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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura


    [private]  Desolation comes upon the sky // Wishbone+Tahti
    #1

    WATCH THE FLAMES CLIMB HIGH INTO THE NIGHT

    She'd given the new girl plenty of time to settle in (long enough that her ashen scent turned saltier, though not all that soot could ever be washed off of the wild child) before deciding that some proper training could be of benefit. Truthfully, she'd held off at first because of past experience. When Ea had been born the first of her children to inherent both of her powers, Scorch had leapt at the chance to train her and to hone her skills, both magical and political. The harsh lessons had left the bond between mother and daughter thin; but though they eventually recovered their relationship, and Ea did go on to be a successful, fruitful queen, Scorch never truly forgave herself for what she had done.

    You can forgive yourself mom, you know I don't hold it against you.
    I know baby, I know.


    Opening her eyes from the short seance, Scorch made her way from her habitual thicket to a clearing near the southwest corner of the coastal kingdom. The are was relatively flat, with deciduous and pine trees lining the perimeter. It lay some distance from the inland, and she could hear the cacophony of the tempestuous autumn ocean crashing into the granite cliffs a few hundred feet off. Rolling her shoulders and taking a deep breath, Scorch readied herself for what was to come next, and at long last, called for the girl.

    When the befeathered bay girl arrived - quickly, as such passionate students are wont to do - Scorch offered her not a smile, but a keen, invasive stare. She allowed the silence to wear on for a solid minute or perhaps even two, even if the girl decided to speak up herself. The clouds passed by over head, creating a mixture of light and dark that left Scorch's manipulation at its most powerful. As a bout of darkness overtook their clearing, the Amazon legend finally found it time to speak.

    "So, Tephran girl. Do you have what it takes to train with an Amazon of Old?"

    And then, with the stealth of any mountain creature, the other girl made her way to the clearing, too. Scorch bade her no hello, trusting that she'd understood that the question asked had been for her, too.

    Scorch

    Once Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle



    @[Wishbone]
    *Updated - @[Tähti] you are welcome to join!
    [Image: scorch2.png]
    #2
    Tähti

    To be honest, Scorch - besides perhaps Hestia's almost-a-foal-creature - is the most interesting thing in Nerine to Tähti. The ebony girl takes on every chance to study the other women in Nerine, of course - and to roam around and explore the mountain ridges that in here, are every so often, slippery wet so that she slides off and has to fly to get back where she just started. That these would have been deadly explorations to anyone wingless, doesn't even come to her mind.

    But Scorch - she is bald, and burnt, and always smells a bit of ash or burned flesh; yet she holds herself with so much pride it may even be overlooked how ugly she is. And then, she always has a smile for any of the younger residents - Kiwi, herself, Wishbone (who also smells a bit of ash and fire but she hasn't asked the other girl why yet). Which is contrasting to her usual brisk behaviour - oh yes. Tähti observes a lot. With nothing else to do in Hyaline but chase butterflies, she's quick to assess adult's faces when they talk adult stuff.

    Today Scorch calls for Wishbone, but the Hyalinian girl is actually quicker. She stays at the corner or the clearing, waiting for the... Tephran girl? Oh, that's why she smells - to show and answer the question. Tähti, at 9 months of age, doesn't begin to think to challenge Scorch, but she is here to see and perhaps learn from whatever that bald mare can teach the other exchange student.

    we are Stars, wrapped in skin
    the Light you are searching
    has always been Within
    ©HTML Tiny
    #3
    haze like a fever
    i fell like a dreamer for sweet tea and lemonade; it clings to my t-shirt it’s loud and it lingers, designed to suffocate. i light up to find what i’ve known all this time, there’s some beauty here yet
    She’s been in Nerine long enough to witness the shifting of seasons. Summer blends into the hues of autumn, bringing with it a whole plethora of natural wonders Wishbone hadn’t been able to observe in Tephra. Her volcanic home consisted of purely warm temperatures, though the humidity would be lower in the cooler seasons.

    Here, alongside the northern coast, the weather shifts dramatically between cheerfully autumn (trees sprouting juicy reds and pumpkin oranges and sunshine yellows, the wave-spray a delicious cool on her skin, the wind bringing with it crisp clarity) and dreadful fall (the ocean crashing against the cliff-sides so harshly the noise is bitter to the ear, the sky overcast with heavy thunderclouds threatening to spill over at any moment, the breezes turning into angry fingers dragging through manes to tug at their wayward bodies). And Wishbone loves it.

    It’s a pleasant day when Scorch’s call reaches her mahogany ears. Large clouds move quickly through the sky, hurried along by an anxious eastern wind far above their heads. The colors dawned by the trees shift between brilliant shades in the sunlight to painfully dim hues under the darkness of the clouds. Wishbone moves under their sky-high bodies just as quickly, dancing around rogue trees and dragging up tufts of grass under her hooves.

    By the time she reaches the burnt mare, a dark filly (younger and smaller than she) stands on the edge of the clearing. She’s seen the girl before, in passing, but Wishbone only offers a small nod of her head in her direction. She’s heard of the young Hyaline filly — under the same responsibilities as herself — and so she can understand if Scorch might push them to train together. Making a mental note to introduce herself at some point, Wishbone turns to meet her teacher’s steely gaze.

    It’s an expression the Tephra girl has seen on Scorch’s face before so she doesn’t flinch under the weight of it. Nor does she speak before the Nerinian, intent on matching the keen gaze with one of her own. Regardless, Wishbone couldn’t help but feel her shoulders relax slightly from tension when Scorch’s voice broke out across the expanse. “I suppose you’ll be the judge of that,” she responds.

    Both of her parents taught her the importance of self-defense and diplomacy, even before she heard of Nerine’s plans. Being the daughter of an Overseer brought with it both dangers and responsibilities (the snatching of princes and princesses has become a common occurrence among evil-doers and a daughter of a King is expected to have a certain degree of manners) and Wishbone’s parents had been prepared enough to equip their daughter with some level of knowledge in both protection and public behavior.

    While her diplomatic lessons were taught by both Warrick and Wound, her own witty tongue was one all of her own. It guides her now, as excitement begins to pulsate against the sleek mahogany of her skin, and Wishbone forces herself to close her lips before anything else might fly out of her sable mouth. Her amber eyes are unapologetic regardless while her feet shift beneath her body, ready for whatever task Scorch might have for her.
    credit to eliza of adoxography.

    @[Scorch] / @[Tähti]
    #4

    WATCH THE FLAMES CLIMB HIGH INTO THE NIGHT

    On the outskirts of the clearing, a black figure appeared. With dragon-keen eyes, Scorch examined the girl and identified her immediately as Tahti, the exchange student from Hyaline who's mother had mistakenly insulted the Nerinian Queen. Scorch wanted to smile at the memory of that encounter, and at how she'd been the one to diffuse the bombs that were about to go off on both sides. In the end, it all worked out anyway - for Tahti was here, was she not? That spoke of itself enough truth to satisfy Scorch.

    Turning away from the little figure for a moment, Scorch watched as Wishbone made her own approach - more slowly, but not slow enough to anger the Amazonian. She bore the weight of Scorch's intense stare with a strangely practiced air - her parents had raised her well, or else she had a back bone made of steel. Still, the filly's shoulders visibly relaxed when at last the burnt rat released her from the tense silence - and though she wanted to smile, she kept a straight face.

    I suppose you'll be the judge of that.

    Making a noncommittal noise, Scorch lingered for one final moment on Wishbone's face before lifting her gaze to find the filly who ghosted along the edges of the clearing. "Come here, girl," her voice commanded, though not in an unfriendly way. When Tahti obliged her, and the two girls stood side by side, Scorch allowed another minute to pass as the clouds rolled over head before speaking again.

    "I possess the ability to manipulate light and darkness," she began. Summoning said powers, what appeared to be an apparition built itself up from the ground in the form of a colt, bigger than the girls, but not by much. His body looked strangely translucent, but in the perfect mixture of light and darkness, Scorch was able to make him completely tangible - solid, and menacing. "Today, you will work together to overcome the might of a man, stronger and bigger than you." Say what you will about the Amazon's hate for men - she couldn't help but to let the Old Ways show through into the present, especially when it came to the children. Men were pigs, and always would be - they presented more danger than a leopard or a wolf ever could.

    Stepping back, the twilight colt took Scorch place before the girls, and peeled back his lips in a smile - therein, short, sharp teeth grew. They would not scar the girls if they landed - but they would be painful, painful enough to remind them just why they chose to train.

    Snorting, the colt lunged forward.

    Scorch

    Once Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle



    @[Wishbone] @[Tähti] HAVE FUN AND INTERPRET AS YOU WILL, you may power play the colt however you please Smile Scorch is technically handling him, and she won't let him kill or maim the girls, but she won't go easy, either. <3
    [Image: scorch2.png]
    #5
    Tähti

    It doesn’t take long for Scorch to decide that while Tähti is here, she can practise whatever she had prepared for Wishbone. The ebony filly is quick to trot towards them as soon as the burnt mare makes this apparent to them, and though she eyes the Tephran sideways and gives her a small nod in greeting, at this point she is a bit too nervous to speak. Unlike Wishbone she has not had any practise in fighting or in dimplomatic events, simply due to her age. She still hardly thinks herself capable of fighting though she does wish to practise - and honestly, has quits the brawl to compensate; making up for her lack in size by being quick to run and quicker with her tongue.

    When she sees the colt that Scorch has created, it’s fangs threatening them, she grins a bit. He looks just like Wolfbane, if lacking the wings. But her smile is quickly erased: what their teacher has created is threatening them, a challenge for both girls. But together Tähti thinks it will be all-right.

    She gives Wishbone a look, then splits herself away from the older filly in a quick move, her thoroughbred-arabian lines quite helpful with that. The colt of twilight will now have to choose who to follow, and she supposes that she will have to depend on Wishbone now, because Tähti is the smaller one and would be seen as the easiest target. That’s where he will turn out to be wrong, though - with a quick rundown she is aloft, bringing herself to the colt’s height, and she whinnies a challenge. Should he come for her indeed, she will have to use his momentum for a dodge-and-attack; she’d prefer he runs into her hooves at about eye-height if she can time it.

    we are Stars, wrapped in skin
    the Light you are searching
    has always been Within
    ©HTML Tiny


    @[Wishbone]
    #6
    haze like a fever
    i fell like a dreamer for sweet tea and lemonade; it clings to my t-shirt it’s loud and it lingers, designed to suffocate. i light up to find what i’ve known all this time, there’s some beauty here yet
    In truth, Wishbone has both of the qualities Scorch supposes of her — parents who taught her well and a backbone of steel. They are attributes that can work either for or against the Tephra native, depending on whatever mood she might be in (or, more recently, whatever mood Nerine’s weather might be in). Thankfully they work for her on this day, guiding her closer toward Scorch’s good graces unbeknownst to Wishbone herself.

    The strength of her bravery lends her a quick mind and quicker feet on this day. When the twilight-colt flickers into existence, Wishbone’s amber eyes widen slightly. It looks like a kinder version of Queen Hestia’s demon, even with the fangs and menencing build. It also reminds her — yet again — of Khaedrik’s shadow-wolf. A pang quietly presses against her heart at the thought of her childhood friend and his whereabouts. The shadows of the night often seemed to torment the colt and Wishbone certainly hopes he hasn’t succumbed to their slippery, dangerous words.

    Regardless of her previous friendships, the twilight-colt is launching its attack. Tähti is quick to leap away and take flight, her smaller build lending her the agility of a doe. Wishbone isn’t so lucky; although she is slender like her mother, she has long legs and a body a solid year older than her training partner’s. The gruff words of Scorch pierce through her mind, “... work together to overcome the might of a man…”

    The twilight-colt is indeed twisting in the dark filly’s direction, moving to rear as if to knock her out of the sky like a cat to a moth. Wishbone pins her ears into the thickness of her tangled, dark mane and allows a distracting squeal to leave her throat. She charges then, while the colt’s back is turned toward Tähti, and moves to throw the shadow off-balance while his body is rising into a rear.
    credit to eliza of adoxography.

    @[Scorch] / @[Tähti]
    #7

    WATCH THE FLAMES CLIMB HIGH INTO THE NIGHT

    At first glance, the girls seem amused by the twilight-colt, grinning and perhaps recalling times when such apparitions were friendly. Scorch wanted to smile also, but she bore the weight of knowledge and wisdom; evil came in every shape and form, and these girls would have to learn that. Although a part of her wanted to let them just play with the colt, she knew that of anyone in Beqanna, she trusted herself most to impart some wisdom onto the minds of the young.

    Placing her consciousness inside her creation, Scorch made it whip around toward Tähti just as the girl took off, with a surprising and impressive quickness. Just as she flew overhead, the colt reared to try and bite the underside of the girl; and indeed, its twilight-fangs left two neat punctures just behind the girl's elbow, but in return, the colt got kicked right in the face.

    Thankful that her magic doesn't impart nerve endings, Scorch frowned and pinned her ears in concentration as Wishbone's weight slammed into the colt. Luckily, its weight is falling towards the earth, and so while her shove did bring it to its knees in the snow, the figure quickly recovered and pivoted quickly to face the wrath of Wishbone. Snarling, the larger creature lunged forward and made as if to bite the girl's neck, just beneath the tangle of her sooty black mane.

    Some ways off, intrusive thoughts pervaded Scorch's mind; these girls are the future, they are the up and coming. I am doing right by them; I trained Ea, and she became queen twice over; one of them will amount to something great. Perhaps even both - but all I know is that they will make something of themselves. Something great; something worth fighting for.

    Scorch

    Once Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle



    I hope you don't mind I administered some minimal damage Smile You guys can powerplay it that in your next posts you win over the twilight-colt, and he disappears. Smile
    @[Tähti]
    [Image: scorch2.png]
    #8
    Tähti

    The ebony filly is fast, but not exactly fast enough. However, she has enough speed to climb higher in an adrenalin-rushed extra flap of wings, so that when the colt rears to bite her, he only leaves shallow cuts and her legs react before she can even think about it. In retrospect this was too close a call, but her wings are her only leverage, and to prevent them from becoming a nuisance instead she has to use them.

    Wishbone is her saviour after that, slamming into the male with her fuller body, and while this puts him off balance severly, from the sky a slighhtly bleeding Tähti can see that he recovers quickly. He is targeting her friend now, but she won’t let that happen. The winged filly makes good use of the distraction though; she may have less weight to herself but she knows how much an impact speed can have as well, and she dives rather recklessly - slamming into the midsection of the colt’s back with hooves dropped from several feet high. She feels satisfaction and pain at the ssame time, and knows that she must have cracked something in the male’s backbone as well as maybe have twisted her own fore-ankles. But she doesn’t care, becauqse this means that Wishbone may deal a finishing blow, and her body is surged with hormones so that the pain is not as stinging as it will be in a few minutes when the threat is over.

    we are Stars, wrapped in skin
    the Light you are searching
    has always been Within
    ©HTML Tiny


    @[Wishbone] All yours love
    #9
    haze like a fever
    i fell like a dreamer for sweet tea and lemonade; it clings to my t-shirt it’s loud and it lingers, designed to suffocate. i light up to find what i’ve known all this time, there’s some beauty here yet
    She hadn’t quite calculated the fact that once the shadow-colt went off balance, she would as well. And while he recovers quickly, courtesy of Scorch’s memories swirling in his magicked-mind, Wishbone doesn’t quite so well. Her knees slam into the ground, sharp pebble cutting scrapes across the flesh. It’s nothing she hasn’t felt before (from months spent attempting to summit Tephra’s volcano or running too fast for her legs to keep up or searing them on the spitfire of the molten lava racing alongside the forests of her birth-home) and so she is quick to rise and grit her teeth even as dark red blood begins to drip down her forelegs.

    The shadow-colt is lurching toward her with teeth reaching for her neck. Wishbone scrambles backward as quick as her feet will take her, peripheral vision spotting Tähti’s rapid descent from above. A backward movement is not nearly as rapid as a front one, though, and the action of her training partner’s blow causes the shadow-colt’s teeth to roughly scrape down the left side of the mahogany girl’s neck. The angle only barely catches his fangs, blossoming a thin trail of red with deep bruising beneath it.

    The snap of his spine is louder than the pain in her neck and knees, so Wishbone is quick to snap into action. The shadow-colt is on the ground now, legs twitching and head rolling as he attempts to get up. Her dark tail flicks behind her heels with mingled excitement and anger and her ears pin into the mass of her tresses as she rises onto her hind legs to deliver the final blow to their enemy’s skull. There’s a sickening thud under her hooves as she falls, but her legs meet the dirt and grass of the clearing as the shadow-colt dissipates under her like a gentle mist.

    The mahogany girl looks up, sweat beginning to slicken the sides of her barrel and the linings of her chest. Her amber eyes scan the clearing until they find Scorch’s own gaze. “Well, that was eventful.” The russet-brown of her forelegs and neck is beginning to stain a dark red from the blood trickling from her wounds, but the pain is hardly minded in consideration to the adrenaline racing through her vessels. Wishbone turns toward her partner. “Good job, Tähti. Those wings were certainly useful.”
    credit to eliza of adoxography.

    @[Scorch] / @[Tähti]
    #10

    WATCH THE FLAMES CLIMB HIGH INTO THE NIGHT

    With a tactical precision that impressed Scorch considering their inexperience and age, the two girls from different kingdoms worked together to overcome the might of a worthy opponent. When Tahti crashes mercilessly into the twilight-colt, the mentor extended some magic to her ankles, ensuring a pillowed landing; a bite would heal in a week, a twisted ankle would bother the girl for months.

    Wordlessly, Scorch watched approvingly as Wishbone dealt the killing blow, blood trickling down her bay neck. Her creation dissipated into the air around them, and she brought herself back to her body, eyes refocusing on the girls before her in a way they somehow hadn't been before, despite her meticulous attention to the scene at hand. They were sweaty; she smiled her approval.

    "Yes, you put them to excellent use, Tahti." Her gruff tone sounded almost friendly as she swiveled her eyes to address the Hyalinian girl, small but fierce. "You have an excellent instinct; do not let that go to waste. Beqanna is always needing more warriors." Finally allowing a smile to show through her tough-shit facade, the mare rested the expression a moment upon Tahti before turning to address Wishbone.

    "While perhaps less tactical, you never hesitated or tried to do something fancy or impressive. You got the job done - and although some might find it offensive, I've always maintained that it works." Her eyes were hard, hoping that the child would understand her meaning. "And if it works, then you've won."

    Straightening, she addressed both girls a final time, a cool winter breeze shooting along their spines to usher them away. "Thank you both for attending - you may expect more training at a later time, and I expect you both." Smiling, even if only a little, the mare dipped her head and turned to other matters at hand.

    Scorch

    Once Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle



    @[Wishbone] @[Tähti] - decided to wrap this up seeing as timelines are all wonky now. I had fun! You can write in subtext that there were other training sessions, including diplomacy and history <3
    [Image: scorch2.png]




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