Juice could care less about politics. He could care less that Sinner took on Castile and lost. It all had little effect on him. He was born in the shadows of Sylva and, for that reason only, did he call the great forest his home. Sylva is merely the only home he has ever known. It was familiar and thus, Juice feels comfortable; he feels safe. He knows how to dance amongst the shadows and, stay out of sight. He knows his way through the maze of trees and, how to slip silently through the dead leaves and pine needles. And, if he really wants to become invisible, the bay splash stallion could simply melt into a puddle of water.
Today, the now mature stallion decides to take a walk. He heads southeast until the Sylvan trees become sparse and give way to the full intensity of the daystar. Simultaneously, Juice feels thoroughly warmed and, completely blinded, by the light. Instinctually, his eyelids blink several times before they remain open at a squint. I could never get used to this! Why is it so bright? He takes a moment to toss his head a few times until his forelock moves over his eyes. A frustrated snort releases from nasal caverns but, the brown and white male presses on. Juice accelerates into a hurried walk with his poll lowered as he hugs the uneven shore of Loess. He continues along the coastline until the array of evergreen trees from the Forest come into focus.
Clearly, a creature of habit, the bay splash overo prefers to be under a tree's canopy. As he steps into the shade of the woods, Juice sighs a breath of relief. His poll lifts and, although he physically appears more alert, he feels more relaxed. Nevertheless, he listens carefully to the whispers amongst the spruce and fir boughs. His hooves land quietly upon the bed of fallen foliage. His bright black eyes scan the shadows on either side of him, as well as the path before him. Before long, his sensitive olfactories pick up the fragrance of a stranger. Juice immediately freezes as he toggles between what to do. It is much too easy to liquify and become another puddle amongst the standing water on the Forest floor. Then again, he should not resort to disappearing when faced with an unknown. At last, the bay splash decides to stand his ground. His poll remains high, a misleading display of pride and confidence. His black eyes are glossy and fixated upon where the bearer of the cologne is coming from. With quivering nostrils, Juice remains ever alert. He says nothing that might betray his position. He watches, in silence, and waits until the other comes into his line of sight.
@[Finnus]
08-24-2019, 10:53 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-24-2019, 10:54 AM by Finnus.)
Somehow he had managed to lose himself here. Not really metaphorically though, because he is positive he is still the same guy that stared bitterly at that grey sea backdrop atop that dramatic cliff. What a perfect place that had been for an internal monologue too. Even though that was when he had first came here, not much had changed. He still wanted to see that bitch squirm, he still wanted to be something else here, and he still had absolutely no idea where he was.
So no, not metaphorical, he was quite literally - lost.
After he’d crossed paths with that intricately marked, inquisitive woman, he’d shuffled off to presumably somewhere in Beqanna, but still nowhere to the dusky stallion. There’d been others that had taken notice of his solitude and the darkness of his eyes that blended so neatly with the deepness of his mask. But all from a distance. He would flash them a disarming smile and a lazy dip of the head in acknowledgment, but other than that, he’d turn away before they could close the gap. At the time, Finnus had had no interest in idle chit chat and boring small talk.
Nah, he was much more interested in learning the in’s and out’s of the physical place. That and raising questions as to who the loner guy was and why he was smiling at them.
He figured it might be time to put some names to the places that he had haunted for so long. Along the barrier of open field and trees, his movement nonchalant in doing so, his eyes roamed the world around him for some poor soul he could bother.
Cresting a hill, he notices a younger bloke on apparent high alert and without much pause to thought, he looks around him to see if there was something particularly scary behind him that he should be running from. Noticing nothing but his own drowsy shadow, he shrugs before inching closer. “You look friendly,” he drawls with a shallow smile, trying to lighten the mood. Coming to rest with his head lowered slightly and a rear hoof cocked lazily behind him, “Nice day, eh neighbor? Don’t happen to know exactly where we are, do you?”
@[Juice]
A pair of dark ear tips are the first thing Juice sees, over the hill before him, as the encroaching stranger draws near. A dark tuft of forelock and then, a pair of glossy eyes appear next. Recognizing the species as equine, Juice relaxes the height of his poll only. He knows, from his silent and watchful post among the shadows, that the magic of Beqanna comes in all forms. Alas, his very fine-tuned senses do not detect danger so, the bay splash decides to stay put. He had no where else to be and, perhaps this ash-charcoal gray colored stag could be a good distraction.
The tension in the steed's jawline eases a bit as Juice lowers his poll a little more. His black-trimmed ears become independent of each other though, one still points at the smoky male while the other casually surveys the surrounding woods. He studies the newcomer and notes a subtle swag in his stride. Juice finds himself mildly envious of this chill confidence that the other's body language screams. If only he can afford to walk around like that. As he must look out for himself, Juice prefers a cautious, stand-offish approach. Typically, that is enough to ward off others.
Not in this case, though. The bay splash listens silently with a façade of indifference across his features. He wants to roll his eyes at the grullo's first remark but, he doesn't. His sister's nagging voice reminds him not to do it. For a split second, his mind wanders to where she could be now. Then, Juice reminds himself that he does not really care. Not even the slight smile on the other's lips are enough to break him. He stands stock still with black gaze level to the other's gaze. Finally, Juice does something more than stare. His tone is icy with indifference. "We are standing in the Forest." After the words leave his mouth, Juice becomes mildly curious how long this stallion had been in Beqanna. He does manage to keep any signs of interest from his stony expression.
@[Finnus], sorry, he is being especially difficult. Hang in there. =/ I adore Finn by the way!
He watches the strangers meet between him, his ghostly form resting in an unamused manner on top of a rather shallow embankment above them. His ears twitch and his tail flutters at the imaginary sensation of bothersome bugs landing to find rest on his hind legs - all of this invisible and silent to the naked eye and ears not yet tainted with great magic.
His amber eyes rolled lazily between the bald faced boy and the grullo man. With silent hooves he descended from his throne of pine needles and dead trees, stopping only a few feet from the duo.
His body fizzled into existence, but only enough so that the filtered sunlight shimmered through him like sunlight dancing through a fine silk curtain. Most of his existence was shadowed by the heavy canopy above, but his voice rang out loud and piercing into the awkward silence that had settled.
My forest. he corrected the boy, A place of shadows and secrets. Where strangers greet and lovers meet… he dipped from existence for only a moment as he moved silently around the boy, coming back once more as he had before. In forbidden embraces. he whispered in the boy's ear. He moved to stand between them, forming a T amongst the three of them. His amber eyes swam in golds as he looked curiously to the man. Where loners tread in the silence of it all, only to return heroic. his eyes bore into the man as they fell to studious slits. Or maybe they fall.
His form vanishes as if picked away by the gentle autumn breeze that trickles through the dead wood trees. He had never been one to enjoy the company of others and usually he would simply stay hidden away, moving on to quieter parts of his woods - after all he didn't really have any sort of claim to them, he couldn't make anyone leave. He moved slowly around the man's back side, making his way back up the embankment to his resting spot. He had spent many, many years watching Beqanna collapse and then rebuild. He had watched countless encounters in these woods, innocent and not. He came to, once again, his silver bay coat mixing and playing with the autumn colors that surrounded him. He sighed as he flipped his silver blonde forelock out if his eyes, the white star that adored his face displayed in stark contrast against the forests shadows. His gaze trailed between the two stallions, What is it that you two hope to find tucked away here in a forgotten piece of Beqanna? he asked. His voice didn't hint at any real interest, but the boredom of this meeting was fiercely evident.
KHA it doesn't matter what world you live in; it only matters what world lives in you
@[Finnus] & @[Juice]
So many broody men in one post!
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Juice
