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Home » Search » Roster » Whitepages » Records » FAQ » Guidebook
HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON'T;
RP Wanted The Portal 
Korri
Currently championing: Reszo
#1
Oh, my tongue's the only muscle in my body that works harder than my heart

He was falling.

Falling.

Somewhere, dimly, the thought registered: It doesn’t matter. Water on his wings. (falling) Each breath thick and damp as it dragged into tired lungs. (falling) The repeated cry of his overtaxed muscles. (falling)

Tree branch.

It struck suddenly: a sharp white pain to the right side of his head. He realized two things: one, he was upside-down; two, he was quite near the ground. Three things, actually, because the third was this: he was falling, and if he kept falling he was probably going to die. Fortunately, reflex acted before any of these realizations had even penetrated the dense haze of his thoughts.

His wings snapped out. It hurt in a deep, inescapable way. A soft sound came up out of his chest. It was lost in the noise of collision with subsequent branches: down, down, down snapping and crackling like a very confused firework. Streaks and pinpoints of pain all across his body. His wings flapped. His legs kicked. Somehow, he righted himself. Conscious thought came back online.

He fell.

It was an interminable distance to the ground. Darkness; branches; wet leaves. Everywhere, the smell of damp earth and something else, something old and unidentifiable. It teased at his thoughts, distracting just enough to keep him plummeting, a rock shaped like a horse shaped like a falcon. Or maybe the other way around. He thought: the trees in this place must be very tall.

Then the ground said hello.

All the breath went out of him at once. He landed on his sternum, hard, and wet leaves embedded themselves permanently into his knees. His wings flared helplessly out to either side of him, fading rays of golden light as the rain drove them down, down, into the mud.

He tried to breathe and could not breathe. He tried to breathe and could not breathe. Then, finally, his head jerked up and his lungs filled with the sodden air. Again. Again. “Fuck,” he coughed, and staggered to his feet.

The rain fell. Even through the branches (through the hole he’d left in the branches) the rain fell. Cold sheets dropping from a dark heaven. It plastered his thick mane to his neck, to his face, so he blinked at an abbreviated view of the forest: shadows and trees and an irritating amount of his own hair. He shook his head. Still focused on getting air into his lungs. Wet wings shivered, uselessly extended, on the ground to either side.

He knew this: he wasn’t going back up.

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Stuff!:

Enchanted Items:
Retractable Armor: In use, covers his head, neck, sides, and tops of his wings. Black metal, sharp and angular, with spurs above the wing joints and along the backs of his hind legs. Surprisingly light. Inert, it folds into a series of innocuous accessories. <- Can the Rift please just eat this? I don't want to deal with it right now.

Companion:
Auga, common raven, female, missing her right eye

collect your tears, shoot 'em down
even giants hit the ground
Rift Presence
Currently championing:
#2
the Rift
You’re falling. Down and down and down until you meet the ground. It watches you, staggering as you take your first steps within the Rift – devouring you with it’s many glowing eyes that you can’t quite see dead on but know are there through your peripheral vision. And it notices you, not just because of the commotion you’ve caused, but the beautiful treat you’ve brought with you.

The eyes glow brighter until all you can see is a blinding white light. Is this death? No, it’s simply a distraction while it reaches its crooked dark fingers out, hooking them to the armor you bear and yanking it until it vanishes in one of the many pockets of the world.

Then the white fades, leaving you broken and alone.


| ACCEPTANCE NOTES : Korri |

Items:
The Rift devours the item completely.

The companion goes wild.

Welcome to the Rift!
» Presence of the Rift «


Explorer Kiada
Currently championing: Vjanta
#3
It was rare for her to return to the Portal anymore. It had been so long since her long dark legs had made the trek in those woods where so many horrors occurred. There had been some good, of course, but the darkness that plagued the land outweighed the light as the days went on – but she was searching for useful things and she found that she’d have to go places she didn’t really want to in order to get them. That was how she ended up back here. Heaving a quiet sigh, while Khairi echoed the sentiment along her scarred withers (both from his long sharp talons, and that fateful day in Helovia where a family of griffons plucked her from the ground) she scouted for anything that might be beneficial to the herd.

She already had a small makeshift bag that Khairi had helped her create – nothing too big, but reinforced due to Vynter’s machine’s webbing. It was as good as anything else she had, though she had left most of her armor at home in Halyven. The only thing she bore now were the spine armor, due to it being embedded into her skin, and no other protection other than herself. She could wreath herself in flame, she didn’t necessarily need a weapon when she was one herself. So she continued to explore, carrying only a few bits of Calendula in her pouch while her sharp glacial eyes and Khairi’s own blood hued ones scouted for anything else.

What the Harpy hadn’t expected, however, was the drowning sound of something heavy plummeting to the ground. The darker part of her wanted to not care, to let them figure it out for themselves. It was probably a creature that lived here trying to lure her somewhere, or the Portal simply playing tricks. Her ears flicked forward, however, when she heard the sound of coughing, muffled and muted from the distance. All it took was a nod of her head before Khairi was off and scouting, the pale bird remaining high in the branches while he sought the sound.

It didn’t take long before she was heading in that direction, too. The pale bird remained high in the branches, surveying from his post, while Kiada had the disadvantage of approaching from the ground. Pushing through the bushes, her ears craned forward, she had this feeling she was in the right place at the right time. He was injured, his wings splayed uselessly on either side of him. She happened to have a few healing items in her bag that could help with wounds, yet she found herself cursing at the fact she didn’t carry any healing magic for such events. Still, she stepped through the threshold to spot the man, concern lacing her features. “I can help you if you need it?” Her voice called out to him, keeping her distance in case he wasn’t the friendly sort. She didn’t need to repeat the battle that happened between her and the stranger she fought in the forest. Kiada remained a distance away, waiting for him to decide whether or not to allow her to tend to him.

"Talk."
Kiada
she had a wild, wandering soul
but when she loved, she loved with chaos
and that made all the difference.

image | coding


@Korri

TROY FALLS A THOUSAND TIMES,
IN EVERY DREAM I DREAM.
(LIKE ASHES, LIKE ASHES,
LIKE A STAR BURNING OUT.)
Korri
Currently championing: Reszo
#4
Oh, my tongue's the only muscle in my body that works harder than my heart

He stood in a forest, but he already knew that. Nothing but trees, trees and shadows, and the strange gleam of eyes from the dark. A prickling feeling crawled up along his spine, a gathering unease. He smelled... something. Something beneath the damp. He had noticed it before, but now it drew his attention. He had an impression of big and an impression of dangerous before the pinpoints of light in the distance seemed to grow, brighter and brighter until there was nothing else, nothing left but sharp white light searing the backs of his eyes.

With a cry, he shuffled back. Tripped. His rump hit the ground hard. And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the light dispersed. Korri sat blinking away the dancing spots in his vision, and the trees slowly came back into focus. No different than before. Except... the sensation of a presence watching him no longer weighed upon his mind. He had the distinct impression of having been judged, looked over and picked clean of.... Wait.

In one rough movement, he vaulted upward again, grunting with the effort. Back on his feet, he paused. Cocked an eye at the bedraggled state of his body. His naked body. The armor — the shape the armor took while collapsed — was gone. Plainly and totally gone, as if it had never existed. His eyes narrowed down for a moment as he tried to remember if it had been with him before he fell. Yes? Certainly yes; where else would it have gone? Unease snaked its way through him like a poison as he transferred his gaze once more to the unwelcoming forest. Had the light...?

Somewhere nearby, a noise in the brush. Something big. Korri glanced that way and shifted uneasily away from it. At the same time, he reached without thinking for the part of his mind which had never been totally his own. "Auga," he called softly, wanting the advantage of her wings. But between one breath and the next, between one stuttering heart beat and the next — she was gone.

Gone like everything else.

"AUGA!" he called, louder this time. A little frantic. Momentarily forgetting he had just fallen from an unhealthy height, he spun in a circle, wings flaring, searching the darkness for his bird. "AUGA?!" But she didn't answer. No hoarse sound of her voice. No flapping of wings. A sudden, awful hollow opening up inside of him: Not her not her not her. He could lose anything else, but not her....

Halfway through spinning around again, he caught sight of something — someone — staring at him. His head jerked up; his hooves tangled with each other and he stumbled again, looking a supreme idiot, probably more than half insane. He managed to catch himself this time and stood staring, his thoughts moving too quickly and yet going nowhere at all. She's gone she's gone she's gone. He could feel himself shaking, could feel he might cry if he spoke again, and yet someone was there, someone enormous and strange.

Korri's wings flexed. The small movement sent a shuddering ache through his shoulders and he gritted his teeth to keep any further sound from escaping. He took a small, wary step back. Oh, the stranger was big, bigger than anyone he'd seen in his life. Big, and something sharp protruded from their brow. The voice, though — the voice he both heard and didn't hear, seeing only her and yet seeing nothing at all — was soft. Gentle.

He ought to say something. He knew this, and yet he had momentarily forgotten everything he might possibly say. Auga, he thought distractedly. Reaching for her was like falling over a missing stair. He swallowed. Opened his mouth. Felt his voice about to break the minute he went to pull it out of his throat, and looked pointedly away. "Well," he said, attempting lightness and achieving an insane, shivering sort of giddy. "I seem to have misplaced my bird."

unsplash

collect your tears, shoot 'em down
even giants hit the ground
Explorer Kiada
Currently championing: Vjanta
#5
There was screaming, a name that she didn’t recognize for someone that Kiada nor Khairi could see. The pale bird still remained up in the high branches of the tree, looking down upon the man that had simply fallen from the sky, fluffing his feathers while he scanned the area for anything else. But alas, nothing came up and Kiada wondered if perhaps the Portal only took one person through instead of the masses. Was it a friend of this strangers? She couldn’t see any other equine, nor did she have an idea of them being nearby.

But then the man spotted her. Her ears craned forward even further as his wings flexed, quietly watching and waiting, praying to nonexistent gods that he wouldn’t just randomly attack her. She did her best to sound kind as she called out to him, letting her voice carry across the gathering, through the woods and shrubs to reach him. Then, he looked away, speaking to her in a broken sound – as though sorrow were breaking through the syllables. Her brows pushed forward as she stepped out further toward him. “I seem to have misplaced my bird.” His voice reached hers and suddenly the name made sense. She glanced up to Khairi who simply responded with a “no” as she questioned whether he saw a bird from the general direction. Sighing quietly she looked back to the man. “I’m sorry. My companion didn’t see any other birds up there.” She offered him, tentatively stepping toward him again to close some of the gap but still leaving a good amount of polite distance between them.

If you’re hurt I can help you. And if you want, we can go look for your bird? I suppose it's possible that the Portal put them out somewhere else?” She tilted her inky head, shifting her weight slightly to show the small makeshift grassy bag that Khairi had mostly been in charge of. Surprisingly, she felt willing to help him out in searching for the bird. Unbeknownst to her, that the companion wasn’t around to be found. Still, she was optimistic and tried her best to offer him a small smile and a dip of her head to show she wasn’t there to harm him.

"Talk."
Kiada
she had a wild, wandering soul
but when she loved, she loved with chaos
and that made all the difference.

image | coding


@Korri

TROY FALLS A THOUSAND TIMES,
IN EVERY DREAM I DREAM.
(LIKE ASHES, LIKE ASHES,
LIKE A STAR BURNING OUT.)
Korri
Currently championing: Reszo
#6
Oh, my tongue's the only muscle in my body that works harder than my heart

She moved. His wary gaze snapped back to her. The predator in his brain had already measured the difference between them in size and probable ability. The difference in apparent physical condition. She could kill him if she wanted to (and does she want to?). He wanted to believe the gentle tone of her voice. The soft cant of her head. The serene blue of her eyes. But he didn't stand alive before her thanks to an overabundance of trust.

And his only counsel was gone.

Korri glanced up as the stranger did, and blinked at the large black and white bird in the branches above them. His heart twinged, a sharp stab through the biting reddish ache. A part of him flared briefly with anger, wanting to demand Why do you have him if I cannot have her? But he was too weary even to consider indulging it. The anger died. A shiver ran down his spine, water working its way through his coat and sucking the heat from his skin. His head hurt. His — everything hurt. And Auga was gone. Perhaps the stranger wouldn't notice the tears gathering in his eyes through all this rain.

She kept approaching. Korri stepped back once, a silent warning against approaching him further. He could not, of course, take any action against her, but the quiet rebuke was also a test of her intentions. His ears came forward as she spoke again, and the gears wheeled in his head as he tried to understand it. She was offering to help him? Why? He bit back the urge to turn her down immediately. Swallowed it. Another word stuck in his mind — Portal.

"Portal?" he said at last, echoing the name back at her. Trying to think, to find words, felt like the mental equivalent of wading through thick sludge. His head hurt. He shivered again, wings aching. Unwilling, unable to tell her Auga was gone, more gone than ever before. An awful blankness where before there had been safety. Wisdom. If he thought about it too much, he was certainly going to cry in earnest.

"I did hit my head on the way down," Korri relented, finally, after a moment of consideration. He wondered if the wound bled — impossible to tell in all this rain. He was quite aware he bore a number of other more minor scratches and injuries, some only minor because they had begun to heal. Some inflicted by the unwelcoming trees on his descent. Eying her carefully, Korri took a step forward. The ends of his wings dragged on the ground to either side. "But I am more confused than I am injured." He cocked his head. "Are you a healer? Is this your home?" Am I intruding? Too many questions. Too many things to think about. Where the hell was he?

And where was his bird?

unsplash

collect your tears, shoot 'em down
even giants hit the ground
Explorer Kiada
Currently championing: Vjanta
#7
As she approached, she did her best to seem the least threatening – and yet, she could understand his wariness. It was a strange place (a very strange place) and she, horned and large was approaching without welcome consent. So she stilled herself, remaining as small as she could be despite her large frame. At least she didn’t have the flames along her back to frighten the confused pegasus further. Instead, she waited patiently while he mulled over the thoughts. “Portal?” He finally said, and she wanted to sigh in relief. At least she hadn’t made him turn and run off. Silently, she nodded her head to him. “That’s the name of this area. This is the Rift, and the place we currently are is called the Portal. Everyone that’s new here, comes through here.” She offered the explanation easily. “It’s almost like a living thing, though. It takes and changes things from you sometimes.” She added a bit offhandedly, shrugging by rolling her great shoulders, the wound on her chest oozing further with the motion though the rain helped to slide some of the grime away.

But then, he spoke again about hitting his head and her ears craned even further forward, willing to help him the best she could. Then, to her surprise, he stepped forward toward her, the primary feathers on either side of him dragging through the cold, wet ground. His voice rang up once again, questioning her before she had the idea to step toward him to help him. He asked her a few questions and she tried to offer him a gentle, kind smile. “Ah, yes. Sorry. My name is Kiada, my companion up there is Khairi. I live in this world, yes, but not in this specific place. We have a herd in a land to the East of here called Halyven.” She gave the information willingly, and rather easily to her surprise. “I don’t really have a title at the moment, but when I was young and from a different land I learned a few basics for healing.” Her voice remained soft, calm, her only attempt at seeming less threatening as she possibly could.

Quietly, and rather slowly, she reached over with her dark head and used her pale lips to open the flap to the small makeshift bag, pulling out a few of the gold colored Calendula’s she had gathered in there. All she needed to do was mash it up on a rock, or even have Khairi crush a few of them with his sharp beak to get the oils out to apply to the scrapes that plagued him. “This plant, for example, is basically a Marigold. It’ll help with some scrapes and wounds. It’ll clean them so they don’t get infected out here.” She mentioned quietly. “I don’t have healing magic, unfortunately, but I do have fire magic. So if you get cold, don’t hesitate to tell me.” She offered the joke to try and lighten the mood, the words a bit muffled from the flowers she carried delicately within her pink splotched lips.

Khairi, meanwhile, slipped down from his perch up above to land on the ground before Kiada. The mare reached down to drop the flowers to the bird, having understood what she wanted him to do. As she dropped them, he hopped over, plucking each one carefully and making his way to a rock before he sliced each one with the sharp razor edges of his beak and allowing Kiada to crush them with the pressure of her hoof. For the spots the spotted woman couldn’t get, Khairi finished with the rough and hard part of his beak. Then, both of them glanced up to Korri curiously. “Just put this on the wounds and it should help. Might sting a bit at first, though. We can help you apply it if you want, if not, it’s all yours.” She added in, trying to be as kind as possible.

"Talk."
Kiada
she had a wild, wandering soul
but when she loved, she loved with chaos
and that made all the difference.

image | coding


<3

TROY FALLS A THOUSAND TIMES,
IN EVERY DREAM I DREAM.
(LIKE ASHES, LIKE ASHES,
LIKE A STAR BURNING OUT.)
Korri
Currently championing: Reszo
#8
Oh, my tongue's the only muscle in my body that works harder than my heart

Korri continued to watch, but she was very obliging, this mare. His small ears remained up, trained on the sound of her voice, as she explained about the Portal. He lacked the mental acuity to really process the information, but he hoped some of it would stick for later reflection. It seemed he was, indeed, very far from home... He tried to think back, but all he remembered was the noise of water, the roaring like some great beast. He had almost believed the goddess Herself was present.... but maybe She had been. Maybe that was why he was here. He sighed, headache grinding the turn of his thoughts to a standstill. He could consider it later.

He did wonder, briefly, what the mare meant by changes, though he supposed she had just explained what became of his armor. Later, maybe, he would mourn the loss of the gift. The only gift anyone had ever given him. It seemed a small loss to him then, however, cold and wretched as he was, lowered to accepting help from an absolute stranger, bare-shouldered and horned though she was. His eyes flicked briefly to the wound upon her chest, to the strange metal glinting along her spine, but he didn't think much of either detail as he noticed them. She was speaking again. Answering his other questions.

Kiada. Her name was Kiada; important. Korri's head nodded automatically. Some remnant of his personality seemed to be running still on autopilot despite the crumbling wreck he'd become internally. "Kiada," he repeated. A faint, weary smile touched his features. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He paused, glanced only so briefly at Khairi. Again that stab of frustration, the brief flare of anger hot in his heart. "Both of you," he said all the same, his tone only wavering the slightest bit. She spoke of magic, and he forced out an abbreviated laugh, hoping she meant it as a joke. "I'm certain I'll dry." Surely it didn't rain all the time, here? He was almost afraid to ask.

He fell silent as she explained about the plant, and about her abilities. Too exhausted to offer input. But he turned his head and blinked at the trees as the bird flew down to help her. It was too much. He wanted to call for Auga again, as if wanting could make the situation reverse. He found himself wondering a little bitterly why he'd flown at all. Why he hadn't just....

But Kiada's voice pulled him from his melancholy thoughts, and he blinked at her once more. It was reminiscent of an old man roused from the beginnings of slumber, that blink. "Ah," said Korri, his ears coming forward again. "Thank you. You're very kind." He supposed he hadn't much choice but to take the herb and hope it didn't burn his skin off or something else unpleasant. His limbs protesting, he walked stiffly over to where she had prepared it and slowly extended his neck downward. Inhaled. It didn't smell poisonous, but rather pleasant. Good news at last.

Ignoring her last statement, he smeared some of the stuff against his upper lip and craned his neck back to apply it to the freshest scrapes and gashes. She was correct — it did sting — but soon the sting mellowed out into a cool, soothing sensation. Finished save for the wound on his forehead, Korri turned back to her. "I'm not accustomed to being greeted with such kindness," he said, a little puzzled. Were he in better condition, he knew he would be concerned about her motivations, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care. She had mentioned a herd; he wondered how friendly the others were. Wondered if he was really pathetic enough to ask them for shelter.

No; no. He had gotten this far on his own wits (and Auga's). He should go before he found himself trapped. "Well," he said, and blinked ruefully at the trees. "I suppose I should be going — Ah! I'm sorry!" He turned suddenly back to her. "I didn't introduce myself, did I? I apologize. It's been a.... long day for me." Or week. Or month. "My name is Korri. Just... Korri." He sighed, allowing the implication to hang in the air. Of no relation to anyone important. From nowhere you've heard of. "I don't wish to impose on you any further, so I suppose I'll get going. Perhaps my own companion is out there somewhere."

unsplash

collect your tears, shoot 'em down
even giants hit the ground
Explorer Kiada
Currently championing: Vjanta
#9
Her name rolled off of his tongue, repeating her introduction. There was a faint smile that graced his features to which Kiada offered her own in exchange. “It’s nice to meet you too.” She answered quietly, despite the fact that he hadn’t given her his name. It didn’t bother her much, honestly. There were times where names were unnecessary, and perhaps this was one of those times where she had offered too much information from still being rather young and naïve. But Khairi crooned his own hello as the man nodded to him as well, listening while the pegasus mentioned that he was sure he’d dry. A small smile graced her pink splotched lips toward him with a nod as though she were saying “suite yourself.

As she explained about the plant and what uses it would have, she offered the information with little regard to anything else. But before long, he had gone silent and watchful though perhaps not fully there as he blinked up at her when she spoke once again. “Ah.” He began, and she listened curiously as he began to speak and move toward the mush she had create as a salve to tend to his wounds. Part of her, the lighter childish part, beamed at the thanks she received from him, but still she said nothing. Instead, nodding slightly and smiling softly as she looked upon him, watching as he stretched to put the salve on the many small scratches and wounds he bore.

His words reached her once more and she nodded to him. “The Rift is a rather unkind place. It does some good to have some light where there’s nothing but darkness.” She added, slightly offhandedly before rolling her thick shoulders once more. Then, he began to leave and she began to make room, Khairi swooping up with his great wings to sit across her back in his favorite place as they watched him turn back to her. Suddenly, he apologized, then he introduced himself. A smile crossed her lips as she dipped her head in a type of greeting. “It is truly nice to meet you Korri.” Her voice called to him before she edged toward him. “You’re not imposing. I was wandering anyway before heading back to the herd. You’re welcome to join me, if you’d like. Perhaps some rest will help before setting out on the journey to find your companion?” She tilted her head and waited patiently for his response.

Then whether or not he deigned to join her, she and Khairi began their trek to Halyven.

"Talk."
Kiada
she had a wild, wandering soul
but when she loved, she loved with chaos
and that made all the difference.

image | coding


I posted her leave so that way she'd stop talking otherwise she'd want to sit there and chat with him all day lmao!
Feel free to have him join her if you want or go separate ways :D

TROY FALLS A THOUSAND TIMES,
IN EVERY DREAM I DREAM.
(LIKE ASHES, LIKE ASHES,
LIKE A STAR BURNING OUT.)
Korri
Currently championing: Reszo
#10
Oh, my tongue's the only muscle in my body that works harder than my heart

The Rift is a rather unkind place. Korri almost laughed at that. Had he been any less exhausted, he might well have done so. From one to another he thought wryly. This place was far stranger than any he'd seen before, however. The intrigues of political drama traded for the raw blood and fangs of the wild.

He wondered who Kiada was. Born here? Raised here? Outcast from somewhere else? She spoke with class befitting one of noble blood, though Korri had no idea if such a concept even existed here. Despite his weariness and the constant cold, he was intrigued. He stood still a moment as she spoke her offer. One of his ears swiveled back.

He had no desire to owe anyone, least of all a stranger, any debt. But he was unlikely to find much success if he wandered off on his own in his present condition. Kiada was correct. Strange that he should run into someone like her now, of all times.... He was still waiting for something to happen, for the other foot to drop, but he had little choice but to trust her for the moment. With a sigh, Korri nodded and turned back in her direction. "Yes..." he said, a weary smile playing across his features. "I appreciate it, Miss Kiada. It's not every day I meet someone with such a kind heart. If I may apologize in advance...." He lifted his wings in a tired shrug, winced, and laboriously folded each of them. "I think my stride is quite a bit shorter than yours."

With that, he followed stiffly in her wake, able only to wonder what awaited him here in the Rift.

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@Kiada thank you for a lovely first thread!

collect your tears, shoot 'em down
even giants hit the ground