"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
The bay roan stallion certainly got himself into a situation this time, he went to the field just to explore and wound up with a mare being attacked by a cougar. Luckily for this mare he and Raxa saw the event and there kingdom has healing powers. The walk from the field to the Falls was rather slow, mainly because the mare limped the whole way while Andras offered support.
Raxa stayed infront of them for the most part and the travels was rather silent, but he knew they were close when the sound of the roaring waterfall came within earshot. A small smile curled on his lips glad to finally be there, and after a few more minutes of walking they broke through the entrance of the kingdom almost there. he muttered ensuring the mare her pain would soon be gone. He casually glanced up to stare at Raxa who was not much of the conversing type and carried herself in a manner that deterred anyone from approaching her. He rolled his eyes at the thought and pressed forward towards the base of the waterfall were in flowed into a calm river/creek.
He moved his body off the mare and gazed at her Well this is it, step in and see what happens he has never personally seen anyone use the creek and was not sure how it worked. He just hoped all she had to do was step in and the water would work its magic.
The whole trip Geisha was counting the seconds. Each movement, though slow was still painful and excruciating. But thanks to Andres holding the majority of her weight it made their trek easier. The silver dappled mare was eyeing the other female walking a few feet in front of them. She seemed to be on high alert; ears twisting every direction, her eyes darting one way or another. Who could blame her. Even Geisha was still a little jumpy after her encounter with the cougar. Strange or sudden sounds sometimes sent the mare into a short fit that normally lasted no longer than a few seconds.
Andres and the unnamed roan female led Geisha into a pine forest. The path here was shaded from all the plant life, the ground was a little softer too. "Almost there." Andres mused into her ear, Geisha shifted to look up at him playfully tugging a small lock of his mane. "Am I getting to be too much for you?" The ghost of a grin worked over the edges of her velvet lips. Despite the stinging pain in her backside, Geisha was still retaining a little of her famous happy-go-lucky mannerisms. It helped to distract her from her current situation.
Finally the trio made it to a rushing waterfall, its crystal waters rushing off of a cliffs edge where it merged with the calm waters of the lake below. Andres moved away, the action nearly making Geisha fall onto her side, but with a little fancy foot work she saved herself from a tumble. The mare had always been a little more on the clumsy side. "Well this is it, step in and see what happens." Geisha snorted casting a wary eye in the male's direction. "You don't know how it works?" She questioned, carefully navigating her way over to the waters edge. The cool water lapped at her front hooves. "Here goes nothing." She walked further into the crisp waters.
She kept wading her way across the waters until she reached the edges of the center, neck deep in the waters; her wounds well under the cooling currents. A soft tingling sensation crept over her backside. It felt a lot like the kisses of a butterfly's wings, Geisha thought as she floated about in the water. In here she felt a million times lighter than she actually was.
Raxa's spirit seemed to lift a little after they had returned home to the Falls. She never really called any place home, since she didn't quite know what a 'home' was; she'd always been on the run as a foal, never got to know a true home. But a place she knew well, it always made her feel better, lighter. It served to relieve her, knowing she was once more in her own turf, knowing she had a place to escape to.
The whole trip here, Raxa had stayed in front of Andras and the dappled mare, not really saying much. She could tell that the mare was in great pain; who wouldn't be, with a wound like that? Raxa knew that first-hoof; she had several healing scars of her own that had appeared there after an encounter with a predator or after a hard mock battle with another horse.
Sure, the scars could be healed by the waters of the Falls, or by the fairies in the battlefield, but there were reasons Raxa had chosen to keep the scars... reasons she did not want to share with anyhorse, ever.
Raxa heard the mare make a joke in an attempt to lighten the mood; keyword, attempt. It didn't really work too well. For Andras, probably because he was worried about her. For Raxa, simply because she wasn't a fan of jokes.
The familiar sound of the white-water falls filled the brindled mare's ears, and she let out a heavy sigh. The trio made their way to the waterfall at the edge of the river, stopping when they reached the banks. Andras told the mare to step in and see what happened, something that made Raxa roll her eyes. Really, he lived here his whole life, and he didn't know how they worked?
Raxa had never used the healing waters and even she knew how the process unfolded. She remained quiet as the dappled mare waded into the pond at the base of the waterfall until she was up to her neck. Deciding to wait until it was over with, Raxa wandered a couple steps downstream. She lowered her head and drank from the stream, her parched throat becoming soaked with cold water as she swallowed it bit by bit.
Once she was finished with her brief drink, she lifted her head, looking back toward the mare and Andras to see how it was going.
Andras gazed at the mare who shot a startling question towards him, he was taken aback and looked about but gladly Geisha did not sit on it and moved forward into the water. He watched in amazement as the mare stepped in and her wounds gradually healed, as if it never happened. The physical scars were now gone, but the mental scars would always be carried with her. He glanced over to Raxa who had little to add to the conversation, from start to finish, she was not a friendly equine and it was rather irritating that someone like her held a position in the ranks.
He trailed his gaze back to Geisha and smiled at her before moving forward You look much better he complimented the dapple mare who was back to her normal self, a pretty thing at that. well now that you are here, you are more than welcome to stay in the kingdom. Be a member if you want, there are two castes you can choose from. he paused taking in a deep breath, perhaps he shouldn't bombard her with information so quickly after the attack. Well....the Falls is a friendly kingdom and would accept you with open hands, if you have any further questions you can ask me or Raxa. he gave a humble smile before giving a quickly glance at Raxa, would she have much to add to the conversation or just simply roll her eyes with annoyance?
She'd never seen anything like this. Waters that could turn back time and make what was once torn and ragged, good as new. Geisha's honey bomb eyes watched in wonder as the water splayed its cooling touch across her body, tugging the wounds shut and pealing away the would be scars. It felt a lot like sucking on a mint leaf, she thought. Crisp and refreshing all over her body.
Slowly, she looked away and over to her onlookers. Geisha wasn't sure how she felt about the pair of horses. The strong brindle mare with the stunning blue eyes hadn't said but maybe, two words..The whole trip. Her gaze slithered over to the younger, horned male. He who had rushed to her rescue, aided her in getting here and offered a few kindly words. But not many. Both were aloof and shrouded in mystery. Something told her she'd have better luck figuring Andras out. One thing was certain, she was already starting to blindly trust them- as she did most things, even if they were bad.
Geisha just wanted to put the whole mess behind her and return to how things were before the cat; carefree and fun. The mare kicked her feet across the bottom of the pools dragging herself forward, closer to an embankment. Although she could touch just fine being so far out in the water (even if she felt light as air,) made Geisha jumpy. Scared that maybe, just maybe something may come flying out and get her- just at the big cat had. She gave her head a shake, rattling her rambling mind around as she leaned down just a bit to take a deep drink from the pools.
"You look much better," Andras remarked no sooner had she climbed the muddy banks to rejoin her company. Geisha gave her soaking wet tail a flick, running it over her backside as if showcasing the healed area mindlessly slinging the water. "I can still feel them." The horse remarked suddenly, before she could stop herself. Although her eyes told her the wounds were gone and she felt no pain; their ghost remained. "Well now that you are here , you are more than welcome to stay in the Kingdom. Be a member if you want, there are two castes you can choose from." Well, that was certainly a lot more to take in, and a lot more to think about. "Well..." Andras's words seemed to hang in thin air for a moment, as if he lost his train of thought. Geisha did that a lot too. "the Falls is a friendly kingdom and would accept you with open hands, if you have any further questions you can ask me or Raxa." At the mention of the other horses name Geisha felt her eyes drift.
Still more things to think about. Geisha wasn't good at making decisions. "I'm not sure, I'd need a tour of this place ." She let herself drift in a small circle around the pair, eyeing the foliage around them as she went. They had plenty, but the bigger question for her was, where were the mushrooms? She could sure use a few to ease her mind. Coming to a halt this time closer to Raxa's side. "What two Castes are there?" Asking no one in particular as curiosity won her over. Maybe staying awhile wouldn't be such a bad idea, there were more horses which meant extra eyes..but then again.. The mare shivered at the trailing of her dark thoughts. Unexpectedly, and rather loudly, her stomach roared to life; reminding her of a meal interrupted.
Raxa stepped away from Geisha when she came closer. She didn't mind horses being near her, but didn't like it when they came too close. Once she'd stepped away, she turned to look at the mare, a somewhat stern look in her eye as if scolding her for coming too close.
"The two castes are the Warriors, and the Diplomats,"Raxa explained. "The Warriors are in charge of defending the kingdom. They often engage in mock battles with members of other kingdoms in order to practice their fighting skills. They are the first line of defense if their is an attack. Kreios, Jedi, and Archam lead the warriors. The Diplomats are led by Ygritte. They go to other kingdoms to form alliances so that there are hopefully no more war threats between them."
The sound of a rumbling belly made Raxa's face turn from stern to surprised. Her left eyebrow went up as she stared at the mare, "I'm guessing you're hungry?"
His attention turned from Raxa to Geisha as she began to speak, she said she wanted a tour of the Falls which didn't mean she turned it down. He smiled gently and his ears perked forward Well I can give you a tour! he smiled gently. He thought that he was bombarding her with information but she began to ask questions about the castes, she wanted more information.
He opened his mouth to speak but turned to Raxa who beat him to the punch. He patiently listened as Raxa described the two castes, He listened as she described the warriors, naming his father who held the highest position on the warriors caste. His held raised a little bit higher with pride, proud to be the son of Archam. She than went on to describe the diplomats, hitting them on the mark for the most part The diplomats take care of the politics he added at the end of her conversation.
He smiled at what could possibly be his first successful recruit but was distracted from his thoughts by Raxa who asked Geisha if she was hungry, he turned to view the mare and see her reaction. What a horrible host he was, he forgot to see if the mare was hungry, I mean she was just attacked by a cougar so food shouldn't have been on her mind. But now that everything has calmed down her stomach probably remembered it was.
