"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
Winter had been rough on everyone, let alone lone horses. Food was scarce and many water sources were frozen over. The field, which was a haven of green grass for mares without herds most of the year, was covered in a sheet of white. Most homeless mares had managed to find homes before the worst of the weather set in, but the handful that hadn't were huddled in groups along the edges of the open plain under the meager protection of the encircling trees. All sought shelter and comfort from their comrades. All but one.
The pale mare was barely distinguishable from the landscape. If it weren't for her movement and the steam rising from her breath, then she would just be another patch of white amongst the landscape. Snow was shaken from her long, curled mane as dark eyes took in the landscape. A bright blue sky hung above the earth, unmarred by clouds. The large expanse of open sky and the pristine white field made it seem as if Luzia was the only thing between them. A being made of the snow that could reach up and pull the sky to the earth. It was almost magical. But then the young mares stomach growled and she was rocked back to reality.
Feathered legs trudged through the snow, picking up delicately over the drifts. Luzia came to a small rise and stopped, looking all around. The stream was frozen and there was no food anywhere within sight. The only place she could hope to find food was beneath her own hooves. Dark hoof struck into the snow, digging up the drifts of snow. After a few moments she reached the earth. A layer of moist yellow grass laid over thick mud. It didn't look particularly appetizing, but it was the best she could manage under the conditions. The thin mare dropped her head in to the pit she dug and pulled up some of the grass, choking it down. If she couldn't manage to figure something out soon, Luzia realized she likely wouldn't see spring.
It was a beautiful day today, usually the sun was hidden from clouds and rarely peeked out to offer warmth, although today it made an appearance. Archam figured he would visit the field with hopes to court a mare into his herd lands. The large bay roan brute departed the cobblestone and after a couple of hours of strolling he found himself in the field.
It was covered in snow, and the open area was all one color, aside from the few horses wondering, and the pine trees that stayed green all year round. He found himself in the heart of the field, were he stood at a standstill scanning for a new face. With every breath he took, small clouds exited his nares (his breath), his head turning only to find familiar faces; until he spotted someone new. Almost passing the mare as she blended with the winter snow, now shes a beautiful lass he thought to himself. The mare was young in age, but old enough to court. The roan stag picked up a casual trot and made his way over, following beside the hoof prints she left.
Allowing a quiet nicker out, notifying the mare of his presence, as he was a few paces away from her he watched as she choked down the winter grass, unfortunately that is what most horses had to do during the winter. He was curious to how long she had been in the field "Hey there, I'm Archam, might I ask your name?" he said with a smile.
Winter had pushed into the diverse war-torn lands, and the cold gusting air only further perpetuated the dismal feeling. Though on further thought, it was probably just the lanky blood bay's personification of his torn feelings onto the landscape. He never particularly liked the winter, and to be honest, the field was never really part of the war so it had recovered in the time since. What had it been now A year? a little more? It had been a long time since he worried about the new king's reaction to his spying for gates, and he had proven himself a worthy member of Chamber, earning a kingdom trait in the last month. He had played with it some during the hours alone in the pine forest that was his home. Cloaking himself in a vastness that was invisibility. He listened in to some of her fellow Chamberlings' conversations moving as close as he dared without being detected by sound. It was a fun trait and he hoped it could help him further grow the kingdom he had learned to call home.
So the reddish stallion stood in the field, completely blended into the surrounding areas he was just another area of thick snow. The only thing that would give him away was if someone heard the slight crunch of snow or if they looked closely and noticed the small changes to the already trodden white ground. He would show himself soon enough, in a gregarious attempt to convince others that the new Chamber was the place to put down roots. It was something that he truly believed in, and he worked hard to bring it to fruition. Steeled eyes scanned the chilled field in hopes of finding an unaccompanied mare or stallion, he so hated that odd group conversation as the recruiters danced an intricate waltz. It was not appropriate to be straight out rude, but you want to deter the recruitee from going with the other, as the same time show your kingdom's virtue. It was annoying and tiresome, but necessary. Nymph had just about given up of the hunt but a flash of movement caught his eye. A pale mare moved to a sound hill or mound rather in the distance. Except she was joined by another nearly immediately.
The necromancer decided it was a good an opportunity as ever and set off, ready to put his bets foot forward, for himself, and his kingdom. The blood bay (not that anyone here could see that) moved slowly, as he tried to keep his hoof falls in the tracks that already existed. He stopped just outside their conversation and listened to the other stallion introduce himself, and he slowly inched closer. He wished for some fun so he moved to the stallion, and lifted his head and blew in the other's ear He jumped back and unfurled himself from his invisible cloak, with a bit of flair.
From the conjurer's slightly further bach position he slightly dipped his dark tipped muzzle in greeting, and signaled his intent to join the conversation and he moved a few steps closer, just to not have to talk loudly at the group. He made sure to leave the other stallion, Archam,a bit of a wide birth in case he didn't enjoy a little light hearted jest. " Well hello, I'm Nymphetamine, of the Kingdom, Chamber, I hate to butt into a conversation I just couldn't help but notice how you might just need rescuing. Or did I make up that up out of a daydream?" He smiled, a big goofy grin, his new trait had him in a rather good mood. He looked from stallion to mare, gauging their reaction and await the mare's reply.
Nymphetamine
in my heart, that barless prison discolours all with tunnel vision
The meal was less than appetizing, but it would fill her stomach and stave off its incessant growling for a short time at least. That said, it didn't make it any easier to swallow. After another sickening bite, a soft nicker caught the young mare off guard. Long curled mane whipped about as she snapped her head out of the hole toward the noise. The mare turned to face the other horse standing there. A large roan with a similar build to her own. He spoke softly and kindly enough, but still the mare felt uneasy. It had been a while since a stallion had approached her and Luzia had never been quick to trust. Even so, perhaps he could help her. And it was obvious she needed it. While not dangerously skinny, one could clearly see her ribs rising against her white coat.
Archam, as he had introduced himself, asked her name. As she was about to reply, something happened. Another stallion appeared out of nowhere. He simply materialized out of thin air. Luzia had never seen anything like this before, and it was obviously a bit of a shock. The young mare squealed with fright when the bay revealed himself, quickly taking a few steps back. While she had been nervous before, now she was terrified. How was that even possible? A stallion coming from nothing? It was inconceivable! He spoke, and his tone was jovial and upbeat, but that did little to ease the mares' tension.
A good deal further from them both, the white Warlander dropped her head submissively, legs wound and ready to spring into action should the need arise. She wasn't the fastest horse there was, but her height and dense thick legs might help her to navigate the deep drifted snow better than these stallions. Even so, they had introduced themselves, and Nymphetamine had mentioned something about rescuing. Luzia knew she needed help to make it until spring, she couldn't just throw away this opportunity. "I'm..." she began, voice shaking with her nerves as she had yet to get over the shock of the second stallion's appearance. "My name is Luzia..." she said, voice soft and delicate, her dark chocolate eyes flicking between the two suspiciously.
Archam watched the white mare as she seemed uneasy by his presence, he stepped back allowing her space. He did not know of her past, and she could have a good reason to be leery of him. He scanned over her body that did not seem properly filled out for a horse of her build. They shared a similar build and he had much more weight than her, he desired to bring her back to his herd lands so that she would never have to be underweight again.
The mare was about to speak until another waltzed in, another stallion. The petite bay carried the scent of the Chambers which instantly annoyed him. The stallion appeared out of nowhere and was able to use magic. He flicked his head to the mare who squealed and stepped back with his presence. She must not have been from Beqanna, most equines that are not from these lands are unaware of the magic that could be held. The brute assured them that he was from the Chambers and gave a witty comment as most of the kingdom members do, Archam gave a light hearted roll of the eyes to his comment.
The mare recovered from her scare and introduced herself as Luzia. "Luzia" he said learning the way it felt on his tongue. "Beautiful name" he smiled "I am the lead stallion to a herd in the Falls, you will be safe there, and can freely visit the Kingdom if you desire" he said scanning to the stallion who would surely add to the conversation. Archam did not feel that Luzia would fit as a Chambers member, they were all snarky and easily able to mock others. The white mare did not seem to carry that trait, he only hoped she would return to his herd lands with him.
With the lady's shriek of terror, his light-hearted and jovial approach had obviously backfired. She hadn't shown any signs of being nervous prior, so he hadn't thought of it as a poor plan. However, she was not a Beqanna native, and he had given her a rather shocking welcome. The bay knew he would have to right his wrong and he meant to make ample hast in that fact.The lass spoke though before he had time to form his words, shaky at first, but she found herself again in a quick manner. He listened to her introduce herself, she had a lovely name, Luzia. By this point in time, the blood bay figured he would just wait for the other stallion to say his piece... no reason to fight for center stage, especially when he wished to apologize for startling the girl.
The dark tipped ears of the necromancer swiveled from lady to beast as he took in Archam's words, typical and common... though the act of recruiting was usually pretty bland and words were just that... common. There are only so many ways you can introduce yourself and your homeland. It was all rather vanilla. Nymphetamine did really enjoy recruiting but he knew it was important for Chamber so he did so anyway. Once the roan stallion had completed his bit about this herd lands he swiveled his attention back to the mare, allowing her to reply and question if she wished before he went in for his moment in the spotlight.
He didn't encroach upon her space nor did e over play his moment. HE attention was given to the Luzia and he tried his best to allow his sincerity to show, while in more things he was a sarcastic asshole, it was with those who knew him and knew he meant no ill will. So in this, he was truly sorry. He allowed the fact that Archam was here to wash away, make this about her, and him, about how he was there to help make her world better, even if it was not in Chamber. "I am sorry for startling you, I remember the first oddity I saw here, it can be quite unnerving. I am Nymphetamine, a diplomat from Chamber, though most people call me Nymph. Chamber is a great kingdom, let by Kildare. We are a little rough around the edges, but we are strong and there will always be something happening if you are interested in that kind of thing. We tend to speak our minds bluntly, but we are loyal to our kingdom."
The bay stallion watched her closely. many times the timid ones were fierce under the surface and he hoped she would prove to be so. There was much watch unfold so he waited for the further questions to unfold and the song and dance to continue.
As both stallions took a step back, the mare visibly eased. Where she was from, stallions were cruel and commandeering. They took whatever they could get their hands on and didn't care who they crushed in the process. Especially the mares they managed to rope into their possession. But these stallions didn't seem nearly as cruel. Sure the blood bay's antics had caused a good scare for the girl, but he seemed apologetic. Luzia listened to both of their pieces, slowly easing and standing straight in a more confident stance. She was still prepared to flee, but it was looking like that wouldn't be necessary.
Archam introduced himself as the leader of a herd. Nymphetamine was a member of a kingdom. She had heard of kingdoms before, but where she was from they were far removed from daily life. Herds were more familiar to her. The white mare had been raised in a small herd. Perhaps she would be more comfortable there. Being in a large kingdom with many different horses could be too much to adjust too. And Archam had said she could visit the kingdom whenever she liked. Maybe if she one day decided herd life was too quiet for her, the roan might be willing to let her move to one. Not to mention his physique was like the horses of her homeland, perhaps the others in her herd were the same way. If she was going to adjust to this new place, she should choose a place she could feel comfortable in.
With her mind made up the girl dipped her head politely. "I appreciate both of your offers. Honestly it's more than I could've hoped for during these times." Her dark eyes flicked around, taking in the cold and barren landscape. "But I believe I'll be more comfortable in a herd than a kingdom." With that said, the white lady stepped toward Archam, still keeping a bit of distance just in case he lashed out.
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