"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
She filed up the coast line, her head low with grief and disbelief. She just couldn't believe that Rhy was really gone. She literally could not register what she had seen, there lying lifeless on the beach. Though she was too late, there was nothing she could have done. And if she had gotten there earlier, she may have been able to take those two children she had left behind. But alas, she didn't. She wondered who took the children, who had taken them under their metaphorical (or literal) wing. Maybe she would find them one day, just maybe.
Luck seemed to be on her side lately.
Her feet kept moving, pressing deep into the warm grey sand as she now passed the border into the kingdom. Home. She wished Rhy could be here to see it...and Draconis....and Ashara....and Vineine. All of her closest friends...have disappeared. She was happy and so grateful for all the things she has been given of late. A new home, the title of the Amazon Queen. But, still, the most important thing to her, family and friends...were gone.
Her loneliness ate at her heart slowly. She walked into the tides that gracefully pushed and pulled at her hooves, and she let herself lay within it. She closed her eyes, letting the warm salty waves roll over her belly and legs. This was relaxing....she usually hated water. Since of course, cats and water don't mix. But she had never really given it a chance. Maybe she would be lucky, and one of the sisters would come relax with her, bond a little. She hoped to form more of a family out of the sisters, be there for each other more. This was her main goal. She wanted them to be family, not just warrior women.
09-18-2016, 04:03 PM (This post was last modified: 10-19-2016, 07:45 PM by Kortnee.)
The line of salt across her belly tells of her time spent in the water, it is crusted and pale against her dove-grey hide. Her mane hangs heavily to one side, flattened by the weight of the briny water, and her tail clings wetly to her haunches.
Djinni has been watching the dolphins, but her efforts to call them to her have been in vain. To them she is just another horse, a land animal playing at living in the sea. They don't know - they can't know - what she used to be.
She isn't sure what catches her attention, but she turns quickly to see another horse wading into the sea several dozen meters down the shore. It's the black mare that is leading the reassembled sisterhood.
"Naga, right?" asks the grullo mare as she comes close enough to be heard over the lapping waves. "I'm Djinni." She's introduced herself before, but she knows that in the heady rush of a new home and a reorganization of power it is easy to forget little things like names. It's not as though Djinni is anyone important in this little coastal land. She'd only tagged along, curious, and now she's dipping her toes into casual conversation in a way she has not done in decades
A long, deep salty breath, and a slow, warm sigh. The waves lapped the shores of the charcoal beach, the breeze was low and warm that seemed to sing as they whistled through and along caves and eroded rock formations. Dolphins still bobbing about on the horizon. Our dark lady is still laying within the waves, a new film of brine forming over her sleek black coat. Her mind is in a lull, her body was peaceful. The first peace she has felt since the shift happened. It was nice...she had her home, she had her sisters, now it was time to just relax while times were calm.
A familiar voice makes our panther queen turn her head. Standing a few strides away, was the black dun form of Djinni, the woman from the meeting earlier that evening. She remembers our new feline queen's name, and once again introduces herself. Naga smiles softly, her green eyes were partially open. Pure serenity.
"Yes, I am Naga. Djinni, yes, from the meeting. I am glad to see you have stuck around. It would be wonderful if you should decide to stay. I, myself was afraid I would not feel at home here since the jungle is all I have known, but, it's actually quite nice here.
She takes a moment to look out over the land surrounding them, the tall cliffs with their bright green grass on top, the rocks and boulders decorating the shores and the water. Then her serene eyes returned to the silvery grey of hers, Naga couldn't help but admire them, and the petite and delicate curves to her face. Her dark ears flicker forward, she takes another deep and calm breath before letting out a content sign before speaking again.
"You gravitated here, what piqued you're interest? Were you once a sister of the Amazons? There got to be so many of us before the shift that I had not met some of them. Though if you weren't, you might like being a sister. I hope to bring us together more, become more of a close knit family. More trust, more happiness.
Even though they have not been speaking long, Naga felt good about the delicate smoke woman. She was quiet, and just as soaked in brine as Naga was. She smiled, she enjoyed making new connections. Especially now since she has lost so many. Since her finding Rhy on the beach, it had really put her in a strange mood. Though now, she realized she can't dwell on the past, she needed to focus on a better future. Not only for herself, but for her sisters, family, and new friends she will meet from this day forth.
"Y'know, it's been a while since I have had a conversation without having so much anxiety and stress...I enjoy your company very much."
She is quiet again, her eyes looking up at Djinni, eagerly waiting for her words. Conversations by the rising of the moon, the sound of waves, and the soft breeze. Nothing was better than this.
Though she misses her family from time to time, Djinni has never had the misfortune of having fond memories tied to a single place. Perhaps that is why she has never been inclined to settle down; the appeal of a single physical location has never been quite enough for her.
She does like this coastal land with its yellow sea grass and perpetually cloudy sky; she certainly finds it far more tolerable than the jungle had been.
"The jungle was terrible," she replies, utterly honest without actually answering the question that Naga had asked. "I hate birds, and every breath felt like I was swallowing a thunderstorm."
Naga speaks of creating a family, and Djinni thinks of her own. Five sisters and only two brothers; she was essentially raised in a sisterhood all her own. The boys had their place too, as they must in any land; Mellark and Sapere were no less than any of her sisters.
"Why did you choose to recreate a kingdom Beqanna destroyed?" She asks instead of answering any of the black mare's questions. "Perhaps she did not want us segregated from stallions like we were."
