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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


    [open]  this ain't no place for no hero; any
    #1
    There is so much to explore, and already the sun is halfway through its arcing across the sky.

    Titanya – she didn’t want to be called mother – had left him for the first time to adventure on his own in the playground.  She said she would be close and would collect him as the sun sank close to the tops of the trees.  She told him he better be ready and waiting to go home by the big oak tree at the agreed time or else. 

    Volos has no idea what or else means.  What will happen if he isn’t at the designated spot when he’s supposed to be?  Will a three-headed bear come and gobble him up?  Are there many-toothed sharks flying in the sky that will chomp him to bits like the ones that swim in the waters around Ischia?  Or will the ground simply open up and swallow him whole?  He knows it can happen – a filly with wide eyes and a trembling lip told him in passing as she was being escorted home by her mother. 

    He’s decided he doesn’t care much what will happen if he’s late.  He puffs his chest out and lets the sharp teeth that must live inside his head grow long and pointy.  Let the beasts try to eat him up.  He’ll make them think twice about messing with someone as ferocious as him.  Volos even lets out a very tiger-like growl and struts haughtily into the playground further.  He is not going to be denied his first taste of freedom.  There are friends to meet and fun to be had.

    “Hey,” he says, coming behind the first other kid he sees.  “Want to be my friend?”  The grullo colt realizes after he’s asked that he is still holding his defensive posture and relaxes immediately.  A smile as bright as the summer sun above them lightens his features.  “I’ll protect you if – “  his eyes dart about them looking for an invisible threat and his voice lowers, “anything happens.”

    V O L O S

    . . . . .

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    #2

    the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits

    Cortex stands on the edge of the Playground with his older brother, Aqorix. He had never before left his mother’s side, so being away from her was sending anxiety through his blood like poison. His older brother, who had spent Cortex’s entire life fretting over him, thought it was time to be around other foals his age, so here they were. “Do I have to?” He gives his brother pleading eyes, but his brother only looks down at him with disapproving eyes. Cortex shifts his gaze to the ground beneath his hooves. “Okay…” he mutters.

    He huffs a big sigh before he takes a step forward, but for a moment, he hesitates, looking back over his shoulder at his older brother. Aqorix gives him a stern look, and he turns back and walks forward. A slight tremble makes its way into his gate, but he continues into the unfamiliar land.

    The next time he turns around, his older brother is gone. He had promised to pick Cortex up at the end of the day, but the little, black colt couldn’t help but feel scared. What if something happened and Aqorix didn’t return? Would he be able to find his way back to mother? He lets out a soft whimper and almost gives up on the whole day. He could have laid down right there in a tight ball on the ground to wait impatiently for his brother’s return, but something, perhaps the magic of the fairy that keeps this land safe for its young visitors, keeps him moving.

    He comes to a small brook and stops to stare at the crystal clear, trickling water as it bubbles and gurgles over rocks and twigs. For a time, he stands in a world of silence, wondering if he is all alone here. Then a voice startles him out of his reveries, and Cortex spins around to face the unfamiliar colt, eyes wide, showing his fear. That fear quickly fades, however, as the other colt asks to be friends, despite his defensive posture. “U-um…” he stammers. “Sure.” He gives the other a hesitant smile.

    A small laugh cracks through Cortex’s lips as the other colt says that he can protect him. Truth be told, Cortex didn’t exactly need protecting. He had learned shortly after birth that he had the ability to shift into a feline body. Since then, he’d tortured his brother by constantly shifting into various feline creatures while they played. It gave him a distinct advantage over his brother. Granted, his brother was probably taking it easy on him, since he could manipulate shadows, but still, he’d proven himself a worthy adversary.

    “Well, we could protect each other.” Just then, he shifts into a lion cub and pounces toward the other colt playfully. He stops just before his new friend. “I’m Cortex, by the way. What’s your name?” He purrs, a sign that he is no threat to the other.

    cortex

    Image by Halacious
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    #3
    There is a flash of fear on the other boy’s face, quick to fade, but Volos still catches it.

    Why is he afraid?  Is there indeed a three-headed bear lumbering around in the darker woods near the Playground, ready to snatch unsuspecting colts if they venture too close?  A part of him knows it must be something terrible like this, otherwise why would his mother have warned him ‘or else?’  This poor kid must have already had a run in with something that petrified him to warrant such a reaction.  Volos supposes it is a fortunate thing that he has found him.

    He’ll fight off any monsters that might appear.

    A grin cements itself on his blue-grey lips when the black colt agrees to be his friend.  So far, Volos has only had his sister, Nekane, to wrestle and spar and annoy to no end.  He loves tugging on her gold and blue tail while helpfully informing her that one of her ears is bigger than the other.  And while she’s good company most of the time, he longs to expand his horizons and meet all the world has to offer him.  Maybe Cortex (as he soon learns his name) will be the first thread in the tapestry of faces he wishes to weave throughout his life.  Maybe today is only the beginning.

    He is so absorbed in finally seeing another boy his age that he completely misses the creek chortling and meandering through the thick grasses just behind his new friend.  Growing up in Ischia, Volos is well-acquainted with water in many forms. And while it isn’t the powerful, playful ocean he is sometimes allowed to tip-toe into, he longs to test his boundaries here instead.  Here, where there is no adult to neither rein him in nor teach him to be cautious and respect that which he does not know.  The sound of moving water draws his gaze away from the other colt as he considers it.

    “Wanna race?  First one to the other side is a – “ he stops mid-turn back to Cortex just as he leaps at him.  The boy has become a cat!  Completely surprised, the grullo would have made an easy target if Cortex hadn’t stopped just ahead of him.  Instead, Volos’s grin grows into a beaming smile that reaches his eyes and maybe hides the mischievous sparkle within them.  Oho! Now the race will be fair.  He shifts into his own familiar feline form.  The orange and black fur spreads over his body and he feels his own claws digging into the sun-warm earth.  Volos swats a paw gently at Cortex’s tawny cheek.  And then he is off!

    It isn’t a far distance to the banks of the brook, but he still enjoys the feel of his young muscles giving and taking with motion of the short exercise.  He looks over his shoulder to see if his new buddy has joined in.  It doesn’t matter who wins or loses – not to Volos – only that they are having fun!  He takes a blind leap down into the water beyond the pebbled bank.  It is a rocky landing, literally, and he winces as several stones catch between his paw pads.  But the water is there just ahead of him.  So close he can see tiny minnows weaving in and out of the current.  It is so tempting to plunge ahead, but he had an unfair head start.  He tilts his head to see if Cortex is beside him before forging ahead to the other side.

    V O L O S

    . . . . .




    @[Cortex]
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    #4

    the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits

    Most of Cortex’s fears were silly, little grievances. The world was big, and he was so small. Mostly, though, the fear he shows the other colt was from being startled, something that came easily to him. His older brother liked to pick on him, since he was so jumpy all the time. It was a game he hated. It made him more anxious than anything. Still, he was a bold colt for the most part, so as soon as he realizes that it’s just another colt, about the same age as him, the fear fades quickly, especially when the idea that he might have a new friend takes hold.

    The black colt returns the grin that comes from the other. It felt good to have a friend that wasn’t Aqorix. His older brother was much too big for him, and wasn’t always up for a good, rough and tumble play session, especially not when he took mother away to speak to her in quiet tones that Cortex couldn’t hear. That had always bothered him. Why couldn’t he be included? What secrets were his brother and his mother speaking of that he wasn’t allowed to hear?

    This felt easy, though, natural, like he had finally found a like-minded friend who might include him in the secrets. Or perhaps they could make up secrets of their own? The thought sends a thrill of excitement through him.

    It feels good to take the other colt by surprise. Now they stood on even ground, each of them having startled the other. And his feline grin reflects that. However, the next move his new friend makes takes him by surprise once more. The other shifts into a tiger! And boy does that make Cortex even more excited. They had barely just met, and he had already found something they had in common. He laughs, a throaty sound that blocks out the gurgling of the brook behind him.

    Cortex takes the other’s swat with pride and excitement, and when the other bounds off, he follows, stretching his long feline figure as far as it can go to move as quickly as he can. He could easily shift into a cheetah, though, and this race would be woefully unequal in his favor, but he likes his lion form (and he doesn’t want to put his new friend at a disadvantage). So he pounds forward, his bulky figure only a short stride behind the tiger form ahead of him.

    When the other colt plunges into the water, Cortex hesitates. Most of his feline instincts bid him to stay away from the water. Water is not my friend, his instincts shout. So to counteract those instincts, he shifts into a tiger form, not unlike the form his friend has taken. Tigers are great swimmers and love water, so it makes him feel more at ease as he plunges in behind the other colt. “So, I didn’t catch your name,” Cortex says, a question behind the statement.

    cortex

    Image by Halacious


    @[Volos]
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    #5

    this ain't no place for no hero

    His rounded, black ears hear the muffled movements of the other cub hot on his tail.

    He responds by redoubling his efforts, pushing himself to his limit to get to the creek quickest.  He is so happy the other colt-turned-cat has decided to play his game!  There were other children that lived on his island (and his sister, of course), but it is exciting to have a new friend that maybe plays a little different than the kids of Ischia.  Back home, they have only the beach and the jungle to explore.  And while he has spent countless hours darting through the thick, damp forest and digging in the hot sand, there is far more to do on the mainland, it seems.  The terrain is more varied here and the climate, too, changes; his nose has been twitching with all the new smells since his mother brought him here! 

    Meeting Cortex is the most exciting thing that has happened to him in his short life thus far.  He hopes this isn’t the last time he will come to the big part of Beqanna and make a friend.

    They dive down below the bank almost at the same time, but Volos notices that Cortex hesitates then to get into the water.  The grullo-speckled boy shares no hesitancy and leaps in without thought.  He was born with the sea licking his still-wet feet and loves the water almost more than the land.  But he is worried about the other colt.  His gold eyes look back in concern just in time to see the lion become a tiger like him!

    “Whoa, neat trick!”  He bobs in the water with his mouth open in surprise.  His family can all turn into tigers, but he’s never met someone that can become more than one kind of animal – he wonders what else this kid can do, what else he could become.  Cortex has a question for him first, though, and he ducks his head sheepishly so that his chin becomes soaked.  Was he so excited that he forgot to give his own name?  His mother is always telling him to slow down before he burns out.  Maybe she has a point? 

    “Maybe I am a spy for my home and I don’t want to give out my real name,” he says mock haughtily.  “Nah, just kidding.  It’s Volos.”  He grins again at the other tiger cub and then turns his gaze to the other bank just ahead of them.  “Want to keep swimming or do you want to hunt butterflies?”  Volos paddles around in a circle, looking down to the fish swimming under the water’s surface.  He’s never hunted before, not really, but he reckons he has to start somewhere.  “Where are you from anyhow, Cortex?”

    v o l o s

    Photo by Austin Neill at Unsplash


    @[Cortex]
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    #6

    the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits

    Cortex wouldn’t have expected anything less from the other feline, to plunge straight into the water with no hesitation. Tigers are meant for the water, and they loved it. That’s why it was the obvious choice for him to shift into a tiger. It was such a good feeling to see the other big cat’s jaw drop at his shift from a lion to a tiger. Satisfying, one would say. It makes him grin broadly. “It’s my only saving grace,” he jokes. Unlike his new friend, whose whole family can all do the same magic trick, Cortex’s mother has magic, and his brother can manipulate darkness. So they could always one-up him in everything. It was different to encounter someone with the same abilities, even if he could only shift into a tiger.

    Cortex laughs when his new friend jokes about being a spy. @[Volos] is his name. Cortex turns it over in his head a few times, trying to make sure he would remember it. The last thing he wanted to do right now was make himself look stupid by having to ask for his new friend’s name again.

    Volos asks if he wants to continue swimming or would he rather hunt butterflies. He purses his lips together, contemplating the question. Now that he was a tiger, he could easily continue swimming and would be happy doing so. But getting out and chasing butterflies also sounded fun. “We can swim for a little bit longer,” he says, opting for a compromise between the two.

    He looks slightly confused by the next question, though. Where was he from? Well, to be honest, he didn’t really know a good answer for that. He didn’t know enough about Beqanna to know there were different lands. All he had ever known was the Meadow and now the Playground. “I am from nowhere,” he says, lifting up his chin out of the water and grinning haughtily. “Chew on that, spy!” He laughs and paddles hard for the opposite bank, glancing over his shoulder to see if Volos was following.

    When he climbs out of the water, he shakes himself as dry as he could. Then he turns and sits on the edge of the water, watching the other tiger. “Watch this!” he says. He shifts into a completely different cat this time, something not too commonly known, a rusty-spotted cat. It is the smallest of the wild feline species, no bigger than a house cat–smaller, in fact–with spots like a savannah cat and small, rounded ears. “Mew” he says in a very tiny, kitten voice, then laughs.

    cortex

    Image by Halacious
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