Falls
Force-claiming is not allowed here. This is a peaceful, neutral area meant for socialising.
Posted on August 6, 2021 at 01:52:47 PM by NUKA
 NUKA you don't play with fire unless you wanna get burned |
| When all the world seemed at peace, in the quiet, dark hours of night, Nuka found himself wandering, roaming, never stopping long lest his body give in to its weariness and allow sleep to creep up on him. When the sun rose and he saw a new dawn, maybe then the young stallion would hide himself away, steal a few precious hours of rest. The shadows were never safe. Only when daylight banished them could he let down his guard.
He was pacing in a loop around the Falls, not wanting to drift too far from where Svenja rested amongst a copse of trees that sheltered her from the biting wind and gently falling snow. But neither did he risk lingering too close for too long, lest he wake her. (He liked having time to himself. Didn’t want her to wonder why he couldn’t sleep in the dead of night.) It wasn’t that he cared, but he’d pretend he did if he had to. It wasn’t that he needed her. It was just nice not to be alone. Truth was, if not for the multitude of reasons why he shouldn’t, he’d settle alongside her, stand guard while she slept, with his chin resting across the small curve of her back. (How fiercely he longed for closeness like that. For warmth and stolen moments of tenderness. For acceptance. How fiercely he’d pretend he didn’t - he didn’t need anyone.) Even now, knowing that she was near, having followed him from the Ruins, made the loneliness harder to bear in a particularly frustrating way. Nuka glowered, ears pinned as he forced himself to divert from his path, breaking away into a bigger loop that would take him further from the slumbering filly mare. It was only because of this that he caught the sounds of nearby splashing, a rush of water running endlessly, and a voice, soft, muffled, but still audible because of the stillness of the frigid night, softly blanketed with snow. Come to keep me warm, stranger? Truth be told, if Nuka had been first to answer the mare, he might have sneered at the very idea of someone being so open and forward with a stranger, would have rejected such an offer with vehemence, lest he be tempted to reveal his withered heart, lest it be merely a deception, or some sort of coy trickery. But he was not first to approach, and as he picked his way carefully through the shadows and ferns, grey eyes seeking the pool of water and the woman who’d drawn him here, a crooked grin spread across his muzzle at the snapping and snarling of the dark stallion who had appeared moments before him. He was second to arrive, too late to answer, and that meant he was safe. Without needing to worry, the young male would find relief in having a little fun. Nuka couldn’t help but snicker under his breath, eyes flashing as they darted between the mare and the stallion. “Seems this pool's taken, mtu mdogo kivulilittle shadow man," Nuka drawled, lidded gaze slanting towards the small, dark stallion, amusement clear in his voice even over the backdrop hiss of the 'fall. “Why d'n you wander downstream aways, drink from there?" The question was asked lightly, as though he was merely trying to be well meaning. “R'at least, uh, back up some, 'n give 'er room to do as you demand. Wouldn't want you t'get trampled underfoot, see. Be even worse if you happened to fall in," the dusty brown male said, shuffling a hoof and shifting his weight, almost as if in expectation of some kind of retaliation. He stole a furtive glance toward the mare, trying to gauge her reaction, but then he snapped his focus back to the dark stallion, flicking one ear almost absentmindedly (though in the dark, not clearly visible from the small distance between them, Nuka took some weight off his weak hind leg, and his muscles quivered in anticipation of fight-or-flight. The stallion bore scars, which meant he was dangerous. How far could he push, before the shadowy figure snapped at him, he wondered? ('Don't be stupid, Nuka!') Much too late for that. One day, maybe, he would learn. “Y'know, on account of it bein' a little fresh for a midnight bath, 'n you bein' a little, mm, short on warmth there." Despite his rather questionable decisions, Nuka was smart enough to judge that the mare was more than capable of dealing with the aggressive stallion - far more capable than he was at any rate. She didn't need him. (Nobody needed him.) But it was nice to get a chance to pretend he was good for something, even if that ended up only being an weaker target for the black brute, not that ever admit (even to himself) that this was the reason he sought to draw the snarling stallion's ire. As far as Nuka was concerned, anyways, he was born to run, and running was never quite as fun without risk or reason. |
Replies:
- leave your hands open and waiting - By Celestine August 9, 2021 at 04:32:57 PM
- wolf's teeth are near - By I V A R August 9, 2021 at 07:51:49 PM
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