members. I have more friends in Denocte, with a greater freedom of spirit." An honest, in depth answer. I think of the Solterrans I briefly met. They weren't bad folks, but if Maxence was representative of the population as a whole, and based off our meager interactions.... It was a good choice to head south.

WC: 505
Tag: @Ulric @Somnus
Rosti thoughts | "Rosti speech" | Damaris mindspeak

Rostislav

more than a drunken fool

x - x

[Somnus]

S O M N U S "What if I fall?" "Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?" Damaris returns to them, as though summoned by their innocent inquiries as to her origin and breed. She carries a fatally wounded rabbit within her maw, and seemed to waste no time in settling down by Rostislav's side and begin to devour the kill that she, blatantly, held so much pride for. The sound of ripping flesh and the crack of bone made Somnus blanch, albeit lightly, the feathers upon his massive wings ruffling a bit in displeasure and disgust. Oh, he knew that she had to eat, and as a hellhound - how curious -, Damaris was clearly carnivorous, but it was rather crude... Still. The tactician didn't wish to cause any offense or bad blood between their juvenile relationship, and so said nothing on the hellhound's lack of manners. Instead, he focused on the words that the dusky draft extrapolated, and, wait a moment... An egg? The stallion's verdant eyes once more glanced to Damaris, who was very much still a mammal, and looked back to Rostislav. "... An egg, you say? You found her inside of an egg? How very peculiar." He didn't know that mammals could be born from the interior of eggs. "I fear that I don't know of this Helovia that you speak of, but I'm pleased that you both have found your way into Novus." From there, he grew silent once more, content to listen with a tipped ear in Rostislav's direction, doing his best to drown out the crude sounds of Damaris tucking into her kill. There was a noticeable amount of interest that peaked the dunalino's face as the Warden mentioned the Day Court and Solterra, and he hummed, clearly troubled, recalling his meeting with Bexley and the crude attitude she had displayed. It definitely hadn't been a good first impression, and he had wondered if the rest of the members of Solterra shared such brutish personality traits. Apparently, if he surmised Rostislav's unspoken statement clear enough, that very well might be the case. "I see... Well, I must say that you are the first of the Night Court that I've had the pleasure of meeting, and good company you have proved to be." The tactician smiled, a warm expression upon dark lips, and he shared a glance once more with Ulric before redirecting his gaze. "You and Damaris, I suppose. I would very much enjoy to learn more of Denocte and one day soon, perhaps, see it with my own eyes, if you would be so kind as to give us a tour?" It might be a little presumptuous to assume that Ulric would also like to see the inner workings of the Night Court, but Somnus dragged him in to it all regardless.

@Ulric @Rostislav