A Shadow Approaches

[Brandr]

((OOC Note: Edited to include additional information on some points.))

Name: Brandr (pronounced B-ran as in English run-d as in day-u as in you-r. Sometimes called ”The Black One” , "The Shadow" or ”The Dark One”.

Species: Magical horse of an unnamed tribe, which Brandr rarely or never speaks of.

Gender: Appearance is gender-neutral, voice a soft tenor that could be either gender. To beings with a keen sense of smell Brandrs scent is a weird mix, scenting a little of both genders but still leaning more towards the male side. Brandr ignores queries about its gender, since it consideres that irrelevant and tends to completely avoid questions of that nature.

Alliance: Neutral, leaning towards the evil side.

Age: 58 years.

Human Age Equivalency: 25 in human years. Brandr's species lives up to the age of 500 years, and they start growing old as late as in their 400eds, before that they remain young-looking and vigilant.

Mature Adult at Age: Is considered an adult at the age of 50, but really respected among the others in the herd only at ages of 200 or beyond.

Appearance: Brandr is a medium sized horse, lean and wiry with a shiny ebony black coat. The eyes are a mysterious icy blue, the gaze almost frigid in its coldness. The mane is long, slightly curly and as black as the coat, but whereas the coat shines and glitters in the sun the black mane gives off a more definite blackness, like a void of darkness. The tail is the same oddly matt color as the mane, with one exception: one single strand of pure white disturbs the blackness of it all, running down the lenght of the tail. The hooves, too, are strangely white and sticks out like a sore thumb.

Brandr is 13 hands tall, 132 centimetres which is 4"4' inches at the withers, weighing about 800 pounds. Appearancewise he's quite similar to an Arabian, although smaller in size. The medium height for his species is about 11-14 hands.

The only speck of color comes from a bright orange and red feather, weaved into the mane where it lays, nestled among the deep black curls. Brandr doesn't carry any weapons, nor has it got any more forms at the moment.

Personality: Brandrs personality is quite hard to get a grip on. Seemingly cold and indifferent, radiating mysteriousness but at the same time oddly vulnerable. The quiet speech patterns adds to the illusion of shyness. Gracefully walking and moving, keeping up a facade of indifference, this horse build up an outer image of serenity.

Brandr has a deep fear of always being alone, abandoned and cold, and knows not how to act to avoid this. Every path seems to lead to being alone, yet again, to the point of despair. Its innermost desire would be to be part of a group where the feeling of safety and warmth dominates, unlike the herd of its past.

Brandr does have weaknesses, though. Water is one of the loathed things, rivers, streams, ponds, rain, you name it.
One of its phobias include paranoia, which means extreme waryness towards strangers and threats. If threatened attacking is the first option coming to mind, closely followed by running away and hiding. When surprised or pressured, Brandr would strike first, to surprise the opponent, then run away and hide while the enemy is distracted. Of course, if attacking and running away isn't an option, the only other option would be to attack using words or frigid looks.

Brandr doesn't react well to changes, and if set up against something unfamiliar the likely outcome would result in the black one withdrawing into a cold facade.

Preferring solitude and privacy over a crowd, but still having an inner urge to be part of something, Brandr tends to contradict its very nature. Pessimistic, sarcastic and easy to offend, the black one withdraws and envelops in a cold mask most of the time, and if there's someone in great need or danger Brandr is probably the last one to help, unless the circumstances are more than bizarre and somehow in its favour.

The most surprising thing is Brandr's element, Fire. The logical element of choice for someone who is aloof, indifferent and cold would be Ice or perhaps Wind, but instead it's Fire. Why? Well, that's something only Brandr knows and hides well. Deep inside, the dark one hides a fiery personality, an inner rebel that constantly challenges the cold and calm outer mask. Practically none outside its family know about this secret personality, since it only breaks free at times of extreme pressure. But when this Fire breaks free of the cold shell around it, it really burns, with a hot rage, a furious anger, free and wild and everything one could imagine fire is.


Abilities: The feather in Brandr's mane is a channel for his Fire Magicks, and the uses of the feather is as follows: low level Fire Spells like Fireballs, bolts and nets made of Fire without verbal commands. Larger Fire Spells like The Rising Phoenix (summons a great bird of flame to protect the summoner) and Flame Shield (summons flames to cover the summoners body) by longer enchanting. There is still one more level for the Fire Magicks, which Brandr hasn't mastered yet, and that is the Fire Form, which enables the enchanter to completely dissolve his or her body into the element in question. Essentially, becoming Fire, being Fire. The affects and causes of this form is still unknown.

The low level spells like Fireballs are not so ranged, Brandr can keep them hovering near it or shoot them away, with a range of about 50 metres, max. The bolts have about the same range, and both the bolts and balls can vary in size, depending on how much magical power Brandr has left or wants to use. He can make them tiny and not so destructive (acting as a leading light or perhaps a warning) or bigger and more threatening or lethal. The largest size he can accomplish is about the size of a melon (balls) or the lenght of his body (bolts)

The Flame Shield can also vary in strenght, the strongest setting being a very hot flame that burns almost everything. This, of course, is also dependent on Brands current magical reserve: the more exhausted it is, the weaker the shield. The Rising Phoenix is a summoned flame, with some thinking capacity of it's own, and it can follow orders, but you have to be very exact with them or the Phoenix might misinterpret. The chant to summon the Phoenix is quite long and it takes a while to build up the Phoenix from flames, but once it's complete and solid no chanting is needed. The Phoenix actually solidifies into a real bird, although a summoned one, and it can light itself up with flames at will but it can also remain like a big, orange-red bird if the summoner desires it to carry objects. The Phoenix has a longer range and can fly practically as long away from the summoner as possible within a certain time frame. The time frame is about 10 minutes max for Brandr at the moment, after that the summoned magic will dissipate into the air. The Phoenix can be used in the same manner as Fireballs and bolts only on a wider range, but it can also be ordered to fly to a target and then attack it, it can be ordered to carry small things for a while, or to protect its summoner using fire-attacks or simply by hacking and slashing or beating with the wings. The Phoenix is mainly a long range attack though, and can travel very fast, so during the 10 minute timeframe it'll be able to bring messages up to 50km from where the summoner is.

The existing Magick also allows Brandr to be faster than normal horses and exelerates healing a little. This also means that surviving for longer times without food and water is possible.

However, should Brandr lose the feather, the Magicks will also be lost unless the old feather is recovered or a new feather is made using a very complicated and time consuming process. This loss of Magicks doesn't include Brandr's healing and speed abilities since those are not a conscious thing, merely a bodily reaction whereas the feather is a means of channelling the power within.

What I'm trying to explain here is the fact that Brandrs people consists of an element, they essentialy are their respective elements and the (in Brandrs case)feather is merely a way to harness their elemental, their inner Magick. Since they are their element, spells are quite restricted, because doing a spell is practically taking a piece of yourself and tossing it outside the body. Brandrs people can do about five low level spells or two higher level ones before becoming mentally and magically exhausted, needing to rest to regenerate the lost elemental piece of their inner being. The final form is actually their true form, how their being would look like without the body, and once they've trained to take on this form the Magick increases a little bit, but the danger of losing yourself and your body to the elements also increases. Very rarely does one even bother to try achieving this form, because of the danger of becoming your element for good. There has been some recorded cases of people trying and remaining for a while as a conscious gust of wind or similar, but this form is quite vulnerable and the consciousness and the wind soon dissipates. There has also been cases of people who succeeded, but these are strictly confidental and none except the herd elders know how many have succeeded and who these persons are.

Disadvantages: Brandr is agile and has quite a bit of Magick, but against a strong foe there might still not be enough strenght. The stronger the spell, the more time it takes to summon it. The fast healing also means that sometimes bones or similar doesn't heal right and has to be rebroken and set properly. Also, since Brandr's element is Fire, water provides a great weakness and during rain Brandr's almost powerless.

The feather in Brandrs mane is also a big Achilles heel, without it the dark one would be virtually powerless. Another disadvantage lies in the very nature of its Magick, if the Fire takes complete control and starts raging wildly inside the black one it might lose itself completely to the rage and power. That's why Brandr hesitates to use the more powerful spells and tends to use the minor ones and then run away during trouble.

Family: Brandr is from a big herd of Magical Horses, and has always been surrounded by sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents and every other relative you can imagine. Being of an unusual, unlucky color, Brandr was always watched carefully, kept in control and under tight metaphorical reins, always restrained, always regarded with suspicion. Loneliness was a dominant feeling, because of this alienation, and by immersing in Magick studies Brandr tried to understand the feeling of being distant, tried to please the others to no end. Alone, while still in a big group, the dark one felt suffocated, repressed, ignored, unloved, to the point of no return when it finally snapped and left the herd, determined to find a path of its own.

History: The first years of Brandrs life was spent in blissful ignorance, it played along with all the other foals, too innocent to notice the glances and whispers. But, as it grew older, it realized that the Elders were always nearby, always keeping a tight watch, and soon it was no longer a distant feeling of being watched, Brandr knew it was being watched. Of course, the other foals quickly picked up the behavior and started following it as well, no longer letting the dark foal into their games. After suffering in silence for many years, Brandr finally gathered up the courage to simply ask its father about it, only to get even more confused as the father merely glared at his offspring, telling it to never ask that again. Brandr followed that advice and never did ask again, but instead it learned to keep its ears sharp and managed to pick up the mutterings of others, gaining hints of the truth. Most words that kept popping up was 'unnatural', 'unlucky' and 'cursed'. The dark one quickly drew the conclusion that it was all because of its color, no other horse in the herd was black, there was only roans, pinks, greys, whites, reds, blues and every other imagined color. But no blacks. Except for Brandr.

Brandr immensed itself in its studies, trying to forget the whispers and the alienation, focusing on work and Magick. This too, of course, drew attention to the black one, and finally, when Brandr reached the age of 52, the Elders had grown worried enough to go up to the black one and forbid it from further study. That was what made Brandr snap, the inner rage and Fire Magick breaking out in one huge storm, and the Elders had to fight using Water and Ice, dousing the enraged Flames. Brandr quickly came to its senses, in the middle of a raging storm of elements, and found no other way out than escape. So it gathered up its Magick as a shield and ran for its life.

After parting with the herd, Brandr spent months wandering around aimlessly, not knowing what to do, inner turmoil raging. The feeling of being alone was worse than ever, since now the dark one truly was alone, both in body and soul. And never to return to the others, since the herd lived by strong laws, stating that none is to leave and those who defies this law are never to be welcomed back, are to be forgotten and forever condemned to living in solitude. Nobody would come looking for Brandr. Not that it expected anyone to come. Leaving was treason, and that was what Brandr had committed. Attacking the Elders, running away. Maybe it really was unlucky, unnatural and cursed.

Years went by and Brandr wandered, never stopping to speak with strangers, always trotting on. Towards what, it didn't know. The black one perfected its facade of cold indifference, and moved like a dark shadow through settlements, never stopping for long. Not many that it met during its journey got to hear the dark ones name, so the mysterious horse was usually just called The Dark One or The Black One, and people tended to avoid it because of its mysteriousness and aloofness. Brandr was mostly left alone, avoided by others. Which suited it fine, that was the way things had always been.

Shortly after turning 58, Brandr found itself at the edge of a huge Wasteland, and with nothing else to do, the black horse decided to cross it. After all, what challenge did one more obstacle provide? It had been through many obstacles already, and a mere Wasteland wasn't going to bring it down.

Anything Else We Need to Know?:

Nothing really, I guess. Experienced roleplayer here, hello, nice to meet you all. :D

IC (In Character) Entrance:

Brandr raised its head slowly, tiredly, drawing in a deep breath before opening its eyes, icy blue orbs welcoming yet another dawn in the unforgiving terrain of the Wastelands. The Black One blicked out over the scarce landscape, eyes drawn to something dark at the horizon, maybe the end of this part of its journey was finally in sight. The end of the misery, perhaps? No, that wasn't probable.

Knees unlocking, the black horse took a step forward, tossing its head once to clear the sight, to rid its eyes of the annoying curtain of black locks hanging in the way. A single orange feather with streaks of red in it glinted from under the thick black mane, exposed by the sudden movement, before a lock covered it again, leaving only small bits and pieces visible for those who knew how to look properly.

Brandr felt weakened, vulnerable, because of the lack of food and water, its steps not as energetic as usual. Any normal horse would've died by now, but this dark one wasn't normal, and was kept alive by more than spirit alone. It would be many days still before it was in mortal peril.

"I should go towards the change in scenery, logically that would be a forest or at least a small copse" Brandr thought, starting up a steady pace towards the distant anomaly. ”Life in these Wastelands is dull and boring, it is about time for me to get some action. Hopefully I'll find some life soon. Because everyone knows that misery loves company.”

Gathering its thoughts, the dark horse upped the pace, white hooves greyed by the dirt and dust beating the ground in a regular rythm as it trotted onwards.

After many hours under the hot sun, Brandr was finally close enough to see the trees and the delicious shade. Black coat fuming, sweaty and hot, head hanging lethargically as it finally, with one last burst of strenght, entered the cool and blissfully dark shade of the trees. Stopping to draw breath, Brandr lets its legs fold, collapsing in the shade with a grunt of relief.

[CrhisaHoa]

((Oooh, hope you don't mind my jumping in, he looks interesting! =D And I say 'he' 'cause he seems like a 'he' to me, and I'm not good at calling someone an 'it' ^_^' Question concerning gender; would a creature with a strong sense of smell (*Cough*giantwolf*Cough*) be able to detect Brandr's gender, or something strange that's not either, or sumthin'?))

Mabyl was taking full advantage of the sun, and lay sprawled on her side peacefully snoozing the day away just outside the Edge of the Forest. Her Flarza were scattered around close by, satiating their curiosity of their surroundings while keeping vigilant watch over the resting wolf.

It was, then, that it was they who first noticed the approaching equine. A brief chorus of quiet hissing and crackling was heard as they conferred together, and then one zipped off in the black horse's direction while the others went to wake their Mistress. Careful not to go too far from Mabyl, the lone flame skulked along in the beast's wake, watching without eyes and thinking without neurons, as was the way of the elements.

It was only a few moments before it was racing back to its fellows, and so it was that Mabyl came awake to a quiet cacophony of excited hissing, crackling, popping, and snapping, and it took her a few moments to get the relevant information sorted out. "A black equine Fire-not-Speaker," she mused after detangling the non-words of her companions. "Well, then, why don't we go and introduce ourselves? I find that it's always nice to see a friendly face after a long journy, and I'm curious as to how they feel like a FireSpeaker but are not one." Hauling herself to her paws, the wolfess shook herself, fur and skin sliding over rippling, jiggling muscle, and set off at a stately trot towards the trees and the strange-beast her dear friends had seen.

Padding silently into the trees, a brief shiver ran down the large wolf's spine at the touch of river-cold shadow after the blissfully warm sun as she slipped into the emerald undergrowth, weaving her way between giant trunks towards where she could now scent horse mixed with sweat and the sound of labored breaths. "'Lo and hail, child," she called out softly once she was within hearing distance, not wanting to sneak up and scare the poor thing. "Do not be afraid," she added, pushing her way through a veil of tall ferns and turning intense yet kindly golden eyes on the obviously worn-out equine. "I come as a friend. I see my Flarza were right when they said you were weary; can I be of any aid? Or shall I leave and return once you have rested?" Mabyl hoped the newcomer understood English; she'd heard of horses, even seen a few once or twice, but they were far scarce in her world, and so she'd never had the opportunity nor a reason to learn their language and doubted that he or she would know Unicorn.

[Brandr]

((OOC: Ooooh, I hadn't thought about the scent... Well, a creature with a strong sence of smell should be able to pick up a hint of 'maleness'. Yes, he's a he, and believe me, I debated long with myself how to do this, finally settling on calling him it, just to confuse people. I'm not completely sure what I have planned for him yet, but genderwise he's actually, well, both, but leaning more towards the male side. Call it a birth defect. I'm not good at calling things 'it' either so at the beginning I tried to sort of... go around that dilemma but it was too difficult so I settled for it. Feel free to call him, well, him. Oh, and I don't mind you jumping in at all, quite the contrary.*insert excited gigglefit*))


Brandr lay in the blissful shadows, breathing heavily, chest heaving as the body tried to catch up with the strain of wandering for long without proper food or water. The Wastelands were indeed a dangerous place, not to venture into lightly. Many had probably laid down to die on the harsh ground out there.

The soft and calming noises of the forest reached the black equines ears, providing a nice change from the silent Wastelands, and clipping softly they swiveled around, alert even while the rest of the body was resting and collecting precious energy. Icy blue eyes shivered close for a few seconds, before tiredly opening again, scanning the surrounding forest nervously, eyeing the treetrunks and perusing the shadows carefully. The black one was confident that the forest was safe at the moment, but it didn't let itself be lulled into a false sense of security. Anything could still happen. Always be on your guard.

Suddenly, a soft voice spoke up from the surrounding woods, completely surprising the equine, who rushed to its hooves, legs shaking from the sudden strain, tail whipping around and flanks heaving. Head held high, the black horse set his gaze towards where the voice had come from, peering into the golden eyes of the stranger with cold alarm. The foreigner was speaking English, a language Brandr had studied for years and knew quite well.

The taut body of the dark horse relaxed as it forced itself to become calm, regaining its confidence. Apparently the stranger didn't mean any harm, but words couldn't always be trusted so Brandr didn't completely relax. "Flarza, what is the creature talking about? the black equine thought curiously, surprised by the foreign word uttered. Help was not appreciated, since it was in no real danger at the moment, and the black one tossed its mane once, providing a tiny glint of the red and orange feather hidden there. Among the herd, that would have been seen as a threat, a sign to stay away, a sign mostly only foolish foals or young rebels used while playing around but once given seriously meant so much more. It was more of a habit than a real threat, since the foreigner probably didn't even understand the subtle sign, but perhaps the stranger could sense the change in mood, at least. Brandr had no idea, but kept on its toes, ready for a quick attack and escape if necessary.

"Who goes there?" Brandr asked, ignoring the others questions. "What does thee want?" The equine couldn't competely erase the accent from its speech, since the only communication using the language had been with members of the herd, who of course had a similar accent. After all, the herd didn't speak English naturally, it was only something taught to foals from an early age to better communications with non-members. Not sure whether it was beneficial to let the stranger leave or not, Brandr opted to asking questions of its own, maybe, with a little luck, the other was foolish enough to tell the dark one about this forest and its inhabitants.

[CrhisaHoa]

((xD I figure it was probably a 'he', good to know I'm not totally unobservant =P And Yay! Hyper-giggly-ness! *Highfives* I love your style, by the way; wonderful blending of internal/emotional and external/environment descriptions ^_^
Oh, and if you don't mind my asking, about how tall is Brandr at the withers? =3))

"At ease, child," Mabyl said soothingly as the equine startled, lowering her haunches and giving the ground a light thump with her tail in hopes it would communicate her good intentions. "My apologies for startling you, it was not my wish to do so." The wolfess remained tranquil as the other fidgeted, waiting for him to calm before answering his questions. Contrary to what the horse might think, Mabyl did indeed understand the subtle meanings in equine body language, though perhaps not quite as the raw interpretation truly wild creatures might; after all, as mentioned previously she had rarely interacted with any true equines outside of unicorns, who relied largely on mental and verbal cues as much as physical.

In the meantime, Mabyl took the chance to study the stranger before her. His coat reminded her of a unicorn stallion in her extended family, but whereas her little brother was lit by silver accents, from what she could see this young stal - for male he was, though the scent was oddly muted - had only his glacial eyes and gleaming hooves to interrupt the inky hues of his form. Her Flarza had been correct, as well; the newcomer bore the scent of one who was often in the midst of fire, but there was not the instinctual awareness she experienced when in the presence of a fellow FireSpeaker. An oddity, to be sure - but then again, who knew what this world might have in store for her?

When the stranger appeared as settled as he could be under the circumstances, the wolfess dipped her head to him in greeting, goldfire eyes steady on his. "My name is Mabylamya FireWolf, and you have heard what it is I came for; to render aid if you had a need." She paused for a moment, tilting her head as she considered him. "Would you be willing to grace me with your own name, young one? Though meant in no belittling way, I know that those of younger years often resent being termed 'child' - even if it is in elderly endearment - and I have no wish to offend."

[Brandr]

((OOC: Brandr is 13 hands, which is about 132 centimetres. Ponysized, although by built looking more like a horse quite similar to an Arabian. The average for his species is 11-14 hands, so he's a little on the small side for a stallion. *highfives back* Thanks for the praise, I like your style too. I haven't been roleplaying seriously online in a while, so I was a little excited about this, since I mostly live roleplay nowadays.))

The coat of Brandr twitched in nervosity as a light thump was heard, the sound of the big wolf tail hitting the ground echoing in its sensitive ears. It was a wolf of a kind the black one had never encountered before, huge, colorful, with a weird feeling to it. The wolf was apologizing, calmly standing there as Brandr remained slightly tensed, never truly relaxing.

The deep black tail whipped back and forth, a lone strand of white in it sticking out to the eye, as the dark one lowered its head a fracture of an inch, trying to appear a little more friendly than before. It was good to keep up appearances, after all. Breath coming in short gasps because of the exhaustion, Brandr twisted its head to the side lightly, allowing one frigid orb to settle on the wolf, this way managing to get a better look than before, without the muzzle in the way. The stranger had an odd name, strangely fitting the odd appearance. The black one was sure that it was facing a wolf, but a wolf like no other wolf it had ever seen. The weirdness of it all brought Brandr confusion, rendering it mentally a little out of balance.

"Fire...?" the equine muttered lightly, soft tenor voice emitting a curious sense of bewilderment. The head shifted slightly back, so that both eyes were once again meeting the goldfire orbs of the wolfess. The movement disturbed the feather weaved into the mane once again, briefly exposing the bright oranges and reds. The wolf had asked for a name, and it would be utterly impolite not to give a name in return, but Brandr cared not about manners as much as it'd done years ago. "I... hath no longer part of the young of mine... species, my age hath passed the boundary of adolescence." Brandr continued, eyes narrowing slightly, the tone of voice indifferent. "I am called Brandr, sometimes The Dark One, The Black One or The Shadow, depending on whom thou asks of mine name" The wolf had expressed her concern of not wishing to offend it, but Brandr couldn't help the small tvinge of something inside it at the demeaning title. Young one, child, were familiar and hated words to its ears.

Brandr felt tired, exhausted, and knew that sleep, rest, food and water was needed for the Magick to really set in and start healing the body properly, but so far the dark one could still endure, the Magick keeping it on its legs, no matter how unsteadily.

[CrhisaHoa]

((Danke, glad you're having fun! ^_^ Mmm... That puts him at 4'4", then, eight inches shorter than Mabyl (she's five feet even at the shoulder). And I love Arabians, good to see more of 'em around here.))

Mabyl chuckled, the sound halfway between a huff and a playful growl. "When you're as old as I am, child, almost everyone is a mere pup in comparison, regardless of age. I know dragons and unicorns alike who are well over a millennia, and they still have to put up with my 'elderly indulgence' even centuries later." Still, she dipped her head in acknowledgment when he gave his name, studying him curiously at his odd tone as he continued to speak with that strange accent and even stranger words. Could this be this perhaps be the archaic dialect Crystal had told her was spoken in early human history?

"A pleasure, Brandr." She paused, then smiled ruefully. "And welcome to Deep Forest, though I can give you precious little information otherwise, being a newcomer to this land myself." The wolfess fell still, then, intense golden eyes taking in the equine's condition. "Wait here a moment, child," she said softly as she climbed to her paws, noting in passing that she was taller by several inches. "I will return soon with something you can eat, at least. Hopefully this is the season for berries, as I fear you will find precious little water otherwise, at least nearby."

She waited a moment for his reply, if he gave any, and then, with another dip of her nose, turned and slipped into the undergrowth once more, paws sure and silent as shadows.

[Brandr]

((OOC: Woow, huge wolf much? XD And you gave me yet another gigglefit, omg I'm such a kid sometimes... ))

"How old was this wolf?" Brandr wondered, amazed while the other compared herself to a milennia old dragons and unicorns. The dark equine had heard tales about this creatures, and once on its travels even glimpsed what it deemed to be a unicorn but dragons really existed? The big scaly monsters called dragons were thought to be mere tales to scare the youngling among Brandrs people. The mere thought of mysterious being like that was unimaginable, but as the black equine thought about it not completely impossible. After all, it was talking to a big multicolored wolf at this very moment, and that would also have been deemed logically impossible merely minutes ago.

Brandr noticed how the wolfess speech differed quite a lot from the English it was accustomed to speaking, but that was old news, the black one had already discovered during its travels that the dialect they'd been taught was outdated and considered odd in most of the places outside the herds territory. It didn't matter, though, but Brandr found that it even unconsciously picked up new words and the original speech had already been modified quite a bit. Maybe, in time, it'd learn how to speak more neutrally so as to stand out less.

One leg twitched, as Brandr redistributed its weight, exhaustion starting to make its legs ache. Apparently, this place was called Deep Forest, a really unimaginative name it thought, also slightly disappointed that the wolf didn't have much more information to give. The equine shuttered close its eyes for a split second, tiredly shifting again to keep awake. The Magicks really wanted to put it to sleep, to recover, but there was no time for such luxuries yet.

Suddenly, the wolf stood up, and Brandr noticed how tall she was, much taller than the equine, who shied back a little out of mere instinct, ears drawn back. It had known that the wolf was big, but not this big! Apparently, the wolf was going to get it something to eat. Why, Brandr had no idea. "I... I thank thee." it stammered, confused by the offer, thoughts muddled by fatique.

It watched as the wolf slipped away silently, staring at the spot where she had been for a moment before letting its legs collapse, settling down with a thud on the soft, mossy ground. Brandr kept alert though, resisting the tempting urges to sleep with all its might, now starting to feel quite cold since the sweat on its coat had dried.

[CrhisaHoa]

((xD Aren't we all at heart? I'm seventeen (or nearly), and I don't feel a day older than thirteen...
Sorry for the wait, had to figure out what to do now and wrap up some things. Oh, and Mabyl's 8' at the head in Wereform ^_^))

Mabyl stalked through the forest, seeking out edible greens but careful not to venture too far away from Brandr, in case somebeast came along with less charitable thoughts than she.

It took a while to gather enough plants to make the horse a decent meal, the wolfess constantly having to remind herself to be more picky about what she chose as she was fairly certain Brandr didn't quite have the capacity to eat the range of flora her Unisai mind-kin consumed.

It took even longer to find berries this early in the season, but finally Mabyl was satisfied, and when she returned to Brandr her Wereform arms were filled with fiddlehead ferns, a large leaf from a peculiar plant she'd bundled around a couple small pawfuls of berries, and a small bunch of grass she'd been lucky enough to run across in a small clearing on the way back. The whole would be little but a snack for the equine, she was sure, but it was better than nothing.

"Brandr?" she called softly as she stepped out into the open, her English a little less distorted in this form. "Be not feared, it is only I." She approached the stallion slowly, not wanting to startle him with her new, taller Wereform, and knelt to place the fruits of her foraging beside him. "I know little of what is fair eating for your kind that is green," she admitted, "but I brought what I could, and the berries I recall my little sister telling of from her own time in this land. As she is a unicorn and thereof distant kin to yourself, I am fair certain they will be edible to you. But as I do not eat such fair there is a chance I am wrong in my choices, so take care."

[Brandr]

((OOC: Hahaaa, now I feel old. I'm 22.))

Brandr couldn't help but fall into a light slumber, too exhausted to do anything else. At least it was confident that it'd be alerted if someone came near. And the big wolfess was probably too noble to leave the dark equine anyways.

Some time later, Brandr was shaken awake by a voice calling out its name, quickly raising its head only to stop and stare, ice cold orbs widening slightly in surprise, one brief little spark emmitted from the feather buried among dark locks, escaping the tight control for a split second. The wolfess had changed, logically the equine knew it was the same being, since she had known its name and the colorings were the same, but the rest had changed in a way that Brandr hadn't even thought possible. What was she?

Ears clipped back and forth, the dark one quite agitated that it had been surprised yet again, emotions quickly suppressed. Brandr felt a little better already, since the Magicks had worked while it slept, but the equine still needed food and water.

It stared at the berries and ferns in the arms of the big wold-thing, noticing how huge the other was, especially since the much smaller horse was still laying on the ground. Brandr quickly got to its feet, noticing how it still didn't compare to the larger wolfess. How crushing for ones ego. It stared intently at the ferns, wondering if the wolf intended to put it down or not. The equine was determined not to take one step closer to the much larger being, she'd have to put it all down and move away if she wanted it to eat it. Brandr gazed at the other warily with icy blue eyes, a calculating look upon its face.

[Brandr]

((OOC: Sorry, actually hit the quote button instead of the edit one. Stupid...))

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

OOC
Just some simple questions: what can he do with the simple spell fire? Like what is the range and size of the fireballs? Also, what can the fire bird do? For how long? Does Brandr need to keep chanting to keep it functioning, or does it go solo from the moment it appears?

[Brandr]

OOC
Oooh, some good questions. I'll add some specifications to the profile.

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

OOC
Let me know when you're done ^_^ Oh, and adding it in another (temporary) color would be very much apreciated!

[Brandr]

OOC
Done! Let me know if there's still something missing. (or if I made a stuped typo somewhere that I'm blind for XD)

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

OOC
I'm still missing what the bird can do, besides being a hot chick that is (oooh, I'm so funneh!!) ^_^

[Brandr]

OOC
Haha... XD I added some specifics to the summoned Phoenix, hope it's enough.

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

OOC
Interesting, and brings new questions, lol: it can carry things and pass along messages, does that mean it's fire can also be turned harmless when it wants to? (Or do the objects arrive singed and the people it talks to need to stay away at a safe distance? ^_~ )

[Brandr]

OOC
^^' I expressed myself a little clumsily, the Phoenix is actually a real bird, built from flames, a little like how Brandr in theory is a horse made out of flame, with an inner soul of flame. Do I make sense? XD Updates in bold red. XD

[Gaeva Winged Unicorn]

OOC
Oh like that! Ok, thank you for the clarifications and aditions, character accepted ^_^

[CrhisaHoa]

((Sorry for such a late reply, Brandr! And, hey, at least you don't have the looming doom of turning legal next year
Oh, and Mabyl has eight Flarza; basically mobile, intelligent flames the size of her paw.
Congrats on acceptance! =D))

The wolfess cocked an eyeridge at the stal's sudden caution, and her goldfire eyes twinkled as she set the meager meal before the equine and backed away, restraining the urge to gruff in a canine chuckle. "Come now, my young friend," she chided Brandr gently. "If I had a wont to harm you, don't you think I would have acted by now, much less shown you any of what I am capable of?" To prove her point, Mabyl slowly lowered herself to all fours once more, shifting as she did so until she was back in her full wolven form. "I only bite to defend, and to corral blockheaded young pups when they get too uppity. By your own words, scent, physical and - from what I've seen - mental maturity, you are not a pup; nor have you given me reason to raise my hackles."

The ginormous wolf gave him a wide, almost startlingly-cheesy doggy grin. "So, as long as you don't try and bite my ankles, I think we'll get along spendidly. And - ssskargch!" Mabyl cut herself off mid-sentence, barking out in hissing, crackling FireTongue as one of her Flarza wriggled free of her dense coat of fur and sped forward to zip around the equine's head. The little flame - or not-so-little, being the size of one massive paw - hissed and popped back at her - sounding almost sullen - and returned after one more cranial orbit, obstinately perching itself between her half-flattened ears and chirping - yes, fire can chirp - cheerfully.

Sighing, the wolfess smiled apologetically at the no-doubt startled Brandr. "My apologies, some of my Flarza are more cooperative than others; this one is particularly stubborn at times, especially when meeting someone new and particularly if they happen to be a FireSpeaker, or potential one such. I was going to introduce you after you had rested - as you have already no doubt had several unsettling surprises heaped upon you since you arrived - but as you can see, my companions apparently are having differing thoughts." This last was directed in a stern tone to the rest of her emerging Flarza; some flickered and shrunk down sheepishly, while others simply took up perches in different places on and around her head with cheerful disregard to their mistress' displeasure.