i've got some damn bad intentions - stillwater

[Djinni]

djinni

Despite the moon that hangs heavy and full above Beqanna, the forest of Sylva is dark. The canopy overhead is almost entirely black, speckled here and there with shades of grey where the leaves are thinner and illuminated by the moonlight. The world around her is monochrome, and she’s matched it without conscious thought. She is pale against the dark woods, a small white figure that slips through the woods on feathered legs that ombre through grey to solid become black at her hooves. Her mane and tail are equally dark, and her inky forelock covers golden eyes that match her jewelry.

She is looking for @[Stillwater], and she finds him at the water’s edge. The pond is shallow but broad, and in the center the caopy is broken enough to allow the bright moon to shine through. It reflects off the water, illuminating her face – and his – quite easily.

“Where were you before Nerine?” She asks with no preamble. She had not looked like this at their last meeting (she is not thinking about their last meeting), but she is still herself. If the bangles aren’t enough to give her away, the casual way she settles beside him to look out the water is clear enough. ‘Hellos’ and ‘how are yous’ are not necessary; her arrival is greeting enough.

The question she asks has been bothering her for a while, and something tells her that Nayl might not appreciate her prying into the origins of the black stallion. He had been on the seaside nearly as long as Djini had, but they had avoided each other as easily as the sun and the moon until the changing throne had tossed them together.

“And why did you come?” She adds, ever the opportunist.

current appearance:
slim build
white with grey-to-black ombre legs
black mane and tail
golden eyes

[Stillwater]

Stillwater

Finally, the water kissed him once again.
Finally, he was refreshed.

Finally, he was home at long last. Even here.

Cradled in the chilled embrace of his dearest friend, water. Ever playful, ever misbehaved, water. It doesn't do exactly what you want it to, does it? Like him. One and the same, they were.
Playful. Misbehaved.

Free.
Untamed.
Not free anymore.

He'd had his dip, a perfectly long soak well overdue, and deposited himself back on the damp bank with a satisfying slop. He supposed he didn't lie down often, but he did tonight. His hoof was extended into the water, submerging the chain in its blackness as he stared out at the moonlight playing across the surface. It didn't help, it wasn't deep enough and the damn thing only became more obvious glinting disembodied as his black coat vanished beneath. It almost seemed this was the only place the sky could touch the earth in this land. So fitting, though, that it was here at the water.

She came and his chest felt immediately heavier. Solid knots twisted his gut, though he lay there mesmerized by the light sitting on the still water. Like glass. A night sky right here on earth. He didn't turn to acknowledge her, didn't even flick an ear in her direction. Though bitter in his heart, he slipped into the lull of her presence as if they had never parted. How long had it been now, anyway? It didn't seem to matter.

She didn't greet him either; a swift question on her lips at the ready as she settled down beside him. And then another question. He heard what was not said. Who are you, what are you, why are you here, what do you want.  Things he had no intention on answering in full. Not now, perhaps not ever. If he answered them at all.

Instead, he sat quietly, all too aware of where her skin did and didn't touch him. He was untouchable, too, in his own way. Not like Nayl, not by choice or fear of falling apart -or whatever her deal was, damned complicated woman. Well, he supposed it was a choice for him too, but for very different reasons --call it a public service, really. A form of bored mercy, and all that. Even in this moment of calm his mouth watered, his teeth ached.

He broke the silence at last, his voice low. She would be the only one to hear what he said.

The darkness is calming. You could have chosen worse than bringing me here. It almost sounded like a thank you  even to his own ears. He left it at that for a time, reflecting on his mother and father. Neither of which he really wanted to speak about. He hadn't ever told anyone of his past, though he'd also never been asked. Even still, his life was his to tell if he wished and when he wished. And he didn't wish.

How are you Djinni? he said without inflection, bland. He didn't ask after Nayl, or if she'd seen her yet.
He bit those questions off before they could surface.

[Djinni]

djinni

He doesn’t look up as she settles beside him, but Djinni doesn’t notice. Her golden gaze is fixed on the moonlight water, watching as the wind ripples the round reflection into silver shards that endlessly reform. She has always been fond of the moon, of its constant presence in the night sky, and she is no different now. She fades without thinking, her whole body turning as pale as the moon in the moment before Stillwater speaks.

He doesn’t answer her questions – had she really thought he would? – but he does speak. Djinni turns her head, looking down at the black stallion with something on her face that’s rather close to exasperation. “I didn’t choose. You offered.” She replies. She hadn’t brought Lior or Bowie to the autumn woods because they hadn’t offered. Stillwater had – even if he is not so ready to admit it – and so Djinni had taken him up. She does not forget favors owed.

The black stallion is quiet again, and Djinni knows that her questions are as likely to be answered as the leaves are to fall from the canopy. Instead, she flicks the water with one silver hoof, watching as the ripples make it out to the center of the pond and bounce away from the winddrawn ones.

“Too calm.” She replies, because at least one of them has to be able to converse like a normal horse. “It’s too quiet here. Too quiet in Beqanna.”

She does not like calm, and she does not like quiet. She liked the sea, with its waves and constant battering of the granite cliffs. She likes change and motion and she does not have either.

current appearance:
slim build
white with white mane and tail
silver eyes

[Stillwater]

Stillwater

In his peripheral, he saw her change again. As pale as the moon they both watched bob and fracture across the water. It was something she did often, this color-changing thing, and sometimes he wasn't sure she had full control of it. Like now. She sees the moon, she becomes the moon.

"I didn't choose. You offered."
His jaw clenched, muscle twitching. The bitterness and anger threatened to roar up, rail against this cage she put him in. He needed to be free. She held him to a promise he didn't truly believe he owed. He'd only gone along on her little trip out of curiosity, and now he was stuck here. Sometimes with her, sometimes without. He sort of preferred without, but he wasn't going to let it this calm he'd finally found tonight.

"Too calm. It's too quiet here. Too quiet in Beqanna."
He smiled slowly, darkly, as he turned to her.
I'm sure we could think of ways to shake these leaves, fill the night with a little noise..
She never seemed to respond to his taunts though, so he didn't expect one as he reached over and lipped sweetly at her cheek. He hummed against her skin.

You want some noise, Djinni?
I do.

Always the truth.

[Djinni]

djinni

Though she watches the moon, she has turned away to speak to him, and does not miss then tension in his jaw as she reminds him of his captivity. He is not nearly as grateful as he should be, but no one ever is. Djinni has not spent a lifetime giving others what they wanted without learning to spot those that are unhappy with what they have.

There are no caves here, but nor is there a Nayl. She’d thought, briefly, that being free of her was what the black stallion wanted. Her motivation hadn’t been entirely altruistic, but she’d held onto that until recently. Until Nayl came.

She wonders if the queen had stopped denying him, she does not know what will happen if she asks. There are too many ways it could go wrong, and so she stays quiet, watching as he stands, comes closer.

A chuckle escapes as he suggests breaking up the monotony, but when she turns to him there’s only amusement in her dark eyes; there is no lust.

At first she doesn’t move as he touches her, only lets him offer and gives every indication that she is listening. Raising her head, she presses her own muzzle against his jaw, sliding back along his neck as she steps forward. He is warmer than she expected, the water on his coat far more temperate than that in the pond at their feet. He is taller than she is, but she makes herself tall enough, sliding her pale neck around his until her right side is pressed to the entire length of his left and her muzzle rests directly below his right ear.

Her breath is warm, and she takes a breath, ready to say…

Nothing. Instead she whinnies, extremely loudly, into his ear and prances away with a jaunty smile and an expression that very clearly says: How’s that for some noise?

current appearance:
slim build
white with with mane and tail
sea green eyes

[Stillwater]

Stillwater

She was the only one he would touch, it seemed. He prodded at her, let her touch him too. Because he knew if it came to it, she would win. He would never be able to take her. So she had her liberties with him, and he tolerated them as a good dog would. Bitterness swirled hot within him, but stayed there. And instead, he was able to enjoy the touch of another without the hunger.

Her soft velvet against his jaw was the only answer he received. Interest lit in his eyes again, and she trailed down his neck. She shifted to his side, her skin flushing against his. He inhaled slowly, breathing her, soaking in the feeling of her against him like no other would be. Her muzzle came to rest below his ear, and his focus trained on her steady breathing, her pulse so close.

She whinnied, screaming right into his sensitive ear. He winced and jerked away, shaking his head out as though that might help some how.

Damnit, Djinni!

His ears were ringing and he had an immediate headache. Teeth clenched together, he glared at her, expression sour. Why did she insist on toying with him? A screaming whine continued echoing through his head and he wanted to dowse it in the water to silence it. He stood stationary though, and only pinned her with dark eyes.

What more do you want with me, Djinni? I am trapped here and protecting your little country bumpkins, what more do you want of me? Exasperated, ready for her to be away again.

She wouldn't even reward him with real affections.
Wicked, cruel brat.

[Djinni]

djinni

She was grinning as she slid along him (though he never saw), and that expression doesn't fade as she's turned back toward him.

Stillwater's reaction is disappointing and she scowls, her displeasure apparent. Still, she's no sadist, so she wishes the probable ringing in his ears away as she tells him that: "You're no fun. You said you wanted noise; you didn't say what kind."

Perhaps he is fortunate - or unfortunate? - that the majority of thier interactions until this point had been so heavily colored by their first interaction. She had threatened, he had apologized, she had demanded, he had complied. There had always been some sense of imbalance in their conversation and resultant actions; Djinni has never treated Stillwater as an equal.

She'd prefer the way things were, she thinks to herself, at least if Stillwater is going to be as much of a spoilsport as it seems. He has done as he pleased since they've been in Sylva; he has an entire realm at his disposal and all he can do is complain.

"What do you want?" She asks instead of answering his questions, her pale head tilted curiously to one side and then the other, looking more like an owl than before as she darkens to grullo. As usual, the return to her natural color is accompanied by her infrequent dabbling in sobriety.

"You feel trapped here?" She asks him, and it seems as though she's truly listening for an answer. "What would make it better?" She half-expects the innuendo filled response he seems to rely on, but she has decided she owes him for the aching ear with an least a little attempt at sincerity.

current appearance:
natural build - slim
smokey grullo tobiano
sea green eyes

[Stillwater]

Stillwater

She smiled first, then frowned at him before the pain between his ears simply vanished. "You're no fun. You said you wanted noise; you didn't say what kind." He rolled his eyes at her again, a sly smile creeping to his dark lips. Smart ass.

"What do you want," she asked, and he watched her warily, her coat returning to its natural hue. Feel trapped here? He WAS trapped here, but he didn't comment on that. With Nayl's haughty departure, it was clear he was not going to be welcomed back home and therefore he may as well get used to this place permanently.

"What would make it better?"
He was quick to assault her with more innuendos, but suddenly he was just tired. So very weary of everything. His dark gaze looked out to the water again, before he lowered himself back to the ground with a sigh. A cave was really what Nayl took from him, wasn't it? And so, a cave, was all he said in response.

Here on this darkened lake. Pleasant company. Or no company. Just a cave. Is that what would make this all better for him? He wasn't really sure, but his dark, cavernous home was a good start. If only she could make such things come to life. Or perhaps she could, this color-changing teleporter with an odd attraction for sharing jewelry. And then he offered her more of him, just a taste, for no other reason but that he felt like it.

It is how my mother lived, how she raised me. Living underground, damp earth, caves. It is what I will always turn to for home.

[Djinni]

djinni

Stillwater sinks down to the ground again and Djinni watches him, taking a step to the side to better meet his gaze at this new angle. The teasing she’d half expected does not come; instead he deflates right in front of her. He does answer her question though, far more in detail than she might have expected. Djinni is used to knowing the outside of him, whatever he is willing to show her. She’s never pried at him because he has never done so to her. She asks questions, perhaps far too frequently, but she has never taken the answers as she so easily could.

Djinni listens, the amused smile slipping from her face as she does, replaced by something far more pensive. The life he mentions is unfathomable to Djinni; why would anyone choose to live without the sun? But it is not her story. For a while after she waits, mulling over what he has said. The moon reflects brightly onto Stillwater’s face, highlighting the sharp angles.

“Alright.” Djinni replies, and his illuminated face is cast into darkness.

A cave appears around them, arching earth overhead and long, oval boulders to either side. They look no different than the plethora of other rocks that stand sentinel in the woods of Sylva, but it’s clear from their insider’s view that the entrance to a cave is hidden between them. Between the boulders and down the slope, the pond they had just stood beside a moment ago is visible through the trees. There’s a flicker of the reflected moon through the leaves every once in a while when the wind is just right.

There is a spring hidden somewhere in the bedrock around them, and the soft trickle of water is barely audible above their light breathing. It glints as it leaves the stone of the cave and falls away into the forest floor, merging downhill with the creek that flows to fill the pond. The cavern seems natural; there is nothing to indicate that it had not been here a moment ago. It might eventually connect to the tunnels that run beneath the mountain ridge that separates Sylva and Pangea. Those tunnels might exist. Or they might not; Djinni is not a creature of the damp and the dark and she doesn’t care to explore.

“Is this damp enough for you?” asks the grullo mare. There’s no emotion in her voice – the words could be equal measure serious or teasing. Her expression gives no hint either way, bland curiosity in green eyes surrounded by dark cobwebbing. This is what he had wanted; isn’t it?

current appearance:
natural build - slim
smokey grullo tobiano
sea green eyes

[Stillwater]

Stillwater

He stood slowly as the world darkened around them. Alright, was all she said before everything changed, took shape and manifested from nothing. At her whim.

It was dark, cavernous, hollow. Perfect. There was a sliver of an entrance hidden between boulders that matched all the other formations of rock littered across Sylva like discarded giant's toys. The whisper of water quietly filled it's emptiness, the air tinted with moisture, fragranted with its sweet and hidden trickle. He took it all in like a dream, a wonderful illusion. Perhaps thats what it was. An illusion.

Is this real? he asked, afraid to hope.

The small path sloped down toward the pond, so near the water. He stood and stared out, then slowly turned and stared in. "Is this damp enough for you?" His dark eyes slid to her, uncertain and suddenly feeling vulnerable with this dream dangled so delicately before him.

It is perfect, he answered honestly, quietly. He tried not to see this as a kindness, or a gift. Tried to view it as a consolation for his entrapment. But it felt like a gift, so rare and valuable. Because she didn't have to do it, she could simply let him stew in bitterness and frustration. He wanted to ask about that, but held his tongue. He would not risk losing this, finally a home. Quieter even than the cave in Nerine with roaring waves and crashing tide. The water here was subtle and smooth, like him. Captured by the unforgiving land, but tranquil.

He was at a loss for words, and now could only watch this magician in both awe and a hint of fear for the things she could do if she chose to. And with affection. Their relationship was strange, maybe forever imbalanced, but still she always managed to lull his mood, tame his feral interest into something softer and sweeter. It was maddening at times, and yet he also couldn't seem to care.

It is perfect, he said again, because he couldn't say thank you.