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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


    [private]  Filtered Sunlight | Bruja
    #1
    I'm meaner than my demons
    I'm bigger than these bones

    Water splashed and laughter filled the air as the small white mare skipped and kicked in the water of the river, lowering herself closer to it every so often to use her wings to create larger splashes, giggling to herself as she watched the droplets of water sparkle in the afternoon sun. Astra's eyes were filled with joy, and she danced and played as if there wasn't a worry in the world, her head and tail raised high and a bounce in every step. 

    The movement of a few small fish caught her attention, surprised that they hadn't been scared away by all her frantic splashing. Soft, pink lips grazed the very surface of the water, her eyes wide with curiosity, following the fish and watching them closely as they made their way down the river. Small black hooves moved gently and slowly through the cold water, so as not to frighten her new little friends away.

    Astra continued to follow the small group of fish, completely forgetting her previous game, wandering further and further down the river.

    TAMASHI



    @[Bruja]

    OOC: I'm sorry it's so short! I haven't made a starter in a while and I'm quite rusty, I'll try to give more words as we go. I'm so sorry!
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    #2
    Cormorant. Bird of the sea. His mother had given him the name because from his birth he'd not been able to stay quiet. Like the glossy black birds that dove in the water, he always had something to say. But that was as far as he reassembled anything avian. Ma and Hal knew his father, a stallion as much a part of the skies as his dam was of the sea, and he wished he'd inherited even a small piece of that. One tiny link to the man he'd never met. 

    Instead, his mother's genes had taken the helm at his creation, and the boy had been born with saltwater in his veins and sand on his skin. Cormorant. A nereid, but different from his mother's kind. More like His grandfather, as it turned out. More porpoise than fish. It showed in his fleshy flukes and upright dorsal fin. Today he used those traits to move strongly up the river, an escape from the island that had given him life. 

    Last season, Hal had been given permission to move freely between the mainland and their home, and Cor had missed his brother fiercely. Added to that was no small amount of jealousy. His brother could roam to his hearts content, and the orca child was left at home while his mother hurried along to make more childrenwith a stallion neither of her sons had met, who was certainly not their father. Cor had not forgiven her yet for this infraction. 

    Up the river was a challenge to swim, the current constantly pushing back on him as he went. He could use his power to help himself along, of course, but the sea colt relished the battle between his body and the rushing water. When he at last came panting to a slow ebbing bend, the tri colored youth paused to rest. 

    Just a little way upstream, someone was wandering belly deep in the shallows. A new foal, he thought at first, wondering who was letting their baby wander so far from its mother's side. Apart from his own dam, of course. But that was a whole other patch of grass. 

    A second look told him otherwise, though. Not a foal. A girl, maybe even his own age. Simply very, very small. She was focused intently on something beneath the surface of the water, eyes darting this way and that. His blue-green lips curved into an amused smile. "D'you want to see those better?" He asked, knowing there could only be minnows in the shallows. "There's a trick to it." 

    @[Tamashi]
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    #3
    I'm meaner than my demons
    I'm bigger than these bones

    She'd been wandering these strange lands for days now in search of her mother. How long had it been since she'd heard her gentle, sing song tone? How much time had passed since she last pressed her face against the dam's warm coat? Her memories had been jumbled since she'd arrived here, and nightmares of her immortality plagued her mind to the point of sleeplessness.

    Though she was already a year old, she couldn't help but cry at the thought of leaving her mothers side. The world felt even colder than before, she felt lost, confused - and hungry. Astra had tried many times to eat her fill of the foliage as she traveled, it'd been months since she'd weaned, but since then her appetite has died; for to her the plants bittered in comparison to her faint memories of her mother's milk. No matter what she did, she could not convince herself to fill up on plants, and could only manage to make herself eat small mouthfuls of the cold, bitter foliage; and so, as she walked her stomached growled, yet she could not hear it over the sounds of the river.

    The minnows in the water swam quickly, but she did not attempt to pick up her own pace, and instead placed herself very carefully behind them as they moved. Their scales shining in the water had her full attention, Astra could hardly blink as she stared in wonderment at their sparkling bodies swimming through the currents. Suddenly though, a voice came from down the river, snapping her small head to attention. 

    "Run." Was her first thought, the dainty white mare did not like strangers in most cases; but, he mentioned an easier way to see the small minnows she'd been chasing, which caused her longer ears to perk up in excitement.

    "You know how to get those fishies?" A shrill of joy coated her voice, which was just as light as her outward appearance, and still had a slight childish lisp to it.  Astra couldn't help but notice that the other horse also resembled her small aquatic friends, in his own fishy - whaley? Way. Blue eyes widened with curiosity and the dark feathers of her wings began to fluff up, but she dare not wave them, lest she frighten the friends she's made.

    TAMASHI



    @[Cormorant]
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    #4
    Cormorant smiled, and nodded agreeably. With slow, cautious steps he made his way to the pale girl's side, eyes cast down to the water. It was cold, snow melting off of the mountains, and it whirled past their legs freely. The little dashes of silver in the water caught the light as they moved, no rhyme or reason to their patterns. 

    He could go about this a few ways. The one he decided on, however, was one of the first displays of magic his mother had shown him. Tiny fish borrowed from the sea to calm his infant mind when he couldn't sleep. 

    The smooth skinned youth narrowed his eyes at the water, focus etched on every line of his face. He was tired after the long swim, and fresh water didn't listen so well as the sea did, but he got there in the end. With a splashing pop, a scoop of water holding a handful of silver scaled minnows rose from the river. A little orb of water that spun lazily in place, only an inch or two from where he'd grabbed it from, but contained all the same. 

    "There you go," he said softly, most of his attention on keeping his creation's shape. It was a pretty bauble of liquid, and the fish inside were plain as day to see swimming in narrow circles now that their river had shrunk for the moment. One daring minnow swam downward, and fell out the bottom with a gentle 'plop'. 

    Smiling cheerfully, he glanced up at the girl's face, hoping his little display was being enjoyed. When he wasn't being surly, Cormorant really did enjoy making others smile. It was just that most of the time lately, he hadn't felt much like smiling himself. 

    @[Tamashi]
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    #5
    I'm meaner than my demons
    I'm bigger than these bones

    Astra watched closely in awe as the dun colt produced the magic bubble from the cold water. Her eyes glistened with delight as she watched the small shiny fish swim frantically within it, and jumped joyfully in circles, letting out shrill whinnies of delight before returning her attention to the orb of water.

    A small pink tongue reached out gingerly, trying to lick the small creatures contained in their watery prison. She quickly withdrew as one grazed her tongue, letting out a yelp of surprise and fluttering her wings as she backed up. Her pale features quickly returned to excitement though, and she pranced her way back up to both the bubble and the young colt.

    “How d'you get the water to do that?” The beaming smile on her face laced itself within her voice, and her ears wiggled excitedly as she spoke. Astra hadn't seen much magic in this land yet, she had been careful to avoid others thus far, setting most of her focus on finding her mother. She was sure she'd find her though, she had to be nearby somehow, right?

    TAMASHI



    @[Cormorant]
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    #6
    A bright smile curved his lips to see the tiny girl so enthralled with his creation. It was a little trick, nothing so impressive as his mother could do. Yet it was enough to make the winged filly dance with joy. 

    A quiet laugh warmed his chest as she tried to lick the little fish. There was no indication that she was the sort who could eat them, but perhaps it was just curiosity. Cor thought they were too small to make much of a meal, anyhow. He much preferred the trout that ran the river's length, or the salmon he and his brother hunted for back home. 

    Carefully, he lowered the aquatic sphere until it touched back to its native water. The little fish darted away. If they were clever enough to speak, he figured there would be a lot of scolding involved, but they weren't, so he didn't mind them. The girl had darted away and come back. Now that he was no longer half paying attention, he grinned down to where her face shone below his. 

    "I'm a nereid," he shrugged, as if that explained everything. "Same as you're a pegasus." His nose pointed to the feathery wings she wore. They were delicate looking things, all fine bones and sturdy tendon. It was a close thing that he might have been born with wings of his own. Something he thought about occasionally. But instead it was the sea who'd taken him in hand, and the sea that had molded him into what he was. Fins, sharp teeth and all. 

    He pawed the water lightly, enjoying the feel of it on his skin. He cocked his head to one side. "There's more nereia back home. Ischia is full of them." His tongue stuck out briefly at that. No place like home to remind you how very not special you were. "Do you live around here?" It seemed likely, what with how small she was. Only so far she could go before getting tired, or at least that's what he figured. 

    @[Tamashi]
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    #7
    I'm meaner than my demons
    I'm bigger than these bones

    Curious eyes watched as her tiny friends swam away, making the small mare frown for a moment before returning her attention to her much larger friend. A nereid? What a strange word, she giggled to herself as she thought about it. She didn't recall visiting a place with the name of Ischia yet, but then again, she hadn't been asking for directions or where she was while she traveled, how far was it, anyways? How long had she been moving? How long had she spent at the river? Worry began to plague her face as she realized she'd forgotten all about time and had no idea she'd let herself become distracted by the water. 

    His voice caught her attention once more, her glittering eyes widening back to attention and her usual half smile returning to her pale features. Live around here? Where even was here? DID she live here? Small brow furrowed as she began to think hard about the question. 

    "I don't think so, I think I'm lost..." The small mare's voice was quiet and confused, and for a moment sadness tickled the edges of her eyes, almost dripping down her cheeks before her expression once again snapped back to curiosity. 

    "Can you pull up even bigger fishies? I've always wanted to see a mole." Small pink lips were curled in a bright, unknowing smile as she gazed up at her new friend in awe, completely oblivious to the fact that moles are indeed, not a water creature.

    Astra wasn't sure why her memory was so poor, she was rarely aware that she had forgotten, too quickly distracted by other things she could swear she'd never seen before. The only thing she truly remembered was her mother, and that wonderfully warm smile she had always given her. It was uncertain if she'd remember her larger fishy friend, he was wonderful for sure, and the wonderful dancing fish in his magic orb of water would surely sparkle in her mind for eons to come, but faces and names felt so fuzzy to her, as if a dreamy fog always filled her mind. 

    She hummed quietly as she stared up at the strange boy, her pink nose pointed upwards at him and her eyes crossed trying to focus on him, patiently waiting for his answer.

    TAMASHI



    @[Cormorant]
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    #8
    The sea sculpted stallion watched the fast moving fish dart away, apologizing silently for interrupting their day. It had been worth it though, to bring a little happiness to the girl he'd met. Her face had fallen when he'd dropped the pen, but her couldn't keep it going forever. Not even his ma could do that. 

    His attention was redirected however by the sad lilt of her voice. Looking at the pale coated girl, his ears twisted with concern. Lost? That was no good. Broad fluked tail swishing behind him, he waited for her to pause her thoughts while he gathered his own. "Yeah," he nodded, mishearing her last phrase. "Mola are really big. It'd take a lot of work to pull them up. I could try sometime though, if you want." He pawed at the water again, weight shifting from one side to the other. 

    "D'you... d'you know where you are now?" He asked, trying and failing to hold her gaze as he did. "Or do you know where you're trying to go? I can help you get someplace safer than here." He nodded to the river, to where it turned into rapids further up. Ruefully he realized that if she was really lost, then he had no choice but to help her. His mother would hang him out to dry if she ever found out he'd done anything less. Besides. He would feel guilt enough without his mother's influence. 

    Smiling as reassuringly as he could manage with a mouthful of predatory teeth, Cormorant let the water flow past them easily as she looked back up at him. For all that they stood with massive height differences, they still matched color wise. That was as good a reason as any he could think of to take her under his proverbial wing. 

    @[Astra Daggenhardt]
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    #9
    I'm meaner than my demons
    I'm bigger than these bones

    Astra's smile widened as he spoke, and she couldn't help but hop in place with delight when he agreed to try showing her a mole, even though he said it so funny, she thought.

    "Really? You can try to bring a WHOLE mole out of the water? I gotta see!" Her voice was louder now, and it was becoming difficult for her to contain her excitement - that is, until he asked her where she was. Astra's small head shook quickly, causing her longer ears to wiggle as she did so.

    "Nope! I don't know where this is!" She stomped a hoof in the water to gesture as she spoke, "but I do know where I'm trying to go! I'm trying to find my mother, so wherever she is, that's where I'm going!" Small chest puffed up in confidence as she raised her head again to look at him, but once again her expression quickly changed to mix of sadness and confusion.

    "Well...That is, she has to be here SOMEWHERE. I don't remember where I came from, or where my mom went, but I remember what she looks like! She has four legs....Uhm....Wings, and she's white....And her eyes look really kind! She looks like a mommy!" Her voice was filled with pride at all the details she had remembered, sometimes she heard voices that tried to convince her that she was wrong, that her mother wasn't here at all, or that she wasn't remembering correctly, but she brushed them off as best she could. She knew her mother better than she knew anyone else, and she was determined to prove that she remembered her.

    Blue, glimmering eyes looked at him in confusion when he mentioned taking her somewhere safer, though. Safer? She hadn't realized this place was dangerous, but as she looked to where he nodded, she saw the rapids in the distance, and felt a cold chill up her spine. Astra hadn't even been paying attention to them before, she hadn't noticed them at all. If she had kept following the fish and not concentrating on how close she was getting to the rapids, she probably would have been washed away instantly, her small legs wouldn't be able to beat the rough currents of the river.

    "Oh...Well...I guess she's not here, so I guess we can go somewhere else! Where do you wanna go? Should we play hide and seek?" She gazed at him with curious eyes, excited for new adventures.

    TAMASHI



    @[Cormorant]
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