looking for heaven found the devil in me; brunhild

[Rodrik]

Home—it had been empty and only a wasteland to him. There was nothing truly that kept him here, except to live and prepare for what was to come. However, it has all changed until she had come back with him. Pangea had a little piece of heaven in a wasteland some would call hell. Brunhild was all he needed to light up this darkest place in Beqanna. Ever step she had took imprinted on his once stone cold heart. Her gaze and words, no matter what the talk about, filled him with a sense of completeness. She gave him a sense of purpose—a purpose to be stronger and to fight the evil that would chain him once again. “Brunhild,” he says, calling out to her. Rodrik knows she cannot be far. He wouldn't let her wander so far either. The love of his life (it still sounded funny to him still) was carrying special cargo—their child. It was a sign of love and commitment, but a blessing to be a father again. Rodrik perhaps would love this child more than any of his other children since the mother would be Brunhild. And he could not see himself without her again, never again.

character info: here | character reference: here | image © rostyslav zagornov
@[Laura]

[brunhild]

our demons are all around us and they don't come from hell
every single one of them reminds us of ourselves

It was a strange sensation to feel the stirring of life in her belly, even early on now, when her sides have not swelled and grown heavy with child. Still, she can feel it within her, this sapling, this reminder of Rodrik and the dark and wild thing that grows between them. She cherishes it, as much as she has ever cherished anything, and while she struggles to articulate those words, she stays awake at night, thinking of the strange turn of events that has led her here, in this new Beqanna with the red stallion curled next to her at night. Both of their kingdoms gone and instead, the two of them deposited in this new wasteland.

She cannot say that she cares for it.

It does not have the rich lushness of the Jungle, the humid air, the plants that bloom with vibrant colors and the wild cries of animals. This land—this one is barren and empty, a dustbowl of a kingdom. Still, she doesn’t complain about the dust that gathers in her lungs and her contempt for the wasteland. It was worth it to remain by Rodrik’s side. So it is not surprising that she is not far when he calls for her, that she was anchored to him and wandering only a bit away when she heard his call. There was nothing else to do.

She does not rush to him, but neither does she waste time, instead walking slowly and cautiously, finding her step amongst the crushed rock and lifeless vegetation. When she reaches his side, her scarred lips brush over the elegant curve of his muscled neck, the motion still new, despite how natural it felt. “Rodrik,” she greets, her voice still soft and deep, feminine and yet husky. “Did you need something?”

Not that he needed an excuse to see her, but still—she was once a soldier and once a Queen and while she doesn’t begrudge being called to him, old habits die hard.

IMAGE © CANDID-CROCODILES

[Rodrik]

The wasteland was nothing compared to the brightly colored jungle he grew up in. When the old the world had not been destroyed he went there often. The red devil wandered through the trails less travelled. He let the memories, good and bad, come forth willingly. It had been many good ones, mostly consumed with his parents and siblings. However, the jungle held one sour memory. It was the memory of when he killed the stallion. Rodrik still does not regret what he had done. A price had to be paid for the loss of his baby sister and ultimately the reason why his mother began to die. His memories do not revolt back to the old days as much anymore. The new world is bright and beautiful, but still there is danger lingering within the very core of the heart. The fairies and mountain could do nothing to stop the growing greed for power and destruction within the hearts of wild animals. There would always be a darkness when there is light. Rodrik knows this all too well. He knows eventually there will come a time he will have to face the darkness once more. But, this time, he will not be a servant to the darkness. He will have his free will no matter what the price would be. The red stallion drops his thoughts away regarding the world he once knew and what is to come when he sees the dark mare. A smile is quick to light up his face. His heart beats a little faster than normal. Every day with Brunhild felt brand new. He wonders if this was the love his mother had for his father—a connection that grew right from the beginning. Her touch was continuously intoxicating. Rodrik played every moment of their time over and over together. He touches her back in the same manner, full of love and lust. Truthfully, the red devil would do anything for her. He would bend and break anyone—sacrifice his own life for her. It was a strange thought to even think, but for so long it had been that way, deeply buried within his heart. This time he did not have to hold anything back. It was just the two of them always—and their child soon enough. “I only need you,” he says in a cheesy tone but he does not tire of something such notions to her. Rodrik wanted her to know what he thought and felt for her. He wanted to always feel her here because he knows somethings good do not always last. Brunhild might exactly be one of those things in his life that might fade away. He would fight for her though, no matter the price to keep her at his side. He brushes his muzzle into her mane and takes her scent within. “How are you and the little one doing?” He asks with a soft smile. Rodrik lips at her mane playfully.

character info: here | character reference: here | image © rostyslav zagornov

[brunhild]

our demons are all around us and they don't come from hell
every single one of them reminds us of ourselves

Brunhild did not fight her darkness in the same way that Rodrik does.

She did not rail against it, throw fists to the ground in anger. She had long come to accept the way it twisted through her veins and settled in her chest; she had come to accept the way it had molded her throughout the years, made her sharp and vicious when need be. She was not a particularly cruel mare, but neither was she as particularly warm one. She was cool, distant, and self-contained. The only true time she got excited was at the prospect of battle. In fact, her thirst for showing up on the battlefield was what had earned her Quark’s attention in the first place, and it was what had earned the numerous scars that riddled her dark, muscular body.

So she was not a fool. She did not think the red stallion by her side was some saint, and she did not expect him to act in such a manner. She knew he had blood on his hands in much the same way as she. It did not bother her—it had never bothered her. From the first time that they had met, she had looked past all of that to see the man he was inside. The man who loved those close to him, who obeyed his own moral code.

The man who did right by kingdom, even when it meant making the tough decisions.

She laughed a little at his proclamation and reached over to nip at him, pinching perhaps a little harsher than was necessary—although that was always the way with them. “You need all kinds of things, Rodrik.” Her husky voice filled the space between them. “Food, air,” her dark eyes sparked with a rare humor. “Etc. etc.” Still, her stomach twisted at the words. She had never thought that she would have love in her life. She had been born and bred for war. She had been raised as a warrior, trained as one, and then left to serve as a warrior Queen. She had not been ever given the luxury of love or even friendship. To have found it, and with him? It was a miracle.

“We are doing well,” she grunted, shifting her growing body. It was difficult to get used to the extra weight and hard to imagine why mares put themselves through it every year. “I swear it feels as though he is going to come out full size.” She cherished these moments, carrying Rodrik’s child, but she still could not wait until she had her own body back, to be in control of it once more. “Tell me more of Pangea, Rodrik.”

Her heavy head swung out the grey wasteland. “Why did you choose to make this our home?”

IMAGE © CANDID-CROCODILES

[Rodrik]

Her cool, distant, and self-contained personality had intrigued him when they had first met. There had been something enlightening about the way she moved and spoke for the first time all those years ago. Something within him found her to be a challenge, a test he was willing to fight and ace for. In the beginning it had been the selfishness to figure her out—his manipulative and convincing nature to find every piece of her out. Yet, truthfully, it was the dark secrets that she had kept hidden that drew him in even more. It was her darkness that consumed him. Her very demons that mirrored his own demons all those years ago when they ruled the old world once upon a time. The red devil had found something in her he would have never thought he would find—a feeling that was unforgiving and relentless. It was her. It was love. No matter all the years and separation it had always been her. A devil even has his own weakness, despite the many he was willing to send down the narrow path and into the very flames of hell itself. Brunhild was his sin, and he would never stop sinning when it came to her. He would give it all to her, whatever she wanted—the entire world if she asked for it. Rodrik gives her a smirk as she nips at him. “I could do without them,” he says. The red stallion didn’t need food or water to feel the carving and spaces that she consumed within him. Brunhild was the air he needed for his lungs to breath and the blood to pump his heart. She was the very light in the very dark tunnel of his all those years ago he had been without her. A darkness that someday might consume him at any moment. He pushes those thoughts away, always back into the hidden parts of his mind. He rubs his muzzle along her neck when he hears that she and the foal are doing well. “I wouldn’t want to hear it any other way,” he says warmly against her mane. The red stallion laughs when she mentions the size of the foal. “Don’t worry I won’t make you into a broodmare.” Rodrik wouldn’t want her to be anything else. He only wanted her to whatever extent she wanted to be. Truthfully, he was a simple man and only needed a few things in his life. Her love and maybe a few rug rats is all that he would ask of her. When Brunhild ask of Pangea, he pulls back just a little from her. A glance is quickly taken to look out at the grey wasteland that lays out before him. It isn’t pretty as the places he had once called home, nor is it very colorful. “Truthfully, it was only place that I felt I could find a future in.” He didn’t want to build a land up just as he did before. He was only thinking for himself and how he would survive the new world. “Pangea was craved and made by Carnage himself.” He imagines he will never see something like that ever again. “It was made to be a home for those that felt wronged for parts of their abilities taken away when the Mountain appeared. A home filled with wicked and self-interested individuals.” He rolls his shoulders. “I was only thinking of myself when I came here and what could find me again,” he says truthfully, “But I guess I’ve become attached to this place a bit. I feel loyal to be here almost,” he laughs, “Maybe it is just the habit of duty serving a land all these years ago.” The habit of building a kingdom all those years ago had not left him, but he still has not forgotten how to seek after his very own needs. Now it was for the needs of him and Brunhild and the family they would have together.

character info: here | character reference: here | image © rostyslav zagornov

Bleh. It's gross :|

[brunhild]

our demons are all around us and they don't come from hell
every single one of them reminds us of ourselves

She had always been intrigued by his darkness, his intelligence, by the things that ran underneath his skin. She knew that there was more to him than meet the eye—more than he portrayed. He was not just the devil that you first saw when you met the red Chamber King. Throughout the years they had known one another, she had come to recognize him as vengeful, sly, calculating, but also deeply loyal, kind, and even compassionate. The more she had gotten to know Rodrik, the more layers she had unpeeled and the more she was able to get to know him, to understand him, to unwrap everything that made him who he was.

Now, wrapped up within him, it was a different challenge: getting to know herself.

She knew herself as an Amazon, a warrior, and a bloodrider. She even knew herself as a Queen. What she didn’t know was herself as a lover—as a mother. It was new to her and she felt as awkward as she had when she had first stepped onto the battlefield, her own body a weapon that she didn’t know how to wield. That same discomfort lay in her bones now, at war with the heart that beat in her chest, this passion for him that she didn’t know how to express or control, this new love for a child she had never even met.

Still, she gave into some of her base desires, reaching over to touch him gently, her lips roaming over the curve of his powerful neck, the heaviness of his jaw. It was all familiar to her and yet constantly new; as if she could spend every day by his side, curled here, without fully knowing him, without uncovering all there was to uncover. The laugh that he pulls from her is new, dark and sooty, and she lets it ring from her scarred mouth, pressing her forehead into his neck. “I would make a terrible broodmare.”

But then, a small smile.

“Although, I do not mind bearing your sons and daughters.”

She hadn’t desired to have a large family, to carry children every season, but there was something about holding life in her belly, knowing it was made from their love…it brought a softness to her. Enough of a softness that she doesn’t spend too long thinking about the land and his answer to the questions. She trusts him and his judgement. “I suppose I can get used to the smell,” she smirks a little, but then falls silent.

IMAGE © CANDID-CROCODILES

[Rodrik]

Rodrik had never thought himself as a lover. He had always spent time hiding behind his own masks and playing games with others in order to gain something, to benefit himself. Now, something he wouldn’t change ever, he was totally in love with this beautiful mare. He was rethinking everything he had ever thought of. The moral code he followed, made up purely by his own rules, was being reconsidered. Rodrik did not only think of himself now, but he thought of Brunhild and his new family about to start as his own equals. It was a strange event to ever occur, but he supposes anything is possible in this world It has become even more possible with the dark mare at his side. He can only hope that this feeling will last a lifetime, never wishing to feel a distance or break between her. Brunhild would be worth all the effort if something ever did though. He smiles when she mentions she will bear him sons and daughters. To Rodrik, it didn’t matter how many there were. All he wanted in the world right now was her and whatever little ones they created. If anything, he was excited for the coming of their foal. It would be any day now that a little colt or filly would be born. A miracle in the making. A blessing to be born. And from there, only things could get better.

character info: here | character reference: here | image © rostyslav zagornov

Just wrapping the thread up