Straightforward Ambition ((COMPLETE)) « Thread Started on Jul 13, 2008, 5:02pm »
The scrunching of hooves on gravel was almost masked by the howling of the wind that sheared about the mountain face. From here she had a perfect view of the valley below, though admittedly some difficulty drawing breath. It was more due to the fact that no solitary piece of air would hold still long enough for her to breathe it, than that she was out of shape. That was, anyway, the story she'd believe.
The paint mare kept her eyes -rampantly green- glued on the path ahead of her, Her mane, white and blonde, whipped around her face, and her tail around her hocks, but she wasn't concerned of the wind blowing her off the narrow footpath that spiraled around the sheer mountain face. By the time she got into position that it could blow her into the gorge below, there would be several tonnes of rock interposed between her and it.
Watermark was like that. Adamant that logically, there was no reason to be afraid- even when common sense would be right in telling logic to go stuff it. She knew that; she was just using whatever was handy to get what she wanted. She also knew that whether she worried or not would have no effect whatsoever on her falling to a sticky doom- or not. Paying attention would, and being lucky.
Pay attention to what you can change, and don't waste your resources on what you can't. That was her philosophy. Beyond it just being good advice- she needed every spare resource she could get. Her other defining characteristic was ambition.
That was the reason she was currently climbing a narrow path along a sheer cliff. More indirectly, it was the entire reason she was currently futzing about in a strange land, with almost no inhabitants, and had been doing so for... most of her life, actually. It was the thing she had gotten stars in her eyes about as a young filly, instead of brave and handsome stallions; it was the fortune she set out to seek, three years before; every action was completed to further it, and it drove the furor in her eyes and the wheels in her brain. Bad jokes had been made about Watermark being out to rule the world. They were bad because they were mostly true.
Too long walking made her brain drool. Ai yaaaa, that had made a lot of sense. Scrunch goes eyes, pound goes forehead, shoulder muscles complain about being overused. It had been a while since she'd hiked up a mountain. Too much flatland had made her soft. She'd like a little more flatland anyway, please. Ooogh...
The bronze paint wrenched up an eyelid and scowled at the path ahead. It took an abrupt bend in and hopped straight up the mountain. What was this built for, goats? Probably. Judging by how few horses she'd seen around. Yippee. Hadn't she had something better to do than hop straight up mountains? Power. Yes, that was obvious. Why would power be lurking around here, instead of somewhere less steep? She heaved a growling sigh. Because this was where the rebel royalty lived, It came out fast and pendantic and- and snotty, like a kid: Be-cause-this-is-where-the-re-bel-roy-al-ty-live. Andante.
The bronze-and-white, striped femora growled and bit her lip. Alright, no, she was not as in control of her temper as she thought she was. Her inner snot chided, And why didn't you stick with 'neutral', eh? They're the only ones that don't require hiking around on mountains anyway. Her inner b*tch snarked, Because it sounded cooler. Because I'll end up tromping around on mountains anyway. Because it had the best odds of actually running into anybody, and subsequently being able to get along with them. Because I frickin' felt like it. So there. The rest of her formed a coalition governent and sighed, Oh, just shut up.
The eagle sitting on the butte the path went up through cawed, "Yes, just shut up." Eagles don't go caw. Crows go caw. What do eagles do? What's the name for it? Whatever it was, it did it. And took a shot at her doing so.
Not bothering to try and figure that gem out, she lunged and snapped at the bird. It squawked -she did not care whether or not eagles actually squawked, she said it did- and flapped off. Ears pinned to her head, she decided that since she already had half of her up the blasted slope she had better get it over with, instead of just standing around babbling until the wildlife starts making sarcastic comments. It had been too long a day. She scrunched her way up the incline, thinking with swollen eyes that this was not going how she had planned at all, and her triumphant entry would have to be delayed until she got some sleep and started making sense. ------
Re: The Straightforward Route Is Better « Reply #1 on Jul 13, 2008, 6:40pm »
She had struggled up the rocky scree for about a half-hour longer; her patience failed before the light did, and she'd dug a little dent in the gravel as soon as the path leveled out enough that she wouldn't go rolling downhill in her sleep. It was still dark the next morning when she awoke, stiff and cold, to look around her.
She'd apparently broken into the glacial plains the mountains were guarding. Or, would shortly. She was still on the rim. An hour of bleary-eyed hiking later, she set hoof on soft, grass-covered loam. The cool dew was heaven. By then, the birds had woken up and were darting back and forth through the dark trees. The wind in here was much softer- actually livable, but still swooping along, making the trees dance like the shadows of fire. The soft grass in the prairie rippled like waves; she could still hear a few late crickets in the deep blue, predawn dusk. The moon hung high in the sky, bone-silver and with a little sliver carved off one side. Where the mountains blocked the eastern sky it was palest, not yet yellow, but a pretty cornflower that was about the same shade as the daytime sky but significantly more purple.
The femora sighed contentedly, and obliged her still-sore eyes in slipping shut for a moment. She navigated with her ears and the feel of wind and almost-mist on her patched, strangely striped hide. It was peaceful. She had entirely forgiven the mountains for being steep and rocky and uncomfortable. She'd figure out the least painful route down soon enough.
She might ask the stallion that called this place home. She could smell his trace, now, but not his presence. So there was a Rebel King already... Her green eyes drifted shut as she tried to divine more about her potential running-mate. He was young. Younger than her. And alone. Dead flat alone. If this land had been heavily inhabited before, it was long enough ago that she couldn't smell it.
That would mean her chance of success would be high. Which was the strategic reason for betting on this practically abandoned world, instead of one that was thriving. Here, she could still make a mark.
Watermark's eyes snapped open, and she snorted appraisingly. She'd hang around and wait for this Rebel King; he'd probably show himself once it actually got light. Until then, she was going to acquaint herself with the topography. She was hoping -strongly- that she wouldn't be leaving here without having rights to come back. As Queen.
The lands were still, silent, nothing more then usual. He was tired of this, tired of trying to have the luck of a King. He was tired of living, tired of breathing, and tired of thinking, but he was not tired of pursuing his dream. His dream to open 'paradise'. Paradise a land so full of freedom, where no boundaries lay of horses of a different color. He would accomplish that dream, he wouldn't need anyone to back him down. Well, a few horses wouldn't hurt. But that's where the problem started. There was no horses to claim, far and near. It was pathetic. He did have two queens, and both mysteriously disappeared. It was aggravating to say the least.
The sounds of roaring winds came to his auds. Ears perked up, listening to the screaming tales of hatred. Down beneath the mountains it as so calm, mountains circling all around, the moon at the highest peak. It was so beautiful. Kiba glanced up, sighing, looking at the ledge that overcast the rest of the rebel lands. Disappointed, he headed up.
The rocks leading up to the ledge were jagged and sharp, wanting to cut though your every vain. Immediately his mane whipped across his neck, lashing at every spot. Kiba winced in pain as he kept moving along, against the wind, his tail flowing behind him, knotting at every corner. Before long his only light disappeared behind the clouds. His footing was misguided as he stumbled upon his bare stomach, cursing in vain. As he emerged up, cuts bled the fiery red, indicating blood. Kiba glared, Dam*it He continued on, despite the agonizing pain.
He glanced down among his herd, or more of what was left of his herd. Vegetation covered the land in a vast amount. Trees offered protection and shade, and the overhead rocks gave a home.
It wasn't too much of a trek, he was well fit and in shape. Nothing could stop him not now. Not even the wind could slow him down. His confidence soared higher than before as he began trotting up the mountain, nearer to the top came his award, easier footing..
Nearer, and nearer came his destination. The ledge loomed ahead, the bright beams of the moon casting a blanket over it. The stallion smiled, his heart pumped when he remembered the time he claimed these lands.
Kiba made his way to the smooth ledge, a larger copy of himself cast his shadow upon the lands, the moon to his back. The stallion leaper in the air, his forelocks cutting through the air like knives. His mane whipped widly in the wind, his tail, a banner, straming high as if a flag. Fog incircled him, giving him an erie feel. The stallion landed with a thud across the flat platform.
An undescribable scent came to his nares. A femora perhaps? Kiba gave a light smile as he watched the silouette of a horse ponder into his lands. Kiba leaped up once again giving the ultimate call of fury. He turned away from the ledge, his white pelt now dark as he headed back down the mountain.
OOC- crappy IK, sorry it took so long.
« Last Edit: Jul 21, 2008, 9:33am by MD;; Jazzeh »
The brindled paint mare trudged across the shadow of a copse of trees, blinking steadily as time, plus the cool, moist air, helped open her eyes. The muscles in her shoulders still burned, and she could feel the mitochondria in her cells reel- it wasn't so much she had pushed them too hard too fast, but too far too long. It didn't bother her. Steady, bone-deep exhaustion was something she'd become accustomed to over the past two years. She didn't pay it much attention, but never really forgot about it, either. It was perpetual, obvious, much like an old neighbor that always sat on their porch at a certain time of day, rain or shine -Oh, hello, it's you again- -Yes, indeed, I usually am- She kept checking up on it, only to keep getting the same answer, plus a little cheek.
Watermark blinked heavy eyes at the catapulting swallow dark against the lightening, cornflower sky, and figured a blurred flicker at the bottom of her sight wasn't something on her eye. With a sharp flick, she cracked the vertebrae in her neck, blinking a couple of times in rapid succession, trying to wake up further. The smoke-ish, ravelling shape, stretched out crumpled over the grass like a discarded piece of cloth, was apparently a shadow. The current half-light was not really good for shadows, as everything was partially in it, but it still seemed to be there and need dealing with. A little more lucent, the five-year-old pinned a difficult strand of straw-colored bang behind her ear and followed the thing's roots back, until she lost the trail in the tougher shadows that huddled sensibly below the overhang of a ledge. She took a wild, improbable guess, and jumped green eyes straight up the cliff- to lock immediately on a fleabitten Arab stallion with ghostly hair flowing in the morning mist before the moon.
So this is him, she thought, still unsurprised at anything, the superpower of the sleep-deprived.
She couldn't be sure how long she stared, but she started when he screamed, her eyelids deciding to retract from the world for the sin of nearly closing. That wasn't particularly sensible, either, she thought, shaking her head thoroughly. She wasn't as awake as she'd thought. The stallion turned to walk away up on the ledge. She could see where the rocky path wound away, though where it ended was lost behind trees. That was close enough to guess, she thought, and lurched forward once more.
The sun emitted from the clouds, blank stares came from the clouds it hid behind. The sun illuminated the lands for a few seconds, only to leave the world at a subtle morning gray once again. The brute slowly made his way down the path, immedianty the bare terrian was covered by trees, and the hilly slope was now flat, blending with the rest of the territory. The brute gave a sigh, his heart barely beating hard, sweat covered his sides, but the cool chill laid it right off. A sound of hoofbeats resounded throughout the land, he glanced up, only to see a mare coming toward him, the same sillouete he had seen earlier.
He arched his neck, strong muscles pulling to the ground, his front left leg crossed his right leg, completing a bow. He raised his neck back up, 'Lo, femmora. MightI ask of your name? He asked, judging by the slight, she wasn't here to fight. There was no one to fight anyways.
[omg. just got back from strength & conditioning. lifted weights for an hour, and then ran 10, 100-sprints, back-pedaling 10, 100-sprints, stair jump-leaps from 3rd step, then ran a 400. I'm exhausted and my muze is gone, sorry.] Status: Unfinished
« Last Edit: Jul 28, 2008, 10:18am by MD;; Jazzeh »
His very bearing was wilted. As he came, sighing, down from the mountain ridge, the pearl-grey stallion made an elegant leg. The veil of cloud that lay crumpled on the horizon parted, and in the brief flash of the sun, sweat glimmered 'pon his 'bod like dew. The gelling blood from the scoremarks 'cross his belly gleamed, languid and crimson, too. The edges of the marks were crusted black. Her expression darkened. The hazards of the terrain, or...? ...Had she run across a buck on the verge of suicide? Swallowing down dread, the tiger's-eye and white mare pawed a bit at the rocky ground. Unease. How did you deal with it? What exactly did you say when you ran across a man too tired and alone in the world to care if he scraped his belly out on the fierce crags? ...Disembowlment was a grisly death. She didn't know firsthand, but... she had known plenty of people who did. "...I am.... Watermark. And you...?"
((EDIT: Bugger! That didn't work. Last time, I registered the aliases, but now the forum doesn't remember it. Jazzeh...! XO))
The very sight of the femmora gave him relief. For so long the world had been so empty, so full of vast darkness. He couldn't really give a shit now whether his queen was any good, or maybe if she was the worst in the company. But this mare, brought hope and faith back inside his soul. He needed someone to help rule the lands, and show the others what he is made of. So come, let's rule this terrian together. It's like a broken puzzle piece, me plus you, equals nothing but us. Us was a unique word to say the least, but we, was more descriptive, more equal. So as one, we would rule the world. Yes that sounded better.
Kiba stared at the mare, his blank eyes reveling life now. He bowed to the mare whose claim to fame was Watermark. Kiba. King of the Rebels. He was tired of this nonsense and wanted to get started right away. M'love. My senses say your in need of a herd, no?
OOC- Kiba is nothing but rambles right now... stupid homework essays that need to be two pages long, took me three freaking hours. So sorry, m'bad. But I suppose to make this site active, we need posts. And huh?
((XD Yes, same here. All counts. The alias code thing won't work for me, because somehow all the aliases keep getting dumped, and I have to log in to all of them anyway. >P Can I just use my main account...? It's so much simpler... Post coming soon!))
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