|
|
Post by ms on Feb 7, 2008 18:59:46 GMT -5
[glow=white,10,300] S T R I X [/glow] Strix lead the girl to the lake that he called home, stepping out of the forest that surrounded it, pausing to let her catch up. He looked at the time by the sun, judging what he could do with her today. She was too young to help expand the herd, but there was always something she could do. Having stopped long enough in his mind, he continued on to the water where he dipped his lips into the crust on top, breaking it easily and sucking down water. Lifting his head, he let the inky blackness drip from his lips as he looked over his shoulder. “Come, drink.” |
|
|
|
Post by mizu on Feb 7, 2008 19:14:10 GMT -5
This place Nightingale was expected to call 'home' gave her the creeps. The lake especially. It was like a big black hole, and it seemed to suck away the colors from the trees, the sky, the grass. The filly thought it looked dangerous and menacing, as well. Who knew what exactly lurked in those black depths? Nightingale shivered, but tried to look on the bright side. The bright side was...was that she had a home and wasn't stuck in the arena for the night. That would have been nasty, considering that a storm was on its way.
Her master's voice made her jump. Nightingale truend slowly to look at the stallion, then at the lake behind him. She was thirsty, but...but she didn't really want to drink that disgusting black sludge. There was a stream around somewhere, surely. She would drink from that. Nightingale tried to find a way to politely decline Strix's invitation. Her mind was blank, oddly enough. She just couldn't think of anything to say. What had Elu suggested? Sing to them, tell them about the bird's nest you found....
Oh, Elu, the filly thought desperately, I haven't found any nests! What am I supposed to do now? If Nightingale had possessed hands she would surely have wrung them.
Slowly, very slowly, she crept closer to Strix and the horrible lake.
"I, er, I'm not thirsty," Nightingale announced. Her voice came out sounding sort of squeaky. She gulped to try and clear her throat. How strangely she was acting!
|
|
|
|
Post by ms on Feb 7, 2008 19:34:49 GMT -5
[glow=white,10,300] S T R I X [/glow] Strix smirked as she looked at the lake, clearly frightened of it. That was to be expected. After all, it was a big black thing in the middle of almost nowhere. She’d have to get over it eventually though. “Suit yourself. But you’ll have to learn to drink from it at some point. You’ll be here a while.” He trotted back to the bank, watching as the clouds moved in but still provided light. Now he had time to learn about her “Slave, what has your previous Master taught you, or have you do?” |
|
|
|
Post by mizu on Feb 7, 2008 23:56:12 GMT -5
What she'd been taught? Lots of things! Nightingale began to mentally make a list. Play, entertain foals, sing, gossip, er....that was about it. All right, so she had no work experience, but she was hoping Strix wasn't going to make her work. How unfair would that be, a hefty big stallion making a filly work?
"I know how to play, and sing, and keep horses company," Nightingale told Strix proudly. But hadn't she missed something out? "Oh, and how to entertain foals. I don't suppose you have any here." The Appaloosa glanced around bleakly. No mares to keep company, no foals to play with! Life was going to get pretty boring soon, unless Strix liked to gossip and play tag. "The Master didn't really teach me though, I learned by myself how to do these things."
Nightingale looked up at the stallion and added timidly, "And in case you've forgotten, my name is Nightingale." There, she'd reminded him. He'd called her 'slave', so Nightingale assumed her name slipped his mind. She realized she could have been a little more...subtle about telling him, but it was too late to do anything about it now.
Then a terrible thought struck her: she hadn't referred to Strix as 'master'. Nor 'sir', either. Nightingale wanted to groan. How stupid of her! She just wasn't thinking clearly today, but kept speaking out of turn and consequently sounding insolent. It wasn't her fault, she thought defensively. It had been a hard day.
|
|
|
|
Post by ms on Feb 8, 2008 0:15:21 GMT -5
[glow=white,10,300] S T R I X [/glow] Strix was quickly getting annoyed by her talking. He was a quiet horse, preferring not to say much unless needed. This, however, was over kill. Rounding on the slave, he reared up, crashing his hooves down in front of her face, missing her by a hair’s breadth. Snorting, he turned his cold eyes on her, butting up to her forehead to forehead. “Do you ever shut up?! You incisive talking will be the death of you were I not your master. I know what your name is, but I choose not to use it. That is my choice, not yours. You have yet to call me your master, though that is what I am. Do not question me again!” He snorted in her face again, before drawing himself up and breathing deeply. “Now I ask you, have you had any training in something useful?! Anything at all that doesn’t require talking?” He was clam this time. His swings were fast and unpredictable. |
|
|
|
Post by mizu on Feb 8, 2008 10:21:06 GMT -5
The filly jerked her head up and skittered back as Strix brought his hooves down- they missed her by an inch. Once more Nightingale laid back her ears, and struggled very hard not to cower under her master's rebuke. She couldn't cry, beg or plead. Like she'd told Elu, Ninghtingale firmly believed it was right for slaves to have their dignity. She endured Strix's raging invective, not turning a hair. Then all of a sudden he stopped shouting, and it was all over. The filly's auds perked up again.
"I'm sorry, Master," Nightingale said, obediently calling Strix what he'd told her to. It upset her, being told to shut up like that. Her old Mistress would never have ordered her anything of the kind. "I've had no training in anything."
The Appaloosa filly looked earnestly at the stallion as she said this. All she had to do, she told herself, was befriend her Master, just like she'd befriended Falcon and her Mistress. Life was so much better when orders were given with a smile! Or when orders weren't given at all.
"You can teach me, Master," Nightingale said, smiling serenely. "I'm a quick learner. My first Master knew how to swim. I could too, sort of, but he was much better than me. After just two days, I was fast enough to keep up with him! If you want, I can teach you how to swim, Master," she added.
|
|
|
|
Post by ms on Feb 8, 2008 11:24:34 GMT -5
[glow=white,10,300] S T R I X [/glow] She could swim, huh? Good, that could be of use. But he’d have to start from scratch on everything else. She was too young to learn anything about foaling, and too small to hold any weight but her own at the moment. That was fine for now. “You can swim? Well now, that changes everything.” But he was not above sarcasm. “Show me.” That however, was serious. He turned away from her, going back into the water. “I want you to swim out to the middle of the lake, then return to me.” |
|
|
|
Post by mizu on Feb 8, 2008 12:06:19 GMT -5
Nightingale pawed the ground nervously. She could swim, she hadn't been lying, but it was in a pretty, transparent, shallow part of the river that Falcon had taught her to swim less than two years ago. When the two foals paddled and swam they had been able to clearly see their own legs kicking beneath the water, propelling them forwards.
The filly's eyes lingered on the black lake. It looked deep and dirty and the thought of putting even one hoof in it made her feel faint. She was terrified that once she went in, she would never come back out.
All the same, an order was an order. If her master wanted to see her swim, she would have to show him. Nightingale gulped and moved closer to the water, one step at a time, very slowly, trying to summon up the courage she needed as she went.
The water, she discovered, was freezing. The filly almost pulled back, but her sense of duty forced her to walk on. Her striped hooves sank a little in the muddy floor of the lake; algae brushed gently against her legs and back. Nightingale plowed on until she was up to her neck in freezing cold water- and the middle of the lake was still far off.
She shivered miserably. It was so black, the water she was in. What if some kind of creature lived in the lake? She would never even see it coming.
"Master!" she called- thankully her voice didn't quaver. "Master, is this deep enough?"
Nightingale knew it wasn't: she hadn't even begun to swim yet, her hooves were still firmly planted on the lake floor. She didn't want to swim, not in this water, not in this lake, but how could she tell Strix so?
|
|
|
|
Post by ms on Feb 9, 2008 12:08:37 GMT -5
[glow=white,10,300] S T R I X [/glow] Strix watched as she swam out into the lake. For someone that was talkative and proud of herself, she knew how to take orders. That was very good. But she was still afraid of the water. That was wise, very wise as to what was in the water anyway. But he could use that fear to keep her in line, and use her swimming to his advantage. “That’s fine for now, we’ll work on it. Comeback, I have a job for you to do. |
|
|
|
Post by mizu on Feb 9, 2008 13:20:20 GMT -5
Nightingale couldn't believe her ears, but was delighted with what she heard. Strix wasn't such a bad master after all: he just didn't like her talking too much. All right, she would work on that, even though it was just so difficult not to say anything! Words seemed to pour from her in a steady stream no matter how hard she tried to close her mouth and keep it shut.
The filly began to move back toward the shore. Once she stumbled on something- a rock probably- and lost her footing, plunging face first into the water. The lake swallowed her up and for a few seconds Nightingale knew nothing but darkness and panic: but the water wasn't deep, and she found her balance again.
Now I'm completely drenched, Nightingale thought, shaking her head and flicking her wet forelock out of her eyes.
She waded through the last feet of water that separated her from dry land and at last her hooves touched sand again: it stuck to the mud smeared on the bottom of her daggers, making them uncomfortably heavy. Nightingale shook herself before dragging herself to stand before her master. She looked a right sight: her mane was plastered to her neck, her legs were muddy up to the knees and her tail drooped sadly, heavy with water.
Despite all this Nightingale smiled at the stallion.
"I'm ready, master," she said happily. "What do you want me to do?"
|
|
|
|
Post by ms on Feb 9, 2008 13:42:56 GMT -5
[glow=white,10,300] S T R I X [/glow] Strix smirked as she had trouble getting out of the lake. That was normal, most didn’t know how to manage the waters for a while until they were around it and in it. Leaving her where she was, he trotted and danced his way to the lake like only a Fox Trotter could. Making his way ankle deep into the water, he rolled onto his back, coating himself in the mold and black sand that dyed the water the darkest black. His mane, tail, back, and skull were completely wet and black now, and he was dripping when he righted himself. Coming back out of the lake, he sat on the ground not far from the edge, and tilted his head to the side, ice blue eyes peeking out from the depths of night that was his coat. “Now you’re going to be trained in how to clean. You better get working to cleaning me, or my beautiful white will stain. Come now, teeth and saliva works best against this goop.” |
|
|
|
Post by mizu on Feb 9, 2008 14:26:16 GMT -5
Nightingale watched Strix roll about in the mud and wondered in alarm if he had taken leave of his senses. He was getting terribly dirty, and the filly, ironically, thought it would take ages for him to clean himself up. Talking about cleaning up; Nightingale looked down at her mud-encrusted legs. Yes, a little cleaning up really was in order. Oh, if Elu, Chestnut and everybody else could see her now, they would have a right laugh. Nightingale giggled. If only she were certain they were all right! What if that big mare had taken to kicking Elu? The filly snorted disapprovingly: some Masters were far too cruel to their slaves.
She straightened up when she saw Strix coming out of the lake. He sat down, and she assumed he was waiting for her. The Appaloosa approached her master tentatively. He looked disgusting, black mud dripping from his coat. Nightingale fought valiantly not to allow her muzzle to wrinkly in distaste, and almost won: it simply twitched. She blinked and waited or Strix to speak. She hoped he wasn't going to ask her to roll in the mud.
“Now you’re going to be trained in how to clean. You better get working to cleaning me, or my beautiful white will stain. Come now, teeth and saliva works best against this goop.”
Nightingale's jaw dropped. She knew better than to show how repelled she was by the idea of cleaning all that mud off her master, and didn't move a muscle, but her eyes stung. The filly quickly looked up at the sky, pretending to be interested in the weather while in reality trying desperately to fight back tears. Crying would be more humiliating than obeying her master's command. Like she'd told Elu, slaves could be dignified whatever job they were expected to do.
Even this? There is no dignity in licking your master clean, you stupid filly! a tiny voice spoke in her head. Nightingale ignored it.
Very, very slowly she extended her neck until her muzzle was an inch from Strix's shoulder. Her mouth opened an inch, but the thought of touching the black sludge almost made the filly retch. She hovered for a moment before pulling back.
"Master..." The filly trailed off. She didn't know what to say. All Nightingale knew was that she wanted to go home.
----
OOC: Strix is uber evil! XP
|
|
|
|
Post by ms on Feb 13, 2008 11:36:25 GMT -5
[glow=white,10,300] S T R I X [/glow] Strix watched as she got closer to his shoulder, drawing back and whining. He expected this, to say he didn’t would be just stupid. She was sheltered, didn’t know much. That was why he wasn’t making her go all out yet. Start small, start slow. This was pretty low on the latter of talent, so she should be able to do this with little problem. “The sooner you clean me, the sooner you can clean yourself.” He nodded to her legs, which would soon have a hard black shell around them. That was one catch with the mud and the sand and the algae. If it wasn’t taken off, it would become hard as rock. “I didn’t say you had to swallow the gunk, just get it off. There are worse things I could be making you do slave, much worse. Believe me. I suggest that if you don’t want my imagination to go wild, you do as I say.” |
|
|
|
Post by † Kadaver † on Mar 9, 2008 14:12:15 GMT -5
Archiving this, since there hasn't been a reply in a long time. If you want it back, PM me.
|
|
