No Holds Barred [Zen]

[Rhap§]

Morwenna

Hers was a curious predicament.

As a mare, the rules were rather straightforward; free mares were free to inhabit the Misty Plains, while the free stallions were meant to inhabit the Badlands. Mares in one, stallions in the other.

Black and white.
Simple.
Or was it?

Standing at the border adjoining the Misty Plains with the Badlands, the pale buckskin mare had paused to ponder her next move. She was usually one to adhere rather strictly to rules, but in this instance there was the distinct possibility that these very rules were what was separating her from finding her quarry. If the Heir was hiding out in the Badlands, staying here, in the plains, would only prevent her from finding him. It would delay her goal, her mission, for that much longer.

Not to mention the fact that her twin brother, Oberon, would be free to waltz into the Badlands himself to search. Being a stallion, it was his right. And she doubted he would hesitate to enter the Misty Plains either. And if there was one thing that could irritate her into rebellion, it was the idea of being surpassed by her sibling just because of his thick headed, wood for brains ways.

No. Logical though it would be to wait for a stallion escort, it was also very illogical to lose time waiting to find a suitable companion to protect her. She'd take her chances in the Bachelor lands. Besides, Morwenna had committed herself wholeheartedly to the mission she was sworn to by the very blood coursing through her veins. If fulfilling her mission in life meant she had to risk her own wellbeing, she would do it willingly. Snorting softly, the mare paced the invisible barrier once more, the feathers upon her feet rising and falling softly as some minute part of her resisted entering the lands. After all, duty bound or no, it was hard to overcome one's instincts for self preservation.

Suddenly, the mare's ears flicked in alarm, certain she'd heard the sound of an approaching entity. All senses on high alert now, she stood hooves apart, ears tersely pointing in the direction of the sound, nostrils flared and eyes wide. For all her attempts, even her beloved logic could not lie to Morwenna in regards to her physical prowess. She was strong, certainly fit - as far as mares went. But in the scheme of her race, stallions far outmatched her and she knew that if one should now appear wishing her harm, she would experience her first true physical confrontation in the name of her mission.

"Show yourself!" She intoned sharply, a twinge of anger flaring within her at the realization that her voice betrayed some of the nervousness she felt inwardly. An advisor should not show cowardice; it is illogical to fear that which you have no reason yet to fear. She chastised herself mentally, sucking in a breath as she forced a mask of cool indifference upon her features.

[Zenyatta]

Archer didn't always stalk the border between the Badlands and the Misty Plains, but when he did, he expected there to be a mare there, waiting for him.

As a stallion, he knew where the border was drawn between the stallions' land and the mares' land and he didn't particularly like crossing that line for the plain fact of some of the mares that lived there. He'd crossed that line in previous years and met the wrong mare that was not up for a young, cocky stallion to be poking around her or any other mares in the vicinity and was quickly chased off with bites and kicks.

So now that he was older and had learned his lesson, Archer stuck to his side and just hoped there was a mare within the vicinity when he made his occasional trips to the border. These weren't common for him, just when he went through phases of not being able to deal with all of the other stallions constantly and their cavorting sparring natures. It was only a matter of time before a mare came into his sights and he called out the them.

He was actually caught off-guard, though, when a mare called out to him. A curious-looking mare, something you didn't see very often. She sounded harsh and demanding. Instantly his ears flicked back, but he continued forward to the border and then trotted along it until he was right up with her, not setting a hoof across the line in case she was one of those that used to drive him away. Slowing to a walk and then a stop, Archer's ears came forward. "You shrieked?" He asked coyly, smirking at her with a toss of his head.

[Rhap§]

Morwenna _____________________

Morwenna could do nothing but blink in surprise at the stallion that soon moved into view as a result of her harsh greeting. Though he appeared (from this distance) to be a touch shorter than she, he walked with the air of a giant, swaggering into her view with a tone that seemed to imply he was doing her a favor by gracing her with his presence. "I did not shriek." She stated simply, cocking her head at an angle as she took him in, puzzlement evident on her pale features. "If anything, my words were closer akin to a growl than to a shriek." She corrected him simply, knowing that her voice had lacked the shrill pitch that would have made it the 'shriek' he claimed it was. As always, she was being slightly too literal and was worrying too much over semantics.

Flicking her tail dismissively, she tried to move past the stallion's error, instead focusing on what should have been her first thought- whether or not he could possibly be the heir. Instantly, her gaze narrowed as she scrutinized him more intently, feeling, as always, somewhat awkward. She didn't really have a rubric stating what the heir would look like. She could only hope that by being thorough, she would be able to tell. Bobbing her head downward in a swift dip, the mare collected herself neatly for presentation. Regardless of who they were, when meeting a stranger Morwenna made a point of being very professional, very proper. "I am Morwenna, daughter of Bedros, Adviser to the late Avital King." Raising her head once more, the mare eyed the stallion to gauge his reaction, though she was rather terrible at identifying emotions herself. Emotions were...messy. Messy was not Morwenna's strong point. Still, she had been instructed by her sire to make observations on reactions to such news, as it could be a good signifier as to the horse's stance on the kings and such.

Standing in silence for several seconds with the wind playing at her long, dark strands of mane, the mare tilted her head forward curiously. "And you would be?" She doubted he was the heir. He didn't seem to have the proper authority about him, but one never knew.
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[Zenyatta]

Archer couldn't help but smirk as the mare retorted in a less-than-amused tone. Two words and he'd already pissed her off. Now he was going to be even more aware of where he stood on the border of the two lands. She definitely seemed the type to sink her teeth into him as soon as he got too close to the edge. So he stood his ground, shifting his weight about occasionally.

When he felt her eyes boring into his skin, he only posed more, stretching taller, puffing out his chest, and arching his neck. His ears flicked forward and his tail whisked against his flanks before also lifting in a nice pose. "Like what you see?" He asked, smirking even more. "You know it's not polite to stare, but I'll let it slide this time." He even had the audacity to give her a wink as he said it.

His ears pricked as she gave a semi-long winded introduction of herself, a kind of pedigree, Archer guessed. Lifting an eyebrow, he decided he'd be able to have quite a bit of fun with this mare. "It's a pleasure, Morwenna. I'm Archer, son of Darius, but I've heard all my life of my similarities to the old king, Trahern."

[Rhap§]

Morwenna _____________________

Morwenna failed to notice the stallion's efforts to puff himself up, or if she did notice, she certainly failed to recognize the motives behind his actions. Instead, she was rather perplexed by his question. Like what I see? Glancing around blankly, she found nothing of any particular notoriety to elicit either like or dislike from her. Thus, the mare gave a noncommittal shrug which quickly turned to a frown as he informed her of her rude behavior via having stared at him. She was taken aback by the accusation, even if he had dismissed it, and had been about to apologize for her lack of discretion when he had winked at her.

Morwenna, not being very adept at identifying emotions, was no more adept at identifying the wink as a not too subtle sexual advance. In her mind, Morwenna had identified the wink as a far more innocent gesture, one meant to signal a shared hidden understanding. A hidden understanding which Morwenna interpreted to mean that this 'Archer' had some knowledge of the last heir.

Her heart hammering within her chest, the mare's eyes widened, her whole posture seeming to exude the explosion of adrenaline that rushed through her veins. Her head lifted, eyes bright and nostrils flared, tail lifting as she pranced in place once. It was a short-lived burst of excitement though, as her logical tendencies once more dominated, she scolded herself for leaping to conclusions. "Archer." She intoned slowly, trying to control her still-pounding heart. "And what would you know about King Trahern, besides this supposed resemblance you bear to him?" She trailed off, her eyes bright as she unthinkingly drew closer to where he stood, gaze trained on him. To think that she might be so close to reaching the finish line, that here might be the end of her search, the conclusion of her lifelong journey.... it was tantalizing in the extreme. What was he? A grandson of the late king? A nephew? Was the name of the sire he had given a ploy, an alias devised for his own protection? She wanted to know. She needed to know.
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