"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
Tickaani decided she liked these two. Still slightly uneasy with Ryan's odd skills, she nevertheless found his persona to be pleasant. And then there was Keeper. She figured that to know the sweet little mare was to love her. Gentleness and confidence radiated from the golden lass, and she seemed to have a temperament to match her pelt. Her earthy normalcy also helped Tick deal with the new strangeness she'd recently been exposed to. Reassured by Keeper's soothing tone and words, she began to feel more at ease.
This ended up being a short lived relaxation. From seemingly thin air, a grotesque sight appeared. A quickly growing mass of black and bloody red sprouted from the earth, finally resolving into a horse-like form. Glittering eyes, more than there should be, blinked at the little group before the extra were reabsorbed into the now fully formed, yet hairless body. Tick's own skin shivered with a crawling sensation as she watched in mute horror.
Confusion passed over the newcomer's visage, and suddenly lustrous ebony hair sprouted and flowed across the hairless skin. Her entrance made, the recently repulsive creature now stood before them as a glossy mare, black as a ravens wing. Tickaani had to pause at the introduction offered. So nonchalant after such an obviously designed-to-impress display. She shook her mane out, trying to rid herself of that creeping feeling, disliking being so startled in one afternoon. These horses were not given to subtlety, it would seem.
"Greetings Caw. What can we help you with this day?" She asked, working a bit to keep her timbre even. She would not be cowed by more flashy displays, she decided. The moment of weakness at Ryan's exposé was passed. From now on, she must not react. Likely, gawking would be considered rude here as much as anywhere.
I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory
He is very glad that, after a moment, Tickaani seems to be taking it all in stride. He lets his coat brighten back to its usual dappled gold, his points darkening to their mulberry color, a breath of relief shuddering out of his body almost of its own accord as he listens to Keeper and Tickaani explain pleasantries. He likes the little dun mare, and he wonders again where she hails from, because the boy wouldn't mind following someone home whose presence is so soothing and just...nice. He leans towards them absently, that closeness appealing to every fiber of his being, but jerks back at the disembodied voice.
Ryan's eyes go wide, his ears flat back against his head as he jerks away from the girls, but that is about all of the warning any of them get before he isn't a horse. Unlike the stranger, who draws out the process is an almost exhibitionist way, Ryan simply is and horse and in the next moment he isn't; instead a tawny cougar crouches between them and the threat he has subconsciously perceived, teeth bared in a protective growl that is betrayed by the fear in his bright green eyes. His reactions, normally much more reserved, are still on hair-trigger from time spent journeying alone. You don't have time to give strangers the benefit of the doubt when you are young and alone in the wilds outside of Beqanna.
Words from the dark-colored mare don't bring him any instant relief, and he stays crouched between them, tensely tucked against the ground, silent, the twitching of the tip of his tail betraying continued anxiety as he waits for something to change in the situation.
“I prefer meat.”
Her ears swivel to take in the quiet amusement of the new speaker. Keeper’s black gaze followed a moment later but could not discern the disembodied voice in their midst, at least not right away because a grasshopper began to break up the gaps in their conversation with noise. Then it occurred to her that a grasshopper was rather out of place in this particular season, like most bugs tended to be when the last of summer’s heat faded away. Still, Keeper did not look for the little insect even though she spared it a sympathetic thought for it’s seasonal confusion.
Not that she would have had time to look for a grasshopper because it’s song died and a black speck began to metamorphose into the more common and less spectacular shape of a horse. This horse had beautiful gold eyes except that she had three too many and all of them seemed to focus on the trio that stood before her, startled no doubt, and gape-mouthed or at least Keeper was. It was because this particular transformation was drawn out and meant to shock them as it had served it’s purpose in doing just that.
Now that she could focus on more than just the unnatural change and too many eyes, she realized the horse was bald. Not a lick of hair to her for all that her apologetic grin seemed more eerie because of this lack as bit by bit, the black fur grew back and the mane and tail filled out thick and full. Keeper could not keep her eyes off this strange mare that had come amongst them or perhaps been there all along, just unseen and as something else. That part did not surprise her all that much to be honest - the change did, because it was meant to shock as much as it awed her to some extent.
Keeper grew more concerned about how Tickaani would respond to this, it had to be too much for one to bear. She didn’t respond to Caw right away, instead shuffling a step closer to the blue roan mare and reaching out to stroke a comforting nose down her neck. Tickaani however, mustered a rather even keeled and kind response to Caw that impressed Keeper and made her feel the first pinpricks of pride at how well the blue roan handled herself in this trying situation. She beamed a great big smile at her, prouder than words could say. Tick had some sand in her craw after all, not that Keeper doubted for one moment that the mare wouldn’t be capable of handling her own.
It might be something that their kind recognize in each other, not to exclude Ryan or Caw but they had impressive abilities that made them much more than horses. Keeper and Tick had to compensate with hooves, blunt teeth, and their own wily brains. Not that she has forgotten him, but it occurs to her then that Ryan might not respond so well to this interruption either and her black eyes swing quick to him in a panic. She’d trusted him to just be there, as he’d been leaning in ever closer to the blue roan and herself as the three of them had become close in such a short amount of time (unless she’s fooling herself but there seemed to be a connection there).
Her eyes find not a horse but a tawny cougar in a crouch. Keeper ought to be afraid of him, since the big cat is a natural enemy to the horse but she recognizes those green eyes as Ryan’s and finds that she cannot fear him at all, well a tad bit because fear is healthy to have but it’s Ryan in there, not a predator on the hunt. That and he seems more protective of Tickaani and her than anything else… her taut muscles began to relax in fractions, through moments of silence and the sound of their combined breathing until she eases from the blue roan’s side to Ryan’s cougar self and drops her nose into the fur of his neck. She is mindful of the twitching tip of his tail because it flicks against her ankles a time or two. “Easy Ryan.” she counsels him softly, blowing out a warm breath against his tawny pelt.
She lifts her nose from his back to look at the black mare again, really noticing her small but commanding appearance for the first time as she looks beyond the glimmer of her gold eyes. “I’m afraid you gave us all quite a fright with that change. I’m Keeper, and I think it’s nice to meet you Caw.” That’s one thing that Keeper cannot be faulted for - her honesty, because on the one hoof, she does believe it is nice to be in the presence of a fascinating creature like Caw but at the same time, Ryan’s shift does bring back a little of her initial shock and doubt.
Tick eyed her two companions as this new mare, this Caw, continued her almost teasing mutations. Now she was mimicking Ryan's cat-form. He had shifted from one heart beat to the next when Caw made her unusual appearence, and Tick felt concern that his aggressive posturing might provoke Caw."Ryan, settle down and be a horse again." She admonished him lightly, hoping he'd mind her. Luckily, the strange black mare seemed to be taking it all in stride, enjoying their consternation, even. Tickaani listened as she began to speak, offering a startling invitation. Tick huffed a breath, unsure of what exactly was happening here. She looked to Keeper and Ryan, hoping they'd have some insight. Though they were both younger than her, she was knew they were both native to this land. Perhaps such invitations were commonplace here? Like shape-shifting horses. Regardless, she was hesitant to go anywhere along with the tricky mare. It wasn't that she didn't trust her. It was just that she didn't trust her. She felt that she had been given no reason to. But perhaps, if Ryan and Keeper were willing, she might just see where this went. She had nothing to lose, and an island kingdom, even a damaged one, sounded intriguing. "Well, what do you think?" She asked the two others. "It's an interesting offer. Might be worth investigating." She mused aloud. A breeze picked up along the openness of the field, ruffling her mane and tail, dragging a bite of winter in its wake. Yes, a sheltered place was sounding better and better to her. She waited to see what the others thought, but she was steadily growing in favor of following the shifter-mare. There were many paths she had not walked yet, and this was one of them. And if there were three of them, they could put up a decent fight if Caw decided to turn on them. Even with her and Keeper being plain as mud ponies, they could still fight the old fashioned way. Pleased with this idea, she rested back on her heels, waiting to see how Keeper and Ryan would respond.*
I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory
He is still frozen, each much still but prepared to move at any minute, when Keeper sidles up to him, lowering her nose to breathe a comforting breath into the thick sand-gold pelt at the back of his neck. One dark-tipped ear flicks back to listen to her words, and the other still trained on the newcomer as she flips quickly between equine and feline form, imitating Ryan much as he had imitated Tick. Except, you know, less benign. Still, despite the mischievous way she had come on scene, Caw sounds and looks reasonably friendly. Ryan hesitates, stretching up to a regular stance from the crouch but still quite feline.
It is Tick's slightly scolding tone that tips the scale in the favor of calm, and he shudders out a deep breath and with the exhale, rippling and expanding back into horse form again. He is bigger this way, and it puts him quite close to Keeper, but he leans into the dunskin mare a moment (he doesn't think she'll mind) before taking a half-step away, giving his tail a hard swish to reassure himself of its horseness. "I'm Ryan," he offers, though perhaps unnessacarily since both mares have already addressed him by name in front of Caw.
Considering Caw's words Ryan tilts his head, letting his purple forelock fall away from his eyes, which he levels on her even as a frown appear as on his face, not an unhappy frown but a thinking frown. He has a lot of different frowns - mother had always laughed at him and told him he should try happier faces, but solemn and serious seemed more his way even when he was quite little. "Ischia...is an island." the young stallion repeats the words and glances meaningfully at Keeper, Tick, and then his own feet. "I don't know about living in a place I can only leave a few hours a day at low tide, lest I have to swim acrosss an ocean or wait until the next time the ocean has retreated." The purple-tipped buckskin doesn't remember all of his travels through Beqanna before he left, but he certainly remembers the inconenience of trying to reach Ischia. He had mother had a tried a couple times, but soon given up.
It would be days before Keeper would heed a fairy’s call and come, curious, to the gathering. Days, before she changed into a legendary cryptid that her grandmother had told her of. More days, before she realized or even acknowledged that she’d become a shifter too. Only nothing so cute as either of the cougars before Tickaani and her. Keeper would eventually become a bear.
Caw, with her oilslick skin, seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit.
Keeper kept her nose buried in the cougar ruff of Ryan’s neck, only raising her head up a fraction as she blew out a surprised snort from her flaring nostrils as a more outlandish cougar take shape before them. More of Caw’s impressive tricks. But as quick as she is a wildcat, she’s a horse again and mentioning how she means them no harm and for the first time, Keeper can see that she is a tad bit younger than the rest of them and a wry grin skips across her own lips.
She can feel Tick’s eyes on her and she gives her a muddled look of helplessness and mirth. The entire situation was becoming a bit absurd but Caw was blazing on ahead with a bold explanation and invitation to some island that Keeper has heard of but never seen before. Islands don’t hold much appeal to her. She hasn’t much time for further thought when Ryan shivers back into his horse-form and leans on her. Keeper misses the touch of him the moment he is gone from her; she was - for all they still knew - mostly a horse and craved things like the closeness of a herd, even if this was an odd assemblage of such for the time being.
Tick seems to be all for this idea of an island. Ryan, on the other hoof, seems a bit more hesitant and his hesitance is an opening that Keeper slips into with a quick shy smile for all of them. “Well, since Ischia has been mentioned. I might as well get down to business myself and throw in an offer of a place to visit. I’m from a land called Hyaline and you are all welcome to visit there, or maybe even make it your home.” This hadn’t gone according to plan, not that Keeper had had much of a plan to begin with.
“Sorry, I usually like to know someone before I just tell them to come with me.” she offers with a giggle of her own and a glance to Caw. She admired the mare’s shock-and-awe method just a bit. It certainly gave her a good opening to extend her invitation. Keeper usually just struck up polite but interesting conversation and went on from there.
not knowing how deep the woods are and lightless
ooc: sorry to have kept you all waiting! and also sorry it's not the greatest post lol. <3
11-29-2017, 02:32 PM (This post was last modified: 11-29-2017, 02:33 PM by Tickaani.)
I know my way through the night to your door...
Tick smiled to herself a bit. It seemed they were divided. She had been to like Ryan and Keeper in their short acquaintance, and Caw was far and away a wild thing. All three of them held youth close, and had time eekly to figure out what they really wanted out of life. She hoped they'd get to make that choice for themselves. I'm the meantime, however, they had dwelled here long enough. The blue dusted mare lifted her head, and eyed each of her companions in turn. She mused a moment longer before speaking at last. "Ryan, I think you and Keeper had best stick together. I think she'll do right by you, dear." She suggested gently. The poor boy was so on edge. She had the idea that Keeper, in all her peaceful cheeriness, would be good company for him. She may give him a place to settle into, as it seemed he really needed.
Next, she turned to the enigmatic black filly before her. Caw. For all her startling ways and pugnacious personality, Tick sensed that maybe, maybe, the girl could use a friend. Now over the original shock of her, Tick felt that she could keep an eye on strangeling. Regardless, she truly was curious about the island she spoke of. It would be something else, she was sure of that. "I think I'll take you up on your offer, Caw. An island sounds like fun, though I make no promise of staying long. From what I've seen, this land is wide and varied, and I intend to see as much of it as I can." She ended, head nodding decisively. There was, of course, nothing to say that anyone had to do what she suggested. But to her mind, it was a sound plan. At the very least, it would get them moving.
She stepped gracefully to the oily mare's side, and gazed fondly at the two youngsters now opposite her. "I don't believe this will be the last we see of each other." She mentioned off hand. There was no premonition behind her words, no real reason to say them at all. Just a feeling that their paths would cross again someday. She looked forward to it.
tickaani
OOC: Short, sweet, to the point. Maybe we can all move on from the field finally lol. @[keeper] @[Ryan] @[Caw]
