"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
05-25-2018, 07:19 PM (This post was last modified: 05-29-2018, 07:26 AM by Ivar.)
I V A R i'll use you as a makeshift gauge of how much to give and how much to take
This time he makes it all the way to Hyaline. Around him the water grows colder, reminiscent of the black waters of the northern seas. Ivar does not mind, though there is an uncomfortable feeling of exposure with the surface of the River only ten feet overhead. He must fight a current that is strong with snowmelt, and finds that using his front hooves and clawed hind limbs make traversing the rapid easier.
By the time he makes it to the lake, the full moon is high overhead in the pitch dark sky.
Ivar floats, belly up at the surface of the water. Only his white face and forelegs are above the water, the rest suspended with the aid of occasional flicks of a long dark tail. He doesn’t quite doze off, but he does startle at the sudden sensation of gravel against his back. The kelpie has drifted to the shallows as he kept his eyes on the moon overhead, and with a snort, he rolls to his opposite side. He feels the stony lakebed beneath his hooves (all of them now, for the water reaches only to his belly here and it would be odd to stand unbalanced.
The piebald kelpie shakes the dripping cords of his dark mane away from his fave as he yawns, glancing up and down the nearby lakeshore. The yawn disappears instantly as he senses movement, and the kelpie’s dark ears flick toward the noise as he peers through the darkness to find the source.
and in my dreams, i kissed your lips a thousand times
It's rare that I'm not next to Solace these nights, wrapped up in her embrace and dreaming sweetly with her. Sometimes I take one of the twins with me instead, guiding their dreams and watching their internal selves explore a land beyond their wildest imagination. And though it lends me great comfort to be so involved with my new family, something about the way the wind blows tonight simply keeps me up. Although I'd fallen in and out of a dream during twilight, as the moon rises, I find myself more and more awake.
I'm at the entrance of our grotto, having already seen Solace to sleep, when I spot the disturbance in the lake. Ripples, and then the surfacing of something rather large for our peaceful lake. Snorting gently, my ears twist to pick up any noise, but the creature is perfectly silent. Conflicted, I consider awakening my queen - but it was her turn to watch the twins today, and I know how exhausting the little balls of energy can be, firsthand. Craning my neck around to gaze upon my slumbering family, I smile to know that they are safe, and decide to investigate for myself.
As quietly as I can, I slip from the grotto and head for the grassy slope that we usually do not descend upon - but our worn rock-face path will be too noisy, it will wake them. As the mountain disperses into level ground, I hit it at an easy canter, enjoying the way the momentum of gravity sends my body forward so effortlessly. But then - the thing is dragging itself from the waters, and my attention goes to more important things.
Resisting the urge to call out immediately, I slow to a walk and carefully approach the shifting stranger. As his distinctly male scent hits me, I suddenly regret having dreamt myself more beautiful during those short spurts earlier this evening. The dish of my head is deeper, eyes wide, lips softer; my legs are finer, barrel more trim, tail more arched; and my coat gleams, not just from the dream, but because of the moonlight. As I step into view, my clouded leopard markings shimmer atop my overo coat, leaving me a feline unicorn in all her grace.
Before me, an equally and undeniably beautiful stallion stands dripping. Painted as I am, his coat shines not with markings but with scales, and I snort softly upon this revelation, ears flickering warily. His perfectly white face almost takes my breath away - never mind the slope of his muscled shoulders or the way his brown eyes seem to cut into me - but I remind myself of my duty to this kingdom, and of course my fealty to my wife, before his effects take me too far.
"We do not often get water-born visitors here in Hyaline, though I suppose we ought to expect it somewhat more than other kingdoms." My voice is low and lyrical, murmured in the night air as I take another step forward and frown, considering the stallion carefully. "Might I know your name, visitor?"
05-29-2018, 08:44 AM (This post was last modified: 05-29-2018, 08:45 AM by Ivar.)
The water parts easily for the stallion as he wades through the shallows, and as he climbs onto the shoreline he leaves only the smallest of ripples behind. The tepid lake water drips down his armor, giving a false brightness to the otherwise dull black scales. There will be no crusting of salt after this swim, but Ivar shakes the water away out of habit anyway, starting at his head and ending with a flick of his white tail.
He keeps an ear on the shadow the entire time, and only when the stranger begins to speak does he finally look up.
The night wind had not been in his favor, and Ivar had assumed that the night guard would be male. They are not, he finds, though his brown gaze still flicks up the slope to ensure there is no guard behind her. It takes a long moment for him to answer; he is clearly not giving her question priority. Instead he traces her figure, runs his eyes along the ample curves and sleek lines of her body, and marvels at the pattern that covers her skin. Like the leopard seals, Ivar thinks, though far less likely to flee in fear at his approach.
He tests that with a step closer, making no attempt to hide the hunger in his gaze. Ivar had never been taught not to play with his food, and even though the kelpie knows these are not safe hunting grounds (not with the too-clear water and the bright moonlight), he still smiles bewitchingly in response to the bay’s frown.
“I’m Ivar,” he tells her when their eyes finally meet. He’d taken stock of the sleek horn she wears, and he might have come even closer were it not for that. The memories of a skeletal creature with one not so dissimilar are too fresh. Ivar doesn’t doubt he can handle it (truly he’d be more than happy to handle all of the brown-eyed mare), but the night is still young, and the hunger is quieter, as it often is this time of year.
“And you’re the welcoming committee, I suppose?” asks the kelpie, the humor in his baritone voice unperturbed by her frown. “Here to show me all the best things the sanctuary has to offer?”
@[Kagerus]
i had to google your keyboard smash to make sure it wasnt an acronym that i was too old to understand lmao
and in my dreams, i kissed your lips a thousand times
He only looks up as I begin speaking, lending him an air of supreme confidence. Cocky of him, considering that he is trespassing; even if Hyaline is a sanctuary, it doesn't mean that we just let people come and go willy nilly. Nostrils flaring as I exhale and attempt to remain patient with the good looking stud, I take a step forward at my full height - and though I am far shorter than the kelpie, I cannot help but feel like I have the upper hand here.
As his gaze slides over me with blatant hunger, my own eyes narrow, ears pressing back to my skull. "Speak," I command him, speaking through my teeth as he takes a daring step closer to me. Refusing to step back despite his advance, I hold him relentlessly in my gaze, nostrils still quivering indignantly. He smells of the sea, looks of the gods, and moves with the fluidity of a dancer; and I do not trust him.
I'm Ivar. Meeting this statement with stony silence, I allow him to finally meet my gaze as it sears into him. Though I'd taken stock of him, too, it hadn't taken me so dreadfully long - my skin itches where his eyes had been affixed so lustfully. Half wanting to call Solace from our grotto so that we might make lesbian love before his very affronted and jealous gaze, I settle for listening to his next words instead, though a dirty smile stretches my lips at the thought.
"I am Kagerus, a Queen of this land," I offer in reply, ignoring his attempt at humor, at my expense nonetheless. My eyes slide to the lake behind him contemptuously, ears still pressed back to demonstrate my displeasure at his impudence. "And you have already found what Hyaline has to offer; the lake is our gemstone."
Taking a deep breath, I decide that he doesn't need to be run off immediately - and besides, hadn't Ivar ruled Loess back when I'd first returned from the Beyond? Curiosity overcomes me as I regard the kelpie, and though my expression doesn't change, I do deign to speak first this time. "So, once-king, what are you doing here in Hyaline? Last I heard, you were off the map - AWOL, though that doesn't surprise me."
The dirty little smile is back - how fun it is to press buttons...
@[Ivar] I laughed out loud reading that. Hunny. You sweet soul. XD
Also? You got a weird variation of Bitchkag... I hope you like her :|
Her irritation is delightful. It has been quite some time since Ivar has come across someone with the will to resist him. Most mares offer no challenge to the piebald kelpie, they are as placid as the clear lake behind him. This mare with her fiery eyes is much more like his choppy ocean. The scales of his pale mouth twist in a mother-of-pearl grin as she boldly announces her title. A queen, is it? So there is more royalty, and perhaps even more queens.
Until now, it might have been a coincidence. The women most likely to defy him seem to be those in positions of power.
(prey)
He knows, can tell from the way her soft throat shifts as she speaks, and the way her pulse thrums just out of sight.
(dangerous prey)
His head cocks curiously at the that realization, he’s never felt that way towards something as non-threatening as a small overo mare. It’s saved for the cleverer animals of the sea; those pods of quicksilver dolphins and the aggressive orcas. Hunting them is not risk-free; Ivar has a thick rippled scar along his left thigh that stretches up from his belly to prove it. Kagerus stares pointedly out at the silvery lake behind him, and Ivar takes advantage of the moment to more thoroughly admire her profile and the exaggerated beauty of the female beside him.
She speaks of the lake as though it is the very core of Hyaline, yet he finds the fresh water far less preferable than the saline sea. That can’t really be everything they had to offer in a land now touted as a sanctuary. Ivar’s most recent dealings with the kingdom of Hyaline had been years back, when the realm had only just begun to recover after the loss if its Protector. He knows the crown must have passed since then; how often are reigns ended due to death at a ripe old age anymore?
When she does not immediately attempt to drive him away, Ivar knows there is still a chance he might back out of this confrontation without harm. There is no shame in chasing easier prey. It’s safer, after all, without the risk that chasing after this particular fish might include. There are plenty of others in the sea to choose from.
But this fish is right in front of him, and Ivar has never had exceptional impulse control.
“The sea doesn’t care that I'm absent without leave,” He replies without hesitation, rolling his right shoulder nonchalantly. The scales there are still growing back, and it frequently itches. There is no pain - the fairies had seen to that - but the burnt hide of his elbow and shoulder are glaringly imperfect against the rest of the kelpie.
“I’m here because I want to see what Hyaline has to offer,” repeats the pied creature, his dark eyes blinking innocently despite the. “Is there really nothing here but the lake? I’d hate to have wasted the trip and seen nothing impressive.” He makes no effort to hide the quick flick of his gaze, as if he is tallying the unimpressive things he has seen.
If she’d been trying to warn him away with her coldness it has backfired; Ivar is all the more intrigued.
@[Kagerus]
this turned into a novel so...sorry and you're welcome?
and in my dreams, i kissed your lips a thousand times
I'd not intended my irritation to be delightful, but with a stallion such as Ivar before me, I cannot say that I'm surprised that my no inspires his oh is that so? Luckily, I am in next to no danger - but when I consider how agile the stallion had been in the waters, I make a point remembering to moving us further from the lake's edge as soon as possible. Despite our game being fun and gawdy, I have children to raise; a wife to love.
Death by this lake has welcomed me one too many times for it to be appealing any longer.
The sea doesn't care that I'm absent without leave, comes his reply, instantly. My eyes flick to the way he rolls his shoulders, the moonlight reflecting off the wet scales that cover the impressive muscles beneath. Except wait - there - a burn mark. When I sight this scar, my brow furrows; I don't know Ivar from his time as king.
I know him as a warrior.
Smirking as I roll this factoid over in my mind and upon my tongue, I listen with a keener twinkle in my eyes to what he has to say. His own eyes blink with a feigned innocence that leaves a smirk trailing across the dark edges of my lips; of course sweet boy, let me show you everything! Not. At his last comment, the smirk grows into an unabashed grin, a brow quirked as she considered his attempt at unsettling her further than he had before. Now that she's recognized him, well...
"Mark my words when I tell you that no word of man will ever define my value," comes my reply, more biting than the smile before it may have predicted. Stepping back, I lower my black horn towards his chest - and then, after a long moment, I swing it away from the lake and towards the grassy channels that weave between the mountains this far inland. "But come; I will show you the western coast. Something tells me that the sea is more your speed than any lake, kelpie."
Waiting for him to come alongside, we walk at first in silence, but that itch behind my skull that twitches my lips into a smile cannot be ignored forever. Tossing him a knowing sideglance, I wait a moment more before finally speaking. "So, top four hey?" I ask. "Brennen whooped your ass. As a spectator, I hated wasting the trip to have seen nothing impressive."
At first he thinks she might have succumbed (unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome), but then her curious look at his shoulder turns to a frown and then a smirk. Ivar’s head tilts curiously; what is going on in her mind? It is not often that he is in the metaphorical dark, but Kagerus reply to the kelpie’s quip about impressiveness brightens his perspective at least a little.
Not interested in his kind, he realizes, in much the same way that Ivar has never felt a need to bring down a stallion. The realization conjures a rather explicit image of Kagerus beneath the sea with a silver-eyed kelpie. Ivar smiles happily at the image, unperturbed by
“If you ever change your mind, I’d be happy to put more effort into my next evaluation,” Ivar offers, verbally undaunted by the horn at his chest (though he does not press closer. He considers lingering behind her for a better view, but he has never seen the western coast of Hyaline. There are few places he has not ventured (he had visited each kingdom by the time he was a yearling, after all), and the idea of an adventure is more than enough to push aside the lazy hunger.
She is quiet, but there is a telling smile on her face that keeps Ivar from breaking the silence. There is something she wants to say, he knows, but he had not at all anticipated what it is.
“Some of us don’t let skeletons do our fighting for us,” he replies with a frown and a rather un-charming grumble. “Or use fucking icicles instead of hooves and teeth. ” Ivar complains, but does seem to know that he’s being petulant, because his wide grin reveals a set of impossibly sharp teeth that Brennen certainly lacks. The older stallion had attempted to argue that Ivar’s scales were no different of an advantage, but the piebald kelpie was not inclined to listen.
“Let me guess,” begins tobiano male, casting a suspicious side eye at Kagerus even with his smile. “You’re one of those with invisible traits too? Taking advantage of us simple contenders with just our hide and hooves?”
and in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times
As his expression changes from frown to smile to smirk, I can only guess at what on earth he's imagining. Despite having contended together in the alliance, I know next to nothing about Ivar. His fantasies (especially domestic ones, his poor wife be pitied) are his alone to admire, leaving me with my own quizzical expression at the tilt of his head and lilt of his lips. But no matter; I'd had my own little fantasy about three seconds ago, so if I did know, then I wouldn't even be able to say anything, anyways.
He offers to give me a reevaluation at a later time, suave in the face of my horn presented to his chest. Ah, men. Exhaling billowingly, I turn and allow him to come alongside with no harm done. "If I ever change my mind, it will be after I have mourned the death of my wife." I glance to him. "And she's only seven, so, you've got some waiting to do." I don't explicitly state that I'm immortal, but it's implied; the seventeen years under my belt certainly don't show by any means. To the untrained eye, I appear as youthful as any mare in her prime, sleek and muscled and new.
As the conversation shifts to the alliance, I make a surprised face at the grumbling, frowning Ivar. As a curse slips past the kelpie's bescaled lips, it softens into more one of understanding and humour. I can at least relate to such anger; I've been known to have quite the eccentric streak to say the least. I'm about to speak when the daggers sheathed by his lips are suddenly revealed as he grins, and the words get caught in my throat; but I quickly recover with a little cough and then a chuckle, rolling my eyes at his unwarranted complaints.
"Well," I begin after considering the final question he slipped in. "I have an invisible trait that manifests physically." The bases of mountains flow past us as we wander westward together, to wraiths in the moonlight, on scaled as a dragon and the other spotted as a leopard. "Dream manipulation, it's called. For a short time after I awaken, any physical changes I have dreamt will come to be." I blink towards him, wondering if this will spark any interest for the stallion - any hunger.
The crashing of the waves along the coast slowly becomes more apparent - we will be there, and soon. "And, I can take one other person with me."
It is simply not in the scaled creature's nature to accept defeat, and he responds to Kagerus's mention of her wife's young age with a shrug and the assertion “That didn't sound like a definite no, so I'll be sure to check in every once in a while.” Ivar's memories of meeting Solace are years old, but he knows that he is slightly younger than the buckskin queen. The overo mare mentions years casually, in the familiar manner of those time avoids. Immortality is as common in Beqanna as wings - perhaps more so, even - and Ivar is not yet old enough to know if he has it as well. He's still in his mortal prime and will be for years; in seven he should know well enough.
The idea of tracking Kagerus down is amusing, as is the way she catches herself after he reveals his pointed teeth.
Isobell is not here, but perhaps this night spent away from his island will not be entirely in waste.
They wander through the mountains, and the salt scent of the sea begins to waft through the trees. It is nearby, he knows, but rather than peer ahead, he glances back at Kagerus. Her answer makes no sense until she elaborates, and then the kelpie is shaking his head bemusedly. Physical changes that she can shape in her dreams. It seems so ludicrous, but Ivar has only just finished battling a living skeleton. Surely magical dreams are not so much of a stretch.
The idea is intriguing, but when the dark haired mare mentions that she can take others to this dream world, Ivar cannot hold back a chuckle. The sound isn't quite amused, and as the two of them step into a moonlight clearing, the gaze that he gives her is pensive.
“And that isn't dangerous for you?” He asks as the sound of the waves reaches his ears. Ivar feels the crash and tug of them in his bones, and the simmering irritation that filled him since he left the eastern sea beings to ease. “Or do those you take not bring their own dreams along when they come?” The kelpie does not know what others dream of; it is not something he has ever spoken of.
There was never any need to, and he wouldn't be able to articulate even if there were. His dreams are always the same, and Kagerus would not want the physical changes that she would find in them, however temporary the effects might be.
A torn throat is a physical change, Ivar muses; would the blood flow back into her or just regenerate?
I know my lies could not make you believe in my dark times, baby this is all I could be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
is ivar being f r i e n d l y ? ! ?
idk but this is very nice ivar
and in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times
Isobell may not be here to warm the sides of her wayward lover, but Solace is. Even as we walk and speak, nuances aloft between us, my mind reaches out to my sleeping wife. I am safe and well my love, I say, although the words won't reach her exactly: just the sensation of comfort, one that she ought to immediately recognize as my signal that all is well. I sometimes wish that she could reassure me in the same way; but when I am sleeping, she rarely finds herself elsewhere.
I am the wanderer of the relationship, just like Ivar; but my faith remains hellbent.
His eyes find their way back to me despite the crescendo of the ocean not far ahead. A chuckle tilts his lips charmingly as my explanation of my trait concludes, but his eyes are deeply thoughtful; curious, perhaps. The sight of such curiosity in the eyes of a creature as breathtaking and mythological as he renders my own face intrigued, wanting to know what he thinks. Luckily, he does not keep me waiting, and I blink my nutmeg eyes, continuously wondering at the strange appearance of this stallion on a night of such little regard.
"I wish I had a simple answer, Ivar," I answer with a deep sigh, using his name with more than a slight significance. The grass underhoof shifts slowly to sand, and as I am gathering my thoughts, the lapping of the ocean's tide against this sandbar eventually meets our hocks. I wonder momentarily if the kelpie will accompany me, despite the ocean's whisperings in his mind. Like him, a voice whispers in my mind, too.
(Unsuspecting)
"It has proven to be quite dangerous for me. I've been close to death more times than I care to admit," I begin, interrupting the beguiling voice inside my head before its word become my own actions. "Once because of my own ignorance, and once because of a force that wielded a magic stronger than mine." I look from the dark edges of the ocean back to Ivar, the wind whipping my forelock across my eyes, though they do not stray from his own honey-brown gaze. I wonder if he will press farther, will ask - what do you mean? But unless he does, there is no reason for me to continue.
The strange birth of my son and the strange rape-birth of a demon are stories that I needn't share flippantly; especially with handsome ex-kings whose words oft leave no doubt in the mind of what's on theirs.
"And yes also to your second question; when I take them with me, I can either guide their dreams or release control and allow them to experience complete lucidity in a realm where anything is possible." Hephaestus had relived his attempted murder, Svedka had flown and been gay, and Solace - well, her dreams tend towards the erotic more oft than not. "It can be healing - but it can also be life-ending."
![[Image: kag]](https://78.media.tumblr.com/2e8039018ce4dff6112c167ec23e886a/tumblr_p72zjit7wC1s5a0qvo1_100.png)