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Post by leavingneverland on Jun 23, 2015 13:38:46 GMT -5
RAPID FIRE | CAIN & LOTUS
FALL 401, DAY BEFORE OBJECTIVE
Lotus stood with her back to the herd, blocking out the grazing mares and sparring stallions in her peripheral. If she focused on the song of the birds, or the wind rushing in her ear, she could almost pretend they weren't there. She sucked in a deep lung full of cold autumn air. This place was so beautiful; it was a shame it's occupants marred and scarred it. The stallions of this herd were intolerable, almost inhuman. The mares? They were inhuman too. In a different way. They were so subservient, so polite and demure. At least, the ones she had met. Their actions (or lack their of) made her embarrassed for her whole gender. She sighed, staring out over the rolling grass, browning now under the first fingers of winter. As far as the eye could see, open land, framed by a beautiful sea of changing leaves and sheltering trees. She wanted it all so much she could feel the pain of it in her chest. If she just picked up and went... she could. She could go, she could run now and damn them all if they could catch her. But she'd tried that twice already, and neither time had brought her a happy ending. She was still here, after all. Still standing alone, staring out at the world that couldn't be hers.
She sighed and looked away, pawed at the ground, tore up a clump of dried out grass with her hoof. Not today, she told herself firmly. But... maybe soon. |
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Post by ponybones on Jun 23, 2015 17:10:02 GMT -5
Cain inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring as he did so, taking in the crisp air, savoring it. Before too long, there wouldn't be any more enjoying the simple things, they would be thrown back into the fray. The conflict with Olde was nowhere near done. Every day, he scanned the lands at the base of the Riddle Mountains, waiting for their return. If he had learned anything about Olde during his time as a Loner, it was that they rarely let things go. Grudges festered within that herd like some sort of righteous infection, wrapped around the hearts of every indoctrinated horse that was unfortunately born within. But it wasn't an individual grudge, it was a collective one, a perceived pain caused by the other herds on the lands of Chevalin. Others would live and die for a cause that was beyond the scope of their life. His scope was immediate - in fact, the wheels were in motion now. Yet, he needed a failsafe in case there was no good ending for him. Cain refused to put himself in the same realm as the Olde's brainwashing, but he wanted his impact to last in one way or another.
There was only one way to do that - and there were certainly enough mares that would be willing to do a favor for their King, if only on a quid-pro-quo capacity, and others for the sense of power. He needed the right mare. Elowen had been distant, drifting away, and he scarcely wanted to put energy into something that could be replaced, and thus he let her go and set his sights elsewhere. Another who suffered under the rule of the Bachelor herd and needed an out, a surrogate for his own mother. He couldn't have rescued her, he knew that, but he could help others. After a while of watching and waiting, Lotus had come to Cain's attention. She was not afraid to take chances to try to escape, she was feisty and willful. Though these were not his favorite of qualities when they opposed him, with him, they could have their advantages. It was better to be an intelligent wolf than to be a complacent sheep.
Cain exhaled a breath that he hadn't known he was holding, and made his approach. Quickly, waves of her longing crashed on him and almost made him take pause. He pressed on though, until he was in distance to speak. He could only imagine this conversation would not go smoothly, however it had to be herd. No other seemed as appropriate.
"Lotus..." He said, his smooth baritone quiet but purposeful. Words were never wasted on Cain's lips.
Word Count:// 448
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Post by leavingneverland on Jun 23, 2015 17:34:58 GMT -5
Lotus heard his hooves crunching into the sunbaked mud, heard the shifting of weight as someone approached. She figured it was Abel; he was constantly hanging around her, charming her, wooing her, trying to pull her out of her shell and into his open arms. He was starting to soften her up... but now was not the time. She was not in the mood to fight off his wanton advances. She was not in the mood to flirt or argue.
But that voice was not Able's. Her ears shot forward with alarm, then swivelled back, finding his voice. Nobody else paid much attention to her. Her head spun around, honing in on the voice. A tall stallion, pale with ropes for a mane, stood behind her. Of course she knew who he was; she'd seen him practically every day for... what... a year? She wasn't sure, and she didn't really care. Because he'd never shown any interest in her; they'd never spoken, they'd never so much as shared a look. She didn't even realise he knew her name. So this - this couldn't be good. She'd been disobedient too many times. Or she'd run off too many times. She'd kicked and snapped and thrown too many furious fits of rage at too many pompous stallions. A starburst of anxiety burst in her chest. This would not be good.
She kept her voice even. There was an edge to it; there always was. She was constantly on the offensive. "Can I help you?" she asked, her voice cold and hard. She kept it short and simple. If she was really in this much trouble -- so much trouble that Cain had taken it upon himself to 'deal with her' -- well, she wasn't in any position to fan the flames. She had no doubt she'd wind up doing it anyway. Her sharp tongue often got the better of her, particularly in situations like this. The more she needed to watch her words, the less she seemed capable to do just that.
WORD COUNT: 337
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Post by ponybones on Jun 24, 2015 10:18:40 GMT -5
He hadn't imagined this to be pleasant, and by the razor-sharp edge to her words, Cain realized that it would be anything but. His face did not change, however. It remained the mask that he wore day in, and day out, not a smile crossing his lips, nor a frown. Just an icy stare from beneath heavily lidded eyes, with his ropes of mane dangling before them. Cain shook one out of his way impatiently as he stopped, not wanting to risk approaching further and being considered a threat. He generally didn't threaten until he had to, and in this case, doing so would go against the spirit of the mission. She would have to come to him of her own accord. "I had a proposition to make to you." If he was a more fearful or submissive specimen, perhaps he would have driven right ahead with his proposal, bulldozing any time she would have to make her response by laying his cards out on the table. But Cain paused and watched her reaction carefully, his gift reaching out to grab any emotion that she would give to him, but for now his skin simply vibrated with her restrained anxiety. The mare was extremely composed for how much was going on within, which the Bachelor King admired. Fear was a most unbecoming quality.
Word Count:// 224
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Post by leavingneverland on Jun 24, 2015 10:46:40 GMT -5
The anxiety dropped out of her like a stone, replaced immediately by a wave of careful curiosity. She didn't let her guard down; this could still be a trick. The klaxon still blared in her head -- she knew how these bachelor studs worked, the twisted nooks and crannies of their minds. But all the same, she couldn't hide the fact that she was intrigued. She safeguarded that curiosity, pulsing in the back of her mind like a light show. She suppressed it and flicked her tail, narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. She took a few steps forward, bringing them closer together, showing him she wasn't afraid of him. It was a bad habit she had and had never figured out how to suppress; everything she did was a challenge. Every stallion she came across; she refused to be classified as one of their brainwashed broods.
"A proposition?" she asked, her voice lilting a little as the curiosity carried her words out. "Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Whatever happened to the good ol' sex and scram?" She spat the last words out onto the grass like a hunk of bad apple, but her ears and eyes stayed trained on him. "After all, it's not much of a proposition when it's all so... one sided." She fought back the nervousness clawing at her throat, and blocked out the little voice in her head that screamed at her: 'What have you done?! This is your leader!'
No leader of mine, she thought to herself quickly, shutting the nagging voice of her conscience behind a heavy metal door.
WORD COUNT: 277
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Post by ponybones on Jun 24, 2015 11:27:18 GMT -5
You're quite bold for a slave that is coming up on your second year, with no foal... Cain thought privately as he looked at her with that calculating gaze, pale eyes narrowed on her own, carefully watching her. As much as she fought revealing herself to him, the battle was all but lost due to his gift. He could feel her curiosity and her waves of anxiety, especially after she spoke. One might easily confuse it with remorse, but Cain doubted that. She simply feared for herself, however it seemed her mouth ran away from her on its own accord. He raised his dainty head up as the mare approached him, watching her but not moving an inch, not to meet or to confer dominance. She could do her dance if it made her feel better, he wasn't one to begrudge anyone of their comfort. After all, that was mostly what he was after in the end. But after vengeance, of course. He had work to do before he simply lay back at peace.
"The kids?" Cain murmured, his voice holding a hint of amusement as he shook his head. "It would seem you would know better about what 'the kids' are calling it." He added, with an appraising look from her ears down to her hooves, hidden in the grass. "You don't know what I'm even proposing, Lotus, do you?" He asked calmly, his lips finally curving into a ghost of a smile, however it faded as quickly as it had come. He supposed this was his dance too, allowing her to vent her frustrations before having her eat crow.
Word Count:// 272
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Post by leavingneverland on Jun 24, 2015 12:58:26 GMT -5
Lotus snorted at him through her nostrils, and barely-there plumes of condensation floated out between them in the cool autumn air. The anxiety was doused by a wave of frustration and anger. Was he calling her a child?! After everything she'd been through in the past two years, she felt far older than her 19 years, and she hated it when anyone insinuated otherwise. Even the fillies her age called her 'Miss Lotus' (something was both inexplicably proud and irritated by, because did she look like a Miss?!). "Yes, I suppose I would," she replied, holding back all the biting insults flooding through her brain.
It took all her willpower not to bite back at him, to drown him in her boiling words and sharp, angry glares. "Maybe not, but I think I guess," she told him with a shallow sigh, her narrowed eyes digging into him like daggers. He wasn't the first to approach her; a mare her age, this time of year, not 'fat with child'? It drew the Bachelor stallions around her like flies to honey. They were all ready to 'put their seed in her', and to bat her about a bit when she refused outright. She didn't want any part of them, particularly not their devil spawn growing inside her. She wanted nothing to do with their raging hormones hormones. "So what do you want?" she asked flatly, not bothering to beat around the bush.
Word Count: 247
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Post by ponybones on Jun 24, 2015 16:28:50 GMT -5
He couldn't hold the smirk back from his face as she felt her rage at his insinuated insult fly out from her, a wildfire of fury and indignation. It was warm against the cold autumn air, a tropical breeze that flowed over him as her nostrils flared and she snapped back her reply. He had touched a nerve - it wasn't good practice, but somehow it amused him how easily triggered she was to anger. She was still young and impulsive, but he wasn't about to punish her for it. There was no use to punishing acts that meant nothing, and his pride was nothing in comparison to the grand scheme of things.
"Fair enough." Cain murmured, bowing his head slightly, his thin neck arching delicately as he did so, her sigh expressing everything he could ever want to know, gift or no gift. She had been through this rigmarole before, 'courted' by the charmless beasts that inhabited this herd that he claimed. "I want what most do from you, I imagine." He admitted, glancing back up at her, pale eyes staring into her, watching, waiting. "But unlike the others, I hold the key to something I believe you want very much." The Marwari lifted his head tall, his eyes scanning the span of the Bachelor terrain, from the mountains spearing into the sky, to the marshes in the south. "I would be willing to give you your freedom, in exchange for...insurance." He said softly, his voice a whisper, his gaze intense as he hoped the mare was clever enough to get his meaning.
Word Count:// 265
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Post by leavingneverland on Jun 25, 2015 10:11:24 GMT -5
The cool breeze played with her mane, brushing it back over her ruined eye, teasing it gently, and she stood strong and steadfast, her ears perked toward him. Perhaps she looked calm and calculating, unbothered by his words -- but inside, she was churning like the ocean during a thunderstorm. Feelings of pain and betrayal crashed over sparks of joy and dangerous flares of hope. She crushed them down, smothering them. Hope was dangerous. She refused to let it get the better of her. She beat back the crushing tide of rising excitement; he dangled her freedom on a stick in front of her, but for the first time in two years it was actually there. She could see it with her own eyes, feel it reaching out to her.
"I see," she said flatly as suspicion finally drowned out all else. There was no way this was real. Why would he be offering this now? What on earth could she possibly have that no other mare did? "And this insurance, she started, taking a step closer to him and lowering her voice. She didn't know why she felt the need to speak so softly, but this felt like something nobody else should hear. This felt like treason, something she would be beaten for. But of course, here she was, discussing it with Cain, the very heart and soul of the herd she'd hated for so long. "This insurance is something only I can give you? What? A foal, right? Something everyone else wants from me?" she snorted in disgust, but quickly continued. "How do I know you'll make good on our deal?" she asked frankly. "Your a bachelor stallion, your more likely to stab me in the back than not. And my baby? What of him? Assuming everything goes to plan, who's going to raise him? You? Or one of those weak willed puppets you call mares in this herd? Because I will NOT have any child of mine treating a mare the way your family does." The words spilled out of her, one after the other, in a rising tide of exuberant excitement. She was going home. She suppressed it; it was early days yet, and the odds were against her. "That is what you want from me, correct?" she asked pointedly. She didn't even let herself think the inevitable: if this was about a child, would she have the strength to leave him behind?
Word Count: 409
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Post by ponybones on Jun 25, 2015 10:43:31 GMT -5
A flurry of emotions took Lotus over after he made his proposal, even though her face betrayed none whatsoever, calm and inscrutable as he liked to wear his own mask. However he felt her pain acutely, her wariness, but the flicker of hope stretched out within...until she stomped it down. She was a smart girl - wary of letting her emotions get the best of her, and rather using logic to figure out how she should handle the situation. Cain could only imagine she had learned from experience, out of necessity.
Cain was not put off by her suspicion, as he knew the kindling for hope was still within, lying under all of the negative emotions that pushed to the surface. He could feel it there, warm but not burning like her hate. Cain just needed to extract it. He glanced around as she approached him, until they were almost nose to nose. He lowered his head slightly so they were on even playing ground, even though he stood a fair bit taller than she did at the shoulder. Lotus was the stockier of the two by far, it would be easy enough for her to bulldoze through him even with his greater height, as the Marwari stood on slim stilts of legs and one was still giving him trouble after being speared with the Olde King's gift. "It is something I want you to give me, just you." He said, his eyes narrowing. This was a slight lie, there had been two others. One he had successfully wooed, the other that he had let slip away like the tide beneath his hooves. However, it was partial truth as well - she was the one that he wanted for the second half of his plan. "There is no benefit to me reneging on this deal. I want you here as much as you want to be here, I imagine." He said softly, his voice a whisper, his eyes searching hers now for comprehension. "I will raise the child, and I have mares on my side who will help me. No weak-willed puppets, but mares you likely know, such as the one who raised your...friend, I suppose we'll call him." He said, visibly wincing at the words 'your family'. "This is not my home, and this is not my family. My mother was like you, a loner who was captured, though I escaped the event and was free until a year ago when I claimed this herd." He shook his head, stepping away slightly, looking around again. "It is what I want. You can raise it until it can be independent, or we can find it a surrogate mother allowing you to leave immediately. Your choice."
Word Count:// 466
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Post by leavingneverland on Jun 25, 2015 12:46:00 GMT -5
The mention of his mother, of the fact that he had been born fee, was news to her. Surprising news. Yes, she had arrived before him, but never bothered to wonder where he'd come from. She supposed she'd thought he was a bachelor gone on holiday or something of the sort. She didn't really care; she'd never made much of an effort to learn about this herd. They were just an inconvenient stepping stone in her life, and she had never planned to be here long enough for any of that ridiculous information to matter. She frowned at him, studying him, trying to figure out whether he was telling the truth or lying through his teeth in an attempt to find common ground. She refused to be used. But at the same time... just this. Just this one thing and she could have everything she wanted. Yes, there was a risk -- he could go back on his word. The baby could die, or come be born a girl. Or worse, she could love it. But there were always risks, and this was worth it.
Her eyes narrowed at him, a thousand thoughts running through her head. Finally, she made a decision. "I do this, I can go, and you're not gonna stop me? I'm free to do things my way?" she asked him, making sure. She knew she was gonna do it, but it felt right to ask anyway. "And the next few months, while this foal's cooking, I get protection. I don't want anybody knocking the stupid into my baby, got it?" she demanded.
Word Count: 276
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Post by ponybones on Jun 25, 2015 13:32:38 GMT -5
Cain watched her, feeling her vague surprise, and her rising suspicion. Yet the hope was still there, flickering, willing itself to rise once more like a phoenix from the ashes of her miserable Bachelor life. She was tentative, as he expected, and he waited patiently for her response. There was no rush for the act itself in his mind, it was likely his least favorite part of the entire experience, but he would will himself to do it. It was easier now that his gift was more powerful, but he doubted he would be borrowing any desire from this mare, not like the other.
Her voice brought him back to the present, and he glanced down at her again with a small nod. "As long as you deliver the child to me, you are free to leave, without fear of ever being back here again." He said with a grave expression, his pale eyes searching her carefully as the cold autumn wind picked up a bit, rustling through his ropes of mane. Cain gave a shiver and stretched his wounded knee out with a pained grimace on his face that reflected nothing of what he felt. The fact that he could still walk was surprising, and all due to that weird man-mare of Olde. "You will be under my protection, of course, and as such that of my Elites." He paused for a moment, imagining the surprise on their faces, especially when the mare only spat venom at him and the rest. "This is by no means part of the deal, but if you could bring yourself around to being slightly less acidic towards the stallions of the herd, and towards me, it would save both of us a lot of hassle answering 'whys' and 'hows'."
Word Count:// 297
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Post by leavingneverland on Jun 25, 2015 15:44:40 GMT -5
A flare of dread shot through her at his words, and she cringed a little. Deliver the child to me. She was giving up her child. Her first born. She fought it off. She could have other kids. She steeled the gnawing little voice in the back of her head that told her this was an impossible bargain. She shut it away, balled it up and left it to rot in the recesses of her mind. She nodded at him stiffly. She was actually doing this.
"All right, you've got a deal," she told him. She could totally do that -- she could speak sweetly, control her temper. It was just for a few months. And besides, maybe with Cain on her side, things would be different. She couldn't really imagine how, but she supposed she was optimistic. Maybe.
She looked at him, studied him, and then asked the question she'd been dreading. It was the question no Bachelor stallion wanted to hear. "What if it's a girl?" she asked, concern rising for her unborn child, her tail flicking back and forth to expel some of that nervous energy. "Does she get tossed aside and fed to the wolves? Or -- I'm sorry, I'm new at this 'nice' thing. Bare with me. Let me rephrase this: if it's a girl, are you still going to want it? Will she still be your heir?"
Word Count: 243
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Post by ponybones on Jun 25, 2015 16:18:03 GMT -5
He smiled slightly, as much of a smile as he could give at any time most likely, as she declared her agreement to the plan. He hoped for a strong child from her, even though she was not Gifted as the other, not yet. Though he knew he had had an advantage having his gift for nearly 32 years, upon living in the Bachelor herd, he realized it wasn't as much of an edge as he had thought. Sometimes a strong resolve and desire to beat the odds that Life gave was enough. He felt the hope finally coming to life in her, and he stole a bit of it. Hope was foreign to him, though he had always been a long-game player. It was more that he wished to be ready for any obstacles that popped up in his vision of the future, and the future of the herd.
As she asked her question, he regarded it for a moment. He hoped at least she, or the other, would bear a son. That was part of the reason there was two, double assurance, as the Bachelors would never accept a Queen. The idea of that made him bark out a laugh, and he sighed. "If it is a female, you know she cannot be my heir. But she will be a lady, and will have my protection until the day she or I dies." Loyalty was a strange beast to Cain, but he knew its feeling well, likely better than any other. His mother had been a driving force in his life, even long after she was gone. She was the reason he could be who he was now.
Word Count:// 281
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Post by leavingneverland on Jun 27, 2015 9:51:03 GMT -5
Lotus raised her brow at him with mock incredulity when he mentioned what she knew would be true. If it was a girl, there was no way she would be heir. But her question was answered, and quite satisfactorily at that. She liked the idea of her daughter walking among these heathens, untouchable, like a goddess. "You're their leader, they should accept what you tell them to," she told him, without much force to her words. It wasn't a challenge, it wasn't an insult, it was just a fact. "Particularly my daughter. She'd be strong. She could beat them all back without a second thought." She grinned to herself, enjoying the dream of it. Her daughter would be a warrior. Yes, she liked that
"Alright, let's do it," she told him with a touch of a smile at her lips. Excitement and disbelief coursed through her, pushing away the tumultuous flood of emotions that had been clawing at her since he'd arrived. This was happening. She was going to have a child. It was ridiculous. But it was happening. "Let's make a boy."
WORD COUNT: 200
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