06-17-2019, 11:15 PM
Aten's eyes were trained on the two, now identified as a stallion and a mare duo. The taller one with multiple wing pairs did not identify himself, going off on a tangent about the unpredictable nature of change and how they had simply followed it into the forest. Two of his wings drifted from his body to cover the mare, and he firmly stated that they did not come to the Taiga to enact... whatever it was, out of hate. That they chose to act out of peace, that they had chosen to come here before taking further action.
The stallion's words were setting Aten's teeth on edge; he was already getting a very bad feeling about this entire situation. The other stallion turned to the mare and asked her to continue, Aten's eyes drifting to hers to hear what she had to say.
The mare, unnoticed by Aten, had seemed a slight bit more startled by the golden king's materialization from among the trees, but she gathered herself before Aten could put any thought on it. She shared a smile with the stallion before formally introducing the two of them by the names of Wolfbane and Lepis.
And with that, the golden king's instincts went into overdrive. He'd heard tale of this stallion, his ambitions and recent tasks. He didn't know, or bother to care, what drove him to do half of what he did. All Aten knew was that he'd have to be careful; the fact that Wolfbane had come here, with the mare - Lepis - no less, could only mean the onset of trouble on the horizon.
Lepis' words, the goal of why they had come here, was simple. They had come to take over the Taiga. The golden king did not show any visible reaction, not wanting the two horses to know he was unsettled by their words. Lepis continued, saying they were not here to spill blood, that they didn't want nor have to. She finished with a rhetorical question, one Aten did not care to answer, before the stallion felt an overwhelming pour of emotions flow through his mind.
Anger... Sadness... Joy... Fear... All emotions that Aten had felt in his life, emotions he had confronted to deal with his demons and the shadows of his past. To this day, some still lingered in the deep corners of his heart... but there were others now in his life, those who, unwittingly, were helping him to heal. To mend and stitch the scars left on his bleeding heart.
Lepis said that both herself and Wolfbane would prefer for Aten to remain in an advisory position, that his status as a long-term resident would be beneficial to veteran kingdom leaders like the two of them. She finished this with a vague threat, and Aten resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Did she really think, with those words, that he would be an omega and roll over to show his belly? Clearly they underestimated his tenacity.
However, he knew he could not handle this alone. The stallion reached into the corners of his mind, feeling for his connection with his falcon companion, to try and wake him. Given Turul's sleeping habits, it was not a hard task to rouse him, although the falcon let some foul words fly at being woken from his nap.
Aten gave him a simple task in their limited word capacity, and felt Turul's acceptance before they closed off from one another. Aten let the connection linger at the ready, however, in case he needed to alert his friend of anything else of importance.
The golden king's eyes scanned the mare and stallion, assessing his options. With a calm, clear voice, he spoke in a deep, authoritative tone, "While I admire your willingness to face all options to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, you are not wise to assume you will not face any sort of rebellion upon coming here and stating your intentions to take over this land.
"I show respect to those who deserve it, and had you not threatened to force me out of my home should I not show compliance, I might have even found you two worth it. Taiga's protection was handed down to me by not only a dear friend, but another before her who I hold very close to my heart. You may have run kingdoms before, but your approach to this matter makes me wonder if you've always done so with the best intentions."
@[Wolfbane] @[Lepis]
The stallion's words were setting Aten's teeth on edge; he was already getting a very bad feeling about this entire situation. The other stallion turned to the mare and asked her to continue, Aten's eyes drifting to hers to hear what she had to say.
The mare, unnoticed by Aten, had seemed a slight bit more startled by the golden king's materialization from among the trees, but she gathered herself before Aten could put any thought on it. She shared a smile with the stallion before formally introducing the two of them by the names of Wolfbane and Lepis.
And with that, the golden king's instincts went into overdrive. He'd heard tale of this stallion, his ambitions and recent tasks. He didn't know, or bother to care, what drove him to do half of what he did. All Aten knew was that he'd have to be careful; the fact that Wolfbane had come here, with the mare - Lepis - no less, could only mean the onset of trouble on the horizon.
Lepis' words, the goal of why they had come here, was simple. They had come to take over the Taiga. The golden king did not show any visible reaction, not wanting the two horses to know he was unsettled by their words. Lepis continued, saying they were not here to spill blood, that they didn't want nor have to. She finished with a rhetorical question, one Aten did not care to answer, before the stallion felt an overwhelming pour of emotions flow through his mind.
Anger... Sadness... Joy... Fear... All emotions that Aten had felt in his life, emotions he had confronted to deal with his demons and the shadows of his past. To this day, some still lingered in the deep corners of his heart... but there were others now in his life, those who, unwittingly, were helping him to heal. To mend and stitch the scars left on his bleeding heart.
Lepis said that both herself and Wolfbane would prefer for Aten to remain in an advisory position, that his status as a long-term resident would be beneficial to veteran kingdom leaders like the two of them. She finished this with a vague threat, and Aten resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Did she really think, with those words, that he would be an omega and roll over to show his belly? Clearly they underestimated his tenacity.
However, he knew he could not handle this alone. The stallion reached into the corners of his mind, feeling for his connection with his falcon companion, to try and wake him. Given Turul's sleeping habits, it was not a hard task to rouse him, although the falcon let some foul words fly at being woken from his nap.
Aten gave him a simple task in their limited word capacity, and felt Turul's acceptance before they closed off from one another. Aten let the connection linger at the ready, however, in case he needed to alert his friend of anything else of importance.
The golden king's eyes scanned the mare and stallion, assessing his options. With a calm, clear voice, he spoke in a deep, authoritative tone, "While I admire your willingness to face all options to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, you are not wise to assume you will not face any sort of rebellion upon coming here and stating your intentions to take over this land.
"I show respect to those who deserve it, and had you not threatened to force me out of my home should I not show compliance, I might have even found you two worth it. Taiga's protection was handed down to me by not only a dear friend, but another before her who I hold very close to my heart. You may have run kingdoms before, but your approach to this matter makes me wonder if you've always done so with the best intentions."
@[Wolfbane] @[Lepis]