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Blood and Sand

Started by Magyar, November 21, 2016, 10:00:10 AM

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Magyar

"Well, here we are," Bolion remarked, "Essyrn."

He dismounted Orrin, and made directly for the center Hut, leaving his horse to wander around the blackened farm. Disappearing inside the shadowed hut, which was roofless but still integral, regarding the scorched stone walls, he sat down amidst the ash, and pulled out his bowl, setting the incense, but not lighting it. He also pulled out his flask, and sat up against a wall.

Whispering to only himself, Bolion said, "'Ana huna, ldhlk aismahuu li harq."

DragonSong

Della swung off her horse's back and lead him after Bolion and Orrin. She hovered outside the hut, shifting her weight awkwardly.

She waited patiently and patted her mount's neck. "You need a name, my lad," she murmured almost absently.

Magyar

Bolion emerged from the hut after several minutes, ashy, but otherwise the same.

"Can you help me gather some wood please?" He asked Della, and motioned vaguely towards the low hanging trees dotted around the farm.

DragonSong

She nodded and briefly made sure the horses were tethered before setting about the task.

"Does it make it better?" she asked suddenly, not looking at him.

Magyar

"What?" He asked, confused, "Does what make what better?"

He had a small hatchet, procured from his saddlebags, and was in the midst of hacking into a shrubby tree. All the while he watched Della intently, taking note of her strange manner.

DragonSong

"The..." She waved her hand. "Whatever you were doing in there. Does it make it...better?" She huffed. "Hurt less, I guess."

Magyar

Bolton registered her question, and chuckled, "No, not really. I just want to build a fire, and consequently, wood is used for that. I was sitting down, nothing more."  He continued to hack away, felling the small, dry, tree (for he had picked one long dead) and began to work on sectioning off the branches and trunk into smaller bits.

DragonSong

"Hmph." She didn't buy it, but she let the subject drop. She tossed the wood she'd gathered into pile near him and moved to check on the horses.

Magyar

After chopping his wood into more manageable sizes, he began to carry and stack his wood in the center of the stone hut, forming a sizeable pile. When he was satisfied with the arrangement, and had moved his bowl accordingly, he called Della over.

"I need your help again." He said, arms crossed and watching the hut, "Can you light it up? Normally I labour away for a while, but seeing as you're here..."

DragonSong

Della moved closer with without a word pointed a finger at the wood. A spark leaped from her fingertip, blue-white, and ignited the kindling with a small crackle.

She knelt and started rummaging through her pack. "The new horse needs a name," she noted aloud, more to say something than because she thought it really needed to be addressed.

Magyar

"Is the new horse a boy or a girl?" Bolion inquired. He sat on his haunches, and watched the blaze begin.

DragonSong

"Gelding." Della eyed him and Orrin, frowning. "I'm not sure I like him and Orrin traveling together, but a mare would have just been asking for trouble."

She huffed and scratched at her head, mussing up her hair around her horns. She yawned, a long day starting to set in. "I'll just call 'im Rain for now," she decided. "Poor thing's probably had a dozen names in his lifetime."

Magyar

"A name changes. Purpose, however does not, and if he's a good horse, I don't think it matters what you call him." Bolion commented, turning his head to Della. He took a swig from his flask, a motion practiced and rigid. There would be much of that tonight.

DragonSong

Della rolled her eyes "Suuuuuure you don't drink," she drawled with a meaningful nod to the flask.

Magyar

"I don't." He said matter-of-factly, "Orrin however might get edgy. Was never cut, because the Lord's horses had to be the fastest. The testosterone made them more competitive, and they had their own separated stables anyway. And he," he swung the flask vaguely towards Orrin, "was the best. Also quite violent when need be."

Bolion scrambled to his feet, and picked up the individual incense sticks, dipping the tip of each in the bonfire. After lighting them he placed them delicately in the bowl, and watched them smoulder. His eyes grew wet, but tears didn't come, and he drank again, a long swig that drained half of the remaining canteen.

DragonSong

Della frowned but didn't comment, just gave a whistle toward the horses. Orrin ignored her, as she'd expected, but Rain clopped over and nuzzled at her outstretched hand, obviously expecting a treat.

"Sorry, lad," she murmured. "Just don't want you two getting into trouble." Her eyes flickered over to Bolion. "How long do you plan to stay here?"

Magyar

"A night." He said tersely, staring into the flames. There was a silence, and he continued, "You know, that I'll live to be one hundred and forty years old? If I don't get killed beforehand that is. One hundred and forty!" He exclaimed it with amazement, but seemed almost bitter.

"And the oldest of them was thirty seven." He bit out, motioning to the blazing hut, "And I'm almost that old!"

DragonSong

Della blinked.

Huh. Maybe this was why he didn't drink.

"I'm...sorry," she offered slowly. She cast around desperately for something to say, andfor some gods-forsaken reason what popped out of her mouth was, "Adrien was barely twenty-two. It...doesn't seem fair."

She honestly didn't know how long she'd live herself- probably not as long as her companion though.

Magyar

"Life isn't." He muttered angrily, and finished off the small flask, and threw it at the burning hut. The flask struck the stone and bounced harmlessly to the side, but the sound cleaved through the roar of the flame. Orrin spooked, and stood in panic, but Bolion didn't take notice. Standing quickly, bowl in hand, he let loose a roar of anger and pain, sending the bowl flying violently at the walls, splintering the incense and cracking the bowl in two.

Bolion clenched his fists, and stared at the broken bowl. He slumped back down, hands on his knees and head hung low. "Fuck!" He shouted, to no one in particular, "Tiba lakum jamiea!"

DragonSong

Rain spooked, skittering sideways, and Della shot backward, eyes wide. "H-hey, calm down," she said quietly, then winced.

Well. That probably wasn't going to help any.

Warily, she got to her feet and approached him. She raised her hand, hesitated, then held her breath and reached out to touch his shoulder, silent.

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