who cares if hell awaits? Romek

[Maribel]

Who cares if hell awaits? We're having drinks at heaven's gate. The childlike charm of mare has never left her. Through her torn beginnings of foalhood, she use to entertain herself with made up little songs and stories. Names for imaginary friends were always what was within sight of the deep blue eyes. It seemed like so much time had passed before Offspring found her playing in the mud and humming to herself. Her heart is practically beating out of her chest when she enters the Tundra with Romek. Large eyes watch him and glitter excitedly with questions but she does the proper thing and bites her tongue until he can settle in. She is moving on finely formed limbs, moving at his pace with the occasional brush of skin. "Welcome to the Tundra, Romek.' Mari hushes her tone for the sake of containment, to not embarrass herself. He is nearly the same size as she so she bends her neck ever so slightly to keep the conversation amongst themselves for now. No doubt Offspring will want to meet the newcomer. A single lobe is trained to the dark stallion as the other moves to catch an approach of any other horse. "Our home can be a harsh one but beyond the cold exterior is a place of warmth and welcome." Tones are soft and melodic as she explains, catching a few glances to see his impression. With the onset of autumn, the land is coated in delicately formed ice that crunches with each pace, drawing them further into the embrace of the frosty land. "What do you think so far?" Mari asks the question openly to him. The Tundra was not for all horses but Mari would be lying to herself if she said she wouldn't mind if he left. She finds it rather nice to be enjoying the company of another horse. M A R I B E  L

[Romek]

ROMEK

First impressions of the Tundra: not so great. But then again, Romek didn’t really hold much love for physical places that weren’t all dusty, dry and covered in dying plants. This one was certainly dry, but a kind of horrible, cold dry. And they certainly had the dying plants, alright.

Mari does her typical-recruiter speech ‘welcome, our place is actually lovely’ etc etc etc. He’s been a kingdom horse for so long that it’s all second nature to him, but he can’t bring himself to not smile at the young girl, who seems so happy in herself. Was Romek going soft in his age? There would’ve been a time where he would’ve snapped, but no, he felt little guilty at the prospect of potentially upsetting her.

”Thanks,” he says instead, looking around some more. It would take a while to get used to this land, he was sure.

”It’s interesting, I suppose. It’s very different to what I’m used to, but its certainly not a bad place, in truth.” he is quite content to walk beside her and talk privately for now. There will be time to meet everybody later.

”So, tell me, Mari, who’s the King here? And what’re the castes like?” he pauses, and looks at her. ”Most importantly, how did you come to be here?”

the wanderer

this is bad but i wanted to get something up. SORRY. <3

[Maribel]

Who cares if hell awaits? We're having drinks at heaven's gate. Thankfully the ole brute did not snap for it certainly would have caused those big blue eyes to well up with tears. It is her downfall, being so soft, but Mari had not known any other way. It is true that at times the sunshine was a little less bright, the sky a little more clouded but all in all she is as genuine as she does not know how to hide emotions or harbor secrets. "Oh!" She actually bounces a little when she realizes she has yet to explain the patriarch. A smile touches her lips as she begins. "Offspring is the king. You can't miss him. He's a big ole black grump." A peal of laughter follows as she says this before noticing the stallion was probably looking at her. "Well, ah, I mean he isn't. He is a great king. He is very fair." Mari attempts to pull herself together and speak with more adult like precision. "As for the castes, we have the army and the diplomatic side. I'm sure you are familiar with what each entail so I won't bore you with the explanation. You can choose either side or simply just be a resident." She meets the stallion's gaze after a brief break to see if she can see Offspring. But as for me, well I ended up here after my father found me sitting in the Den when I was just a foal. He scooped me up and brought me here." A small nod reinforces her statement like a physical period to the words. A touch of silence sifts through the space between them like sand through cracks before she realizes she should mention something else. "Offspring is my father. He'll like you, I'm sure of it." The liquid gold of her lips spiral outward in a smile . "So don't be nervous, Romek." Not too much further inward should be the center of their home. Maribel guessed her father should be close as he was ever observant of their home. Ears move to catch his presence as she scents the air before looking back to Rom. "And tell me of yourself, Rom. What brought you to the field in the first place?" The inquiry is spoken slowly, reined in to keep out the creep of overzealous excitement. It was absolutely enchanting to have someone to talk to, someone new and from a different place with a different history. Hopefully in time, he would possibly share these experiences with the young mare. M A R I B E  L

you're words are great. im wrestling mari to keep her calm and not seem all crazy excited haha

[Romek]

ROMEK

She is endearingly sweet and bouncy, and it is a nice change for Romek. She is a breath of fresh spring air in the frozen kingdom, sunk deep into winter. She describes their King, Offspring, as a grump and he lifts one brow in amusement. ”A man after my own heart,”

She is quick to smooth over her own words, though, in a charmingly innocent way.

He makes a note to seek him out later (after all, it was always always good to get acquainted with the person or people in charge of leading you), but for now he is enjoying the young mare’s company. She explains the set up of the kingdom and the spotted stallion nods again, his golden eyes skimming over the tops of the mountains. ”Yes, I’m familiar.” he confirms. The standard setup, kingdoms too scared to break from tradition. And hey, if it worked, why not keep it?

She explains her own origin, and he tilts his head, comfortable as the silence comfortably slips between them, and she reveals that the King is her father. At this, he raises his head.
He doesn’t think he’s nervous - although really, he could be, because he hasn’t really thought about that before. Does he have anything to worry about, though, truly?
”You’re a princess,” he simply states, his amber eyes still and unreadable. ”I was a prince once. A long time ago.” it sounds so quaint, doesn’t it? It’s almost poetic – the golden-warm son of the sun, exiled to the icelands, the fallen prince, the nobody with the sand-gilded blood. A nobody was accurate, at least.

She asks why the Field – but the answer to that was obvious. ”I had nowhere else to go.”

fuck all your dreams, they’re not all they seem

[Maribel]

Who cares if hell awaits? We're having drinks at heaven's gate. "Oh Romek." The blue of her eyes roll with some sarcasm as she hints at his own unapproachable disposition. A small laugh follows as it curls her lips and she squints her eyes as though searching for something. The honey mare walks right up to Romek and peeks under him, around him and even goes as far as to nudge at the tangle on locks against his skin (the girl doesn't know boundaries)."Nope...I don't see a bit of grump anywhere on you." Mari steps back with the touch of a smile warming her features. His scent still mingled with her own, she finds that she likes it...it surely made her begin to blush -all over-. She slips from the honey hue to that of a pale pink from head to toe. Mari notices the change but she was too intent of keeping the conversation going, perhaps to draw away some of the attention she was bringing to herself. "Oh uh-", she clears her throat as her coat shifts back to it's normal wear, "But yes, I am a princess I suppose. I don't really think much about it." Offpspring was a king after all but the young mare did not care much for titles. Maribel was just fine as it was without tacking princess to it. Lobes are trained towards the dark stallion. His voice is of a low tenor, rich with age and absolutely keeping the bubbly mare's focus. "A prince? Where were you prince of, Rom?" Mari had little experience outside the Tundra. She dreamed of seeing what else lay beyond the ice walls but had yet worked up the courage to go exploring. Besides, the Tundra had everything she ever wanted right? "Well I'm glad you were in the Field or I wouldn't have met you." She speaks to the stallion genuinely. A small curt nod punctuates the sentence as she features flatten to stern (well as stern as she could be) seriousness. M A R I B E  L

your words are most perfect.
<3<3<3

[Romek]

ROMEK

She starts towards him and although his first instinct is to jump back and try to avoid all physical contact (because he is just so not used to that kind of thing, and especially not used to that kind of thing from a female - for as long as he could remember all they had to offer him were weird looks and vapid words, so there was never much mutual interest) but that simply would not do for appearances’ sake, so he stifles that urge and allows her to inspect him, and he feels very naked and bare in that moment. Perhaps even a little embarrassed. She finishes her looking with a touch, and although his skin twitches, he still doesn’t jump back.

It would seem that Maribel has the upper hand here. Romek, caught off balance (wishing that the words flowed as smoothly from his mouth as they did the golden mare’s) says a little more gruffly than intended; “That’s because the grump is on the inside. Where it counts. Though I don’t really advise examining my internal organs.”

Her coat shifts colour into a pretty pink shade, and Romek’s eyes widen and he tilts his head. But Maribel acts like it hasn’t even happened, so he, too does the same (even though he would very much like to comment on it).

She explains her situation, and Romek straightens his head, and nods. Humble as well as well-bred, hard-working and beautiful – she was sure to have many good suitors. And, at this thought, he stubbornly refused to have any kind of sinking feeling – after all, he’d lived his whole life alone, he certainly could do it again and again and again, for all eternity. And, anyway, she would never be interested in him, not in a million life-times – he was old, and bitter, and sour.

”It was the Deserts,” he says, feeling a whole lot less vulnerable now. ”I don’t know how well you know the history. Nocturnal and Krys were my parents, they were the Queens.” he paused, examining the sweet, golden face of his companion for a moment. ”For a time I thought my father was a stallion called Ilean. But it all came to light eventually. Nocturnal was a shapeshifter, you see, and took his form and tricked my mother into thinking that she was Ilean.” This is the first time he’s ever told anyone this. It was a very weird feeling, but he felt that he could not have made a better choice.

Which was also a weird feeling in itself.

”My mother had been deeply, deeply saddened by the sudden disappearance of Ilean, and she let it affect her judgement when it came to the kingdom…” he paused, and looked to the floor. If he blinked, he could see her there, moping, crying. He had been far from understanding. He had had to look after himself, and raise himself and – he had felt a lot of shame and disgust towards her. ”So Nocturnal did what she felt she had to, I suppose.” He chooses to distance himself from these choices, and try not to judge them, because it is difficult for him. Very difficult.

When he looks up, although his eyes may be just a tad more watery than they had been previously, he has recovered. ”Anyway, er, sorry for talking so much. It’s not that interesting.”

And, this time, at her words, it is him who is blushing. He looks to the floor again, shuffling around a little. Throw a shouting, angry horse at him and he’d know exactly what to say. Chuck him into battle and he would dance around his opponents with ease. But this? Genuine compliments and heart feelings and sweet nothings? It made him more uneasy than anything. Scared about letting his guard down. Scared about getting tricked into something. Scared about what may lay behind the smile.

”Thanks.” he says, narrowing his eyes a little, studying her expression very very carefully. Dare he…? ”The feeling is mutual.” he feels a hot flush envelope him, but he ignores it. ”And, erm, the Tundra is pretty okay too, y’know?”

Romek – Prince of hot places, and also of screw-ups.

fuck all your dreams, they’re not all they seem

OOC: I'M SO SORRY THIS IS SO LONG D:
But Romek is feeling new things and it's all weird to him hahaha.
lava u

[Maribel]

Who cares if hell awaits? We're having drinks at heaven's gate. Time seems to slow as she meets his gaze when she is pulling back from her caress of his skin. She does not miss the twitch of his skin nor the fact that he allows her to be so close. Mari can not help but smile in a most genuine way. He makes her feel soft inside, but warm like summer sunshine. "Not your heart, Rom." She giggles gently. "Don't even try to convince me." Though he may have thought her with suitors and he not worthy, the stallion is wrong, wrong, wrong. Mari feels herself slipping into the stallion's own pools. She does not care to look away or ever gaze into another pair perhaps ever again. The steady beat in her chest increases till she feels she may lose her breath. But young mare attempts to keep her wiggly excitement bit back but she an not help to shift in her own steps now, teeth nibbling her lower lip to try to hide the smile at is almost too big. But when he begins his tale, the smile slips away like a show of a cloud passing. Lobes are trained to him as her blue eyes are only for him and him alone. Her heart hurts when he talks of his mother and the trickery. "Oh Romek." Again she speaks his name, soft and fluttering like dove wings upon her tongue. The wetness of his eyes absolutely melts her and she does not hesitate to step forward and wrap herself around him in  the strongest hug she can possibly muster. The delicate weight of her skull across his back as her own neck is pressed against him, chest to chest. "I'm so, so sorry." Mari whispers it against his skin with the velvet of her lips, the warmth of her breath against his withers. When she steps back is when she sees he is uncomfortable, perhaps embarrassed. He moved in his place with heave hooves and a bashful looks. Mari's own eyes watch him with a furrowed brow as her concern is overwhelming for the dark stallion. "The Tundra is okay...I...I would have like to seen the Deserts." Her voice remains soft and hesitant. She is afraid that she had overstepped her boundaries with the male when she hugged him, inhaled his scent and feeling her heart beat against his if only for a brief moment. M A R I B E  L

[Romek]

ROMEK

Her gentle words, warm breath, soft skin – it’s all intoxicating to him, and all of a sudden he feels very, very dizzy – like he is standing at the top of a very tall cliff, toes hanging over the edge. He reassures himself – you’re imagining it. And she’s probably just being friendly, anyway. She seems too innocent, too sweet for Romek to think that she is purposefully tricking him… so it must just be her friendly nature. She is far, far too warm for the Tundra, he thinks, looking at those summer-sky blue eyes. She’s a slice of the sun, and he is freezing and craving her warmth.

She draws him into a hug and at first he is stiff, but he relaxes into it soon enough. It just felt… right. Like they fit together.

Is this what it felt like to be home?

It was weird. Bizarre, actually. He couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d been hugged like this – or if it had ever happened before. His heart beats very fast now, and he wonders whether the golden mare will be able to hear it. He worries he may be sweating onto her (she is so very warm). But mostly… it just felt nice. He shut his eyes for a moment, breathed in her scent, felt her soft hair against his nose.

And it’s over all too soon and Romek is left, somewhat breathless. He wishes he could thank her, or something, for her kindness, but the words are not forthcoming.

She says she wishes she could have seen the Deserts, and he smiles wistfully, nods. He wishes that she could’ve experienced it, too. It was a place like no other.
”I can’t show it to you, but I can give you its sound.” he says, pulling together every mote of power he has, to produce, from his mouth, the symphony of the Deserts – the wind (the loudest part) snaking through trees, bushes, over dunes – the quiet sweep of falling sand, and then, in the background, birds calling faintly, even insects. If she strains she will be able to hear the trickle of a distant oasis, or hear the chatter of a couple of the horses there.

He eventually falls silent, studying her expression, hoping that she is pleased with what he can offer her.
”It’s beautiful,” he says gently, reaching out to touch her nose, although he’s not so sure he’s talking about the Deserts anymore.

And, with that realisation, if a horse could blush, he would’ve. He clears his throat, takes his nose back and nods. ”I, er, should go. I’ll see you soon. Thank you for everything.” and flashes her a final smile.

fuck all your dreams, they’re not all they seem

<3 <3

[Romek]

ROMEK

With children following, he begins the journey back to the Tundra. It’s a weird feeling, having to keep to their pace. It’s nice, though, he decides. Although he realises that he really better not fuck up anymore, because these little cute things were depending on him. That’s a big responsibility. He wondered what his mother would say if she could see him now. She’d be proud, probably. He hoped that she would be proud, anyway.

Upon reaching the Tundra’s ice wall, he pauses to turn around to face Espy and Duro. ”This is the Tundra,” he says. As he walks through the ice wall, he keeps the twins close to him. It can be a little imposing, at first, and he wants to provide some comfort.

And upon entering, he walks them in, glad that it is spring and not as cold as it could be. He remembers having to unbury poor Ashr, almost frozen to death. That fate will not befall them now, at least. ”Why don’t you two go play for a bit? I think I saw a bunny hiding under some of that grass over there.” he says. ”But don’t go where I can’t see you.”

And once they have gone to play, he calls for Mari, feeling peculiarly excited to see her again.

fuck all your dreams, they’re not all they seem

@[Espeon]

[Maribel]

Who cares if hell awaits? We're having drinks at heaven's gate. When Romek slips away from their embrace, he seems to fumble, moving away from her. She can feel the air being pulled from her lungs as though he is breathing life into her through his very scent, his skin. Blue eyes are watching, confused and wet with surprise but she says nothing. His goodbye is not truly a goodbye but a to be continued. She can still smell him in her hair after he is long gone from her sight. ----------------------------- His voice reaches her long before his scent. Lobes move atop the golden crown of the delicate woman. At first she feels as though she is hearing things, an echo, a daydream, but no...there he is! Romek is on the horizon and looking for HER. Mari almost does a little squeal but bite sit back as she attempts to proverbially smooth herself and act like a lady but each little step is making her hop and pop like popcorn on the kettle. When she is closer (and thinking he may have not seen her before) she settles into a waltz-y sashay. "Hi Rom." Mari attempts to wrestle the smile from her lips but fails and it bloom brightly across the honey of her muzzle. She fights the craving, urge, passionate feeling to give him a proper greeting--a hug (after all, she seemed to have frightened him away when she touched him last time  ) so she notes this and keeps a little space. If he wanted something more than to be associates or friends...well Mari, would have to make the room for him to do so. She didn't want to potentially mess things up again with the handsome stallion. M A R I B E  L