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Mangrove Tidepools No Promises - Printable Version

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No Promises - Seiji - 04-26-2018


Away.

Away.

Away.


He is running. Running: as he has never run from anything in his life. Not until that one day, the last day, the day his life unraveled. The memory chases him now through Halyven. Away from Halyven. Down, down, down from the cliffs and the trees and toward the sea. The memory: cold jaws opening, ice riming his heels, heart punching like an animal trapped. Go! Go! Go!

Nothing threatens him now, but he runs regardless. From them; from responsibility. From the too-tempting embrace of new friends and new safety in this place, this place, he wants to tear down this place! Rocks skitter out from under his hooves; down the cliffs. He moves with abandon and yet he is too sure-footed to fall. His body knows itself. It places hooves exactly where hooves need to go, shifts weight, careens in blind harmony toward the bottom (not his ocean not his beach not — not — not —).

Tide pools: his reflection a silhouette. Long, long strides: a bird in flight, barely skimming the ground. He is running; he was made for running. The land will give out before he does and then what? Then what? The water rises in silver arcs around him, churned up by his passage. It settles again in his wake. The trees whisper, but don't move. They don't know anything. Perhaps they never will.

So he runs. So he ran.

Away.

When he stops, he realizes he doesn't know why. His lungs burn and his legs burn and the tide is before him, implacable and endless. The sea shifts but it is not his sea; it does not sing in time to the voices of his birds. It is a foreign sea, a strange sea, reflecting back at him a face not quite his own. He should not have come, he thinks. Isn't is always easier to walk into hell? Didn't Orpheus proceed with ease until the moment came to turn around? What does that mean, for him?

He stands above the water and looks in and feels disquieted. He want to be calm, but he can't. He wants to apologize, but dares not return. He is wretched; he is foolish. He begins to pace. Sorry, he thinks. It plays again and again in his mind. Sorry, sorry, sorry sorry. Sorry, everyone. I have made a mistake —

He stops pacing. Very still now, he stares out over the water. Fractured pieces glitter dangerously inside of him but so long as he holds still, they don't puncture anything.

img by Tildae @ flickr


@Roscorro
ooc // Meant to be after welcome home at least several hours. Anyone else who was at the meeting and would have wanted to follow him is welcome, but no others, please.


RE: No Promises - Roscorro - 04-26-2018

ROSCORRO
His hooves could never match the swift footed man. But why use hooves when you have wings! He was truly free within the heavens. Moving swifter than he could ever dream upon the ground. Though his body was free, his heart was heavy. Trapped by worry and doubt. Perhaps he should not have went after Seiji. He should have let him be. But the look within his eyes, the way he had ran. The stallion could not leave him to his own devices. This was a far cry from the happy, joyous man who had danced among the flowers. This was an entirely different creature that bolted from the gathering. The earthen colored tribrid wished to know why there was such a heavy weight around the other. Wished to help ease it if only for the sake of helping the silent stallion.

Seiji's headlong dash had left an easy trail to follow. Skimming just above where pounding hooves had churned the ground, he closed the gap between them. It wasn't until the tracks led to the beach that he lighted upon the ground. His progress was slower upon the sand, but it was not long before the figure of Seiji appeared before the waves. Roscorro approached slowly, quietly. His demeanor soft despite the pointy things that stuck out of his body. He knew not what to call him. For Seiji had never spoken. "Friend." He said in low tones, yet somehow it carried through the air with ease. He drew up parallel with Seiji, though he respected the man's personal space. He was probably the last horse he wanted to see. The concern, the hurt at seeing Seiji so distraught shone within his gaze.

"I'm sorry." He began. He had seen the way the other gazed out over the ocean. There was a longing, and an anger there. He knew that he was not from the Rift. His gaze shifted to the sea. "My own family sent me here, they hoped the land would kill me. So I am unable to imagine the pain, or loss you are experiencing." Yet his heart still throbbed, still ached for the man he barely knew. He ached for the mare that had raised him. Yet the blow was soften by the fact that he had come willingly. He had been able to say goodbye. What would he do now if he was suddenly ripped from the land he now loved? From those he loved? Just thinking of it made his soul cry out. Was this a taste of the pain Seiji was experiencing? It brought tears to the corner of his eyes. he let the wind whisper in his ear for several heartbeats. Let the waves sing to him a song his own heart had come to love. A song so different from Seiji's home, yet felt so natural to Rosco.

He took a moment longer before speaking once more. "This may not be your home, and we will never replace your family. I will not ask you to try to replace them or pretend that this world is your own. But I want you to know, that there will always be a place for you to go should you need it. We will continue to explore and learn of this world, and if I ever learn of a way for you to return, I will lay down my life to ensure you make it back." His great head turned back to Seiji, a sad smile on his face as a resolve settled over him. "It is the least I could do for the man who helped save my home."

"Talk."

I may not be the most important person in your life.
I just hope when you hear my name,
You smile and say "That's my friend!"
image || coding


@Seiji <3


RE: No Promises - Seiji - 05-05-2018


Wings: like the beating of a distant drum. Closer. Closer. He stills: a shadow wavering upon the shore. No, he thinks. Dark eyes swing inland. Trace the path of the phantom noise. Close. Close, now. Seiji's ears sweep back, but the expression is a private one. He isn't sure who follows, but he doesn't want them here. He left — and now to have that ignored —

A tremor. Something sudden, like the wake of a massive beast cutting through dark water, passes over the blue-black sheen of his coat. It happens, and then it's gone. Then he is still, still, still, the agony seeping back into him. His eyes quiet windows on a darkened room.

It's Roscorro.

Sweat still rimes the hollows of Seiji's flanks. Maybe his breath comes a little quick, but he is still. Presentable. Still, in the way Seiji is still: a question mark. A mystery. Energy gathered in the heart of him and not overflowing. If he was wild before, he is presentable now. He makes himself presentable in the handful of moments between the noise of the wings and the appearance of that great brown shape over the pools.

Roscorro.

Seiji studies him as he approaches. Big; monstrous was the word, wasn't it? The first word Seiji thought? But he thinks now the exterior may be at odds with the heart beneath. This fails to cheer him. His ears want to turn back. His body wants to run. He blinks at the sea, the sea, the sea.

"Friend."

The word calls his attention back. And Seiji is meeting the other man's eyes, now. Meeting his eyes with a careful, studied expression. Trying to give nothing away; maybe failing. Maybe his distress is obvious no matter how he tries to hide it. Maybe he is obvious, an outside thing which does not belong and does now wish to bend itself into a shape which does accommodate these ..... others. No; he wants to be gone. He is not a friend.

But Roscorro is speaking. Roscorro is.... telling a story, maybe, but it sounds true. Seiji watches with ears up, still pensive. But maybe a little looser. Maybe: softening around the sharpest edges. They hoped the land would kill me, Seiji thinks. An echo: again and again. He imagines his sister's laughter. His mother's tired eyes. He cannot fathom what it is to be bereft of love; even if they are absent now they are alive, even were alive, and they loved him. And he loves them. He sees tears brightening Roscorro's kind eyes and (again, again, again) he wonders if he's done wrong. Miscalculated, surely. Softening still, he steps forward and extends the velvet end of his nose. To gently touch Roscorro's shoulder, if the man should allow it. I'm sorry, he thinks, though it wouldn't be enough even if he could speak. I'm sorry for so much. For what is and what may be.

It is a cruel thing, Seiji's quest.

He steps politely back. Listens to the rest of what Roscorro has followed him to say. And they are kind words; they are kind words Seiji yet fails to deserve. But his heart makes an awkward, sideways movement and it hurts, a little bit. To know he's somehow won affection even here. He smiles, though it's strained, and nods. What else can he do? He hasn't the words to argue; he hasn't the heart. He understands the gesture even if he thinks, he may not deserve it in the future. Roscorro may not be willing to pay what must be paid, when it comes down to it. But Roscorro is very kind.

In the end, Seiji only nods, as he always does. He nods, and steps back. I understand, he's trying to communicate. But also: Still I need to go. Perhaps because Roscorro is kind. Perhaps because these creatures would give him a home here, if he asked. But he mustn't.

He gives the other man a last lingering look, a look full of too many things to name, and continues to drift away. Hoping: this time no one will follow. Hoping: Roscorro will not try to stop him.

img by Tildae @ flickr


@Roscorro


RE: No Promises - Roscorro - 05-15-2018

ROSCORRO
He knew that he could ease the other's burdens. With just a brush of magic the giant could steal away every turmoil of emotion that boiled within the dark man. But he would not. Fore he was indeed a kind soul, but a wise one as well. He would not meddle with another's feelings so carelessly. Such cheap tricks were only temporary, when such a wound as Seiji's existed. Though he could bandage the injury, with time it would reopen. It was cruel to do such a thing. A moral boundary he would not cross simply because he wanted to other to be more amiable to the idea of joining his herd. Though to see his the other in such a state made him wish that he did not draw such a line with his powers. Even if it meant Seiji may come to hate him, he could provide some temporary relief. But alas, he would not.

He smiled and lowered his nose to touch Seiji's when he reached for his shoulder. The apology in the other's eyes spoke volumes. His own were filled with understanding. He would not ask him to come back with him. He would not argue. But he would not let him leave so easily. "A moment, friend." he said, following after him. Lowering his great head he plucked a bead from his dark mane with his talons. It was a simple, blue bead with a white stripe. Though simple, like all of his trinkets, it contained precious memories. "Something to remember me by. As well as a means for those within the herd, that may not know you, to recognize you. Should you ever find your way into our lands. "

He would wait to see if Seiji would accept his gift. Whether he did or not the man would smile. He looked like a father watching his son leave the house for the first time. "May your feet always be light, and the dangers few." He said. "And may you find friends and laughter along your travels."

"Talk."

I may not be the most important person in your life.
I just hope when you hear my name,
You smile and say "That's my friend!"
image || coding


Rosco gives Seiji a blue bead with a white stripe to act as a memento and a symbol for those within his herd to know that he is a friend (Should Seiji accept it this will prove as proof).
@Seiji <3


RE: No Promises - Seiji - 05-19-2018


"A moment, friend."

Roscorro's voice is a chain. The lash of a cruel whip. Seiji could run through it, but he pauses. Held. He does not wish to part on ugly terms, but he wishes to part. Roscorro cannot hold him forever. They cannot converse until his voice returns from wherever it has been taken. It will never do so on its own. Seiji knows this. Still, he waits, his gaze wary and curious at the same time. Surprise glints in his eyes as Roscorro reaches up to pluck the bead — those talons! — and begins to explain.

It's a cruel thing.

Friendship — can Seiji call what is between them friendship? They barely know each other, and yet there is such deep kindness in Roscorro, Seiji knows he would defend it if the need arose. His ears tilt back, a strange expression crossing his closed features. Sorrow, maybe, but also the bittersweet joy of farewell. Of caring enough for someone to make farewell sting. How strange; he should not, but he does. Maybe it's a flaw in his nature.

He can't turn the gift away, so he nods and steps nearer, waiting for Roscorro to place it in his much sparser mane with those taloned hands. The gift of words Roscorro gives afterward is almost as good: like a blessing. Seiji does smile then. He nods wholeheartedly, and reaches out once more to bump Roscorro's shoulder with his nose. Same to you.

img by Tildae @ flickr


@Roscorro


RE: No Promises - Roscorro - 05-19-2018

ROSCORRO
Seiji stopped. Though he knew he should have let him go, the man couldn't. Perhaps the other did not feel the same as him. They had only met briefly before. But in that moment Seiji had helped save a place dear to his heart. In that moment he had seen a happier side of the man. There was light within the dark storm that was his soul. It was this that had earned the tribrid's affections. He sought to repay the other in some way. Though he could not offer him a home, or heal his heart. He could provide a form of protection. A symbol that would deem him a friend to the kingdom.

The darker man did not refuse his gift. It was a great relief to the giant, who feared that he would say no. Coming closer Roscorro would weave the bead into the man's dark mane. He pulled back with a sad smile. Now was the real goodbye. He would reach out again to touch Seiji's cheek as the other touched his shoulder. He ached to say more. To beg and plead. The darkness in his soul flared. If you desire him so much. Than take him! It fumed. We have the power within you. You are a king, take what you desire!

I am no king! The dragon-kin would not listen. He would never take Seiji by force. Never seek to bind him. No, he was not such a ruler. Nor would he abide such actions. He did not make to stop the other stallion again. He remained silent as he watched him leave. Roscorro would remain standing where he was. Lingering long after the dark form of Seiji slipped from view. The waves and wind were his only company as he stood.

Finally, when he did turn to leave, the voice would surface again. You lack any spine or fire. Weak and pitiful. Keep this up and you will lose all that is important to you. He set his jaw as anger flared within him. Whether it was his own or the voice's, he could not tell. But he used it to beat the shadow back once more. With a heavy breath the stallion leapt into the air, leaving the lonely beach, and Seiji behind.

"Talk."

I may not be the most important person in your life.
I just hope when you hear my name,
You smile and say "That's my friend!"
image || coding

@Seiji

oc: Thank you so much for the thread! These two need to bump into each other again. <33


RE: No Promises - Seiji - 05-25-2018


One dark eye tilts back to watch as Roscorro affixes the bead. A pretty thing; it matches the blue-black shine of Seiji's coat, the blue seas surrounding his home. Roscorro cannot know this, but the fact fills Seiji nonetheless with a quiet joy. A worthy gift; he has nothing to repay it with. He suspects Roscorro wouldn't want anything, anyway, so he merely nods at the gentle touch to his cheek. This is goodbye, but perhaps not the same sort of goodbye Seiji gave to the master's island. To Luta. To that so-familiar shore. He can't be sure. He can only be grateful.

He is free now to move away, and he does. He goes without suspecting any internal struggle on Roscorro's part. Happily oblivious to the king's private thoughts, though they wouldn't change the final outcome of this encounter even if Seiji did know. The outcome decided before this meeting began: That Seiji goes, his dark shape wandering along the shore until it grows small, smaller, smaller. Until it disappears. His dark shape venturing to other places, far-off places, in search of something he cannot tell any of them about. If he goes without animosity, that is a gift.

img by Tildae @ flickr


ooc// Yes! :) @Roscorro is a delight <3