"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
06-19-2018, 06:58 PM (This post was last modified: 11-16-2019, 11:57 AM by kahzie.)
Each gust of wind against my wet skin makes me shiver. The air is bitterly cold, a striking counterpoint to the warm spring in which I am submerged. The water reaches my shoulders, and my pale wings are spread across the surface - floating. Out like this, they seem undamaged, but as I stretch out my right wing a twinge of pain reminds me that it is not so. That pain is familiar, at least. The newer wounds are sharper, especially where the brackish water touches the open wounds.
I had thought myself safe.
I had been wrong.
I am always wrong, it seems. Letting my guard down had been a mistake, and when I'd turned at the sound of hooves, I'd thought I'd see Arthas coming to join me on a walk around the border. Instead it had been the cream and lavender face of my nightmares. Months of meek obedience were impossible to break, and I'd taken each of them with a compliance that would have made my mother proud.
The warm water washes away the bitter scent of their sweat and the blood and semen at my legs. I still smell it in my mind, even as the sun sinks lower and the stars begin to emerge. When I pull myself from the water at last, I have resigned myself to my final task.
"@[Arthas]?" I call, hoping desperately that I do not find him with that pretty roan or sultry-eyed Rey. "Arthas?" There is a last chance for redemption, I think; Mother had told me children who were wanted were the strongest. I am not sure I want a child, but I do know that I want to bear Arthas' young far more than I do any of the nameless strangers who'd spilled themselves inside of me.
He had passed his thrown on to Wolfbane, he had different desires to carry out. He was king of Loess for a decent time, and he has accomplished enough in that time. Since his time in stepping down he has felt far more free, in fact the thought of picking up a herd passes through his mind. Something that interested him, of course his heart had been with Lepis....and then Rey came along. The green mare had quickly stolen his attention, she was sweet and it had been some time since he felt the way he does with Rey.
As he stood lost in his thought the voice of Lepis rang through his ears, his head flicked and he looks for her. They have not spoken since he stepped down from king, and to be honest she was probably coming to yell at him. She gave up her crown for Arthas and he turned around and gave it up to someone she did not know. He felt bad but he thought it was best for Loess, mainly because Lepis was still recovering from her attack in Sylva.
She continues to call out his name and he quickens his pace until she is within sight. Lepis he calls out for her, stopping when he is a few paces from her. what is wrong Lepis? he asks, his feelings still strong for the beautiful dun. He had at one point pictured ruling Loess with Lepis, but after her time in Sylva she had grown distant from Arthas. She had all the right though, he sent her into the arms of the devil.
The sound of hoof beats follows my call, and I turn toward them, my expression hopeful. I am not disappointed, for Arthas emerges from the shadows shortly afterward. He looks the same; unchanged from our first meeting nearly a year ago.
Had it really only been a year?
It feels like decades have passed. Even as I move toward him, my body protests, and I feel a thousand centuries old. I am grateful for the darkness, for the nightfall hides the scars and bruises that litter my coat and lends a silvery glow to the paleness of my coat. I know that I am not the bright-eyed adolescent that Arthas had given away, but I am a woman grown now. I know I am desirable, but I am no longer a stranger to the reaction that it stirs in men.
When I reach toward him it is with hesitance. My blue muzzle touches his cheek as though fearful he might disappear. He does not; he remains comfortingly solid.
"Nothing's wrong." I tell him. At least nothing that he can change. There is no use hoping for a reversal of time; though I find myself wishing the year had not passed as I stand there beside him. "I just wanted to see you..." I hesitate, unsure how to proceed. How does a mare ask a stallion for what I want?
And do I want it?
The memory of Kwartz is still fresh - the way he had made me cry out in pain and (worse) in pleasure. I shift uncomfortably at the embarrassing memory, but I do my best to disguise it. It doesn't matter, I remind myself as I take another step forward and press my cheek against his dappled neck. My feelings are not important.
06-23-2018, 09:06 PM (This post was last modified: 06-23-2018, 09:51 PM by Arthas.)
Arthas
The petite dun mare was not the same, she was different than when they first met. She was an innocent child, with the world before her. Now....now she is damaged, she not only has physical scars from the battle with the bastards in Sylva she has emotional damage. She may not confide in Arthas', she may have hidden some secrets from him, but he can put the pieces together. He knows the jist of what happened while she was in Sylva. He has not sought her out since she returned to Loess, and mainly it was because he could not bare looking at her. He could not bare seeing the pain that he caused for her.
But here she is...before him...making his heart flutter again. Dammit he thinks to himself. I just wanted to see you she says, her blue muzzle warm against his cheek. I hope you are settling in well back in Loess... What else was he to say? I am sorry that I ruined your life? He caused her all this damage why the hell does she keep coming back for more? He failed her, but she was still forgiving of him.
He wanted to fight the urge but he could not, he steps closer to her his cheek gently trails down her neck. I missed you she says, his gaze flicks to her I missed you too Lepis. what was it that she wanted? Did she still want him even after everything that has happened to her? He moves pressing his body against hers, his maw trailed down her spine. What did you really want to say Lepis? He asks flicking his head back towards the blue and dun mare, was there a meaning for this meeting?
'I hope you are settling in well', he says. I smile at that, at the simple fact that he cares enough to hope that.
"I am." I tell him. The nightmares have grown less frequent in the weeks since my return, though I fear that this nightfall will bring them back afresh. I tilt my head to rest my chin across Arthas' dapple back and the bruised muscles protest. "I've missed Loess," I add, because that is also true.
The rolling hills are my home, familiar silhouettes against the starlit sky. There are no vistas like this in the closed woods of Sylva, there are no crisp breezes that blow unencumbered for miles. For a moment I close my eyes, and the quiet of the kingdom rolls over me. There is only the wind and the water and the steady rise and fall of Arthas' breathing. It is familiar and comforting, and I feel some of the tension leave me.
Not all of it though; I suspect that there will always be some.
It does not occur to me that Arthas might blame himself for what had happened to me. He must have known what would happen to any female gift given to Modicum Mortem. I had certainly known. I'd gone anyway, because that is what Arthas requested and a woman must always do as her king requests. I would not dream of holding it against him.
His dark muzzle trails down my spine and my blue eyes flutter open. I bite down the tension, the memories his touch summons. This is Arthas, I remind myself. He will not hurt me. See, he even asks again what I really wanted to say. He cares. He does.
"I didn't really want to talk," I tell him, flicking my navy tail suggestively against his nose. If there is an upside to my time in Sylva (there are certainly a plethora of downsides) it is that I have no doubts on how to appeal to a stallion. I know there are other women, I can smell them on him and he had told me of them, but tonight it is just us. He might have just come from another mare and might leave me after for one, but in this moment I have him.
"I just wanted to see you." I repeat, drawing my head back from where it lay across his neck. I trail my navy muzzle down the curve of his ribs my teeth nibbling gently at his dapple hide. I circle him, pressing my left side against his, no space between us. Like a cat in heat, I pressed my shoulder to his, and murmur into his ear: "I just wanted...you."
A pace ahead, I curve my neck back to look at him over my shoulder. My eyes are dark with an invitation, and my navy tail flicks to the side as I take a step backward, pressing my hindquarters against his neck in a move that is more of a demand than a request.
"You want me too, don't you?" I ask, and while I'd meant the words to come off as seductive, there is much more of a question in them that I'd intended. Does he still want me? Or am I too damaged? The thought is too much and I am suddenly grateful for the nightfall that hides the glitter of unshed tears. "Please?" I add, unable to keep the shaking from my voice.
She was a new Lepis, not that he was complaining. Perhaps it was because she was older now, more mature, but she surely knew how to express what she wanted. His eyes follow her as she responds, how she missed Loess when she was gone. But did you miss me? he thinks to himself.
She admits she did not want to talk and his eyes narrow on her, what was it she wanted then? But she finally says what he wanted to hear I just wanted to see you a smirk grows on his maw. He extends his neck gently nuzzling her flank, she moves her head from his back trailing her muzzle down his ribs. She circles around him, pressing into him. He knew what she was doing, and the tension built up inside, he tried his hardest to maintain his composure. She steps closer whispering into his ear I wanted you and he just about lost himself, but with a bit of discipline he remains where he stands.
His gaze follows as he watches her move once again, she looks at him and she flicks her tail pressing into his neck. She was not looking to play a game, she was telling him exactly what she wanted. The tension between his legs was almost unbearable, he reaches out and gently nips at her rump. You want me to don't you? she asks, her tone had a hint of sorrow in it. Please she says and he flicks his eyes to hers Lepis, I have wanted you since the moment I met you.
With that he jumps atop her, he knows the pain she suffered in Sylva and makes sure that he is gentle with her no matter how rough he really wanted it to be. He reaches out to grab a bit of her mane, yanking on it as he passionately thrusts into her. He knew what season it was, that at the end of this they would walk away and she would birth his child this coming spring. A picture he had dreamt of since he sent her away to Sylva. He gives one last thrust as he reaches his climax, a shiver spiraling up his spine, he lay atop of for a few breaths before falling back to the grounds core. He moves, trailing his maw across her body until he stops at the base of her neck. Lepis, I will always want you, and I will always protect you. he steps closer, wrapping his neck around her.
He is gentle with me, and I am grateful for the tenderness of his caresses. Arthas is as careful with me as I had any right to want him to be, and he treats me as if I am something fragile and lovely. The navy edges of my lips creep up into a faint smile as the blue-grey of my soft eyes and my mind both settle somewhere soft and distant.
Only when he grabs a hank of my dark hair and yanks me back to the present do I truly react to him. I had been passive before, a willing woman, but as he tugs with passion, I find myself meeting him halfway. The sensation surprises me, but I am far from disappointed as I curl around him. If anything, there is an exhilarated spark in my heavily-lidded eyes as I roll my shoulder's beneath his exploring muzzle.
"I think I might make you prove that a few more times," I tease, reaching up to nibble gently at the soft curve of his grey ear. This brightness that has come over me is reminiscent of the Lepis that had left for Sylva. The Lepis that had returned was a far quieter creature, but she is not here on this autumn evening.
Before the elation fades away (I am so worried that it will), I tug softly at a tangle in the stallion's grey mane, smoothing the hairs until they lay against his neck. "So what am I to do in Loess now?" I ask him. "I'm not sure I know how to not be a queen." Or at least, not consort to a king. My world has turned so abruptly in a myriad of ways; I feel as though I've been caught in whirlwind an entire year and am only now able to catch my balance.
