"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
12-11-2017, 11:46 AM (This post was last modified: 12-16-2017, 08:27 AM by AuroraElis.)
AuroraElis
Your travels have brought you many places. It will be worth it in the end, you convince yourself. Perhaps from the journey you are tired and your eyes are playing tricks on you. You see a creature. As your eyes focus upon it the details are clear. You can hardly believe your own eyes. As the creature nears - or do you draw nearer to it - it is unmistakably real. Your heart begins to race as you look into it's eye(s). Your thoughts reel as you figure out what to do…
Round two:
Your foal comes across an abominable snow monster. It can be anything you wish it to be. Look however you wish it to look. It can do whatever you wish it to do.
-Describe the creature(details, details, details)
-What does your foal do? Go closer? Fight or flee?
-Is the creature an evil abomination? Or is that just how history has portrayed them?
-End your post with how you find Santa. Do you run into him while fleeing for your life? Does the creature help you? Go wild DO NOT DESCRIBE SANTA'S APPEARANCE IN DETAIL OR ASK HIM FOR ANYTHING...
Deadline Dec 15th @ 11:59pm cst
Not all that glitters is gold
Elimination: * Valensia- according to database this character was not born in Sept or Nov seasons this year or joined between those months.
For a moment, there is nothing. Margaux's breath is caught in her chest, and her eyes are affixed to the quivering tail-tip of the little red canine in front of her. Between one heartbeat and the next, the silence breaks. Out of the shadows comes a rumbling, predatory growl. The pony filly feels the blood in her veins turn to ice. This is it. This is the end, and I'm never going to see Mama again. It takes a concentrated effort, but she forces her eyes to look beyond the foxling's brush, beyond his stiff back, past his ears (which have flattened against the little triangular skull), and past his pointed nose. Like a guiding arrow, she needs only to raise her line of sight up. Several feet above her head, at she is given her first glimpse of the beast.
At first, all she sees is a pair of glittering, cold blue eyes. They seem lit by some internal light, sparkling like frost in morning sunlight. She is entranced, held captive by their feral beauty. Another coarse moan echoes through the trees, and it is too much for the fox. He squeals like a kit, scrabbling against the frozen ground to disappear in the undergrowth. Aghast, the red girl follows him with her eyes, thinks of following him with her feet, until a heavy SNAP whips her attention back to the immediate threat. Blue eyes belong to an arctic white face. It is broad and snub snouted, and fangs (or were those icicles?) as long as her foreleg protruded from the wide maw. Behind the face comes a thick, muscular body, cloaked in long white hair. She is terrified beyond anything she's ever felt before. And yet she can't help but notice how the lush pelted creature seems to glitter as intensely as fresh snow. It stands out in her mind, vivid glimmers of white against the dark background.
Until she looks back down. It is only a quick glance, she does not dare look away from it's face for long. It in enough, though. She saw the massive, long clawed paws. She is sure now, that those fangs are made of ice, for it seems that the claws are made of much the same material. They shine in the weak light, white and transparent, with what she is certain is a razors edge. It is a massive Abominable Snowbear that stands before her. A beast she had only heard tales about, they were not native to Beqanna. Surely if they were, there would be no horses left here. This monster stands giant, far taller than any horse the little girl has ever seen. He is cloaked in a barely-there, intangible aura. Frosty blue, it swirls about his form like a miniature snow storm.
For a moment, they take each other in. Enormous snow bear and tiny pony lass observe each other, waiting for the other to move. With a billowing huff of air, the bear nods his head, and steps closer to the terror-frozen filly. She clamps her eyes tight shut, teeth clenched, waiting for the bite, the claws, the pain. It does not come. Instead, she is shocked by a cold breath on her face. Honey eyes flying open, the bear is right before her, blunt snout a scant inch from her nose. He has had to crouch to get this close to her, and it gives her sudden insight.
His snow white shoulders are not flawless. Across one sloping plane runs a deep gash, weeping vivid blue ichor. It has stained his pelt, and as his face fills her field of vision, she looks beyond his imposing stature. Impassive blue eyes stare into hers. She sees now, that they are not hungry. If they are sharp, she is sure it is because they are in pain. "Oh dear..." She murmurs. "You need help, don't you?" The question is rhetorical, so she is surprised when the massive shaggy head nods to her emphatically, a higher pitched moan vibrating through the bears throat. A breath she didn't realize she'd been holding rushed from her nose. Ok. So what if he was a lot bigger than a mouse or a fox? Or even her, for that matter? She could do this. She hoped. She glanced around, hoping for some inspiration. It was winter, which meant everything was pretty much dead. She bit her lip thoughtfully, very aware of the sharp fangs right behind her. Her eyes fell to the base of a tree. With how dense the forest grows here, there is not much snow. Instead, the thick moss is allowed to continue living, and it coats the bases of several trees nearby. She nods to herself, a plan forming in her mind. She moved slowly to the nearest mossy trunk, and began to kick at it. Gradually, a pile of brown-green moss gathered at her feet, filling the air with its clean scent. She looked over her shoulder to try and gauge how much she'd need to fill the gash. It was long and thin, like something else clawed had gotten a hold of him. What on earth could damage something so huge? A mouthful of damp moss in her dainty mouth, she returns to the snow bear's side. His eyes haven't left her form the entire time, tracking her as she went about her work. She eyed his shoulder dubiously. It was very high up there. Uhhh... She stood back a moment, thinking. Not knowing what else to do, she pawed the needle covered earth, then bent her front legs to kneel down, a sort of pantomime of what she wanted him to do. "Lay down, please?" She asked, hoping he'd understand her as well as he had the first time. A sigh of relief passed through her as he crouched lower, rolling into his broad side so that the injury was easily accessible. If she didn't know any better, she'd say a look of amusement had crossed the glistening predator's features. Now to get to work.
It took some time, and a tense moment where she had hit a nerve. The ensuing roar had her convinced that the snow beast was going to change his mind about eating her, but the moment passed and he settled back down with just a little more grumbling. Before long, her work was done. The girl stepped back, assessing the moss she had packed into the poor beast's wound. It had been deeper than it looked, his shoulder bone had been glinting through torn blue muscles. Amazingly, his entire skeleton appeared to be made of bone-hard ice. It was not a fix. She wasn't sure if she had actually even done any good, beside stopping the bleeding. Her patient seemed satisfied, however, after his own inspection. With a tiny, cautious smile, she took another step back, trying to leave the beast to his own devices. She had done what she could, she didn't want the next need she filled to be his hungry belly.
The towering snow bear wasn't having it. A coughing snarl stopped her in her tracks. It was clear that he wasn't done with her just yet. With a heave, he pulled himself back to his feet, leaving a patch of blue stained snow where he had been laying. With a determined look, he stepped forward, steady despite the favoring of the injured foreleg. Now he was going to eat her. Of course, after he made her fix him up, it only made sense! But no, she was wrong again. No gnashing teeth or meaty paw came down to crush her. Just a soft, cold nose, prodding her in the direction he had first come from. It was not a hard push, but the insistence behind it was clear. She was coming with him, or else. The wide eyed child looked up at him. She was getting tired. This adventure had gone on long enough, and this Santa person probably didn't exist to begin with. "Do I have to?" She asked, hating the whine that had crept into her tone. The bear only nodded mutely, leaving no room for discussion. Another prodding nudge, and she began walking. This was absolutely kidnapping and she resented it. After all she had done! The girl huffed, pouting as her silent companion lead the way, glancing back every few paces to ensure she was still following.
After a few minutes of walking, a flash of red caught her eye. The next second her familiar foxy friend had reappeared, trotting to keep up with the snow bear's long strides even more than she was. "Well, come on up, you coward." She offered, forgiving his running away as soon as she saw him. One leap later, he was nestled into the curve of her back, no remorse whatsoever in his pointed features.
Snow began to fall. First in small flurries, then thickening into a downfall of fat crystalline flakes that began to obscure the landscape. Not knowing what else to do, the red girl sped up to walk against the huge bear, letting him block the worst of the wind. This doubled as preventing her losing him as well. Large as the bear was, he seemed to grow less visible in the snow. Not just because he was white, it seemed that the very edges of him lost their tangibility the heavier it got. What a strange creature...
They walked for miles. The snowstorm faded just as the day's light began to, turning the world into a vibrant painting of sunset on snow. Margaux had never seen anything so beautiful. Not even that beautiful peacock lady, who she was starting to have second thoughts about anyway. Too soon, the sky faded to deep purples and blues. It was getting cold, too cold to keep going much longer. She was about to give up and lay down in the snow when a hum from the bear made her look up. Soft, multicolored lights hung in the air before them, forming a thread that stretched into the darkness. A satisfied smile pulled at the bear's lips, exposing more of his frozen fangs. He set off again, walking below the jewel colored lights, following them like a path.
Exhaustion forgotten, the girl went after him, marveling at how they lit his coat with kaleidoscopic patterns. She did not feel the cold so much anymore. They walked along the lighted path for only a few minutes before the twinkling strand multiplied. There were now several dozen strands floating above them. One moment they simply pulsed in the air, the next they scattered. Each strand flowed up and around a tree, until the entire grove they'd come to was illuminated in a rainbow of colors. A tree taller than the others stood at the center of it all, and it shone brighter than anything else around them. The wondrous show was all the little girl noticed at first, and it wasn't until the snow bear left her side did she take a closer look. At the base of the magnificent tree, in the center of the enchanted grove, stood an elderly man. The bear nuzzled him like an old friend before settling at his side, and watched as Margaux stepped closer. "You're... you're Santa Claus, aren't you?" She whispered.
12-12-2017, 01:40 AM (This post was last modified: 12-12-2017, 01:59 AM by Provoke.)
provoke
Please, Sandee Claws...Please don't eat me! I promise I'll be good!
The little girl shivered, and in the dark, Provoke's little teal fuzzy butt stuck up in the air and her purple flag of a tail was tucked firmly between her legs, clamping her butt together as she attempted to bury her tiny head into her gangly, unfeminine legs. Her whole body was shaking. So she did the first thing a little girl thinks of when she's alone and scared in the dark.
She closed her eyes.
Her body shivered with the cold while she waited for Sandee Claws to pass her by, hoping that he would find someone else to eat... or give presents too. She was just fine on her own, thank you very much! And yet, the more she shook, the more she shivered. It seemed to be getting colder. Provoke pushed forward, shuffling forward, her tiny hooves pushing her forward down the path, even while her eyes were still closed and buried beneath her legs. When all of a sudden, large hands reached down, and grasped on Provoke by her behind, picking her up. The little girl was flung in the air, and a high-pitched scream happened while she got caught up in the snow that had quickly started to fall.
"AAAHHHH SANDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She squeals, absolutely terrified, falling through the trees, smacking into branches, falling like a pinball machine, cracking branches with an oof and a huff. Finally she lands with a thud, her ears lopsided as she sees images of a tiny little Sandee Clawses going around her head like birdies. She was dizzy, and had a headache, but she no more stood up, shook, and got her bearings, but then she looked up and saw the scariest thing she'd ever seen. In her entire life. She screamed again.
And then she peed.
And it was not a a little pee.
The warm sensation was so foreign to Provoke in this cold environment that she blinked up at the creature, before looking down between her front legs, to examine her back legs. I guess that's what Mother meant when she said 'Don't eat yellow snow..'
Her little body shivered with fear—but at least her momentarily bowel release provided a bit of warmth for a moment—and she looked up at this big white thing. As the snow slowed down, she warily took a chance to examine the big white thing that was staring her down. It had a plastered smile on its face that looked angry, like it would take great pleasure in eating her. Its tiny little stick arms waved in the wind as the creature leaned and swayed toward her. Provoke was so terrified that she ran screaming, sure that it was going to eat her.
Everything about Christmas was food, it seemed, and Provoke was not about to let someone get fat by eating her. It just wouldn’t be right.
She had so much to live for.
Eventually, she slowed down, her tiny little turquoise bum still hale and whole—she knows; she's looked. Several times. Realizing she was alone, she stopped, tilted her head, and for the first time noticed how weird this place was. The ground was bright blue.
The sky was pink.
And there was still her little yellow stain. Scared the piss out of me. I'm a baby. Babies have accidents.
But still, there in the clearing between a stone, and a copse of white birch trees was a big white thing. It was very oddly shaped, and it was terrifying to look at. Three scary, lumpy balls stacked on top of the other. Stick arms covered in knots and two red things that looked to be made of foal fuzz, hanging off of his hands... Like he'd picked up another like her and stripped him of his skin... just to stay warm...black, unyielding, unblinking eyes that watched carefully for its next pray... and that angry mouth plastered in the smile... They looked like stones, but Provoke blinked, and just knew that they were teeth. She's seen things, man. She knows things. That's what she does.
Around this creature's neck, was what looked like a gigantic tongue... it hung several feet, wrapped around its neck like a proud trophy... and Provoke just Knew it was a foal's intestines. It was a war prize. Provoke gulped again. It was guarding the path in the direction Provoke needed to go in order to get to the end of her "adventure"--She was going to kill Auntie Aurora for this—and Provoke inched slowly, her eyes never leaving his face, lest he grab her and eat her like he did the other baby foals. Because there, in the middle of his face... Was a big... orange....
Carrot.
That. That right there.
That was the bait. To trick little foals into approaching like there was nothing to it. He'd feed them, and then eat them. To fatten them up before eating them. She bet this this was a trap. That this creature was Sandee Claws' War General. He just looked so happy to be standing guard, preventing her from passing, getting ready to eat her. Evil cold... white... thing...
What is he even called?!
Provoke screwed up her face, her brows coming down and her nostrils flaring. She had had enough. She was terrified. She was angry. And this crazy place that her Auntie Aurora had sent her, telling her she'd have fun....
Well, Provoke gathers up her courage, breathes in, and marches right passed her yellow Pee Stain, to stare her monster in the face. She would be brave. And she would save all her friends from this terrible fate if it turned out she'd be the one eaten next. She'd take him down with her.
OOF! She kicks the bottom blobby sphere-shaped thing on Sandee Claw's war general—his butt? She secretly hoped it was his butt. It made her feel better to think it was his butt. But Damn her leg was cold. She kicked him again.
"You....Give...Me...Back....My...Friends...You...BULLY!" And then, on that last kick, it starts to rumble, and Provoke Screams again, Running away from the General, but this time, he followed her, his head falling off his body and landing on top of Provoke with a thud, and she SCREAMED again.
She was covered in his guts, EW EW EW!
She couldn't take it any longer. She was no longer brave. She peed herself again, and started to cry, burying her head in her legs and tucking her tail under her bottom once more....She was sobbing, her body covered in little scratches from the trees and falling, but her mind tortured with images of what she thought Christmas meant, and how her nightmares would most likely keep her awake for many many years to come.
She was shivering, as the blue snow and the pink sky dissipated into nothingness... and once again, the birds of the dark, and the crickets of the wood returned to her.
She was still crying many minutes later when she dared look outside her legs, discovering she was back on the path she had started on. Looking around, the corn-cob moon cast an eerie glow on the forest. The little teal buckskin was buried in a pile of snow, tangled up in some bramble that had fallen from a nearby tree. She sobbed her fears, unsure of why her body did this to her. Why was she so strange? Why would her dreams plague her like they did? Why did they leave her body?
Why why why? Why?!
She continues to cry as she gets up and runs blindly down the path, to a faint glow. It is warm here, and the sounds of the other kids who had gone before her are in a grotto that seems to be untouched from the elements. It is protected, safe—exactly what Provoke wishes she could be.
She stops crying for the moment, her tiny chest heaving... her tears cold on her face, when a warm gloved hand, takes Provoke by the chin, and strokes her lovingly—giving her assurance. Kindness. Blinking through her tears, the glow is faintly red... but still blurry... But she sees that there is a smile on his face. And a deep voice reaches her ears.
"I hear you have been on quite a journey, Little One. Want to tell me all about it?"
At that moment, Provoke does not care who this person/creature/figment is. She just dissolves into tears, confessing her strangeness... her muchness, and why for some reason she cannot stay inside her body. Then she explains about the evil Sandee Claws and how he eats little children, and his general made of cold white stuff that blocked her way and eats all her friends. Provoke feels that she has been through so much.
She just wanted this adventure to be over.
She just wanted to feel safe again.
» death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily «
TL;DR - Basically Provoke Astral Projected herself to another dimension based on the fears she exhibited from learning about Santa Claus. She sees a Snow Man. But her fears are in her head. She is so petrified by the thought of Santa and Christmas that her powers have gone completely wild and she is out of control. She kicks the Snow man until he falls apart, and then she is transported back to Beqanna, where she runs into the REAL Santa Clause, but she doesn't know who she's talking to just yet.
Darkness has a way of playing games on those who delve deep into its embrace. There’s something magical about the way the mind works when light ceases to shine its light. Babadook has experienced the tricks of the shadows many times before (the ominous threat of a bear looming above him only to be a tree, the sliding tendrils of a snake wrapping around his ankles only to be a wandering vine, the sharp slices of a creature’s fangs on his shoulder only to be a thicket of poking underbrush) yet time and time again his terror overrides his ability to rationalize.
He is already on edge from the spooks of his own imagination. So when the sound of the twig cracking echos in his ear, Babadook is already seeing the looming, menacing creatures in the dark corners of the shadows. A shameless cry is thrown out of his cracked lips and he closes his dark eyes despite not even knowing what he is scared of. His muscles tighten instinctively and he crouches low to the ground (an action he performs swiftly, having done it many times before in the presence of his annoyed mother).
There is no sound but a quiet, gentle panting. Babadook raises his head quietly from where it was bent between his knees, eyes blurry as he opens them. There is a murky, ivory shape that eventually sharpens into the form of a small wolf. At first, panic flies through Babadook’s chest with all the quickness and ferocity of a shooting star. But it dims when he realizes the wolf is a young one — just past the softness of childhood.
The wolf is formed of snow, Babadook realizes, and his brow furrows as he notes the air is exceptionally warm. Yet he does not melt into the soil and his crystalline body is a swirl of snow and ice. Sharp ice teeth poke through his lips and his eyes are a deep sky blue. His two little ears sit perched, twisting in Babadook’s direction.
“Oh.” The colt rises onto his long skinny legs and looks over the young wolf with more curiosity and less terror. “You’re not scary or trying to eat me.” A hesitant smile crawls across his mouth. “I’m looking for someone named Santa Clause and he’s supposed to grant me a gift! Do you want to help me look for him?” The wolf’s head tips to the side, and then his lips part in a timid, canine smile.
“Great! Let’s start looking over here.” Babadook prances off into the shadows away from the river, suddenly more bold now that he has a fearless wolf protector. The snow-wolf pads along beside him, his shoulders coming to Babadook’s withers. They are perfectly-sized for one another and the wolf’s snow fur brushes cooly against his companion’s silver black coat. It soothes Babadook from the warmth of the day and the sweat from walking for so long.
They eventually forget their ambitions, as children often do. They spend the rest of the day wandering in the thickness of the forest, jumping over small logs and splashing through streams and chasing squirrels up trees. It is only when darkness falls that Babadook remembers his quest to find Santa, granted to him by the gentle mother among the morning dew of the playground. “We forgot about Santa!” he squeals. The carefree day spent as a true child, playing with a friend, is cut short coldly by the forgetfulness.
“Do you think he’ll still be out when it’s so dark?” Babadook begins to fret anxiously, lungs inhaling breaths quicker with each moment. His snow friend stills him with a icy nose placed to Babadook’s chest. Then, with a flick of his ears, he leads him to a cave set against a rocky hill the colt hadn’t noticed before. “You knew this whole time?” The itch of betrayal stings for a moment, but it is soothed by the balm of curiosity.
The skinny colt steps into the cool of the cave. “Hello? Santa?”
Her question comes as she is cowering behind her sister. She can't just leave Deiti there, so as much as she wants to run, she stays glued to her spot. The bushes continue to shake, and the golden girl feels every bone in her body begin to quiver with it.
"I'm not Santa..." It hisses from beneath the greenery. What emerges is the most horrifying thing Embark could have ever imagined.
He stands on two hooved legs, his entire body covered in thick, dirty black fur. His clawed hand clutches switches that he hits against his side, threatening to cut the edges of their little rumps. The other hand holds a bag, that seemed to be moving, as if something was trapped inside. His grotesque, goblin-like face sports long, curling ram horns, and he peers at them through glowing crimson eyes.
"I'm...KRAMPUS!" He howls, razor sharp teeth pulling up into a devilish smile. A scream rumbles from the bottom of Embark's throat and out from her lips, so loud that she doesn't realize that her sister also screams. Both girls turn to bolt the other way, spindly legs carrying them as fast as they could go. He follows, trailing just behind their fluffy tails. "Run but you can't HIDE, girls!" He cackles.
Suddenly, Deiti lets out a terrified gasp, as the demon's lengthy fingers snatch her ankle and pull her towards him. Embark watches in horror as he lifts her from the ground and dangles her like a treat in front of his hideous face. "You've been bad,haven't you?" He growls, forked tongue tickling at Deiti's cheek. He opens the bag with a phwick and stuffs her inside.
Embark is ready to gallop away from the Christmas demon, ready to flee before she herself falls prey to him. But as she watches as he throws Deiti into his sack, something stops her. A feeling deep within her makes puff out her chest and approach him, ears flat against the crown of her head.
She wanted to be brave.
"Hey!" She calls to Krampus. He looks up through those piercing red eyes and gives her that manic grin. "Leave my sister alone!" Embark runs towards him, butting her head into the side of his leg with all her might, causing him (to her surprise) to lose his balance and topple to the ground. The bag spills open, and foals from all over Beqanna fall out, taking this opportunity to escape his clutches.
"No!" The demon screams, clawing at the ground helplessly to try to retrieve them all. He turns his head to glare at Embark, snarling. "Why you little-" The filly raises off the ground, plummeting her front hooves into his stomach. The demon lets out a loud oof!
"Run Deiti, run!" Embark yells to her sister, who alternates looking at the half-goat, half-demon creature to her sister. "I'll find you!" So the ebony filly obeys, following the other children away from ugly old Krampus.
Just when Embark thinks she has defeated him, he grabs at her leg and knocks her to the ground. "Naughty, naughty child." He scolds as she tries to scurry up. He rises, clutching her so hard in his hand her hock begins to burn. "You know what happens to naughty children?" He asks, and her own red eyes fill with fear.
"They get the SWITCH!" He lifts up his bundle of branches and begins to beat her with it, cutting deep into her rump and hips. She lets out a powerless yelp, tears streaming steadily down her face. She wriggles and fights, but it is no use.
Thwack, thwack, thwack... Over and over he hits her, punishing her for doing what she thought was right. When he is finished, he grabs his bag from the ground and opens it with that same phwick. He is about to throw her inside, until a voice emerges from the shadows.
"Krampus, release her." The voice is a low, soothing baritone, almost like her father's. Almost as if by a miracle, the demon-goat sets her down with a scoff. Her eyes remain closed as her wounds throb and bleed. "She is not a bad child, and neither is her sister. Go now, be on your way." The unfamiliar man demands, and she can feel his warmth as he grows closer to her.
"You're okay now, Embark." He says. How did he know her name? She looks up, and her eyes become alight.
AuroraElis
DO NOT DESCRIBE SANTA'S APPEARANCE IN DETAIL OR ASK HIM FOR ANYTHING...
