i've got some damn bad intentions - stillwater

[Djinni]

djinni

She has tempered her coloring since her venture into the meadow, but there is no denying that Djinni is rather more well-equipped than she usually is this evening.

Djinni shimmers into existence between two towering pillars of granite, shielded by the heavy shadows of a new moon. There is a leathery rustling as she settles the black dragon wings tightly to her sides, and the faint moonlight glimmers against her horns as she steps out onto the beach.

She’s been busy lately, half-following Nayl’s orders and half-doing-whatever-she-wanted. She is not as trapped as Raene as she would be in any other identity: the fish-shifting and color changing were convenient abilities. She should thank the Wildcat King for that, or perhaps his salmon queen had more in common with the aquatic animals than simply her coloring.

As she walks, her hooves leave crescents in the damp grey sand, marking her direct path down the beach. She clearly has a destination in mind, and when she finally stops at the mouth of @[Stillwater]’s cave, it is obvious that this place is the end of her journey. She could have simply appeared there – or wherever he happened to be – but she has at least a modicum of respect for privacy, so she calls for him from outside the safety of his damp abode.

“Stillwater,” she calls, a teasing lilt in her salt-rough voice, “I need you to do something for me.”

current appearance:
natural build – slim
smokey grullo minimal tobiano
black dragon wings
black dama gazelle horns

[Stillwater]

Stillwater

He didn't hear her approach, or smell her. Maybe, just maybe, he might have felt her. But he probably imagined it.

His gaze slid to the entrance just as her slender silhouette filled his doorway and blocked the ambient light splashing around the deep, dark corridor. He remained where he was and watched her from the darkness. A guest was unexpected, even when he thought she might come for him eventually. So far the residents of Nerine kept away from his home, and wisely so.

"Stillwater, I need you to do something for me."

Her teasing summons reverberated within the cave in dancing melody, magnified and further driven to him by the repeating echo in the empty space. A lazy, dark chuckle was bounced back to her in answer, warped and hollow as though through a tin-can telephone. Like a pet, am I? Called and commanded, expecting obedience. She is a funny girl. There was a quiet brush of water underlying his soft echoing laughter, then solid steps as he drew nearer.

If only she would come inside, though. Mmm..Nayl said he could do anything with anyone within the boundary of his cave. Ah, but she was a tricky one with that teleportation trick of hers. So slippery.

He paused in the darkness as he took his time to observe her change in appearance. Horns. The wings pressed to her sides went unnoticed, blending in too well with the curve of her outline. His nostrils flared warily, skeptical of this new form of magic from her but otherwise indifferent. What other little secrets did she have tucked away?

A pet, am I? An errand boy? he drawled smoothly as he stepped close enough for the light to play across the planes of his face. A subtle grin and dancing eyes told of his amusement. Of course she would be bold enough to come here when no other would. She knew no fear, and certainly held none toward him. He wouldn't even try to deny the tingle of excitement it sent through his blood.

What-- He cut himself off sharply, nostrils flaring again as he breathed in deeply. His eyelids shuttered over the dilation in his dark eyes as he caught that faint hint of something.. different, yet almost familiar. Something entirely too tempting. It tugged at his heart to play, to dance. Not going to happen.
Djinni, he whispered, a wistful smile parting his lips as he slowly opened his eyes to meet her gaze. But he let the thought go unfinished. Another time, another time. Other things first. Funny girl. Such a puzzle.

You have come to me with a task, then. What is it you'd like to ask of me? Carefully neutral, he breathed evenly to steady his pulse.

[Djinni]

djinni

It is apparent that he is inside the cave; his scent is too fresh for it to be empty.

For all her curiosity she has never explored it, even when she knew that he was far and away. Djinni does not like anyone prying at her own secrets, and for the most part she allows others their own as well. She has equal reason to trust and distrust Stillwater, until the balance shifts either way he is safe from her curious eyes. Or until she is bored, but fortunately for the black stallion, she won't be bored for quite some time.

His laughter elicits a quick smile on her dark mouth - she has never been fearful of things that dwell in darkness. She wonders if he keeps away the others with the way it echoes eerily against the stone; the cave smells only of him.

The pooling water (and the crashing waves along the beach) muffles his footstep, and she turns her face toward him as he emerges from the darkness. His amusement is reflected on her own face as she replies that: “You came when called. An excellent quality in a pet.” And it is, but Djinni has no doubt that Stillwater would be utterly atrocious in captivity. He’s clearly one to make his own way through life, he would rage and rail against chains. Now that’s an interesting thought, she finds, but perhaps best left for later when she’s sure he means to stand behind the apology he has offered for their happenings at their first meeting.

She likes the way that he says her name, but she likes it better from another mouth, and so when she steps closer, she does tauntingly with the knowledge that she’ll not carry through. “I didn’t come to ask,” she replies as she inches forward, “I came to take you up on your offer.” The grullo mare presses her muzzle to the stallion’s neck, yet even before the warmth of the contact can fully seep through, they’ve left the seaside and appeared in an equally dark wood. She flickers back into existence farther from him than she has been a heartbeat ago, her head tilted curiously as she waits for some sort of response to his relocation before she continues.

current appearance:
natural build – slim
smokey grullo minimal tobiano
black dragon wings
black dama gazelle horns

[Stillwater]

Stillwater

"You came when called. An excellent quality in a pet."
He smiled darkly in response, but gave no comment.
"I didn't come to ask, I came to take you up on your offer."

Interest lit his eyes as she edged closer. He didn't even respond to her, and let it hang between them. She had given her forgiveness. He would not be fulfilling any task unless he thought it might help him in some way. But this, this stepping closer to him. That was good. He liked where that was going. She wasn't Queen. He could have this one. If he could catch her. For now, he didn't try. For now he only wanted to feel her touch.

The velvet of her muzzle pressed to his cool skin, and before he could even savor it, the world altered violently.

He reacted.
He lunged for her without any cry of warning; no growl, no roar. But the damn woman was tricky. One moment she was touching him and the next she was away again. He stumbled, disoriented from the experience of sudden travel. Then he slowly straightened and glared at her. Had he been a feline, his tail would have swished in agitation. Instead he only glowered for a moment, then burned across their surroundings with the heat of wrathful annoyance in his eyes.

Trees and darkness. No moon could penetrate this vile place. His nostrils flared.
Where have you taken me, he asked flatly. And where is the water.

He didn't much care for this place. The darkness was acceptable enough. He knew the darkness. But it was dry, so dry. If there was a river in this place --a pond, a lake, he couldn't smell it from here. He didn't ask after it though. His odd attachment to water was not something he'd reveal to her, this devilish trickster. He could find it himself, if he must, but he hoped he'd be away from this place soon and returned to his home.

Blue-gray eyes found her again. A task, then. And after, she would set him back where he belonged.

Your task, Djinni.

He had no reason to do it, save that he wasn't meant to be in this place.
He would have this one some day, he swore it. She would be his.