[open] I'm a classy girl with intrepid taste; Joining

[Brassa]

@Anyone

Just Brassa looking to join

Summer had never really been my season. Growing up, it had been the time I worked the most and the times I could remember the worst as the days had all blurred together. It seemed that as soon as the days grew longer my body braced itself to feel exhausted, preemptively draining my energy even if I wasn't working. I could never sleep well with the warmer nights, either. I preferred to sleep in an environment cold enough that my skin prickles in protest.

The summer in these lands was rather temperate, however. Still a little too warm for me to love but there was plenty of shade in the foliage and a nice breeze carrying the scents of the foothills. It did intrigue me that such diverse flora thrived here, I had to avoid stepping on cactus amid treading over the soft tropical ferns. A curious land indeed.

Lost in my thoughts, I almost did not catch a soft rustling in the underbrush ahead of me. I froze momentarily, swiveling my ears forward to pinpoint the origin of the sound. The rustling grew more desperate as I stood listening to it, but it did not sound like whatever was making the noise was much larger than I mouse. I proceeded slowly towards the noise and parted the brush softly. I found a small finch nestled within the branches and leaves, busily scouring for food. Upon my intrusion, the bird turned and chirped rather aggressively at me. I snorted and continued on my path, mumbling about manners and the heat causing tension among the animals around here.

As I was muttering, a salty scent washed over my tongue and I lifted my head intrigued. I could hear the babbling of a spring and a smile crawled across my lips. It had been far too long since I had a proper bath and I loved how the saltwater refreshed my skin. I jogged up to the pool, watching the soft foam curl around the surface. The clear water invited me in, so I approached it slowly with one foot going in at a time. To my surprise, the water was much color than the ambient temperature and I sighed in relief. As the water swirled around my legs, I slowly lowered the rest of my body beneath the surface, embracing the refreshing feeling of the seawater as it caressed my coat.

"It really could not get any better than this."

ulla codes

[Ledger]

Help me out before I drown
Save me now before I give up

Life truly couldn’t get any better then this.

He still cannot believe that his heart is whole, that it is no longer a vapid crystal thing incapable of true feeling. It is a strong pulse that thrums in his veins as it relearns its rhythm and remembers the paths it took long ago. The emotions he experiences now can sometimes overwhelm him, he feels so strongly, so painfully and unforgiving, and he wouldn’t change a thing. They had only been whispers of the real thing before, a taunt to remind him what his glass heart kept him from as much as it had protected him.

But it hadn’t been living. He hadn’t been truly living when he couldn’t fully feel the way his heart beats for her, the beautiful Genie that had wished him back to a true existence. When it had just been a sad and heavy thing filled with empty darkness. The memories still hurt and the pain still lingers from his past but he embraces it because it means he can feel her. Oceane could break his new heart a thousand times over and it wouldn’t be enough, the debt he owes her is that great. Besides, it belongs to her anyways, this thunder in his chest that storms for her and only her. This tempest she had created to begin with.

There is something different in the one eyed stallion, in the way he lifts his head a little higher and the gait of his step. There is something different in the bear which seems less inclined to reach so quickly for teeth and claws. There is a peace between him, horse and beast, and he doesn’t bother to hide himself anymore. The polar bear was becoming a popular sight in Loess.

He had fallen asleep in the pool again, a large mound of white fur laying half in and half out of the water as the sun beats down in a hot afternoon sky. This is where he is most summer days, the arctic ursine within him restless with the heat. It seems their temper mirrors the temperature and so it is the crystal cool waters near his hidden cove that he spends the day if he can. It is easy to miss him when he is balled into himself like this and so she seems to miss him, the stranger that helps herself to his pool. With a yawn he unfurls as the water starts to rise around him and a voice stirs him to life. One beady eye lands on the backside of a fiery mare who now lazily languishes in the water before him. Where his other eye should be lays a clawed empty socket, exposed and catching shadows in the hollow of carved skin.

He watches her for a moment before sinking further into the saltwater, submerging most of himself in the pool until just his head remains. His bear senses are sharp as he catches her scent and notes that she doesn’t smell anything like the coastline or dusty canyons of Loess. “I don’t usually share this place but I guess I can make an exception.” He says behind her, the gold flecks in his dark eye glimmering brightly as he teases her but not unkindly.

Ledger

@[Brassa]
Welcome!!

[Brassa]

@[Ledger]

Just wait til she finds out he is actually a stallion....

My eyes rolled over the ripples in the water lazily as I lounged in the pool. I was counting the ripples as they skirted across the surface, intrigued by how the shapes grew more deformed the further out they reached. The ones closest to me were blurred slightly by the steam rolling off of my skin from the sudden contact with the cool water. The whole moment felt more ethereal than the whole journey here. It was peaceful enough that I had gotten lost in the moment and forgotten to scan my surroundings for company.

When I finally opened my eyes from my lulling off, I just barely noticed a sea of white fur. I did not quite register that it was living until the movement of the breathing caught my eye and I steeled myself. I had never encountered a beast like this before, his fur gleamed like fresh snow, and from my angle, I could see one large paw sporting even larger claws. My breath grew sharp and measured, uncertainty painting my movements as I tried to slowly wade away from the creature to better appraise it. From the corner of my eye, I watched nervously as he coasted further into the water and approached me.

I turned to completely face this creature now and my alarm eased slightly as I noticed a hollowed ridge where I assumed an eye had been. At least if I had to escape I had a slight advantage over this animal who struck me as similar in stature to a bear. He was larger though and the ivory coat really threw me off.

When he spoke, I jumped softly, but his tone eased my anxiety slightly. I had traveled and seen many forms of magic but none such as speaking wildlife. I grew much more intrigued by the specimen before me as he seemed to have a sense of humor and it was one that put me at ease when facing this foreign situation.

"I do appreciate that, it has been a long journey and the salt water does wonders for my joints after traveling."

I managed to keep my voice even and perhaps even a little lighthearted as I responded. I still not dared to move closer to this creature despite his teasing tone, I did not want to offend him or betray my lack of knowledge of the local customs quite yet.

"I must say, where I come from I have not met many talking beasts, especially those with such a good taste in lounging quarters."

I smiled at the end of my sentence, willing my mind to trick my body into relaxing more. To be honest, if this creature had wanted to hunt me, I assume he would have slaughtered me already so the fact that my curiosity was not overriding my adrenaline quite yet was more irritating than anything else. I wanted to learn what made this area so special that bears could be cloaked in chalky coats and speak their mind freely.

ulla codes

[Ledger]

Help me out before I drown
Save me now before I give up

He can see the moment the pupil widens and contracts, the sudden smell of uncertain fear that tinges the air and clings to the sensitive nose of the bear. This new heart of his twists slightly with the old familiar pain that comes with remembering that not all are like Oceane. Not all can see the man behind the beast. She adapts quickly though, this fiery specimen of a mare. He sees how the dark hue of red spreads from her coat to the iris of her eyes (so many of them, these red-eyed horses, he will never escape them) and the strangeness of her slim tail that ends in long ombre strands. She’s a beautiful creature and he can acknowledge that despite the claim that his heart has made for the Loessian Queen.

She speaks of a journey and he wonders where she has come from, the scent that she scrubs from her coat in the cleansing saltwater is strange and unfamiliar. Before he can ask, she speaks again and this time the bear smiles, exposing sharp teeth that jut from his gums. She is trying, trying not to be afraid, and he is not in the habit of purposely upsetting innocents. So he moves backwards a little and begins to shift. Shows her the answer to her question. Claws retract into gray hooves, his snout slims and morphs into one of a horse. The white fur shrinks and fades into a blend of reddish gold until the only white left is in the wavy strands of his mane and tail, crimped by sea water and his prolonged stay here in the cove. The eye remains missing, brutal claw marks speaking of the savagery that was done there and seem an exact replica to the ones that had once protruded from his claws. The X on his chest glows faintly in the bright light as does the branded constellation on his flank. And the heart beneath the X, no longer of glass, continues to beat steadily in his chest.

“You’re not from Beqanna are you?” He says with a whisper of a smile that ghosts off his lips. Shifters were a dime a dozen here (although some fostered healthier relationships with their shifting counterparts then he did), her confusion and strange scent seem to match up in his rightly assumption that she had come from the lands beyond. “My apologies if I frightened you, I wasn’t expecting company.” He moves back enough that the water only laps at his belly, his long limbs still submerged beneath the cooling surface of the pool. “I’m Ledger. Welcome to Loess.”

Ledger

@[Brassa]
Boo!