Dusted with star matter and borne upon tides of nature, hers is the beauty of wild places.
Despite the stifling heat beneath Solis' suffocating eye, Eden refused to labor beneath the moon lest Denocte see the weaknesses of Solterra and relay it to her shadowy followers. So as the sun rose upon it's burning blue pedestal, the striped mare worked and struggled and bled and sweated upon the sandstone floor. After so many years of neglect and abandonment, the inner courtyard of the Sunhall was a mess of stubborn weeds and half collapsed buildings. So far, Eden had cleared the debris from within the old smithy, taking rusty bits of metal and armor and piling them alongside a rickety woodshed to hopefully be refurbished.
Now, as she strained and shoved against the weight of a rather large sandstone boulder - How the hell did this thing get here? - that had been blocking the back doorway of the smithy, Eden wondered if she was going to be the only one to clean up the Day Court's home. It wasn't as if it was too much of an issue to the lass, for she was no stranger to hard work, but the process could go so much quicker if her fellow followers of Solis were to assist in the rebuilding of their city. A garrison full of warriors was no good if there were no crops to feed them and no weapons to arm them with.
"Just so," mumbled the girl through the sweat that caked her sides and the exhaustion that hounded her heels, "If it is only me, then I best work harder."
Short post but @Maxence @Leviathan and anyone else who wants to help clear up the inner courtyard of the keep IC~
Slowly but surely, the wounds were beginning to heal and stitch together naturally. Daily cleansing had been a factor in it, as well as aloe plants that he'd hoarded from Torstein. All the same, Leviathan emerged from the shadows of the Court, making his way to where he was to clean. With the injuries healing, he could do more work, and already he bore half scars, the bruising finally faded to nothing on his body. A warrior through and through, he stepped with heavy thumps of his hooves up to the inner workings of the court, hearing the mumbling (and huffs) of a familiar voice.
"And who, sister, said it would be just you?" Leviathan hauled his titanic weight forward, towards the boulder Eden worked on, and smirked toward her. He only offered a soft nod of his head before he turned and allowed himself to lean and shove his weight against the boulder. His shoulder provided a good point of pressure, and he pressed forward, hooves stomping in against the sandstone floor. Still, it only took a few moments before the two of them began to work the boulder across the ground with an almighty sound of rumbling rock.
Levi shifted his weight, allowing his body to dip down and push up from the bottom to make the chunk of rock roll a little, allowing it to gain a little momentum as sweat began to darken his sides and burn in the wounds that were reopening at the edges. He cared very little for the sharp pangs of it, focusing on the task at hand and letting out a grunt as he did. "Did you really --- nn --- think you were gonna move this --- fuck --- on your own?" He laughed breathlessly, his words punctured with grunts from his twenty hand body, pushing past his lips as they managed to get it in to motion.
The grit and grinding of that stupid stone came crunching like nails upon a chalkboard to the King's ears. Gritting his own teeth, flattening his ears, the sovereign was quickly summoned from his chambers in the tower with the only intent of stopping that hell-raised ruckus, though it was as he strode with a scowl out into the inner courtyard that he noticed both Eden and Levi hard at work.
Perhaps the one thing he could think to excuse such a horrible sound was that it was hard work creating it, and so with and chomp of his grinded teeth he stood down.
"Need a hand?" He soon chortled, kicking some stray chips of sandstone out of the boulder's path before he took his place beside Eden, shoving the nook of his own shoulder beside her own. Truly, Maxence did not know the name of this doe and knew little about her other than the fact that she was a warrior. Her seemingly blind devotion to him at a previous meeting was, well, flattering... but also concerning. What was her name? Her story? And what in Solis's name had prompted her to begin such horrid work on her own.
Leviathan could likely move the boulder on his lonesome without too much trouble, that bloke was all muscle, though daintier things like the gangly haired mare and Maxence were less likely to pull off pushing a stone form one side of a courtyard to the other.
Already he was keen to see what lay in wait behind the door it blocked, his blue eyes remaining clenched shut for the moment though as he heaved his weight against the rock, his skin pressed gently against that of his teammate Eden.
Dusted with star matter and borne upon tides of nature, hers is the beauty of wild places.
Eden was preparing herself mentally for the possibility that she would tear a muscle or fifty before the day was done when she heard the sweetest sound that she could fathom. Turning her face from where it was pressed against stone, the striped maiden felt her face split into a grin as wide as any had ever been, joy dancing in those amber eyes as she beheld her massive friend "Apparently I was wrong, blood of my blood."
As the battleworn behemoth pressed himself against the boulder, Eden's own purpose felt renewed and she threw herself into their work, shoving the boulder forward inch by screeching, painful inch. Gritting her teeth against the pressure and buildup of lactic acid in her muscles, the paladin swiveled an ear toward Leviathan as he grunted and chatted at her side. At the horned stallion's words, she couldn't help but laugh, her response dripping with exhaustion and glee, "I reckon if I -- hrmph -- couldn't, I would just push so --gaahh -- hard that I melded with the damn thing."
Then, before she could react to the rumbling voice of her monarch at her side, Eden felt the gentle pressure of skin against her own and the boulder screeched forth a half a dozen inches. Swallowing thickly, the mare worked to get herself under control, but what with so much of her focus centered about moving the stupid damn rock, that all the paladin could manage was a wide-eyed and rather pleading stare at Leviathan. Despite her unshakable knowledge that Maxence was Solis' rightful King and that her sword and shield were his to command, she could not explain the brush of heat and excitement that blossomed across her skin when he was near.
"It's good of you to help us, Commandant." Came her only words, her tongue had grown thick and clumsy beneath his presence.
@Maxence @Leviathan yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas strong babies! Which one of you wants to discover what's in the smithy!
"Well -- mm -- we don't want that -- nnggh -- happening, now do we?" His laughter was rich and bold, deep from his chest. It spoke volumes that he actually enjoyed this harsh work, pushing the large boulder despite the sounds that had his ears pin back. He only grunted, leaning his head up and pushing again, before he peeked the milky eye open. He could see the vague blob of colors, but knew who it was. Even so, the sound of Maxence's voice was a surprise, but that didn't stop him from pushing.
What surprised him was the sudden push that had the boulder rolling, and he moved to keep up with it, grunting and allowing himself to push all two thousand pounds of himself in to the motion. The boulder rolled, and he felt himself moving to keep up with it, bumping it as the three of them worked, and he tilted his red eye to see Eden, and the look she gave him. He could only shoot her a grin, despite the plea she had in her eyes.
"Didn't think you'd come on down to -- ha -- help," Levi chimed in, and he grinned all the more.
The doorway was revealed, and he huffed as he shoved it another few feet for good measure before stopping, and shaking himself from head to hoof. He was beginning to soak with sweat and his aching wounds ached more, but that didn't stop him from turning to face the other two, ears pricking forward in their direction.
"Since it seems we got it uncovered, who wants to go in the creepy building first?" He grinned, and he seemed to be.. well, all delight, really. Not his usual grumpy self, if only because he was joking now when he spoke, amused.
Maxence hardly noticed how close he stuck to his comrades and, in truth, it was something he was quite used to among his brothers on the battlefield. A woman's musk was entirely different, so he did for a moment or so find himself ever-so-slightly curious. He wished to stop thinking about moving this solis-damned rock and instead ponder the feeling of her skin on his, it's temperature, it's silkiness.
Soon, though, the job was done and he was awoken from his reasonably rare trance with a shake of his lofty nose, his blue eyes looking with an even rarer lopsided smile toward the great soldier Leviathan who's height grew even more impressive each time Maxence encountered the beast.
Eden's word of thanks was one brushed easily aside by the King; it was only his duty to help his people, but her thanks were accepted with a gratitude of his own. "No, thank you. It's about time someone moved this pile of shit. I am curious to see what lays behind those doors".
At the offer to go first into the room, Maxence simply shook his hea.d this was Eden's work, and she should be the one to reap the rewards. Maxence had only helped a little. Gestureing toward the door, maintaining eye contact with Eden, Maxence sought to usher her forth toward the door. "Be careful" he would soon warn "You don't know what could be in there".
Dusted with star matter and borne upon tides of nature, hers is the beauty of wild places.
Leviathan's laughter was infectious and even with the soreness of her muscles and exhaustion plaguing her steps, the lass couldn't help but beam up at the stallion, momentarily forgetting her distress at Maxence's arrival. The boulder moved forward in jerks and starts, sometimes lingering upon the earth as if it had been glued there and other times sliding a few inches over the ground with something akin to ease. Indeed, the assistance of her brothers in arms was vital to any sort of progress at all. As the trio pressed themselves against the massive rock, their grunts of effort rising into a chorus of laborious struggle, Eden did her best to keep her thick mane of locks and wildflowers from getting caught between herself and her brothers -- Because that is what they must be; brothers. There was no room in a warrior's life to soften her heart to her Commandant. Of this she must convince herself. -- bodies. It would do them no good to yank out a dread or crush a flower.
Then, before she knew it, the doorway was free and the three children of Solis were standing in a loose circle huffing and puffing away their efforts. Eden found herself following suit as both Leviathan and Maxence shook the exhaustion from their muscle laden frames, though she didn't miss the vast difference in sizes; she had considered Leviathan's bulk before, when they had sparred, but to see his towering body among things as casual as a dusty old smithy made him seem even larger. Then, with Maxence, though his height was not that of a behemoth, he still made a dwarf of Eden with those beautiful wings of his. With a huff and anther shake of her head, the paladin pushed away such thoughts, knowing that despite her small stature, she was worth just as much as either of the stallions upon a battlefield.
Making a cursory inspection of each stallion, Eden noted how a few of Leviathan's newly-healed wounds had opened at the edges, oozing scarlet beneath the scalding sun. Pursing her lips, the lass fixed the horned behemoth in those amber eyes of hers and gave another huff, "You should take better care of your wounds, brother, I'd hate to best you in the sparring ring because of a few infected scratches." While her tone was light and teasing, Eden felt a measure of worry creasing her brow - Leviathan was the first friend that she had made among the golden sands of Solterra and she wanted him healthy and whole. She would have said more, but Maxence's thanks stopped her short. Turning her attention to her chocolate splashed King, the paladin suppressed the beaming grin that was bubbling within her chest at the praise and instead responded with a respectful lowering of her head and a murmured, "Anything to better my Court, Commandant."
Attention was then turned toward the gloomy innards of the smithy -- though her eyes had yet to leave the electric intensity that was her sovereign's gaze -- with Leviathan's question of who was to venture within and Maxence's resulting suggestion for her to proceed with caution. It was Brows shooting up, the lass forgot all youthful hero-worship and insecurities she may have in the face of her King and gave a vigorous nod, an elated smile splitting her face. Glancing to Leviathan, the mare widened her eyes slightly and grinned wider, her excitement palpable.
Taking a few steps forward, Eden paused at the doorway and took a deep breath to calm herself, her mind instantly quieting as she found her center. Proceeding forward, the youthful warrior moved slowly to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness, yet what she found within brought forth a delighted gasp. "Leviathan! Maxence!" She yelled, forgetting entirely to use her commander's honorific, "Look! You must come look!" Moving to the center of the wide room, Eden's expression changed from one of determination to one of awe and wonder as she took in the stacks and stores of sand-dusted arms. It was as if time had forgotten about the blacksmith's shed, for despite a find layer of sand, dust, and cobwebs, every lance, shield, and suit of armor showed no signs of rust or decay.
Shuffling in place and stamping her front hooves a few times in a show of excitement, the lass was too busy envisioning herself training with lance and shield to notice the sizable scorpion scuttling toward her back legs, venomous tail poised to strike...
@Maxence @Leviathan <3 this is so fun! also why not add a little scorpion in there? feel free to stomp the bugger out~
Startlingly.. Leviathan was the first to allow himself in at Eden's call, curling his shoulders and ducking his high head to squeeze in. He felt ridiculously huge even as he wriggled his way in, snorting up dust as his eye slowly became more adjusted to the confines of the structure. "It's not so bad..." He tilted his head to look at the weapons and armor, reaching a hoof out to gently knock against a plate shield. It rang out softly, and he chuckled. "We should find a blacksmith, someone to get this place up and running again. I would offer but.. ah.. as you can tell..." He lifted his head, ad his horn gently struck the ceiling, sending sand down on his head and making him sneeze.
"I can't fit in here."
He took up a good section all on his own, but he was tall, not too wide to engulf the room. It was surprisingly wide and open, but too short for someone like him.
The titan let out a snort, his hoof scuffing the ground before and ear twitched and he frowned. There was an odd scuttling noise on the sand, and it was enough that he could reach a leg and punt the scorpion. It was too much maneuvering to step on it, the most he could do was roll it away from Eden, scowling. "Maxence, I think you can get it?" He asked as if they'd been friends rather than subject and Sovereign, keeping an eye on the arachnid as he did.
He was lucky that the thing hadn't gotten tangled up in his feathering around his hoof.
Squinting, the lion king tore his gaze upward to the stone ceiling as the behemoth beside him plucked his horn from it's crumbling depths. The sneeze that came next caused Maxence to close his eyes in disgust temperarily, perhaps half-expecting to be sprayed by a torrent of solis-knows-what from the inner corners of the giant's nostrils. Though, upon opening his crystalline eyes once again he found himself relatively untouched; save for the puff of sand now swept onto his legs that had been blown off the floor by Levi's monstrous sneeze.
Somehow his brows lifted even more and for once he was not frowning perpetually.
The swoop of Leviathan's hoof kicking a scuttling scorpion out of Eden's way was what truly caused the king to smile, a vibrant and toothy smirk lifting the air - it was a kind of laugh that was so rare it almost gave those who witnessed it the feeling of accomplishment and achievement. With haste he reached for the scampering critter, stomping once with his lightly feathered hoof to extinguish the tiny threat.
Though it did seem his work was done, he was nothing but proud of the two warriors and their initiative - particularly Eden, who seemed so willing to serve the court and it's people. With a content sigh, glancing once more around the newly exposed room, Maxence soon decided he best return to his duties and backed out of the small space. "Well done Champion." he spoke to Leviathan, though still his eyes grew sheepish over the warrior Eden "Well done Eden".
Dusted with star matter and borne upon tides of nature, hers is the beauty of wild places.
As the maiden's friend and sovereign entered the smithy, Leviathan stooping to cram his towering frame beneath beams blackened by smoke and Maxence stepping into the gloom with all the grace of a prowling cat, the girl turned her beaming facade toward the pair. Chest swelling with pride, the girl resisted the urge to silently congratulate herself on her find, knowing for all the world that arrogance was a sin most dire - there was no place for hubris in Solis' warriors, she had to be impenetrable by sin, a fortress in her own right. At the sound of Leviathan's rumbling baritone, Eden gave a series of enthusiastic nods, her mind's eye clouded with the images of potential that was held in this building alone.
What else did the dusty and neglected courtyard hold? What sort of wonders were hidden between thin wooden walls scraped smooth by decades of sand and sun?
"We should ask about... See if anyone has experience with steel and forge," came her soft musings, gaze sliding over to Maxence unbidden and staying there, running over the smooth lines and hard planes that made up her noble and vicious king. His grins and laughter during their toils had not gone unnoticed by the lass, indeed, she had noticed them more than she ought and her mind had been tossed into a spiral of confusion; it was not a sin to admire ones king, and she didn't think it was a folly to look upon her sovereign with affection, but what sort of affection would become dangerous? Was there such thing?
There wasn't anything about that in the tomes that she had read.
Attention snagged by the stirring in the sandy floor, Eden watched with thinly veiled surprise as Leviathan slid a rather nasty looking scorpion over toward Maxence to be crushed. With a small shake of her head, a few wildflowers sprinkling wilted petals onto the earth with the motion, the paladin felt her face heat in a rather un-paladin-like way as her embarrassment mounted. She had to be more vigilant, such a sting would have left her out of both the labor field and the sparring ring for days. Then as the winged patriarch addressed the kindly behemoth and herself, the lass wondered if she had not imagined the softening about Maxence's eyes when he gazed upon her, and it was an effort not to allow the blush that crept up her cheeks to deepen at his praise.
Amber eyes followed Maxence's retreating form until he was out of sight, and as she loosed a breath that she didn't know she had been holding, Eden swung her attention back toward her ivory splashed comrade. Moving to bump his neck with her ringed nose, the maiden felt all confusion melt away into a sense of comfort as she crowhopped toward the door, "Come on, you great big bear, let's go tackle more of this ruin."
