you can't take me [open]

[Pink Rose]

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[bg=788fbe][atrb=border,0,true] The sound of hooves brushing against the grainy dirt was the only thing that met the stallion's audits. Everything was quiet... eerily quiet. The lone stag didn't even know why he was wasting his time in this place, for the last time he had come he had left empty handed. Raziel wasn't one to waste his time again but he kept feeling like he needed to go back, to look just a little bit harder. To walk just a little bit farther. At the same time he hesitated, the edge the forest just in his sights. The darkness... the evil in the area made him feel like he was slowly suffocating. Would he dare step back in to look for mares to add to his herd? As if to beg him in, the scent of a mare drew him in. He couldn't help himself, he was completely alone and any sort of company was good company. The buckskin's stilts carried him lazily toward the mare, his amber orbs sweeping across the horizon. Branches grazed his coat, the leaves tickling his pelt. Darkness was an understatement. The area looked like all good had left it. No happiness, the only things he could smell were fear, anger, and lust. No happy birds sang their sweet songs in the trees above, only the occasional sound of an owl's eerie hoot graced his velvet ears. Raziel's lungs felt like someone was sitting on them, and a weird panic twisted around his spine as he began to pick up the pace into a lope. For the first time in a long time he felt like he was completely suppressed, like there was no end to the madness. All he had to do was get to this mare and he wouldn't be alone, so panicked. Just as Raziel burst into the clearing, he noticed the smell of the stallion with the mare. He put on a completely blank expression and observed the scene that was so grotesquely splayed out before him. The stag pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, the smell of blood seeping into his nostrils. Raziel was horrified at what he was looking at, and yet the unreadable expression still sat on his face. A dead, or dying, stallion lay at her feet, blood trickling in rivers from his skull and battered body. His eyes slowly went from the stallion to the mare and back, not sure what to make of what he was looking at. So this mare was a fighter then. Normally Raziel would be quick to leave, her kind was not welcome in his life but he was so lonely that he couldn't help himself. "Normally I would ask a mare what she was doing in such a dangerous place. But I can see you handle yourself fine." The sixteen hand high stallion looked her over, a forced smile crossing his lips. She was beautiful. Large and white with a long and wispy mane. Her pelt was relatively unmarred except for the scars that graced her shoulder and snout. White feathering splayed out from the bottom of her legs like individual skirts, her piercing blue eyes seemed like they could stare at you and scour your soul. Raziel stood taller, already imagining what she would be like in his herd, but alas it looked like she wanted nothing to do with stallions. "Whether or not the stallion got what was coming to him, I have no right to say. However..." He paused, putting on a quizzical face. "You should know that most stallions are not as pathetic and weak as him."

[Pink Rose]

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[bg=788fbe][atrb=border,0,true] Raziel realized, as the mare noticed him, how tall she was. He stood at over sixteen hands but she looked more like eighteen hands. He hated it when mares were larger than he. It made him feel... inadequate. And as arrogant and holier-than-thou he could be, it was a serious blow to his self esteem. Despite that he held his gaze as level as he could. Raziel could be that stallion on the ground if he didn't play his cards right. But what cards? Did he really want her in his harem? It wasn't that she wasn't a stunning mare, or that he was particularly turned off by her 'almost-murder', but the fact was that she seemed a free spirit that he couldn't contain. Raziel himself was only looking for company so anything went at his point. "Do not think me as a fool, stallion. I know very well not all are as weak as this fool. My first rule is to never under estimate those around you…" The stag snorted, a flicker of amusement crossing his normally guarded eyes. How she stood, with a shield against her breast as she called out such things to him. She was so used to waging war against stallions that she didn't realize that he was trying to be friendly. Or so he assumed. "My my. You skip to conclusions." Raziel spoke calmly. Was that a chuckle under his breath? "I never called you a fool. I actually thought quite the opposite." His stance slackened slightly but his tone remained almost bored, as if her words were slightly petty even. "You're admirable. By the way my name is not Stallion. My name is Raziel. But you can call me anything." His words were nonchalant, as if he couldn't have cared less. Truly though, he couldn't have. "You gave that poor chap quite the beating." For once, he genuinely laughed as the stallion glared furiously at him. (I hope you don't mind my power-playing) As if he couldn't stand their conversation, the brute struggled to get to his hooves, shot them all a murderous glare, and continued to limp away through the forest, cursing as he went. Raziel said nothing but a little chuckle he couldn't hide. "Any reason you felt like beating him to a pulp? I'm sure he disrespected you, yes, but most mares don't attempt murder." His voice was dry, almost sarcastic in tone as he turned back to face her. "Don't get me wrong, it was brave of you. If I were a mare I'm not sure I would attempt anything that drastic." His voice softened slightly this time. Was that a compliment? He wasn't sure.

[Pink Rose]

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[bg=788fbe][atrb=border,0,true] "Why? You are a stallion are you not?" Raziel guarded his frustration well, the same placid expression still played across his buckskin face. What was with her? Then again she was probably wondering the same about him. The buckskin really had no purpose to be there other than to talk. He had first figured she would be a great catch for his herd but he decided to let that option go. He didn't want to be beat up, nor did he want to contain her. Raziel wasn't that stupid. There were just some mares that you couldn't suppress. However... it would be different if she came on her own will. But something told him she wouldn't settle for second best. Her attitude was that of a ruthless, war-ridden Queen. She would play the part well as long as she kept this up. Raziel's mindless banter wouldn't distract her for long. He had just entered her fun little game. "So, Raziel… Why do you keep talking and why do you insist of pestering me?" The glint of annoyance in her eyes, the way that her stance seemed so tense. Clearly she didn't appreciate company, but that he had already expected. Honestly he had no reason to be speaking to her, unless he wanted to attempt to bring her back to his lands. 'But I don't want to be turned into that stallion. Although I'm not him.' Raziel stared at her for a long time, his gaze unwavering and his expression still blank as ever. "You think I came all this way to retrieve you and force you back to my lands? Not all stallions are so shallow you know." His voice this time was rather scolding, irritated even. However he took a deep breath and realized she had every right to be like that. So many stallions were idiots, and so many more had to be punished. "I'm bored, honestly. You're the only interesting horse I've come across in weeks." Raziel tossed his head slightly, ears pricked in her direction. "I'm honestly curious. I've never seen a mare like you. What do you plan on doing? Going about the rest of your life killing rapists?" Something told him she wouldn't appreciate the question, however curious he was. What would she do then? Conquer some land? Control a herd of only mares? Something told him just settling for the position of Queen next to a King would irritate her and hold her in for the rest of her life. The only word that he could think of was simply wild. "I don't see you settling for just any position. Back in my old lands, there was a group of mares that was lead by a Queen. Almost like an army. They were impressive." Raziel shrugged.