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    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


    [TAKEOVER]  you got me used to loving you
    #11

    She was not quite what you would call refined.

    If she thinks really really hard, she almost remembers him, a little colt with red, downy, wings. Her memory is not the most reliable narrator, though, often coloring and embellishing dull things to be more exciting, but yes, she thinks she remembers him. Elodea. Something like that. Her memory for names is even trickier because she does not really care, and she thinks this is close enough as she circles overhead, large wings casting their shadow on the meeting below.

    It is not the first time she has cast such a shadow on such a meeting, but her landings have certainly improved. She wheels and dives swiftly, wings tucked tight for speed and the air ripples over her streamlined feathers with a roar. When she slices through it so fast, it is literally blinding - another thing she learned early on with temporarily disastrous results - and a clear membrane slips over her eyes to protect them from the force.

    Though she sees them clearly, she cannot hear their conversation, not the summons, not the purpose, nor the tedious arguments, she sees her adopted dam and Elodea, she sees Owin, Celina and Gnash - whose name she thinks ridiculous and ill fitting. The others are unknown.

    There would never be room for her among the trees in this crowd and at the last moment she throws her great blacks wings wide, catching herself hard. The enormous bird jerks with the impact of the air in her feathers, pressing the wind down on those below her as she shifts to a simple pegasus shape, as she lands in the very center of their gathering and her wings disappear beneath her dark skin.

    She looks left, then right, from Lethy to Elodea, and grins capriciously at them, knowingly this is exactly the sort of thing everybody hates. She approaches the golden mare first, paying no mind to the firm frown etched into her lips, and butts her head against her mother's shoulder affectionately, then turns to the stallion with a tilt of her head.

    "You got big." And Poppy lifts a foreleg to paw at the air in an approximation of his once-small stature, but then her eyes fall on Celina again and they light up.

    "Celina!" The young shifter laughs brightly across the clearing, bolting through the tense lines drawn between the opposing sides to greet her pale friend. "Where the heck have you been?" And she is not even remotely quiet, but pauses in her disturbing of the peace to snap at the air at the other mare's lightning bugs.

    She misses, but only cuz she wanted to.

    Image by Ratty
    #12
    NASHUA

    There is something going on between the buckskin mare and Elio that makes Nashua frown. He settles easily against Celina, letting his auburn feathers melt into her lovely pale ones. His green eyes move back and forth - looking to golden pegasus to the smaller mare - and trying to see the fun his older sister is speaking of.

    Whatever Elio and Izora Lethia are speaking of, Nash finds little fun in it. Still, he watches it. This type of fun - this kind that Celina seems to enjoy - might be the kind of fun that takes time to learn, like flying.

    His ears remain forward but it doesn’t take long for the boy to become distracted. His attention moves towards the treeline, trying to see if Yanhua might be observing this spectacle from some secret spot. What he spies isn’t his twin but a familiar sorrel form and the colt grins. His most recent traveling find comes towards where he idles beside Celina.

    Nash misses the authority in her glance to ‘Rocky’ entirely and leans a little closer into her, mistaking her possessiveness as uncertainty in the presence of a stranger. It’s something his Mother used to do - pull him a little closer when something made Lilliana uneasy. "It’s okay, Celina.” He whispers, looking up to her and then tilting his head towards the copper stallion. "He’s okay.”

    There is more talking going on - by Rocky, Lethia, Elio and surprisingly Celina - and Nashua watches the scene play out, hearing all this talk of Loess and armies and Champion. Everybody has an opinion apparently and all this talk makes Nash (surprisingly) conscious of his lack of one. He decides to contribute something. Turning his head to watch his iridescent sister again, he studies her and the idea sticks in his mind that Elio would be a good Champion.

    It had been Fire Wing who had told him the importance of protecting others, of how a colt didn’t need to fly far to be brave. If Elio was Champion, he could stay in Taiga. He'd have more time to spend with him and Celina. Lighting up, the copper pegasus beams his agreement. "You could be Champion, Elio.”

    And then smiling at ‘Rocky’ who seems to know so much, if he had something to do within the Forest, then he might stay too. There is all this bickering and arguing, anyways. When he and Yanhua have done that in the past, his mother simply removes (if she can) the topic of their quarrel.

    "Why don’t we give Taiga to Rocky?”

    The winged boy smiles at the group, feeling quite proud of his idea. Until Popinjay comes barreling towards them, snapping at her lightning bugs. Nash pins his ears, "Go swallow your own stars.”


    and for every king that died
    they would crown another


    @[Celina] @[elio] @[Castile] @[popinjay] @[izora lethia] what is posting order
    [Image: jCdBK6.png]
    #13
    there’s no part of scripture that ever prepared you for his hands - hands that map
    a communion in the cradle of your hips. hands that kiss hymns up your sides.
    She has mourned her child in the quiet north, but their chattering and bickering drives her from her quiet corner of the forests. There was always someone vying for something. Serpents, all of them. Virgo kisses her lover’s face before she slips between the towering trees and toward the commotion. She is pale and her eyes burn from a hundred nights of weeping, but she is neither thin or ragged. The barbs along her spine match her heart perfectly – bristling and angry.

    She observes them for a while as they toss around their ideas. For a fleeting moment, she thinks that maybe she has emerged from her isolation for nothing. Virgo even turns to return to Caw’s embrace when she hears them speak further. Her ear turns and she pauses, one hoof still hanging in the air for her next step away from the crowd. A child suggests a stranger lead them all and she can’t help the scoff that comes rasping from her lungs.

    Give your home to a stranger?” she repeats, laughing as she reveals herself from the shadows. “Might as well smile and put your neck on the guillotine for your enemies, little boy. Stop all your squabbling and be content with what you have.

    Her eyes cast over each of them as she considers the strangers she has seen in the distance too long. They remind her of why she keeps to herself. But it isn’t their fault – they haven’t walked this earth as long as she has.

    This one wants to remain ruler? Fine. This one wants to be champion? Fantastic. But you offer yourselves belly up like this again and you’ll draw all sorts of monsters out of hiding,” she hisses, shifting her weight before spitting on the ground between them in disgust.
    Virgo
    he confesses how long he’s looked for a place to worship
    and, oh, you put him on his knees.
    she's been hiding in the north since her kid died and she's angy.
    #14

    elio

    some say I should learn to cry but I only learned how to fight
    and I know everything must die but nothing fades like the light

    It isn't that Izora Lethia pisses Elio off. No, that's not quite it. It's the way she continuously addresses the golden man as a child, or the way that she doesn't realize Aten abandoning Taiga gives her just as bad of a look as their view of Lepis gives him. He doesn't show this, though. A great improvement from the boy that couldn't help but to sling his emotion magic all over the place.

    Before Lethy responded, a chestnut man offered his opinon. Elio takes a moment to think on both of what they had said. It strikes him that this complete stranger offering an opinion that even HE admits holds no weight is wildly suspicious, and the sudden arrival of Celina? That puts him on an even higher alert. It's when he sees Nash pressed close to his older sister's side, though, that finally pushes him over the edge. The edge not being a lack of control, but an inability to trust the people surrounding him. Shock wants to choke him - hurt, too - as he peers long and hard at Celina and Nashua, but he remains as calm and as sure as ever.

    He can thank Lepis for that.

    First, the golden man turns to the chestnut stranger: "Who are you again?" he questions politely, but offers him nothing else, immediately turning back to Lethia.

    "It strikes me as concerning that you do not see the contradictions in your own statements. And I am not a child, Lethia. You knew a boy too young to defy his mother, but I am a man, now, and your judgements are neither fair nor accurate," Lio begins his rebuttal but is interrupted by the blustering arrival of Popinjay. He ducks his head low to the ground, allowing one eye to peer up to see when she might be done. He is reminded of the girl he knew, and her hellish arrival quirks a small smile to his lips.

    "Thank you?" Elio says when Poppy addresses him. The girl loses interest quickly so he turns back to Lethia with an almost apologetic smile; but once again, he is interrupted by the chirping voice of Nashua suggesting the stranger rule, some 'Rocky.' Lio tilts his head, confused, wondering why the boy is still so close to Celina and why he would want to hand the land off to someone that seems as if they've never even been here before. Still, he doesn't frown, though - and before he can wonder any longer, a woman interrupts to tell Nash how plainly stupid of an idea that is. Elio doesn't know who she is, but he can't say he disagrees with her.

    "Lethy," he speaks quickly now, turning his gaze from Virgo and back to Lethia. "I can't sit idly by and watch Taiga be eaten alive. I am sorry, but - I have to make a formal challenge. Not here, in front of everyone. Somewhere else, somewhere quiet. I wish it didn't have to be this way."


    idk who's next since this turned into a mess.
    [Image: elio-by-dozymare-ddo34i6.png]
    #15
    and underneath the layers, I find myself asking what's left
    a hollowed out form, the skeleton of a ghost, the pitiful echo of what once was
    This is not at all what he expected when Nashua invited him to Taiga.

    It, in his mind, has always been a quiet and bashful territory that wanted nothing more than peace. Leaders were chosen and life moved along steadily with hardly a ripple.

    How much more wrong could he have been?

    There’s in unrest that bubbles among the group and an unhappiness that prickles Castile’s skin. He enjoys the teetering power grabs, enjoys how Lepis’ son finds himself groping desperately for a crown that no one wants to hand to him. Of course, Castile does not smile at these mishaps and disputes. Careful to maintain this new persona – how long, truthfully, can this last? – his brows stitch together in a developing frown that deepens after glancing sideways to note Celina’s reaction toward him. Possessive, he muses, but he does nothing in rebuttal as Nash applies a balm of reassurance.

    He's okay, the boy states, and Castile’s heart plummets. Is he really though? What would Nashua think if only he knew the truth?

    A strained grin works across the thin lines of his lips as he quietly admires the boy until he speaks up again with a nomination.

    Why don’t we give Taiga to Rocky?

    Mmm… Fuck.

    The offer, admittedly, startles Castile. His nutmeg eyes widen with surprise before turning his head to look at the group. No words rise to meet the nomination because he abandoned Loess to take a breath of fresh air. Politics tend to taint and thicken his lungs like smog. He doesn’t outright say no, but he also doesn’t reaffirm his agreement to Nash’s suggestion either. Internally, Castile laughs. Funny how he is thrusted into politics during his purge; the lifestyle clings to him like blood stains. The opportunity sits in front of him, a temptation and a beautifully dramatic way to confess who he truly is (this has already gone too far).

    (Surprise, it’s Castile, not Rocky)

    But Castile doesn’t make a grab for it. In this mask, he is placid and not so ambitious; he is kind and not brash.

    Tilting his ears forward, he watches as Elio turns on him, asking who he is. The display seems forced, fake even, because within a single heartbeat, Elio has flipped his attention away as he addresses the rejection thrusted upon him. Castile knows the situation well, can almost taste the agitation boiling through the boy’s veins; he looks young, perhaps 3 or 4, barely entering adulthood. At nearly twenty, Elio is practically a colt in comparison to Castile, but he does nothing to add to the dispute between Izora Lethia and Lepis’ son. ‘Rocky’ doesn’t have a dog in this fight.

    Not until a formal challenge is issued.

    The women seemingly tilt toward peace; they are not warriors, but they also do not back down. Lifting a brow, he quietly states, ”Well, since Elio does not seem to have much support, let there be a fight. If he wins, the Taigan’s don’t necessarily have to accept him as their leader. There’s always a window for mutiny.” His voice is so gentle despite himself and despite the chaos swirling in his thoughts. For the first time, he is on this side of the situation – he isn’t the one trying to take claim and being refused – and an enthralling exhilaration quickens his heartbeat. ”If Elio wants to be faced with that,” a shrug ripples through his shoulders as he trails off while surveying those who have gathered around. He is familiar with how shadows come alive during takeovers.


    castile
    #16

    I've learned to live with these fatal gifts
    and still you're mine

    The hush of the forest is broken by the distant hum of voices. This in and of itself is not so unusual, but the way they swell and grow, new notes overlaying those already there, is. Numerous voices, each vying to be heard over the other. Were he not so sensitive to the changes within these woods (woods he has called home for so long now), he might never have noticed. But it is impossible to ignore when one is accustomed to only faint murmurs.

    And so, for the first time in a very long time, he seeks out company that is not Briseis or his children. It is not with any kind of eagerness or desire for companionship, but rather with the agitated bent of one who knows something is amiss in his home.

    And if there is anything he is truly invested in, it is the protection of his family. And by extension, his home.

    Between one breath and the next, he has departed the secluded depths where he and Briseis most frequently found themselves in favor of the shadows lingering around the growing group of horses both strange and familiar. He does not feel any need to announce his presence, though it would no doubt be felt. If nothing else, the glowing yellow of his gaze peering from the shadows would be enough for the observant to know he is there.

    They squabble about who is most fit to lead. The young stallion who seems to have started it all remains petulantly determined of his own fitness even as another colt excitedly suggests a different stranger may be better suited. Ether can find little in either to recommend them to the task, but he remains mute.

    The only reaction he has is to the last Elio says, something vaguely threatening that draws a rather ferocious gleam to his yellow eyes. Of course, the stranger could hardly be expected to know anyone would find it difficult to eat Taiga alive. Especially when the shadows themselves have teeth.

    Ether
    #17
    The chaos that ensues makes Lethy's mind buzz with overlapping conversations. She is draw out of her revier by the looming shadow of her daughter flying high above, a site that is no longer a stranger to the buckskin mare. When she drops towards the earth in a fluster of dramatics, while Elio drops out of the way Lethy remains solid in her stance. When Poppy buys her head against her in affection a tired smile makes it's way to her mouth as she tousled her forelock in return, not at all surprised when she quickly turns her attentions on Elio and the Celina.

    There is a mare, Virgo, who comes to them with her opinion as had every other Taigan and stranger. She watched the mare hiss and spit, unamused by the spectacle this had turned into.

    It is when Elio looks around from horse to horse that she wraps herself tightly in her cocoon of magic. With so much for opposition against him she knew what would come next.

    A formal challenge.

    Lethy closes her eyes. A minute that's all she needs. She hears Rocky talk, everything he says she knows to be true. Maybe the Taigans will vote him out when he wins the fight.

    But she will need to fight.

    There was no way around it. She is not a fighter, but the last thing she will do is back down with out a fight.

    Before anyone else could interject she opens her eyes, looking only to Elio. I accept your challenge Elio, and then Taiga can decide for themselves. The final decision has been made, everyone can go back to doing as they please.

    With that she follows Elio, away from her friends, away from her family, away from her home.

    Ooc: Lethy is ending this post, it's become to much.




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