Closed Some Bells Can't be Unrung (Cadicus)

[Cypress]

Timestamp: 9th day of Winter 512 A.V. Location: Narvaen Stables Tag: Cadicus (Closed) The clothes were worn, far past the point of being presentable for anything beyond the task at hand, but to Cypress it felt like she was decked out in the most pristine finery. By all accounts, here were simple clothes, leather in their make-up, in shades of green and brown, leggings, boots, tunic and a concealing cloak. The buttery leather that now hugged her skin was entirely separate from her usual garb, and when they say that clothes make the man, or woman, in this detail, they were dead on. From the top of her head, to the soles of her boots, she was like a different person, her carriage, aspect and attitude contained a nuance of her former self, of the colt. Though she no longer lived in these clothes, there was a certain comfort in donning them, and it afforded her a freedom that was missing in daily life. As always, when she approached the stable well before dawn, the first light of day not yet blossomed in ths sky , Cypress kept a close eye out for her one confidant, Sienna Narvaen, and she let her secrets fall on those ears alone. The direction given her for entrance was the most direct route to the stable that held the thing most precious in Cy's desolate existence. She would arrive just as the horizon was broken by the light of morning, just as she always did. There was no sign of Sienna, or anyone else for that matter, so Cypress quietly made her way toward her destination, always keeping her hunter's eyes searching for movement. As she rounded the last corner a breath caught in her throat, like it did each time until she saw him, Dolanne, her strider. Every time she expected to be met with disappointment, to find that she'd been discovered, and something had happened to keep them from one another. But that day was not at hand. The enclosure was small, and took almost all she could afford to keep, but with her regular visits, and time out in the open pastures when she rode, it was enough, for now. Dolanne stood, dancing in place when he caught a glimpse of Cypress, his head tossed twice toward his mistress, causing his mane to flare in a silken arc of gray spokes from his neck. He was beautiful, magical, and the love of her life. Unable to sustain her current pace, Cypress broke into a gentle run until she reached Dolanne, instantly cradling the horse's head in her arms as he nuzzled against her. "Hello love." The simple and steadfast affection of Dolanne was exactly what she needed. Seeing Cadicus had begun to erode the tenuous grasp she had on her situation. He had set a crack in her defences that threatened to destroy her. Dolanne would help her regain her detachment from everything outside of these stables. There were caresses for lovers, caresses for family and caresses for those beings that sustained; the affection given to Dolanne by his mistress, was that of the saved to her savior. Cypress leaned into his silken mane, closed her eyes, and simply breathed in the life of her strider, finding a long lost connection to those things lost to her. Through the intimate connection to her horse, the Drykas could almost feel like the woman she'd lost. A curry comb was pulled from a small satchel at her hip and Dolanne danced once more, bringing a bright smile to Cy's face. "Yes, it is that time. Be still my prancing pony." She laughed, and starting on his neck she pulled the comb along his coat, leaving a light trail of raised hair in it's path. "It's good.. yes?" Dolanne thumped his hoof against the ground and nuzzled his head into her ribs."Careful love." The wince and sharp intake of breath betrayed the wear on Cy's body from her 'lessons' the day before, but she ignored all else and continued showering her attention on Dolanne. "I'll take care of you..." The whisper trailed off as she lost herself in the moment.

[Cadicus]

"Cypress, where is she?" Cadicus stood with his arms crossed, his eyebrows raised, his feet tapping, standing tall and imposing in the doorway of the brothel on East Street. He surveyed the smaller man before him, an unpleasant man with a weasely nose and calloused fingers. The sun had risen moments before, and Cadicus stood with his back tall, his bone-white horns sweeping back dramatically: in his true form once more. It afforded him a sort of confidence. This was who he was. Now he only needed one thing. "If by Cypress you mean Jocelyn, she headed to look after her horse just a few chimes ago." Cadicus, about to turn and run after the Drykas woman, heard the mutter of the pimp. "Petching bird kept her name from us, dinnit she? Some angry dark man yelled it all up the house. Slut thinks she's better than the likes of us..." Everything ran still for a moment. The world was silent, the echoes of the pimp behind him the only thing disturbing the silence of the morning. His blood ran cold. Cadicus turned, ever-slowly moving round on the spot until he faced the pimp. His eyes looked different to the pimp than a moment before: more focused, more cold, and much, much more dangerous. "What did you call her?" He took a solid step forward, the pimp scrambling back in turn, an age old dance of intimidation. Cadicus, in his Ethaefal form, towered over the weasely man, and his muscles held hints of much more power. But though the pimp was smaller, his ego did not allow him to back down completely. "Slut, didn't I? S'what she is, was seducing the man even when he just wanted to talk. She may be a whore, but she wants it--" His tirade ended with a gasp, Cadicus' forearm shoved into the man's neck, holding him up against the doorframe with all the strength of a furious man in love. "Don't you DARE call her that again," his voice rumbled like ancient thunder, "Or I will come back, and Pain will accompany my visit. Do you understand?" The pimp nodded desperately, his hands clutching at Cadicus' copper skin, desperate for air. Cadicus released him, letting him fall to the floor and breathe. With a look of disgust, and a nod of respect to one of the fearful-eyed prostitutes by the stairs, he turned, his cloak sweeping through the air, leaving the fateful brothel. His footsteps heavy, Cadicus moved almost mechanically in the direction of the stables that he knew were just beyond the foothills of the city, the only place for Cypress to keep her Strider, her love, the one who had not abandoned her and never would. The whores of East Street, their pimps skulking in the shadows, still plying their shade even when the sun had just risen, sneered at the Ethaefal (a rather more pleasant sight then most of the clientele they received), but Cadicus took no notice. A dark, angry man had revealed Cypress' true name, shouting it throughout the brothel... and he had been desperate enough to yell in the dark last night... Breaking into a run, passing quickly through the cobblestone streets of Zeltiva, Cadicus moved fast, guilt settling hard on his heart. He had quashed the guilt and the longing he felt for his little Drykas child for a decade, but the lady wasn't a child anymore. She knew how to make men weep and gasp. She knew how to tie Cad around her thumb like a piece of string. And he had broken her secret, perhaps the only one she had left. Half-jogging, half walking with speed, Cadicus moved quickly through the quiet streets to reach the Narvean Stables. To reach his colt and hers. Too early for any of the regulars to have come, Cadicus entered the stables, his quick eyes searching out any sign of the woman with the plait, with the ice cold eyes. Spotting a stablehand sweeping the refuse from one of the stalls, he flicked him a coin. "You, boy. Have you seen a woman go by? With a plait, with dark hair, with blue eyes?" Struck dumb by the gold miza lying in a pile of steaming shit, the stableboy nodded. "Yeah, her stall's round the corner. She comes here often. She's with the Cyphrus horse right now." And Cadicus sprinted. Dashing round the corner, he saw the stall, saw the head of the horse that he would recognise in a moment, one of his homekind, one so similar to Maritus back in the stables at the World's Grotto Inn. Cypress and her Strider Dolenne. Standing, catching his breath, an uncharacteristic smile spread slowly across his face. Cypress stood close to her Strider, stroking through her knotted mane, whispering gentle things that Cad could not quite hear. Dolenne, spotting Cadicus, a strange old familiar face, whinnied, tossing her head in his direction. Cadicus, in his true Ethaefal form, stood waiting for Cypress to notice him. "Cypress... I told you I would come again."