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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


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    [open quest]  seek me out; round ii
    #5
    <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Cormorant Garamond|Stalemate" rel="stylesheet"><style>.ruth_container {position: relative;width:480px;background:#1D8770; border:2px solid #FFF;padding: 100;border-radius:0px 60px 0px 0px;}.ruth_image {position:relative;z-index:1;width:404px;height:404px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/5xVkb1Q/971c110163ad757ed3a1e8c36cd3ded9.jpg');background-size:contain;border: 0px solid #A06D33;box-shadow: 0px 0px 10px 1px #FFF;border-radius:0px 50px 0px 0px; margin-top: 40px;}.ruth_message {position: relative; width: 400px; background-color:#E1474A; margin-top: -270px; padding: 10px; border: 1px solid #FFF; box-shadow: 0px 0px 10px 1px #FFF;font: 12px 'Times New Roman';color: #FFF; text-align: left;}.ruth_name {z-index:1;text-align: centre;font: 80px 'Stalemate', open-sans;position: relative; bottom: 150px; color:#E1474A; padding:7px;text-shadow: 2px 2px #51F1DD;}</style><center><div class="ruth_container"><div class="ruth_image"></div><p class="ruth_name">Ruthless</p><p class="ruth_message"></centre>It took some internal convincing--an ongoing debate in her head like witnessing two lawyers harass a witness at trial--but she finally does it, one step and then another, until she is belly-deep in sapphire blue water indulging every inch of her too-hot-to-the-touch skin. A cooling reminder that pain is temporary, that even luke-warm water can sooth the throbbing pain still voicing concern in her knee.

    Her neck lowers, muzzle lipping at the surface of the water in curiosity. Bored, she lips at the ripples still quivering around her body before trusting herself enough to take a drink. At first, it feels alien. The temperature of the water suddenly quenching the driest, darkest parts of her mouth and throat and erupting life back into every inch of her body.

    The comfort leaves though, it leaves with the sun barring overhead and the ant-sized specs of horses in the distance. It leaves before she even has the chance to appreciate the moment. Just as she begins to feel secure.

    Her mind begins to fall into a foggy haze, soft rays of sunshine begging to peak from thick charcoal clouds. Ruthless squints off into the heavy landscape, trying to make sense of where she had gone and how everything managed to dissolve with her.

    Is she permanently attached to a watering hole?

    Disbelievement crowds her mind as she attempts to limp from grasp of the oasis, desperate to separate herself from <i>this</I>, and anything paired with it.

    A shrill cry fills the air.

    Her stomach drops, sudden heat rushing to her limbs and head as she makes sense of the noise and the direction from which it came. The haze is so thick, she can only compare it to the small forest fire she had witnessed in her early stages of life, the black smoke rolling like a machine into the air as a silent alarm. Little Ruth remembers vividly, she remembers the smell and the intensity of the heat. She remembers watching her mother cry out in a desperate plea to leave the area. <I>Ruthless!</I>

    The vision assembles in front of her like a puzzle. First, a dark shadow. A dark shadow that as Ruth stares longer, turns into the frame of a small feminine build. A build like her mother, so fragile yet resilient. Is that… Is that her mother?

    <i>Aida</I>

    Desperately, Ruth takes a plunge forward in an effort to cross the oasis, pain shooting up her right knee with disdain. Did the water feel… Thicker? Her heart pounds, why isn’t she moving faster?

    Her brain switches, and while attempting to find her bearings the little child realizes she has no bearings left at all, not now. While the distant mare’s voice continues to ring like a siren in the deepest points of Ruth’s mind, her attention has turned to the menacing ebony stallion in a dominant stance. Eyes still following, they land on a sun kissed golden female--<i>like me…</i>--that seems… Prepared.

    Though our poor child, her mind is a turning mess of vivid imagery not yet imaginable by such ignorant eyes. She is not prepared.

    “Can you help me help my mom? I think she is in danger..” The devastated filly cries, trying to gain the attention of someone--anyone--who might be able to help.

    She watches in terror as the mare lunges, light and darkness colliding in a noble fight to the death. The yearling’s body shaking uncontrollably, her breath short and weak, her knee aching.

    <i>Aida</i>

    Help, please, I am scared..

    Another shrill cry, as if the dark mare’s time is running out.

    “Please, I said please!” Our little golden child is fooling no one, the bravery in her voice is paired with an uncontrollable whine clinging to every syllable. The pair does not stop, does not breathe, does not pause. They do not hear her desperation, her petition.

    They hear nothing but the sound of thundering hooves cracking bone and muscle.

    <i>Is this enough mother, is this enough</i>

    By the time Ruthless musters up her courage, silence bestows her. Through tightly closed eyes, Ruth leaves just enough room to peak at the aftermath… The stallion, his eyes lifeless on the desert floor, the dead mare…

    “I want to go home,” she sobs.

    <i>Aida!</I>

    Her brain has been in a whirlwind of emotions, reflecting the inconsistency the desert has offered. But, it lands. It lands on what matters. The black mare is just yards beyond Ruth’s reach, an ebony coat lathered in frothy sweat. Determined this time, Ruth takes another plunge feeling water pounce from its haven. What was once a calm and soothing oasis, now a mess of ripples and white splashes.

    But, she can do it. She can get to her mom.

    “Stop! The ledge!” Her legs are a scrambling mess beneath her, the sand a welcomed gift after battling a mushy waterbed. The fog is thick--almost too thick--but through small waves of clearing, Ruthless spots the strange mare--who she can only assume is her mom at this point--sending dirt and rocks to a plunging death.

    The mare turns to face her, a wave of relief washing over the golden filly as she realizes her mom has heard her. With as long of strides as she can manage, her body flies fueled with adrenaline and dread. Will she make it?

    The mare goes to move, perhaps away from the ledge and perhaps not, but her effort fails her. The mistake of moving in such low-visibility sends her hind end falling down the cliff’s edge, only her upper body left to fight.

    Ruthless skids to the mares aid, though upon seeing the strange face she hesitates, “who are you?”

    The mare is breathing heavy, her will almost as doomed as her hindquarters reaching aimlessly for some grip.

    Would not saving her make her <i>the</i> murderer?

    Is this decision right here what separates her from the ebony monster and the golden carcass?

    Is she the monster, or the deadman walking?

    “Find something!” She screams at the mare’s hind end, her decision made. Her mouth extends and teeth latch onto the black mane hairs tangled from the struggle. A pitiful effort to some, but it’s all Ruthless has left to give. Her right leg feels numb from pain, her body tired, stomach empty, the weight of dripping water slowing her movement.

    “Please, please try,” her nose nuzzles the space between the mare’s ear and throat like her mother used to. “I can’t be out here alone. I need help. I need someone.”

    Her small white wings begin to flap backwards viciously, sending more power to her hind and allowing extra strength to pull--ripping hair and maybe some skin though she is not sure. However, that last stitch of effort, all she had left to give--it does something. The black mare’s hind legs find some sort of footing or ledge on the side of the cliff, giving her the power to push her weight forward and transfer leverage to her front end.

    Ruth slowly releases her grip, breathing shallow and heart racing but for a second--though it may be brief--peace fills her mind.

    Her attention transfers to the shadowed mare, as she gets the last of her body onto the rocky surface and collapses onto her side. Ruthless cannot help but see the cuts and gashes covering the legs of the female, certainly numbed by shock.

    Her attention glances downwards as the softest of what feels like water drops onto her left knee, legs coiled beneath her shoulders and tucked into her stomach. The faintest of red stains her nearly-pristine coat; blood.

    Frantic, her eyes flick to the mare only to see a similar expression plastered across the face of a stranger, and how her eyes settle on the lower lip of Ruth. Settling right where her lip had been cut, maybe by teeth or by a rock after falling backwards, but a cut deep enough to leave a steady flow of blood to trickle onto the rocky terrain.

    “I am OK”, baby Ruth whispers to herself, pulling her wings in closely as a safety blanket, “I am OK.”


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    Messages In This Thread
    seek me out; round ii - by anatomy - 12-04-2019, 06:38 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by bean - 12-04-2019, 07:29 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Oceane - 12-04-2019, 08:54 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Castile - 12-05-2019, 02:12 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Ruthless - 12-05-2019, 02:54 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Neverwhere - 12-06-2019, 07:39 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Aquaria - 12-06-2019, 10:29 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Wishbone - 12-06-2019, 11:47 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Lilt - 12-07-2019, 03:29 AM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Leilan - 12-07-2019, 10:09 AM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Lucrezia - 12-07-2019, 04:45 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Beulah - 12-07-2019, 04:48 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by garbage - 12-07-2019, 07:41 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by lilliana - 12-07-2019, 09:24 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by peregrine jude - 12-07-2019, 09:28 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Agetta - 12-07-2019, 11:19 PM
    RE: seek me out; round ii - by Tatter - 12-07-2019, 11:41 PM



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