There Are Few Who Deny [herd/open]

notes ?!
words ?! 347
tagg ?! night your turn! [/font]
credit ?! REAL SLIM SHADY !? @ Caution 2.0

The blood bay was just on the edge of the desert, Her two only yearlings were now just feet from her. She watched Scorpion and Painted Doll closely. She noticed since the two were born that Scorpion had taken to be protective over her little Doll, almost to the point she didn't have to. Sure there were times she'd scold them and her little prince would stand between the two and defend the little princess.

Marionette didn't know, but there was something wrong with the little doll. Almost to the point she wanted to cast her away. It wasn't like Skellington Jack's insanity it was more... insane. The young doll was able to predict the future and often lived in fear of things.

The mother's ears tweaked at the call of her painted knight, at first she didn't move but snorted. "Come you two. Our king calls." She urged the two forward first, forcing them into a trot and then following. She then called out to Skelly, returning his. "On our way, but Doll is slow as ever." She hated that little filly. She couldn't keep up with all of Skelly's other foals.

Painted moved at her mothers urging, but not fast, her eyes dilated and her trot slowed to a walk. This was a bad idea going back. She moved closer to Scorpion, as her mother threated to move her faster, and she picked back up to a trot. She kept her voice low, weak, "Scorpion, something doesn't feel right about this meeting."

Marionette pulled in front of the twins and moved faster, eager to get to see her painted knight. When they arrived, she gave a smile to the painted mare to her right, which she had come to know as Ambrosia, Skelly's first to have foals. She gave her a smile before bowing to her knight. She bumped Doll to urge her to do the same, but she didn't bend, instead she just moved to the other side of Scorpion, keeping behind him slightly. She'd only seen her father a few times.

As Skelly's first mate arrived she seemed irritated. Marion could sense it. None of Skelly's mares seemed to know each other after name basis. Painted Doll sunk even lower at the voice of the colt and other mare.

callie

Her eyes flashed. Now that they were a little bigger, she was beginning to slowly understand her powers-not much, but bit by bit she understood her relationship with the land. Instead of faltering like her sibling did in the sand, she seemed to almost float above it-learning to manipulate the sand into hard pieces of rock so that she could step upon them. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing, and she still needed her mother for milk. As soon as she figured out how to eat grass, she was out of here.
"I'm right here you half brained twit."
She rolled her eyes at her little "brother" something she at the moment was refusing to admit. He seemed to be half brain dead or something, always making things up. She, of course, had a "cool" head on her shoulders and never made a mistake in her dear little life; but all he did was whine. She looked to her mother, being completely serious as she spoke again.
"Can I please just kill him and put us all out of the misery of listening to his stupidity?"

Scorpion barely heard his mother as they neared, his eyes only for his sister. He ignored everything else around, only seeing her and only moving when she did. He glanced only briefly to his mother, not caring about her unease at all. At his mother's harsh words toward his sister; his ears pinned and he snapped his teeth toward her behind her back. He drew in a sharp breath, ignoring his mother as his sister slowed further. He looked upon her with loving, baeful eyes.
"Do not worry my sweet, we will flee if we have to."
As she sunk lower to the earth, his ears pinned, and he positioned himself over top of her-eyes flicking back and forth as he watched all the others come closer.

Skellington Jack did his best to remain calm, despite a circus occuring in his head. Jimenia and the Leper Elf were screaming at each other and throwing things, saying they wanted a divorce; because apparently Jimenia had gotten drunk and slept with Oogie the other night. The Leper Elf, always in a drunken state, was hurt by it all. Lock was taking the time to take up folk tavern songs, and was currently writing lyrics down in regards to the fight. He would periodically sing them aloud, trying to find the right tone to sing them in. "When I got home on Monday night, drunk as drunk could be, I saw the door a slightly ajar-rushing inside I thought she'd run so far; I called to me wife, me darling little wife, "My sweet my sweet are you alright?" Quite oddly she replied, "Of course I am you drunken fool, it's quite plain to see...no no now that's all wrong, this thing will never make a song!"
Skellington watched as the mares came, the only one who seemed satisfied with the gifts of life he'd given was Lunatic. Marionette rushed to him, leaving the children behind. Ambrosia had already expressed concern. Grim was older than any of them now, and seemed to hate the twins, tired as she was always. He frowned, had he so horribly failed them all? He must have. The heat was getting to his sperm and making his children crazier than even he. It was baking them all; so they were all acting like they'd been born high off magic brownies.
He stomped his hoof, not addressing anyone in particular as he made his annoucement, but screamed it over the voices in his head to make sure he was audible. He couldn't really hear himself think.
"It has come to my attention that everyone is unhappy. In lieu of this..."
His voice trailed off a minute as he looked to the mares. One of them should be lead to help them find a new home. Skellington knew he couldn't be trusted to find such a place. But who would be the best option? This is not something he could easily just choose; it had been so long and he was so horrible at decisions.
"Someone needs to lead us to a more appropriate climate. I do not believe this is a suitable home for us anymore."
He looked to Ambrosia, they would of course find the children before they left as they seemed to be the only ones not in tow. Surely they were okay though; Mikey knew the terrain almost as well as Skellington himself did. He snorted, and looked to Marionette, then to Grim, then to Lunatic. Cactus was growing into a beautiful young mare. He was proud of her; he did not know the rest of them well enough yet to say the same.
"Who it will be, decide amongst yourselves. I am in no state to make such decisions."

Grim watched both of her children, seeming to ignore them as they went about their antics. She’d raised a child before, though not very well in her mind since she’d disappeared during her Daughter’s growth, she found herself wondering how Til turned out… if she was fine… if she was even alive. Now she had these two foals to look after. Her daughter Discord seemed to float over the desert, she wasn’t sure what it was but it seemed strange, for even with her brother being about the same weight, he stumbled about in the sand at times. Shaking her head she glanced towards her love, Skellington, her coat glistening in the sun and the heat. She love him, she truly did and had been with him throughout so many years, but this place’s desert was not as bearable as it had been at their old home… or maybe that had to do with the fact that she’d been younger then? She wasn’t quite old enough to be considered old yet… she could still have foals for him if he wanted them, but this heat was quite unbearable.

Pinning her ears at her daughter, she gave Discord a harsh look. “We are not killing off your brother. Enough of that.”
Strife looked up at his father, cocking his head a bit as he moved closer, seemingly ignoring his sister as he came up to the reason for him being alive. “Painted King, what are the life bearer’s going to do?”

RileyCasper you are up "

Lunatic stood silently and watched the pained expression cross her lover's face. She had known something was off for quite some time, but was always too nervous to confront him. A heavy sigh left her kissers as her attention turned to the squabbling foals, and she struggled to focus on the word's that left her king's mouth. From the few words she caught, she knew that Skelly was giving the mares the option to battle it out, the winner being the one to lead them to a new found home. The mare chose to opt out of it this time, for she was currently in foal, and didn't even want to consider risking it. She knew Ambrosia was more than capable of leading them, however, she was still slightly skeptical, as she had disappeared for quite sometime.

However, Ro did come back, but things were clearly different. With a slight nod to the other mares, Lunatic turned to face her lover, and gave him a gentle nudge with maw before turning to walk away, the damn heat causing a sheen of sweat to form over her dark pelt. She needed to find some shade.

Cactus listened intently, watching the confused expressions cross the other mare's faces. At first, she was confused too. Everything seemed to be going well, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized just how wrong she was. Her father definitely not been the same lately. He always used to be so upbeat. So happy. But now he always seemed to be in his own dark little world. 

The young mare's auds flicked backwards for a second when her father mentioned that they needed a new leader, and a slight sense of rage coursed through her veins, but a slight tap from the lizard's tail that was perched on her shoulders reminded her to stay calm. Cactus thought about speaking up, but she knew her place. She was too young to even consider challenging the other mares, let alone lead the whole band. Cactus watched her mother nudge her father before walking away, and she suddenly got the urge to follow her. She couldn't handle everyone at once, the many voices clouding her head. She never really fared well in social situations. Cactus looked back to her father, her face matching his pained expression.

OOC: This sucks, and I apologize everyone.

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Discord
A deep exhale escaped her, rolling her eyes at the insanity of her family. While they were hers, she still wished she was out on her own. Maybe she could sneak away from the party when they were going along, since it was obvious her father had no intention of letting her lead. He did not know her true potential, and the others would all perish without her-she was sure of that. It wasn't until her brother came toward her that she snorted again. What was he doing here, even existing? At his question though, her ears pricked. Perhaps...perhaps she could have a little fun with him, and perhaps she could create her own minion herd.
"Can I tell you a secret, dear brother?"
She batted her eyes to him. Stepping closer. She nipped his ear, glancing to her mother, as if they were merely playing. Confidently she began to whisper.
"Not a soul but you will know; but the burden I bear is a heavy price and to share it with my dear brother will soften it..."
She didn't know if he would feel the curling of her lips against his ear hair or not, but she couldn't help but grin. It was the only thing keeping her from bursting out in a fit of giggles.
"I am not a witch, but a goddess. I was reborn upon earth to hide myself from my godly counterpart, a ruthless man...you know him, the Sun Demon. He was my betrothed. But he is a brutal awful thing, who only sot to torment others. There is no kindness, not like you, sweet brother. I looked over the earth with such joy that I wanted to be a true part of it..."
She pulled away then, looking into his eye on that side to see if he believed her at all...doing her best to keep a straight face as she whispered only one more thing.
"Won't you help hide me from the demon in the sky?"

Scorpion
His ears pinned back as his father had approached; how dare the stallion who did not keep his beloved Doll from being chastised by the mother ask anything of her strengths? Perhaps he only wished to include her in the discussions, but it was hateful to do so in such a matter. He looked upon his father with slight disdain, looking at his head laying there in the sand. If he reared up, he could squash him like a bug-and then he would never ask anything more of his beautiful sister. No one would. Scorpion knew she was tormented by something that he could not protect her from, so he would protect her from everything else-including their own family. He eyed his mother a moment, she was the worst of them. She treated his sister like she was a disease upon the land...when he knew who the true disease was.
His gaze shifted back to his father, and he leaned in to whisper something in his ear.
"I do not need premonition to know what will make mother happy again...We are older now father, and mother grows tired of us...give her new life to carry, so we may be free of her watchful eye."
He leaned down and nuzzled his sister then, eyeing his father to tell him it was time to go.

Skellington Jack
He for the moment, ignored everything around him but his daughter and the colt above her. The voices even were silent, as Skellington took in her reaction to his question. The voices were trying to process it all. They did not comprehend what went on in the little fae's mind, or why her eyes reacted like that.
After she had spoke, the colt leaned in to tell him something. His ears pricked and he looked to Marionette with a sly grin. He glanced to the colt again, nodding as he crawled backwards away from them. He would obviously have to watch them...there was something odd with the colt and filly. He stood then, and looked to Marionette, prancing to her side. He nipped along her shoulder then, brushing her ear ever so gently.
"Would you like a present before we go, my sweet? Let's meet before we leave."

A proud grin placed on his maw when Cactus stepped forward, announcing her decision to accept. He had only to wait for Ambrosia to accept, but would not see why she wouldn't.
He moved toward Grim, hearing her words and becoming suspicious; she was not normally this...accepting. He nuzzled her though, resting his head over her withers a moment as he looked curiously at what their foals were doing. Grim had been with him for the longest, and her opinion was...to be honest, the one that meant a great deal to him. Her accepting put him at ease. He nibbled on her mane a moment, forgetting what he was even talking about as he watched their foals strange dealing...before he started coughing on a strand of her hair. He hacked a moment, then stepped away, nudging her shoulder.
He looked to Ambrosia, hoping she would accept. Before he stepped aside from Grim and stomped his hoof.
"Once we arrive at the promised land and are settled, when the warmer weather comes, and the new foals born, we will have a competition for who will be the official lead mare. I know you all have patiently waited for me to make such a decision, but I fail at such decisions and I wish not to make it. Strength will be tested, wits will be tested, and other things."
He moved away from Grim to move toward the center of the mares, though he kept talking with each of his steps.
"We will leave the desert at night, where traveling across this terrain will be easiest because the..."
He looked to Grim's and his children and said with a giggle.
"Sun demon...will have gone to sleep."
His gaze swept over the entire herd, before landing upon Cactus.
"Can you and Steve please go find your brothers Donnie and Mikey? Even if they decide not to come with, they should say goodbye to all of us, so I would like to see them."
He nodded at that; they were old enough to make their own decisions. Cactus too, was old enough, but she seemed proud that he had named her to help lead. He looked again to the rest of the herd.
"Ambrosia and Cactus, with Steve, will lead us. If they choose to come, Mikey will follow; he has become a strong fighter and will be able to help protect them. Scorpion, Painted Doll, Discord, and Strife will follow in a group behind them with Marionette and Lunatic; Donnie will be behind them in case they get separated from the group; he knows the land well as well. Grim and I will bring up the rear, in case something attacks from behind."
He stomped his hoof, looking to the herd. It felt weird saying everyone's names, but this was a matter of orders instead of fun times. He shook his head, to get the silly feeling out of his head, before looking to the herd.
"Find places to rest now, my loves. We will meet here again at dusk, and head out once the sun fully sets. That way, we can watch the sun set once more upon the place we once called home. My Damsel, won't you join me?"
He winked to their foals, only doing what their son had suggested. Besides Ambrosia, all the pregnant mares would be in the center, protecting the foals. It was a foolproof plan. If they came across any stallions, Mikey would be there to stop them. It was not as if Skellington would be too far behind; but it would be easiest for if they got separated. Donnie too could help protect the foals, and Skellington would be right there with him. Cactus and Mikey; he knew their sounds well and could sprint to their aid if trouble arose at the front. He knew the foals, Lunatic, and Marionette well to sprint to their aid...and should he need to do so, he knew Grim could take care of herself to catch up.
He nodded at the decisions.

OOC: Alright. jenn is up next but has MCATS this week, so we're kind of putting this on hold. Let's try to get some of the threads in here wrapped up. The official journey to the new land will start on October 1st, or if we're all ready before then; we'll start early. Mostly we need callie back and jenn to PASS HER MCATS! So if you see Jenn on...ask her how studying is going
He's going to meet up with Marionette for a little bit, so you all don't have to post in order if you are momentarily exiting the thread to get some rest; just post when you feel inspired. The posting order for the journey will be Ambrosia, Cactus, and Mikey (in whatever order), (might be easiest to do Ambrosia/Donnie together and then Cactus/Lunatic together. I'll post whatever XD) Then Marionette, Scorpion, Painted Doll, Donnie, Lunatic, Discord, and Strife. (Again, we can group them) Then Skellington Jack and Grim Reaper's Pleasure. We can group them so you only have to post once, but try to keep it in the groups as best you can. (So I'd do the foals, then Jack, then Mikey as the first of the start of the next grouping.)
Any questions?

Strife was watching his sister intently, awaiting her answer with such a curiosity that he had never shown before. His ears pricked as he seemed to perk up at her mentioning telling him a secret, his head bobbing as she spoke. “Secrets are best locked away safely… please let me help lift this burden from the witch’s shoulders…” He shifted his weight around a bit as he listened to his sister whispering into his ear, he stood stock still as he took in all of his words. The look in his eyes was full on wonder as he believed every word his sister was telling him. “Of course, oh wonderful Goddess… I shall help protect you from the dreadful fire demon, he shall never bother you again!”

Grim looked back at her children, cocking her head, curious as to what they were up to. Strife seemed quite simple really, though her daughter seemed like quite the mix between her and grim… she wondered if the filly inherited his insanity or smarts. She would have to keep an eye on them in order to make sure they didn’t wander off and get themselves into Danger. Maybe it would be good to teach them how to defend themselves as well… It was an interesting thing to try and figure out.

Calling out to both of her children she went to direct them to a place to get some rest away from where the sun was, at least until it cooled down. “Come on you mischievous two, let’s go rest up for this journey ahead.” She nudge both of them, keeping a close eye on the surroundings.