Into the River [Open]

[Deleted]

Ouroboros

Night had fallen across the land. Diurnal creatures had settled into their nests while those on the nocturnal side were just beginning to stir. One such creature had just awoken from a short sleep and now followed the path of one small river towards the large lake through a forest. Moonlight bathed his extraordinarily dark coat, broken up by the smallest bits of white on his face and rear ankles, not to mention the scattering of white hairs on his flanks, giving him a dark blue sheen where shadows did not touch.

He wandered easily along the water's edge, hooves making a slight sucking sound in the slick mud with every step. He did not care to mask his steps, why should he? At seventeen hands and rather thick with muscle, he was a formidable opponent and he did not spook easily. He was aware, however, as his foxy ears swished this way and that as he walked.

Ouroboros stopped at one point, his hind end swinging out until he faced the water. He bent his nose to the water, huffing a bit before taking a few long draughts. As he did so, his eyes caught a lazy movement upstream and he lifted his dripping muzzle a few inches to look. He watched as a large orange leaf floated along, carried by the current. Its edges had curled up, giving it a bowl-shape. Ouro was surprised he did not see a small frog or other creature sailing along in it down the lake. He watched it as it went past, catching ripples and different currents that sent it spinning about but it never stopped. Licking his lips, the dark stallion also moved along, following the path ahead at a slightly faster pace, a happy medium between a walk and a trot.

{ooc} Good to be back, finally. I probably could have kept going but meh. I'd rather reveal Ouro in time xD Open to whoever!

[Hud]

"Rebel children, I urge you, fight the turgid slick of conformity with which they seek to smother your glory."

One of Russell's duties as a herd stallion was to explore the Homelands in search of other souls lost with no where to go. He remembered his own days like this. Once he left his parents and went off on his own, his life seemed small and insignificant. He hadn't known where to go or how to go about finding others he felt as close to as he had his parents. Russell had been lucky to be found by Gideon. Others should be as lucky, he always thought.

The Freelands were a wonderful place to find such horses. This was one of the first trips out of Orut Russell had made in a long while. He never thought of himself as much of a talker. The stallion was an intellectual - always investigating and learning. Russell lived a great life and he knew how to slake his thirst for knowledge. His conversations, on the other hand, were not quite as intelligent. However, he knew he had it in him. His mother had been quite the chatterbox and loved talking and meeting and everything that went along with interacting with others. Russell knew it was in his genes, he just had to access it.

It took him all of the day to reach Lake Acele, a common place to find others. Night had fallen over him and he had begun to search for cover until morning when he would begin his search. Spotting a perfect red oak, the stallion made his way under it as he looked to the lake. His eyes were tired and their lids were almost shut as he found the perfect place to stand and not be seen. His tail swished behind him as he turned around and made himself comfortable. His eyes caught sight of a stallion...

The dark horse wasn't too far off. Russell assumed he'd been here for a longer period of time than himself. The thought of approaching him made the much smaller stallion almost shudder. No, he'd leave this one here. Or, should he? Even big equines needed someplace to belong... Russell stood in contemplation as he watched the horse drink from the lake.

TAGS: Ouro | NOTES: He's pretty scared. xD

[Deleted]

Ouroboros

Ouroboros was not a stallion of extreme perception. While he was intelligent, he did not have the sixth sense that other equines seemed to have so the stallion hiding in the shadows was entirely lost to him. He paused again further down the stream and looked out across the water. For some reason the water looked so calm and peaceful, glittering in the moonlight. Before he really had a chance to check himself, he was wading in.

The water was chilled but not unbearable. He shivered when the surface brushed the white hairs across his belly but he smiled all the same. He dropped his nose to the water again and splashed a bit. He suddenly had the image of himself as a colt playing with his adoptive brother. Instantly his smile melted and he pinned his ears. He turned and charged out of the water dripping and fuming. Things never needed to be that way but that was how it happened and there was no changing it. He lashed at the ground with a front hoof and snorted.

{ooc} Sorry it's so short!

[Hud]

"Rebel children, I urge you, fight the turgid slick of conformity with which they seek to smother your glory."

Russell continued watching the stallion, even as the large brute entered Acele. He seemed peaceful enough. Perhaps he could just go over and-

The liver chestnut paint was caught off guard as the stranger practically leapt up out of the lake. Russell's blue eyes widened as he jerked his head back out of instinct. No, he couldn't go over there. Not now! He wouldn't know what to say! He wouldn't know what to do! The stallion could be dangerous! What if he-

Russell shook his head quick. Get a hold of yourself. He was a full-grown stallion. Why was he getting so frightened? Was the prospect of speaking with a stranger that terrifying? Did the reason for the other stallion's charge from the lake have to be malicious? Maybe a fish had surprised him. Maybe he was scared of fish! At least, Russell could tell himself that. This stallion would no doubt be a valuable contribution to Orut's herd. Gideon would be proud of his friend for bringing him. Of course, before he could offer a herd to this stallion, he'd have to say hello and evaluate his intentions...

Russell took a deep breath and cleared his throat, lifting his head as high as it could go to assert his control over the situation. He would not appear scared or weak. Not in front of this monster of a horse. He was proud of himself - of his herd. This stallion should be so lucky as to have a home like Russell did.

Russell began the walk toward the other stallion, his first steps from under the tree a little shaky, but gaining power with distance. He let out a forceful whinny of greeting to the other horse, not willing to frighten him. If Russell was to believe the story in his head, a fish would be much less frightening to the stranger than another horse. He silently hoped it had been the fish.

"Hello, brother!"

Best to implant some sense of camaraderie right off...

TAGS: Ouro | NOTES: He's pretty scared. xD

[Deleted]

Ouroboros

Still lost in the past wrongs, the dark stallion did not initially hear the other stallion's approach. At the sound of an unexpected voice very close to him, Ouro balked. His muscles clenched and rippled beneath his rich brown coat as he shifted to the side with an airy snort. His hooves slid in the slick mud and for one terrifying second he went to his knees. He rushed to solid ground, dark eyes flashing as he scanned the trees. Finally they spotted the form standing among the trees and he straightened to his full height, giving a heavy snort. The other stallion's stark white markings stood out the most in the moonlight, almost glowing.

Trapped in the past, his eyes betrayed him and he was seeing a ghost. White on dark and referring to him as "brother" was enough to confuse him. It had been many years, who knew how he'd changed? Ouroboros squared up, his wet tail snapping against his roaned flanks in tangled tentacles in an obvious display of annoyance. "And hello to you, brother." He rumbled, a faux tone of friendliness playing on his vocal cords. Ouroboros then began to stalk forward, slowly and steadily, eyes fixed upon the other. As he moved forward, the shade instantly fell from his eyes. He did not recognize this stallion as he'd thought. Those markings were all wrong and while they shared blue eyes, the contrast of blue on white was not as powerful as the blue on black that he remembered so keenly.

Stopping again, he tossed his head, trying to clear his head of the memories that kept grasping at his thoughts. No, this was not the same. He would know that horse when he saw them again, he was sure of it. And to be totally honest, he was not sure if it was even possible to see them again. As far as he knew, they were as dead as his parents. But then again, he was never totally sure that his parents were dead either. Life held many mysteries. Too many for Ouroboros to be comfortable. Rather than apologizing for his rough greeting, he left it to hang in the air between them. See what this stallion did.

[Hud]

"Rebel children, I urge you, fight the turgid slick of conformity with which they seek to smother your glory."

Russell instinctively recoiled at the other stallion's gruff greeting. He seemed annoyed at his very presence and especially at his mention of the term "brother". The paint immediately regretted his decision to be so... So something. He couldn't quite place what he'd done wrong, honestly. Clearly something.

Russell straightened up as well as an uncertain stallion could. For the herd... he kept telling himself. He needed to expand the herd. As the quick whip of the other stallion's tail hit his coat, Russell flinched. He mustn't appear so weak, though he really was. Russell was lanky and lean, the complete opposite of this stranger. He'd definitely lose if things came down to it. Russell scoffed in his head. He'd run far before he'd engage in a fight. Even then this stallion could probably catch him, too.

"...I-I'm sorry if I've offended you already, sir." Russell changed his pronoun. Maybe the stranger would respond better to such a monicker. It was always good to try all options. The paint took one step back, his ears still pricked forward, watching the other horse's every move with great detail. Russell could school anyone on the inner workings of plant photosynthesis or on the very sensitive, very delicate survival tactics of the larval monarch butterfly, but body language was certainly something he was unsure of.

"I just saw you over here alone, and I thought I'd introduce myself... I'm Russell."

TAGS: Ouro | NOTES: ---

[Deleted]

Ouroboros

Squaring up, Ouro watched the painted stallion stumble over himself. It made his mouth twitch almost into a smile but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone and he kept his deadpan expression. It was obviously his cool tone had taken the stallion off guard and he hadn't quite expected to have to be on edge this quickly. Though part of him felt bad for poking at this unsuspecting stallion, he also reveled in keeping others on their toes so they could not quite pin him down or what he may do next.

'Sir.' He quite liked the sound of that. Perhaps he'd only intimidated his way into just a bit more respect as an attempt to pacify him but Ouro honestly had no memory of ever being called "sir" or anything so respectful. He didn't think himself old enough for others to pay respect to so it felt nice to be respected for no apparent reason aside from appearing to have a chip on his shoulder. Perhaps more good feelings would come from this exchange if he continued on.

"Russel you said?" He asked trotting a bit closer. "I'm Ouroboros, after the snake that eats its own tail. Supposedly should he ever stop, the sea will flood the earth. Have you ever heard that before?"

{ooc} Don't feel rushed. I was just too excited xD

[Hud]

"Rebel children, I urge you, fight the turgid slick of conformity with which they seek to smother your glory."

The stallion seemed pleased with Russell's new address. Good! Russell was entirely willing to demean himself in exchange for a captive audience with such a wonderful potential member of Gideon's herd. He had no pride of his own to speak of, let alone damage. Russell smiled happily and innocently at Ouroboros' description. Finally! An intriguing subject! Russell longed for the days when he could just let his knowledge flow freely.

In truth he knew little of the topic, however. "Yes, I have actually!" he said happily and with a twinge of nerdish awkwardness to his otherwise lovely tenor. "Th-though, not that much. My father mentioned it to me once or twice in passing... You were named after a snake? That's really unique!" Russell spoke with all genuineness. He was completely being himself in this moment, pawing a bit as he spoke with interest. He was really glad he'd approached this strange horse, whether Ouroboros was or not.

TAGS: Ouro | NOTES: ---

[Deleted]

Ouroboros

Not many knew the origin of his name so Ouro was a bit surprised by that, especially when it was a younger horse that knew it. 'He must be pretty smart.' He thought with a small flick of his tail. 'That or he's just faking it.' Ouro knew too well how easy it was to feign intelligence and knowledge on a subject so long as you were careful and knew how to play the game. Staring at the other stallion with a queer expression, he spoke slowly. "Interesting." Was all he could manage at the moment. Then he lifted his head into a prouder set and took control of the conversation again. "So what brings you to this dark forest by the lake this late at night, Russel?" He asked with an easy curiosity. Perhaps he was a loner like himself or perhaps he was a king somewhere, though the name Russel rang no bells of him being important. There was truly only one name he was interested in hearing though he also hoped he'd never be haunted by it again.

[Hud]

"Rebel children, I urge you, fight the turgid slick of conformity with which they seek to smother your glory."

"Actually," Russell started, his gaze looking down to the ground for a moment out of just natural response. He looked back to the stallion cautiously. "Actually I came here looking for wandering souls so that I might offer them a safe place to live in the Orut peninsula."

It was the complete truth. No sense in being deceitful - he had nothing to lie about. Russell was as honest as they came, and he never wanted anyone to think of him otherwise. The brown and white stallion shook his head a bit to get his forelock out of his face. It grew too long for his liking... Changes would have to be made in that area, he thought to himself. Focusing his attention back on the stallion at hand, Russell couldn't decide if he was scared of the beast or simply intrigued. Probably both.

"Is there a chance you might fall into that category...?" His wary voice waned as his statement came to a close, for he was too scared to assert himself. Ouro hadn't done anything outwardly violent, though. Not to him, anyway. Perhaps there was nothing to worry about.

TAGS: Ouro | NOTES: ---