..::Of {H}orses *and* (wo)Men::..

[``Constantine]

_{You are the daughter of a Horse Lord and a M'an.
You See that Which Should not be Seen.
You Hear that Which Would not be Heard.
You are that Which Would not be Born.
You Are Nonalie.}

..::Blood of my Blood, and Bone of My Bone::..
~family~

[/left]

It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was ~Father
Blaming mother is just a negative way of clinging to her still ~Mother
You can kid the world. But not your sister ~Sister(s)
There's no other love like the love from a brother ~Brother(s)
Visit your Aunt, but not every Day ~Aunt(s)
When I was a kid my favorite relative was Uncle Caveman. After school we'd all go play in his cave, and every once in a while he would eat one of us ~Uncle(s)
Again the Cousin's whistle! ~Cousin(s) (male)
A cousin is a sister you never had ~Cousin(s) (female)
You don't choose your family ~Other (please specify)

..::No Day Was Better Spent Than That of Those in the Company of Friends::..
~friends~

~Acquaintance
~Party buddies
~Partners in Crime
~Well-known acquaintance
~Nonalie is Your Mentor (Page; Squire;etc)
~Brother figure
~Sister Figure
Then you have no reason to hate them; you just forget ~ Enemies turned friends
~Close friends
~Sparring partners
~Friends with benefits
~Secret Friends
~Something in common
~Becoming friends
~Friends who play pranks on each other
~Comrades in arms

..::Someday, I Shall See the Color of Your Blood::..
~enemies~

~Distrust
Indifference is the strongest force in the universe ~Minor annoyance
It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious ~Pest
~Major annoyance
He drew a circle that shut me out ~Disliked by you
An enemy generally says and believes what he wishes ~Disliked by Nonalie
During times of war, hatred becomes quite respectable~Different Alliances
And I on one side of the river, and you on the other ~Enemies because of race
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names ~Long-time enemies
Generally characterized as the pathetic fallacy ~Rival for a guy
We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends ~Mortal Foe
And he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere ~Rival
Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate ~Enemies
Your enemies can't hurt you, but your friends will kill you~Friends turned enemies

..::A Thousand Kisses, and A Thousand More::..
~romances~

Love is a souvenir ~Flirt
Love seems the swiftest, but it is the slowest of all growths ~Smitten
The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread ~Secret crush on him
If love is the answer, could you rephrase the question? ~Secret crush on Nonalie
I need you because I love you ~Unrequited Love by him
Love must be as much a light as it is a flame ~Unrequited love by Nonalie
A temporary insanity ~Fling
That Love is all there is ~Crush on him
If I know what love is, it is because of you ~Crush on Nonalie
A time to love, and a time to hate ~Love/Hate
I hold it true, whate'er befall ~Forbidden Love
As if love is anything but free ~Suitor
Love is blind, but marriage restores its sight ~Engaged
'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. ~Ex-Lover
You call it madness, but I call it love ~Falling
With a love that shall not die ~Final/True Love

[``Constantine]

Nonalie was still puzzling over the enigma that was Miss Hawk and the gaurd, when she heard the booming voice of a man, rough from use, with a slightly exotic lilt to it. A northern accent, going be Noni's experiance in the mines. She had been chained next to a man of the name of Gunar Rafesson, and had learned the rudiments of his Nordic language; his northern burr had been very similar to the slight burr of the voice, however more pronounced it was. The very uttering of the syllables was enough to send a tingle twisting around her wrists, where the scars hid beneath the wrist-wraps.
"Ah, that is most excellent Diamond."

On one hand, Nonalie was a little pleased to hear his voice. It had disclosed the identity of her captor: Diamond Hawk. No longer would the girl be 'the Other'; no, now she would have a name. And now, Noni would have a broader knowledge of where she was.
There was also a small feeling of victory laced into the relevation of Noni's captors name; it seemed that it would be a race to the top, of one-upsmanship.

But, on the other hand, the voice bespoke of happiness, and boredom lifted. As if the man had been waiting for Diamond to come back. It was as if - and, going from Noni had seen of the man's daughter, it was very likely - he was going to enjoy his role as Lord and Law.
But on a darker note, the voice brought back the memories of the mines, of the cold days spent on the hard dirt floor, with nary a beam of sunlight, and scant amounts of food to go around.
Noni's spine crawled with the haunting feeling of the mines, and her small victory paled in comparison to her dread.
The last time she had gotten all nostalgic about the good 'ol times, something decidedly bad had happened, and a lot a people had ended up dead.

As they walked up to Diamonds father the Lord of the castle, Noni studied the man that had begotten Diamond.
Their outward appearance was vaguely similar. They had the same sandy-colored hair, worn long, although the fathers hair was coarser, and sported several braids.
The mans skin, that what Noni could see, was the deep tan of a man who spent much of his life outside in the elements. It was almost the same shade as Nonalies.
The lower face was shrouded with a small, bushy beard. Above the mass of unruly facial hair was a broad, strong nose. Even further above sat a pair of brilliant blue eyes that could be seen even from the distance that Noni was. The eyes were currently fixed at Noni, and they contorted as he commanded, "You, come foreward." Rougher, with the Nordic accent a little thicker to Noni's ears.

It seemed that both father an daughter shared the rough, uncouth habit of commanding. It was probably a noble thing, though. It still did little to endear the man to the woman that his daughter had brought foreward from the docks to his castle.
Noni took a stiff step foreward, reluctant to go to the man who could pass judgement and seal Noni to a fate she was not ready to take.
"Excuse me, but I believe the prisoner is in my charges and at your mercy." The daugher said politely, with a nod in his direction. The words and movement lent an air to Diamond, as if the father-daughter relationship left much to be desired.

Noni cut a sideways glance at the daughter, wanting to see the look on her face. She was rewarded with the sight of a bland, haughtily respectful mask. It left little doubt to Noni: something was amiss betwix the two. Something that could be used against them, if the occasion arose in which it was called for.
The insight was enough to somewhat bolster Noni into moving foreward to the Lord. Some might have called it courage, but some would have penned it as stupidity, and ridiculed the fool.

[``Constantine]

Noni could have choked on her breaths, or cut a circle out of the air. It was suffocating, this tension that was between the father and the daughter, haughty nobles withy bees in their brains and rocks for eyes.
The two were staring at each other, a passe of noble proportions, almost oblivious to the others around them. There was, it appeared, something less than savory between the two; what, Noni could only guess, but she knew it was something of the bond between them. Soured, perhaps, but it didn't quite have that flavor. It was very much a mystery.

"But Diamond, you just presented me with this prisoner, should I not consider that a sign that I am indeed permitted to call her forward into my radiating glow, at the very least?" the Lord Diamonds father said, honey oozing out of the syllables. Nonalie felt her eyes narrow somewhat at the 'radiating glow' comment; the very words themselves were enough to made her averse to the speaker, and it was more so with a noble. It was a testament to Nonalies unbringing that although she was of noble birth, and she had always known of her birth status, she reviled the nobles themselves.

"I find you to be pretentious, as always, father." Diamond replied curtly, a hint of snide adding a bite to the words.
"Of course, father, do as you please and make me do the dirty work. Don't care about me, I'm just little Diamond, nothing more...what a father you are."
Little Diamond, to do the dirty work. Dirty indeed, as black earth smudged her cheek, and her hair was tousled from the ride to the castle. Tousled, and shiney with that greasiness that comes from work, toil, and sweat.

And a nasty little viper, she was, too.
The lord and fathers reaction was express pain and shame, and to bow his head, as if a great and terrible weight had been dumped upon him suddenly, so that he could barely stand to keep upright in the face of such bulk.
"Oh Diamond, I am sorry, truly sorry. Command your prisoner as you see fit and, if it pleases you, your father will condemn her to her fate by the authority he will one day pass onto you."
To Nonalie, it was a horrific confession, a true testament to the character of the man who would pass judgement upon her lowly self. A weak, feeble-minded man to be easily manipulated by the wiles and machinations of his daughter, so blind and oblivious that he did not see, truley see, the bile and rot that was setting into the soul of the girl called Diamond.

With a disgusting, false smile of apparent love, she cooed, "Thank you father."
"You heard him. Move forward." She added, conciderablly less than adoring to Nonalie, and

[``Constantine]

I am Jennifer Olivia Alexander Livingston MacKenzie Jenny thought as she glared at the filthy old man before her. And no man is better than a woman of the Clan MacKenzie! Oh yes, it was arrogant as hell. It also was, the haughty young woman truely believed, the absolute truth. Clan MacKenzie was a massive Clan, with ties to many othe influential Clans; they were even within the nobility and royalty. Why, they were almost royalty themselves.

The weathered merchant had tried to cheat Jenny into buying a bushel of apples along with her others purchses; when she had refused, he had gotten stern, and condescending, and had raised the price of his goods. Jenny, being the person that she was, had gotten rather fashed, and may have said some things that she wouldn't have said within her fathers hearing.
Needless to say, they were now at a passe, and then only thing that prevented the young lady from looking down her nose at him was the fact that she stood barely four feet four inches; mid-chest area for the man.

It was, Jenny recalled, the reason she preferred stealing to buying. The muckies and merchants all tried to take advantage of her size and apparent gender: a young, follish boy was easy game for most. It was too bad, really. She was fifteen, not ten, and a girl. All that wasted effort, for nothing.
Well, maybe not so wasted, after all. They would get a few extra shillings for their efforts.

"The king shall hear about this," Jenny said succintly as she pocketed her sporran in her knapsack. She did not wear it in the traditional way, simply because it would be unwelcome in Sceith, it would betray the Clan she was from, and, well, it was too big for her small frame. It was embarrassing, but true; not everybody was as large as her father.
The man's eyes had followed every movement, noting greedily which pocket in her knapsack the money had been placed. He didn't seem particularily perturbed at her announcement, which irritated Jenny more than she cared to admit.

Yes, Jenny had purchased the ridiculously high priced goods; she really needed the rope, and the oats was a must. How else would she make parritch?
With a narrow-lidded glare, Jenny stalked away from the stand in righteous fury and made her way for the docks; for where else would she go?
The salty aroma of the sea, the smell fo the brine and water, the squall of gulls. It was nostalgic to home, and offered the lonesome young Hebridean a moment of peace. It was also a great place to hide and plan.

[``Constantine]

The young lady of the castle was, Nonalie surmised, one of the rudest little beesoms she'd come across in a long while. She had first demanded that Nonalie prove that she was innocent; that was sort of hard to do so when they were in the lords castle - all the physical proof was on the outside, and they didn't seem the type to listen to verbal proof.
And then the girl had the audacity to insinuate that Noni was a biased little shit who spewed lies like she breathed.
Well, Noni really couldn't get angry there. She did spew bullshit pretty much the same way she breathed the air and blinked.
And then a groan sounded from up on the throne.

"Innocent until proven guilty...I think. You may go, woman...just don't murder anyone else, alright?" The lord said.

"FATHER!" The young woman exclaimed almost immediantly
after her fathers decision.

Nonalie could scarcely believe her ears; she had determined the man to be weak, but to be this much of a simpleton...? It was a wonder that the people of Saor even obey these people. Surely they would be better off with one with a sharp mind and a head for words; someone who could not only lead and fight on the battle-field of men and war, but could hold their own in the battles that were politics and intellectual.

It was for the best, where both Nonalie and the other party were concerned. They might have tried to throw her into a cell, and she would have had to have done something drastic and deadly just to free herself...
Although, Nonalie could have sworn it was guilty until innocent in these lands...But who was she to correct the man? It was in her favor that he make this particular mistake.

Nonalie bowed her head in a single, swift, jerky movement, and said, "Sir." And then she turned on her heels and made her way for the door. For freedom.
Freedom, Noni had found, was a precious thing that could easily be ripped away at any moment; it was her duty to guard and protect her freedom with every fiber of her being, lest she become a slave, a chula with no mind of her own in the Scandic society of these Northern countries.

It niggled at her, it did, clawed at her mind and coursed through her blood with a vengence; but Nonalie was not about to succumb to her own curiosity. So maybe Aso had followed her to the castle, and maybe he was up to something, but that didn't mean she had to find out for herself. That spelled a certain disaster as only the cat could promise...

[``Constantine]

“Diamond! Please do not shout, my dear, it hurts my head."

Foolish old man! The wench is getting away, can’t you see your mistake?”

“Leave me!”

Oh yes, things were deffinately not going well between the paternal unit and his offspring. In fact, it was downright shameful how little the daughter cared about her father. If Nonalie had been in a slightly more different situation, she might have stuck around to garner what she could, and store away such information that she thought might be of a help in some future occurance. As it was, Noni was hard pressed to not break into a frantic run and fling herself into the open freedom of the great outdoors.

The raised hairs on her neck were enough to alert Nonalie that someone was behind her, and then she heard, "Don’t think you’ve escaped the power of the Hawks and their powerful influence over the rest of Saor. I wouldn’t count on sleeping soundly at night."
The voice was low, dark, and downright malicious. Clearly, Nonalie was not to be a friend of this young noblewoman who had deigned to accuse a commoner of a grevious crime and then deliver that said commoner to he fathers lands.
Well, it was no great loss, as far as Noni was concerned.

And then the clip clop of a horses hooves led a sound trail away from Noni, and the woman, having thus far resisted the urge to look behind her, turned to watch the young lady and her horse trot on.
-Goodbye, friend- She called to the horse called Tiger. It was always sad when she had to part company with a new horse. They were some of the greatest animals to be found on earth, and made the best comrades.

May all bow before the mighty Aso the cat though into her mind, and Nonalie looked down at the ginger tabby that had insisted on traveling with her.
"Indeed," Nonalie said cautiously. It was anyones guess as to what had prompted that comment. Probably something to do with his little God-complex.

Nonalie then walked over to where Donas had been tied up. From the looks on the faces of the hostlers, and the thin sheen of sweat that covered the black arabians flanks, there had been a 'philosophical dicussion of differing interests'. Which had resulted in Donas being restrained.
Without a word, Nonalie un-did the knot and then hopped onto his back. A whisper in the horses mind, and they were moving towards the dirt road that led back to port, the arabs long, leggy stride eating up the ground.