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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


    [mature]  Friendship | Closed
    #1

    I don't feel enough for you to cry
    here's a lullaby to close your eyes

    Winter had fell upon Beqanna, thick white snow blanketed the forest floor and the branches of the trees, their once vibrant leaves now long dead and gone. Many animals had already settled in for hibernation and slept soundly in their homes, the rest stayed to dig underneath the snow, searching for grass and fallen fruit. Kradle wandered the forest in search of a small snack, eyeing the birds that he couldn't reach with a cold, hungry gaze, and sniffing around at holes and small caves, hoping for a sleeping animal to sink his teeth into, but most were long abandoned, and others were already closed tight for the cold season. He gave an annoyed snort, tossing his head as he begrudgingly made his way away from the empty dens to look elsewhere for something to eat, his usual twitch causing him to jerk unexpectedly from time to time.

    As the stallion sauntered through the dense trees, something caught his attention. He pushed his scarred body through the foliage and into a clearing, sniffing the air curiously. The smell of death lingered here, and there was a small black mound in the center of the clearing. Small paw prints were trailed behind it, but they were already beginning to be covered by the fresh fall of snow, and the mound seemed to not move at all. Cautiously, he stepped around it, giving a low shriek to see if it would get up to fight or run; however, it did neither. It lay there, still except for the occasional movement of fur as the wind blew through the forest. 

    Satisfied that the pile of fur was not moving, he drew closer, his teeth bared and ready. Jaw stretched open, the dark equine wrapped his jagged teeth around the carcass, but as he was about to bite down, something stopped him. A sense of happiness came from this small creature, being this close to it seemed to fill him with a certain joy, it made him suddenly feel less alone. Perplexed, he set it down and stared at it, his head twitching and jerking as he examined it. The creature was a badger, and it had obviously been dead for a few hours, most likely from starvation or from the cold. Though it had not started to rot just yet, it reeked of death, though he welcomed the smell and it filled his insides with a giddy euphoria. Silence hung in the air, yet Kradle felt as if the deceased badger was speaking to a deeper part of his mind, he felt like it wanted to connect with him as he gazed into its dull eyes.

    "Hello?" His voice was deep and scratchy, but he spoke quietly and with as much softness as he could force himself to use. No response came from the badger, yet he continued on as if it were talking to him, carrying the conversation as if he had just met a new friend.

    "Yes, yes of course I'll take you somewhere warm. You must be lost, yes? I shall take you to my stump! It's a good stump, you'll like my stump. What, what was that? Yes! Yes! I can bring so many soft things for you to lay on! I have crow feathers, and pieces of pelt, and dead grass. It's very cozy in the stump, I promise. Don't worry, you can stay with me and keep me company." With a joyful toss of his head, he lifted the corpse off the ground, and nudged it until it hung limply across his face. 

    "The fool finds a friend? UNLIKELY! Put down the Mustelidae! We must eat, we hunger!" The spirits screamed in his ear, barraging his ear drums with demands, but this time he ignored them, making his way to his hiding place with determination. As he got closer to his home, an excited energy pulsed through each step he made, trotting happily up to dead tree, its insides were hollow and a large portion of the tree was missing, most likely struck by thunder in ages now long past. The top was covered with a thick layer of dead grass, twigs, feathers, and whatever else he could find to fix the hole that was left by the damage the tree had suffered. The entrance was closed off only by a few pelts, some were clearly tattered from his poor skills at skinning, he had crudely ripped them from the bodies of his victims and from the animals who had died of other causes in his surroundings. It was quite a morbid collection, but it made for a warm hut for him to hide away in, safe from prying eyes. 

    Pushing his way past the skins, he let the warmth of his home wash over him. Not much lay inside his hollowed stump, the ground was lazily covered in more dead grass and feathers to provide a soft place to rest, and bones were scattered here and there from past meals. There were a few old blood stains in some spots, likely from times where he took his victims with him to eat them fresh in his small abode. To the living poltergeist, this was home. Few things could compare to the comfort he found in this small stump, but then again, most are not fortunate enough to find a tree large enough to house an equine.

    His eyes glistening with excitement, he lay the badger down softly on the ground before he began to frantically collect a small pile of soft things from the floor of his home. He nuzzled them into a corner, decorating the top of this new bed with dried berries, and a few particularly pretty feathers that had not gotten destroyed in his manic feasts. Satisfied with the small shrine, he carefully picked up his new friend and placed it gently onto the soft pile. 

    "What did you say your name was?" Silence hung around them once again, yet his ears twitched and swiveled as if he heard voices that were not his usual ghosts. "Oh? Is that so? Well if that's the case, I shall just refer to you as Wise One. You can stay here for as long as you want, and perhaps you can- hm? Oh! Yes, of course I will bring you more offerings while on my journeys, Wise One! Anything to appease you and repay you for your words of wisdom! I'm sure there are few creatures within this realm that have such a vast amount of knowledge, I am eternally grateful that you chose to bless my ears with your words." The stallion then tossed his head back, laughing hysterically, in a quite terrifying manner. He seemed almost crazed with joy, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he howled with laughter. The sound echoed outside of his hut, causing the crows to cry and fly away frantically, the sounds of unhinged laughter and corvid caws clinging to the cold winter air. 

    Kradle
    [Image: 9oEc8Yx.png]
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