Quoth the Raven {OPEN}

[RAVEN]

RAVEN!

Ahhh! Summer, the time of year, when it was a blessing to spread one's wings and soar through the handsome clear skies. Of course all other creatures felt this blessing too, but Raven knew they hadn't known the companionship of the cold winter winds as the winged horses do. But than he was partial, the great coal pegasus couldn't deny this fact. His handsome indigo eyes took in the scenery around him, his huge wings spread, taking on the air with no trouble, this animal was built to move through the air with more agility and speed than even the most finely tuned human 'aircraft'. The handsome mountains sprawled out below him, a tiny shadow following him relentlessly, his only life companion. Wide eyes squinted in a smile, he liked having someone to travel with, though a shadow was hardly another equine. Soon, he would have another to fly with soon. His mouth turned down slightly, as he realized that despite the warm summer air a cool breeze was drifting off of the mountain and snow didn't look as though it was going to melt away from these peaks in the near future. Raven sighed softly and moved toward an icy meadow near the top of one of the mountains. This was the sunny side of the mountain, and he hoped the temperatures would be more bearable there. Why was he here? Raven was simply tired of exploring in sleepy fields and forests, if he was going to be brave enough to start a heard of his own why not do a bit of exploring first, get this out of the way, after all he didn't want regrets! No, Raven refused to live with those pesky ties, he was only a mortal he couldn't afford looking back in disappointment. At the end of his life he wanted to be proud of his accomplishments, to have a family, a heard, and explorations to brag of on the otherside!

Soon Raven's delicate hooves touched the icy grounds, and he felt them slip slightly, another flap of his long wings lifted the equine to give him better footing. The ice crunched sharply beneath his hooves, it was not uncommon for him to be found on the soil, but he hated snow and ice, the way it soaked his hooves and feathers around them never failed to make him cold, misery set in quickly after making winters more unbearable. Raven's ears swiveled to and fro listening for others in the area, but he heard nothing, the stallion was completely alone. Eyes turned to the ground once more and he chuckled, "You're still around are you?" He chuckled again, "I suppose you don't have much of a choice." He couldn't imagine being like the shadow, forced to live upon the ground, but this was not the time for that! He focused on the area around him, large evergreen trees reached for the sun, handsome white snow seemed fairly fresh, and there were no other hoof prints. Raven was the first to tread upon this snow, how interesting. He could only imagine that this mountain might be more of an exploration for ground dwellers, but he would make his best of it that was for sure. His wide nostrils flared, showing a hot pink coloring as he took in the scents around him, pine and cold. A perfect day to begin his exploration! Raven marched along the ground, avoiding rocks carefully and listening for any odd noises, after all he was here to explore. The stallion wanted to make it to the top of the mountain, without his wings, taking in all of the beauty he could on his way to the top. Smiling he decided that this would be an exciting challenge, definitely worth the flight over.

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OOC; Sorry, this isn't my best post, sort of feels like I am rambling but I really wanted to start with Raven. Feel free to join in!

[muse!]

too many times I've been wrong

Faline was not, by any means, a cold-dwelling creature: her pelt lacked the thick, plush fluff required for such cold climes (especially due to it being summer), and though her cloven hooves helped with grip, they still couldn’t quite master ice. To be honest, she was more of a forest type, but then, she assumed most unicorns were. Sure, most equines could weather the snow and ice if they wanted, for their skin was thick enough and their bodies warm, but would anyone really want to? Even at the lower altitudes the mare had found herself shivering. Again, though, her fur wasn’t as thick as it should have been. She might have enjoyed the trip more had it actually been winter, but then the mountain might have been impassable. If it snowed overly much elsewhere, there was sure to be double that up here, where it was cold year-round.

Short huffs of breath puffed from the unicorn’s dark nostrils, thick clouds dissipating as quickly as they came. Thin legs caught different footholds as they presented themselves, allowing her to climb goatlike up the face of the mountain, hopping quickly (if a bit tiredly) from exposed rock to exposed rock. She tried avoiding patches of ice and snow, but they weren’t completely avoidable, and when she found them she tiptoed slowly, trying not to slip and fall. The last thing she needed was an injury, especially this far up. Dark eyes focused forward, ears lax, used to the unnatural quiet of the falling snow and the sounds of her own exertion, as well as the scraping of snow and rock under her hooves. When she heard a clatter up a ways, she froze – was she not alone? She could have sworn she’d been the only one here, and when she cast a glance around, she saw only her own hoofprints, receding down the trail. Where had that noise come from? It sounded like hooves, yes, so it might have been another equine… Even so, Faline hesitated as she advanced upon the source of the sound, muscles tensing. She hadn’t seen anyone since happening upon this place, and her lack of recent encounters had made her nervous. What if whatever was up there saw her as a threat?

Timidly she climbed, a dark shape soon appearing over the side of the hill. As she came closer, she found it was indeed another equine, though instead of a horn, he sported impressive black wings. She was still a respectful distance away, but she hesitated before coming closer, deciding to make her steps overly loud so as not to surprise him. She coughed, stepping closer. “Well, hello,” she offered, shyly. Her voice seemed too concrete, as if breaking the careful silence of the surroundings. “Are you, er, new here? I’ve never seen anyone else around before.” A careful smile curved her features up, head bowed. “I’m Faline.”

I guess being right takes too long
f a l i n e *

ooc: hope it's okay I posted here! Faline is so awkward xD

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[RAVEN]

RAVEN!

Standing like a statue the great horse pondered how to best climb the mountain. Its rocky face seemed to be scorning him, how ridiculous, his species wasn't made for a challenge this great. Raven ignored this and pursued his goal, he was not one to back down from a challenge. His eyes turned up in a smile and he moved toward the rough face of the mountain. Careful not to injure himself Raven found foot holds in the rock, but had to take a break after a short period of time. His light bones and weak hooves were not made for climbing. The stallion's body screamed in agony, it seemed to say, "Why aren't you flying?" Raven sighed, he hadn't gone very far at all and to be tired already could be dangerous, he would simply have to take this slow. His ears pinned back and he took another step but the rock his hoof was placed on caused him to stumble and to fall back toward the meadow, but his wings took over and he landed safely back in the meadow, at this realization he hissed furiously. Yet at his landing he heard a sound behind him, his ears flickered back, another? Or could it be a predator? He turned his head toward the noise and examined a horned shape moving toward him. A unicorn, he smiled, welcome company. She was handsome, a slender blue roan creature, coming toward him, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the graceful way she moved, unlike him.

Her voice came toward him like a wave. Raven's ears pricked forward, she was a tad bit hard to hear because she hadn't come to close, probably incase he was dangerous. Raven nodded when she stated her name, and his face filled with joy, he always loved company, though he found they often left too soon. "Pleasure to meet you Faline, I am Raven." He looked back at slope and wondered how the unicorn had managed to get this high without a pair of wings. He assumed that because she was a ground dweller that her hooves were stronger than his, as Raven was cursed with poor genetics due to his species. "Are you headed to the top of the mountain too?" he asked genuinely interested, and also quite hopeful. Raven wouldn't have minded to have another equine to climb the huge mountain with him. Yet, she would probably be far more agile on the slope than he could dream to be, and he knew that he would probably fall behind. If he held her back than she would become more exhausted in the climb and while he could simply fly off the mountain once he accomplished the climb she had a round trip to accomplish.

[muse!]

too many times I've been wrong

At his question, Faline turned her gaze ahead, towards the slope. They still had a ways to go before they reached the summit, and then she – lacking his impressive wingspan – would have to climb down the other side. “I am now. I’m just kindof exploring,” the mare explained. “I’ve seen most other parts of Alalume, so I figured I might as well see the mountains, too.” Fidgeting, she scuffed one of her cloven hooves on the rock, ears twitching back at the resulting scraping noise. She’d noticed his smaller hooves, and wondered if he would be able to make the trip on foot. Of course, if he wanted to use his wings, she wouldn’t mind – she wasn’t the type to make unfair judgments about other species. After all, he couldn’t help having wings, just as she couldn’t help not having them. Why give cruelty where no cruelty was due?

Either way, she picked around the slope, coming a bit closer to him (since he didn’t seem very offended by her presence). Equine tail swished, eyes noting the size difference between them. He was quite taller than she was, but her type of unicorn always bred smaller than other, loftier species. Faline had to admit, she did appear rather goatlike sometimes, especially when climbing. But unicorns were ground-dwellers, and thus needed more compact bone structures. Pegasi, she supposed, could become larger because of their wings. And his wings were quite a sight. She caught herself lingering on them, wondering what flight must have felt like, before she started making her way up the mountain once more, going at a leisurely pace. No sense pushing too hard, right? “Have you seen other parts of this place, Raven? There are some excellent meadows south of here.” She was hoping she hadn’t been the only one to see most of Alalume. Perhaps he had been wandering around, as well, and she hadn’t noticed him. It was quite possible. The lands were very expansive. Maybe he’d come across her own land – the Royal lands in Purgatorio – though she didn’t really like mentioning them much. Others tended to see her differently once they learned of her elevated status, and Faline didn’t want to ruin the relative ease she shared with this new stallion. Especially if he was from a different Alliance.

I guess being right takes too long
f a l i n e *

ooc: I AM SO SORRY. this took entirely too long. feel free to hit me over the head with something xD

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