"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
take my head & kick it in break some bread for all my sins
Itching for solitude, Dahmer has taken a few hours away from Tephra to explore the Meadow for the first time. He meanders through the tall grasses slowly, his black muzzle turned up towards the cloudless blue sky. His eyes, a similar color, scan the vast surroundings casually. In the distance, the soldier of Tephra notices a few streams that have collected into a small water basin, and he turns his long legs in the direction of the mountain-fed pond.
The long, swaying grasses tickle at his underbelly, but the stallion is enjoying the noontime sun too much to notice. There are few others in the Meadow today, and most seem quite determined to remain alone. Dahmer doesn't recognize anyone that he knows, and so he turns his attention back to the water basin, where he halts his wandering.
Deciding to thoroughly enjoy his time away from the volcano, Dahmer drops his black frame to the ground and he lays entirely on his side, head resting in the grass. He snorts occasionally to rid himself of a fly, but otherwise the thoroughbred stallion remains un-moving.
He hums a quiet tune and thinks of his mother. Would she be proud of him, he wonders and lets his thoughts drift where they may.
A loud noise rings out from somewhere nearby and the black beast scrambles to get his hooves beneath him, his ears lashed backwards to his skull. His blue eyes, with pupils narrowed, find another horse just off to his right, on the other side of the water basin. "You alright, friend?"
There is a fury that coils within her, deep inside her gut. It is something alive; contained but ever present. It has been there ever since the day she had met him, the horrible stallion so determined to lay her low with fear. It had not worked, but she longs for revenge, the taste of it cold and metallic inside her mouth.
She would get it soon, but not today. No, she is a patient woman. She would marshal her forces, waiting to strike when he least expects it.
She is already halfway to full strength. Her gift of vision has been returned to her, the odd ability which had been a part of her since birth. It had been taken, but she has it back now.
And oh how he would quake before her.
But not now, not today. Today she is in the meadow, her steps sure and firm as she travels with intent across its expanse. She has sent her sight questing before her, re-familiarizing herself with its infinite depths.
It is how she stumbles across the resting stallion quite by accident. Well, actually, she stumbles across a rather large boulder, which serves to draw his attention.
Curses spilling from her lips, she drags her sight back, blinking as her surroundings come into focus. She should not have been walking, it's true, but she has things to do. A sharp sigh escapes her lips as her vibrant blue gaze fixes on the black stallion now on his feet across the small, shallow pond.
Well, on the bright side, at least she isn't knee deep in water. That could very easily have been the case. Though a lack of distraction would have been preferable.
”Yes, quite alright,” she responds, a tad curtly. With a slight frown she edges her way around the water, coming to a halt once more near the stranger. ”My apologies if I woke you.”
heartfire
i filled up my senses with thoughts from the ghosts
Once Dahmer is able to establish that he is not under fire, a warm grin appears instantaneously and he moves into the water so that he is closer to the mare across the pond, but not too close. His ears press forward in their tousled nest, brilliant blue eyes taking in the sight of the pretty sabino. The cool waters lap at his knees, but the black beast has always been fond of the feeling.
The mare apologizes, a small frown playing at the corners of her mouth. Dahmer nickers and tilts his head quizzically, "You've no need to apologize. It was about time for me to wake up, anyway." He hadn't actually been sleeping, but Dahmer's pride didn't want his newest acquaintance to know that he'd been caught so unaware.
"Are you okay, though, my dear?" He offers her a small and mischievous grin, "Whatever happened sounded a tad... painful." He winks a blue eye at her and takes a few more slow steps into the pond, stopping when the water rests at his shoulders. The thoroughbred drops his narrow head slightly, giving the roan a friendly smile as he proceeds to introductions.
"I'm Dahmer, by the way." He doesn't mention his home, doesn't intend to give her the impression that he's here to recruit for Tephra, and opts to steer clear of that conversation. Sick of having to list the pros of joining him in his humble abode, it dawns on the stallion that he may have to spend some time away from the Field.
ooc / IM SO SORRY for your wait, and also for how poopy this is -_- please forgive me
It's bad enough that she had to be clumsy enough to run into the damned boulder, but of course she would have a witness too. The frown tugging at her lips deepens into a scowl as she considers her rather unexpected companion, though it has little to do with him. Apparently, she is simply destined to be irritable today.
That it might have been painful hardly even registers until he mentions it. The scowl deepens as she considers the faint throbbing of her fetlock. Something she could easily have ignored until her attention is drawn to it. For a moment, a small, irritable part of her is tempted to snap at him. To admonish him for being so familiar with her as to call her 'my dear '. Another much more sensible part of her recognizes just how childish even the thought is.
Instead she sighs, the soft sound filled with the disgruntlement she is so obviously feeling. "I am quite well. I have suffered worse, I assure you."
Given her companion's friendliness, her behavior is perhaps unbearably rude. Unfortunately, she is not much inclined to care at the moment. Her good will has been quite thoroughly exhausted. Even so, she cannot seem to bring herself to be entirely a heathen. She might not be very companionable, but she could at least attempt to be sociable. Years of practice in diplomacy at work (though I would hate to see her without all that practice).
"Heartfire." She offers her name with a faint grimace before her blue gaze fixes upon Dahmer. Consideration replaces the deep scowl previously etched into her features. "Do you often nap in the middle of such busy locations?" she asks skeptically. "Seems a bit... rIsky."
heartfire
i filled up my senses with thoughts from the ghosts
His ocean eyes watch curiously as the mare's scowl deepens.
And deepens.
And deepens.
You know when your narrator types a word too many times, that it no longer looks like a word?
His own grin remains, despite the roan's continually dampening mood, and Dahmer is patient while she takes a moment to rein in her frustrations. His mind flashes to the seconds, minutes, hours he used to wait for Sid Malone to contain his rage so they could return to their training. Dahmer knows patience.
When she finds her voice, it's exasperated. The heaviness of it is not lost on him, but he refrains from commenting, and instead waits until she introduces herself, her voice a bit softer this time around. "A pleasure," courteously.
Suddenly, Heartfire is quizzical and the majority of her scowl disappears. Dahmer's bright blue eyes meet hers and he shifts his dark body beneath the sun. He chuckles, the corners of his lips curling, and gives his newest acquaintance a friendly nod. "I like to live life on the edge," he says with a shrug. "Do you often search for new ways to wake napping strangers?"
There is still laughter on the wind as he gives her a blue-eyed wink.
She is not irritable by nature, though she could certainly not be considered friendly. Most commonly she can be found with a great deal of poise. She has been called cold many times, a descriptor she has never denied, even if it is not entirely true.
Though, to be honest, it is not entirely unheard of to find her in a foul mood. Whatever might be said about her, she is in all honesty a mercurial creature, with a full range of emotions that burn bright and hot within her. She is just generally much better at masking them.
Her new companion's good mood does much to lighten the darkness of her features however. In short order, she is able to smooth the scowl, the black and white if her face easing into a more neutral expression.
His easy quip brings a faint smile to her lips, a barely noticeable tilting of the corners. Her amusement however, is much less noticeable than her irritation. ”I see that,” she responds easily, a note of dry humor in her tone.
His question causes a soft huff of amusement to escape her lips, the closest she has come to laughter in a very long time. One equine brow raises in response, her lips twitching at the jest. ”I make a habit of it. I have found it highly effective.” With the deadpan tone of her voice, it's hard to tell if she is joking, but the faint glimmer in her blue eyes gives her away.
heartfire
i filled up my senses with thoughts from the ghosts
