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Post by data-bull on Apr 14, 2017 18:14:30 GMT -6
For the Last Time
Rating: G (Language)
Participants: Alvaro, Rose |
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Post by data-bull on Apr 14, 2017 23:40:18 GMT -6
Rose
Wisps of breath curled into the cool air, their warmth dissipating quickly as Rose made her way. The twittering of birds overhead only made her ears twitch in annoyance; they were too loud, not to mention she was sure they'd been following her for the past few miles. White wings flapped slowly against the draft coming up from the sea, filling the air with the smell of salt. There were three of them, flying together and chattering incessantly about bird things.
"Can't ya give it a rest already!", she squealed, tossing her head in their direction. Though they were flying too high for her to reach them, they must've gotten the message as they veered away. She eyed them until they disappeared into the clouds. It wasn't the first time wild animals had taken to her, and it wouldn't be the last. Why the damnable things insisted on tracking Rose down was beyond her. A nuisance, that's what they were.
"Finally, some fuckin' peace.", the mare sighed, slowing from her loping canter to a brisk walk. Dark mud squished under the weight of her hooves, splashing against her legs as she went and leaving flecks of brown along her ankles. Running alongside the dirt road were leveled fields, farmers' land. It was unsettling to see them so sparse, though they'd likely just been planted; when she was a filly the harvest in Ghosthold hadn't looked much better. The thought made her blood boil; memories of their first years on the ice, the pain in her belly, and the chill in her bones nagged at her mind. She gritted her teeth; it did no one any good to get upset over things so far in the past. The clan had taken care of its own, without the help of those who drove them away.
Having taken great pains to avoid encountering any War-Forged who might cause her trouble, Rose was relieved when a familiar house came into view; the building's grassy roof was easy enough to spot, even at a distance.
"Hey, Alvaro!", she neighed in an attempt to get the stallion's attention. Though she couldn't see him, Rose knew he must've been somewhere within earshot. Trotting up to his front door, she called out again, pawing at the ground. The encroaching darkness was concerning; if the farmer in-fact wasn't home, she might have to postpone their visit. Her ride back to Ghosthold was leaving come sunrise, with or without her.
Post 1 | 411 Words |
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Post by ebbarie on Apr 15, 2017 3:20:23 GMT -6
Alvaro | War-Forged | Farmer
Finally, it was done. The farmer released a breath of release and reviewed the repairs on the net he had just finished in time. During the huge storm a few days ago, almost the whole construction he had built to keep the bigger fishes out of the bay in which he planted his sea crops. was destroyed and he had struggled for quite some time to repair everything.
Now the net was back in place and his plant’s hopefully safe. Hopefully.
After a last quick glance over the area he finally made his way up to the surface of the water again. The sun was low on the horizon and lit up the water in a warm, orange light. Not long and the warm light would give way to the darkness.
In the moment the stallion got out of the water his body transformed back into his normal horse form. It was a smooth transition. In one second he had elegant fins, the next strong legs to carry him over land. Alvaro quickly shook his body to get the water out of his coat but he already knew that he would need some time in front of the fireplace to get his fur completely dry again.
With long strides he cantered homewards between his fields. The way wasn’t long and after a few seconds he suddenly stopped. His gaze concentrated on his little house, to be more concrete, on his door. It was open. Not wide but still open and he knew exactly that he had closed it as he went outside.
Someone was inside. Or maybe already gone again. A thief probably?
Very careful to not make to much sound, the stallion trotted towards a window and looked inside. There was a silhouette moving in the dark room, and unfortunately it was no small one. Alvaro took a deep breath and made himself ready to burst in and to expel the stranger from his home. With all muscles tensed, he flung the door wide open and...froze. The infalling light lit up the face of the stranger and immediately all tenseness fell off of him.
“Goddamnit, Rose” he snorted and the stallion was sure that she could hear the relief in his voice. His heart was still beating wildly in his chest and water was dripping from his coat onto the wooden floor. “I thought you were a thief, or a vagabond!” he said slightly tauntingly but he couldn’t resist the warm smile that spread across his face.
Wordcount 419
Post #1
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Post by data-bull on Apr 15, 2017 18:23:17 GMT -6
Rose
She just hadn't been able to help herself; if he wasn't going to show his face she at least had to leave some sign she'd been there. Unlocking the door had been one thing, but once she'd stepped inside everything had gone dark; the moonlight barely penetrated the inky black before her. If she moved there was the risk of breaking something, but Rose thought little of the consequences as she searched about for a light source. Before she could find one, the rattling of the front lock drew her attention. No sooner had she turned to face it did she see exactly who she'd been looking for.
"Hah, who says I'm not either?", she snorted, eyeing his dripping body with amusement. "If anythin' you look like the vagabond right now, gettin' water all over the floor."
The light from the doorway still illuminating them both, he looked the same as the last time she'd visited. How long had it been? A year or two maybe; he never changed. It was reassuring, knowing that someone like him could exist; just a simple guy with a simple life.
"Dry off before you get sick or somethin'.", the mare grunted with a shake of her head. "And where in Kaia's name is the damned light in here?"
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Post by ebbarie on Apr 16, 2017 6:10:31 GMT -6
Alvaro | War-Forged | Farmer
An amused twinkle came into his eyes and he raised an eyebrow. “Oh well, then maybe I should lock all my valuables away and get myself to safety, huh?” the stallion asked laughing.
“I do have to apologize m'lady, I did not expect any visitors today or else I would look more presentable.” With that words he walked right past her to the fireplace, but not without shaking his body once more when he was right beside her so that the water drops flew in all directions. “Luckily you aren’t afraid of a little water, right’?” he added mockingly and hurried to get the fire on. “No worries, I won’t get sick, not during the summer.”
Only a few moments later a warm light illuminated the room and Alvaro turned to his guest again.
“It’s so great to see you again! It must have been years since your last visit. You look good. How have you been?” the farmer wanted to know. It suddenly dawned him that she probably have had a long day and he remembered that she once told him that food was scarce at her clan. “Ohhh sorry, you must be hungry. Wait a second and I get you something to eat. You can wait here. Warm up and rest, I’ll be back in a few minutes”
The draft hurried into the small kitchen and quickly put together a nice meal. When he returned, he found the mare inspecting his furnishing and at first he didn’t understood her confused look, but then he realized that she didn’t knew about his new...well living conditions.
“Uhh...well...most of this belongs to my...my wife” he explained and it was still strange to speak those words.
Wordcount 291
Post #2
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Post by data-bull on Apr 16, 2017 21:16:23 GMT -6
Rose
Neighing in protest as her friend shook the water off, she stuck her tongue out in his direction when he turned away.
"That's what they all say; you'd think after all this time you'd take better care of yourself."
The Bloody Flank mare chuckled as Alvaro went about lighting his home. Questions could wait until they sat down to eat. Meanwhile, Rose's attention turned to the contents of the room. It was quaint; nothing out of place from years ago. At least, that's what she thought until her eyes found something new; some of the furniture was out of place. Most of it really; she was taken aback by it all. It certainly wasn't his, and as she inspected the strange objects, Alvaro chimed in with an explanation.
"You're... married?", she shouted, eyes wide with confusion. "But that's—you never—." There were no words, and for a beat, she stared at him blankly.
"Well, congratulations.", the mare coughed, "I had no idea you were such a mare's man." Her tone became teasing, though her eyes remained serious, boring into his.
Stepping closer, she took the food from him and placed it on the table. Without another word, Rose began eating, her body indicating the conversation was over. It wasn't as though he could've told her sooner, she hadn't visited in years after all, and it wasn't like he knew how to contact her.
She couldn't wipe the frustrated frown from her face, though she tried to hide it with a full mouth.
"You still make a damned good dinner.", Rose grunted. |
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Post by ebbarie on Apr 19, 2017 13:16:36 GMT -6
Alvaro | War-Forged | Farmer
The large stallion returned Rose’s serious glare camly. Her reaction wasn’t really a surprise to him, but couldn’t she acted a least a little bit less shocked? As if it was the most absurd idea that someone would marry him.
“Well, it’s more a recent development” he said after a while and sat down on the other side of the table. “And I have to admit, to be honest, it’s more platonic than everything else.”
Alvaro took in a deep breath and watched how Rose shoveled more and more food into her mouth and he quickly suppressed the amused smile that wanted to spread on his face. After all those years he knew her well enough to know that this would only make her even more furious than she already was.
What he didn’t understood was where her frustration came from. Maybe she had some problems at home and because of that she was a little sensitive today? He would ask her later.
“Let me explain how this happened. Her name is Luana, and one day her parents knocked at my door and asked me to marry their daughter. As you probably know, it’s nothing special here that the parents will arrange marriages. I wanted to politely reject the offer, but then I saw her and she looked so sad and intimidated and so I asked to speak with her alone. She was really reserved but after a while she opened up and told me her story. You know me Rose, I couldn’t just send her away. And so I offered to help her. She wanted to get away from the stern and watchful eye of her parents and the only way to do that without running away was a marriage.” he shortly interrupted his statement to gauge Rose’s reaction but he wasn’t able to read her face, so he continued. “We are married on the paper, but nothing more. She lives here whenever she want’s to, but most of the time she travels, so my life remained mostly normal and I’m glad about this. We are looking for another solution for her problem but until we found one the things remain the way they are.”
After he finished the story he stood up and left for the moment to get some more food for both of them.
“So, this was more than enough from me. What about you Rose? How have you been the last years?” he wanted to know.
Wordcount 420
Post #3
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Post by data-bull on Apr 20, 2017 15:41:26 GMT -6
Rose
While her eyes remained trained on the food that she continued to shovel into her mouth, Rose listened closely as Alvaro explained his situation. She couldn't blame him for marrying her; it was in his nature to help others, even at cost to himself. It would've been more upsetting if he'd turned her down because it would mean that he'd truly changed.
Sitting in silence as he retrieved second servings, the mare ignored his question at first; not because she was upset with him, rather she wasn't sure what to say. So much had happened that she wasn't sure where to start.
"Well, the last two years I've been working non-stop to keep my idiot clanmates from getting themselves killed.", she grumbled in annoyance. "Seems like I turn my back and suddenly there's twisted ankles, cuts, broken bones, running noses; Kaia knows, it's a mess."
Brows knit together with concern, Rose sighed; the clan was her life, but would it be too much to ask that they be a little more careful? Yes, she reminded herself, it would be.
"Why they can't all just learn to fix themselves I'll never know."
She snorted before going to town on the next plate. It wasn't until she finished that Rose spoke again.
"So, tell me Alvaro—because you know, I always have to ask—why don't you come back with me? I'm sure ole Gidal'd love you.", the medic smiled, "And we can always use more... level heads.", she added, rolling her eyes. |
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Post by ebbarie on Apr 21, 2017 23:10:42 GMT -6
Alvaro | War-Forged | Farmer
The stallion was glad that Rose dropped the subject and he finally began to concentrate a little more on his food to calm his grumbling stomach.
It was rarely that the mare told much about her life and the clan, and so Alvaro was always glad when she actually did. Even if her stories were mostly...well not really positive, he was still happy when she opened up a little.
“Hm...shouldn’t you be a little bit more...I don’t know, patient and...empathetic with your patients?” he chuckled. “Aren’t medics supposed to be gentle and peacefully tempered?”
They both turned silent for a while but Alvaro was not bothered at all. Rose was one of the few horses that he could sit in a room for hours in silent without feeling uncomfortable.
As she started to talk again, the slight smile on his face disappeared. Usually he didn’t mind that she asked him every time she visited, to join the clan. But this time he wouldn’t joke with her.
“Why I don’t come back with you?” he asked and this time it was his eyes that were boring into hers. “I might not care that much about Hira and the Stone Circle, but I do care about the simple people, like myself. I don’t know what bad things you might have or not have done in your life Rose, and I don’t judge you, but I know that a few weeks ago a group of heavy armoured flank warriors came here and attacked a few herders. Mares. A colt. They were saved by some bold Valkyries and they paid a high price for that. Some of them nearly died. So many injured horses and for what? The few supplies the herders had?” he snorted disparagingly. “They even took one of the herders as hostage.”
And the Flanks had send the Valkyries home to deliver their message. The Bloody Flanks send their regards. The words spread like a wildfire around the Forged. The message was clear. They felt strong enough to show himself, to provoke a confrontation.
Alvaro didn’t meant his words as allegation, but he wanted her to really understand that he would never join the clan.
“The forged are my people, my friends, my family. I will not abandon them for a clan that strives to harm them.”
Wordcount 402
Post #4
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Post by data-bull on Apr 22, 2017 0:25:54 GMT -6
Rose
Rose rose from the table, defiant; plates fell and shattered from the force of her body's motion. She was aware of the Bloody Flank raid on the Forged Herders; her own cousins had been at the vanguard, and though she had voiced her concerns on the matter they had been largely ignored. No lives were taken, but they might as well have been; the celebrations that marked the Raiders' successful return had left a sour taste in the Medic's mouth.
"I feel for those who were hurt, really I do. If it were possible to wage a war without pain then we would do it in a heartbeat.", she reasoned. "But it's not. You may have forgotten, but it was the Warlord who sent us into exile; it is because of 'er that we need to steal, because she left us to die!"
She stomped her hoof, meeting Alvaro's glare with equal candor. They had never spoken so openly before, and perhaps this was why.
"We have no choice if we want to survive, Alvaro. It's the only option the Warlord left us."
The heat that coursed through her body was like the adrenaline rush of battle, but it wore off as quickly as it came, leaving Rose to stare at the mess around her. She picked up the shards of dinnerware, carefully placing them back on the table before wiping up the remaining food with a rag. Avoiding Alvaro's eyes, she huffed and turned away from him.
"I told them not to do it.", she sighed, "But one voice against many will never be heard. The common folk of the Forged aren't our enemies. And I know that because of you."
A small smile formed on her lips, though she still refused to look at his face as it returned to a grim frown.
"We can't apologize for what's been done, we can't show weakness in our resolve. But with more horses like you on our side, we could limit the casualties."
Finally moving to meet his gaze again, the mare raised her head, nostrils flared.
"It won't end, Alvaro. The fighting will go on until the last Bloody Flank's blood paints the snow red, or the Warlord has breathed her last."
Standing close enough that she could feel his breath, Rose glowered in silence. |
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Post by ebbarie on Apr 22, 2017 2:37:02 GMT -6
Alvaro | War-Forged | Farmer
He wasn’t prepared for the pure force of Rose’s reaction to his statement, but he wasn’t really surprised. Nonetheless he winced as the mare rose to her feet in the matter of one blink. Her anger ,and maybe even frustration, radiated from her body and her face was cold. For the first time he saw her really mad.
Alvaro listened to her quietly, anxious not to interrupt her even if he wanted to say something. That could wait until she finished her explanation. He only murmured a quick “L’me help you” when she started to clean up the mess she just caused. After a few moments all signs of her rage were gone, except her still serious face.
Her next words brought his smile back, even if it seemed a little saddened. As much as he hated to argue with someone, and especially with her, since her visits were so rare, he knew that he had to be honest right now.
“And what choice did the Flanks let the Warlord?” he asked softly. “You know that your Clan wouldn’t bow before her, and Hira knew too. She had to show strength to keep the rest of the people united. I don’t approve with the decision to send the Flanks to exile, for they were and are still Forged, but I understand why she did it. It was their rebellion, and they lost. The price was high”
Alvaro let out a deep breath and their eyes met when Rose turned around to him again. “It doesn’t have to end in an bloodshed. You and probably most other members of the Clan are young, a new generation that had nothing to do with the rebellion. You could join the main herd again. Forget the thought of vengeance that the older once have planted in your head. Don’t be their tool of revenge.” he urged her. Of course he already knew that she wouldn’t do that, just like he wouldn’t join the Flanks. But he had to try at least. A war between brethren was almost unavoidable and the common folk would suffer the most, as always.
“And what happens if you manage to kill the Warlord, huh? Will one of you lead the Forged in her place?” he asked.
Wordcount 390
Post #5
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Post by data-bull on May 21, 2017 1:18:58 GMT -6
Rose
Snorting in fiery indignation, Rose refused to acknowledge his very legitimate claims. The Warlord had to die: it was a creed etched on her bones and in her blood. Any who challenged that truth were her enemies. And yet, she hesitated to burn the brittle bridge between them; as she met his blazing glare with equal heat, even she had to admit all were entitled to their say, and that Alvaro was no different.
"I think it's best that I go.", she remarked with a shake of the head. "I'd hoped to be a more pleasant house guest, but 't looks like I've only shadowed your doorway with my burdens."
Frowning as she made her way to the exit, the mare used her telekinesis to at least right those of his things that had been knocked aside by her display. Flicking her tail in brief farewell, she left swiftly, leaving no room for debate.
When faced with impossible decisions, she ran; it's what she always did. For all the things Rose was—healer, mentor, bloody-flank—she was not a philosopher; their purpose was not her's to question. She need only obey.
And obey she would, because the alternative was too much to bear alone. |
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Post by ebbarie on Jun 17, 2017 2:59:23 GMT -6
Alvaro | War-Forged | Farmer
If you haven’t found something strange during the day; it hasn’t been much of a day
He had gone to far. It was strange, usually he didn’t cared for politics, but the Bloody Flanks were a special case. The news of the captured herder had spread like a wildfire through whole Onea and it had shown that no one was safe. That the Bloody Flanks were a real thread and not even he could shut his eyes to that overwhelming reality. He feared the things to come.
“Rose wait!” he called but she had already stepped out of the doorway. Without further thinking he galloped after her. She was a Flank member, sure, but after all he considered her still a friend and he knew that she took a great risk to visit him. If a group of Raiders or Valkyries would spot her, she would get captured and probably executed, after they tried to get some answers from her. And he wouldn’t be able to do anything against it.
Rose was fast and the heavy stallion just barely managed to catch up to her. “Rose, please stay. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned that issue. You know that I don’t blame you for your origin, for you don’t blame me either. It’s just...Everyone knows what is coming, even if most of them won’t admit it. The signs point to war, a war between kin, and I fear for my family and friends, for all of them” with these words he looked directly at her.
“I don’t want you to go and I’m sorry that I have provoked you and I promise that I won’t bring up that topic again.”
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Post by data-bull on Jun 17, 2017 16:26:29 GMT -6
Rose
Rose had every intention of leaving Alvaro behind, but something in his voice changed her mind. To the tune of a defeated huff, she matched her pursuer's pace; while she strongly doubted it would be the last time they crossed words, it was natural. They were from different worlds, and it was a miracle they ever saw eye-to-eye.
"The war will come, Alvaro; whether we want it or not. But...", she responded darkly, "I hope I never have to fight you, my friend."
She sighed, letting the anger she felt slip away; nudging the hippocampus gently as she turned and plodded back to his door.
"I have to leave in the morning; maybe we can talk a little longer." the mare suggested, ears flicking. "This might be the last time I can visit... for a while."
Though she didn't say it aloud, she knew he would understand. Their meetings couldn't continue, not with the threat of conflict looming ever closer. The chance was very real that they might never see one-another again. For her, this was a final good-bye. |
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