Her mother hadn’t been all that enthusiastic about letting her wander about on her own. She’d seen her mother’s heart drop when she’d first asked the question, and had waited with baited breath as the chestnut mare had mulled over the decision.
But, in the end, Mama had let her go.
She knows why, of course. It’s why she’d dared to ask in the first place. Besides the fact that Lumi is almost three (almost an adult in her own right) Mama hasn’t missed the recent tensions between Lumi and Taiga.
It’d been, sort of all right, before. Being the only ungifted member of the family that is. She’d been jealous of course (who wouldn’t?), but she’d managed. Daddy, Mama, Newton and Rowling (and later Scholar) had been so nice about it all - while they’d still used their abilities around her, they hadn’t shown off, hadn’t forced her own ungifted-ness back in her face. And while Taiga had tried, it hadn’t bothered Lumi as much as Taiga had hoped it would. Turning into a snowman is pretty useless after all.
But then the change had happened. Daddy and Mama had convinced the boys to take immortality, so they’d all been pretty much in the same position. There’s not much you can do with immortality after all, besides, well, not die. But Taiga? Taiga had relished the opportunity to have a trait she could truly rub in her sister’s face.
Her little sister had insisted upon the wings and ever since the feathery appendages had sprouted from her little shoulders, she's spent every moment possible shoving them in Lumi’s face.
And … Lumi needs a break. A break from her sister, a break from her family. And her mother had recognized it.
And so Lumi had slipped away across the meadow, and into a place that she hasn’t had much opportunity to explore since the change - the forest. A small, happy sigh escapes her as slips into the trees at the edge of the woods. It’ll be nice to have some peace and quiet for a bit.
@[kahzie]
She can almost feel it.
Deep within her bones, something is stirring. It is not yet recognizable as her magick - a smoking and scorchless fire - but rather as something that wakes her a bit earlier in the morning and keeps her up long past moonrise. She cannot quite place the familiarity, but she has woken from dreams of desert for the last half-dozen nights, and knows that her creator is finally seeking her out. He (gold and glistening) will find her and mend what Beqanna has broken, and then Djinni will be djinni again.
The trees overhead over protection from the sun, but the pale yellow thing has barely begun its summer blazing, and so Djinni lingers in its light. Her dove grey hide is bright and clean, washed by the iron grey sea and dried by the cliff-top wind. Her frosted mane is less soft, dried taught and salty against her neck, but she likes that it carries the comforting scent of brine with her even as she travels away from the Coast.
She glances up at the sound of hooves. There is a young chestnut horse, more heavily built than slender Djinni but clearly female; Djinni wickers a soft greeting to beckon her a bit closer. "Hello," she says, her eyes dark but her smile alluringly friendly.
D J I N N I
genie | rose gold tobiano dun | trickster
10-03-2016, 12:01 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-03-2016, 12:04 AM by Lumi.)
She leans against an old pine just within the forest’s border, another soft sigh escaping her lips. It’s so nice to just … do nothing. When she’s with her family there’s always something. Something to do, something to learn, someone to fight with …
*cough* Taiga *cough*
But here on her own she’s free to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the world around her. She closes her eyes for a moment, enjoying the damp, earthy smells of the forest, and the chattering of birds as they twirl overhead. It’s nice to have time to simply be.
A soft nicker breaks through the bird song and Lumi’s amber eyes fly open to see a grullo mare looking at her through the trees. Lumi returns the nicker and pushes herself up off the tree, an open and friendly smile slipping across her youthful face. “Hello, I’m Lumi.”
She’s surprised at how relaxed she feels about the possibility of interaction. She’s never met anyone outside of her own family (except for maybe Sahm, but he’s family, really), and she feels more enthusiastic than anxious at the prospect of meeting someone, anyone, outside her own circle.
She tests the air as she takes a few steps toward the mare, detecting a strong smell of salt and other, not so earthy things. For a girl that’s spent most of her short life in the Dale and the Tundra, it’s positively exotic, and her eyes widen in curiosity. “Where are you from?”
Djinni's smile widens as the girl approaches; she looks nothing more than utterly elated to have company.
"Hello Lumi," she replies, "I'm Djinni."
The girl smells of sulpher, a scent that the grullo mare is familari with. She had walked the edges of the volcanoes that once lay to the south of the Chamber, had peered into their fiery depths and flown far into the sky on the glorious updrafts they created. It seems then, that even though the volcanoes she knows are submerged, that some still bubble at the surface in this new Beqanna.
"I live in Nerine," she replies, "on the coast." They've all given names to their new homes, and unlike the names of Before - the Valley, the Desert, the Dale - these new words have no meaning. Nerine might be a frozen wasteland or a lush forest; but it is neither. "And you, Lumi, where do you come from?"
D J I N N I
genie | rose gold tobiano dun | trickster
The grullo smiles at her in return, and Lumi’s own grin can’t help but widen. It’s nice to have someone look at her without pity or pettiness in their eyes. “Nice to meet you Djinni!”
She pauses for a moment, eyes wide with interest, as the mare reveals where the tantalizing smells attached to her have come from. “Nerine on the coast.” She repeats, rolling the name around in her mind before deciding that she likes it. “Do you have any seagulls there? Oh, or any seals?!” Her father, being a wonderful wealth of knowledge of the natural world, has told her about the odd, sleek, roly-poly critters. They sound more than a bit silly, and rather cute.
She’s suddenly possessed by a desire to see the place, to explore and discover all the strange animals that her father has ever told her about, but she squashes the thought as soon as it rears its head. Her family is pretty focused on finding a new home at the moment, and there’s no way they’d take a visit up the coast to Nerine. But she can imagine …
“Tephra. Well, I will be soon. I’ve been living in the meadow with my family. But my parents want to give Tephra a try.” She understands why. The place seems nice enough, in spite of the fire and brimstone, and her father has friends that live there. She just doesn’t know how she’s going to be able to get away from Taiga when they’re living in a place that’s almost an island.
The girl seems sweet - naive even - and Djinni wonders if she knows how fortunate she is to have found the grullo mare rather than the less savory characters that haunt the forest. There are a myriad of ways to take advantage of such wide-eyed good nature. Djinni is not of a particularly dark nature, but to think that there is nothing calculating about her is a grave mistaking.
"It's nice to meet you too," she replies with an open smile that betrays none of this. Why bother the girl with the ways of the world now? It is a bright and sunny day; there are better things to do then worry.
"Plenty of seals," Djinni answers, appreciating her enthusiasm, "And unfortunately, plenty of seagulls as well." The shrieking call of the gulls fades from active attention after a while, but to say that she is not glad that most of the flocks have begun their winter migration would be a lie.
When Lumi speaks again, Djinni listens curiously. She speaks as though she has no choice to go with her family, that where her parents lead she will follow. Such thinking is wise for a young thing, but Lumi is not a child.
"I'm sure they'll enjoy Tephra," Djinni says with a smile, "But it sounds like you might like Nerine. Have you thought about striking out on your own?" She phrases it carefully, leaving space for either answer. Though she has in fact recently been instructed to find recruits for the seaside realm, Djinni has never been the best at following orders. The tobiano mare isn't interested in recruiting Lumi, but there is something both satisfying and worthwhile in offering new ideas to those who might not have thought of them on their own.
D J I N N I
genie | rose gold tobiano dun | trickster
10-22-2016, 09:53 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-22-2016, 09:54 PM by Lumi.)
The grullo responds with a smile as bright as her own, and Lumi feels at ease. She can sense that the mare is a kind soul (can sense with the certainty of a naive young girl), and she already feels so much more comfortable than she does when she’s with her sister.
Her eyes widen in interest as Djinni begins to describe her home. She’d love to see seals herself (the way her father describes them, they just sound so silly and cute) and even the seagulls, though Djinni doesn’t sound particularly enthusiastic about them.
Then Djinni voices something that gives her pause. “On my own …?”
She can’t pretend she’s never thought about it. Heading out on her own, going on her own adventures, joining a kingdom … but she’s never seriously considered it. She’s young still, after all. Barely out of childhood.
And yet …
This mare is treating Lumi like a potential recruit. That is, like a responsible adult possibly looking for a new home.
The thought burrows its way in, clinging like a burr, but she tries her best to shove it off. Her parents would miss her, so, so much if she left. Just like they’ve missed Newton. “My parents would miss me though,” she manages to get out, though it’s half-hearted and she has no doubt the mare can tell. She can’t help but add, “but it would be nice to get away from my sister …”
She drops her head, then sighs, then looks back up at the grullo mare. “My sister … well … I’m the only member of my family to not have some sort of mythical ability. My little sister likes to shove it in my face.” She has no idea why she’d telling this mare, a complete stranger, all of this, but somehow she can’t help but let it all tumble out. “I wish I had some sort of ability so she’d just leave me alone. But … maybe at least a little break from her would be nice? I could visit Nerine?”
But secretly, in the deepest recesses of her heart, she’s hoping the mare will say more to pull her towards Nerine.
(OOC: sorry about the wait!)
The way the girl's eyes widen is ever-so appealing, as though with every word Djinn iexpands the horizons farther than Lumi had ever dreamed they could stretch. It's an intoxicating emotion, and not one that she is unfamilair with, and the grullo amre sees no reason to bring it to an end anytime soon.
So she continues, coaxing without prodding, luring without force. "You could visit them anytime," Djinni says, "Or they could come visit you if you wanted them too." If she wanted them too - the sisters would not let in anyone unwelcome, she says without words. They could keep away the sister that Lumi seems ready to separate from.
She listens curiously as Lumi speaks, telling the story of her family and her own lack of gifts. Djinni has never felt the same way ,she she feels the tug at her center as the words are spoken, and her smile is benevolent when she says: "I think that if you were to visit Nerine I could make sure that you leave with something to make even your sister jealous."
D J I N N I
genie | rose gold tobiano dun | trickster
Djinni sees through her excuses, though Lumi knows it not. She reminds Lumi that even if she moves away, she could visit them, and that they could still visit her. That last particular thought sticks in her mind for a moment - she thinks her father would like Nerine, and it’s seals, seagulls, and other ocean creatures. He’s always had such a love and curiosity for the natural world.
Not only that, but sounds very much like what her brother has done. Newton had left years ago, to be with Sahm, but he still visits, and brings his whole family along. Her parents would miss her if she left, for sure, as much as they miss Newton, but it wouldn't be permanent, it wouldn’t be forever.
And with that one reminder, her barriers to the idea ever so slightly, start to buckle.
Djinni speaks again, and it takes Lumi a few moments to recognize exactly what the mare is suggesting. “What do you mean, you could make sure I leave with something to make her jealous?” Her heart is beating quickly now, hope and excitement welling up inside her. Before the change, she’d always imagined that she’d work her way up in a kingdom and gain a trait … but the change had ripped that chance from her. Later, she’d entertained the fantasy that some magician would take pity on her and give her something, but she’d never really thought it a real possibility. Not to mention the danger in making deals with magicians …
But despite her mind urging her to stay cautious, her heart leaps ahead. How can it not, when the possibility of gaining the one thing she’s always wanted is right in front of her? “Are you a magician?”
It is almost easy to see the wheels spinning in Lumi's mind, to watch the thoughts settle and finally emerge.
The chestnut girl asks what she means, but the grullo mare suspects that is not all she has to say, so she waits, and sure enough: there is the question. Djinni has never, not a single time, given a truthful answer to the origin of her gifts, and she never will. The secret is between herself and her djinn - even her parents were kept from the details of the deal they had made.
"You could say that," she says with a smile, "But why take my word for it?"
"Go ahead, if you could have any gift you wanted, what would you wish for?"
She can feel the magic thrumming inside her, the words tied to it acting as a signal that only she can truly interpret. She does not pity the girl - why should she, Lumi is young, with her whole life open ahead of her. She does this for her own amusement, and perhaps her own self interest.
D J I N N I
genie | rose gold tobiano dun | trickster
|
