"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
He makes his way slowly to the Jungle, dragging his feet wherever he could and keeping the fire he held so near and dear under wraps. Though he didn’t have many shits to give towards kingdom relations bullshit, he wasn’t so stupid as to show up on their borders guns a’blazing. No, for now he’d keep that his little secret until he saw if these women had a motive in dragging him here, if they had any at all. Maybe it was just a friendly steal, if there was such a thing. If anything, he supposed, he could gain some type of insight as to their kingdom workings, something he was probably supposed to care about.
He’s never been to the Jungle before, but the journey gives him no trouble. Soon the landscape becomes more and more dense, and above him he can hear all manners of tropical birds protesting his presence. He scowls at them briefly, wondering just what cooked bird would smell like. Thank God the Valley didn’t have macaws and the like. But again he refrains, closing his eyes and feeling the flames die in his belly as quickly as they’d started. Maybe he was learning something in the art of control. Finally he reached what he assumed was the border and stopped short, minding his manners and respecting the invisible lines. Learning, maybe…or simply wearing a new mask that suited him for the occasion.
flamevein
i set fire to the rain
ooc - this. is. terrible.
"Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. What I've tasted of desire I'll hold with those who favor fire." - R. Frost
09-17-2015, 07:40 PM (This post was last modified: 09-17-2015, 07:42 PM by Anguisette.)
In the days and weeks since Lagertha has adopted me, I have grown in confidence. She isn't an easy mother to please, but she allows me a lot of freedom to learn what I am capable of. I follow her every chance I get, eager to learn every bit of what she can teach me. I feel like a sponge soaking up cast amounts of knowledge I never knew existed. The paths of the Jungle have begun unraveling their tangled vines for me.
Still, it's easier for me to get lost than any of the Sisters. Sheepishly I try and backtrack the path I had taken earlier, but I am hopelessly lost. I wonder if my mother will scold me. The mountains I grew up in were never so complicated. Treachours in their own way, but not winding. But every day that life is fading, and I would have to struggle to remember.
But I do not. I was told not to, and I have obeyed.
My new world is vast, and exciting, and difficult, but I can't think of anything more wonderful.
I turn my attention back to the vines above my head, trying to sort out if any of them look familiar. Growing frustrated, I choose a direction and push forward heedlessly. Long moments pass and the jungle starts to grow wider, space opening up where flowers once were. A macaw screeches nearby and I wince. This is not the right way. I am young, not even a year old yet, and I would probably be safer by Lagertha's side but I thought I saw the black shadow again and so I slipped away.
I am about to give up and lie down when I notice a stallion. They are rare here in the jungle, and this one seems like he is waiting for something. And he doesn't look very happy about it. I move closer, my smoky black form materializing from the foliage.
“Are you lost, too?” I ask curiously, my brown eyes wide and my voice oh so serious.
She is, admittedly, feeling a little smug about the whole stealing thing. It’s her first successful steal ever … which is probably not a good thing to admit to, considering how long she’s been a diplomat, but she doesn’t care. She’s never been all that good at the politicking and subterfuge anyway, her area has always been the challenge arena.
Speaking of which though, she’d even been relatively diplomatic about the whole steal, giving him a chance to decline and all. Lagertha had asked she not ruffle too many feathers yet, which makes sense. It wouldn’t be good to offend the new Valley ruler too soon out of the gate, not until he’s shown his true colours anyhow.
She’s actually completely expecting the stallion to not show up at all, so when the scent of Valley reaches her nose on her morning trip around the border she’s pleasantly surprised. And perhaps, just a little bit more smug.
She tracks him down fairly quickly, and is surprised to see that a young filly she does not recognize has beaten her there. She spares the girl a quizzical look before grinning at Flamevein. “Flameveeeein! Glad you could make it! Come on in!” She knows she sounds overly jolly, but she doesn’t exactly care.
She turns her attention back to the kid, albeit briefly. “Hey kid, yah lost? Want to follow us back?” She can see no other reason for the girl being so far out on her own. The mother must be worried, wherever she is.
She starts to walk back into the Jungle, assuming that Flamevein will follow. Then she pauses, remembering something. “Well I suppose this is fortuitous - saves me the diplomatic trip. We’ve got a new Khaleesi - her name’s Lagertha. If you could let your king know I’d appreciate it.”
If there was ever a time for him to learn the art of making silk purses from sows ears, now was the time. He had been stripped from his element, and taken into a land strange and completely foreign. But when in Rome, do as the Romans…or some such bullshit.
There are too many damn bugs in this place. He is standing at the border, swishing and stamping in obvious agitation. Fucking bugs every damn where. It doesn’t take long for something else to swarm him too, something almost as annoying as a bug. A child, all doe-eyed and innocent looking. Of all the horses here to greet him, surely they would send someone other than a child. But he plays along, tilting his head at her. “Not lost, no, but surely a young doe such as yourself shouldn’t be wandering the jungle alone.” he says smoothly, a small smile on his handsome mouth. But another approaches, and he turns to meet her extra jolly exclamations with a raised eyebrow. “My dear Lyris, if I’d have known you’d be so excited to see me, I would have certainly found my way here sooner.” he says dryly, sweeping his gaze to and fro. Not much to see except for trees, more trees, leaves and more leaves, and of course the swarms of fucking bugs. Finally he turns back to the mare and the wandering filly. “Khaleesi. I’m assuming that’s Queen in Amazonian?” he asked, the corner of his mouth lifting upwards. Aimlessly he followed the mare forward, though in truth he didn’t have plans to stay forever. Bugs. Too many bugs. “I suppose now is as fine a time as any to tell you the Valley also has a new king. Demian. I’ll tell your story if you tell mind.”
"Only a little lost." I say, blushing. "My mama doesn't mind if I explore as long as I don't leave the jungle. And I'm not a doe. I'm a filly."
I wonder if he doesn't know what I am because he is stallion. I don't meet very many of them, and I know less about them than I do any of the jungle creatures who live here.
An excited mare comes up to then, throwing me a puzzled look. I nod my head eagerly in response to her question, and wait. When she mentions my mother, however, I speak up.
"She's my mama, the Khaleesi." I interject, my tone matter of fact. In the innocence of childhood, I assume that everyone knows my mother. Fortunately, this isn't too far from the truth with Lagertha. If this mare knows her, perhaps she will know how to get me home to her.
I listen to them talk, only understanding half of their conversation. Someday I will be old enough to know about other kings and kingdoms, but for now I just wish that I didn't get lost so easily.
ANGUISETTE the jungle princess
ooc: i am not super happy with this but I didn't want to hold you two up. sooooo… yup. :p
She’s glad to see that he doesn’t appear to be all that grumpy about being here, at least on the outside. Of course, he doesn’t seem all that excited either, but she doesn’t care about that. It had been a friendly steal - she had given him the option to stay at home. He doesn’t have to be here, so he can suck it up.
“Aw shucks, I didn’t know you cared so much.” She grins, watching the rather unimpressed look that crosses his face as he glances at the thick foliage.
The girl speaks then, and Lyris chuckles aloud. “You’re Lagertha’s kid? Aw man.” She hadn’t even noticed that the general was pregnant. Apparently everyone popped them out this past season, though who knows why. Little buggers often don’t seem worth the trouble (especially the trouble that Scorch went through).
She cocks her head and studies the girl for a moment. The kid doesn’t look much like Lagertha at all, but perhaps she’s taken after her father. Probably for the better. Lagertha isn’t ugly, but she isn’t exactly stunning either.
Flamevein is speaking again, and she perks up at his news. A new king eh? Thrones seem to be changing hands all over Beqanna. She wonders if it will bring them more peace … or end up starting conflict. She’s leaning towards the latter - things seem to be getting slightly more tense these days. “Yup, our Khaleesi is essentially our queen. And that’s an interesting piece of information. Sounds like a good deal - I’ll pass it on to Lagertha.”
She glances at the kid again. She probably should help the kid get ‘un-lost.’ But there’s still the issue of Flamevein … “I should probably get her home … you wanna come in, or are yah just going to stand there?”
No, the iron queen would never be as tantalizingly mysterious as Straia, or as feminine as Shatter Me. But she could probably kick their asses on the battlefield - so really, who’s the winner in that regard? Eventually, Lyris will probably realize that Sette is the stolen Chamber child, but until then, Lagertha will keep the secret and so far, Sette has as well. One day, she will remind the girl where she came from and why she was taken away - but for now, the child should live in blissful naivete. No need to foist the problems of the world upon her young shoulders just yet. There would be plenty of time for that later.
Lagertha hasn’t seen little one all day, and though she isn’t exactly concerned, she goes looking. It isn’t completely inconceivable for her to get lost. It took Lagertha a long time to remember just where all the paths came out and then there were the shortcuts, and some things were always changing with the growth of the Jungle. “Sette?” she calls every now and then as she trots along the various paths that lead to well known areas: the river, the clearing, main entry points to the border… finally on the last couple of tries, she picks up Sette’s scent. Oh good. Not that Lagertha was panicking. She most certainly does not panic. Nope.
Again, she calls out to the girl, perhaps drawing her in and saving Lagertha the journey to the border.
