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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


    [open]  a tall ship and a star to steer her by
    #1

    Oceane chases the sunrise, her blue-gray wings thrust wide to catch the autumn's morning thermals beneath the weight of her opalescent frame. Beqanna slips below silently as she coasts, the season's icy chill exacerbated by her altitude to form cloudy white puffs with each exerted exhale.

    The woman casts her gilded gaze on the horizon, where warm pastels fight to push away the cusp of the night's earlier darkness. And just as the sun begins to unclothe itself, shedding mountain peaks and leafy boughs, it casts its golden light upon the balefire that is Ocean's turquoise countenance.

    The luminosity that radiates from her reflects flickering, uneven splashes of light against the treetops as her extended wings adjust to carry her closer to the earth. The scent of petrichor coaxes the flaring of her nostrils as slowly, gracefully she descends further towards Beqanna until finally her hooves connect with the frost-hardened ground. The thundering of Oceane's dark purple hooves is fleeting as she spreads her wingtips to slow the momentum of her landing, her amber eyes lifting away from soil beneath her to drink in her first view of Loess, a land promised by Castile to hold much of interest.

    Pulling her opalescent wings to cradle her sleek and muscled sides, Oceane takes a quiet moment to view her surroundings. A conglomeration of tropical ferns and hardy salt-brush dot the landscape, drawing an interested hum from the depths of her throat. In the near distance, the mountain that had previously blanketed the sunrise stretches impressively into the blood orange sky.

    She pauses here, reminded of the sunset-colored mare she'd seen in the field just before being gifted with the moths who were Blu, Ruinam, and Castile. "Blessed by the sun," she whispers, a small grin finding the corners of her mouth at the feeling of coming full circle.

    Oceane



    open || "speech"
    i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
    and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
    #2
    You’re uncontrollable
    and we are unlovable
    The coldest place in Beqanna did not attract many visitors; but she had said live, not stay, and so he takes an occasional trip. After all, not all kinds of help that he could give, were about surviving ice. Heck, most his gifts were suitable for many other things instead.

    He roams the borders; he does not hide his passing but he also does not call out for residents. It is not very different for the mare who visits Loess as he reaches it, as well: her hooves are loud and clear, as well as the sunlight on her body. His own reflects in the evening just as much, though his radiance is white and glitters with the cold he has adapted to.

    He greets her with a nicker, and looks around for other residents, making it clear that he’s not from this land either with a subtle way of stance - confident that he is allowed to visit, but not arrogant in the way that kings or even guards hold themselves.

    Though honestly he always had been one of the latter in some way, and old habits die hard - they die almost as hard as himself.

    Looking the pretty mare over, he comments. ”You look more like a brilliant night sky to me,” he shrugs. ”I take it you’re visiting Loess as well?”

    and I don’t want you to think that I care
    I never would, I never
    could again
    Leilan
    no. 7 | ice forged in fire


    So, he needs a bunch of threads if I can help it (: Loessians feel free to say hello to your visitors still if you want Smile
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
    |
    #3
    bottom of the deep blue sea
    The slow rhythmic lull of the water caressing the soft sand always drew her out from the naked trunks of autumn tress. Isobell watches with adoration and glinting jealous, to witness the love of sea and land, silver eyes unmoving. Very similar to their love story, Isobell finds a twist in her heart named Ivar. He had busied himself with the reproduction of his kelpie children but it all left Isobell feeling empty, unwanted, lonely.

    Loess had provided her with a misty sanctuary. Castile, her sweet brother, had welcomed her with open arms to share his home with the illustrious mare. Here she could breath the cold air, allow it to wash away her sins, cleanse the corruption of her mind. In response, the pied mare draws a breath before the sounds of a voice drifts towards her, a woman's voice. Isobell needs to press herself forward. She needs to shake away the doubt that clouds her mind.

    Another has reached the pretty mare before Isobell arrives. The other woman is bright and shiny, a delicate shade of purple with clear eyes and an easy smile. A blossom of a smirk drifts across the pretty lips of the former queen. Silver eyes lift and roll over the tender curves of the mare before flicking upon those of roan stallion. A pleasant greeting is offered by the two toned mare, a simple- "Hello there." and tilt of her finely carved head.

    Judging by the male's remark insinuating they were both visiting, Isobell takes the moment to evaluate their body language and concludes it was a friendly visit. "Welcome to Loess/" The mare relaxes with the flick of her long tail, a hind leg cocking as she shifts her weight to her other curved hip. The kelpie-made mare observes them beneath the length of her dark lashes, awaiting a reply.

    #4
    to the lonely sea and sky

    Oceane has always known herself to be a creature of the early morning. The tenderness of dew as it clings to sleepy verdant grasses has been known to draw her golden eyes, where her gaze could linger for hours. The crisp early-dawn air had always felt different to the pegasi, as if it tenderly cradled and protected the secrets of every early-riser it had ever greeted.

    That's why she had chosen this morning, this early morning, to pilot her opalescent frame into her new home for the first time, succinctly believing that nothing bad can happen within dawn's embrace.

    Her moment of silent appreciation of Loess is suspended by the approach of someone new and unfamiliar. Oceane turns her amber eyes, almost begrudgingly, away from the blanket of mountains and pillows of clouds above it to greet the silver bay stallion. She nods her head in response to his observation, finding pleasure in being compared to the night sky but unwilling to dwell in the compliment for more than a moment.

    "I have recently agreed to live here," Oceane tells him as she notices the golden streaks in his mane, the tinsel catching the light of the sun as it continues to rise in the morning sky. Just as it had happened with Loess, her appreciation of this attribute is short-lived as the new duo is approached by a third.

    Oceane appraises the tobiano mare quickly, her gilded eyes seeing a comfortability with Loess and her fluttering nostrils noting the scent of sea salt on the woman's skin. "Thank you," she responds as the other woman settles herself comfortably into the conversation before clearing her throat and introducing herself, already anticipating the conclusion of these niceties for the opportunity to explore Loess in great length.

    "I am Oceane."


    @[Leilan] @[Isobell] | speech
    i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
    and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
    #5
    You’re uncontrollable
    and we are unlovable
    The sparkly-pretty mare knows how to take a compliment, even if it comes in a wrap of humor and dismissal. He nods to her, though tilts his head when she says she has ‘agreed to live here’. ”I hope you like crowds,” he muses dryly, letting his attention for her fade to check their surroundings. ”And salt-water cacti.”

    He shrugs a little, replacing his weight as the unnaturally beautiful tobiano mare joins them. Her eyes betray her age - close to his and the new recruit’s - but there’s something about the lines of her face, the trace of her shoulders, that makes him pause. It’s familiar in a way, so perhaps she is related to someone he knows.

    She speaks as if she’s a resident, and yet, she smells more of the sea than of the Loessian climate. That’s more than interesting. The scaled roan tilts his head at her, thinking it over - that he hasn’t seen her before, mostly - then looks back to the purplish mare as she introduces herself. ”Name’s Leilan,” he adds, ”I specialize in harassing Castile these days - like it’s inevitable every time I near Loess, and so I haven’t seen a lot of it for a long time. You two make a welcome change of scenery.” he tells them, as if that’s all small talk. It’s true that the last time he went any further than the border must be nearly 10 years ago, even though he recently visited twice. And that time hadn’t been too great either, seeing as Arthas had stolen him then. And recently… once it coincided with Lepis, making the experience not as happy as hoped, and the second time he was only here, just to nicely rephrase Jesper’s request that Castile meet him in the North due to his leg having shattered in a battle just prior.

    Honestly, one might conclude he was fated never to really enjoy Loess. Even now, he had a mission in the back of his mind, though it did not seem like anyone around here really needed anything at the moment.

    and I don’t want you to think that I care
    I never would, I never
    could again
    Leilan
    no. 7 | ice forged in fire


    @[Isobell]
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
    |
    #6
    and underneath the layers, I find myself asking what's left
    a hollowed out form, the skeleton of a ghost, the pitiful echo of what once was
    Of course, he joins them.

    It’s habit to patrol the borders, to observe the seasonal changes along the forest walls and to smell the breeze when new scents swirl within.

    Oceane’s, he recognizes immediately, and it isn’t long after he has returned that it reaches him on a winter gale. A chill races down his spine, but whether it is from excitement or the cold, Castile isn’t entirely sure. It’s incentive, nonetheless, to meet her soon after her arrival, but of course he isn’t alone.

    Isobell is there, and a broad smile stretches across his lips, but it suddenly wavers when his eyes sweep toward Leilan. Suspicion crawls across him and shadows his reeling thoughts as he joins the small group, his mismatched eyes hesitating on the stallion. ”For someone that doesn’t live in Loess, you’re here a lot, Leilan,” the comment is not entirely unkind, his tone flattened by his lingering uncertainty. He is in and out, much like a snake. He creates tension, but Castile hasn’t quite determined whether or not it is purposeful.

    With deliberate steps, Castile takes his place at Isobell’s side, brushing his lean shoulder against hers. It’s a quiet, adoring gesture. His attention, however, lifts to Oceane as the smile returns. ”I’m glad you decided to come,” a lightness returns to him, relieved to see yet another new face among their numbers. Isobell has already welcomed her to Loess, and so that echoing statement dies on the tip of his tongue. ”I see you’ve met my sister and our fellow harasser,” a mild chuckle manages to slip from him as a glance finds Leilan before returning to Oceane. ”I hope you travel was smooth,” he adds, the tone honeyed and amiable.


    castile
    #7
    bottom of the deep blue sea
    Oceane.

    Already likable by the kelpie woman's nature, a pleased smile drips across her dark lips. The other woman is fair, a an exotic pastel pearl carefully cultivated in the hands of water and salt. She is winged (though Iso thinks she would be ravishing with a fin), the kelpie mare admires the way the chilly autumn sunlight illuminates and magnifies the beauty of each and every feather.

    Siler gaze flickers to the mouth of the unknown stallion. "Leilan." The roan male states before following with how he enjoys harassing her sweet brother. Iso's grin flickers wider as the growth of the secret to her relations to the dragon king remains hidden. It was not to be a deep secret but Isobell did enjoy hearing the murmurs others spoke about Castile in his absence.

    But speaking of the devil-

    Castile appears with flawless execution. He emerges near the small ban, taking on an easy grin, his demeanor relaxed as he introduces Isobell's position before acknowledging both of the other equines. Iso leans against the hard shoulder of the taller stallion, happy to have his side. "I'm Isobell." The words rise like the ocean from her lips, drifting and falling as they crash against the shore, the other's ears. The liquid pewter of her shining eyes flicker from Oceane to Leilan, enjoying the way her dear brother teases the other stallion, playfully. It's lovely to meet you both." She adds sincerely, delighted to finally meet some new faces.

    #8
    to the lonely sea and sky

    "Crowds tend to be a treasure trove of information for those of us who are piloted by our desire to learn," Oceane responds demurely to the stallion's dry comment, though she's feeling suddenly off-put by his dismissive shrug. The arrival of the beautiful tobiano mare detracts from the pegasi's opportunity to decipher the stallion's comment (let alone her own reaction to it), but the new company is welcome.

    Oceane's satiny feathers brush comfortably against her slim sides as she ruffles her opalescent wings, a silent tell of the intrigue that Leilan has piqued inside her with his most recent remark. "If you're not fond of crowds or saltwater cacti," she tilts her pastel head to the side curiously, "why does the act of harassing Castile bring you to Loess so often?" On cue, Castile peels away from the nearby forestry, dashing any of Oceane's expectations that the silver bay stallion will respond to her prying inquiry.

    The duo-toned stallion exudes a commanding aura despite the lack of exertion he seems to apply to this specific outward impression, leading the new Loessian to believe that he is more than a simple recruiter carrying out the whims of some higher ranking official. An interested hum reverberates in the depths of her throat as gilded eyes follow Castile's arrival - catching the cloaked unease he feels with Leilan, reminding her of the way he had reacted to Ruinam's presence in the Field - up until the shared warmth of a shoulder bump between him and the ocean-scented mare.

    Oceane gives Castile a smile in return, though hers borders on coy excitement more than innocence and warmth, due in part to her assumption of his rank within Loess and her inkling that the man she had followed here from the Field had more than one secret hiding beneath the surface. "And I'm pleased to be here," she says with a bob of her head, causing the morning light to catch the striping along the crest of her neck. Her gaze slides then to Isobell, drawing a kinder smile from the polychromatic mare. "And you, Isobell."

    Turning her golden gaze back to Leilan, Oceane snorts a white cloud from her flared nostrils and shifts her weight on the hardened morning earth. "You are in luck, Castile. I believe Leilan was just about to tell me what he seeks to find in Loess." The pegasi mare smiles at the silver roan, her intrusive inquisitiveness getting the best of her once again.


    @[Leilan] @[Isobell] @[Castile] | speech
    i must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
    and all i ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
    #9
    You’re uncontrollable
    and we are unlovable
    The pretty purple mare responds to his comment - which had in his opinion not needed a response at all - with a lecture. Whoops. Of all things in the world, lectures were the worst! Thankfully, she keeps it short.

    So, he makes an indifferent sound at her words about why crowds are good (he doesn’t like them, obviously - and there’s plenty to learn in the world without needing to get involved with some fifty horses, if you made sure you kept up with the right ones); he’s more interested in why the black-and-white mare is somewhat familiar, even though he is certain he never saw her before.

    That problem is solved when the Loessian ruler arrives; putting one and one together, it is obvious they are related. A low chuckle follows, though he does not comment immediately on the dragon shifter’s dry humour. After all, it’s somewhat true. Though he probably overthinks his coming and going - Leilan doesn’t entirely plan ahead nor picks much of a purpose before heading somewhere. Life is more fun, more unpredictable, that way.

    Anything, not to get bored and lonely.

    ”A pleasure to meet you, Isobell, Oceane.” Sure he can be polite, to those who are to him. He lets Castile greet the mare a moment, thinking perhaps if this is a new recruit he does have a bad timing for coming by today - but she throws him a sassy comment and he can’t help but grin at her when she does, emerald orbs twinkling. ”Any other day I’d say my sole purpose in this world is to add a bit of spice to this sauce, but I see you have it covered.” He then turns his now aqua-coloured gaze on the king of the country. ”You know, visiting friends is a thing, even for monarchs. Since you don’t come to me, I come to you when it suits me.” After all, it never suits Castile so there is no difference to be found there.

    A small movement of his shoulder. ”Been meaning to ask, how are you holding up? I know our last exchange was brief, but haven’t seen much of Loess for a decade or so. Surely things have changed here since Arthas?” Or perhaps not, he muses - the land must be the same, and leadership might have changed, but Loess is still mentioned by the gossipers, and the stories aren’t so unfamiliar. Funny how most of Beqanna’s lands haven’t changed a lot over the years, he muses. Same song, only perhaps played in a different key.

    But the fact is that he always gets intercepted at the border and always gets asked why he’s here, in a tone that suggests he’s not very welcome. And perhaps that is what pulls him back, what makes him keep coming. If only to prove them wrong, maybe? He doesn’t really know. Perhaps not having much of a family left, had set him adrift as well. He’s not opposed to that lifestyle, as he’d always wandered without settling before Brennen actually had a purpose for him. But even then… itchy hooves, he thinks, are both a blessing and a curse.

    Though he also starts to wonder why so many horses think he’s a threat. Perhaps that’s why he asked the fairy for a change… or continued transformation… well, whatever. It’s not important right now.

    and I don’t want you to think that I care
    I never would, I never
    could again
    Leilan
    no. 7 | ice forged in fire


    Have a ramble phone post!
    @[Castile] your turn and I’m too lazy to tag everyone (:
    Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
    |




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