Beastly (Astor)

When once it seemed like things were going so well for Astor, they were quickly torn from him. He was left on his own again, though it was not entirely due to his own predilection to chase others away from him. He had found a fellow “monster”, which understood him and did not bear ill will towards him for his gruff behavior. The other stallion had just accepted him as easily as it was for him to breath, toting Astor along on his adventuring like they had been old friends reunited. The other stallion, an eight legged creature, told him all about the place he lived at – Selisona. Told him about how he was Beta Stallion there, of his sister, of the life he had created for them. Astor could only marvel at how easily he had been accepted by his peers, rather than taunted. How easy it was for the other stallion to live “normally”.

And Astor craved it desperately for the first time in his long, bitterly lonely existence.

But his only link to civilization and to acquiring a normal life had been torn from him, just like everything else in his life. The other stallion just disappeared overnight on their travel back to Selisona, where both stallions were hoping the current Chief would take well to him. Astor woke up on that dewy morning alone, with no traces of where his companion had gone. Astor was angry, of course, but he had expected such a morning to come before he could be introduced to the clan. It never failed that anything good was torn from him, since history had an odd way of repeating itself. Without his companion to ease his way back into civilization, Astor altered his path and wandered Aeon once again, though without much purpose.

Astor had eventually traveled north, to escape the heat. The sheer amount of extra hair upon his body made it hard to function well without constantly trying to cool himself. Granted his magic helped with that endeavor, having icy capabilities, but it could not help him all the time. Using his magic often tired him, for it was still rather weak, thus Astor took to finding other ways to cool himself off. Such as lurking around the northern coastline, where the water was cool and shade was rather plentiful. The stallion let out an icy puff of air, ears lying flat into his lion like mane. The icy puff crystallized the moisture clinging to his mane, though it was only temporarily due to the warmth of the day. Feathered hooves plodded against the sand, carrying him t the cool waters of the coast. Wading in several inches, the water immediately began to cool down his slightly overheated body. With a deep, rumbling hum of satisfaction, Astor’s icy eyes closed with temporary contentment.

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This contentment, however, proved to be short lived. Little did the hulking beast know that there was another creature at the beach that day, just some distance away from him. How he had missed her, he’d never figure out, but all he knew was that she had been the source of his brief moment of comfort and solitude being torn from him. One moment, he was almost half-dozing on his hooves in the cool water, emitting a deep rumbling hum, almost as if he was purring out of contentment. The next, something small yet definitively hard hit the side of his head with a distinctive crack, causing a burst of pain to temporarily bloom near his temple. The pain did not last long, but the annoyance over being hit remained.

He turned towards the general direction of the shell’s origins, his lips distorted in a combination of a scowl and a snarl. He couldn’t be entirely too upset, for his mind did wonder if it was accidental or done on purpose. And judging by the demeanor of the mare approaching him, head lowered slightly out of embarrassment, his mind decided it was the former rather than the later. With a quiet harrumph, the hairy stallion decided that perhaps presenting her with a snarl was not the best method to deal with this matter. A beast he might be, but he was more inclined to be civilized with equine of the female persuasion. Only by a significantly slight amount, though. The stallion’s brow furrowed slightly as she apologized and explained, though eventually gave a quick, curt nod of his horned head. “It’s alright,” he spoke, his voice deep, gruff, and thunderous. It matched his appearance quite well, so he thought. If he was impressed or surprised by the mare’s status within the political game of the clans, he kept it well hidden. Or he just didn’t care. It was hard to tell. “It’s...lovely to meet you, despite the circumstances. Call me Astor,” he continued, knowing it was only expected of him to do so. He wasn’t entirely barbaric, but it was certainly clear he had not been around many civilized creatures in a long time. Besides, his mother would roll in her grave to know he had been completely rude to a lady. He knew that announcing his nomadic status would be pointless, for it was quite obvious by his state of disarray he belonged to no one or called a place home.

status complete
tags: Beautiful Disaster
words: 410+
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His features remained impassive, despite the relief that flowed off of the smaller mare easily and the smile that broke across her features. He felt awkward, and no doubt it showed. Not many willingly approached him, even if it was to apologize for a wrong they had committed. It was even rarer that they stuck around to keep talking to him. Most avoided him like he was the walking Plague, throwing insults from a safe distance because they knew they could out run him. He had grown used to solitude; he was rather comfortable with his rogue lifestyle, only conversing with others if he absolutely had to and for the least amount of time possible. It seemed this mare, however, was undeterred by his size, appearance, and general uncertain behavior. It only made him feel more uncertain. What kind of creature in their right mind would want to connect themselves to a beast?

When she spoke again, the stallion’s ears, previously standing forward to appear attentive, flew back into his fluffy mane. “Yes...That is correct,” he answered sheepishly, his deep voice rather soft at the admission. It was a strange thing to talk about. He never imagined himself affiliating with any of the clans, for they offered him nothing of substantial use. His blue eyes, perhaps the most striking color upon his earth colored body, eyed her warily. His brow furrowed slightly as he listened politely, not wanting to interrupt until he had all of the information she was providing. He had heard of Loxacin – the name ringing a bell somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind. Somewhere deep within his memories, he could remember his mother mentioning the clan; perhaps it was where his father had heralded from, before it disappeared as quickly as it came. There was a short, rumbling chuckle, though it lacked any warmth of amusement in it. “You are not the first to inquire about my interests, to garner me for a clan. I have dealt with ambitious Chiefs in the past, but they were unable to provide a decent payment,” he replied calmly, shaking his large, horned head. His blue gaze remained trained on her throughout the entire time, thought they narrowed slightly at the mention of magic. “I do, but I mostly use it for my own benefit. One of my nature doesn’t survive in this heat without a little help,” he answered cryptically, his large body mass shifting to move closer to her. Rather than tell her, he figured it would be easier to show her as his white muzzle came within inches of her wavy, kinked mane. Parting his jaws, a heavy mist emitted itself past white teeth, landing upon her black locks. Within seconds, whatever moisture that had been on her mane froze solid, until the heat caused the ice to melt.

status complete
tags: Beautiful Disaster
words: 470+
notes: Astor can be kind of cute? xD
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