The Beginning...

[Mari]

...of something beautiful? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Oulaman doubted the appearance of his own soul, most days. Inexplicably, some days he swayed towards Light, others, he felt darker than his own daughter, the manipulative mare she was.

The great white stallion stood knee deep in the lake, in his Lake. Rodocia. His own. The water he sipped every so often was somewhat stagnant, and tasted metallic as it ran over his tongue. But it was water, glorious fresh water nonetheless. It gave him strength, down somewhere deep inside. The little fishes and crayfish resident to the lake ran through his leg feathers, tickling him. They fled, nearly quicker than the eye could see, when he swished a foreleg through the water.

Dula turned back towards the shore, scanning for anybeast else. Not a sign, once again. Since he had claimed the land, he had become incredibly lonely. He had noticed his daughter, his Calypso, conversing with the Dark king. So alone. He fixed his attentions back on the fishes, who had slowly returned to their investigations of his legs.

((Open for any Integrated horse, mare or stallion))

[Tikayla]

She had already met the stag. She liked him, more as a father than as a lover but she knew that in a few years that could change. She watched the waves wash against the shore before stepping toward him. She thought he was handsome and she could tell from his eyes that he had been hurt before.

"Hello my lord," she called out to him. She walked closer. She wanted him to notice her before she startled him. It would be easy for a stag to slip in the water. She stepped closer to the water. When she stepped in she shivered. It was quite a cold lake, pretty, but cold.

[Mari]

"Ah, Marred Darkness," he said, grinning quite broadly at the young mare. She was maturing gracefully, and he swore that she was becoming taller by the minute. Dula pulled his forelegs out of the silty bottom with a quick rear, wheeling around to face the mare. He did likewise for his hind end, giving a quick buck to free them.

The King trotted easily up to her, his legs quite used to the temperature of the water. The water was shallower along the shore, and each time he picked up a steel-tinted hoof, it squelched most amusingly. He stopped just short of her, splashing gently with one forehoof. He chuckled, the sound resonating deep within his wide chest.

[Tikayla]

A splash of cold water hit her and soaked her chest. She shook and sent a spray of water towards him with her head. She was nearly as tall as the stag now, she was going to be a tall one but she hoped that he would always be taller than her. It would give her a sense of comfort and relief.

His deep laught comforted her. He was like the father she had once known. Shadow Chaser, before he had succombed to the Grim Reaper's Scife. She had seen him lose his life, his luster. Slowly submit to the death that haunted her every footstep now. She was ahead and she hoped that she could remain so, forever.

"Brr, that was cold Dula, how dare you splash me, I shall have my revenge," laughed Marred Darkness, a gentle bell like sound. She sent another spray at him, laughing all the while.

[Mari]

His near-daughter's mood was infectious, and he soon found his chuckle elevated to a full-bodied laugh. This young one gave him joy, beyond that of Calypso. Even though she was his own, she had always been slightly tainted by the death of her mother to him. It was simply not something that one could ignore.

Dula dodged the spray with agility surprising for his size, leaping farther out into the water. His hooves sought for purchase on silt that wasn't there, and he felt himself sinking into a drop-off. His laugh ceased immediately, and his nostrils flared in alarm.

The white King managed to suppress his panic enough to start moving his legs rhythmically. His head remained above water, and he moved towards shallower water. He was still breathing heavily, his heart racing with adrenaline. He hadn't been looking through the clear water, or watching the depth. Simply jumping. He laughed a bit, trying to clear his head. Pure carelessness, really.

[Tikayla]

When she was certain that he was ok she let out a nervous giggle. That had been a close one. Best not to bring it up. She swam out to him, a bit clumsily. She hadn't swam for a year now but it was coming back.

"Are you quite all right my lord?" she asked when she drew closer. He looked ok and he was swimming fine, he had scared her but then again why would a stag be in water if he couldn't swim. He wouldn't be. That was the answer.

[Mari]

His forelegs reached down to the silt below, finding little purchase on the loose sandy surface. The stallion swum a bit farther, until he could pull the upper part of his body out of the water. He laughed again, trying to work off a bit of the nervous energy that had built up. Honestly, he was scared. He'd never felt the water threaten his life so... but no matter. He was fine now.

So absorbed he was in his shock, he did not notice that Marred Darkness had spoken. He caught the tail end of her question - "all right my lord?" she said. He nodded, smiling at her. "Perfectly fine, really."

He was a rather strong swimmer, all things considered. he shook his body, the curls slack and plastered to his neck. They refused to relenquish their hold on his skin, staying even through a second and third shake. Dula hated his mane sometimes, and he was sure that his tail would be in a similar state when he eventually emerged from the lake.

[Tikayla]

She smiled as the curls stuck to his neck. It was a comical sight. She did not know exactly what to talk about so she started to think. She was silent for awhile.

"Lord, would you think me bad if I told you that my mother and my half-brother are both dark. And the fact that I miss them both more than anything. I know that my mom has killed before, she killed my brother's father by driving him insane and I know that Twilight's Darkness holds secrets. He has probably killed tons of mares and their babies, or their stags. He is so vile. I was hoping that I could forget them by coming here but I can't. They are always on my thoughts. I know that my mom is being treated like crap at the dark herd place because she doesn't act dark, and I want to help her but she'll never come here and she'll never follow Darkness. She hates him now that he hasn't joined her herd," she said before she realized that she was babbling.

Her eyes drifted toward the darkness that was always omnipresent, even within the safety of the intergrated herd, of course it had some dark in it itself. The land was part dark, as were its residents so it had some darkness in it.