DECAY [Bronze]

[JESTER]

Like a dark cloud the beast wafted into the desolate area. Dry ground crunching like gravel beneath his hooves. The weather was kinder now, as they moved into spring, but one could still catch the icy chill of winter in the air. Did I say that it was beautiful? I was wrong. Off to his left a small lizard like thing scurried into hiding, afraid of the dark shape that now threatened upon him. Jester came to a halt, almost irritated that the thing had run from him. There was no consideration of the animals natural habits, no excuse muttered through pursed lips. Only a ruthless glare at the rock that the lizard now hid beneath. Was he so terrible that things should be inclined to run from him? Suppose so. He was no better than a killer. Or at least that was how it was in his own mind. Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red. In a shocking betrayal to his new self, he turned away and let the other being live. Perhaps he decided it wasn't worth his time. Or maybe, just maybe, it was mercy.

He moved towards the water now. It was murky and still, and it reminded him of death. It simply existed there - decayed and lonely. Feeling almost at home, he came right up to the edge of the darkness, peering across its vast expanse. Further out the ragged shape of a fallen tree peeked out from the depths. As if transfixed, Jester kept his eyes on the tree, not quite yet realizing that something was off about the way it was shaped, the way it seemed weightless. As if commanded by an unknown force, he raised one powerful leg and slammed his hoof forward into the shallows. Then again, pawing at the slick gut beneath the liquid - raising the dirt and frothing life into the lake. Out in the distance, the log blinked twice, and then slid beneath the surface, a flick of it's tail barely visible as the croc shot itself forward towards the commotion. Here is a list of terrible things, the jaws of sharks, a vultures wings.

Jester stood still for a while, his mind making various calculations as he watched for any sign of movement on the surface. Like daggers his ears perked forward as his muscles quivered in anticipation. Nearing the shallows, the crocodile lurched itself forwards - out of the water. For a few terrible seconds it's strange body was almost airborne, jaws wide open for the kill. Jester reared up on his hind legs, almost not enough though, for he felt the sickly breath of the reptile brush past his skin. But then it was down below him, and he brought himself down on it's head with all the force he had in him. There was a dull sound. A small indication that he had won. The rabid bite of the dogs of war, the voice of one who went before. He stepped back as the reptile thrashed the last bits of life out of itself. "I though you to be a worthy opponent. As it seems, I was incorrect." His voice crackled like fire from misuse. Solemnly, he shook his head.

[Deleted]

<sup>“You actually thought in the beginning that that insignificant bean curd was up to par with you? Well then it seems I’ve overestimated you as well. Those overgrown maggots think that they are so tough, but I’ve tasted them for myself. The meat is good, but they are no more than chow.”

This snappish and harassing voice belonged to none other than the one called Bronze. The ebony mare seemed to have appeared from nowhere, her steps silent and ghost-like on the terribly barren lands. The lady’s brown eyes held an apparent mirth and sarcasm, and they twinkled with something else beneath the surface still unidentifiable then. Bronze stood a few strides away from the stallion, her scarred neck bent oh so elegantly so that her mane lay down neatly, and it shielded part of her features from view. The mare snorted shortly and smirked plainly at the stallion. Oh let the games begin, here and now. This was an unexpected surprise, and Bronze was quite delighted to have found it, to be honest. The girl knew that this one before her had some sort of higher intellect, or she would’ve have given him this much time out of her day. Bronze had better things to do than waste her time on petty creatures with no sense.

“Good show there, man,” the lass chided, “You really had me going there at the end. Ha. Not really, but I thought I’d humor you for a second there.”

Bronze was testing her male counterpart at every avenue, poking and prodding trying to get a reaction out of him. These two equines had met once before under different circumstances, and look, fortune had brought them together again. Bronze knew that that cast iron façade of his would have to break sometime. And Bronze wanted to be the one to rip his personality out of him with hot tongs. There was a magnetic force about the silent sentry that she wanted to divulge into. She had involuntarily accepted a new challenge. It was one that sparked her senses to the very core and forced her to examine things about him she hadn’t noticed before. She’d noticed that brilliant brown coat before, and a scar similar to the one that she bore on her own chest. But now, not only was she viewing the exterior, Bronze wanted more of the interior too.

The Friesian slowly sidled up to the stallion’s shoulder, all the while inhaling the sweet blood of the destroyed reptile. That would be an extra bonus when this was all over. Bronze knew for a fact this meat would go to waste should she leave without its proper disposal. But that would come later.

Bronze didn’t come here to play coy with the male at first, no. That wasn’t her reason for showing up at all, believe it or not. She was looking for one of those infamous Carnicula flowers to make her feel somewhat okay. And where better to find a foul smelling plant, than in a foul place that no one was bound to look in? Bronze actually owed her life to those wretched things, but she was too proud to admit it. Her lips would never ever be formed in thanks to a mere plant. The mare was a strong and mighty beast, despite being attacked on the inside and out by the disease on a random basis. There were times however, when even the mightiest and bravest were brought to their knees and humbled. The mare would wallow in silent sheer agony all alone on certain days, no one to appease her pain. One day, the Friesian thought that she could feel flames coming from inside of her throat, burning her esophagus and lips, though she could’ve been hallucinating.

ooc||This...post...is...bad. DX</sup>

[JESTER]

He didn't hear her approach, or even smell her near. She was simply there all at once, like a cold, dark ghost. Her voice didn't stun him, thanks to it's female pitch, and thanks to their previous encounter - he recognized her voice. Not yet facing her he watched her through the corner of his eye, waiting for it to hit him. It took merely a few seconds, and then the strange scent found it's way to his nostrils, filling him with the wondrous promise of mystery. Slowly, he faced the black form. Absently dragging his hoof over the lump of scales as he moved. He broods upon our city with sombre eyes; he sees our secret fears vaguely unfolding, sees cloudy symbols shape to rise. The smell of old blood hung limply in the air. Something about her seemed different... Now that he looked upon her he could see that below her ebony silk the bones were peeking out. "I know not if I should be awed or mortified... You are the first of our kind that I have come across that enjoys flesh." As he spoke, he tilted his head and gazed at her through slitted eyes. He would not deny that she was beautiful. Dark as night and as wild and raw as thunder. But as appealing as she was - something else about her spoke to him.

He was oblivious to her taunt. It was not that he didn't understand it, but he no longer seemed to perceive humor, sarcasm, or anything else for that matter. "I find it ironic how each time I lay waste to some innocent creature - you appear to discard of the... evidence." He raised one eyebrow, eyes searching her every feature for some sign of anything. A thought crossed his mind then, as he started at the female. Was it the disease? Was that what was causing this hunger that exuded from her very being. So many questions and only one subject. She was clearly something to be reckoned with. But a tyrant spell has bound me, and I cannot, cannot go.

He stood sideways over the still reptile. Every second or so it would twitch as it's nerves died off slowly. This didn't bother Jester much. He had been knee deep in other creatures before, and nothing seemed to turn his stomach any longer. He was numb to the macabre, blind to gore. All the action he took was to firmly place one large hind hoof on the things back. Shifting his weight onto that leg and feeling things beneath it squirm and burst. For that moment he lost eye contact with the mare, as he raised his eyes to the sky and silently cursed whatever god was out there.

[Deleted]

<sup>A sly laugh was the first thing that came from the female in response to the male’s first comment. Bronze definitely noticed the horrified and dirty looks she received from others of her purely herbivorous species when she indulged in her strange…delicacies. But none had been brave enough to voice those feelings they harbored against her. She had scared them into silence Bronze supposed. Bronze’s furred eyebrows rose for a brief moment in interest, but soon resumed their normal position. “You can be both until you make up your mind about me, you know. There’s nothing wrong with wrapping your mind around a new concept,” Bronze said. “You were raised to fill your stomach on itty bitty pieces of grass only. I on the other hand, have turned to something more sufficient.” The mare shuffled one hoof in the dead dirt, and her eyes wavered from the stallion. Her tone had reduced in bite a little bit, though not by too much. With a seeming renewed confidence, the mare looked back into the Trakehner’s eyes, locking them there for as long as possible. She didn’t want to appear vulnerable or weak when she’d drawn such a wicked persona. Very, very wicked.

“This is very true” Bronze concurred “Maybe it’s because the blood draws me automatically; my senses pick it up rather easily. It’s in my blood to hunt blood now and there’s no going back, ever. Perhaps I am stalking you as my next prey and you’d better watch your strapping brown hide. Or perhaps you are the one drawing me to these places invariably involuntarily…” The mare hadn’t followed anyone around since the days when she was a foal or even a newborn. Of course she followed her parents’ lead and her sister on their many adventures. But as an adult, Bronze chose her own path, hence why she’d become a carnivore. She didn’t see anyone else chasing after another grass eater for food. That was her nature now, and she doubted that she would have any takers to her twisted ideologies. This stallion, he was like her in some ways though. He had become desensitized to torture and killing. There didn’t even have to be a valid reason behind his motives. It was a thing of “kill because I can.”

However, Bronze wasn’t about to let another piece of meat go to waste like the last time. It was like she was this stallion’s hit man, dragging off a body, never to be seen by the public eye again. And she kind of liked it that way. It made the mare’s job easier. He did the killing, she merely cleared the remains. Bronze did take a twisted pleasure in the chase and capturing her desired target, but why waste her breath? She wasna gonna do that with this vicious crap attacking her on occasion. In the absence of this stallion, that would be when she hunted. But deep down (really deep down) she hoped that she would see more of this one.</sup>

[JESTER]

As she spoke, a darkness began to swirl in his mind - forming itself and creating a shuddering thought. Never a truer word said or thought. Anything was possible. His muddy eyes slowly slid down Bronze's neck, across the small divide between them, to fall to rest upon the crushed skull. He watched it for a long while after she had finished speaking, and finally, as a sort of decision; he took one step back, and with a mighty foreleg - reached out and rolled the reptile onto it's back. The weak, colourless skin exposed itself. Frankly, it looked dirty and completely unappetizing. But his face showed no displeasure. He simply started.

Without saying a word, he raised and pointed one hoof, then brought it down with an incredible force. Under the weight of the hit - the skin split open, revealing a spilling crimson mess. The scent that wafted up to him was almost familiar. The stink of organs dampened by the unholy iron of blood. Let the mad find wisdom in their madness for the sane, and let the sane be grateful. Casting a meaningful look to the mare before him, he dipped his skull to the belly of the beast, and took a sizeable piece off of the corpse. It was certainly difficult to chew, let alone keep in his mouth. It was slippery and at the same time incredibly chewy. The taste was something to tell others about. Nothing at all that he was used to - raw and wild and metallic. Warm with the remnants of life itself. Nothing ever begins. There is no first moment; no single word or place from which this or any other story springs. Mashing it as best he could and swallowing it down with a slick sort of sound, he raised his head again. Blood trickled lazily off of his chin, and he could feel that his muzzle with wet with it too. "I would not judge you." Was all that he said, knowing that she of all others would understand.

Without knowing it, he was automatically licking the dribbles from his lips, letting the iron enter his body like drippings of soul. Who was he to think any more or less of her without knowing what her bones feel like. He had to a look through her eyes. And so he had. What worth was a man who could not be haunted? Calmly he gazed upon her, moving back just the smallest bit and offering the carnage to the dark lady. A soul of water a soul of stone.

"Mi'Lady?"

[Deleted]

<sup>Bronze was surprised that her newest acquaintance sampled the meat. She wasn’t expecting that one to happen anytime soon. Chalk one up for the girl. He was like her. The mare had taken a shot in the dark assuming so, but there was no doubt about it now. A sneer dotted the lass’ lips shortly after the stallion ate of the croc. Her own brown eyes narrowed in a satisfied manner. So now he knew what it was like on her side of the fence. Bronze didn’t know if the stallion would adapt to her ways completely, but this was the farthest she’d ever seen another of her kind come. She couldn’t help but boast of her minor success. The others were all about grass, flowers, and tree leaves. Their docile natures forbid them from experiencing what she did on a daily basis. Blah. If worst came to worst, the mare could fall back on grass as a last resort, but that was highly unlikely. There would be little competition for meat among the equine variety, and surely Bronze would make quick work of those canines should they challenge her. They would be added to the menu like a flash of lightning during a rain storm. Bronze hadn’t seen one for at least six months past anyways at the minimum. They were wise enough to keep their distance. The mare would take no prisoners. The blazing fire in her eyes would burn until her last breath.

And this disease would only make it worse as things progressed. That vicious creaton had a reputation to uphold. Hissing and growling at others were always a part of the routine. Bronze knew with this Impetus flowing through her veins that she wouldn’t live forever. However, she would go down like a champ. But for now, the mare wanted a sample of that which was offered. That slightly disconcerting thought was forcefully pushed to the backburner. Bronze stepped up to the kill, smothering her muzzle in the entrails. Crunching and ripping motions weren’t on the usual lady-like list of behaviors, but Bronze didn’t give it a second thought. She wasna about to turn down something so delectable. If nothing else the stallion was good for keeping her fed. He was alright in her book thus far. This fact tripped up the mare a little bit, because she hadn’t been in another’s company for this long in a while. Sure she’d had hit it and quit it encounters. She resisted the urge to up and leave to look for the plant again alone.

When her share was taken the mare simply wiped her remains on her shoulder like a furry napkin. She’d get a bath in in the coming hours for sure. Her coat never remained tarnished and unkempt for too long. But there were more things that were on the agenda for now. The lass smacked her lips in pure pleasure, and she shook her silky mane in delight. “Good sir, I am in your debt for now,” Bronze murmured. She gave a brief nod of her head and a snort of thanks, though she, once again, was too proud to speak the actual words.</sup>

[JESTER]

It had neither killed nor nauseated him. Perhaps it would in time to come but for now eating the flesh of another was as simple as grazing. Just... bloodier. For a scarce moment Jester inwardly cursed himself, thinking of what his precious sister would think of him now. Heartless, numb - something that could consume the flesh of another being. But as quickly as it had come, the thought was banished to the crevices of his mind that even he couldn't access. His sister was dead and in the ground. There was no use in thinking of her. No use at all. Morn after morn dispels the dark, bearing our lives away;

In fact, the soft caress of her memory had somewhat agitated the beast, and as he looked down upon Bronze's arched neck as she fed - he couldn't help but imagine how simple it would be to drive his teeth into that thick muscle. She was in a vulnerable position and all he had to do was strike... But as he thought more of it, his face waxing over with a dull expression, he realized he didn't actually want to hurt her. Absorbed in cares we fail to mark how swift our years decay. She was at ease with him and instead of thinking this a foolish act - he thought it a selfless one. Perhaps he was even touched by it. Some odd feeling tugged at the corner of his lips, but it was unfamiliar and easily quashed.

Even though the scene was nothing close to graceful, she still held her posture, still kept her airs about her. Watching was a very entertaining thing to him though. He had never seen one take such pleasure in flesh. She reveled in it, tearing away at it like a true professional - this fact, as sick as it was, actually brought a twisted grin to Jester's mug. Some maddening draught hath drugged our souls, in love with vital breath, She raised her head and absently wiped the entrails from her muzzle against her shoulder. Some remained though, and the blood clung to her velvet nose - staining it a black darker than night. "You owe me nothing my lady. Consider this a gift."

There was still something about her that he couldn't quite place. Something that was different. Perhaps she was simply tired, but for some strange reason - he doubted it. Her entire being seemed strained, despite her strong stance and voice. Without knowing it, he had raised one brow and was scrutinizing her openly. Which still the same sad chart unrolls, birth, eld, disease, and death. Curiosity burnt at his mind, and before he could even stop the words from coming, he spoke. "You're infected."

It was not a question.