"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
His mouth was set in a grim line as he raced across the land. Determined strides ate the distance with a warrior's grace, inky black hair marring the pale sky like angry scribbles of a permanent marker. Thick mud kicked up in his wake, an almost unnatural sort of feeling beneath his hooves. It was nothing like the hard-packed clay of home, these lands, where so much rain fell and softened the earth. The people, too, seemed so soft and pliant. He missed home. And so he'd find it again. He'd find her again.
After the brutal murder of his family, he'd come to learn that his sister had been the only other survivor. When they should have been mourning together, he had been chasing her away. Afraid to lose her too, but too pig-headed to see she did not want his protection, his control. It all just slipped in so naturally, like a well-oiled machine turning over to do as it was created to do. But this machine in him didn't have an off-switch, couldn't shut down. Trained as a child until his manner and protection became instinct, nothing within him challenged it.
He'd pushed her away again, unintentionally, and he knew he had to make it right. She was all that was left of his family. There were so many secrets buried in their past, so much he could never tell her.
As if summoned by his thoughts, her elegant figure manifested in the distance. He slowed then halted where he was, looking off at the rich ebony coat that blanketed her, barely a smudge on the horizon though his heart knew it was her. For a time, he just watched her quietly, steeling up the nerve to approach her. Their last meeting had not gone well at all, ending with her attacking him.
Dead eyes slid to his shoulder, permanently marked by her vicious teeth and still caked with healing skin. He knew why she'd done it; she never wanted him to forget. But she didn't know his heart could never forget her face, her accusing eyes haunting his nightmares.
He knew he had to find her and apologize, or do whatever he needed to make this right, but the emotions rolling through him stayed his feet and locked him in place. Could she forgive him, for whatever he'd done that had pushed her away? Would she understand it was only her safety that had concerned him so, enough that he lashed out at anyone near her. Only her safety. Not jealousy.
Standing still and silhouetted against the gray sky, he only stared silently from his perch. The wind picked up, throwing his hair forward. His tail wrapped across his side, his mane thrashed in his face. And the spicy scent of a desert-male was clutched by the breeze and carried to her like a faithful mutt retrieving what she'd asked of it.
09-24-2016, 11:55 PM (This post was last modified: 09-24-2016, 11:58 PM by Jord.)
- Jord -
Jord
The ebon huntress stood strong yet panicked as she looked for Baymax.. but he was no where to be found. Her heart once again felt lonely. She stood near the edge of the forest yet in the meadow. The lady lifted her nares to the sky and closed her orbs as the wind gust rather hard for the spring, her tassel whipping around her hips and rump, her banner licking at her nape, her bangs wisping around her forehead. What a beautiful spring breeze.. she thought to herself briefly.. taking in the moment.. the silence. I wish Baymax was here to feel this... She thought letting out a soft sigh. Her nares sniffed the air.. catching a familiar scent. Everytime she smelled it, it was almost as if it called her. "Akvah.." She said softly under her breath as she opened her eyes and scanned the bright terra before her. Akkadian.. She thought as her eyes fell upon him, standing strong in the distance as if he was frozen. The gladiator stood before her. She suddenly felt a almost belligerent wave of anger flow over her. How dare he show himself before her. She had spoke she never wanted to see him again. Why had he came for her.. what was he going to say this time. She wanted to hear him out.. She was only so angry at him because she cared about him.. about the family.. about the legacy.. She was proud to be his sister.. Yet he didn't seam to care the same way nor as much as she did to be his family. Jord had always looked up to him as a pillar of strength in hard times, yet the moment she needed him he tossed her to the side like rubble. What was wrong with him... These were the thoughts she was having when she attacked him. Her brain thought it was only fair to give him a second chance... her heart hurt though and yelled at her that it was a bad idea. If she gave him a second chance she would seam weak,..falling back on her words that she didn't want to speak or see him.. that he was no longer her brother. She took a deep breath before her pistons moved her strong, scarred bodice toward him. She hated herself for making the decision.. but she wanted to see what brought him to her...
Once her pistons carried her to Akkadian.. her orbs just scanned over him silently. His strong form, his long banner and whip,... his scarred shoulder. It almost hurt her to look at his wound. She had hurt her family out of anger... she hoped he knew she really didn't mean to .. she just loved her family.. and for him to throw her away for a mare that wasn't family hurt her. "Why are you here Akkadian.." she spoke. Her vocals still soft and beautiful, calm and silky. Yet she tried not to let her voice crack as she spoke to him. She was still hurt by his actions.. probably something she'd never forget. She knew that if she ever had children she would teach them to love and be respectful to all those around them.. unless they hurt the family or do them wrong. Her amber optics looked at Akkadian.. almost sad yet softly.. waiting for his response. The wind drifted her homeland scent toward the brute that stood before her, warm and inviting.
He knew when she sensed him; her body stiffened with pride. How badly had he wounded her to make her cast him aside and demand to never see him again? Family was everything in their homeland. A sickening anxiety curled and roiled in his belly, black and foreign and terrible. Was there anything he could do to make this right again?
She seemed to battle with herself; approach or turn away from him again. It was not an easy decision, he knew. Her pride would demand she leave without a word, just as she said she would were he to ever show up again. The only thing proving resistant to that would be her loyalty to family. He wouldn't fool himself in believing it was loyalty to him.
His body was locked tight, waiting for her choice with bated breath. This would be the deciding factor for their future; would they be family again, or complete strangers? He wished he could make the choice for her, but the fear of pushing her too far forced him to remain still. He could not afford to lose her forever.
When she began to walk towards him, he quietly released the long-held breath and a shy smile dared pull at his lips. She chose him, family. She would come hear him out. His brows still pinched together in worry, afraid of all the various ways he could yet manage to screw this up. And when she reached him and spoke, his heart sang.
She questioned his reasons for finding her, and although he had prepared many different ways of answering that, he could say nothing. Her voice was delicate, unlike the strong woman. There was a softness in her eyes that melted him. His whole body strained to reach out and touch her, take her pain away, and he took a hesitant step forward.
As a scrawny little child, she had been passable as part of the family. As a woman now, it was clear they were not of the same blood. She was not as slender as the other females would be, more generous in those graceful curves. Her hair was not flat and straight, but full and wild with a gentle curl. No arabian-dished face marred her beauty. His eyes slid to her lips. He was prepared to comfort her, as an older brother should, but something was changing. Something felt so very wrong.
He was holding his breath again, just a hairs breadth away from touching her, so close to brushing against her with a velvet caress. His gaze met her deep eyes -and he remembered.
He stiffened and pulled away slowly, not enough that he left her, but enough that he couldn't reach for her so easily. The warmth and emotion in his face was carefully tucked away behind a familiar mask of emotionless calm.
Confusion and pain burned in his blood. Some things could never be.
In a voice thick with silent torment, he spoke quietly.
Jord orbs watched as Akkadian stepped toward her then suddenly pulled away from her. She let out a soft sigh, and shook her skull in disappointment, her forelock falling in front of her orbs. She looked up to meet him once again. "You will never learn will you Akkadian, .." She spoke. "I don't want you to do or say what you think i want to hear. Do what you feel is right." She said, shifting her bodice as if to turn away from him. "But I would think a good place to start would be an apology. You acted like you wanted to find me so badly, yet when you found me in a hard time in my life.. you pulled away. didn't want to have a thing to do with me. But ran to someone else." She said,.. her eyes looking at the terra.. away from him. "You hurt me deeply Akkadian." She shook her head, trying to hide the tears that pooled in her hazel orbs..trying not to choke on her words. "You stabbed me when I was down... How could family do that to someone they say they care about?" Here hazy orbs met his once more.. waiting for his answer.
He saw her disappointment at his retreat, and he nearly stepped in to fix it. But he could not. Ever. And she didn't know it, couldn't understand the reasons behind it. In her eyes, her brother would not comfort her. But it was so much more than that. He dared not desecrate her purity with his filthy touch.
Before, he would have easily swooped in to cradle her close. He understood her confusion of that loss, of the one who would always make things right for her when they were younger, never hesitating to step in on her behalf. But he could no longer fool himself. As the prince he was raised to be, he could hold his princess sister at any time. But he knew the truth now, he was not a prince. Only a bastard child found at the river. He could not touch a princess; indeed, he should be bowing before her.
He cleared the emotion from his throat and looked away as she addressed him. She did not hide the hurt in her voice, perhaps also the disappointing realization that he was not good enough. That was more true than she even realized; by blooded proof, he could never be good enough. She advised that he apologize, and he made note to do so, then went on to admonish him for forcing distance between them when she needed him most. The truth stung him, but what was he to do? He could no longer be the brother she needed.
When she said he'd hurt her deeply, addressing him by name in that soft voice, he made a decision. She saw a brother on equal standing. Prince or not, it was still his duty to be there for her and protect her. So he'd pretend then. He would do as a loyal subject should and give her what she wanted, when she wanted it. She told him his behavior had stabbed her when she was down, and asked how family could do that to one another.
Family wouldn't. But they were not family.
He could never tell her.
I am sorry, my akhut he said quietly, sad eyes staring at his feet in shame. Even now he lied to her. She was not his akhut, not his sister.
My behavior has been appalling, he admitted carefully, understanding that she expected a brother when he felt forced to act as a stranger. Perhaps an overly protective one. Maybe a little controlling too. It was hard to come to terms that their way of life and interacting with each other was no more, was outlandish. And made harder still by the fact he could not fully explain his actions without revealing his deception.
Please forgive me... I can't bear to be at odds with you.
Akkadian stepped hesitantly forward, his gaze locked on her. With a single touch, and without her permission, he would ruin her. She wasn't aware of what she asked when she wanted her brother back. His mix-blooded filth would soil her royal coat. And with those thoughts tightening his movements, he pressed his nose gently into her neck. Her sweet scent was almost too much for him, but he pinched his eyes shut and placed himself lovingly and firmly against her sides. Gentle, protective. And so deeply wrong.
Jord couldn't help but let a smile slip across her maw as apologized. She wanted him back as her brother once more. It wasn't long before he finally looked at her before coming close to her, the breath from his nares on her nape. It almost gave her chills. She wasn't sure what she was feeling;she had a slight idea but she didn't want to fight it. She felt warmth as his body pressed next to hers. She shut her orbs from seeing as she gently brushed her maw against his neck. "Thank you Akka.." She whispered softly in his auds. His warm scent, their homeland drifted strongly into her nares. It felt like home again. She felt safe, comfortable, ..not so alone.. by his side. "I'm sorry I hurt you akvah" She said gently as her maw moved over to the healing wound and very gently licked it, cleaning it. "I hope you can forgive me.." Jord said, before turning her name to look at him. "Akka.. if you were hiding something from me, you would tell me.. wouldn't you?" Her voice kind. "I just feel since we've found each other before the mountain burst from the earth.. you've acted weird toward me." Jord said turning her eyes from him.. hoping he would be honest with her if he was hiding something.
His skin heated with a welcomed warmth where her muzzle touched his gently-arched neck, hair standing on end. Her whisper brushed lightly into his ear, and he shuddered. By the gods, the things she did to him were not at all as a brother should feel to his sister. He had to bottle this up, for her sake.
She apologized for hurting him, and lowered her delicate lips to his wound. Although he watched her movement intently, he still flinched and gasped in surprise as she gently licked it. His breath hitched, and he struggled not to shove her away before he did something insane -like lick her back. But he didn't have to, as she pulled away to look at him again.
He slammed his eyes shut, hoping she hadn't seen the primal hunger in his eyes. She saw him as a brother, that's what she needed, that's what he was. A brother only.
But, damn, he wished the king would have warned him when he'd commanded him to steal her from her home she'd blossom into such a divine creature.
She spoke again, admitting she'd noticed his odd behavior towards her since they'd found each other, and nearly asking him if he was hiding something from her. His blood instantly ran cold, flushing away the heat of the moment, and he carefully detached himself from their embrace, clearing a sudden lump from his throat and staring at the ground. How could he admit his deception? But how could he deny her request?
He struggled to work things out in his mind. How much would he have to tell her? How much could he still hold within him? As he thought it through, it was clear he would have to admit his mixed blood. There was no way he could tell her about her own origins without losing her forever. She'd never forgive him if she knew he'd stolen her life away.
What do you remember?
About us? Our home, our family?He'd learned from her when they first "met" in this new world that she'd lost a great deal of her memory. He thought it best to first fill in her blanks, if he could.
Jord's soft hazel orbs fell upon the ground as Akkadian asked her what she remembered. She lowered her skull as her strong legs gently seamed to crumble beneath her and lower her ebon bodice to the earth, laying down in the grass. She looked up at him, a innocent look in her gaze, his smooth yet strong muscled frame standing before her, as she nudged her skull to motion for him to sit with her. It was time for a serious talk. "Well.. " Jord spoke, pausing for a moment trying to recall whatever memories she may have. She let out a soft sigh as the wind blew her banner and forelock slightly. "I slightly remember home. Hot, humid, sandy, ... the thing that sticks out most was it smelled like... like blood." Her vocals announced softly, pausing at the end before finishing her sentence. "Mother.. I don't remember her, father and our older brother was always away at war. You were around half of the time, either watching over me, or ignoring me for 'training' or 'war games'. So I was pretty much alone..." Jord spoke, her voice choking slightly. She cleared her throat of the frog that inhabited it. "No parents to raise me.. not that you didn't do a good job... don't get me wrong Akka." She said softly, looking at him and shooting him a gentle yet kind smile. "But look at us.. we're totally different. As I've grown up.. from my child hood, I've realized we are not the same breed. I'm huge and muscular.. not like that slender, curvy mare you were chasing around the mountain." Jord said lowering her head once more.. almost ashamed and disgusted of her bodice and form, feeling a bit like an outcast from her family's lineage, she wanted to be like him. She had never had a stag interested in her besides Baymax.. but even he left her. "You're this strong, masculine, brute of a steed. Trained in all forms of combat and mind games. Yet I know deep inside you still care for me,.. although even by just looking at me I'm not of your kind, of your lineage. So i've been wondering who am I and why do you care so much about me?" Jord said her vocals softening toward the end. Her water filled pools looked up at the man she had considered her brother her entire life. "Who am I, Akka? I will not judge you for your answer, as long as it's the truth. Anam Ami Akkadian....." Jord said closing her orbs as the tears streamed down her face, gently laying her head against Akkadian.. feeling completely lost. Would the mysteries and questions of her past and her history be solved.. Did her brother know the truth.. the answers her entire life? Jord fell quiet as she waited for answers.
She gestured for him to join her on the ground. He hesitated, unsure if it was wise to be so close to her, but eventually relented and lowered himself next to her. He listened close as she spoke, carefully keeping a little distance between them.
She remembered home and family, only faint memories. She smiled at him, but he looked away as she pointed out their differences and that she'd noted they weren't at all related. Of course she would, she was intelligent and observant.
She told him she'd wondered why he cared for her though it was clear they were not family, and then asked him. She wanted to know why she meant so much to him, why he cared so much. He wasn't sure he could tell her. He wasn't even sure he really understood half of it. No, she wasn't family, not by blood. But she was family to him regardless. He would always have a loyalty to her.
And then she asked a harder question; who was she. What she was really asking was where did she come from, where did she belong. How had she ended up there with the Queen, raised by the same family that had taken him in too. Did she realize he was not their child either?
He nearly missed her next words, but the intimate phrase snatched his attention immediately. Anam ami. Soul love. In their culture it could mean different things. It could simply mean "I cherish you" from mother to daughter, or "I will protect you" from brother to sister. But from her, it meant something else to his ears. Something she'd said to him as a child and he'd immediately scolded her for it. It had been a reference to the unbreakable bond between mates, a rare bond even their parents hadn't had together though they loved each other dearly.
He was on his feet before he knew it, jerking himself to standing and towering over her as he had that day. He wasn't angry, but he had to correct her again.
No, Jord. You mustn't say that. You cannot possibly understand the meaning of what you say. I told you before not to say it, do you remember that? It is sacred. It is not meant for us. he said, shaking his head slowly. It was imperative she understand the fault in the words. And never say them again, not to him, not to anyone.
He fell silent, considering how to continue. She wanted to know who she was. How could he even begin to explain it?
You... You are a princess. he said quietly, his eyes downcast and muscles stiff. It wasn't enough, he knew. He needed to explain why he shouldn't be allowed to touch her, brother or not. I was not born from our King and Queen. I was found as a child and taken in, a bastard left for death. He said it without emotion. He really didn't care about his own background, only wished to make it clear his reasons for keeping his distance from her, a true princess unrecognized as such in these foreign lands.
Jord stood and stood her ground as Akkadian told her how to speak. The wind blew through her banner and forelock as she watched him. She glared at him for only a moment, "Akkadian I'm an adult, I can say what i want .. and what I said.. I mean." She said her eyes softening. She turned her back to him, she took steps away of him for a moment. Her beautiful voice laughed.. almost a chuckle.."A princess! HAH!" she said tossing her head momentarily. "I am no princess,Akka. I was not raised as a princess, i ruled no land, no kingdom, I didn't marry a prince and bare royal children. If I am 'royal' my people are dead... my kingdom is dead.. MY family is dead. I am no princess." Jord said not looking back at the stallion. She took more steps away.. "For you to even say such a thing is foolish. I am like every other mare out here.." Jord said her voice slowly softening,.. "i'm nothing special.."She said then stopped talking. She looked around her environment trying to clear her head. "i'm not from what you call OUR King and Queen. I'm certainly not their 'princess'. We are truly not family." She said softly... looking out into space as if she could see the breeze. "but you will not be left to die.. I will be by your side.." she said as she turned her neck to let her orbs gently fall upon him.. almost lovingly. "If you will have me.." she said still looking over her shoulder at Akkadian.
