"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
(It appears my last role play was abandoned yet again, so here is my attempt at a restart.)
Why did foals have to be so curious? It wasn't that Raxa had anything against the young horses; it's just that she preferred it when they weren't around, to bug her at least. The calm ones, she could deal with. The ones that were excited, she did not wish for them to be around.
It only reminded her of what she didn't have, and probably never would...
But Raxa wasn't one to let thoughts of the past dominate her. So, instead, in an effort to get away from the foals, the mare decided to spend the day by the waterfall. The summer sun was beating down quite hard that day, so she decided to take a dip in the large lake, sighing contentedly as the cold water soothed her hot skin. She stayed in there for a short while until she felt better, and then climbed out, giving her pelt a good shake as she so. It was still a little wet, but she was clean, and her coat, despite its odd coloring, really did look quite nice.
The mare moved to find shade among the trees by the waterfall, lowering her muzzle to graze, wishing to enjoy the peace and quiet for now before something would happen later on.
Knowing her luck, it would.
(Raxa is free to be claimed by a herd stallion or be approached by a kingdom horse)
A golden hued mare and her comrade, a painted stallion, had decided to take a little stroll together. It had been a while since the duo spent much time together. He had been doing patrols and honing skills while she tried to meet the newcomers of the growing kingdom. It was a bit of a relief to get away from those duties for the day, a change of scenery, especially with good company. She walked next to him, matching his stride as they were almost the same height, close enough they occasionally brushed shoulders. Their physical closeness a reflection of the emotional connection. She had bared her soul to her dear friend expecting anger or disapproval but instead he had been nothing but kind and supportive. The vegetation cast shadows, offering protection and coolness on the trail from their homeland. She travelled quietly for a little while, enjoying the atmosphere before speaking. “Thanks for coming, Jedi. I haven’t seen much of you lately, how have you been?” her tones low, relaxed. She listened with one auricle, feeling lazy in the heat. After he replied the trail gave way to the field, it’s tall grass still looking mostly lush among the golden pieces that were drying out. The creeks that ran through here could be thanked for that. She made her way towards one to take a drink. Her dark lips touching the cool refreshing liquid. The current lending to a cleaner and colder aqua than if it had been stagnant in this heat. The bugs were worse in the open and they clung to the corners of her eyes on her still head as she drank. As she lifted her honey-hued cranium, one ear still on her companion, the other scanning the field, she noticed a lone mare. She thought about trying to splash Jedi and playfully running away but the heat deterred any action. Instead she looked to her confidante and gestured with her head to the interestingly roan coloured mare with a questioning look. The palomino wasn’t one to judge whether someone was good enough to be recruited but she waited for her friend’s approval before approaching.
If you're ever gonna find a silver lining It's gotta be a cloudy day
The paint stallion and his close friend were off traveling today, when the two first joined the kingdom they could be found almost always together. Now a days the two equines were the highest ranking in there caste, and had important tasks to fill. It was hard to find time to spend with the ones who mean the most. It was refreshing to get away and venture off to the field, were the two had first met. The summer heat was beating on his back, making in undesirable to be out from a protected shade. Although, he would enjoy the heat as he knew the dreadful winter was on them, and he hated the cold more than he hated the heat.
The stallion kept up with the golden vixens pace, scanning his horizon but keep his attention to the mare as she spoke "It's been busy, as you know. The kingdom has been growing faster than we can count" it seemed there was a new horse every time he rejoined the kingdom. "But I'm glad to be able to spend the day with you today" he gave a small nicker, turning his head to nudge her on her shoulder. The stopped at the creek in the field, he looked around as the gold vixen took a drink. He swatted his tail on his flank with high annoyance as the bugs were swarming the two horses. As he turned his head he spotted a roan colored horse, he flashed his view to Ashara who already noticed the mare. She looked at Jedi wondering if they should attempt to recruit her, although there kingdom was busy, there was always room for another face. He gave a nod to Ashara, turning his attention back to the roan, giving off a nicker he began to walk closer to her. "Hello, I'm Jedi, and this is Ashara" he introduced the golden vixen "What brings you to the field today?" he took a deep breath with his nares, the mare carried a neutral scent, meaning she wasn't from Beqanna.
Yep, and there it was. The trouble that had no doubt been heading her way. Raxa let out a startled snort, rapidly taking a few steps back and stomping her front hoof as she assessed what just happened. She did not like that these two had snuck up on her, even if it was unintentional. The roan mare took in a breath, shaking her neck a few times before deciding to answer the horse that had spoken to her.
"I have no home. Isn't that what most horses come here for?" she quipped. Why would this horse ask such a question? It was common knowledge, even to an outsider like her, that horses without homes would live here in the Field.
She grinned at the pinto, it was so nice they were on the same page, in tune with each other. She followed his lead and nodded her head in a respectful greeting as they approached. There good intentions still seemed to startle the mare though and Ashara curiously wondered if the mare was deaf like her recent recruit and hence she didn’t hear them right away. Still she took a step back herself, to show there was no threat. “Sorry miss, we didn’t mean to startle you.” She said apologetically. The other mare’s snarky tone brought a bit of shock to the golden vixen. She actually hadn’t met anyone who was less than kind since entering Bequanna but she knew they existed. Her amber eyes scanned Jedi for his thoughts to the mares reaction. They came from a neutral kingdom where behaviour that aligned with the evil kingdoms wasn’t tolerated. Still, they had just startled the mare and everyone has an off day.
“Yes ma’am, that is why most come here, we were just being polite.” It was a formality to ask such a question. A kingdom surely wasn’t going to force claim someone. “We come from the Falls, it’s a neutral kingdom, quite beautiful, and it has a healing waters. Would you be interested in joining?” She glanced again at the painted steed, seeing if she had missed anything.
If you're ever gonna find a silver lining It's gotta be a cloudy day
The stallion backed up with the golden vixen as the roan mare was quick to get defensive, his ears flicked back with annoyance before perking up, hoping not to come off as rude "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you" he muttered out hoping to patch up the conversation before it got worse. He gave a quick glance to the golden vixen hoping her diplomat training would prove worthy in reversing this situation. He relaxed with relief as the words the golden mare chose were wise and to the point. Asking if a horse had a home was a necessary start to a conversation in the fields. Equines often times would pass through Beqanna lands, or come from another kingdom to meet others. Not every horse they came across wanted to join a herd or kingdom, and that was why they would strike up a conversation. He would normally add to the conversation, but Ashara had said all that was needed, hopefully the roan mare would see they meant no harm and would become relaxed around them.
"Well, you did, but the apology is appreciated," Raxa stated, giving the mare and stallion a look over to see if they meant any harm. Deciding that they didn't, only wishing to inquire her about if she had found a home or anything of the kind, Raxa allowed herself to settle down.
"What in the world is a kingdom? I've only ever lived in herds. What makes your 'kingdom' so different? Besides those healing waters I guess, another thing I've never heard of."
As the roan relaxed, so did the palomino mare, relieved it was just a misunderstanding. Although the others tones were curious, they were slightly abrupt too. The golden mare remembered back to her first day here, when a winged man had tried to court her. She herself still wasn’t entirely used to the mystics and the magic but it wasn’t as terrifying as that first day. She had never known of kingdoms either but now was loyally dedicated and a bit of a work-aholic much like her comrade. She had spent the majority of her life in solitude but those years seemed distant and the memories weak compared to the almost 2 years of kingdom life. She loved not having to belong to a stallion, to not have to be a brood mare in trade for protection, to be treated equally as a male counterpart in the same role. And she loved having a purpose. The hole she had was filled by the reward of a job well done and she had two dear friends she now could not imagine life without. Her life was great, she had few fears and those fears were only those of the kingdoms. A smile had unknowingly tugged at her lips as such thoughts ran through her mind. But she did not speak this time, she would allow her friend a turn. “Jedi?” She politely gestured. Swishing her flaxen tail at the flies landing on her flank and buzzing loudly behind her.
If you're ever gonna find a silver lining It's gotta be a cloudy day
The paint stallion watched as the mare had eased her tone and relaxed, he himself relaxed and had a humble face again. He couldn't help but laugh as the mare asked what a Kingdom was, he remembers when he had stumbled upon the Beqanna lands. He had no idea what magical powers were, or horses with wings, and odd colors. He is so used to the magic these lands offer, that he forgot what 'normal' equines were. Horses like Jedi and Ashara were the odd ones out. He glanced at Ashara as she left it up to him to explain the Kingdoms, he gave a smile and glanced back at the roan mare. "There are eight kingdoms in Beqanna, a king and queen lead them. We have two castes the warrior and diplomat that make up the kingdom members" he paused not trying to go into full detail as they could do that on the walk to the kingdom, should she chose to join. "A herd is a stallion who claims multiple mares, he will claim lands and be with them there" he spoke trying to make it as simple as possible. "all the kingdoms are similar, although we all have different motives. The Falls is a neutral kingdom, we don't tend to participate in wars and only fight if we need to" a trait he didn't mind of the kingdom. There were some kingdoms who thrived in the wars, and were always looking for a new one, while the Falls stayed neutral. They were a growing kingdom though, and the attention would soon be upon them. He glanced to the golden mare to see if she had anything else to add, before glancing back to the roan, curious to what she thought.
Raxa noticed how the stallion seemed to laugh when she inquired as to what a kingdom was. A bit angry about that, she stamped her front hoof, expressing her agitation at being laughed at.
Still, despite her quick emotions, she remained quiet as the stallion explained what a kingdom was, how herds lived in it, and what some of the horses within a kingdom did as warriors or diplomats. Raxa, while she could use words, was definitely more of a fighter. For some reason, the thought of being a warrior excited her.
"Are mares allowed to be warriors in this... kingdom of yours? If so, I think I'll check it out, see what this place has got to offer me," she stated, holding her head up high.
