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Home » Search » Roster » Whitepages » Records » FAQ » Guidebook
And Then There Was Light
RP Wanted The Portal 
Efren
Currently championing:
#1
Efen
The world is a swirling, undulating mass of color and light, puffs of alternatingly warm and cool air accompanying the dazzling visuals, a scene made even more elaborate and unbelievable by the film of inexperience glazing the wide, russet eyes that struggle to catch and retain every detail around them.

“Wooow.” He tells the void, tip-toeing uncertainly forward, his velveteen nose outstretched toward a cloud of shimmering indigo, nostrils quivering with the need to know what it smells like, tastes like, feels like, but before even one of these questions can be answered the haze of grainy pigment collapses on itself, drawing away and out of sight in the abyss. “Hey!” He calls, surprise and disappointment raising the pitch of his voice. “Don’t go!”

The cloud ignores him.

Alone now, the young colt’s curiosity shifts to apprehension. It’s dim and difficult to see here, and he doesn’t even know where here is, or where he’s been or where he’s going, if anywhere. “Hello?" He calls, the pair of oversized ears atop his head spinning this way and that for an answer that never comes, finally settling on an uneasy backward tilt, his immature wings hugging tightly against his sides in an effort to self-soothe.

Flashes of lime and pink and electric blue illuminate the small spaces around him, very briefly and intermittently, creating a kind of on-again-off-again runway. As delightful as he’d found the tiny fireworks mere moments before, now he’s wary of approaching, his fuzzy tuft of a tail fidgeting back and forth across his thighs in indecision. Better to go, or better to stay? He wonders, but standing still proves too difficult in the end, and he inches forward, head lowered and eyes wide, his voice nearly strangled to nothing by the fear of the unknown. “Hello?" He calls again.

Talk.


OOC: I intend for Efren to be a Native Riftian. I'd also like to request one magic: Defensive - Wings are resistant to magical assault. So I guess they would 'defend' from one assault for now?

Trying to get up that great big hill of hope,
For a destination.
image || coding
Rift Presence
Currently championing:
#2
Oh!

Oh, how small!

These heavy, rolling, lighting-filled clouds thunder their interest at such a small creature. But it is not the clouds that are the thread, despite their heavy bellies and crashing thunder.

No, it is the shadows. Beware, little one!
the Rift
simply explode


| ACCEPTANCE NOTES : EFREN |

Magic:
Defensive: Wings are resistant to magical attacks. *

Vanity Magic:
Eyes glow with lightning flashes.

*This would be a continuous defensive magic, so be sure to refer to the GB to see how long it would last at different levels!
» Presence of the Rift «


Efren
Currently championing:
#3
Efen
The void answers his call with an explosive cacophony of light and sound. It reverberates through the boy’s tiny body, shockwaves of surprise and terror rattling and ricocheting throughout his bones and sending quivering echoes across his skin like ripples over a pond. The colors that seemed so benign before, so curious and alluring, glare black at him with an almost painful intensity. He shrinks away, tail tucked firmly between his cheeks now, eyes wide and glassy, and unbeknownst to him, glowing with the same ethereal light.


“D-don’t…” He stammers, lips fumbling with the syllables around an instinctive urge to bare his teeth and mouth the air around him, neck rigid and outstretched in a primeval gesture of obeisance.


Talk.

OOC: Open to anyone!

Trying to get up that great big hill of hope,
For a destination.
image || coding
Destrier
Currently championing:
#4


There is no force in the world powerful enough to keep me from returning to the ethereal forest in search of Suli, even though deep down, I know that she will not be there. The hole that her disappearance has left in my heart, my soul is a gaping one, one that cannot simply be healed by time. I demand an explanation for what happened, I desire to have her back, I wish only to know she is safe and that someday, she will return just the same as I remember her. Merlin, too, has become even more withdrawn than usual, but like me, he keeps his tangerine eyes peeled for his friend despite the sickness that’s clung to him since we got here.

The dark memory of the dragon snarling uncharacteristically towards us before disappearing into the thick of the shadows is shattered at the sound of a voice. Slowing my step, I pause and strain to listen; the pitch must belong to that of a child, whose simply spoken word twists my already mutilated heart just a little tighter. My pace quickens, but when a thunderous clap reverberates through the forest, I find myself running to get to him.

He’s a little thing, shrunk back in terror with eyes held open wide, eyes that seem to glow so brilliantly against the encroaching darkness. I slow my step as I drew closer, bister eyes gentle but laced with concern as I look upon him, doing my very best not to startle the boy any further. A quick glance about confirms my fear that he is indeed alone in this world so foreign, so hungry and unforgiving. With considerable care I outstretch a velvet, whiskered muzzle towards him; the last thing I wish to do is frighten him any further and drive him away.

“It’s alright, now,” baritone soothes and reassures, and should the colt begin to show any sign of fear at my presence, then I would immediately step away to give him the space he required. If not, I would linger close, and hope that I could bring comfort to him. “Are you lost?”


image credits


" Watch for me by the moonlight
I'll come to thee by the moonlight
though hell should bar the way "
Efren
Currently championing:
#5
Efen
The light fades, small bursts of white still dappling the boys vision in its absence, but the crashing sound only drops in pitch, continuing to thrum below the threshold of his hearing, travelling through his core, down his legs, and exiting his hooves with a final jolt that sends him skittering sideways, lifting his knees up to his chest as if to pull himself away from the unseen power like a clinging mud. His eyes struggle to adjust to the sudden return to darkness, blinking rapidly and barely registering the dark stallion as something real and animate until he rushes near, seeming to materialize from the shadows themselves, a condensed version of the unknown forces around him. The urge to shrink into himself and nervously clack his teeth together rises a second time, but as the stallion speaks – low and conciliatory – the instinct fades.

“I’m not lost.” He says, though the words waver slightly on his tongue. To be lost he’d have to know that he’s not where he was going, but where he is now is all that he knows, so how can he say with surety that it’s not where he is meant to be? “I’m just… um.” A tickle of whiskers against his skin derails the boy’s cyclical thoughts, a welcome distraction from the uncomfortable and overly complicated subject at hand. “Hey!” He giggles, shaking his head and pawing playfully, his bat-like wings finally unclenching from his sides.

“Did you make that noise?” He asks with deference, staring in awe at the size of the stallion’s massive hooves, made to appear even larger by the heavy feathering that shrouds his lower legs. The tiny colt could probably fit all four of his own feet into one massive hoof print if he tried. "It was huge!"


Talk.

OOC: @Destrier

Trying to get up that great big hill of hope,
For a destination.
image || coding
Destrier
Currently championing:
#6


His answer is one that, honestly, I wasn’t expecting. What is he doing here, then, alone, in a place so dark that’s crawling with lurking entities, sitting in the shadows and always just beyond reach? It’s unnerving, knowing that they’re always there and watching, yet never emerging.

A gentle smile tugs back at dark lips and I chuckle warmly as a giggle escapes the boy and he strikes out in a sportive manner, grateful that I hadn’t frightened him further with my less than subtle appearance from the depths of the darkness.

At his question, I give a shake of my head. “No,” came my simple response, “I believe it was only the lightning. I know that it sounds scary, but it is nothing you should worry over.” Or so I hoped it had been nothing more than the seemingly perpetual storms that rolled overhead, crashing, rumbling and threatening those who did not seek cover from it. Warily I cast a look over my shoulder as if to assure that there truly was nobody else in our midst, that it really had been the lightning and nothing else – honestly, it’s hard to say just yet in this new, messed up world we’ve all been suddenly thrust in to.

Looking back to the boy, I subconsciously shift closer to him, that paternal instinct beginning to take over without completely realizing it. Merlin finally begins to emerge from his makeshift home in a tangle of mane, too, and curiously he crawls out to sit atop my nape and gaze at the bat-winged child. “What’s your name?” The soft inquiry comes, “Mine is Destrier, and my friend here is Merlin.” There’s a bit of hesitation before the next question is spoken. So many had lost their friends and family during the passage of worlds that I’m dubious to ask it. In the end, I choose to word it carefully, hoping not to strike the wrong chord in him.

“… Is there anyone I can help you find?”


image credits


" Watch for me by the moonlight
I'll come to thee by the moonlight
though hell should bar the way "
Efren
Currently championing:
#7
Efen
He nods, already accepting the stallion as peer and source of knowledge, his own youth and lack of experience making him deferent to those older and larger, automatically assuming their worldliness and therefor instantly satisfied with the given explanation, but in a matter of seconds that surety falters and his brows draw together in an expression of guarded curiosity. He watches the stallion’s massive head turn to look behind him, a gesture that directly contradicts the reassurance of his words. Should he be worried after all? He wonders, one ear folding skeptically backward, his neck tensing and raising in response to the inner conflict of what he's being told versus what he can see for himself, but again a timely distraction relieves him of having to explore the issue further.

“What is that?” He squeals excitedly, eyes pinned to the small creature suddenly crawling its way up the stallion’s neck. Transfixed, he spreads his wings, shaking them out so that the movement catches small pockets of air between their finger-like ribs and spreads the membranous webbing smooth. "It’s got wings like me!” He grins. There’s not much more resemblance than that, but to an as yet unsocialized colt this one similarity is more than enough to spark a sense of marvel and comradery.

"Des-trier!" He repeats, "Mer-lin.” He tests the syllables out on his tongue and then answers, "I’m Efren!” The name is obvious to him, natural, as much so as inhaling and exhaling. No one had to tell it to him, he simply knows, but the stallion’s final question gives him pause and allows the sense of uncertainty from earlier to creep inside his thoughts.

Is he lost?
Is he looking for someone?
Should he be?

The way the question is posed, the way the stallion looks at him so kindly and yet so carefully gives an impression of expectation, as if there's a desired or expected answer, something specific he’s supposed to say. "Uhm..” He hesitates, suddenly at a loss and feeling less than adequate. "Are.. you looking for someone?"


Talk.


OOC: @Destrier

Trying to get up that great big hill of hope,
For a destination.
image || coding
Destrier
Currently championing:
#8


The moment Merlin summons the courage to reveal himself, the colt becomes enthralled by him; his enthusiasm and glee is contagious, causing my gentle smile to broaden as a deep chuckle rattles my sides. “He is a dragon,” I explain patiently, dropping my head further to grant the umber colt a better view. The dragon in question watches inquisitively as the youngling spreads his wings in an eager display. He cranes his head sideways for a moment before slowly mimicking the action, stretching his wings out to their full span which isn’t much given his small size, beating them twice in the stagnant air as he offers a curious trill. Merlin may not be the most sociable of creatures, particularly to those he doesn’t know, but the dragon is certainly trying, especially when his sickly state was taken into consideration. Another chuckle wracks my sides. “And he says hello to you.”

His name is Efren, he proclaims, and I give a nod of my head to acknowledge it.  My following question seems to stump him if only for a moment, and the way he hesitates, even seems to try and avoid it, proves only to further my concern. When he instead turns the question on me, my expression faltered, the corners of my lips turning downward into a sorrowful frown, though not an ounce of judgement floods my eyes as I absorb his words. It has barely been two weeks since Suli fled into the everlasting night, yet the damage her absence has already done is devastating. I feel empty, broken in a way that I can’t explain, as though I can never quite be the same man I had been before the fall of Helovia.

”I am,” comes a softly spoken, solemn reply, ”But I have had no luck in finding her yet. She is a dragon, just like Merlin, only green in color.”

I yearn to know just why Efren is alone, where his guardians are or if he even has any. Had he come from Helovia, or was he from here, wherever exactly here was? But I fear causing upset, and so when I continue, I choose my words with caution. ”I fear it may be getting too late to continue my search for today, however.” Here, I press that warm smile back to my face, hoping to ease the lines of tension from the boy’s features. “Perhaps you could help me come morning?”


image credits


" Watch for me by the moonlight
I'll come to thee by the moonlight
though hell should bar the way "
Efren
Currently championing:
#9
Efen
The dragon’s mimicry delights the boy and he fans his wings with greater enthusiasm as a result, the two miniatures mirroring each other in an ostentatious salute of kinship, or at least, what the colt perceives to be kinship without ever having met a relative. “Hello to you too.” He pronounces formally, inclining his head in mock decorum and reporting matter-of-factly to the stallion, “I like dragons.”

It all seems to be going so well, this first meeting with a stallion and a dragon, with anybody, but the joy brought on by one question quickly fades at the heels of another. The stallion’s expression crumples, the corners of his mouth falling into tight lines and his brows creasing. “Oh.” Is all the boy can think to say at first, his cheeks warming self-consciously as he inwardly rebukes himself for speaking so carelessly and causing a negative reaction.

He finds himself wanting to correct the mistake, to reassure the stallion and reestablish their newfound friendship, all while being oblivious to the very same efforts being made on his behalf. “We can find her.” He starts tentatively. “I can help. I’m good at looking. And listening!” With this his conch shaped ears flick fully forward, their humorous size highlighted even farther by how small and delicate he appears. Without the thick layer of fluff across his hide and encircling his neck he might seem little more than a walking skeleton.

And then, an invitation.

“Yes!” He shouts excitedly, the sudden desire to stay with the elder, or the sudden realization that the black may soon leave, raising the volume of his voice and causing a slight echo in the shifting spaces around them. “Oh, uhm, sorry.” He trails, a sheepish grin spreading across his too-deep mouth, the tiny nubs of canine teeth slightly jutting overtop the more mundane incisors and molars. He turns to glance around for the first time since being approached, his voice suddenly deflating. “Uhm.. Destrier?” He hesitates, fearful of causing another flicker of sadness to cross his features,  or worse, anger. “Do you.. live here?”

Do I live here? He wonders.


Talk.

OOC: @Destrier

Trying to get up that great big hill of hope,
For a destination.
image || coding
Destrier
Currently championing:
#10


His response warms my heart and sends it soaring. Efren seems to be enthralled by Merlin, just as Merlin seems to be enthralled by him in return. Having been risen primarily around equines, the young dragon doesn’t quite know what to think. Though our bond is weakened and I haven’t heard the black speak since crossing over from Helovia, I can feel his curiosity through the wavelengths of our bond and I smile softly upon the adolescent pair. Merlin offers yet another inquisitive trill, giving one last, mighty flap of his wings before folding them back neatly at his sides, nectarine eyes remaining on Efren's juvenile frame.

My explanation almost seems to hurt the colt in some way, but before I can offer him a word or a bump of the nose in reassurance, he takes it upon himself to reassure me instead. His efforts are appreciated, a small light amidst the otherwise dismal place my mind has become since arriving here. I fear for Suli more than anything else; she has always been my constant companion, with me through every battle and every heartache, there to celebrate and to mourn at my side, but now, she is gone, and a part of my very soul feels as though it has withered and died.

Refusing to let the lugubrious thoughts taint my features or make their way into my voice, I cast Efren a genial smile and finally begin to make my way forward, assuring that the affable boy follows before I next speak. “Very well then,” the words are accompanied by a warm chuckle, bister eyes aglow, “A pair of young, fresh eyes just might lead us to her.” More than likely not, but the truth of the matter wasn’t what was most important right now.

A brief moment of silence falls before Efren voices a question of his own, to which I patiently nod my head in response. ”This is not the place where I grew up, but it is my home now,” I offer in way of explanation, ”I have called many places home in my lifetime, but I hail from a land called Gassul.” Of course, I held less than fond memories of the place, but it was my birthplace no matter the events that had transpired there. Bending my neck to regard the boy, all the while keeping a careful eye on the path ahead as I lead the way out of the unearthly, inhospitable forest, I continue. ”My family and I have only recently come here. It’s much different than anything I’ve seen before.”

Another pause, and my smile lengthened. "They will be excited to meet you."



image credits


" Watch for me by the moonlight
I'll come to thee by the moonlight
though hell should bar the way "