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.
whatever you do; claim Posted on May 4, 2023 at 04:04:29 PM by rafe
make certain your hands are clean ; There is an itch under his hide at being gone from the Badlands for as long as he has now, but Rafe must trust that Guneslenmek would hear of any incursions and Raegar can keep the herd safe in his absence. His trip back to the Prairie with Riesling had been colored with hope, but now he leaves feeling off-kilter.
Daire, here?
That does not bode well for the family he left behind, the mother and sisters he killed for. The brindled mare had always been tempted by power, slinking among the herds of his homeland, bedding one and then the other with little thought to anything save her next desperate grab for attention. So to find her on the islands, Rafe can only wonder at what happened to his father, to his mother.
He didn’t stop to speak with her, of course. There are few things Riesling finds as distasteful as the mare who birthed her, and Rafe has a better sense of self-preservation than to step in the middle of whatever drama exists between Riesling, Zevulun and Daire. The fallout, he is certain, will be catastrophic.
Finding Kanti and their son alive and…not well, exactly, had been another shock to his system. After she was nowhere to be seen during his scouting of the Bay and subsequent battle with Fell, Rafe had assumed the worst. And knowing what Fell was capable of, had done to Viveka…Rafe was certain the black stallion had killed the pair, told his ridiculously naive little queen they had been traded off or otherwise released from the Bay and moved on with his life.
He isn’t sure if they will actually follow him back to the Badlands - the offer had been extended, but life in the Prairie is far easier than life on Salem is. He wouldn’t blame Kanti for wanting to stay where lush green grass, water and mild weather are abundant year-round.
It is that uncertainty that leads Rafe to pass through the common on his way back, and instead of just skirting until he reaches the southern tip of the Lagoon for the swim home, he cuts a swath through the claiming grounds. As usual, there are small clusters of equines scattered, mares fending off unwanted attention or begging for it. Few are alone, and Rafe is going to chalk this visit up to a lost cause when he spots the slim, pretty desert-bred mare striking out across the meadow.
Rafe watches her for a few moments, catches the scent of Salem on the wind, all sand and sun and the uncommon fragrance of the rare spring bloom; she’s not spotted, so not one of Marceline’s children, and far too white-splashed and pale to be one of Nyimara’s. Secure in the assumption he won’t be tangling with one of his lovers' children, Rafe sees no reason not to approach. When he’s a polite distance away he stops, icy gaze landing on her for a few silent moments. He’s almost uncertain of his next step - after all, his only successes in the Common have come from more violent encounters. But the suffering of Viveka is still fresh in his mind and perhaps he has gone soft, but he is in no mood to drag someone kicking and screaming back to the Badlands.
Finally he speaks, murmuring, “You look more fit for the sands of my home than you do for the grasses here. Why did you leave Salem?”
rafe | 15.2 hh bay overo brindle mutt | king in the badlands