Portal Asrire
You come upon a sea of waving grass - a meadow. It has hedge walls around it, but they're low and obviously just for decoration. Your eyes spot movement everywhere, yet no creatures visible. You wonder if you'll find something between the long strands of grass. Mice, perhaps? The wind blows harder, as if in objection to your thought. Frowning at it - as if it would pay mind - you idly give up thinking about the situation, and instead set off into it. Or begin to; almost as soon as you begin walking, you realize there is another creature in the meadow and halt yourself again, not two feet from where you'd started. Attempts to make out the figure's shape fail result only in the revelation that it's equine; it's moving too fast to make anything else out. That problem is easily overcome, however, for the creature soon slows to present you with a large red asrire stallion with blue main and tail running fast - as opposed to impossibly fast - inside the encircling hedges. With a deepening frown, you hesitate and back a step as it turns toward you. You hope it will slow more before it simply mows you down.
The stallion does slow, though with horn out front, eyes narrowed and ears laid flat. Improvement? ...Maybe.
You take another nervous step back, though you try to be subtle about it. Swallowing, you ask, "Hello?"
When he replies, his voice is cold, though not quite impolite; simply... uninviting. "What brings you here?" he asks, seemingly ignoring your greeting.
"Just... uh, looking around... I came searching for someone to talk to, I suppose," you reply warily. You speak truthfully, but you aren't sure how the stallion will take your answer, and brace yourself for anything that might come. However, to your surprise, he raises his menacing horn slightly and looks at you... Could it be? More brightly?
It would seem so. "I am Red Sea. This is my home--and my home alone--but you may stay as long as you wish. All friendly travelers welcome." His expression seems to say that, were he in charge, that policy would differ greatly.
Seeing yourself unwelome, you try to form some acceptable words of leave in your head. They never take shape, though, for as soon as the stallion's voice dies out another one enters the area.
From the sky comes this newcomer, and bearing greeting sorely lacked by the first meadow occupant. "I'm Blue Flame, and he's Red Sea," the new arrival says as it settles on the ground and shakes out its wings--shooting you with a large gust of wind in the process. You stare in amazement at the extra limbs protruding from the equine's shoulder blades. Some of these creatures could fly? ...Regardless, you draw your attention back to the second. "You can ignore him," Blue Flame is saying. "He's just a bit too protective of the land." Flame makes a show of fiddling unconcernedly with his feathers.
"If I remember correctly, I let you share my land," Red Sea says stiffly.
"Your land?" Flame prods with an innocent grin.
"Yes!" Red Sea aims a small snap at Flame's flank that misses by an alarmingly small margin. Then, annoyed at missing, he lunges for another try. He's the faster of the two--but Flame has wings.
"A bit touchy, aren't we?" Flame asks, flapping tauntingly just out of Sea's reach.
You watch in consternation as Sea rears just high enough to kick at Flame's legs, and actually hits this time. Flame flies higher, but it takes a visible effort for him to reinstate his grin.
Anxious for their safety, but also for yours, you choose that moment to take your leave.
It seems you're destined for yet another failed attempt at departure. Turning only brings you face to face with yet another stallion, watching them slightly curiously but with none of the sick worry you're feeling showing on his face. Yours, however, must be more than a feeling; it must show in just the way his isn't, for the stallion immediately laughs and says, "Don't worry about them. Flame'll just fly off and Sea will calm down; they fight so often - and to much the same result each time - that it's really impossible to imagine any other ending."
You blink rapidly at the apparition - or at least, that's how the stallion seems; he'd appeared out of nowhere! - and try to steady your nerves in order to reply.
Studying you, and apparently deciding you aren't quite fit for talking yet, the stallion continues. "I'm Fire's Flight, the latest addition to this meadow. And probably the last; it's getting rather crowded in here."
You raise a brow at that; there doesn't seem to be any lack of space to you. "Um... interesting," you supply helpfully.
Laughing again, Flight sidesteps to allow you passage out of the meadow. "Fare well; perhaps I'll meet you again. Some day." The expression on his face still looks bemused as you leave. Is it possible to laugh too much?
Name | Gender | Tarsuinn of Origin | Tarsuinn | Sire | Dam |
Red Sea | Male | | ----- | | |
Blue Flame | Male | | ----- | | |
Fire's Flight | Male | | ----- | | |
Sirah's Realm
Created: Sometime, 2001-2002
Last Updated: July 31, 2004
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