.Perfect. [Kiss]

[corpserotten]

-Midsummer-

All there was to be heard was the gentle lapping of the waves on the golden sands, and distant call of gulls. Aqua waters spread out endlessly to the left, melting into the solid blue sky. To the right stood a massively tall cliff, grown over with jungle vines and moss, that slowly shied away as it rose up the black rock face. Black rocks that had fallen from the cliff lay scattered over the sands, and dead ahead the cliff jutted out suddenly, the waves endlessly climbing up the crumbling rock. To any beast, the land was perfect. Protected on all sides, warm with sun and radiating sands and stone, with a shaded strip of jungle. It was so perfect, a certain stallion decided to take it up as home.

The creature stood over his miniature terrain, standing on a large rock that jutted out into the sea to study his lands for other equine. Black ears swivled on either side of a thick, soft silver forelock that faded into a matching mane that hide the left side of his ebon boa. The proud animal shifted his weight, chest thrust out to the misting sea as his flints shifted and stirred on the damp rock. Coal black eyes, darker than the pit of a well, stared at the horizen, nares open to take in the thick salty air, then darted around his shoulder, lips lifted to scent the air that drifted down from the cliff above. The scent of mares and stallions. Dropping his mug once again, he looked back over his sands, turned around and gracefully leapt off his perch onto a rock bellow, then onto the sands. His prints hardly showed, and where soon eaten by the sea's hungry tongue.

Trotting back with a raising flag and banner, the snakey-beast observed his home, hoping a poor horse stumbled in. So far it wasn't looking so lucky he'd find one. It was strange, for a stallion to appreciate the invasion of his home, even if it wasn't a proper harem or herd. Just him on a small strip of beach was all that was worth protecting. Of course, those silly animals didn't know that all he cared about was himself. They saw a strong, elegant beast who wanted to help a poor lost soul. All he was really looking for, was a fresh toy.

The stag had a long history of these toys, most of which were either killed, learned of his tricks, or suddenly ignored and forgotten. He took stallions and mares, swooning both, promising whatever it was they wanted, a share in power, friendship, a mate, a foal... anything. He'd butter them up, praise them, act kindly, give his promise, then take. Anything he wanted, he'd take. Once they loved him, once they fell under his powerful stare, they were his to do as he please. Some caught on and fled, most were too weak or petrified of life alone and stuck by him until he was bored. The stallion, Pornographic Values as he's grown to become, has gone through many, many toys.

[/color]

[Crow'sia]

Teheki had not seen her brother is such a long time that she was actually becoming distressed. How could she do anything without him, it was quite a worrying realization. For the past few nights she had been wandering about a searching for him. She’d had little sleep, and hardly anything to eat and her legs shook every now and then with stress and by now she had decided to stop and let Ontaria come to her. If he ever would.

She had picked the most perfect place to stop. The sun was warm, and cliffs looked like they protected the beach from harsh weather, she could even hear the ocean crash against the rocks like some eerie song. She bent her head down to the earth and moved her gray muzzle over the ground pulling up a few strange looking shoots of grass. Or, it looked like grass, the jungle-like façade of the forest in front of her made Teheki slightly wary, but whatever it was it tasted fine and she repeated this process until her stomach bulged. And hunger satisfied, Teheki meandered over the landscape until she could actually touch the ocean, slipping over rocks carefully and sliding into the water.

She had managed to slip into a rough lagoon among the rocks and beat her thin legs pleasurably to cool off. Had she sunk into the water in any old place Teheki considered, watching the waves break against the cliffs, that she would have been thrown against the rocks and killed. That was certainly a negative to the ocean. She paddled to a sandbar and stood peering about the beach. Something onshore caught her eye though and instead of continuing to scan the shore her eyes narrowed and she strained to she what it was she was looking at.

A horse!

[corpserotten]

(Ha, you like Values, don't you?)

It looks his hopes were vanishing for finding a new game to play. Rather, a new version of the same game. Like poker. He turned his mug around to see if he could see any of those far-away shapes. those funny looking horses. Far afar, they really did look odd. This shapeless carcass on four skinny stilts, with a deformed tumor rising from one side. He saw nothing but the jagged rocks, and the faraway island.

His skull swung back around, his gate moved into a steady trot as it was before. And there. Moving into the shallows was a horse. Near enough for it to certainly be a horse. The salty air stole the scent, so he paused to study the creature. It seemed tentative enough, rather calm, actually. A fairly typical horse-mood. It seemed safe. With an arched spine and waving tail, he trotted closer, almost prancing. Once her scent reached him, he relaxed. A mare. Sure, they could kick and bite, but biology says stallions are ornery and strong. He steadied his hooves to a strong walk, circling along the lapping shoreline, around and towards her side. Perhaps today, was the start of a very fun game.

"I never expected to see a mare down here alone." He commented, circling further until he was perpendicular to her, his muzzle angled at her muzzle. "I don't mean to frighten you, I'm just not used to other horses in this area, especially mares." It was all an act. It was the perfect act. It was good enough for Hollywood. "I'm so sorry, my name is Values."

[Crow'sia]

Ooc; I truly do.
‘The salty air stole the scent’; that is disconcerting, I was going to say something similar in my first post but thought I’d save it. -dies-

The mare waded closer to shore slowly exiting her lagoon and if she had known the intentions of the stallion, the lagoon might have been a metaphor to comment on her safety. The smell of the salt hindered her ability to detect gender, but she found this did not bother her. For a moment though her heart had leapt with delight, perhaps it was Ontaria! But she was filled with sickly disappointment as she came closer and could make out the other animal more clearly for his or her fur pattern was far too dark. Teheki paused upon this realization, the water just scraping the bottom of her gut now (hey, she swam after eating XDD) and stared at the stranger. She took in a breath, deciding that the animal had to be male from its size and decided to remain a safe distance away in case he were unstable. Of course, trying to flee through deep water would be rather ludicrous.

He too was coming closer, and sort of rounding on her. Teheki’s ears dropped back and she eyed him suspicion. I never expected to see a mare down here alone. Soon they were standing face to face. Teheki, like Mes before her, was rather dumbstruck. In fact she blinked rather stupidly, assuming the stallion (yes he was a stallion) always had that affect on people she might forgive herself later, he was rather striking. But instead of swooning Teheki let out a sound similar to a growl and essentially flailed backwards into the lagoon, always remaining in a line with him. She bowed down her head and peered up to the sky, and to what might be an angel if she knew what one looked like. Her brown eyes narrowed into curious slits. Apparently he thought she was frightened.

I'm so sorry, my name is Values. “Charmed,” the mare drawled, her muscles relaxing she raised her head. For the moment she saw no threat. She considered for a moment what she might say, had she been feminist, perhaps she would have questioned his apparent bias towards females. “It’s fine, I thought you might have been my brother. His name is Ontaria,” she informed the dark stallion needlessly. “Mine is Teheki. But he is not quite as, hmm endowed, as you seem to be. So no, clearly, I am wrong.”

[corpserotten]

(I'm glad you do. ^^ And eh, it's not so shocking. I mean, it's the ocean. It tends to have salty air. It's miserable during a red tide, though. Everything goes rotten and lots of dead things wash up, which is nice for me. That was a pointless ramble. Oh! And, out of random curiosity to avoid sucking, how did I do on Hurt's post?)

Value's muzzle swung around to face the shoreline, silver dreads hugging his neck from the wind. It wasn't strong, just enough to make his head toss to the side to remove his forelock from his visage. She was a pretty horse. Most were he found, for one reason or another. When you're a slut, anything can be beautiful. Values just preferred to think of it as.... an artistic state of mind.

Now, time for the plotting. The real plotting. He had to memorize as much as he could about her. Her brother was missing. That was good, it gave him a very good reason to be around her. The trick was to find a weakness, and promise to fix it. He could promise to help her find her brother, protect her in her travels. Two horse's traveling was much safer than one, and if one was a stallion... it would at least deter other stallions from bothering her. He had to list all the things he could offer her, but not tell her all of them. She had to find some on her own, as proof he was only trying to help. Ha, help.

"I'm sorry to have gotten your hopes up." He said, almost solemnly. Just enough sound true. "What happened to your brother... if you don't mind me asking?" He paused, thinking. Did he offer now? Maybe that was too forward, too desperate. Values decided to wait.

[Crow'sia]

For a moment his attention seemed to turn away from her, and Teheki had to admit she was a bit relieved. Not to say stallions frightened the mare, but her instinct, like many a female, told her to be cautious and she watched him both with this caution and with intrigue. As he answered her, she waded passed him out of the water, and glanced back, eyes on the horizon (you know, I never thought of this, but we all have always seemed to make the sun set over the ocean, meaning if NSE is in the Western Hemisphere, the shores are in the West. XD and vice versa is the Eastern.) and then on him. Values practically sparkled, and she flashed him a loose grin. Nonetheless, in the field of trust he still had a long way to go, her eyes had immediately narrowed to watch his every movement and when she had passed Teheki spun her ears to listen to him. Yes, her hopes had been up, it was quite the disappointment. He continued.

Teheki did not reply. She continued to wade, the water becoming shallower and shallower, the ground more and more rocky, and she concentrated on her footsteps, forging a path around the larger boulders. When the mare reached the shore she turned and called back, “I don’t know! He’s disappeared!” Her tone was unnaturally light, like it lifted from her body when she shook of pearls of water. She assumed immediately Values would follow her as he had into the water., she was quite certain about this. “We’ll run into each other eventually, always do. Why is it you care?”

OOC; This would be longer, but I thought I'd spare you rambling pointlessly with description until I'm into the swing of things enough to write something that significantly contributes to it. By the way, check your messages on here, if I have procrastinated I've probably mailed you. ^^

[corpserotten]

(Already checked it, and that was a perfectly fine post. I'm sure mine will be a bit wounded-looking.)

Black pools watched her, moving in their sockets until his head was forced to turn around. Make them feel in control. Don't let them think you're forcing anything, let them think lead the dance. It was the most important thing to know in this game, that you must know you are in control, and know they think they are. Poker of the Gods.

His nape arched back, his chest snaked after. His limbs lead him around in a tight turn, where he stood to watch her sway towards the shore, like a ship with a ghost crew, abandoned and desolate to die alone. Of course, Values wouldn't let her sink just yet. Waterlogged stilts rose from the thick sand, and stepped over a rock, eyes watching below the sea to be sure he didn't stumble. Once he found a clear path of sand, his optics flit to her figure.

"Disappeared? I wish I could say I knew what it felt like." It was perfectly true, and quite handy. Values never knew his siblings, and thusly never felt their loss. His mother and father, that was natural. Every horse could compare to that, and instinct had limited the pain. "If it would at all repay for your broken hopes I could help you find him." He finished speaking just as his hooves moved too far for the ocean's waves to stroke. Porno shook his body free of water, black coat all the darker with the soak, making his dry pelt look dull and flat. "I only care that I haven't done any damage on another's hopes, and I've spent several moons alone, it's not often I find the chance to do something of use."

[Crow'sia]

Her feet cleared the wet sand as she moved further away from him with a very final pop as the last hoof broke from the suction. Her ears were still turned to him, but again she was not, Teheki moved away from the rocks, having noticed the wind was picking up, typical for the summer time, to the side of a very large cliff for shelter. I wish I could say I knew what it felt like, she heard him say on her journey, and she wondered briefly why. In a way it was pain, only because she was disturbed that she did not know of Ontaria’s state, alive or dead. And dead was a very real possibility in the wild. Yet in another way it was annoyance, for they had always been together, two strange pieces of the same animal, and she was frustrated he had not yet found her.

She observed him as he left the water after her, smiling, knowing he would. Somehow, soaked like a rat he still looked like an angel, only a much sicker one. Still, she might have rolled her eyes at him, he seemed to be so honourable, a proper stallion, or a player, she cared for neither at the moment. Teheki locked her legs so that she could relax her muscles, and she decided she would play along although made it quite obvious that she did not take him serious. The underlying sarcasm of her looks sickening without subtly. She liked to be direct, and yet she also liked to, excuse the simply language, screw around. “Yes, good sir, I think you owe me. So you will escort me through this awful, dreadful place then?” She sort of peeped around then, if it weren’t for the looming giants around her, the place was similar to a paradise, quite ironic considering her description. “My poor heart can take no more of this. If I am let down once more I might just die!”

Tensing her body she made a strange sort of movement, like a heart attack or seizure, half collapsing and catching herself. When she was done this she had spun away from the stallion. She turned her head awkwardly over a shoulder laughing darkly.

OOC; Rotfl! I’m not sure if it’s even her personality, I hardly remember her. XD It’s like, Crow’sia coming through. Poor Crow’sia, all dead, basically. She’s like, twenty something.

Edit; Brushing up on her persona, I can explain all her weird behavior if need be, wonderful. ^^

And I just added a period a forget.

[corpserotten]

The stallion's lips twisted into a horsey-smile. It made his sharp, dark features lighten, and give him a youthful attraction. A rolling laugh sounded in response to her, not a cold bark. If he had proper manners, he'd actually be a decent horse. He flicked the last drips of water from his tail and nodded, trotting after her. Keep her in charge, but keep the control.

"Some say sarcasm is the lowest sort of humor, right beside puns." He smirked slightly and stretched his neck. "It would have fallen flat had you not pulled out with that flail. Perfectly composed, with just the right amount of spazz." Truly, her final movement had been amusing. Perhaps not what had been planned, but amusing none the less.

Values shook himself again and shifted his weight, leaning against a rock slightly, just down the beach from her. "So, can your poor heart take offering a bored stallion something useful to do? Perhaps it would mend your aches to have another along." He added, voice dampened with sarcasm to mimic hers.

[Crow'sia]

Teheki smiled again, happy to be an amusement, reminded of the times she let herself loosen up and let her guard down. For a moment it made fury course through her, fury with herself; nonetheless not being a mare to become easily enraged the feeling lifted from her like smoke and drifted into the sea. As he came towards her, he derided her about sarcasm, however she did not feel belittled. He was playing with her, and not in a bad way, and she nodded quite happily. Aw, compliments, they were music to her ears despite every warning they carried. “Yes. I’m brilliant, aren’t I?” she chimed.

She rotated her body then, moving her neck off her shoulders and again relaxed. Values seemed to do the same, although as she closed her eyes for a moment, one remained half open, ever watchful. “I think it would give me time to repair the damage you have done, not having to protect myself,” Teheki’s voice continued to sing, but kept the same sort of humour about it. However her face said that she was serious despite their jokes, she wanted him along.

And she closed both eyes then and simply listened, considering a response. The ocean made a gentle noise, and the odd bird, and yet this was so quickly ignored. “Shelter and rest, until tomorrow.” It was hardly a suggestion, now Teheki meant business. She had so much to do, and so many curses to scream at that deserter she called family.

OOC; I always forget the time of day, but I think I made the sun start to set, WTH? XD Whatever.

[corpserotten]

Well, this mare apparently had no problems playing her role of being in charge. It was an easy enough role to act, say what you want and keep it that way. The challenge really was letting someone do that, with little to no complaints, especially with an ego, and Porno seemed to have more ego than mass.

With a nod, he pointed his muzzle down the beach. "The trees down there serve as good shelter, and the water never comes past unless there's a flood." Down the ways where he pointed was a pile was what looked more like a rundown shack growing saplings from it. The recent flood had torn the small groves apart, but the skeletal trees and balancing branches should be enough protection. "The grazing isn't too good down here either." He shook his withers and turned, walking towards the stated direction. After several paces he looked back at her. "Was it just searching for your brother that brought you down here?"

[Crow'sia]

She followed his gaze even before he had said a word, but only found the strange cluster when he heard what Values meant; after all, they were looking from different vantage points. Torn apart, trees ripped out of the earth their roots in the air, the whole structure of the mound looked relatively stable and yet somehow she was unsure. Teheki narrowed her eyes at it, about to walk towards the mound for a thorough inspection. "The grazing isn't too good down here either." She nodded, following behind but picking up speed to overtake him, “I’ve noticed that,” came her reply and Teheki arriving steadied herself facing the stallion. Then, shifting her weight in the ground for support lifted onto her front legs and kicked as hard as she could at the structure. It shattered and creaked horribly, threatening, but held strong, only dust and small debris sprinkling around. She trotted from its shadow, satisfied.

It was then that she realized he had continued speaking even when she had made her way for their quick destination. She searched her brain for what it was, and click, the sentence came flying in clear as a moonlit night, with a silver haze. “I often wander, what are you suggesting?” Teheki nodded at the shelter as she spoke eyes greedily seeking an entrance but finding none she was motioning Values to show her the way. As she waited, she flicked her tail impatiently, furthering her knowledge of the mound. Certainly it would keep out the wind and conceal them from predators. She smiled, intending to remember this place for the future. Pending the state of its underside, she was quite sure she would be making a return visit.

Teheki wondered though, although the shore showed no sign that the tide could reach this high on the most erratic of days, would this be such a safe home to come to when the summertime hit? The storms, she well knew, were always something to talk about here.

[corpserotten]

The ebon steed watched her inspection lazily. Of course he'd tested it. Did she honestly expect him to stay in some raggedy box of twigs that crumbled at the slightest breeze? Surely he was coming across as a bit brighter and... more important than that. His ears flattened momentarily at the idea, then re-awake upon his crania. It did show how much she trusted him, and that seemed very little. It was a good gauge, she allowing him to travel with her, protect her when more mares would flee the sight of a stallion. But not too much, so far... he felt he'd made some good impression.

Silver locks bounced as he trotted around her and the structure to the side of the cliff, where a palm had been torn up and now slouched against it, creating a sort of door one could easily pass through with a simple duck of the head. He hauled just outside, peered in and figured that loud kick would signal the presence of a larger beast to anything that hid inside. And wolves never came to the beach. His mug swung through the air to face the dam, and he shrugged lightly.

"It's a beautiful destination, the beach, but most don't like the effort it takes to get here. I was only curious if you preferred to wander for wandering's sake, or just had nothing else to do, and of course... if you'd heard your brother was around this area."

With a simple nod he left his answer unimportant and dipped his muzzle to pace into the shelter. It was relatively small, but comfortable for two horses, maybe even three. Several larger logs leaned in the middle, supporting the ceiling of other fellow tree parts and fronds. The ground had mostly been cleared by animals, but some larger parts remained scattered.

He moved to the far end and eased onto his knees, then belly. "What exactly does he look like?"

(This was actually much better than I thought it would be.)

[Crow'sia]

She turned as he circled around her and the structure, following him to see the entrance, the only truly unprotected part. Fortunately, it was close to the cliff in such a way that it would be difficult to discover. He was talking again. “I’ve not,” she said simply, following Values to the doorway of sorts. She peered into the darkness. A little light shone through and shattered on the foliage but otherwise her eyes would need some adjusting. With a final glance at the horizon, she followed him in.

It did not take Teheki long to be able to see clearly and the size of the shelter. It could fit a small number of horses, and might be suitable for foals if food was more plentiful. In general though she had already noted how this part of the beach was quite sheltered itself, and how useful it would become in the future. A smile slid across her face and vanished very quickly. Soon the future would begin.

The mare moved to lie parallel to him, flicking a frond from her face. She wondered if she should really be standing, should they need to flee, but realized quickly that with a single entrance they would always be trapped. With a soft thud she slid to the floor, shifting debris to be comfortable. While their species needed little sleep she thought it better to wait for morning when the light would aid their search.

And now she must remember her brother. “He is very thin, like me,” Teheki began thoughtfully, remembering how they sometimes looked sickly. “And light, I guess he has a few dark sort of markings by his face. He’s very unique, he’ll be easy to spot.” Of course, this meant nothing; there would be some much land to cover. “I think perhaps we should go to the herds first, their leads might know something. Of course, they might chase you out.” This she thought was very clever, she could see the lands easily and relatively safely, and perhaps even make some ‘alliances’ as well as gather information on her brother and current affairs. The real danger came with Values, who she needed to keep her safe when traversing through the lands of other stallions, who might try to take her. Unfortunately, she knew they might also try to drive him out. She looked at him kindly then, almost sympathetic.

[corpserotten]

Values stretched out his nape and forelimbs, making himself comfortable. The shelter creaked as he leaned against the side of it, looking over at her lazily in the dark. All that could be seen of him was his silver locks, shining optics, and the occasion patch of light that filtered in through the cracks that gave way to the floating particles. The air stirred with each breath he made, hot and damp.

"Most stallions seem not to mind if it's only a short time on their land. Too damn gentle to chase someone out. It's all too easy to steal a land from them." Of course, Values had no real desire to own a herd. Sure, it would be nice to have all the mares he could control, and the whole power would be fun, but then you were responsible for all of them, and his games would have to come to a halt. Still, the idea was fun to play with.

"Where did you last see your brother?" He asked, just to keep the conversation going. the longer they talked, the quicker he could get her to trust him and relax. Just befriend her now and make her feel as if there was no threat. At the moment it was true, there was nothing to worry about, but it was always possible for her to catch on and grow weary. Just because she's letting him protect her, didn't mean there was ounce of trust yet, and Values had to continue to remind himself the fact.