Kingdom of Halyven
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RIXEN i have late night conversations with the moon;
I watched in silence as Kiada paused, facing the pillar to give it a glowering look, loose earth still floating in the air around her ankles. Almost like if she glared long enough, her eyes were cold enough, the pillar would just give in and crumble rather than endure her icy blue gaze. Then her focus snapped away from her stone enemy and she growled something to Khairi, who was also observing her from a short distance away. He had made a laughter-like sound when she was unable to break the marble, and although I could not understand what she’d told him, by the tone of her voice it seemed like the words were a reprimand. Then her expression changed to laughter, possibly a reflection of her amusement at the entire situation. She was still smiling when she must’ve noticed me standing there, and her head turned quickly toward me, though she did not respond immediately. She seemed to thinking of what to say to me, perhaps calculating the best way to explain what I’d just watched. "I see," I began, an amused smile spreading across my features as she grasped for the right words, but I didn’t question her further. It was not my aim to embarrass her. Then she pivoted her whole body in my direction, and I nodded slowly as she offered her explanation. The Rift was a dangerous place, however well one knew it, and unexpected dangers lurked at every corner. It was impossible to be over prepared, and well, I simply couldn’t see how it was possible to survive in this place without knowing at least basic actions of self-defense. Fortunately, one of the biggest emphasizes in my homeland was on battle. We were a militaristic herd, and foals learned to fight, to defend themselves, at an early age. A war had broken out not long after my birth, and I’d grown up surrounded by bloodshed. So I knew a move or two - not that I liked to put my skills to use too often. But I could understand their value. "We used to spar quite often, in my homeland." I said, giving my entire body a shake to loosen every muscle, before slowly beginning to close the gap between us. "Think I began learning to fight before I could even begin to speak." That may or may not have been true. I couldn’t really remember that far back. Besides, it was more of a rhetorical statement. You know, to get the idea across: war was all too familiar. "Magic is definitely not my area of expertise, considering I don’t have any to fight with. Never even had the chance to rely on it. So I suppose I’m the opposite of you." Perhaps this was a good thing. We could learn from each other. I was glad that she seemed happy to spar with me, and though I shared in her worry about somehow hurting one another, I quickly dismissed the thought, not wanting to dwell on it. "Don’t worry about hurting me." I teased, like I was challenging her to even try. I circled back before cantering forward toward the mare again, a signal that the spar had begun. At first, I darted in the direction of her left side, as if I were intending to target a blow there. My head was lowered more so than usual, though the antlers on top were not angled in such a way that they could strike a devastating blow. Stride collected, legs in precise control beneath me and ready to move in any direction, each hoof kicked up dirt as it hit the ground. Just as I was heading for Kiada’s left shoulder, or as close to it as she'd allow, I dodged to the right at the last minute in a swift movement that was hopefully unexpected. As I did this, my head snapped up again to avoid collision, and with a grunt my right hoof swung out from under me, aiming to connect with the mare’s right foreleg, just enough to throw her off balance. "Talk." he tells me about the sun — and I tell him about you. |
@Kiada Here we go!
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WC: 683
