Common

As much as the beast hated to admit it (and gods did he hate THAT), loneliness was beginning to get to him. Although he had spent the majority of his life on Atlantis as a recluse, now the idea felt… wrong.

All through the night he ponders his options, listening to the ocean lullaby until sleep took him back to a time when Paradise had been teaming with equine bodies. Some faces he recognizes. Vihar, Holo, Vanya, Hyacinth, and even Bathsheba. They are all there; wearing grim expressions and casting their eyes down upon him and then out across the sea, as though trying to speak to him without using a single word. When finally the last face fades and songbirds begin their morning alarm, Annubis stirs, far less rested and perhaps a bit more determined. Paradise would not survive… HE would not survive without a herd of his own.

Hymn and Promise had not yet reached Atlantis, leaving the sterling beast only hoping that perhaps the pair had been washed off course by the rough seas. He tells himself that he has returned to the commons to search for them, or at least to ease his mind that they had not remained behind or doubled back in search of better options. Hymn didn’t seem like the type to lie but… she was still a stranger for the most part. It would not be the first time a promise was broken.

Long gone are the deep drifts of snow that blanketed the open, bare fields and valleys. Warmth greets his damp skin in the crisp breeze as dripping from the swim, he ventures further away from the sandy beach. Bright, colorful flowers peek up amid the dull brown litter on the forest floor. Rich, green shoots of grass already replaced the thick carpet of white that had brought him toward the commons. Skeletal trees that had tugged and snatched at his wind-knotted mane before now caress his skin with full branches of wide leaves. Spring. A welcome reprieve from the harshness of winter. And yet, it would seem that not everything has fully awakened from slumber.

Piercing, gold eyes gaze a roaming gaze over the usually bustling common fields. Here and there, insects buzz above the short, thick clumps of grass. On the far end of the clearing, the sterling beast recognizes a doe grazing at ease beneath the shadow of the trees, her twin fawns bounding carefree a few yards away. Twin flutes flicker atop his skull before falling back into irritation. No one. For the first time in a long time, (well, since the last time he was here anyway) the commons are empty of horses. Was he the last? no. Not the last. Lucifer was back in Paradise, tentatively patrolling the cusp of Paradise that Annubis offered him. But here? Well, he might be.

Despite himself, sadness and loneliness once again settle over him like a fine mist. He is just about to chalk this trip up to a failure when an unfamiliar voice breaks the peaceful silence. ’Glitch?’ He turns, his finely sculpted features angled towards the dark figure as it manifests from the shadows and steps into the bright sunlight.

She does not immediately notice him, so Annubis takes the opportunity to admire her features from a distance, tracing the curves and contours of her body with his greedy eyes. A suave smile falls into place as the beast lets a soft snort escape his lungs, hoping to draw the Fatale’s attention. Sleek, silver-gray neck arches as the beast propels his blackened legs into motion, angling his body to allow himself the opportunity to close off a swift exit if she should think that running away from him was even an option. Multifaceted ooids dance as the stallion nears, slowing his gait to a halt with a cocky toss of his forelock. ”Not sure who you are looking for but I promise I am an upgrade.” he quips with an amused chuckle. A single raven-tipped ear flickers amid the tangle of his dark mane as the beast extends his ashen muzzle into the space between them in greeting. ”Who ARE you looking for anyway? Lose a foal? They can be quite the sly little things….” he muses with a reaffirming bob of his head. Not the best pick up line in his book of tricks but… well, it was a start to conversation at least and THAT was an improvement…