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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "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


    and I'll shiver like I used to [any]
    #1
    So much time had passed since she had first set hoof on this strange land's shores. The mare had ventured all over the island and even back to the original field she had come from, but nowhere looked or smelled like it could possibly lead home. She knew there were other places she could try, (she had seen them on her trip up the steep slopes of the volcano) but the thought of going into more unknown lands sent shivers down her spine. And besides, it had been so long since her disappearance... her man had surely purchased a new horse by now. Her returning now would only complicate things for him. She knew this, but still. Still she yearned for the familiar. This land was welcoming and friendly enough, but oh so very different than everything she knew.

    Besides the strange climate and the always-threatening smoulder of the volcano, the horses that lived here were so very odd. They had all the colors of the rainbow. Some had wings and took to the sky as if it were completely natural. Others had strange powers that were not always readily apparent. She had observed this much without making herself known to many. She was terrified by it all, really. How could she ever truly feel safe around them, not knowing what they could be capable of doing to her should they wish. It was all very alienating if truth be told. Her only friend now deep in the throws of caring for her young one, she wasn't sure where to turn. She was used to solitude, so it did not bother her too much, but she was beginning to think that there might be safety in numbers. If she could befriend them, however strange they may seem, maybe that would offer her some sort of protection.

    So she timidly removes herself from the dense undergrowth that she had become accustomed to hiding in and finds herself quite exposed on one of the volcanic black beaches that surround the island. Her roan ears perk at every little sound, hoping that her senses alone will protect her from the unknown. Everything about the freckled mare screams of her unease, but she remains exposed nonetheless, hoping to attract attention while simultaneously hoping that no one will see her. She tries her best to appear captivated by the waves, or deep in reflection, but her ever-twitching ears give away the ruse.
    raewen
    and I'll shiver like I used to
    #2
    He is not comfortable with fire or water. Rather an unfortunate situation, seeing as he had chosen to live on a volcanic island. He had stayed, though. Partly out of a sense of penance, partly because of a mare who lived here whom he was becoming fond of. A bit more complicated was the sense that these fears were something he must conquer. 

    He lived here because he wanted to face what scared him. There were things he loved about Tephra. The way the volcanic soils produced the most luscious vegetation. The multitude of warm springs that soothed sore muscles, even in the dead of winter. It was this love that kept him here, and that desire for peace that brought him to the beach. 

    Now that his vision was restored, he had been wandering over the island, coming to gain a deeper appreciation for the magic time and lava had wrought on the earth. He was not alone in his venture today. A little further along the shimmering black shoreline was another, who looked about as lost as he felt. Why not? 

    "Beautiful, isn't it? I don't think I've seen you around before. I am Bragi." His smooth baritone carried over the last couple of meters between them, mingling with the calls of sea birds. His sapphire blue eyes shone as he took in her red roan coat. 

    So many vibrant colors could be found across the kingdom's of Beqanna, but he held a soft spot for people of old fashioned tones. His own buckskin and white pelt had been meticulously returned to its former gloss over the last few weeks, his chocolate mane and tail detangled and detwigged. He felt more like the man he'd once been every day. 

    @[Raewen]
    #3
    She had heard him approaching, of course, and her ears had been glued in his direction ever since she had first caught the slight sound of hooves on wet sand. Her common sense told her that no one who meant her any harm would approach so calmly or so openly, but fear has a way of eroding the voice of reason. Her chocolate-colored eyes are wide and unblinking, trying to pick the stranger up in their peripheral vision while not looking outright. His scent takes a while to reach her, as the sea breeze drives it away from them into the island. He smells like this land - the acrid smell of sulphur mixed with the salt spray of the sea, but it is the heavy scent of his gender that worries her most. She had very few interactions with stallions in her previous life. Many had been geldings and all of them had been tied up, unable to reach her. Some had been cordial enough, but others had been crass and their words had fueled her nightmares for weeks after. Now here was one, untethered, approaching her in this alien land. What was she to expect?

    His words give her excuse she needs to snap her eyes to him (she hopes this appears to him like she is snapping to her senses from reverie, but she lacks any potential for acting). He is large - much larger than her, and young. She is relieved, at least a little, to see that he appears to be normal with a light tan and white pelt and no odd additions or accessories. His words are lost on her at first as she takes all of this in, and she stares at him with a blank look for a moment before realizing that she should be saying something in return. Embarrassment supersedes fear for a moment and she looks away, frazzled, trying to recall what it is he had said. Something beautiful? Surely he did not mean her - she looked positively a mess. Perhaps the sea? It did not seem beautiful to her, just another obstacle keeping her from home. 

    After what seemed like minutes (but really was only a few awkward moments) she looks back up sheepishly. "Nice to meet you... Bragi was it? I'm Raewen." Her voice is barely audible over the usual din of the beach. She may be scared, but she had to be polite. "Yes... I've not been here long." What were a couple of months really? She eyes him suspiciously, wondering what a typical interaction between two inhabitants of the same land usually consisted of. She had always been on her own, and her usual small talk and pleasantries did not transfer to this land. She felt highly underprepared for this new life she had been forced into. She attempts a friendly smile and tries her best casual voice. "Have you lived here long?"
    raewen
    and I'll shiver like I used to


    @[Bragi]
    #4
    She's scared, that much is obvious. Even without the way she holds herself, avoiding looking at him until he's right there, her scent gives it away. He looked himself over, wondering if he'd managed to grow a new head, or turn green since the last time he looked at himself. No... well, that was good. He watched her mildly as she gathered hr thoughts, standing a short distance away. She seemed to not agree with his opinion, that the scenery was lovely. Ah well, it was perhaps not for everyone. Gods knew he wasn't about to actually touch the sea again. He was just fine with his inland pool, thank you very much. The black sand glittering under the surf was pretty to look at, though. He shrugged his thoughts away, focusing more on the distressed female before him. Things made more sense at her admission of not having lived here long. It was plain that she meant here, as in Beqanna, not just Tephra. 

    "Raewen? How pretty. Where are you native to?" He asked politely, honestly curious about which land had produced such a skittish woman. Had something very traumatic occurred, to make her so afraid? He knew trauma. Was familiar with the ghosts that lurked on the edge of a damaged mind. Perhaps... well, maybe he could help her, the way Amorette had helped him. If she wanted any help, that was. Her next question, spoken so low he had to strain to hear her, was in reference to his own history. 

    He wasn't really sure. He knew he'd been blind for a year, before that... things weren't clear. He'd lived two years of life, but had really only been gone a month... bah. It was past, that's all that mattered, right? "I've been here... oh, a bit over a year, I'd say. It's really not a bad place, once you get used to it. You'll see things you probably thought were impossible. You might even get a little impossible yourself. But there's so much possibility... You could be a queen, or a warrior some day. Or settle down in some quiet corner, build a family. You have that choice." He wasn't sure why he was saying all of this. Wasn't it a kind of stating the obvious? Perhaps not. It hadn't been obvious to him. When survival was your greatest struggle, everything else lost importance. But he was doing much better now. He could consider the possibilities life offered for himself. 

    He smiled warmly back at the lost woman, hoping it wouldn't distress her further. His old gift of rhyme wanted to be used, and so he picked up his sing song poet's voice, making a couplet up as he went. 

    "Be not afraid, dear Raewen red
    Abide with me in peace, instead." 

    The words left his lips, not knowing the subtle gift they now carried. He was expected a rolled eye, perhaps a scoff. Best case scenario, she might actually smile at his bluster. That was typically how others reacted to his spontaneous poems. Anything to break through the cloak of fear the woman seemed shrouded by. 


    @[Raewen] I can edit if you're not ok with him using his Charmspeak on her. Otherwise, feel free to interpret the poem into her 'charmed' reactions Smile
    #5
    She can see his assessment of her in his eyes and this sobers her right up. She had always thought of herself as a lady - a good head on her shoulders. It was obvious now that her trepidation had given way to a new, less amiable persona. She was carrying herself like a mouse before a barn cat, and she knew that never ended well for the mouse.

    Raewen forces herself out of her own head for a minute; long enough to actually listen to her companion's conversation. He was kind, perhaps even gentlemanly. She could ask for little else, really. (Although he did have the added benefit of not being clad in green or blue or some sort of other odd accessory like so many others, for this she was grateful as well.) A smile pulls at the corners of her lips at his compliment, but his question worries them back into line. She clears her throat, hoping to cast more of a voice this time around. "I couldn't say. It's nowhere near here though. I lived on a farm, surrounded by others farms which surrounded a small town. I believe I am very far away from home indeed." Her voice cracks at the last of this - she misses her farm, her man, her life as she knew it. Luckily for her emotions, he continues on the conversation and it brings her attention back to the present.

    He speaks of the impossible and she knows vaguely what he means. The colors, the horns, the wings, the powers. They did seem impossible to her, and it was reassuring that it wasn't exactly normal for everyone here either. She doubts very much that she will ever partake in the impossibility (she was perfectly happy as she was, thank you very much), but the idea that these others might not necessarily be born this way is intriguing. It launches her thoughts down an entirely new vein of how they came to be like this in the first place. But now was not the time to delve into such musings.

    "I'm sure I'd be happy just making some friends." She says lightly, the hint of a laugh in her tone. She had given little thought to her future, but it appeared that this man had thought of his. Perhaps that was normal when one could direct their own destiny. Her life had been all but set in stone except for that fateful day with the broken fence... She does not say any of this though. Instead she chooses a safer direction. "What are your plans, Bragi? What does one do when they have so many possibilities before them?"

    But before he can answer her question, the tan male is already speaking. His words strike her as odd - lyrical but without a tune. The horses in town would never have spoken in such a manner and it takes her by surprise. Instead of putting up walls, however, it seems to calm her down. She was certain now that this one would not hurt her (wouldn't even dream of it) and she felt an ease that she hadn't felt in many months. It was a good thing she had come out of hiding today, after all. She smiles, the warmth of it actually reaching her eyes this time. "I think that sounds lovely."
    raewen
    and I'll shiver like I used to


    @[Bragi] sorry it took so long!!
    #6
    She is still mistrustful of him. Old instincts that many Beqannans sought to subdue seemed more prominent in her, closer to the surface. As they speak, he watches her face, noting the deep regret there as she speaks of her home. It is not familiar to him, though he knows places like it exist. It seems that she misses it terribly, wherever it is. Such was the nature of this land, though. People came and went, rarely through their own choice. He was an example of this. 

    When he brought up the freedoms this land offered, he was a bit abashed at the slightly overwhelmed reaction he got. Yes, freedom could be intimidating to those not used to it. But his heart leapt to see her smile, even if only a little bit. "Friends aren't so hard to come by. Tephra is full of kind hearted folk." He assured her with a confident smile. Tephra was his sanctuary. 

    His little poem was a bit of silliness, but it seemed to work like a switch inside the roan woman. Suddenly her stance became more open, her face drained of anxiety. The contented expression she now wore was  at immediate odds with the uncertain one of before. He had been expecting a rather different reaction to his couplet. "Oh... well, I'm glad. Really, it's a beautiful place, if you give it a chance. If you want, we could explore it together? I know I said I've lived here a while, but I was um, blind for most of it..." He trailed off, not wanting to explain. 

    He returned to her earlier question, hoping it wouldn't be obvious he was changing the subject. "My plans have been open so far. I want to train as a warrior for the kingdom. Warrick has been kind to me, I'd like to return the favor." He finished, wondering what Raewen would end up doing with her new life. It was unlikely that she would be able to return to her old home, as sad as that was. Hopefully she would be able to adapt and flourish. 

    @[Raewen]




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