"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
08-23-2018, 11:08 PM (This post was last modified: 08-24-2018, 06:32 PM by Kagerus.)
kagerus
and in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times
I'd intended on going to the mountain today, but of course, the weather had another fucking idea.
Thunder, lightning, gods and mortals! To clash and to roar, how mighty and entitled they are in their heavenly seats. I curse their names quite unabashedly as they send down their fury of rain, though my anger is neatly concealed by the rolling thunder. In the flashes of lightning, any who might look on would see me running, tail between my legs, towards the thick canopy of the nearby forest, sopping wet and clearly miserable.
What they might also notice, maybe upon a second glance, is a strangely shaped creature loping easily - though angrily, tail lashing - by my side. Why did you choose today, horse, when you've been procrastinating so much you might as well have waited another day?// WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT UP, I DON'T LIKE THIS EITHER!// Well no need to yell, horse, I'm just saying.//How would you feel if I called you cat? Hmmm? You belligerant feline, who even gave you the right to follow me like this...//You'll thank me one day horse.
Doubly furious now, we finally reach the safety of the thick forest. My coat stings where the rain has been absolutely pelting me, and lithe, flexible Panthera makes a show of sitting on her rump and giving herself a thorough grooming with that tongue of hers. Brat. Irritated that she's here at all - considering that she usually keeps quite a distance from me almost all the time - I turn my own rump to her, ear pinned against my skull and my antlers. We'll have to wait out this storm, whether we like each other's company or not...
And then, on to the mountain. My stomach clenches at the thought; perhaps it's not the storm that I'm so mad at after alll...
" when she's coming for my heart it feels like armageddon. "
He wanders home after enjoying his rendezvous with Leliana, already hungry for more of her time and more of her weak whimpers. There is a faint flicker of anger when the rain sweeps over him and washes the crimson copper taste of her from his lips. Vulgaris lifts his gray head to glare up at the skies but he doesn’t bother himself to dwell on the mood for very long. Instead, he retreats to the forests where the trees might break up some of the persistent storm from drenching him further. His wet scales are shining in the lightning that flashes between the autumn leaves but he doesn’t seem to notice. Looks don’t mean much to someone like him, not until he earns a few more scars.
But then he spies the leopard and he stops in his tracks to observe the feline with a grim delight. He’s seen predatory cats before, of course, but the cougars and bobcats didn’t hold a candle to this strange thing. Instantly, he wonders what it tastes like and if its claws could rip him open like the others had. A smile smears across his pointed teeth so wide it reaches his pale green eyes. He creeps closer until he notices the girl with her back to the cat looking like the leopard has forgotten their anniversary. Confusion takes the place of curiosity.
The halo of fertility has left the women of Beqanna and so his interest in her is owed only to her companion.
“What an odd sight you two are,” he says as he leans his shoulder against the rough bark of a naked tree. His ink black forelock sticks to the side of his face while the fat drops of rain quickly drip from his chin. “I’m Vulgaris, by the way, the Paladin of Loess.”
Handsome fool, he’s already forgotten the trouble his home as stirred up recently. But he’s never been one to shy away from conflict anyway – on the contrary, he’s just here to stir the pot. His eyes remain focused on the leopard even though he’s spoken to the foreign queen. In the back of his mind, he still wants to earn those scars he so desperately craves.
08-24-2018, 06:40 PM (This post was last modified: 08-24-2018, 07:14 PM by Kagerus.)
kagerus
and in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times
With my back turned to Panthera - and it's far worse than her forgetting our anniversary thank you very much - it's easy to spot the slithering equine's approach. One part of me holds stubbornly to my anger and my inner turmoil over Solace, but the other part becomes distracted, entranced by the way this creature glimmers and by the way his teeth leave a shiver running down my wet spine. Behind me, the leopard issues a low, warning growl; but though we are alike, we are not the same, and I allow the stallion to finish his approach.
I stay silent as he leans himself against the rough bark of a nearby tree, commenting on the oddity we present to the occasional passerby; I keep my expression neutral. But then he says his name - one I quite like - and his home - one I quite dislike. With the word Loess now sitting like a bomb between us, my ears slowly press back, though I don't allow them to completely flatten. What a time to be in a fight with your horse-wife, horse. My tail snaps behind me, sting my familiar's stomach mercilessly. But I know she's right. If Solace and I hadn't gotten into that fight, perhaps we wouldn't have been so tense in our reaction to Loess' jab at us.
And I would know about Ilma stealing Lepis.
(Thank GOD I don't know about that yet... I don't know how much more I can take without losing my fucking mind. They think that I "went off" already? Boy do I have news for them about just how off I can go).
"Loessian." The word comes out as if I'd swallowed it and found it vile. At my hocks, Panthera rolls from where she'd been strewn to her paws, the claws found there flexing thoughtfully into the wet earth. Lightning flashes, and not three seconds later, a boom rolls over us. I don't break eye contact with the snake, not even when my withers twitch for the sound and the rain and the flash. I don't know what to do, nor what to say; so I say nothing, when Panthera steps forward.
She is sleek in the rain, the clouded markings upon her coat gleaming, mirroring the ones which hide in my own fur, revealed only in the moonlight. The black nose at the point of her face twitches as she approaches the snake, her amber eyes all too knowing for a creature which ought not be sentient. Her lips peel back, revealing teeth which outshine even the snake's; and from the predator's throat comes a churr, neither hostile nor friendly; a feeler...
She can sense his attraction to her.
I sit back on my haunches, interested in just how this might play out.
The thunder crashes.
" when she's coming for my heart it feels like armageddon. "
He turns his gaze to the queen as she pins her ears back in a display of aggression that he doesn’t quite understand. His gray head tilts slightly as he observes her but he says nothing until it clicks in his mind what Lepis had done recently. Oh. Right. Would she believe that the boisterous laughter that erupts from him is an honest accident? All those rows of pointed teeth shimmer in the lightning as he recalls the warning that great queen Kagerus had issued the members of Loess, and now here she is – drenched and pissed off like the cat beside her. It’s too much for him.
“Vulgaris,” he corrects her with a chuckle curling through the warmth of his voice. He’s not offended, really, but it’s an excuse to get a little further under her skin. But then the cat is moving once more and his hunger for senseless violence is reignited within his chest. She steps forward and he matches her movements on his long legs while his lips spread to reveal his teeth once more. The pit organs behind his nostrils watch her closely – brilliant oranges and reds against a navy blue backdrop – to overcome the darkness cast by the storm and the forest canopy. His sight remains unbothered by the flickering of lightning. Venom drips from one of his fangs in anticipation of their collision.
“Let’s make a bet. If I can devour your pet in one bite, Ilma comes to Loess. If it takes two, then I’ll be your prisoner instead.” His voice is breathy like a lustful suitor whispering into his lady’s ears, burdened so heavily with want and unbridled desire. (He would like that, wouldn’t he? To be the antlered queen’s slave for a year or two?)
But he does not wait for her response or some indignant warning as she had given Loess before. Already, his body is surging forward with his head tucked low to scoop the leopard into his waiting jaws. The cougars had all been quick to leap at him with outstretched claws and he can still recall the way he caught their small chests tight between his fangs. Will this strange cat do the same?
The hunger drives a reptilian hiss from deep within him. What a fine game they’ll play today.
08-26-2018, 08:18 PM (This post was last modified: 08-26-2018, 08:18 PM by Kagerus.)
He laughs.
The sound of it grates against my ears, sending unreachable itches into the marrow of my bones - it's not that I dislike the sound, but it leaves me feeling unsettled and on edge. My eyes snag on the dripping points of his fangs in a flash of lightning, and the underside of my body tingles at the sight, the feeling extending its grasp all the way to my womanhood. My ears flatten further as confusion at this bodily reaction takes over me, my back hoof lifting as if to put more distance between us. But my leopard moves for me; and I am left to watch the interplay of these two predator's interaction.
Vulagris, he hisses to her. In my mind, Panthera is silent; transfixed by the hunger that she sees in the snake's venomous eyes. In my chest, my heart remains stubbornly quiet, perhaps influenced by my familiar's composure in the face of... dangerous prey. Her tail whisks just above the sodden terra, the muscles in her shoulders visibly clenching as she prepared for the offensive.
If it takes two, then I'll be your prisoner instead.
Without awaiting response, the viper strikes; as if made of lightning himself, Vulgaris unclamps his jaw and lunges for Panthera. The feline yowls her disapproval, dashing sideways and out of danger as she keenly senses my intentions; already my head has lowered in preparation, and as the stallion continues his charge, our weapons collide.
Breathless and somehow both filled with adrenaline and utterly calm, I raise my head; and attached to my left antler by the curve of his dripping fang, Vulgaris too raises his head, neck twisting at an awkward angle as I so simply bar his movement. In the angular nature of our lock-hold, I catch the serpent's eyes, holding it as I issue a new deal.
"Queens do not often accept terms from snakes." My tone is biting - but not as biting as perhaps this masochist would like. "But I'm feeling generous." As if from out of nowhere, my cat materializes at my side, just where Vulgaris can see her. She steps to him, raising a paw and unsheathing her claws, only to run the smooth leather of her toes harmlessly down his cannon bone.
"If I let my pet have her way with you..." And here it is my own voice's turn to play the seductress, dripping not only in rain but also in sex and promise of gore and glory. "Then you will take no part in any offensive moves made by Loess towards Hyaline." I expect him to agree, though I would never expect him to be truthful. Desire makes a liar of us all. "If not, you will leave - and I promise you," At the base of his ankle, Panthera pierces his skin with a single claw, the warm blood found therein gushing over her fur. "You will be sorry you did."
" when she's coming for my heart it feels like armageddon. "
The sound of Panthera yowling furiously is like a hymn to his ears and it makes his heart quiver so eagerly in his chest. It can hardly manage the endorphins pulsing wildly through it when the cat scrambles out of the path of his angry teeth. Vulgaris knows he has too much momentum going to stop so abruptly so his options are to either follow the cat’s dash to the side or allow himself to get tangled in the queen’s waiting antlers. Killing and eating the leopard is still in an intriguing notion but letting himself crash into those horns is also not something he gets every day. Choices, choices.
Again there is a fit of guttural laughter, booming and loud enough to echo off the trees around them when she lifts her head and drags him up with her by his fangs. It hurts all the way into his skull but he does not try to pry himself from her grasp just yet. There is a glimmer of something still feral, still so very unrefined in the eye that burrows straight to Kagerus’s soul. A drop of his venom splashes against her cheek and rests there like a precious gem among the raindrops. Good thing it’s not acidic.
He entertains her by listening to her offer. The serpent notes the sultry tone her voice takes on and the way she sounds so deliciously hungry for him when she lays out her deal. Leliana has woven her spell over him, though, and he feels surprisingly detached to the situation at hand. The queen can offer him pain and punishment while the angel threatens to rip his heart to pieces if he makes one wrong move. Wounds turn to scars but the burden of abandonment is an ache that never heals.
Vulgaris unhinges his jaw and slips from her antlers to stare into her eyes. His gaze is smoldering and unblinking while he considers her threat with a hint of amusement. Hard to threaten someone quite like him, isn’t it? But then Panthera is bribing him with a taste of her claws and something like a purr, metallic and reptilian all at once, rumbles from his throat. His blood feels blistering hot as it rolls down his skin.
“You want me to forfeit my right to god knows how many fights all for one with your pet?” he asks with a tilt of his head. “You rejected my offer so callously. Why shouldn’t do the same?”
He wonders what she would taste like, dripping into his mouth and over his tongue.
“I believe you’re only as good as your word, so I can’t make you any promises. How about we both earn some scars and just see what happens later on?”
And then he’s smiling with all those terrible teeth glimmering together, stepping a little closer until they’re nearly touching. Being this close feels like he's up on a high wire, like one misstep could send his whole world spinning out of control until it ultimately ends him. His skin feels as though it’s on fire and he can’t wait to see what this moment brings ultimately him.
{ and in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times }
He laughs, and as if in agreeance, the sky booms. Around us, the trees raise their hackles, their leaves bristling and rustling and screaming as the wind threatens to shred them bare. His fangs add their drops to the pouring rain, the prongs of my antlers strike in odd directions like lightning; it's as if the storm is here because of us in this moment, singing our song in its guttural tongue.
But then, he is retreating. As if I'd not had the upper hand whatsoever, he unhinges his jaw and slips; the storm becomes just that. A storm. The glimmer of interest in my eyes lessens, though it doesn't fade completely. Panthera however busies herself at his ankles, toying with him, drawing blood; I want to roll my eyes at her antics, but they'd been my antics too up until a moment ago. His gaze is smoldering, if laughing; I hold it almost distastefully. He's declined my fun, even if he hasn't said so yet... And that's no fun.
But his argument holds up. I don't lessen the callous nature of my stare though, preferring instead the illusion of aloofness. My ear flicks back as if a more interesting sound comes somewhere behind us, in the depths of this blessed forest (though I'm beginning to wish I'd just stuck with it and gone to the mountain. I'll be home soon, Solace, soon --)
The reptile makes a new offer, speaking through those sharp teeth - and suddenly he's close to me, breathing down my neck - making my heart beat faster - closing my eyes. Distracting me from my purpose.
--
We awaken on the other side, standing exactly as we were, storm raging exactly as it was. But there's a tangible change in the air around us; our nerves stand more keenly on edge.
I dream myself regenerative. I leave him normal - for now. He'll thank me later, when the blood runs down him from spine to ankle, sprawled across the earth alongside me. Barely recognizable bodies... Bones, with some flesh attached.
At our hooves, Panthera hisses; impatient.
And I? I too hiss. Metallic. Otherworldly.
"Deal."
"Words turn to scars but the burden of abandonment is an ache that never heals."
I DIED.
@[vulgaris]
Also I have no idea what's going on but my plan is that they're just going to fucking destroy each other, and then at the end kag will ask him how many wounds he wants to wake up with, permanently.
" when she's coming for my heart it feels like armageddon. "
His dreams only ever go one of two ways. In the first, he is always floating, a perfect feather gently drifting atop some endless expanse of some warm ocean that is content to cradle him. The breeze kisses his face and he is the son of some benevolent god who adores his every cell. The world bows before him and offers up only perfection in reply to his beck and call. These are the dreams that only come when life has been kind to him, when god is in his heaven and all is right with the world. These dreams often elude him but they are precious to him like some rare jewel dug deep from the earth’s molten core.
The other dream comes to him when his darkness is too thick to escape. He wakes, screaming and drenched in his own sweat with a blanket of horror coating him. These dreams are painted in bright red and pink, the colors of flesh torn apart without mercy or forgiveness. These dreams are forged in anger and hate so volatile that it bubbles up even in his waking hours sometimes. All of this comes seeping in like a fog to corrupt whatever dream Kagerus had planned before, the curse that follows his every step with relentless fervor. Vulgaris is allowed so little joy in his life and even this must be twisted into something he will fear.
The haze is rust-colored when it reaches them and the rain oozes down their sides like oil rather than water. He bristles at the change and turns his head to her. There is nothing of the creature she had seen before except appearances. Where before there had been some control to keep him muzzled and chained, now there is only wild terror and a ravenous appetite.
He bares his teeth and lowers his head, backing away from her with his ears pinned tight to his head. His tail swishes back and forth anxiously as he watches her with wide eyes. This may look like retreat and most would let their guard down in confusion at the new beast before them, but make no mistake. Every movement is bait and every second another opportunity to be snared. He coils himself in preparation of his strike, tucks all of his empathy and warmth and kindness into a little box for after their games.
And then he opens another, unlocking the cage full of all the fury and rage he’s kept bottled tight for so long.
His strides are long and fluid, the practiced gait of a hunter closing in on prey. The only thoughts that manage to find room in his head are two simple words that echo under and across one another like numerous broken records all playing at once: crush it. Crush it. CRUSH IT. CRUSHCRUSHCRUSHCRUSH. His jaws open wide and he doesn’t care if it’s Panthera or the queen herself that get caught in his teeth. Even if he runs face first into a tree from his reckless momentum, at least he’ll get to taste his own blood. And if he’s crucified across her antlers then he can thank god for finally delivering punishment unto his wicked head.
He just wants to feel something and know that it’s real.
{ and in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times }
As the ruddy haze drifts across our semi-corporeal forms, it's as if a light goes off in the stallion's eyes. Lower, and in my own body, something trembles; but I still its quaking with a reminder that I am utterly in control here; that I possess the power to do exactly as I please with and to Vulgaris, even if the effects of that power are dismally temporary. A reminder of my limitations; a reminder of my short comings.
Unbidden, Solace comes to mind. Between my ribs, my heart shatters; in the haze of the dream, the tinkling of its crystalline pieces is clearly heard.
Space grows between the viper and I. There's murder in the roll of his growl. My eyes stare elsewhere; caught on something more; wishing for someone else.
He charges, mouth wide and rage unhindered by consciousness; Panthera yowls a warning to me, but it comes too late or perhaps I just choose not to hear it. In the next instant, his jaw encapsulates my throat; pierces my skin; leaves blood mixing with rain. I'm screaming I think, somewhere in the distance; my knees buckle from the pain of the assault, the ruddy haze twisting and twisting and twisting and twisting --
And twisting --
Until the dream snaps.
I'm in the rain, chest heaving, pain radiating from wounds that aren't there; my exact geographical location is utterly unknown to me. By my side, Panthera snarls her hatred... And when I look to her, blood drips from her maw in ruby droplets. I don't remember her attacking him... But she must have.
" when she's coming for my heart it feels like armageddon. "
His mouth is flooded by the taste of copper and salt the moment his teeth sink into her neck. But he doesn’t want to end her just yet, so he refrains from letting his venom into her veins. Still, he thinks of seeing her body twitch as the final seconds of life slip from between her fingers. A dream within a dream. But then there are ragged claws tearing his face open to paint his vision red and he releases the queen from his grasp. A guttural snarl erupts from him as he tries to see through the searing pain but another swipe of her paws connects with his shoulder.
Vulgaris is backing away and snapping his teeth blindly in the hopes of catching her. His thermal vision is a blur of blues, reds, and oranges as he tries to spot the leopard. There, bundled and ready to pounce again, he sees her next to Kagerus with her own fangs bared in defiance of everything he desires. The serpent blinks a few more times but his eyes remain coated in hot blood as it continues to flow down his face.
He hisses as he bursts forward again and they catch each other in their teeth this time. Panthera is yowling and swiping wildly with her claws while he squeezes his jaws together tighter on whatever part of her he’s managed to latch on to. Vulgaris is jerking his head back and forth like a wild dog until the meat of her comes loose in his mouth. As much as he savors the taste of it, he releases her and shakes her from his body before spitting the tuft of her skin onto the ground.
But then the dream bursts and the world is just a rainy forest again. His wounds are oozing, still, and the pain is chewing through him until he can hardly see straight. The serpent’s eyes find Panthera and Kagerus again but they are both unscathed and pristine save for the red dripping from the cat’s mouth. He alone bears the proof of their violence but he’s rather pleased by the burning lines across his face and shoulders now.
“Next time, none of your magic. Only honest agony,” he says as his chest heaves for breath. Then he turns and begins his journey back to Loess, back to Leliana and their unborn daughter. He’ll seek out the dream queen again when his scars have healed so she can see the raw beauty of what they have made together.
![[Image: kag]](https://78.media.tumblr.com/2e8039018ce4dff6112c167ec23e886a/tumblr_p72zjit7wC1s5a0qvo1_100.png)
