"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
12-21-2017, 07:23 PM (This post was last modified: 12-21-2017, 07:26 PM by Ceara.)
[quote pid='65356' dateline='1513880248']
let me pick your brain, girl. and tell me how they got that pretty little face on that pretty little frame.
She comes on a mission. On a request. She was asked by Warrick to go find her brother. Ceara has passed by these caves many times. Many times, especially in recent days, she has heard voices. She has never ventured forth into them - she was asked not to. But when the Overseer - when Warrick - asks something of you, there is no descent.
There is only deference.
And so, she gulps, lowering her head, and takes her steps into the cave. "L..Levi? Are you here, Lard Ass?" She uses one of her pet names for him - hoping that if he is around, he will not be entirely pissed off with her when she shows up where she was told not to stick her nose.
Hushed voices are heard at the end of the cave, and she walks further in, her ears tucked into her mane. She could not settle the feeling in her stomach that Levi had gotten himself into some sort of trouble. "Hello?...Helloo?"
He had just begun to doze, on the outside of his firewall, when a familiar sound jolts him awake. Sounds carry in the vast network of caverns, but he knew exactly where this voice was coming from. The tall stallion grumbles something about 'don't try any shit' to his captive and turns his mass in the direction of the outside world. An orb of flame rolls on the ground before him, illuminating his path on the long walk back to the earth's surface. It's mostly just to keep his mind preoccupied as he walks - the flames in his mane and tail provide more than enough light to cast the world around him in a brilliant orange hue.
The mouth of the cave frames his sister, her lithe, dark form in sharp contrast with the daylight behind her. "Get out," he growls, shouldering her slim body aside and stepping from the stone into the grass. The orb dissipates, but the fire in his mismatched eyes it still there as they rest on her for a moment before casting out to see if she is alone.
"I'm trying to work here, whatever you want will have to wait."
She shouldn't be anywhere near Karaugh, just like Amorette should never have been here, and he would rather hurt her feeling than risk his favorite sister's well-being.
It wasn't hard to pick up the ebony mares trail leading away from their meeting near the border. Sienna eyes had watch the direction in which she traveled and it seemed fitting that it was straight for the rumbling mountain. Also the freshly flattened emerald blades of grass were a good clue.
The navy stallions pleads had fell on deaf ears. Even now he follows behind her. Knowing nothing good was going to come of what happened next. He was probably right but she didn't care. Not now. She was stubborn when she set her mind to something. She was finding her mother and that was that...
Sienna eyes remained focused on the task at hand. Each fall of her hoof against the lava rock clipped with a determined tone. Walking with much purpose. She hadn't wanted to catch up to Ceara. Not yet. Let her lead them all the way to the hornets nest.
Coming into view was a dark opening at the bottom of the volcano. Ceara at it's edge. She slides to a stop with a snort. Nares flare as she takes in the much needed oxygen. Then he appears. The molted stallion breaks into the daylight and her eyes narrow upon him. WTF were they doing?
Now she lunges into a trot. Not paying any mind to Warrick and if he still followed her on foot. Ebony ears twist back as she nears quickly. Noting the equally pissy expression plastered on Levi's handsome fucking face! Dammit he was hot. A snorts huffs from her as she stops maybe a tad too close to the red eye stallion. Her voice demanding, "Warrick said you have my mother. Where is she?!" Her eyes remain hardened as she looked into his. Don't. Give. In.
Kolera
Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.
@[Warrick] @[Amorette] I tagged who remains to post. Kryptic will probably just watch from behind Amorette unless his actions/words are needed. I assume him and Amore are not far so he will just follow her Permission given to Sapphire to power play his actions a bit in her posts
Ceara leaves his presence quickly and purposefully - he knew that of all people, she would know exactly where to find Levi. Warrick’s normally soft gaze is hardening as time yawns before them, especially at the thought of Kolera meeting up with Levi again - the blue stallion still found it hard to trust Offspring’s son, who had hurt Tangerine only a few short years ago. His skin pricks with anxiousness, shown by the flexing of his muscles beneath the auburn flesh, his lips pressing into a thin line. Kolera’s passion for her mother is endearing, but slowly the Overseer is coming to his wit’s end - if she wished to see the vampiric woman in all of her self-appreciated glory, Warrick will grant her wish. Perhaps seeing Karaugh with her own eyes will satisfy Kolera’s stubbornness, and then all will be dealt with. His lips twitch abruptly - he hopes.
He would never have granted Levi the responsibility to hold Karaugh to her captivity, but the stallion trusts Ellyse and did not change the sentencing when the crown had been passed over to him.
Kolera wastes no time to begin following Ceara, and as she pushes by him, Warrick’s ears fall backwards into his mane while a single hoof stamps deep into the earth. With a leap forward he falls into step beside her, ushering her towards Karaugh’s confinement with the sharp angles of his face hard and sullen - he is not angry, but the stallion is greatly displeased by the current interactions and is only dreading the momentous conversation that is sure to follow shortly.
With a loud snort, the Overseer brings himself to stand beside Ceara as Kolera faces Levi head on, his cerulean eyes like ice. “He does not have her, Kolera. He is her guard.” He corrects her with a commanding voice, reminding her (as well as Levi) that he is the one in charge of the events that may soon unfold. Warrick’s eyes flicker to Levi, who is obviously going to be surprised by the crowd that has joined around his cave, lifting his chin slightly. “Levi, the daughter wishes to reunite with her mother. Bring her out to prove that no harm has fallen to her,” His eyes narrow slightly as he finds Kolera’s gaze, disappointed that she could not trust him without seeing.
Warrick turns to look again at Levi, the tension beneath his skin shown by the tightness of his muscled shoulders - Karaugh is selfish and clever, and he is prepared for anything the bay mare might try to do.
“Keep Karaugh in check, Levi. Her sentence remains to still be served.”
Meeting Karaugh had been a live changing event for Amorette. Not only had she taken a young colt under her care, but she had also been forced to change her view of the world. Due to her gentle heart and sweet nature she had always looked at things from the bright side of life. Focussing on the good rather than the bad. Now she knew how naïve she had always been.
Still the dark woman doesn’t know what to think of Karaugh and her captivity in Tephra. The Tephra she knew and treasured was a sanctuary, not a prison. And especially not one that abused its prisoners. Ever since Amore had learned what Levi had done to Karaugh – though she hadn’t yet heard his side of the story – she’d refused to talk to the fire magician. But even time hadn’t helped her figure out her thoughts.
It had been easier to focus her attention on Kryptic. The boy was a victim in this all. It wasn’t his fault his mother had ended up in Tephra’s cave, and yet Levi hadn’t seemed to care about his wellbeing. Amorette did. No child should be locked in the cave like that and seeing his reaction to light had only made her more determined. But it had not been her intention to steal the colt away from his mother. She is aware it might look like that and she wouldn’t blame the vampiric mare for being angry about her child being taken away. In her best effort to care for him she had not wandered away from his side, always making sure he wasn’t lacking anything.
But she’d known that one that she would have to return him to his mother’s side. Kryptic wasn’t her son and she’d only stepped up to temporary care for him. ”Come, little one,” She nuzzles his crest lovingly, nudging to encourage him to get up. ”We have somewhere to go.”
Amore had been watching over him while he was resting, and commotion in front of the cave had caught her attention. She watches over Kryptic while he gets up, smiling softly. Oh, how easy it would be to just walk away and take him with her, but she knows it is not right. She had grown fond of the bat winged colt, it was the simple truth, and the idea that he would be reunited with his mother brings her both joy and sadness. No, she wouldn’t like it to see him go.
Out of the four horses present, she only know the two males. Warrick and Levi were both there. Seeing the flaming male still conflicts her, but it was not the right time for that. The two mares, however, are completely unfamiliar to the fire healer. Enough to not approach them all the way, not with Kryptic at her side. But they are just in time to hear Warrick speak.
Karaugh’s daughter. Kryptic’s older sister. And Karaugh wasn’t yet released, but to be brought out nonetheless. Gently guiding the winged colt closer against her chest Amorette absent-mindedly starts grooming him, almost like she’s trying to reassure herself that he is still there. ”Would you like to see your mother again?”
Of course he would. Karaugh was his mother and the buckskin woman had been rather protective of him. There must be some bond between them, and Amorette wouldn’t deny him to continue bonding with her. Even if she disliked the idea.
let me pick your brain, girl. and tell me how they got that pretty little face on that pretty little frame.
Ceara had known she would be followed. She had not known Kolera long, but she seemed...pig-headed. Stubborn.Which would leave Warrick behind them both, who would be bringing up the rear. Standing at the mouth of a cave, wondering what a small band was doing gathering here at the base of the fiery mountain.
Hushed voices are sounding echoes bouncing off the cavern walls, and when Ceara speaks, they are immediately silenced. Moments later - many, long moments - Levi appears, and his face is not one of love and happiness that he places upon his doting sister. His eyes are flashing, and he is angry. She listens to him speak, but knows that she doesn't have long before they are interrupted. She snorts, and her ears go back. "Working? Apparently playing warden... This is why we couldn't go to Nerine? You're shacked up the prisoner? A girl has come looking for her mother. Please tell me it is not what it looks like, Levi. You know I love you unconditionally... but please. Please tell me." Her eyes search his face, but he doesn't have time to answer her before Kolera comes up and demands to see Karaugh.
All the conversation that goes on around them, and Ceara's eyes never leave her brother's face. Warrick assures Kolera that Levi does not have Karaugh. And yet, searching levi, she sees the marks she wishes she hadn't seen. Marks on his neck. A lover's kiss. Bruises from bleeding hearts. He has had her. And she fears what will happen if his actions come to light. But she waits, standing silent.
She would defend Levi, no matter the cost. She just hoped it would not put her at odds with Warrick. Or Tephra.
12-30-2017, 08:20 PM (This post was last modified: 12-30-2017, 09:00 PM by Levi.)
He was used to disapproving glances by now, Offsprings precarious son, they fell from his broad shoulders like whitewater. But seeing this familiar look in the eyes of his little sister, the only place he had never seen it before, forces the calloused stallion to take pause.
"Levi, keep her. Bound her, burn her into ash, do what you will. I’ve had enough of her wandering Tephra unscathed. Show her why she should not do so again."
Ellyse's words had played in his mind countless times during the months of Karaugh's imprisonment, he had never paused to wonder if he had overstepped his orders - not until Ceara pins her ears and asks the impossible of him.
He would hang the moon for her, but he couldn't change what had already happened.
But any words he could have said are smothers as Kolera appears, brandishing hot words and angrier than he had ever seen her before. A look of betrayal crosses his features, ever so briefly, as he glances back to his sister before planting his heavy form squarely in the mouth of the cave. Warrick is not far behind and he brings a little more clarity to the situation and Levi holds Tephra's most recent ruler steadily with the fire of his gaze.
Daughter
Caught off guard Levis eyes flash to Kolera, the little mare he had spent countless hours with traveling from one side of Beqanna to the other on several occasions. How had he not seen it before? The shape of her almond eyes, the fine taper of her muzzle - now that the similarities are before him they are unmistakable.
Kolera was Karaugh's daughter.
He isn't sure if he should laugh or blow them all to hell.
Instead, he turns his back on the all disappearing into the gloom of the yawning cavern.
He was good at smoldering.
---
It is no near distance, Karaughs small room, and the entrance. But as he turns to leave those gathered he sends a firewall to block the entrance behind him - he wouldn't have the whole merry fucking band following him. Also, it would serve as a second barrier if Karaugh tried to escape. With the cave entrance fully sealed so none may follow, he picks up a trot.
"Kaaaraugh," he purs into the darkness to his captive as he nears her. He hopes she is in a good mood today.
Levi passes through the second firewall which separates her chamber from the rest of the cave system. "You have visitors," his voice is low and he reaches out to touch her if she will let him, wherever she will let him, her scent fills the cavern and is nearly overwhelming. "Your sentence is almost up..." He huffs her pheromones between his words, fighting the reactive arousal she invokes. They may be nestled below the earth, but it was still autumn and he was a stallion in his prime, easily distracted by the woman whose body had become so familiar.
"Are you hungry?" A funny question under any other circumstances, but it is more of a reminder than a question anyway.
"Be on your best behavior, for the next hour, and I will be on mine when we get back. You will have your freedom soon, and it will be a little sooner if this goes smoothly."
A double promise, her freedom and his body - two things which she truly enjoyed.
Her tether of thin flame reappears to encircle the buckskin woman as the firewall dissipates. No matter what she says he will never trust her. Levi steps out into the cavern with her close behind - his flame make sure of that. With the light from his mane and tail to guide them through the dark passageways the duo soon reach the firewall which separates them from the outside world. As the halt, Levi casts his prisoner one last sidelong glance before the curtain on flame collapses at his feet to reveal the five onlookers and the outside world.
Levi
so scream you, out from behind the bitter ache.
@[Karaugh] So I thought I would save a round of posts by power playing her a little, I assumed that -somehow- he would be able to manage to get her to the entrance of the cave... but please let me know if anything needs editing!
The sweet hum of her name echoing through the cave was a welcoming distraction from her pacing. Her hooves still as her amber eyes peer through the fiery gates that hold her prisoner. A devious smirk crosses her blackened lips as his glow illuminates the darkness she has come to know so well. Left many a days to wither away in a burning hunger that was quickly consuming her.
Her charcoal ears swivel as he creates more walls. Inquisitively watching as he nears and the purpose for the gates made known. "Visitors huh? What am I... Some display now?" She huffs at his snide comments.
Hungry... "Take down your walls and find out how hungry I really am..." a mocking tone to her words. Her eyes narrowing upon his mottled face as he continued his plight. She would have her freedom. Nice or not.
Once again the familiar strings of flame surround her as she crosses through the opening of her prison. Left to be led down the corridor like some murderer.
The light of the day is something of a dream to her. It had been so long, her eyes struggled to adjust. Shutting them to rest briefly before fluttering them open to see a group gathered at the entrance of the cave. First finding a black and red thing who did not look happy what so ever. Then a few familiar faces. Distant as memories. She smirks upon seeing Warrick, "Well. Well. A little birdie said someone had stepped up as the new king around here... Never imagined it'd be the navy-edged jitterbug from Tephra." Her eyes roll over his frame before falling onto the naive anger of her daughter. Her gifted child, "Kolera... It's been ages. I'd have thought you'd have destroyed Tephra by now after learning of my captivity. I'm disappointed to see it so....green." Disapproving glance leaving the ivory-marked face of her daughter to find another familiar face nearing. Followed by the winged colt. It was the first time she had seen him in the light of day. The vibrant hues of his coat were quite fetching. She speaks gruffly to them all as her eyes remain on the youngest gathered, "I'd have expected this kind of treatment from Sylva...but Tephra...not in my darkest of days. Ripping a child from it's mother. Enslaving her to the depths of a cave." Her eyes slide to Levi, "Using her for your own selfish pleasures..." Emphasising pleasures with a slight hiss before bringing her gaze to the navy winged stallion, "Would the King of Tephra like a go as well...?"
Having shifted away her gifts before exiting the stoney cell she was condemned to, she is nothing more than a mare. The golden sheen of her coat slightly dulled. A sinking of flesh over bone as she has thinned from her captivity. Spots of singed hair were scattered across her pelt. Making apparent her run in with the flames of her warden. "I have served my sentence as agreed upon. What more do you want from me?" Her question is calloused. The anger a rolling boil within her. If the fire walls were to collapse now she may just rip a few throats out...
Karaugh
illicit daughter of nymphetamine and killgore
HTML by Call
@[Warrick] I'll post Kolera next but I wasn't gonna tag myself XD... And apparently she isn't playing well with others ATM
Warricks words are demanding of her understanding but she cannot bring herself to fathom what he is trying to tell her. Gaurd. Sentence. What the hell is going on?
Sienna eyes watch as Levi turns to disappear into the tunnel of darkness. Just as the glow of his new locks dim, another pair of equines arrive from the jungle. A blackish mare and a peculiar winged child. Her eyes scan the pair. The tender gestures given to the child is heart-warming. She would have never guessed that what the mare was to whisper hinted that this was not her child. That in fact it was her brother.
Just when things couldn't possibly get more complicated Levi reappears. An orb of flames beside him. At it's center a golden colored mare... This wasn't her mother... Or was it? The mare speaks. Directing each statement to another member gathered. In shock, she barely catches the words meant for her. The tone of betrayal and disappointment is unmistakable. Her mother didn't know that she had traded death for life. Her eyes fall slightly in shame as her mother moves on to the dark mare and winged colt. They had taken her child away from her? This was way too much to comprehend. Her gaze turns to Warrick as the tongue lashing they all receive is now quieted. Waiting for what the king had to say for the actions of his kingdom. She was without words...
The situation at hands brings a simmering beneath Warrick’s skin, a radiant displeasure that shimmers in the cobalt of his eyes and that tightens across the sharp planes of his robust face. Navy wings flutter at his sides, perturbed and haphazard in the way his feathers lay, resisting the urge to preen them with a simple turn of his thickly muscled neck. The arrival of Amorette and the child (a being unbeknownst to the winged Overseer) create murmurings in his mind, nostrils flaring as the scent of them reach him on the humid, salty breeze. He quickly places the identity of the child - Karaugh’s son, Kolera’s brother - and the fact makes him bristle, ears falling back into his mane as his neck curves, snorting sharply.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Silently and without a word, Levi’s large form submerges into the darkness of the cave, falling into the blackness seamlessly.
When Levi’s form finally emerges with Karaugh, Warrick is no less tense than he was the moment Levi had gone to fetch her. His ears remain backwards, his cobalt stare glistening with a coldness that is rarely seen, the severity of the precarious situation reaching its pinnacle. Flames expertly waft their way around Karaugh, keeping her perfectly confined yet enough space to breathe, and yet somehow, she is somehow relaxed beneath the warmth of the orange tendrils. Her greeting is met with a loud snort, his gaze watching her from a hooded brow. His navy tail flicks against the auburn of his haunches, stepping away from Ceara to move to the center of the group.
“Watch your tongue,” Warrick says to her, his voice thick with agitation. “Tephra may be a sanctuary, but not to those who can’t seem to understand boundaries.” His eyes narrow slightly, studying her frame as the silence engulfs them. “Selfish pleasures?” he repeats with a twerk of his brow, his gaze flicking to Levi only briefly, then back to her with a stamp of a single navy foreleg. “Have you not indulged in your own during your stay?” A bit of a frown finds his lips, but the blaze of agitation still simpers across his hide. Ellyse had given Levi orders, and with a twitch of his muzzle, he prays the roan and white stallion has followed them precisely. He cared not what happened down in the cave - Karaugh is more than capable than handling herself when it came to Levi, made obvious by the marks on his muscled neck. It would not surprise Warrick that the two enjoyed a coupling (or more) beneath the bowels of the volcano’s hearth.
“As for the child - ” His voice is gentler this time as his face turns to Amorette, where the young colt is nestled beneath her protective embrace. “ - he will join you on your way out. It would have been wrong for him to serve your sentence only because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” His gaze softens a bit at the child, but as he turns back towards Karaugh, it hardens once again. He was a young stallion when they had first met - and now he is so much more, and her little tricks and attempts to break him would not work. There is no sympathy in the stallion’s eyes. “He did not offend the country of Tephra - you did.”
“Tephra wishes nothing more from you. You and your family may go,” Warrick pauses, turning his gaze upon Kolera for a moment with a hint of sympathy, wondering if she is pleased by what she has wished to see or if she would have rather found her mother later, after her exiting of Tephra. He wonders if she will join her mother, after seeing her in such a state, or if she will remain within his home. He doesn’t dare poise this question now.
Then his attention quickly falls back to Karaugh, snorting sharply. “Levi will escort you and your son to the border - the flame will not release you until then. Go where ever it is you plan to go, but Tephra is not a choice.
Let this be your warning: next time, my mercy will have worn out.”
With a quick flex of his wings he finishes, turning away from her for what he hopes will be the last time. He brushes past Ceara, his ears hidden beneath the thickness of his mane, chuffing loudly as he begins to make his exit.
Warrick
@[Kolera] @[Levi] @[Amorette] @[Ceara]
So her sentence technically has been out for awhile, so I figured we could neatly handle all of this in one thread! Kolera is free to stay if she so wishes, but Karaugh and Kryptic are to leave immediately!
![[Image: BQLevipagedoll-DONE.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/25n6rx5J/BQLevipagedoll-DONE.png)
Permission given to Sapphire to power play his actions a bit in her posts
