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 Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2022 3:26 pm
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Amuru barely ever left his small grove where his sons and daughters could come to visit. Unless Huiwen or Muna wished his attention elsewhere. However, there were times when he'd miss interactions with others. His family was very quiet, aside from those two he never really mingled with anyone. Aside, of course, from a specific group from the Faire and the Underland. Being so close to the Scarecrows as a spirited brother to Monfulta has helped him pass his time when he is not in his personal library.
Standing within the Underland he was paying a visit to Fae, awaiting the arrival of her mate Arcane. It would be a lie to say he did not notice the sun beginning to turn its power down. He knew better than to look directly at the sun so his realization came slowly. As an Alicorn without a mutation, he was not blessed like Fae or Arcane with their special light-sourced eyes or innards so he didn't take a chance to glance up. Nonetheless, he still had work to do. Arcane had requested his services to find specific literature on magics and potions and the like. He had strung a sachel around his front, and adventured to Underland.
As he got to the side of Fae, he watched as she let Wisp go to find Arcane and let him know Amuru was here. After she released Wisp he was about to say hello until he noticed she was now taking a turn to look at the sun. He notched his ears back and he tilted his head as he took the rest of his journey to meet her at her side. As he tilted his head his beads clinked together. Amuru was known to be a really quiet individual, he was a little reserved and skittish still after his years of trauma but the beads he wore in representation of his family and birth-culture gave a sound that was uniquely Amuru's.
Upon hearing this sound of him, Fae's head turned towards Amuru. Her lavender-coloured eyes scanning over the Relandori softly. She flared her canid nostrils and then lifted her jowls up against her teeth in a smile. "Amuru.." She brightened. "Sorry, I didn't notice you until I heard you." She wasn't wearing the hat she was known for, it was still to warm for Fae to wear it yet. Soon, when the snow fell on Underland she would put it back on. Being made of the shadows, she wasn't easily made cold.
"It's alright." He chuckled, "I don't mind waiting for Arcane to come around." He mused and then glanced in the sky, not into the sun but around to see the darkness overtaking the skies. He squinted at another star starting to peak through the twilight. "You noticed it too?" His ears moved forward to hear Fae's answer. "I have read about eclipses that happen to the Sun much like the Lunar ones we get yearly." He versed with his mature yet soft voice, he knew Fae would at least be a little interested. He wasn't so scared for the Soquili of the lands, as they were generally known to have amazing night vision. However there were animals who were not as blessed in these lands.
"Yes." Fae responded with a curiousity that made Amuru miss his oldest daughter and her inquisitive personality. Perhaps that would be his next stop. She had a hint of concern too, as a shadow creature, would this darkness mess with her matter? What of the other Scarecrows like Monfulta or shadowdog brethren. She stitched her brows together, perhaps this would be something to bring up with Arcane and Amuru both at the same time. When Wisp returned she noticed Amuru had approached, and instead of taking perch on Fae she landed on the familiar back of the large black stallion, moving to flip and play with the smaller lapis lazuli that dotted his thick mane's braid. Moving it around in her beak. Her return noted that Arcane was on his way.
Amuru Wordcount: 453
Fae Wordcount: 222 |
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2022 5:42 pm
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There was little in the world that thrilled a Cheshire cat the way a puzzle, a project or a prank would. The best sort of thing would be some combination of thereof, for delights were ever magnified when combined together. Add to that the delight of it being in their chosen field, and well, you'd surely make a friend (or gain a customer) for life and then some. Where one delighted Cheshire cat went, there were surely many more to follow.
Any soul bold enough to ask Ekaterina to solve a puzzle that resolved itself into a harmless prank would find the Queen would delight in sharing it with the whole of the Underland herd. More customers sure to follow, between her sisters and their offspring. While Kasun of Ferus Arcanum, often called Arcane, needed no such custom, he'd seen it before and fully expected it may occur again, now that he was keeping company with this fledgling court. A court with an abundance of heirs, but those that seemed to get along well and support each other, unlike the machinations of his previous position. It was altogether a far more agreeable situation, in his mind.
Keeping to the Queen's good humor were her children, who were not so different as to be unrecognizable in spite of their different sires. They still had their mother's good humor and her merry way, which was why it was so fortunate Arcane had managed to find one of them and wrangle her to his cause. He had too many tasks and not enough paws, so it was fortunate to put another's feet to a path and lighten his burden. If all things went well, they'd manage to get all the elements together in time. If not, well, it didn't much bear thinking about.
"Let's hope that things all work out, hmm?" Arcane murmured to his companions, grinning when he received approving clicks from Invocation and Incantation both. "Glad to hear you're rooting for us, at the least, my friends."
The sudden arrival of a ghost-white raven caught his attention, and Arcane lifted his head to give the underside of her wings a greeting brush. She barely paused to alight on him, informing him the gathering was beginning and encouraging him to make his way back to Fae. "Well then, as my Lady commands, I gladly obey. Hurry back to her, Wisp, we'll be along in just a moment."
The ravens bid each other temporary farewells and then Wisp was off again. Pausing only long enough to scoop up the last few things and drop them in his own satchel, Arcane shook himself faintly and then set out, humming a soft tune. "Here we go, then. Let us hope Amuru made some headway with his marvelous library, hmm?"
***
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Arcane grinned merrily as he stepped into view to find both Fae and Amuru waiting. "I trust I didn't miss too much of it or hold you two up?"
Arcane Wordcount: 498
Away through the winding woods of Underland, there wandered a bone-bare Cheshire Princess. Set to a task by the Mage she admired so well, Esfir Lahal 'Hunt the Thimble' was doing a bit of living up to her name. The trees were old and twisted here, looming and dark with intent, but they seemed to hold no outright ill will. With the way the sun was slowly starting to dim, it had been the best place Esfir thought to find a Shadow's Edge mushroom... a strange sort of growth she thought either Fae or Arcane might use in their various brews.
She'd taken great care with a sack and tongs and all matter of cloth to twist and wrap the strange thing up, hoping to keep everyone safe should it prove dangerous and to keep the foraged elements protected from damage in transport. Now all that remained was to find the black and twisty thing, which she had named during a previous wandering and rather liked to think she truly had discovered.
"Well, if we found it by a shadow pool I suppose we'd have to share the discovery with Moofu, hmm?" Esfir wondered aloud to her companions. Not truly expecting an answer, but posing the inquiry regardless.
Alone by any outsider's definition, Esfir hummed clattered her way through the twisting paths of Underland, accompanied by the excited whispering of her parasidic plant companions Snicker and Snack. Snicker would sometimes whisper her a reply, but Snack only bitterly grumbled for something to eat. Esfir hoped to accomplish the task before lunch so that it didn't become truly unbearable in it's starvation. So far, so good, she rather thought.
Esfir Wordcount: 278
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2022 6:49 pm
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Amuru and Fae were glancing at the skies as the light began to waver more and more as they awaited the approach of Arcane. Amuru's sparkling azure and lapis lazuli eyes danced across the sky as it slowly turned twilight. As he heard the advancing of Arcane his head dropped and he turned his head around his rather tall--shire-esque sized--body. If anyone was throwing hands, it was the Relandori family that is unless you were Muna. Muna was the only small family member like her mother. His eyes settled on the dazzling Arcane. Watching the gold pulse and flit out of the cracks of his deep wine and purple stripes made Amuru feel his age. Recalling a time when glowing eyes and markings, and mutations were considered a rarity. It warmed his soul to see others with alike dispositions to his older brother Monfulta. "You didn't make me wait, I just got here." He insisted kindly towards Arcane. He turned his body. "Nyx was just inquiring about whether or not there maybe some chaos with the shadowlings.. now that it seems a.. solar eclipse is occurring." His eyes glanced at Fae. Wisp making more work of Amuru's braids, she moved to nest against his nape until she saw Invocation and Incantation again and skipping and fluttering towards them. Taking to preen both of the corvids.
At the name Nyx, Fae flinched ever so slightly but due to the fact that she heard it come from a stallion who was practically her uncle, she didn't show any distaste for it slipping. He was a stallion who had been there when she herself was born alongside Howdan. When he tattled on her though she dipped her head. Not often was Fae uncomfortable. Especially with something that has to do with nature. The celestial planes were not something the Fae really had much power over if at all. She leaned against Arcane as he settled on his paws. She kept her eyes to the skies though as
the two conversed around her. As Amuru explained to Arcane she cleared her throat. "Truthfully I enjoy the dark but without a lightsource for some shadowlings, as Amuru called it, I just hope it doesn't make it hard to continue to.. be?" She tilted her head. She wasn't sure how her matter settled. Not many did. Perhaps it was a question for her Uncle Moofu.
Amuru's eyes took glance again to the skies and then shuffled around the bag that sat against his chest. It was obvious at least 3-4 books were weighing it down. It didn't bother Amuru much, his lines were very beautifully built. Although a reserved stallion with a traumatic past, it was evident that he was crafted by the best genetics for a warrior. His chest barreled widely and his feathered legs were bordering against a draft's limbs. His large brown wings settled as he watched the couple. He did think for a moment about homesickness but he wasn't the sort to fault nor blame others' love for the lack of communication with his own family, minus his two aforementioned children. His eyes shifted to Arcane. "I prefer to be around others. So you may take up all the time you need." Although introvert-like Amuru was actually an omnivert, he enjoyed the company of many others but only after having been acquainted long enough. He felt lonely and it was nice to finally travel to the Underland and be surrounded by warm creatures. Well, mostly warm. And if not the creatures being warm the tea was. "I did find a few books from your inquiry with me. I was going to send them with your two ravens but I didn't want them to get too tired carrying them so I brought them for you." He dipped his head point out the bag that was strapped around his chest and beneath his scarf that was less casually placed around his body. The scarf had seen better days, perhaps it was almost time to retire the poor thing.
Fae's eyes went from the skies to Amuru as he spoke about being around others. "You're always welcome here." She worded and then added "And at the Shadow Realm. I think it might be safer to stay here until this.. eclipse, passes." She nodded, though fully aware about missing home and family. At times Arcane and herself were often separated as ambassadors. It was useful to have Wisp, Incantation and Invocation as they spoke to each other through that. Just. It was not always easy to converse with each other through birds. Also Amuru's bunny Tao was usually off on his own these days and wingless. He did have his own wings, which Fae considered how he got around easier than those like herself and Arcane who were grounded. Literally.
With that said though she shifted her ears and notched them back towards where she heard rustling and someone talking to herself. Fae's curiousity began to decipher who it was talking. After some deliberation she wondered which Katya and Arcadius daughter was speaking. She hummed in wonder if they were about to be accompanied by Esfir?
Wordcount: 860
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2022 7:42 pm
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Arcane's slate blue and berry colored paws ate up the ground between himself and his lady, every inch of him grown restless over the time they spent apart. The brief visit of Wisp had been a delicate sort of balm, but it was nothing compared to the relief and delight that coursed through him when he stepped into the clearling and caught sight of her. He couldn't help the radiant grin that curled across his maw, his eyes glowing all the brighter in his joy. It was impossible to be near Fae and not feel pleased by it, so Arcane didn't even bother to try. What was the point?
To see Amuru was a different kind of a treat, the stoic shire-built librarian out of his space in it's own way a kind of miracle. The fact that he surely had books or research of some kind to share was promising and intriguing, a quiet sort of excitement jolting through the big tiger-marked stallion. "Well good, I would hate to be troublesome and tardy, both. One is surely enough, and I am quite certian my Lady would say I am already troublesome."
Arcane grinned and gave a bob of his head, doing his best to step close as he wound his way around Fae and settled at her back. The reunion of the ravens made him smile fondly, amused at their preening and clicking and overall enthusiasm at having each other close. True enough his and Fae's far-ranging responsibilities was beginning to be a drain on all of them, though usually it was easily overlooked. When the reunion of their familiars resulted in such a flamboyant display, things became more transparent. Resolving to see what could be done about that at the earliest moment, Arcane set such thoughts aside for the moment and allowed himself a skyward glance before turning back to his companions in concern.
"What's this I hear about danger to the shadowlings?" He queried, pressing closer to Fae and even nuzzling one of her ears out of affection and concern. He had seen and felt her reaction to Nyx, even now tension laced her, but there were times when he felt powerless to help... and this seemed to be one of them. "Do we need to take action?"
Tension coursed through him at the thought that his lady and her kin might be in danger, but he remained rooted to the spot and waited for direction. No good in darting off without a plan, not with the lack of information at his paws. That was why they needed Amuru, and his marvelous books. Hopefully they had more information than Arcane could access.
Arcane Wordcount: 445
"Where are you, you tricksy pool of shadow?" Esfir mused and mumbled, scrambling and slinking her way over rock and root, around each trunk and twist. "Where are you, little mushroom? Little mushroom, little mushroom!"
Snicker took up a gentle whistling, like the wind in the high grass, part breath of the wild and part sigh. It was soothing and sinister all at once, which was rather as Snicker liked to be. Meanwhile Snack dosed fitfully, grumbling about the lack of food and entertainment to be found at present.
"Always a critic, even in your sleep," Esfir grumbled, halting by a downed twist of trunk and turning to lecture the plant. With Snack snoozing away, she abandoned the attempt and then gave a whistle of glee. Tucked under the downed truck was precisely what she was seeking, prompting her to unpack her supplies in a flurry of movement. "Nevermind that, we've got mushrooms! Here little tongs, I have work for you."
*
Esfir came rattling and rollicking through the trees that separated herself from the gathering with a wide grin and a flash of bright eyes. "I'm here, I'm here! Guess what I've found? Oh you'll ne'er guess, of course, I don't think you've seen one before. Is Papa here? He might know! I didn't see him cutting through the Groves but he's not there too often. If I could find Shah, Shah might know? Oh hello Fae! I guess you could too!"
Sliding to a halt with a creak of bones and a whip of vines, Esfir grinned and capered in place. "Hello Amuru, Hello Arcane, Hello Fae! Did you see the sun? Is everyone going to be ok? I know Irina and Zinger were putting out extra candles and lanterns, in case they might help anyone who was afraid... Do you think they'll help? Should we all be doing that?"
Esfir Wordcount: 311
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2022 8:33 pm
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Amuru chuckled under his breath towards the ambassador couple, his lapis lazuli eyes glinting against the darkening setting they had given their meeting to. He wouldn't call himself stoic, but perhaps a more stoic air came about when one is far away from his home for too long. He tilted his head again, causing the clicking of his beads as they settled in his mane again. He did enjoy Arcane and Fae's presence as they always welcomed a good book recommendation from the librarian. "I mean, I am sure if Elara was more around she would say the same." He stated almost painfully but he did not want to make the air anymore awkward.
"You are the definition of troublesome." Fae added in agreement to Arcane's words. "I don't know if it'd cause danger in its umbra of darkness when it comes full force. I think most of us have self-sustaining light within but." She blinked up at the skies. "I have never seen what would happen if a full day of darkness occurred. I suppose my very northern brethren live for 30 days. But." She hummed lightly in thought before she heard Esfir get closer. As she inquired about mushrooms, and asked where Papa was Fae smiled sweetly to the younger female. Monfulta was a father to many, many lovely children. "I am sure right now, Uncle Moofu is off helping the Shadowlings prepare for darkness. Some of us aren't as sustainable, though as I just said to Arcane, I am sure that most of us are given a light source within." She thought about Mithra helping out in the Shadow Realms. Hopefully her cousin was given access this one time to stand within and become a beacon of light. Although filled with happiness for Mithra she was also very worried. "I don't know about action. Perhaps we could seek him out?"
Amuru tilted his head up at the skies. "I think it's called a solar eclipse, Esfir." He added to educate her. "Much like a lunar one just during the day and to the sun. Try not to look directly at it.." He paused, curious if Esfir had eyes, or those odd glowy shiny ones in her sockets. He could not tell from his height and her bangs. He was always curious how Soquili with such faces, like Dusk in the Hollow, saw. Amuru contemplated questioning Dusk and how he dealt with the solar eclipse. "If I recall this is our first in many, many years. At least first to be this full? Perhaps it'll be a total eclipse." Amuru rambled on with his mature, soft and comforting tone. Hopefully helping calm Fae nearby.
After Fae listened to Amuru she shifted her glance to the first question at the mushrooms. Humming at them, she poked them with her nose and sniffled at them. Her tail twitching behind her. "I think you have Gloomedge Mushrooms." She explained to Esfir. "I'm sure Uncle Moofu would know them better."
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Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2022 8:43 pm
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Arcane gave Amuru a solid look and a nod, attempting to convey a quiet strength and comfort even as they avoided certain painful topics. Elara and Amuru's relationship was not one that Arcane knew much about, but he had always thought it a shame that the solid friend and ally he saw the stallion to be seemed to be perpetually alone. Still, beyond offering friendship and companionship in the form of small gatherings and herd meet ups, Arcane wasn't quite sure now they might assist. Well, perhaps Fae would have an idea, he'd have to ask her later.
"I think I am offended," he retorted with good cheer in response to his mate's accusation, grinning brightly all the while, though his ears swiveled in interest beneath his hat. "Well, now I'm rather concerned. I was hoping Amuru's books might be interesting, but perhaps we should lend our assistance first and then enjoy a good book later? Amuru, would you might staying for tea and a snack, and perhaps some research? It sounds like we'd be better off waiting for lighting conditions to return to, somewhat normal, anyway."
Helping Moofu certainly sounded like a winning idea to him.
Arcane Wordcount: 197
Esfir swung around to face Amuru as soon as the stallion began to speak. He had a kind, teacherly sort of voice. Soft sounds, good pitch and measure, it was something she was happy to listen to. She'd bet he was a hell of a story teller, when the mood struck him.
"A solar eclipse," She mused softly. "Don't stare directly, noted. First in a long time... Might be dangerous. Well, I liked it until that last part."
The worry was rattled a bit as she preened over Fae's examination of her strange little discovery, a shivery sort of hope darting through her. "Oh, please let's go find Papa? I want to know more about them. Are they good for eating, or spells and potions? Maybe they're important... I rather hope so."
Light on her bone feet, Esfir, breeze around the group with a cheerful nuzzle for each and then lead the way further into the herdlands, chattering all the while.
Esfir Wordcount: 161
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