&& old scars still burn [gideon]

[Silver]

Delilah

Stay close to me Delilah, and you will find that your dreams come true.

The young mare’s pale mane blew in the gusty afternoon. Here at the lake’s edge, small whitecaps were forming and pushing against the small shoreline. She was distant, far away from what was happening around her. Her mind soared past the trees and the water, wistfully touching memories long lost and gone. Delilah closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. Mother, if you could see me now, what would you say? Her heart thudded painfully against her chest. Mother would be disappointed in her pretty young daughter. After all I’ve been through, she’d say, you could not protect yourself? Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Her heart pattered out a rhythm that belied her outward peace and reminded her of the inner turmoil that raged on in her breast. I tried Mother, I swear I did. I couldn’t have seen it coming.

Stay close to me Delilah, and you will feel like nothing before.

A long sigh let the held breath escape, and finally she could breathe. Delilah could feel her mother’s disapproving gaze on her back, boring holes into the skin. You should have known, the older mare would say. After all that I told you, you should have known. She hung her head and glanced down at the water, hoping for some small reflection of herself, of who she was. She was rewarded with choppy water and a rippling image, just like her knowledge of herself. I lost myself, and still he haunts me from the grave.

Stay close to me Delilah, my daughter, and you will know love in a better way.

ooc: ---
word count: 280+
tag: gideon
muse: celtic music

[Mallory]

The pale stallion had left the safe, albeit humid, cocoon of his forest home...and for what? It seemed like nearly all of the souls that had lingered in the cooler seasons had scattered, driven away by the heat. But the stress of an empty Orut drove Gideon to keep searching for potential members. He was not blind to how the other lands were thriving; in fact, he was hyper aware of what was going on beyond the forest’s borders, and it only stressed him even more. Surely the eerie, mystical reputation of Orut wasn’t that intimidating...was it? He wasn’t oblivious to the stories of Orut, but surely there were souls out there that knew the stories of Orut weren’t the truth. With his stress at an all time high, the pale colored stallion traveled high and low in the free lands, before deciding a break was necessary. He couldn’t afford to burn himself out right now.

His light colored hooves eventually carried him to the shoreline of the lake, whose cool, crisp waters were too inviting to ignore. Lowering his white muzzle to drink, his blue eyes shut themselves as he took the moment to try to shove the stress away. While it hardly helped, the slightly easier burden was enough for now. As the tall stallion raised his head, he rolled his shoulders in a slight shrugging gesture, as if to try to force the rest of the tension away. It did little to help, so with a huff, he turned his blue eyes out to the edges of the lake in an attempt to distract himself.

status complete
tags: Delilah
words: 260+
notes: Not my best. Dx
speech thoughts

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Silver]

Delilah

It was cooler now that autumn had crept in. Leaves the color of sunsets danced on the wind; some came to sail the open seas of Lake Acele. Delilah watched as one in particular made a mighty gesture of riding one of the small whitecaps. Its edges lifted up as if to reach to her with open arms. A small, rare smile lit upon her lips; it was a ghost of happiness, but ghosts were all that the young mare had now. Her mother gone with the herd, her father rotting into the earth, she was the last of them and carried on a legacy of trials and ordeals. Her long eyelashes swept across her cheeks as she tried to block out the memory, but it was there. Her mother always said she looked much like her father. That was why he loved her so much, and so differently than the other fathers did their daughters. How could I have known, Mother? He said that he loved me more than the other fathers loved their fillies. You said nothing until it was too late. I was too young, too naive to know that things were wrong.

Something shifted in her belly and she gritted her teeth. Things weren’t supposed to be this way. She was young and impressionable. She was pretty and he always told her so. Soon there would be a mark on her, one that everyone could see. “Only freshly dead, and you dare use me to live again.” Bitter tears welled in her eyes, but she squeezed them away angrily. How she longed to be rid of the poison trapped in her womb, but it was planted there. Betrayed and abandoned, she was alone in her world. Fear was on all sides, and hope was a fairy tale reserved for others. Saltwater gleamed in droplets on her lashes, reflecting the light and shivering with each gust of wind. Delilah gulped in air, hoping to suppress the painful memories. The pain dulled slowly with each passing breath, but it stayed deep inside of her, a steady ache of fear and of being lost. Her amber eyes, said to be pretty and exotic, gazed dully over the shoreline. Her attention only sparked when she made out another form close to her own. They hadn’t seen her yet, and Delilah’s senses were so confused by painful experiences that she didn’t even have the motivation to fight or to flee. Let them come. Better to forget myself than to run back into falsely loving arms.

ooc: delilah keeps getting sadder. D:
word count: 430+
tag: gideon
muse: celtic music

[Mallory]

Gideon took the few moments of desperately trying to shrug off the oppressive weight of stress by scanning the landscape with a more refined eye. In Orut, it was hard to tell that the seasons had changed once you had lived there for a while – only newcomers could sense the subtle shifts in temperature and humidity as the seasons changed. There was a distinctive crispness and bite to the air, indicating the cooler weather that was coming from the north. While it was not unpleasant to the heavier bred stallion, he still would have preferred to be lurking about the mists of the forest he ruled. He’d rather be home, ensuring the borders were safe. While he trusted Russell with his own life, he did not trust outsiders and their intentions. It was something he and Russell seemed to differ on; his dear friend took better to wanderers than he did, thus they often had an easier time moving through Orut. Gideon was just prone to chase them out if they were going to waste his time. Which, in hindsight, was probably half of the problem with how...empty the forest currently stood.

With an aggravated huff, the pale coated stallion’s attention shifted away from the vibrantly colored leaves. He would never confess to his current failures as a King, to ensure a steady number within the herd. Despite Russell’s attempts of placating Gideon, his best friend’s words had done little to make him feel better. Sure, Orut was a safe haven due to his constant (nearly borderline obsessive) patrolling, but the trees still stood vacant and silent. What had once been a sanctuary of solitude had turned into his very bane. He had never predicted that his desire to restore Orut would backfire this way. A slight scowl tugged at the corners of his lips, wrinkles creasing his muzzle, as his blue eyes scanned the lakeside. His gaze, as equally pale as his coat, settled on the smaller form of another – a mare, in fact. She seemed lost, or befuddled, or just something; some kind of emotion that was foreign to Gideon. After a moment of debate, the stallion moved just enough to get closer, yet maintain a respectable distance. He didn’t wish to further upset how precarious her emotions seemed to be. “Is there something the matter?” he spoke, his deep, rumbling voice carried across the distance between them easily. He was genuinely concerned, that much was certain.

status: complete
tagged: Delilah
words: 400+
notes: Temporary coding will have to do. >_>

[Silver]

Delilah

Delilah sucked in her nerves as best she could, but she shivered still with untamable anxiety. The closer that the other horse came, the sooner she realized that it was not - as she had first hoped - another female. Instead a stallion approached, bringing with him the scents of testosterone and sweat. Delilah snorted and indicated that the stallion should go no further. Male smells tore through her nostrils and assaulted her memory-laden mind. She cursed silently and fought with the fear that was building inside of her chest. You ruined me, she cried through the fog of her mind. The helplessness and lack of power was terrifying. The young mare stepped backwards, half watching the stranger and half struggling within herself. Her vision shrank slightly. Breaths came less easily now, and she was shaky with the feat. “N-no,” she stuttered. Say something! She pulled in a deep draught of air and started again.

“No, sir. It’s my fault for disturbing you. I, I’m sorry for my mistake.” Her mind whirled around the apology, repeating it to echo deep in her brain. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. His face bloomed in her mind’s eye, and his gruff voice resonated. “Are you sorry for what you did, Delilah?” “Yes Daddy, I’m sorry.” “You know I only do what I do because I love you, Delilah.” “I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m sorry. I’m sorry...”

Damn. The memory crashed down around her ears and broke into a thousand tiny pieces. Delilah peered shyly up at the stallion, hoping he hadn’t noticed her...episode. I deserve what punishment he gives me, she recited subconsciously, before catching herself. No. I did nothing wrong, I did nothing. The inner war with herself was aggravating, and she gritted her teeth. She could be normal. The scars would heal and she could be normal. Her secret would stay safe, and life would be lovely again.

ooc: ---
word count: 330+
tag: gideon
muse: none

[Mallory]

Gideon, as brutish as he could be some times, was still mindful of the female population he ran in to from time to time. Perhaps it had been just residual lessons from the mother he could never remember, or just something he felt was right. Either way, the pale stallion could sense the nervousness and uneasy feelings rolling off the mare like great waves, which prompted him to be very mindful of the distance he gave her. He had learned not too long ago how flighty nervous or scared mares could be – he did not need a repeat lesson on the matter. It had been taxing enough on his short patience. The stallion’s brow furrowed slightly as she spoke, her stuttering betraying what her body language already gave away. Surely he was not that frightening? There were far more hideous beasts around other than him.

His attention was drawn back from his reverie as she spoke again, though his brow still remained furrowed. “Disturbed me? No, you did not,” he replied carefully, trying not to aggravate the mare further. “You just appeared to be in a great deal of distress. I felt it was only right to see if anything was wrong,” he continued, pausing briefly to give her another once over. Nerves did not suit the mare before him, and surely something had her shaken up. Perhaps once she was at ease, she would share what was wrong with him. “But I do apologize for my intrusion of your peaceful morning. My name is Gideon, King of Orut.”

status complete
tags: Delilah
words: enough
notes: Yucky. ><
speech thoughts

[Silver]

Delilah

Delilah nearly laughed out loud. “Peaceful” was the word he used to describe her morning. Yet, as quiet as it had been, there was no peace in her mind. The striking mare looked away from the stranger, studying the fresh autumn leaves carefully. Maybe if she could fill her mind with something else, like the color of fall, then she could forget. His continued conversation drew her back from her self-pity to look back at him. She was still nervous, but less so as she realized the stallion wanted nothing of her, at least nothing that her father would have. She still had trouble trusting males, but through mental strength that anyone would have commended her on, she made an effort to steel herself and act normal. Her ears pricked up as he landed on the word “King”. “A king?” she echoed. Her amber eyes sought his frame for anything that might indicate that he was as such, but nothing about him spoke of royalty. He is the most casual king I have ever met, not that I have met any.

“Gideon,” she said softly, rolling the name around on her tongue, “Your majesty.” As was proper to all males, but especially a king, Delilah bowed her head and her torso, enacting a well-practiced bow.

“Delilah. Again.” The voice snatched away her breath. “Yes, father.” Her childish voice rang inside of her head, innocent and loving. He’d made her practice her bows again and again until he was satisfied...and then he satisfied himself in other ways. Fully grown Delilah carefully brought herself back up and began to breathe again - although the breaths were measured and forced rather than relaxed. In an effort to keep up the façade of normality, she asked the king a question. “Your majesty, why are you roaming the freelands? Doesn’t your kingdom need you?”

ooc: ---
word count: 320+
tag: gideon
muse: none