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 Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:57 pm
Their initial exchange was going nowhere, fast. She became more and more aware with every pass, until giving up and dropping it entirely. Shame, really. She had genuinely hoped he'd leave on his own accord.
No matter, at any rate. Rhian was growing less and less interested in driving him out - it simply took too much effort. He had made it clear he wasn't planning on leaving just because she would have preferred it, and her discontent wasn't motivation enough for her to make him.
He had been looking for her sister? Well, that didn't speak much for his diligence. "No idea," she remarked with a 'why should I?' tone. Even as a fawn, Rhian had never been particularly interested in stories. It wasn't that she disliked them, per say, but the others' enchantment with them grated on her nerves. They were only stories. Safe to say she took no more interest in the storytellers themselves. The name wasn't even familiar.
Scowling, the hind shook her head once more. "I neither said I am proud of it, nor I want to here and now." She was a proud creature just by nature though. "Only that it is." Seeing as he didn't appear to have much of a grasp on the obvious himself.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 9:21 am
She hadn't attacked, hadn't chased him out, hadn't screeched at him to leave.... maybe things were getting more civil between them? Her tone was still discouraging, but as far as Zanniquin knew, the situation wasn't completely hopeless.
The buck watched her carefully, though he did move, just a little. Zanni nudged the package back a little, and then followed with him own step back. He was still in the clearing, but his position was a little less intruding, as far as he knew.
Zanni sighed, she didn't know either. Did know one know where Bluebell was? It wasn't like she was robust and could go anywhere very fast. Where could a crippled hind go to? The buck was frowning and mumbling to himself about where the hind could have gone, "Where could she be...?"
His thoughts were interrupted and he lifted his eyes from the piece of ground he was inspecting while he contemplated. He gave the hind a bit of a half-smile, "Oh, you didn't say you were proud of it, but by your manner and the way you hold yourself speaks for itself. Hinds spar, but you've refined yourself - supposed skill and body - to a degree far further than what I have seen before." Granted, he didn't know many hinds. Bluebell was always discouraging that factor through teasing and invasion-of-privacy.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:16 am
If history was anything to judge by, things were never particularly civil when Rhian was involved. One might say it was the nature of her person. Hopeless, though? That was a matter of perspective.
"You could try asking someone who cares," she muttered, only just catching the remark. It was nothing personal though - the hind paid little heed to her herdmates, and Bluebell was no exception. Still, she couldn't help but notice the bundle which kept distracting him. Sceptically, she narrowed her eyes, and gave it a brief glance.
Hm. So he did possess sense and observation, somewhere, and he did know how to use them on occasion. With his previous record, it was almost surprising. "So you aren't quite as useless as you seemed?" she queried, only somewhat sarcastic. "What of it?" He had rather meticulously - and pointlessly - stated what Rhian saw as blatantly obvious, and that was reason enough to prod at it.
Her ego didn't much mind it though. 'Supposed' part aside. There was nothing supposed about it, if she did say so herself.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:30 am
Zanni lowered his head a little, in a small show of some kind of defeat, but it was not what this hind did, just that things were proving futile when it concerned his sister this day. He was supposed to leave again when the sun rose, and wanted to be sure his gift got to Bluebell. "I have asked 'someone who cares'... many... and no one had seen her..." his voice trailed as he chocked on a thought. What if a wolf had gotten her? Even a fox could be fatal to such a harmed hind! If the Outrider had an effective lip, he'd be chewing it right now.
"Hmph," he snorted at her next comment, shifting his weight. "Looks can be deceiving, can't they?" Zanni looked up at the hind. "Nothing 'of' it... it's just that it is a bit refreshing. So many believe a hind should only have enough strength to defend a fawn from a fox. It is good to know that there is a hind in this herd that would be able to do more than that."
Of course, where his sister was concerned, she had to stay by the other hinds and near those of the corps and outriders to guarantee her safety. In her case, it wasn't her fault that she was physically weaker - and, she made up for it with that mouth of hers. For just a moment, he lost his worry and entertained the thought of a fox being talked out of a meal.
The Outrider looked at the trees once more and back to the hind, "So are all these tree scars yours, or did someone help?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 12:07 pm
Bah. Of all the things she could have been dragged into, being caught in the middle of some random stag's bleeding heart was among those she least enjoyed. "Unfortunate," she remarked dryly, obviously unsympathetic. Things had a way of turning up, one way or another.
"Rarely." Appearances were, of course, only one part of a whole picture, but they were generally a fairly candid representation. "Deviations tend to be temporary. Anomalies, you might say." Whether she was poking fun or outright insulting him would have been a matter of interpretation - her flat tone wouldn't have offered much help in the matter.
His word choice made the hind lift a brow though. Someone else once called her 'refreshing'. She had proceeded to tell him he had terrible taste. Several times. "I have no interest in defending fawns," she remarked. Of course, she likely would have had it come to it, but Rhian made no effort to play herself up a hero... Because a hero she was not. The hind was a lot of things, but dishonest (and selfless) were not among them.
"Mine," she stated flatly. There was a brief moment of silence Rhian used to glance around, dragging her gaze over the trunks around her, before she peered back at him. "You think I'd let someone 'help'?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 12:55 pm
The Outrider lifted his head, with some effort. "Unfortunate... you can say that again. She seems to have disappeared."
Zanniquin snorted, "Mother always said I was 'special', just never really described how far it went though." He was mostly joking, but his sister never let it down in his mother's absense. The Outrider was used to insulting comments from hinds, what could he say?
"Maybe not yet," the stag looked at the hind again. "You seem a little young to have participated in Anlach. Maybe one day there will be a fawn in your future," he was trying to imply anything... it was just that he assumed hinds would have a fawn of her own at some point in time. Even Bluebell, who was crippled... even though she had no offspring now he thought she would later on.
The Outrider shifted again, to get a better view. "I wouldn't think so, but what I think and what is does not always agree."
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 2:55 pm
"I'd rather not." She was, of course, perfectly aware he hadn't intended it so literally, but... Well, what else was she to say? Rhian certainly wasn't going to tell him 'everything is alright', or 'she'll turn up'. Consolation was a job for someone else. She hadn't the sympathy for it.
Nor was she interested in refuting his joking claim. "Astute," Rhian said simply, uninterested.
Her disregard didn't last long though. "Ever," she corrected. As though the seriousness in her tone wasn't enough, the hind's ears folded in irritation, accenting her meaning. "I will not be a trophy for some arrogant stag to parade in front of his peers." Her distaste was more than clear. "I belong to no one. Not yet, not ever."
If the hind's fur could have bristled, it would have. Her muscles tensed instead, rippling under her short coat as she stalked further away from the male at the other end of her clearing. It was unfortunately small though, and she ended up a mere handful of steps forward, in a tree's shadow, at least.
She was silent a while, but when she spoke again, it would have been safe to say she sounded no more friendly. "It did this time, I suppose." It was a seemingly pointless question though.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 8:44 pm
Well, she didn't have to agree. Zanni should have expected that, though. Nonetheless, the responses wounded his pride a little. "Why do hinds always say such things?" the stag looked at her curiously. He never did understand it. Bluebell did it, and the other females followed suite. Of course, outside of that he rarely associated with the hinds, so that was his only experience.
"Never?" Zanni rotated his ears inversely, making sure one was always on the hind, but also around to hear what might be arriving... maybe Bluebell will show up and save him. Or maybe he shouldn't be relying on his sister so much, he was an Outrider! "But... why are you so repulsed on the idea? It is the way of the Herla, we must continue our lines. Having fawns to care for is the natural tendency of the hinds. It's what they do. The Outriders protect the herd; the hinds care for the little ones, who grow up to continue the cycle."
The hind's reaction took him for surprise. He reared his head back in concern, both ears perked in her direction. Zanniquin couldn't understand her actions. She was such a unique hind. "I wasn't going to.... hurt... you..." he wasn't sure what to say, or do. The female looked as if he was going to eat or something.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 9:32 pm
"No idea. Why don't you ask one?" she queried rhetorically, more than aware of the irony in the statement. And the coldness in her tone.
She certainly wasn't motivated to care though. "Never." Hadn't she made herself clear enough the first two times? "Because it's a repulsive idea," Rhian spat, affronted and overflowing with sarcasm. "I couldn't care less what others choose to do with themselves."
Wasn't it obvious? He was an Outrider! He had to have heard the others. The way they boasted... About hinds they were going to claim, or had already. About how beautiful and perfect his were. How brilliantly she would raise his young! "I belong to no one," she repeated, dark eyes narrowed dangerously, though she was hardly looking to him.
That wasn't even to mention how absolutely irritating she found the company of others, or how unbearable she found their flimsy 'charm'. Or worse yet - what a terribly inappropriate mother she would have proved. She didn't want young any more than she wanted a place in a harem. Maternal instincts? What were those?
His final statement wholly drew her attention though. She turned sharply back to him, her expression still ominous. "And I didn't accuse you of such. Do you even have it in you? He who tries is either brave, or stupid." Not only for risk of injury, but the repercussions.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 9:47 pm
Zanni took a deep breath, "I do believe I was asking one, and you haven't answered." She sure seemed to enjoy question avoidance.
"That isn't an answer either. Why is it so repulsive to you? What happened that has made you believe such things?" He had never heard of a hind with such a mindset. The stag almost felt sorry for her, almost.
The stag snorted and glared down on her, "I wouldn't attack a hind, unless she were about to threaten my life, or her's. The very idea is repulsive to use your own words. And it isn't a matter of bravery or stupidity. It is a matter or duty and morals."
Her words ate at him, though. Zanniquin gave the hind another once-over, but this time it was as if she had just given him an impossible riddle. In a way, she had... herself. "Are you mad? I mean, slightly off? Insane? I had heard of such cases, but never met anyone with such a condition... but mostly among injured Outriders."
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:04 pm
Rhian outright ignored his first remark. It was hopeless, and she was in no humor to entertain pointlessness.
Hell, she wasn't even in proper spirits to entertain much of anything, let alone the verbal intrusion this stag seemed so set on. "I have no need for justification, and my reasoning is no business of yours." Pity held no place here. "Maybe some day you will puzzle it out on your own. Maybe you won't. It makes no difference to me." She had explained it as clearly as she ever would, and he wouldn't have changed her mind even if he could have understood it.
"It was your word," she corrected, bored and agitated simultaneously.
When the hind spoke again, her tone was dry... Annoyed. "If I asked you the same, what would you say?" What in Herne's name was he thinking? Of course she wasn't! And even if she had been, she certainly wouldn't have said so. 'Why yes, I am. How ever did you guess?' Honestly. Rhian thought herself a rather bright, capable individual. Posing such a question was madness in and of itself!
"You test my tolerance," Rhian added at length, as cold as ever.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:27 pm
Zanniquin shook his head in confusion. He would much rather battle a wolf than this hind. But he wasn't one to back down before, and he didn't want to start now... especially with her. It sounded like it would be worse to do that than to actually stick around and manage - as he seemed to be doing well - to just make her more and more aggrivated. "Then I guess I shall leave you to your business about why you will not be a part of a harem nor allow your lines to continue." There, that was the best he could say.... even though he didn't understand the sentiment.
"If you asked me... I would say that as far as I am aware, I am not lost in the head. I have been in no accident that I remember, and though my sister may have her own arguments, the Captains have at least deemed me healthy and sane and therefore am accepted as much." The stag shifted again. She, if what she said about not going near the other hinds was true, did not have any other higher authority to make such a test.
"I didn't mean to!" he snapped back impusively.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:47 pm
"At last," she murmured, scowling. They all thought that way; she knew the sentiment well. Procreate, perpetuate the herd, uphold its tradition... ad nauseum. If, by some stroke of chance, Rhian happened to be the last capable young-bearing hind, she might have felt the faintest sense of obligation on the matter, but... She wasn't, and she didn't. There were plenty of other, more-than-willing hinds to carry on the herd, and to her, the prospect still wasn't an appealing one. Most hinds would have argued having young of her own would have changed her perspective entirely. But fortunately, he wasn't a hind.
"In that case." Rhian's ears were still pinned, but her bitterness had faded some, if only a little. "Don't ask others for confirmation of my sanity. Their opinions are little more than biased propositions of the truth." Hmph. Really, the hind hadn't the slightest idea what they would have said about her, but she was sure of one thing. It couldn't have been good. She knew she had that affect on others.
No matter. "They never do," she added flatly, indifferent to his defense.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:01 pm
Defeat was imminent, and he was maybe just starting to feel it sinking in. But regardless of what the hind thought of him, Zanniquin could be very stubborn. And this was one of those times where he -literally- had to put a hoof down. "Maybe I will ask them, but not for your sanity, but what could possibly have made you this way!" His foot stomped down, and dirt drifted up from the blow. "Your attitude makes little sense. If you were abandoned at birth, and traveled alone since you were a fawn, then maybe I would. But regardless of what you think about the hinds here, they are good Herla and would protect you to the bitter end - even if you would not share the sentiment. As far as I know, you were not abandoned, no, you had to have grown up in this Herd, around the Home Oak... for it is evident your presence would be tolerated no other way."
Zanni huffed, his speech done, at least for now. The Outrider's eyes were sparkling from passion. He held his head high and stood tall. It was obvious that he was proud to be of his Herd, and protect its Herla, and nothing this hind could say was going to change that.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:23 pm
No good could come from this. "Spare me," she spat, quelling a childish urge to roll her eyes. "Your conviction is ill-placed. What makes you so sure there is 'something', and that they would know of it? I grow tired of your insistence I am damaged in some way." Was it so difficult to accept things just were? Did everything need explanation?
He would have been better off cursing Herne for her defiant personality, and stubborn streak a mile wide. She was born volatile. Perhaps it was the fault of her bloodline?
Not likely. The hind snorted once more, her expression as dark as ever. "Your deductive reasoning is lacking, do not assume my history." Rhian was a master of insolence, and relatively tolerant of it, but his accusations were both inaccurate and intolerable.
"I care nothing for the value of the others. Good, bad, it makes little difference to me. I made no claims one way or the other," though she knew the heart of the herd to be a good one. She had no interest in changing his mind! Why did he seem to think she would bother?
"Are you quite finished telling me I'm inexplicable?" she questioned bitterly.
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