PonyIsland

- Let's Play! -

To help owners get back into the swing of their characters, and to help non-owners learn more about the Murrah and their world, we're having a little roleplay thread. The main purpose is for fun and practice, so no pressure here! No one is competing for anything, the interactions here are only made "real" and canon if the parties involved decide so afterward... so you guys can all relax and have fun with this!

Just make sure to read the rules and brush up a little on the basics of how the Murrah and their world work first, and dive in!

I can't wait to see some familiar Murrah faces, and meet some of the new arrivals!


- Rules -

-- Put all 'out of character' comments and discussion in brackets-- ((Like this!))

-- Owners: your Murrah do not need an official character profile page in order to play in this thread, and nothing that happens here 'counts' as canon unless the parties involved decide so afterward.

-- Non-owners: you can play too! The Murrah you invent to play must be a basic lowland type Murrah, however. No Greater Mutations, Class I type bios only, etc. Lesser Mutations are allowed, however.

-- There is no limit to how many Murrah you play, as long as you keep their actions clearly differentiated, and generally easy to figure out who is doing what.

-- You can join in at any time! You can also bring in more Murrah whenever you want, if the ones you're playing just aren't enough, hehe.

-- As a suggestion, it's nice if you bold the name of the Murrah that you're interacting with, at least when you first run into them, to help the player notice.

-- You may display your Murrah's image in their 'entrance' post, but if you're bringing in a whole bunch at a time, it might be easiest to link to them instead.

-- You may only play Murrah that you own, or that you invent yourself.

-- Please be a courteous player! No godmodding: no implying that any of your actions are successful when acting against another, no implying what other characters are thinking/feeling/doing, etc. You may 'try' to do something in your post, but it's up to the other person to state whether it succeeds or not.

-- If anyone has any questions or complaints, please PM Shayrah.


- Information -

-- For basic information on the Murrah and how they work, see (this) page.

-- A couple important reminders, for those who are new to the Murrah:

- The Murrah can make vocal animalistic sounds (clicks, hoots, growls, whistles, etc) but most of their communication is done mentally. They speak with each other telepathically, and can either speak 'out loud' where any Murrah in the vicinity can pick it up, or they can 'whisper' to each other on a private frequency.
- All Murrah originate from their homeworld of Pelmei, where they were enslaved by a race of creatures called the Urhein, and have escaped to the world of Haurah through a supernatural 'tunnel.'
- They have mental/soul connections with their Guardians, who are humans (us, obviously) on earth. The Murrah and humans never see each other face-to-face however, being on separate worlds and all.
- The Solace Camp is the Murrah 'city' on Haurah in which this takes place. All Murrah on Haurah currently live in this refugee city. It's crowded, full of all sorts of Murrah from all over Pelmei, all forced to live together.
- They are generally as intelligent as humans, though some have been raised more like animals by the Urhein, or grew up in more wild and tribal circumstances back on Pelmei.

((okay, have at it! I'll be back later to join in as well. :D))

The food was nice, the music was okay... but what Dihano was really here for, was all the people. He was always interested in what new things would come tumbling through the Tunnel, but he wasn't exactly allowed to hang around the Tunnel mouth to watch. And wandering the Camp looking for strange new faces from Pelmei was tiring and inefficient.

At celebrations like these, however, you could see all of the variety that Pelmei had to offer in one delightfully crowded place. So... Dihano was people-watching.

With a little bag of roasted grain to snack on, he'd found an old stump between tents to settle down on and observe... maybe not quite getting the fact that staring is considered rude.

Medea stopped by the cooks to drop off a lovely mess of mushrooms and tear-root she'd collected this morning, with a smile and a word for each of them. Medea always brought her extra to the communal kitchens - not that she had extra often, but often enough that they knew her. Cooks were as good as healers for telling her what to look for when she went out foraging, and she was grateful for their help.

With the foodstuffs safely deposited, Medea headed for the musicians area. There weren't many Murrah here yet, but it was never too early for a song. She selected a flat drum to accompany herself, and fell in with the other musicians, crooning a wordless melody of celebration.



Rarda was here to dance! Talking would do, if no music materialized, but - no, there was Medea now with a drum. A beat was all she needed. With a smile and a wave for the singer, Rarda moved nearer so she could hear over the crowds, and threw herself into movement. It would be better if she had a partner, of course, but this would do to start.

Nik stood tending the casks of fermented drinks, shooing away curious little ones that tried to sneak drinks of the malty brown liquid. He couldn't help but let out a deep, booming laugh as one such ruffian slipped on the long tufts of fur from his highland tail as he'd attempted to sneak around the huge male. He helped himself to a mug, letting the froth spill onto the ground as he held the carved wooden cup at an angle. He took a deep whiff of the aromatic beverage before leaning against the big cask casually, watching everyone begin coming into the clearing and mingling together as he sipped.

Now this was a decent crowd if she didn't mind saying so herself. She didn't. The air itself seemed to be super charged from all of the energy everyone was putting into it by laughing, talking, feasting, and just plain being in each others company. She gave a pleasant snort as she looked over the party's going on's. Asellus knew it be a struggle to draw attention to herself and so she didn't bother.

It was nice to have a change of pace, times where you can dance with the Murrah instead of for them. She took note of a few other little ones nestled between some tents but they hardly seemed interesting to her at the moment. The food did smell ever so delicious though. Following a good meal's beckon she might as well floated for all she knew because she hadn't a clue how she both reached the spread and bumped into an unfortunate adult. Wiping some drool from the corner of her mouth she offered an apologetic smile to the mostly off-white older female, Mana.

Despite her regular uncertainty, Liliri was drawn out by the promise of free food. It was the first such chance she'd heard of since traveling to Haurah, and between the delicious, wafting smells and the sounds of revelry, she couldn't help herself.

When she arrived, though, she saw a dancer.

Oddly, it was only when watching Rarda's movements that she realized they were made to music... music that she had a hard time keeping out of her mind once it had made its way in. Part of her mind scolded her for even considering making a move, standing out from the crowd... but that part of her mind was overwhelmed by the wave of automatic response from years of dancers' training.

With a somewhat-sheepish, somewhat-soliciting smile to Rarda, Liliri moved up alongside and attempted a few of the similar hoof-steps. It was clear she was rusty, but at least she managed to keep from tripping over her own toes, and hopefully her intrusion wouldn't make the other doe falter.

Vier sniffed and looked at the hullabaloo around him. "You call this a party? It's too crowded and really, you call that din music?"

"Yes, I do," Myka sighed, poking the teenage boy beside her in the ribs. "There's free food, and good food at that, and everyone's having a good time. If you'd relax for one, you might actually enjoy yourself."

Sniffing again, the resplendent young buck replied, "There's no such thing as good food in this place. It doesn't exist."

"Not even sweet nuts?" Myka asked, her tone turned sly. "Well then, I guess that leaves more for me."

"Wait, sweet nuts?" Vier looked almost alarmed at the notion. "You do not get all the sweet nuts!"

"Maybe I'll take a bag back to Erik," the young doe pondered aloud, although honestly she had no intention of bringing anything to the surly hornless buck. Really, Erik was a surprisingly good provider, but he was perfectly capable of coming and getting his own food and it was his decision if he wasn't going to.

"You wouldn't!" Vier protested, flat out appalled.



In the shadows just outside the edge of the celebration, the hornless buck in question stood, watching the festivities with hooded eyes. His flute was in his hooves and he played with it, although no melody yet emerged from the wooden instrument.

Rags was delighted. She hadn't seen a proper festival since she'd arrived. There had been little things - rusher races, and the like - but nothing this big, and nothing is happy. She moved through the crowd with a grin, eyeing jewelry on display, flicking her ears to the music, casually flirting with most any handsome buck that gave her an appreciative look.

One of them was following her. He had a rather resigned air, however, and chatted casually with her. His dark brindle coat and pale eyes were hardly eye catching, but he was a familiar sight to some all the same. Dlehn had been a Runner for a long time, and he had carried any number of them through the Tunnel.

" - would love to learn to play. I've just never had any musical inclination!" Rags was saying, running a hoof over a beautifully carved stringed instrument.

Dlehn glanced at her, then the instrument, from where he'd been admiring the general crowd. "Hm? Oh - well, I'm sure you could learn if you wanted to, Rags."

She smiled at the shop keeper. "I think I was just born to listen," she said to Dlehn with a grin. "Come on, let's find something to eat."

She was keeping an eye out for any number of faces of friends. There was one face in particular, however, she was scanning through the crowd for at each turn. She did not really expect to find it, but she did rather hope she would.

Nik watched the dancers, grinning contentedly, nodding at the other buck (K'yth) as he came up. "Pleasant evening to ya mate" he greeted warmly as he passed a mug over. He studied the buck for a moment before turning back to the whirling, graceful colors that painted a dancing mural in the clearing. "Beautiful, isn't it? I tell ya I'd ne'er be able to move me big bulky self like that... not if me life depended on it" He chuckled, a hearty, throaty sound.



Another buck, brightly colored like a misguided rainbow, paced up behind the two. "That's quite alright, Nik, what you lack in grace, you more than make up for in good looks." Kronlin winked at his bond mate. "You're not too bad looking yourself, friend," He nodded at K'yth. He'd always had quite an affection for any pretty thing, buck or doe alike, and never let anyone sway him otherwise as to what was usually considered 'proper.' Nik rolled his eyes, knowing full well that despite his bond mate's preference (or lack there-of), he was merely kidding. "Ah, Kron, ya great loon." He passed the flamboyant buck a mug of his own, as he joined them in watching the dancers.

"Such grace... the way they move is just... mesmerizing..." Kron flicked his tail around a bit in time with the music as he watched.

Asdra watched the other murrah gather from a safe distance, knowing that she would have to be cautious. Her very vocal sympathy for her Urhein masters had not gained her many, if any, friends in this strange new world. At best, she could say that the murrah here tolerated her, but they didn't like her. She stepped out, hesitating every few steps, waiting for someone to yell at her and tell her that she hadn't been invited. As no one came forward to shoo her back into the shadows, her confidence rose and she moved closer towards the center of the festival.

K'yth acknowledged the Highlander's (Nik's) greeting with a nod. "Hai," he responded into a pause. The other continued talking, but nothing he said seemed to require a response, so K'yth just stood companionably, watching the dancers with half an eye on the Plains doe, in case she should respond to his greeting.

When another buck (Kronlin) came up behind him, he turned slightly to look at the newcomer. His ears flicked back briefly at the comment about his appearance - he wasn't sure if the buck was mocking him, or if he meant it. He wasn't sure which he'd prefer, either. Mocking, at least, he understood. Every polite, though, he inclined his head slightly and made space for the other to join them.

Then the Plains doe (Khezai) not only responded to his interest, but began moving in his direction. Quickly excusing himself from the other bucks, he moved to join her. He recognized the greeting she offered, and matched the bobbing motion. It wasn't his clan's usual greeting, but he had visited many clans as Messenger and learned many greetings. "K'yth, El'ash'da messenger," he introduced himself, turning his hoof in his own clan's greeting. He wondered if she would recognize the clan name, or even the contraction of his own name. In his clan and others, bucks contracted their names when they proved themselves as hunters, but many clans did not even recognize the custom. The greeting she had used was common, and did not tell him her origin.

--------------

Lilliri was getting back into the flow quickly, Rarda was happy to see. She changed her own steps to complement the other doe's, stamping and twisting and twirling her tail about her. Her ears were alert to any change in the music, as her body flowed in time. Her eyes roved the crowd, looking for others who might want to join the dance, and beckoning whenever she saw a flicker of interest.

In the meantime, though, she had one companion. "It's been too long since I had a good dance," she confided to Lilliri. "I'd almost forgotten the joy of it."

"Yeah, mine hasn't eith--" Oh, but Kaolin was already moving on and talking over him. Okay.

One of these, he'd have to try speaking 'louder' and see where that gets him.

Today was not the day to try that, though. She seemed to be in a good mood, and he was not going to waste the opportunity. He even tried casually reaching to some of the roasted grain while he answered.

"What?"

-------

To the average Lowland Murrah, Khezai's relief at being able to converse with one of her own would be hard to detect. If anything, she would seem to grow even more stoic... but to more knowing eyes, she was beginning to slide out of the twitchy anxiety that this crowd instilled in her, and gratefully wrapping herself in the abbreviated social interactions she was more used to. Everything was a sort of shorthand--speech, mannerisms, patterns of behavior. The Lowlands seemed to find it rude and standoffish, but to her it was simply efficient and comfortable. So, the little whuff of breath she gave in return was meant as a friendly acknowledgement, for anyone who understood how things were done on the plains.

"Khezai, hunter." And no clan offered in return. "I've heard your family's name. It is good to see some familiarity here," said cleanly and simply, showing her comfort with this stranger by glancing away as she speaks, keeping her eyes on the crowd instead.

"Yan's actually thinking about calling me an apprentice now, and not just a muck-runner. That means I'll be learning before too long - really learning. I don't know why he's taken so long." She peered down at Dihano and let him take a handful of the grain. "I've watched forever, though - I already know what to do. Wouldn't you like to help me practice?" She had a grin that showed her canines.

__



The festival was confusing. At first, it was fun to look at, because there were so many colors and lights. But now his head was starting to ache, and he couldn't keep track of where everything was. All his familiar pathways - the way he got to the food tents, the way he came home, the way he went to his little job of cleaning the bowls and vials of an apothecary - were blocked by crowds and vendors and strange, new things. He saw a hundred faces he didn't recognize. He had no idea there were so many Murrah in the camp! Clutching his shoulder bag close, he was slipping through the crowd, hoping to find a quiet place to sit and collect himself a little.

That was when he stumbled upon the young green buck lounging in his pillow (Shen-dal). He very nearly did stumble over him, though Sundog caught himself before tripping. "Oh!" He made a short bleat of surprise as his attention - spiraling a little out of control for all the sounds and smells and sights - came suddenly back into one place and he found himself invading the personal space of someone else, quite by accident. He took a hasty step or two backward. "I'm sorry!"

That was when he spotted the gold and red ornament at the throat of the other Murrah. He liked that. It caught the light, and glittered.

Nik watched the silent, gestural greeting between the two plains murrah (K'yth and Khezai) pass without comment. Curious, he'd never seen such before and wondered to himself the significance of it. Once they'd gotten their formalities out of the way, he offered another mug of the strong fermented drink to the doe. "Care for a drink, lass? Finest cask in all of camp, ya won' get better'n this" he patted the side of the cask proudly. Brewing was a well loved hobby of his. When he wasn't working his craftsman trade, Nik could almost always be found mixing up new batches of some drink or other and experimenting with the local herbs and roots.

Kron on the other hand, was far more interested in knowing more about the gestures that passed between the two. He looked down at his own hooves and asked, probably a bit more bold than most "what was that thing... you did with your hooves?" his ears perked up in honest curiosity. Like Nik, he'd never seen such before, and simply wished to know more about it. Nik let out an exasperated sigh. He gave his bondmate a little shove in the shoulder "Ay, Kron lad.. always with the questions... leave 'em alone, neh? S'not ya business..."

Nik's ears twitched and swiveled at the greeting from behind. He turned his shaggy head around to the source to find a pale, older doe (Eko) coming toward them. "Pleasant evening to ya as well. This is a celebration for a prosperous hunt" he said as he waved a forehoof toward the crowd.