"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
08-18-2018, 08:50 PM (This post was last modified: 08-18-2018, 08:52 PM by kahzie.)
Though there has been no shift in the tropical weather, Ivar is reminded by an especially bitter gust of wind that autumn has most certainly reached the mainland of Beqanna. The thick scales of the piebald creature are protective, but they are not much of a defense against the cold, so the tricolored kelpie has made his way into the interior of the mainland to escape the wind with haste.
There is no telling what time of day it is here among the redwoods. It might be midmorning or nearly dusk; the fog makes determining which all but impossible. Ivar knows he'd left his tropical home in the early afternoon, so he has at least a few hours before the woods are fully dark.
Overhead, a magpie caws loudly, and Ivar tilts his head to watch it with a sharp golden gaze. It takes off, wings beating rapidly against the wind, and the kelpie's attention returns to the earth. Though he has come inland, he knows where the sea is without conscious thought. This is fortunate, since the lack of sun makes determining direction nearly as impossible as telling time.
Ivar continues forward, ducking beneath low hanging branches as he treads paths that are almost familiar. Somewhere ahead is the border of Sylva, and it occurs to the tobiano stallion that this is not the first time (or even the second) that he has come to Taiga from the sea.
For a moment he pauses, his head half turned back to where the distant sea glistens unseen. When he finally returns his attention to the path ahead of him, Ivar catches a flicker of movement in the foggy woods ahead of him. He doesn't call out - he has learned his lesson, but instead flicks his ears forward and he breathes in the coniferous air.
Karat occasionally wandered from the heart of the Taiga. Finding its dense foliage suffocating and her love of the sea, still engrained in her core. How she missed the white beaches of Ischia and the volcanic rock tide pools of Tephra. Taiga was home for now but it never would truly satisfy her needs the way the other lands did. If it wasn't for politics of kingdoms, they would still call Tephra home. Perhaps soon that would change, but it has almost been a year since their father left with intentions on securing them their safe haven. Free from duties. He had said if he had not returned in a years time, assume the worst and do not go looking for him. She tried to remain strong and not let the idea linger that she may never see her father again.
As she made her way through the mists, the growing stronger sunlight became blinding. Stepping through and finally into the open, her lashes fluttered to allow her eyes to adjust. She hardly noticed anyone else to be around because all she could focus on, from the ridgeline, was the open sea. A smile broke across her rosy lips at the sight of breaking waves and screeching gulls. This had been worth sneaking away from her sister and brothers side...
Or maybe not.
A sudden glitter of color reflects from the brushline on her left side. With a hasty twist of her left ear and then crown, her silver eyes find the stranger looking directly at her. The surprise of another, had caused her armor to begin forming around her body unconsciously. Preparing herself for an attack, if this piebald creature was to be hostile towards her. If history was to teach her anything, one could never be too sure...
@[Ivar] I can't remember if they met but, here's Karat lol. I imagine she comes out of the woods slightly down the treeline from Ivar and is startled by him just standing there XD
The armor that creeps up her body is most intriguing. It keeps Ivar at a distance, watching curiously as the grey and lavender mare protects herself. The kelpie doubts it is from him - he doesn't know her, after all - but he appreciates the quickness with which she responds.
After a moment he does step closer, but it is with a smile he knows is disarming. Despite his earlier assessment that she is a stranger, there is still something familiar about her. Yet he finds that even as he comes closer (close enough for a conversation and not enough to be threatening) she does not strike a chord of memory.
The kelpie's curious golden eyes trace her grey physique and lavender points which the armor does not entirely obscure, and though he finds her desirable (she is female, after all) he is still somewhat wary. Perhaps incest has made all the Covelings look similar, but there is a slim chance that she might be more closely related to his own purple females than Ivar is willing to risk. Kylin would accept a distant cousin, perhaps, but what if this is a sister? Or an aunt? Knowing Kirin and his perversions, it might very well be both.
Best to play it safe.
"Hello," he says across the distance between them. Though he's approached her, the kelpie leans slightly away, a clear indicator that he's no intention of coming any closer. At least without her consent. "What brings you to the woods?"
Remaining on the defensive, she holds his image with mild curiosity. His approach is casual and possibly a tab unsure of how to regard her, but there is something about him that is both charming and dangerous. Finding her eyes unable to peel from his chiseled features, she stands her ground -unmoved from the very spot his sight had stopped her in.
He seems to me mulling some detail over silently in his mind and it causes a brow to quirk skyward. The intrigant spirals of metal at her shins have stopped climbing the length of her limbs, as has the mask appearing across her features. It is delicate and allows her to view him from beneath its metallic sheen. Her father had taught her the extent of their shared power and just what purposes it could hold.
Hello.
It is unsurprising, that his voice is as tempting as his looks. Beckoning her to lean closer, to trust him. She knows what tricks others could play and attempts to fight the nagging want, rising within her chest. Her suspicions of his purpose here are not put to rest just yet, though he attempts to assure her(through the distance between them), that he means no harm.
What brings you to the woods?
She considers the question and gives the only answer she can find, "My family lives here." It is a simple statement and though there are many depths as to why, he did not ask. Her gaze passes over his body to find it more similar to a fish than fawna, so she inquires with a tilt of her head, "And you? What brings you to the Taiga today?"
My family lives here, she says. Ivar tilts his head curiously at that, intrigued by the phrasing. "But you don't?" She might not have meant that at all, he knows, but he cannot help but ask. She looks to be near the age of independence, when younglings strike out from their family and make their own way in the world. Perhaps she considers this place her family's home, but not her own. That would be rather fortuitous timing for Ivar, given that he has a home always ready for new residents, but he knows better than to count his eggs before they've hatched.
She looks him over, and Ivar takes a moment to do the same. His golden gaze flickers over the metal that twines around her forelegs and the delicate mask across her features. There it lingers for a moment, then flutters across her lavender points. Ah hah. So that is why Klaudius had been so protective of his sister, the queen on that long ago summer day when Ivar had visited the island. The armored girl is a Coveling after all, and certainly too closely related for him to bring her home.
Still, she is a pretty young thing and they are alone in the woods and, well: he is Ivar. There is no danger in a bit of harmless fun before he has to return home. The lilac-pointed mare hasn't responded to his nearness with anything more than a quirked brow, so the kelpie suspects she might be more wary than most. That is nothing he can't overcome.
"I came to socialize." He replies without missing a beat. The quick answer indicates truthfulness, but the mischief dancing behind the tangled shield of his forelock suggests otherwise. "To meet interesting horses." Here the scaled creature pauses, and there is a bemused sort of curiosity when he asks: "Have I found one?"
He has been looking for her, his twin sister, since arriving back in Taiga with good news. He has successfuly secured them a proper home and now he must seek his sisters out as they have seemly scattered about the woodlands.
First he finds the younger twins, Kove and Ketiza mingling with a shady stag of bay and emerald -his birth colors too ironically. It doesn't take long to subdue the stranger and send him for the hills. The run in sets Krom uneasy and evermore desperate to find his twin sibling.
With Ketzia and Kove in tow, he travels at a brisk trot. Finding Karats scent trail effortlessly and headed for the sea. Of course this would be where she would retreat to. Her love for the ocean ran deep as did his -though now it threatened to rust his exterior, so he preferred to just gaze upon the wide waters.
As they near the edge of the redwoods, he can smell another nearby. Too close for his liking. The musky scent was laced with that of sea salt and brine, causing a tingle to travel down his spine and raise iron spikes along his topline. The barbs continued up his neck and down the broad side of his face, seating three spears of alternating heights down to his muzzle. "Wait here," he commands his two other sisters.
Karat comes into view first, her iron armor delicately laced around her appendages and crown. Her eyes are focused on something to her left and instinctively his gaze also turns left. Finding a reflection of light and colors that slowly begin to make up a masculine form. His ears pin back against his neck as his trot continues out into the open space still between the two equines. Stopping with a snort, his eyes glare at the scaled stallion. He had hardly heard what was said, except for the final inquiry, Have I found one?
"Karat. Leave." Is all the more he says. His heavy head tucked tightly to his chest, daggers presented to the stallion before he turns to follow behind her -back into the Taiga...
@[Ivar] Party pooper I know. Figured Id wrap this up as timelines have gotten away from us once again lol
