Force-claiming is allowed here once a week per character, as is blocking force-claims by the Peak/Lagoon (as a whole) once a week. Rollover is on Sundays.
surrender to nothing Posted on April 5, 2020 at 01:05:14 AM by Hawke
Hawke
xxy / six / grullo tobiano / mixed breed / 15.3hh
Home. The word rose unbidden to the surface of the painted grulla’s thoughts as the shoreline drew nearer, now filling almost the entirety of hir limited field of vision. Memories flooded hir mind as Hawke’s golden eye drank in the sight of the familiar trees, their spines permanently bent by the wind’s violent assaults. And the grey stones, which might have been shards of the overcast sky tumbled down to rest upon the earth. There was no beauty to be found in the scenery that surrounded the dark horse as shi made landfall, but hir breath caught in hir lungs regardless, and hir heart ached at the familiar songs of wind and sea. The emotions overwhelmed the androgynous creature momentarily, halting hir strides as abruptly as if an invisible noose had been cast and was now drawn taut around hir thick-muscled neck. It was strange to feel such a sense of relief, of comfort, to return to a place where Hawke had never truly belonged.
And yet shi did.
The act of leaving had been far easier than this homecoming. Casting aside the burden of hir past had been a relief, but now that Hawke had returned, it did not take long for the memories to overwhelm hir once again. Still, there was a sort of comfort in the oppressive weight of sorrow and regret - had the grullo much experience in such matters, shi would have compared it to the tight press of other bodies against hirs. In a storm, such stifling conditions could bring warmth and a measure of peace, and such was it now as Hawke resumed her trek inland, hooves carrying hir forward as confidently as if shi had never left.
Stone gradually yielded to sand, and sand mingled with dirt into a soft loam from which brittle grass emerged. Equine forms gathered in clusters or pairs, most of them distant enough to be indistinguishable from one another. Those that were nearer stood to Hawke’s right, and were shrouded in the eternal shadow that plagued her vision on that side. A cursory glance revealed the cause of this handicap; a crescent-shaped scar marred the flesh surrounding this eye, and the sunken orb was covered - for the most part - by a drooping lid. Perhaps this was also the reason for the involuntary shudder which traveled down the length of the spotted creature’s spine, and the quick, fluid steps shi took to hir non-blind side. In truth, however, it was fear of a different kind that lead Hawke to shy from the presence of the strangers - fear not of physical harm, but emotional. Fear of the rejection that shi had known for the entirety of hir life, beginning with the mare who had borne hir.
Over the years, Hawke gradually came to accept that there was an underlying cause, a difference that caused hir isolation - even if shi didn’t fully grasp the reason. Having had little opportunity to relate to others, the androngynous equine had little basis from which to draw an understanding of societal norms, particularly those that related to gender. In a world where sex dictated one’s behavior and role from birth unto death, Hawke was neither mare nor stallion, but something other than. Something more.
And so - in the eyes of too many - something far, far less.