"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
The young colt was quick to agree with Arthas, visiting Loess would be proof enough that he was king. At the same time he would be able to see Loess and all they kingdom had to offer. He introduces himself as Wolfbane, he ingrains the name to his memory and listens as he notes he was born in Tephra. He tells Arthas that he was to young to be on any use to the kingdom and he understands, the colt was now at his prime for discovering himself. He nods his head in acknowledgement, only breaking the silence with a laugh after he jokes about his crown. A playful roll of his eyes and he passes the colt heading in the direction of Loess, he flicks his tail gesturing the direction.
Together they traveled a decent trek from the forest to Loess, it was rather silent and Arthas was observant as he watched the colt, watching his curiosity and how he observed the world around him. Eventually they made it to the Loess border, the stagnant air greets him. He pauses for a moment and turns to the palomino boy This is Loess a small smile tugs at his lips, the kingdom he prides himself upon.
Arthas moves further into the kingdom, a whinny escapes his maw hoping to reach the ears of another member of the kingdom. His eyes turn back to the colt Different than Tephra? he asks. He did not know much about Tephra but the kingdom has not yet visited Loess, either they were scared, did not seek an alliance, or were amongst the most powerful kingdoms. Although from the whispers Tephra was not the strongest, Nerine and Ischia stood at the top, and all the others remained below.
Dear Fairies, how boring was this kingdom! Hills, bushes and trees as far as the roaning stallion could see; except for where the smalles rocks made up some sort of beach - not too inviting a place either. In a few days’ time, Leilan was rightly disappointed, and his life as a prisoner of Arthas not exciting enough. How could he keep this up for a year? There were hardly any other horses around. He had not found out yet if Arthas’ promise that he was being watched constantly held any truth to it, but he was not here to risk it. He was here to perhaps restore the relationship between him and Arthas, and to Leilan, unfortunatelt for Arthas that meant that he would be around to annoy him. Every. Single. Opportunity.
This was one of them. The colt was obviously a new recruit, and the golden-maned piece of annoyance was greeting them easily as if he was just a regular kingdom member. Perhaps that was the best way to win Arthas over, honestly. And it would help him enjoy himself a little also.
”Good day! I see you brought a friend!” he grins his signature cheeky smile, nodding to the youger male. ”Are you here to join Loess? It would be great if you did, there’s definitely a lack of members here.” he told them, nodding as if to himself. Looking at the palomino-blue male, he smiled once again. Cheery as always. ”I’m Leilan. Welcome! Even if it’s just a visit, after all.” Perhaps he could talk to someone else for a change, evem briefly, and the silver-golden maned male is definitely not one to let the opportunity pass.
@[Arthas] @[Wolfbane]
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
For a King, Arthas travels like a rogue bandit. Wolfbane finds it hard to keep up with him, halfway through their journey. He’d always been so dependant on his wings; what need was there for walking? This painfully obvious reminder that not all horses in Beqanna could fast travel seemed like a good lesson for Bane to learn. Patience, after all, had never been his strong suit.
They talk very little, which is fine for the striped boy. He’d much rather be observing the world around them and memorizing this route for later, anyways. Beqanna’s outer corners were still a mystery to him, and he was enjoying the ability to finally have an idea of what his world looked like.
Soon enough, the odd blend of red-and-gold trees thins out and they’ve come to a brief pause: “This is Loess.” Arthas tells him then, naming the smattering of hills and hazy air as his Kingdom. To others it might not seem much - a handful of empty space - but to Wolfbane the atmosphere seems perfect. Even as they ingress further, his excitement grows. “Tephra is different than most every other place.” The new recruit laughs, “But yes, different. In a good way.” He tacks on the end, in case Arthas might want to know.
It’s not long before Arthas’ call rouses another body. Out here, Wolfbane is surprised to see any activity at all, but when a speckled bay approaches he does his best to hide the shock. “Good day!” the new face begins, and for a second Bane expects this to be his new companion here. Wrong is what he ends up being, because Leilan has plenty to say and yet nothing of substance to offer. “I’m Wolfbane, and yes I’m here to join. Why are you here?” He wants to know, holding a curious look for a moment before turning those questioning eyes to his new King, Arthas.
No sooner than the two arrived in Loess and began a conversation did Leilan arrive. A playful roll of his eyes at the presence of the roan stallion, he truly was as annoying as they come but he did not mind him. The stallion seemed to have good intentions, and when it came down to it, he would be a loyal member to whichever kingdom he resides in. He started out good but as he continued to talk he prodded at Arthas, but he was used to the games Leilan played. His body does not tense and he simply ignores the roan and turns to the yellow and blue colt.
Wolfbane notes that Tephra is different than most kingdoms, Arthas had not personally been to the kingdom in person but he has heard of it; the hot kingdom, peaceful in nature. The colt laughs and Arthas returns with a smile and a nod of his head. The colt introduces himself to Leilan and he could not help but laugh as he looks between the two Leilan is my prisoner his voice is nonchalant. He will be here with us for just less than a year now, quiet the jokester huh Leilan. His eyes flick to the roan, waiting for him to input his witty comments.
Enough of Leilan though, the stallion surely provided a distraction and Arthas preferred to speak away from the damn stallion as he always added unnecessary comments. Of course it was wishful thinking, the damn stallion always knew how to seek out Arthas. Anyway, Wolfbane, do you like Loess so far? Our mountains provide a good cover, from the ground at least. He smiles gazing at the colts wings, of course anyone who flies overhead will have a nice birds eye view. He enjoyed the colt, and personally wanted to mentor and see him through a caste, hoping he would reside as a resident.
The colt did not seem to like his little speech, but since it lacked sustenance Leilan couldn’t blame him for it, and he simply nodded respectfully to the winged boy. Because Arthas has already given his version of events, he nods and shrugs. ”Still don’t know why on earth he wanted me, but he stole me, so I’m here to... well.” He flicks his ears as he looks at the grey sideways before continuing, ”Either annoy him enough that he comes to love me or that he kicks me out.” He winks at Arthas, as if to say and I already know that you secretly love it, and smiles cheerfully at Wolfbane.
Something occurs to him as he looks the winged boy over - he is taking this kingdom-picking quite seriously. ”I bet you’re about as serious a face in life as my nephew Kori, but he’s all right, or going to be.” he adds - were all young colts stiff and only just thawing when they turned two, maybe these days? He wonders if it has something to do with the climate he grew up in that he is such a jester, since not many horses are able to stand him these days it seems. Such a pity, life is much more fun if you approached it the Leilan way. But it seemed Trekori was going in the right direction at least. He hopes Arthas and Wolfbane too, some day. But perhaps it’s too early to convince the striped colt of that. He studies the young man’s face, perhaps he can find out.
Aaaand Arthas continues the serious and boring route. Does Wolfbane like Loess? The roan shrugs a little at his question but jerks his head up when he says the mountains would provide cover from eyes on the ground. ”Hey man, don’t go encouraging the young man to seclude himself, come on now.” he complaints. Young male teenagers had the tendency to do that on their own quite well, he knew from experience. ”I am sure Loess has more to offer than that.” he adds - hey, it’s not like he means to harm Loess or Arthas in any way, he can be helpful or try to be sometimes - but in his own way.
@[Wolfbane] @[Arthas]
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
For a prisoner and his guard, Leilan and Arthas seem rather relaxed together. Wolfbane’s surprise seems to grow as the two interact; Leilan winking coyly and chatting him up as if the three had been friends for quite some time. And the mention of a Kori … it makes Wolfbane wonder.
He feels unsettled and that turns him silent, but soon decides that comfort is only the least of his necessities. He wanted to be like his father: bold, respected, and a useful member to his Kingdom. Loess was his Kingdom, now, so he had to make the best of it. “I like what I see.” He tells Arthas with an encouraging smile. It was an honest response, one he follows with, “I can’t wait to get a proper view of it.”
Of course, he means by flying. Leilan, however, finds this idea abhorrent. Bane can only assume it’s because of his lack of wings. How could someone who’s never flown understand the simple wonder of having the skies all to themselves? “You’re right, actually.” Wolfbane chuckles, speaking directly to Leilan now. “I’m sure Loess does have more to offer.” He grins.
His head turns once more to Arthas, and a determined look settles over his square chin. “Who do we consider our allies and enemies? I want to start my training as soon as possible.”
Leilan continues to spew out pointless chatter, striking at every chance possible against Loess and Arthas himself. He grows tired of the stallions annoying tactics, but releasing him would be exactly what he wants, now that wouldn't be any fun now would it? Perhaps if he was a bit younger, like the first time he found himself in beqanna, he would be much more rash. More likely to fight, or kick the annoying stallion out of his kingdom, but he is wiser, he is much harder to annoy.
His gaze flicks back to Wolfbane when he announces he likes Loess, a smile curls his lips. We are glad to have you Bane, a strong warrior you will become. Arthas will see to it himself, he wanted to aid the colt in his training, who knows perhaps he could be the kingdom viceroy in time.
Wolfbane seemed off-put at the earlier stages of Leilans conversation, but towards the end he manages to return similar tone. I'm sure Loess does have more to offer Arthas flicks a gaze to Leilan before returning to Bane, the young colt had such a bright future. The palomino and blue colt then returns the conversation to Arthas asking who the allies and enemies are, eager to start training. Bane, I think you will do great things for this kingdom. His gaze turns to Leilan If you don't mind Leilan, I have to speak to Bane on matters that do not pertain to you. He snorts, his body shifts from the relaxed state it was in, moving farther away from the roan stallion. We have an alliance with Sylva, the residents are free to move amongst our kingdom, as we are there kingdom. Then there is Hyaline, we are friendly with them, no stealing or challenging there members. He pauses, he briefly spoke to Hestia, queen of Nerine and had no issues with her. Although he has not yet heard of anyone from Tephra, and perhaps it was his duty to seek them out. But all that aside there was Ischia, a look of disgust takes over his face Ischia is our only enemy at the current time, they think they can do whatever they want. Should you see an Ischian member lurking around they are to be removed from the lands immediately. He gazes around before stopping in his place and gazes at Bane I want to personally see you succeed Bane, should you ever need to sharpen your skills we can mock together, if you have any questions you are more than welcome to find me. I truly hope that you will find Loess to be just as suiting a home to you.
05-18-2018, 12:08 PM (This post was last modified: 05-18-2018, 12:09 PM by Leilan.)
To be honest, Leilan rather liked Arthas. And Wolfbane too, since the colt manages to loose a bit of his initial stiffness. He's rather upset that Arthas turns him down so easily, dismisses him like a small child that's asking too many questions. Heck, he thought he was here to learn a bit about Loess, maybe come to like it. But with this continuous behaviour, he doesn't think he can do so, because first he needs to overcome the idea of Arthas being king (and not as Leilan's temporary king, but the fact that he is king at all - since he wasn't chosen by Loess' members but rather they all fled when he became king, that doesn't sound like he's good at his job). And the dapple grey is not making that task easy for the roan at the moment. So far he's only been bossing the slightly younger stallion around. If that's all he thinks he can do with a prisoner, or do to anyone who might be "beneath" him, he's honestly just not worth much of Leilan's attention. Perhaps that's why he sticks around so far - hoping that by keeping him on edge, he may see another side of the Andalusian male.
But Arthas even goes so far as to almost-literally order him away. If you don't mind Leilan, I wish to speak to Bane alone. Now, that, I tell you, stings. But he can handle. He snorts. "I don't mind you talking business." he says, but tags along anyway. Arthas didn't say he had to leave, just that he was going to talk to Bane alone, which meant ignoring the golden-clad roan. Which also meant he was free to tag along as long as he didn't interfere. It's bordering on what was ordered, but he's always good at finding the loopholes.
So it is that he hears about the alliance with Sylva - he knew that - and Hyaline - he wasn't told, cause why bother? He narrows his eyes at Arthas' back, but what finally causes him to bolt (figuratively today) is that he calls Ischia their enemy. He stops, and speaks loudly at the dapple grey. "I don't think Brennen even knows you hate him so much, Arthas." he tells the male - coolly now. Too bad, this rivalling thing that they had going on in a somewhat friendly manner, now turns another way. But he's not done yet, and doesn't allow the other to speak up. "And I seriously don't understand why. There's been one steal attempt from Ischia in that mess of random steals that went about everywhere, just before you ended up with me, and they've stolen from Sylva just as well. Do I have to tell you about the attempts from Nerine and the other kingdoms?" His ears lay flat against his head when he spits out the words. "I for one thought we might be as similar in kingdoms as two could get. But it seems you're dead-set on making your most likely ally your very worst enemy." he finishes.
And before either stallion gets a chance to speak up or attack, he turns and gallops away from them.
Fuck you, Arthas.
@[Wolfbane] @[Arthas]
Well, that escalated quickly. He's actually hurt and angry about it!
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
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