Sharp teeth rip away at the grass greedily, feathered hooves thudding on the occasion as he moves. There are plenty of sounds and scents hovering around his head but Lior numbs it all out. In fact, he is quite content to be alone as Beqanna crumbles down around him. It would draw not much more than more than a shrug from him.
A combination of spring and hunger had coaxed him from his cave. The enticing scent of lush grass and wild grains were too much to ignore over the grumbles of his stomach. It's true, he was worse for the wear. The dark skin is thick with a winter coat but underneath is the jut of ribs. Gray eyes are half closed as he must eat despite the boredom that came with the ravenous appetite.
Finally, after a belly full of sweet grass and cold snow waters from the mountains, he can finally lift his head for more than a few moments to actually look at his surroundings. This new meadow is remarkably similar to the last. Pockets of horses swarmed the land. Some in little thickets of conversation while others dined like he had just done. Lior doesn't expect much, if anything, and proceeds to carry his tall bulk deeper into the embrace of the meadow at the leisurely pace.
She had continued to look for him, time after time after time. How could she not? It might have looked like a simple girl crush, but a first love was always special. Igni had not yet been able to forget about him, even though she had found a substitute in someone very much alike. It wasn’t him though. Igni had come to the meadow a lot, both to try to recruit, but subconsciously also looking for him. Honestly, he had been more on her mind than her own parents, as she knew that her father would surely make sure that her mother was alright.
So it is probably not that surprising that she finds him in the meadow today. After all, that was where most of those who came down the mountain went. Also, she had been actively looking for him, each time hoping to look up at his familiar tall figure. To Igni he still somewhat resembled Offspring, which she also hadn’t seen in a long while. In fact, she hadn’t met anyone from ‘home’ after the Change, which had led her to join the god. He had given them a home again, and it was up to them to make it a place worth living. And she would be able to accomplish that by starting to recruit, right?
”Lior!” she calls out, probably way too excited. Her legs carry her to him as fast as they can, but also causes her to trip over her own legs in the process. Her eyes are wide, both due to the excitement, but also unbelieving of what she sees. ”Lior.. It is really you..” This time Igni’s voice is much softer and slowly her gaze travels down towards the ground too, suddenly too shy to meet his gaze for much longer. The butterflies in her stomach flutter once again, like no time had passed at all.
Many reasons drew him to the field and meadow now. Not a socialite to say the least, but a committed devotee. It was so like him to attach himself to something, to become addicted to the power he knew lay hidden in his barren home. But like all gods, his needed followers to become stronger. And like all lands, his needed numbers to keep it strong and protected so that it might flourish. The though that he couldn't do it alone did not sit well with him, so he resigned himself to doing whatever he could.
Frequent trips to the meadow were what he could do. And so like a evangelist spreading the gospel, he comes to bear witness to the poor lost souls. But something on the edge of the meadow catches his eye, and a twisted smile creeps over his features. This was one of his own, one of his numerous offspring that he had actually interacted with. Of course their interactions had been deeply disturbing, but that was just the type of father Gunsynd was. Consider it a formative experience.
The monster slides up beside his son and can barely contain the indecent look in his eyes. "Lior." He breathes into the same black pelt as his own which has known so... intimately. "Where have you been lurking son?" The familiar term is nothing more than a sick joke from him, and he relishes in its irony.
OOC: sorry for formatting/errors. On mobile at work but Lior gave me muse
The dark stallion moves without destination. This new Beqanna is not shocking nor appalling. It just is.
Her new existence is angry and vengeful to the gray eyes of Lior. He is certain that fearful savages lay just beneath the newly sleek coats of spring time equines. Lids slit as the sun sears against the darkness of his back. What would this new Beqanna offer him? Solace? Peace? No. Inside his head, he crawls, absorbed in the search for something out of place...something to convince him that this was all a different game but it is his name that catches him off guard.
As the thickness of his neck bends to look over a shoulder, the blur of blue is speeding to him with a fixed smile. It takes him a moment to recognize the young features of Igni but once it registers in his mind, a small grunt is what greets her. Lior watches her slow near him with lowering eyes. He finds this odd as she seemed to transform into a completely different horse as she nears him. Did he simply suck out the excitement in her eyes? He can not tell for she is not looking at him. A single feathered hoof thuds the ground as he looms near her and simply -boops- her right on the poll. Lior watches for her to look up to him and as a smile finally starts to curl the whiskered lips upward-
...it's happening again...
It happens so fast that his breath clutches in his throat. The acrid scent of fucking and ugly rage. His muzzle is buried in the very same mane that once was gripped achingly as Lior bent and broke under the sickening weight. Dark eyes immediately slam shut as he grimaces in response to the searing pain that tears through his body, his inner most sensitive areas, ones he jammed down to forget. One does not simply forget being fucked raw by your father.
Not just once or twice.
"-son?" It's all Lior can grasp when he finally regains control, steadying himself. Pewter pools finally see from beneath the thick lashes as he pivots away in utter revolt for the stallion, detesting him. Lior can still feel the shame burning in him but he moves to stand in front of Igni broadly as he eyes his sire...his rapist. "Gunsynd." He would not call him father. Lior would never give him the satisfying pleasure of calling him 'daddy'. "Don't you have some small children to torture?" The inquiry is flat as the question is more rhetorical rather than of interest. Lior dares not look to the Igni as he knows better than take his eyes off the other male. "How disappointing to see you made it through the change." Once again, flat toned but the silver-gray of his eyes burn with disgust for the creature that was his biological father.
His attention is interrupted by the entrance of the familiar roan female. The one that had been his shadow for the past several weeks. His lips curl up in amusement as the spectacle plays out before him; so she had been his son’s shadow first. How appropriate. Lior looked so much like him - black pelt, feathered hooves, heavy head and neck. However, he was slightly smaller thanks to his dam (whoever that had been) and he had a penchant for being angry. To see him smile and play with the young female, however briefly, was amusing to say the least. He much preferred the burning hatred in his eyes.
He had created that. It was his. He was his.
The switch from play to seething, all-consuming hatred was swift. A chuckle erupts from his throat, he couldn’t contain his amusement if he tried. Lior was so predictable. Gunsynd’s smile spreads as the boy steps in front of the mare. So he thought he was protecting her from him? How adorable. His words only further his entertainment, but he feigns disappointment in order to play along. “Torturing small children doesn’t interest me.” He says in a conversational tone, dark eyes gleaming with mischief. “Adults old enough to try to fight back, however…”
He shifts his attention to the female behind the black boy, his sickly smile stretches his lips over his teeth once more. “Was I just a stand in for your attentions, then?” He calls out to her, his voice much louder than he normally allows. He wants Lior to know of her flighty attention, that it could easily be shifted from one to another. He must admit, the roan girl looks much more interesting now knowing that his son has feelings for her…
It is comforting, or at least somewhat, to hear him grunt. Yes, of course had the blue roan girl wanted that he would’ve at least showed some relief or happiness upon them seeing each other again, but at least she was greeted with something familiar. Ever since the change his face is the first and thus far only one that she knows.
The bump on her poll too, is something familiar. Her stomach flutters as he touches her, leaving her just as stunned as during their first meeting in the field. And when she shyly glances up at him, a small smile pulls on the corners of her lips, eyes twinkling with the same adoration as before. But when her gaze meets his, there are actually two of them. Lior had multiplied himself?
Surprised and somewhat taken aback she staggers backwards, now watching both males, shocked expression upon her young face. No, this wasn’t Lior, nor his twin, this was Gunsynd, her second crush. He too lived in the god’s home, such as herself, which made him a friend, right? Yet she stays frozen, watching the interaction and movement between the two males, simply stunned by what she sees. It is Lior’s movement that frees her from her state, blocking her view of the older one of the two.
Hesitantly Igni moves up to Lior’s side, nose lined with his shoulder, about to brush her muzzle gently across his shoulder when she suddenly realises that she had been about to touch her crush, for which she was too shy. His stance was hostile, something she doesn’t understand. ”Lior, what are you talking about? Why would he harm anyone? He is one of the God’s chosen ones..” Her voice is soft, clearly not really sure if she should mingle with this, but at the same time feeling the urge to stop this misunderstanding.
She’s about to say something more, but it are Gunsynd’s words that fluster her this time. Instantly her head drops again and Igni even takes a few steps backwards, not daring to meet any of their eyes, especially Lior. How would he react? She doesn’t dare to look up at him, afraid to see the disappointment in them. But who could blame her for having interest in Gunsynd? He had simply reminded her of Lior, and in that she had mistaken her feelings for Lior for this stallion. ”I.. You just reminded me of him so much..” she apologetic murmurs, still not daring to meet their gazes.
His head begins to hurt. The pump of blood and anger makes his skin sear and feel too tight. Lior wanted to be away from all this. He wanted the coolness of his cave. The comfort of dripping rocks and the scent of damp, dark air. Lids close over the pewter of his eyes as he calms himself, fighting to control the burn of hatred that threatened to take possession of his mind and body.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
His eyes click open systematically, staring at the dark stallion. Despite the struggle to pin his ears, the male is smart enough to listen. Gunsynd was not one to waste his time or breath on anything that did not benefit him. He was here for a purpose.
Lior can feel Igni creep up his side as he still remains blocking her. Lior could not vocalize that he had any feelings for the young mare but something drove him to protect her. Perhaps it was because she was a mare, perhaps it was the simple fact that everyone needed protection from Gunsynd. One ear bends and twists as Igni speaks softly behind him. "What?" His gaze is broken away from Gunsynd in the shock of her words. "Chosen one? CHOSEN ONE?!" The ugly red beast of his anger breaks free from it's iron cage as spittle flies from the edges of his lips, the silver eyes blazing as his head whips back to bore down upon his father. "What kind of shit are you feeding her, Gunsynd?" Lior does not try to bite back the rawness of his hatred.
Then Lior hears the last bits of Gunsynd's words and confusion flickers like candlelight over the dark face. He can hear Igni fluttering for words, shuffling her feet in the dirt as she tries to answer. Lior cared about the young mare. They had lived rather shortly in the Tundra together and he did have a bit of fondness in the depths of his heart but now...now she had simply followed at Gunsynd because Lior and he looked similarly? Oh Gods of Beqanna. "She is foolish...far too young for your tastes, Gunsynd." The stallion spats the words "She doesn't know the consequences of her actions." Lior ignores the roan now and any protest she may have. He can no longer feel the warmth of her breath on him and knows she is moving away from the shield of his body. Instead, he stares at his mirror image and braces for the hell to unleash. If she were more informed, she would stay where she was but Lior can not predict the speckled mare for he does not know how deep Gunsynd's claws were in her.
This just kept getting better and better. The amusement in his eyes began to creep over the rest of his features, pulling at the edges of his lips until his teeth were showing in a terrifying grin. She spoke the truth of course, at least in part; they had both been part of the God’s plan to defy the fairy and the land itself. He had even been given his powers back thanks to the God’s benevolence. Chosen one, perhaps. But how that meant he wouldn’t harm anyone, he couldn’t follow that logic. He would harm anyone that suited him, as long as it didn’t get in the way of the God’s plans. However, whatever nonsense was in her head was only pushing his son further over the edge of sanity into raging madness. So he would allow it for now, no need to usher her to the truth just yet.
And so he feigns surprise at his son’s outburst, adding in a hint of hurt. “I’m not feeding her anything. She’s only speaking the truth. She and I both answered the God’s call to defy Beqanna.” His dark eyes move to watch the roan behind the angry stallion and he smiles at her knowingly. “Where were you when He needed us?” He asks as genuinely as he can muster. Gunsynd is unsure of what caused the girl to follow Carnage in the first place other than sheer naivety, but it certainly led to some first rate entertainment. “Though I’m sure you would still be welcomed in His land, don’t you think?” He smiles at the girl once more, urging her to sing their dark God’s praises once more.
He bobs his head at her explanation of her affections, as if it made complete sense to him and no longer mattered; waving it off with false compassion. And then his son’s words burst forth once more and it takes every ounce of his self-control to hide his horrible delight. He forces a look of surprise on his face. “What a way to speak about her.” He chides, shaking his head. “But I digress - I’ll leave you to your blissful reunion. I hope you will have sweeter words for her in my absence, Lior.” A small smile plays with his lips as he turns to leave, giving the other male one last mischievous look before heading homeward. If Lior knew left from right he would know that this was far from over; it had just begun.
Her worry for him grows once his muscles tense, as if he was struggling with something badly. She isn’t afraid of him, truly believing that he wouldn’t hurt her, perhaps a bit naïve and foolish, perhaps not. However, the breakout after her own words make her flinch and instantly she becomes even smaller than she already was. Igni doesn’t dare to meet his angry gaze, and instead casts her own towards the ground. Tears start to well up in her eyes, partly because she doesn’t understand the situation that is going on, but also because of Lior’s harsh words. Luckily for her the next venomous words aren’t direct to her, but instead towards his father who doesn’t really seem affected by it all.
Gunsynd’s words are the one that slightly calm her, as he perfectly confirms what she had said before. It was true, right? The god had given Gunsynd powers, that made him special, different from the others. But there is something in his words that strikes her. ’Both answered the God’s call to defy Beqanna.’ When had their god ever defied Beqanna? A frown appears upon her young face as she looks up, directly at Gunsynd this time. ”Defy Beqanna? Why would he do that? He is one of the Gods and offered us an alternative home...” There couldn’t have been any more naivety latched to her words than that, voice somewhat broken due to her upset state.
It hurts. Lior’s words hurt. Even though Gunsynd hadn’t been very thoughtful by revealing her little stunt like that, at least his words hadn’t talked bad of her directly. Not like Lior’s words. She doesn’t say anything, just stands there staring at nothing in particular, but still listening to all the words, if she wanted or not. For a short moment she looks up, watching Gunsynd’s retreating figure. For a moment she thinks of following him, of fleeing home, but she simply cannot. Her legs don’t comply, so she keeps standing there, teary and obviously hurt gaze now on Lior. Already ready to flinch again if harsh words would be spoken.
It's all that seem to echo in his mind but was Lior truly so misjudged that no words of his could ever be steeped in the poison that was his father? The silver of his eyes flash from beneath the thick locks of his mane with ears sewn to his skull. He wants to drown them all out.
Gunsynd
Igni
Beqanna
He had been stupid to have left the small sanctuary of his cave. Lior had been stupid to have let this little mare pry her away past the thick exterior that was his protection. The madness that threaten to spill over the brim of his sanity frothed the edges, slipping but somewhere in the depths of his mind is a calm psalm or incantation that pulls him back. Lior is suddenly aware of the pain in his head and the ache of his gritted jaw.
The stallion does not speak anymore to the dark image of his father before Gunsynd decides to saunter of to do whatever it was in his free time (Lior already has a vivid notion of his father's favorite pastimes). But instead, he saves what little words he decides to speak for the blue roan.
There is pain, hurt in her eyes and Lior does not care. She is molded in the image of Gunsynd with the nativity and innocence. He moves lithely upon the feathered hooves to allow the heaviness of his silver eyes to fall on her. This girl...foolish and simple. Lior snorts as he searches for the words he wishes to share for the wall is building up once again, brick by brick, and the conversation that was to be had would only serve as mortar.
The only solace Lior receives in this moment is that Gunsynd had left her be. He knows what he says was far past pleasant but Lior feels as though that they were protection against the savage beast that was Gunsynd. Lior wove his own protective spells around Igni but in return had exposed the vulnerability of himself.
Shameful.
"Gunsynd is not a god. He bleeds like you and I ." Lior mustered all his strength to express his words in a less that aggressive manner. He wants to grab Igni by her mane and drag her all the way back up the base of the mountain to the dampness of his cave and tell her everything, make her young mind understand but it is too late. She belongs to Carnage and Pangea now and Lior can not help her. Gunsynd would come for her.
"You must protect yourself. Watch and listen, Igni. Gunsynd is clever and he can change into who or whatever he desires." Concern creeps into the pewter depths as his features relax but anger still smolders like an ember in his breast. "I can not help you now but know I am always here for you." The black stallion does his best the breach his own guard and reach the young mare before he fears he may have to shut her out completely. It was only a matter of time before Gunsynd turns her completely into the little puppet he desires to control...
Lior knows because he remembers when it happened to him. The stallion can only stand and watch Igni closely as he searches her eyes for some kind of understanding...or questions...something that made him believe that she was still in there.
