&& lose yourself [waleran]

[Silver]

Here the world was white, soft as a new foal’s coat, cold as the ice that froze the streams that ran through the homeland. The mare, startlingly dark against the bleak landscape, stood about cannon deep in the snow that draped over the plains. She stood at the edge of the wide expanse of land. Trees dotted the scene, but sparsely. What few were available had dropped all of their leaves and looked very much like skeletons reaching out their bony fingers to touch her flank. Perhaps they begged forgiveness from the gods; Laoghaire knew that the gods looked down on those who did not do as was their duty. The mare knew not what her duty was yet; she had been taught that it was to find a stallion and to dedicate her life to him, as was her family’s tradition. The men were the warriors, those who would stay behind and wait were their wives. The mares were to look after the children and the affairs of the herd in order to keep their men from distraction. After all, what was more important than protection?

Laoghaire was not one to question her family’s long-standing beliefs, as good daughters were. And yet deep in her most secret thoughts were the hopes that someday she might choose for herself, a life in which love was passionate and intimate, rather than filled with love that grew out of necessity. She knew that love - it existed between her parents, and their affection was friendly and quiet, a love borne from a bond long standing and long planned. Her brother Blair was more of an adventurer than Laoghaire, while her sister Magaidh followed their parents as if their words created her thoughts. And yet Laoghaire would do what she was brought up to do, and that was to find a suitable stallion and serve him in whatever way he saw fit. And still...

She was afraid.

ooc: right now she's standing at the edge of the territory. she's not quite in it.
word count: 320+
tag: waleran
muse: beautiful dreams by adrian von ziegler

[Hud]

The smell of a female was so different to a male.

Waleran had been alerted by the stranger's presence through his nose, that much was true. He found himself scanning the perimeter of his landscape today in an attempt to catch any stragglers that might be around. Waleran knew horses had been filtering in and out of his lands. He needed to lock them down and keep them safe. A rogue mare was always in danger. Always. The king had followed the scent of a mare for a while now, and he'd finally found her. His walk was dignified and tall as he let his tail raise with superiority and his ears perk forward with interest.

The black and white mare reminded him of his own markings, though hers were more uniform. He liked them, really. Waleran often saw himself in the reflection of the Tremblay and hated his white blotches. They were so irregular... Alas, there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was maintain a model territory with the fierceness of the Father himself. The stallion nickered to the mare, eager to lure her over his boundary.

"Hello miss." His forked tongue hissed with even the simplest greeting. Mares generally regarded his physique and color as desirable; he often had no trouble luring them in. Who knew about this one though. All horses were different. "Do you know, you are almost to the border of perfection?" he smiled coyly.

[Silver]

Och, Laoghaire. Can ye be any more dramatic? Laoghaire was wrapped up in her thoughts so much that she didn’t even notice the stallion approaching. Afraid, is it? Nay, there’s much to be scairt of, but yer no scairt of a lad. Yer scairt of what might happen if ye make a mistake, or give yer heart to the wrong laddie. Or if ye lose yerself in the whole thing. Forget yer fears, Laoghaire. It is time to see the world in yer own eyes.

She pulled out of her reverie, only to be confronted by a very contrasting stallion. Her brown eyes swept up and down his body; he looked to be solid and strong enough, as far as stallions went. It was his voice though, that made her shiver. She wasn’t sure if it was necessarily a good thing. “Good morning,” she said, enunciating the greeting carefully. Sometimes her lilting accent could throw off strangers until they learned how to understand what she said. “I dinna ken if ye speak o’ my beauty or o’ the land, but I can see that yer a charming lad.” Laoghaire laughed, her voice lilting and clear as a bell. And yet behind her eyes, hidden in a way that had fooled even her own parents and twin, she watched this new figure with indeterminate feelings. There was something about him that she couldn’t quite describe. It wasn’t charm; it was something else entirely. The mare kept these thoughts hidden beneath her good-natured expression, and nodded her head to the stallion. “My name is Laoghaire,” she offered, pronouncing the name as Leary. “I had heard that there is a new chief in the Plains,” she said, giving him a thread of conversation to latch onto. “Have ye heard of him? Seen him, perhaps?”

ooc: okay so my muse jumped off a cliff about halfway through sorry.
word count: 310+
tag: waleran
muse: ---

[Hud]

The king was thrown off. Waleran hadn't expected to have to think as the mare spoke. Her accent was overpowering to him - almost too foreign to comprehend. Other stallions would find it charming... Waleran was not like other stallions. He found it annoying, to tell the truth. He couldn't let her see that though - at least not this early. He had to reel her in, first.

He couldn't help his eyes blinking a bit in surprise as she continued to speak, his brain working overtime to understand her words and style. With a bit of a laugh, Waleran spoke: "Where are you from?" He had to scold himself a little for the way the phrase came out. It sounded pointed and insulting. He couldn't help it - that was where his heart lay. In order to pick himself back up in conversation, Waleran continued quickly. "I'm the king of the plains, miss Leary," he tried his best to pronounce. "Waleran." As the king spoke his name, he did so in the kindest way he could muster, which in reality was more judgmental than kind. Maybe reeling them in was going to be harder than all that. Maybe being kind wasn't the way to go. Why did all the other kings do it so well? Because they had no malice in their hearts. They weren't out for themselves. Oh well.

In truth he'd missed her first phrase. He supposed he'd gloss over it and try to just move on. He'd never heard an accent like hers. Where did they speak like that? It was simply atrocious.

OOC: He's a meaniepants.

[Silver]

There was something she didn’t much like about this one. With her big family and the interactions they had with each other, Laoghaire was more in tune with peoples’ behaviour than others might have been. However, she wasn’t in much of a position to extricate herself from the situation, so she stayed, her eyes watching his every move from beneath her pale mane. Her dark coat was such a contrast from her hair, but he didn’t seem to pay much notice to her beauty. Her eyes narrowed a fraction - hopefully not enough for him to see - and she surveyed the stallion who called himself king. The plains had been empty and quiet for so long that she’d questioned her intentions on coming to the ghost land. But now she was here, and she would have to make the best of it.

With a weakly optimistic effort, she bobbed her head in deference. “Yer highness,” she said quietly. “I come from the lands at the bottom o’ the mountains. There be herds there, ye ken, and we keep mostly to ourselves, but every once in a while, one o’ us ventures oot to see the rest o’ the world.” She was mildly irritated by the pointedness of the original question, but again she stored that in her mind for later.

ooc: blah.
word count: 220+
tag: waleran
muse: ---

[Hud]

Waleran could tell he was not being taken very well by this odd mare. If that was the case, he wasn't sure he wanted her behind him in the plains. 'The lands at the bottom of the mountains'? What did that mean? It felt legendary and ridiculous. Oh how the stallion just wanted to turn around and leave without a word. But, he knew that to be improper. This mare would be a handful in his herd, but he needed all the bodies he could get. Waleran had to stay, and stay he would.

By now Waleran's countenance had waned to a state halfway between boredom and just completely asleep. Shaking his head quickly and vigorously, the stallion replaced his expression with one of attempted genuine interest. "So, what brings you here then?" Waleran had abandoned his attempt at being charming and kind. His remark was said in a downright condescending tone. If she was going to live here, she'd learn how he was eventually. Sometimes it was best to let your true colors show. Besides, maybe she would decide on staying once she met some of the other mares he called his. It was common for mares to stay with their friends for comfort's sake. Females could be so unbelievable.

OOC: Waleran doesn't like what he doesn't understand. xD

[Silver]

The mare narrowed her eyes at the stallion, her mind churning with fear, annoyance and an idea. Her heart ached at the thought of abandoning what she had originally come for, but self-preservation drove her towards it. She was intelligent - she wasn’t her sister, meek and mild and willing to do whatever her stallion wanted without any gain for herself. What good was it to be a good mate if there was no personal satisfaction in it? There was nothing for her if she didn’t have a plan. Laoghaire cast her eyes over the stallion’s body, noting that he had good muscle tone and a stubborn demeanor, not to mention a sour attitude. She could deal with it, sure. She could also make a name for herself, make a name known more than her parents’ deep in the mountain’s foot.

And so, the unsure, foreign mare steeled herself and chose her path - a path different from any other that any member of her reclusive herd had ever chosen. Power and renown and a settlement were things that she valued for herself and her future offspring - something that crossed her mind all too often to be a passing fancy. Laoghaire knew she wanted children, but had never had the guts to go after it. And now here she was, speaking to the King of the Plains, and her mind whirred with dreams of privileged children and a couched life. Comfort appealed to her, and so did a potentially better future than she might have had at home.

“So what brings you here then?” The urge to run away, back to a predictable life, washed over her, but she pushed back the feeling and looked at him squarely. “You, actually.” She was careful to pronounce her words, deciding that it was safer to use a labored “normal” accent than her own easy brogue. Her accent - a personal heritage - would be reserved for her children, not this brute. Even if he was the avenue for her eventual relaxed life. “I have need of a home, and as a new king with the remains of a non-existent herd you need members. Mares. Like me.” If he refused her offer, she would run back to her home with her tail between her legs. If not, she would hold her head up high and embrace her new life.

ooc: she just grew a pair of balls or something. -shrug-
word count: 400+
tag: waleran
muse: ---

[Hud]

Waleran watched the mare answer with furrowed brows and a smug expression. He was the reason she was here? Was she really here for him, or was it his king status? Waleran was approximately 98.7% sure it was the latter. He got that. It made sense. Some mares craved power. They wanted positions, duties, and responsibilities just like stallions were traditionally given. He could respect that. Didn't mean he was going to just let her in because of it.

"What makes you think you make the cut just because you're available? My herd is going to be unparalleled. The Homeland has never seen a group of equines like the one I'm establishing here and now. We're unmatchable in every way. We're perfect specimens in a perfect land." Waleran sneered at her as he spoke, his distrust obvious. At least she'd abandoned that abominable tongue from before. Laoghaire could speak understandably if she really wanted to. Perhaps it served as a defense mechanism.

This mare's determination was evident, however, it was one of the many reasons Waleran had never been interested in her kind. Mares were obnoxious - a necessary annoyance. Stallions. Stallions could do anything. AND they listened. What more could a king want? Waleran thought back to Laoghaire. He still wasn't quite sure she was right for his herd...