"A Restless Soul Returns"

Graveyard's picture
"Would anyone care for a spar?"
It's been a long time since Nightmare has been in the forest and today he seems to be a bit restless. He's been tromping about for most of the day so I figured I'd post a screenie for anyone interested in meeting with the old brute either RP or otherwise works really XD He's quite open to company and a good spar if anyone desires to poke at him for that. He needs to get off his lazy but and work off that winter fur of his anyway 8|
Shiori's picture

Amber eyes narrowed upon the

Amber eyes narrowed upon the distant form of the giant beast. Familiar, and yet...unrecognizable. It was not the first time the monster had recieved the look. For days now Darcy had spied upon him, hulking mass drug noisly through the brush, soaking in the pond...or, now, perched upon the mossy rock surveying the forest as though a kingdom of his own. Orange-tinted lips stretched into a sneer. They'd bled together, once. No doubt dried life force still remained uncleansed between the cracks in the stone...

(8| tried to post faster but the site was giving me problems)
Graveyard's picture

Yes the days came and went by

Yes the days came and went by for the most part... he would make his way into the forest to wander through it or perch himself where he usually sat. Someday's at the Ruins, others at the moss Rock in which he often overlooked the area around him. Today was no different... the days that he was in the forest he caught wind of the many scents of the forest, so many were new while others... were familiar and welcome. Naturally some stood out more than others...

Sitting upon that moss bed again for the mid-day resting those hidden eyes scanned the area and laid themselves on the form in the distance. There was one such familiar scent... he'd spied him watching him the days in which he was within the forest but never truly paid it much mind, figuring that if the stag would want to come over then he would. Today however, the brute on the mossy rocks decided to do something different. Raising up to his feet he had walked over to the edge closest to where the monarch stag was bellowing out and digging those claws into the ground as a means of inviting the other over before heading back to the moss bed to lay... when he got no answer he'd done it again... still no movement or answer.

Snorting out he just simply rose to his feet and walked down from the rocks and took the walk to where the other stag was standing in front of him and watching him intently, moving around and giving a sniff before backing off. Yep, familiar scent and a familiar face... it'd been quite the long time since he last saw the stag. After more walking around he finally just moved to flop his form on the ground in front of Darcy watching him still "So you're making me come down to see you then?" A low rumbling chuckle came out from that rough and gruff throat as he spoke "You've been stalking me lately haven't you?"

[[ Yeah the site has been seriously laggy for me QnQ urrrrrrg so much lag ]]

"Your efforts are insignificant! I carry you to your deaths!"
Shiori's picture

The beast saw him...Darcy

The beast saw him...Darcy knew. His pelt was far too loud against the dull greens and browns of the forest to miss. He made no real attempt to hide himself either. Let his presence be known...he didn't care. Wanted it, even. Would his lingering weight any on the monster's conscience? Perhaps not...but the possibility was too tempting to pass up, and he had nothing better to do, really.

His prediction proved correct when the fuzzy giant finally stood and ambled closer. Elongated ears twitched lightly at the scraping of claws on rock, then the raspy bellow that followed. That hollowed skull was pointed directly at him, the glowing red eyes to insignificant to see, but Darcy could feel their stare. An...invitation? Ha. The stag didn't move. He stared at monster down as he paced, clearly uncertain about what to do with the deer's lingering presence...before he drug himself off the rock and came toward him. Still, Darcy did not move. Scarred face hidden behind the shadow of his mask remained passively cold as step by step the blue giant drew himself closer.

Vaguely, the monarch remembered the first time he had met Nightmare. Once the monster had intimidated him to the core. He still remembered the feel of those teeth and claws ripping into skin. The feel of bones shattering beneath the charge of those jagged horns... Looking at him now though, you'd never know those were the thoughts passing through his head. Not as he stared up at the beast with a steady, confident gaze.

There was...only a brief change in that look when Nightmare backed off and settled himself upon the ground. Confusion, perhaps?

Darcy's ears laid back as the behemoth spoke, chin lifting ever so slightly as he realized his stance had slipped. That, and he was being called out. The male fought back the urge to shift his feet and continued to stare into those deep sockets; one and then the other before regarding the ugly aged bone as a structure in itself.
"What can I say...I smell something foul and I haven't the better sense to walk in the opposite direction."
Graveyard's picture

He just silently watched the

He just silently watched the entire time... strange how it might seem that this once vicious and rather terrifying giant was now passive and in many cases just... lazy for the most part. Perhaps it was that age that had hit, or just something in his mind finally clicked off the lights in his head that caused such reactions. Those thick ears of his, hidden behind the heavy layer of feathers flicked forward revealing themselves ever so slightly as he keened in to listen to what the monarch stag had to say. There was that low rumbling chuckle to emit itself from the brutes skull as he lowered his head a bit stretching out one of those legs of his and digging those claws in the ground "Do I really smell that bad?" A joke really, a lightening the mood attempt before he lifted his head up slightly snorting out, puffing out a bit of smoke from those jaws of his in the process "I was always curious if you had the sense to begin with... given how many times you strayed after me when I was in one of my moods. I think I still have some old wounds from some of those times..." Another chuckle followed by a heavy sigh "Times change though... for better or worse who knows really. How have you been anyway?"

"Your efforts are insignificant! I carry you to your deaths!"
Shiori's picture

A brow twitched at the

A brow twitched at the attempted humor, though the movement was hidden beneath the tattered wooden mask. The monster did indeed seem...comfortable in his presence. But what did he expect? The question made him grit his teeth together in a surge of new frustration.
"Yes, well...I was under the impression that's what friends tended to do. I wouldn't expect you to understand, of course..." Bitterness seeped from his quiet tone and, at last, he turned his head away, tension visible in his flexing jaw. The beast's question was, for now, ignored. "I wonder why you bothered coming back."
Graveyard's picture

"Yes but a good friend also

"Yes but a good friend also knows when to leave well enough alone. A thick sigh came out of him as he carefully rose to his feet to stretch, walking around for a moment to get the tiredness out of his legs before he circled around to lay back down craning his neck a bit to ease out the kinks in muscles that were starting to relax too much. He snorted deeply at the bitterness to come out of Darcy, a low hiss coming up but nothing more "Yes what would I know about friends... surely I am not worthy of them. Not worthy of anything, or am I wrong Darcy?" There was a bit of bitterness in the giants own voice there as he shook his head "Is it so wrong for me to just want to come back and enjoy the... peacefulness of this land? Or would you rather me go out and get shot up again?"

"Your efforts are insignificant! I carry you to your deaths!"
Shiori's picture

His head turned back as the

His head turned back as the beast stood, towering over him once more. Critical eyes watched him move, fur rustling and joints popping...before leaves scattered once more at the force of his weight being settled again. All the while, Darcy remained still.
"I know nothing of what you're worth, Night... To me? Nothing. I to you? Clearly, nothing. A waste of time and blood and loyalty. All for that bitch ...Tell me, do you regret it?"
Graveyard's picture

His attention just watched

His attention just watched Darcy carefully... lifting his head up as he rolled his shoulder, popping bones and joints as he sneered... if you could call it such with that skull "Sometimes I do, but I know it's hopeless to even feel such an emotion where it will do nothing for me. Best to move on and leave the past behind, leave it where it was and leave those wounds to stay sealed so that they do not fester. I have many regrets, shocking as that may seem." There was a pause as he shifted to stretch out again "You must be worth something to me Darcy if I bothered to come down here at all or to invite you up on that rock to lay with me... on that place, on that grave... the place that you know means a lot to me despite what has happened there in the past." The blue monsters head lowered down for a moment before he rose back to his feet this time planting himself in place as his fur bristled up for a moment before once again laying out in that calm manner "If it's action you are looking for I could use the exercise... if it's a fight you desire I am more than willing to let you take out that anger and frustration here and now Darcy. Just say the word."

"Your efforts are insignificant! I carry you to your deaths!"
Shiori's picture

"Is this how you treat the

"Is this how you treat the ones that mean something to you, Nightmare? Forgive me for not being overly impressed," the stag ground out to the beast's wordy response. Snubbing him for Herla. Leaving the forest when Darcy needed him most. Yes, anger and frustration was what he felt...yet as Nightmare got to his feet once more and offered himself up to the monarch...the stag merely shifted to the side and snorted quietly in distaste.
"I have no interest in fighting you...not anymore."
Graveyard's picture

"And I'm not that impressed

"And I'm not that impressed either... I see a shell of what was once a good friend..." He snorted out, keeping that head craned high as those pools of red in empty sockets became slightly clearer "I see my presence here is unwelcome... I suppose I will just take my leave and go back to my mothers grave and leave you to your petty mopping. But the offer still stands." There was a pause as he turned shaking his head and digging those paws into the ground "You cannot hide that anger and frustration for long, it will eventually boil over. I suggest finding some way to vent it if I am of no 'interest' to you anymore."

"Your efforts are insignificant! I carry you to your deaths!"
Shiori's picture

"A shell...yes..." Darcy's

"A shell...yes..." Darcy's eyes glazed a little at the accusation, and he actually frowned. He couldn't deny it. Was he anyone likable anymore? He'd lost everything. Everyone. Nightmare was not the only one to abandon him, and he felt...hollow. He was in pieces, with too many chunks missing to make whole again.

The stag snorted once more and closed his eyes, angling his face away from the creature and shadowing his face completely. Even then, dry laughter escaped his throat. "I didn't think my disdain was hidden...Spilling more of your blood would be a waste of time, however, and I'd feel no real honor in you spilling my own..." He sounded tired now...a little less enthusiastic than before. Perhaps he had allowed the weight of those memories to bear down on him a little too heavily. He was a burden to himself, wasn't he? "I've learned my lesson this time..."
Graveyard's picture

He couldn't really hide much

He couldn't really hide much in the way of things, body language often said a lot about someone even if they were trying to keep it hidden. Nightmare seemed to have struck a cord, and he knew it... or at least he thought he did anyway. Sighing out deeply he turned to make his way back over standing in front of Darcy once again as he listened to the monarch speak... a deep chuckle coming out of him before the giant blue stag dug his claws into the ground tilting his head and nodding back towards the giant moss covered rock that lay behind them "A hard lesson to have learned I am sure but I am curious as to what is was... if you do not wish to use me as a tool for venting your anger out then perhaps you would at the very least grant me your company atop the mossbed. It'd be welcome... and it does get lonely sitting up there." Yes, he was at the very least trying to be generous, showing the Stag that he was at the very least welcome around him and didn't have to stay such a distance away "But if you'd rather not and stay here then I will certainly not argue with your choice. Do what you wish to... and try to do something that at the very least makes you happy for once."

"Your efforts are insignificant! I carry you to your deaths!"
Mauvable's picture

I'm reading this, and Mauv's

I'm reading this, and Mauv's watching from far off. Loving the tension.
Shiori's picture

Yes...even after years of

Yes...even after years of trying to perfect his stoicism, he was still an easy one to read, wasn't he? A confident stance and a cold look could only carry him so far before anyone began to see the cracks in his false armor. He was a broken stag.
"Happy..." he repeated dryly, slowly turning his head back as he crunching of leaves grew nearer. Again the beast faced him. Offered companionship. Darcy might have scoffed at him did his chest not suddenly ache.
"I thought you a brother, once," he spoke again, more quietly this time, his eyes no longer seeking Nightmares, but staring past the giant into the forest, unfocused. "But I was never meant to have a family. Death has followed me since I was born...but surely you don't want to hear of those troubles. You never did, did you...?"
Finally his gaze focused. Lifted. Hardened. He laughed.
"This wasn't my choice. You made the choice long ago when you chose yourself. Perhaps when you get lonely enough, you'll come seeking me out and explain to me why that was... Until then...I have nothing more to say to you."
His eyelids fluttered closed as a breath was drawn, then he stepped back and turned away in one fluid motion, determined to leave the beast in the past where he belonged. Even still, the ache in his chest remained, an already existant hole growing wider, it seemed. And a question lingered in his mind.
Could he really afford to hold these grudges...?


(Sorry about that...I got way distracted so I ended the forest interaction so you didn't have to wait around for me heh.)