Man on a Mission Pt.1 {Vaishali}

[Tea]

N O V A K

Well one down, countless others to go. Novak was a man on a mission, he needed mares, Aiden was all good and great, but the pair of them didn’t exactly make the most extravagant of herds. He huffed lightly at the thought of his only mare; she was a stunner, even despite her hefty baby girth, but the baby... The mystery stallion’s offspring was not a welcome addition, at least if it turned out to be a colt, if it was a filly perhaps he wouldn’t be as begrudging. Still, Tjos was a dangerous place, now more than ever; he feared that if the foal perished Aiden would blame him. It would surely put a damper on his plans – being testosterone driven he was a tad eager to be able to pair up with Aiden himself. On the other hand perhaps this foal was a happy coincidence; being born in such a harsh season would certainly test Aiden’s abilities both as a mother and an individual. The situation most definitely had the potential to prove her worthy of producing his offspring – or not for that matter. He rolled his tongue absent mindedly as he trudged through the freelands, eyes and ears open to his surroundings despite his focus being on his thoughts.

He was on a stake out, this time in the forest, though the plains had been a fun time. His lip curled in a wicked smile, ah yes Khali; he’d be keeping an eye on her. Not a very vigilant one, he hadn’t bothered to force claim her after his haughty maneuver, but he would spy on her from afar every now and then to ensure that his spawn was a good representation of his genes. Here in the forest though, he was on a more civil mission, at least the most that would happen was a force claim, but you know – civil. He forced himself to focus on the few mares he could spot here and there amongst the frost licked branches, nothing too special, disappointing really… Oh hey! Now there is a looker, mostly white chestnut appaloosa, oh yes Novak was all over that slice of pie. Figuratively of course. Now, manners Novak, no scaring the sweet lady away. The bicolor brute, proud and regal even though his sleek summer coat had long since been replaced with winter plush, waltzed up to the mare. Damn. She was even prettier up close; he looked her over briefly from a respectable distance before adjusting his gaze to her face. ”Evening miss.” His voice was deep and velvety smooth, charming even. ”Now, pray tell how is it that a creature as fine as yourself is all alone at this time of year?” It was an earnest question, followed by soft puffs of breath that billowed in the chilly air for the briefest of time before the wind snatched them up and gobbled them down.

It would be an interesting endeavor that is to see how well his womanizing skills had improved since… last time. Novak swallowed lightly, pushing back the memory of such pitiful failure with the twins. He would get them back one day, maybe… Another mare, had already paid for their insolence, but still, it would be all the sweeter if he could get one of them back. It didn’t even have to be rape; a beat down would suit him just fine at this rate. But then there was king duties, being nice and what not. He grumbled inwardly as he awaited a reply. As much as he intended to be a good king, a decent ruler, he was going to be hard pressed to stay true to that ideal. Two-faced Novak, dear, dear Novak. Hopefully his herd mares would come to understand that so long as they stayed on his good side they would be able to avoid his less then pleasant mannerisms. Hopefully…

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[Hudsdale]

There she had been - minding her own business - when she was interrupted.

Rooting for any blade of remaining grass she could find in the white, snowy ground was hard enough. Now she had to talk to someone.

Vaishali lifted her head with a quiet sigh and turned back to look at her new "guest" with a bored expression. "Fine" he called her. Compliments were always welcome with the spotted mare, though at the moment, her stomach seemed more in the mood for food. "Why should this time of year be different from any other, sir?" Her addressing of him as "sir" had no hint of submissiveness in its tone, and yet it wasn't disrepectful either. She wasn't sure how she was truly feeling at that moment. Again, the hunger was getting to her.

What did it say about her if she couldn't even find food here? Some horses were roughing it out in the tundra or worse, the desert and would surely emerge for another year. Here she was in the valley of Baelquisani and food had yet to pass her lips since the day before. Deciding to take a break from searching, Vaishali decided to welcome the distraction and turned his whole frame to face him.

He was not an unwelcome sight when it came to looks. The stranger almost had a regal air to him. Who was he? The mare was not surprised that she didn't know him straight off the bat - she had a bad memory when it came to names and faces. Vaishali blinked and shook her neck so that her mane draped over the opposite side it had before.

OOC: SORRY FOR THE WAIIIIIIIT.

[Tea]

She had sighed upon seeing him, as if he was already making a nuisance of himself. Damn, he truly had no luck in this silly game of relationships. No matter! He pushed back his bruised ego in order to encourage more positive thinking. His brain defaulted to the usual: life is a game; if it was easy then it wouldn’t be any fun. Fun? Right, because constantly getting shut down by mares is totally my idea of fun. Novak sighed softly and shifted his weight about, the slight roll of his shoulders implying a shrug of sorts. “Generalization. Survival over the course of the winter months usually relies on safety in numbers. So to find a mare such as yourself unaccompanied even by other bachelorettes is an interesting discovery.” His expression fell flat as he contemplated how to revive the situation. The mare however seemed more interested in her surroundings, her eyes portraying a hint of the hunger that had made her so blunt with him. On the other hand they were searching, as if she was trying to figure out whether or not his appearance held and recognition with past memories or not. It seemed after a while of watching one another that she was as clueless as when he had first approached her.

It was probably a good thing, had she heard of him she’d probably have run off by now, which would’ve made even force claiming her a pain in the ass. His ears twitched slightly at the thought, he hadn’t made things easy for himself by becoming king. That is, he found himself frequently at odds with himself. He was in fact a poor mash of two other rulers. Namely the labyrinth king Eztli and his mild mannered enabler the sand king Zebulon. It seemed obvious, although he hadn’t fully understood until this peculiar moment, that he would continue to be unsuccessful until he figured himself out. This put his brain in quite the unwelcome twist. How to sort himself out? He couldn’t just drop his old mannerisms, he enjoyed being scary, it felt empowering. At the same time he couldn’t seem to perceive how to successfully acquire maidens. Slowly his mind unraveled, working out the kinks as it went. It worked out to the following:

Be nice, if it works great, if not force claim and be good ol’ scary Novak. If the harem asks then remind them that they’re exempt from your cruelty due to admiration and love. If that doesn’t float their boat then do your thang.

A smile skewed his mug at the thought. There were obviously flaws with the system. Namely if the harem ever got the idea to have an uprising and push him off a cliff he’d be screwed.

”Novak, not sir… I was never one for formalities other than respect.” The smile was still on his lips, and had hopefully been passed off as being relevant to his speech and not the conclusion to his bout of inner turmoil. ”You are? Aside from hungry that is.” His head tilted curiously, his bicolor eyes keenly fixated on the mystery mare before him. She was indeed glamorous; she’d make a wonderful addition to his harem. Perhaps she’d even get along with Aiden. He laughed inwardly, now that was wishful thinking. It was highly unlikely that any of the mares he acquired in the future would truly get along. He mostly chose mares due to their spitfire attitudes and alluring looks. The sort of females that would produce hardy, smart offspring that would be able to survive growing up in Tjos; the sort of offspring he’d be proud to sire.

One day, one day it wouldn’t be all hope and whimsy.

OOC: DITTO

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