For once.. it was nightfall as she graced these lands. The water was calm and tranquil, compared to earlier in the day when it had been roaring and churning with the distant storms that had struck close to her heart. As was her instinct, she had hidden herself away in a cave until it had all passed, and all that remained now was the fact that the sands were wetter than usual and gritty as she walked, tangling in to the strands of her tail and turning the tips an odd white-ish hue in the moonlight.
The heat wasn't so bad now either, after the storm. The water was still as a mirror, and she gazed across the surface, allowing herself to only take a few more steps, slipping her hooves in to the grasses nearby, exhaling as she did. It was calm again, though there were tensions running among Denocte, something that had nothing to do with the weather.
Carefully, she shifted her weight, only to suddenly lift her head, wings ruffling and her heart leaping upward for a moment in her throat. "Oh no.. oh no no no..." She rushed herself forward, almost breaking out in to a gallop as she did, but stopping just short, dancing on her hooves and looking antsy.
She could have sworn she'd smelled... Torstein. But he couldn't be here, could he? It would make things much worse if Reichenbach found the Day Court Warden wandering among Denocte lands. All the same, she seemed to almost dance on her hooves with worry, her head tilting one way and then the other, before her ears went back and her gaze fell on him.
"Tor!" It was more so a hiss, and she moved forward quickly, small and.. puffy in a way, upset. Araxes puffed out her wings and looked up at the stallion, her eyes wide more than angry. "You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous!" Unlike Solterra, where the lands like deserts could be wandered through without much confrontation, this.. well. A worried sound settled on her lips, and she tried to calm herself, taking in a breath.
Well. If someone came and saw them, she would have to stop something bad from happening, right? Right.
@Torstein || i made another thread bc i suck im so sorry LOL
09-23-2017, 04:22 PM
Played by
inkbone [PM] Posts: 75 — Threads: 5 Signos: 0
Something drove him to seek out the petite little mare. He wandered through the fields he had seen her before, knew where she might wander for.. herbs, was it?
Ombre ears perked tentatively forward, cool gaze surveying the landscape. First he had wandered the Plains where she had been struck by the ball of lightning. Then to the Creek he went, but she wasn't there.
His mind spun, trying to figure out where she might have ended up. She said she was part of the.. Night Court. The Champion of Healing, if he remembered correctly? This - whatever they had - would play out interestingly, what with Maxence's... calculated decisions and the Night Warden being held firmly captive within the Solterran borders.
Torstein was still quite unsure as to how he perceived the situation that Maxence had thrust them into. The painted stallion had bellowed of change, of 'former glory' (what Solterra had been before Tor stepped foot into its current state, he would never know), of power. And his first move was to chain up and drag back someone who had defected.
Was this a smart move? No. He should have waited, should have held off until their numbers had strengthened and their land had been plentiful. Tor was a creature of war, a man of torture and cruelty, but even he knew better.
A low grumble rolled at the bottom of his throat, his mind brimming with disdain for the situation.. but he quickly thrust it from his thoughts, feeling them turn and spoil the more he brewed upon it.
In his thoughts, he had continued to wander mindlessly. For a moment, he forgot where he was, where his hooves took him. And when he finally shook the frustration from his thoughts?
He was there.
The very same Court that broiled in his thoughts, he was here. Hooves stopped upon moist soil - so much more fertile than the land of which he inhabited - and his neck pulled up from its languid position. He stared across the lake, so tranquil in its stillness - but not peaceful to him, no. This court was soiled by Maxence's decisions and all the related events that were occuring because of it.
That, and it was filled with bats. Not literal bats.
Except it also housed one bird, and he heard her call out to him. Ears perked up again, dull eyes scanning for the bright white and bespeckled being upon the horizon. She was tiny, but somehow precious to him. Why, again?
A warmth grew in his stomach, blossomed in his chest when she danced to him, and a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. She was so delightfully huffy; it confused him all the same.
His head - so much larger than hers, even with her wings fluffed up - lowered to her and pressed against her, where neck meets shoulder. He nearly had to bend at his knees to do such; she was so tiny compared to him.
Ears lazily tipped forward, and his gaze rolled upwards to meet her own. A hum rose at the back of his throat, and blended into a throaty chuckle at her words of concern. "Do you really want me to leave, spotted beauty of mine?" He pulled back from her, gaze locked on hers that was filled with haughty concern and faux anger. "Because I can leave, if you really wish me to."
What she said didn't matter, though, because he already knew her answer.
How could he just come marching in to the lands like nothing had happened? He was the Warden of the Day Court, and it wasn't the best thing to come in to Denocte, considering the tensions that ran high between the two courts, and yet here she was almost dancing on her small hooves and looking up at him with an expression that could be considered annoyance. Though it was more like worry than that, enough that it prickled through her, making her uncomfortable for a brief moment.
She was used to such touches between them, and it seemed to be enough to stifle her annoyance at the situation, her wings merely ruffling up instead of puffing out as much as they could, and she leaned herself slightly against him. It wasn't as if she were heavy, with his big head against her, she felt so.. small. All the same, she gave him a look as he finally met her gaze, and she seemed to deflate in front of him at the words, her own ears giving a half flick backward.
"No!" Araxes blurted it out before she could stop herself, and her head drew back a little, wings giving a small flap before folding up against the sides of her head again. "I.. no." She hadn't meant to shout it the first time, so now it came out in a soft voice as she inhaled, letting it out again and blinking up at him with large eyes, doe-like more than anything else, worried. "It's just.... you know," Araxes huffed, and she shifted on her hooves, her body a little more large than she would have liked.
Those months of gaining weight and her sleepiness and sickness had all been connected not that long ago. It wasn't hard to tell that Araxes was pregnant, and with more than one foal. Still, she blinked up at Torstein, her ears falling in a more sad way as she focused on him, only to lean her head forward and press it against his chest, next to the spines that held that cavity closed. "I've missed you. I've... had to rest here, mostly." She was certain he'd notice, but she wasn't sure how he'd react. It wasn't as if she could force the fact on him.
He was there, and that was all that mattered to her.
Still, it worried the small mare that he would react in some way, even though he hadn't just yet, and her head came up, lips seeking to press where they could against him, warmth sliding through her. She was helplessly in love with him, and she had no idea what to do about it. "It's good to see you, even if.. well. If someone sees us, I'll just have to step in. You're no harm to anyone here." Not at the moment, she knew. He wasn't doing anything to upset Denocte in any shape or form.
Her reaction - as adorable as it was - elicited a rough bout of laughter from the large Solterran. "I knew your answer before you even said it," he chuckled, the flat bridge of his nose moving to press up alongside the quivering side of her neck. She felt warm, like he was accustomed to.
But he brought his head away from her neck to regard her, gentling nudging her temple and lips tenderly finding perch along the rim of her ear and at the base of her lovely little wings. "Is that why you've been abse--" he started to comment, pulling his head back from her fully to regard the..
Petite? mare.
His head abruptly cocked, eyes just a tad wide as he regarded the belly that was.. obviously pregnant with twins. Jesus, a belly like that looked absolutely massive on such a normally petite-mare... but he would be shot dead on sight from her gaze alone if he dared utter such a phrase out loud. Instead, he swallowed.
Forcefully pulling his gaze away from her stomach, he attempted to make eye contact with her once again - although much more concern was etched across his features this time around. He stepped forward, so close his shoulder and chest could almost touch her own. Craning his neck around her, he nudged her alongside her flank. "I'm going to assume..." he trailed off, and eventually cleared his throat.
Once again, he pulled his head back and held eye contact with her. "Araxes.." he trailed off, "When were you going to tell me?" He felt conflicted - aggravated that it took him this long to find out, upset because he knew what this meant. His name was.. not the purest in the lands, and he certainly hadn't made a ton of friends in his stay.
The more he thought about it, the more his heart broke, for he knew that he alone would be the reason so many passed judgement on her and their children.
Ah so he'd noticed. Ara felt a sliver of shame in her belly, somewhere, that also brought to mind the thought that she should have said something. Guilt crept over her, and it wasn't as if she could have hauled herself to the Day Court in such a way, especially with her position and... well. With the tensions of the courts at such a high. It would have been risky, and she didn't want to give any sort of chance for anything to happen to the lives she carried with her own now.
Out of an instinct, her soft wings ruffled up against her head, feathers puffing out in a way that showed her shame in herself, and her eyes lifted, attempting to lock with Tor's, only to drift away again. She didn't say anything to his first statement, but when she looked up again, she was stuck with his gaze on her own, and she didn't look away. Not this time. The question she had expected came pooling out from his mouth, and her wings gave a small slump of defeat, before she drew her head up, ready to give her reason, and hope that it didn't sound like a ridiculous excuse.
"When I saw you again," she admitted, drawing in a breath before letting it out in a soft sigh. "I didn't want to risk making a trip to the Day Court with.. relations with Denocte right now. I didn't want to give any chance to bring harm to them, even if we're harmless. I know the Solterrans are proud and right now everyone is still riled up.. it was something that kept me here." It sounded like a ridiculous excuse on her tongue.
All the same, Araxes puffed up slightly, her wings even adjusting to do so, putting up to look rather proud of herself, unwilling to back down. "But you're here now, and I'm glad you came to Denocte." A trip across Solterra in her condition would have been somewhat of a suicide route. She wasn't willing to risk anything with what was happening.
"I know you're upset, too. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
He frowned, but not at her. At himself. He cared for her more than someone like him should, but he obviously didn't care enough to want to keep her out of this situation she would now be in.. because of him. Briefly his aggravation festered on her; she seemed so awfully unaware of what might be the consequences of her actions.
He brushed off the idea, and his aggravation, and just shook his head. "If you weren't going to make a trip, the least you could have done was sent a messenger bird," he muttered, ears slicking back to his head for a brief moment.
Silence fell between them. "How far along are you?"
A bird with a message. Araxes felt rather silly for not even thinking about it, and she drew in a sigh before letting it out again, her shoulders shifting before she glanced upward. "I'm sorry I didn't send one." She did at least feel bad, and her nose reached, pushing to his neck where she could reach as she drew in a breath. "A couple of months. I'm sure there's two... unless I just have one giant one in there." With his size, well. It would make sense.
All the same, Ara nosed a little more at the giant. "Walk with me? We can talk about it while we do." It could prove to be fruitful for the both of them.
aaaand this is the closer!
05-14-2018, 10:59 PM
Played by
inkbone [PM] Posts: 75 — Threads: 5 Signos: 0
Shaking his head, a sigh left his lips and he nosed her shoulder. "No point in obsessing on that now," he mused as red gaze caught her own. "Although don't do something like that again, my little bird." There was a certain ... sternness within his voice that he normally did not get with the little Denoctian.
At her proposal, he nodded. Gaze peered about the serene lake for a few moments, eyes searching the shadows for something he knew was always there. But at her nudge, his gaze broke and heels turned. "I assume you have much to talk about," he said with a slight smile. Heavy hooves started at a slow pace to allow the (significantly, cough) heavier mare to keep up with him without straining herself.
And into the night they walked, their words hushed among each other as they disappeared into the trees, side by side.
