08-21-2015, 02:28 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-21-2015, 07:08 PM by Wayra.)
 Wayra’s stomach did little flips, and she tried to keep the awkward butterflies from making their way onto her face. She was far, far too old for this, and she knew it well enough. There were lines that shouldn't be crossed, and this was certainly one of them.
But she just couldn’t help it.
Wayra assured herself that she wasn’t the first filly to follow her sire around and probably wouldn’t be the last. What else was she going to do? She did, however, wish he hadn’t chosen the Chamber. She’d heard stories about this place, and most of them were not good. But, it was this or the Field, and there was no way she was going there.
No, she certainly did not want to be in the Field. Everyone was rather randy this time of year. It wouldn’t due for her to be set upon by some stallion and his uncontrollable urges. Wayra quickly stopped that train of thought. Thinking like that would do her no good.
Yet, as Wayra made her way through the trees, she couldn’t help but wonder if she shouldn’t have taken her chances, uncontrollable urges or not. There was mist everywhere so much so that she didn’t know if she was going in the right direction. Certainly someone would find her, should she get lost. Certainly someone must know how to get to the Chamber, or how to get out of it if entrance was not to be had. They would probably take one look at her, a coltish little mare whose tail wasn’t fully grown in, and laugh until they were sick. Three years of age and she still had little tufts of baby fur. Wayra made a face. It was really quite embarrassing.
She stumbled along for a few more agonizing minutes until the mist began to clear. Not entirely, but enough so that she could find her way. It was not as bad as she had originally thought. The pine trees gave way to something like a meadow. She felt her heart clench slightly. She had grown up in the Meadow. Were it not for the passing of time she would still be there. She cast her eyes around then did a double take.
Is that a burning tree?
Wayra’s expression turned pained. Yes, she definitely should have taken her chances with the randy stallions. Surely they could be discouraged. Her scraggly tail would probably be enough to turn away all but the most determined. An eternally burning tree, however, was a problem Wayra was not prepared to overcome. She looked at it for a long time, trying to keep a look of distress from her face. She was a guest here after all.
Wayra not all who wander are lost
Burning on, just like a match you strike to incinerate the lives of everyone you know.
And what's the worst you take from every heart you break? And like
the blade you stain, well, I've been holding on tonight.
He had grown quite comfortable amongst the shady sanctuary that the tall pines offered him. His day-blindness was soothed by the heavily shadowed areas scattered throughout the forest and he shamelessly made use of them quite frequently. The shadow tendrils were quite happy to brush past him as he made followed a path towards more so towards the center of the kingdom. He easily recognized a lingering scent in the breeze and he was delighted by it.
Although Michaelis might come across as standoffish at times, he was a family man at heart. He would surround himself with all his children if he had it his way. Unfortunately, not all of them agreed with his desires and he only saw some of them every once in a while. His most recent children were well on their way to leaving the nest. Nebibi had argued valiantly to be allowed to go her own way, which he had, of course, disagreed with. But he failed to win the argument. Luciferin was much too young yet to leave his mother – which left Wayra.
Wayra was the opposite of her sister in many ways. She was more of a cautious sort and much too sweet, in his opinion, to be allowed to venture into the outside world just yet. Of course, he hated the very idea of it for his own selfish reasons. But he knew she was turning out to be a young lady now and he must allow her to make her own way into the world. Which was why he was surprised to have caught her scent.
Despite Wayra’s reservations about the place, Michaelis really didn’t have a distinct path that he followed. Whether they are considered light or dark, he made his decisions based on what the situation called for at the time. He wasn’t much of an instigator; but he was happy to throw his lot into something that he found worthwhile. And Engelfors had done a fine job in convincing him that this kingdom was growing.
He steps into the clearing and mismatched eyes settle upon the familiar form of his daughter. The blue roan smiles with joy and approaches the nervous girl quickly. “Wayra!” He has always been unreserved with his physical affections – his face against her neck, a teasing pull at her forelock, and a reassuring nudge to her cheek. Although he welcomed her presence, he was honestly surprised to see her again this soon.
“I thought you would have followed after Nebibi by now?”
Michaelis
( The Shadow Child )
08-22-2015, 03:57 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-22-2015, 03:59 AM by Wayra.)
Sometimes Wayra thought she must inconstant, for as quickly as she slipped towards anxiety and fear, she flipped to happiness and joy. It was like that upon seeing Michaelis. A flood of relief washed through her, and not just because his company took the edge off a place that felt vaguely foreboding, if not outright predatory. She had been alone, and that had been been enough. She could have been standing on heaven’s own clouds, and if she were alone, she may as well be standing beneath this rather morbid, burning tree. In her case, the devil was not in the details. He was in the center of every empty room and crowd of unfamiliar faces.
”Oh, Dad!” She cried, unable to remember that she was quite grown up, and no longer a child. His dear blue form, so like her own, was enough to make her feel home again. She giggled as he tugged at her forelock.
“Daaad." She complained, with no real bite to her words.
“You’ll mess it up.” She hardly needed to be told that ship had sailed. But, she shook her head anyways, trying to make the silky strands lay as they should. Greetings done, she watched him, a happy smile on her face. That smile quickly disappeared when he mentioned Nebibi.
When they met again Wayra would have some terse, shrill words to say to her sister. What on earth had possessed her? The Field? Really? Hadn’t Nebibi been the one who told her all those stories about what some unprincipled stallions would do to unsuspecting mares? Had she just been trying to scare her? Wayra couldn’t be sure. Fillies had a way of talking. Stories got passed around then exaggerated grotesquely. Wayra couldn’t alway remember what had been Meadow gossip and what had been heartfelt warning. She sighed, and hoped Nebibi knew what she was doing.
“I don’t know, Dad. The field? I tried to go with her, really I did, but when I got there I just couldn’t.”
Wayra tried not to worry. She, herself, had no idea what she was doing, but that didn’t necessarily mean Nebibi was as lost. No, her sister had always had a determined air about her. She knew her own mind. Wayra was still trying to figure hers out. She had been scowling for longer than she should have, but at least she wasn’t staring at the tree any longer.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with myself in the Field. I’ve never been any good at that sort of thing.”She paused, stumbling over her words.
“You know, introductions and the like.” She trailed off again, and was struck by a horrible thought.
“You’re not mad, are you? That I followed you here? I don’t want to intrude…”
Wayra had to get a grip, she knew that. But, nothing had prepared her for this moment. One minute she was attached at the hip to her mother and sister and the next she was supposed to go confidently into the world.
Who does that?
Wayra not all who wander are lost
Burning on, just like a match you strike to incinerate the lives of everyone you know.
And what's the worst you take from every heart you break? And like
the blade you stain, well, I've been holding on tonight.
He smiled amusedly at her half-hearted complaints. He was mischievous at heart and thoroughly enjoyed messing with his children. How else was he supposed to have some fun? “All right, Miss Priss. Let me fix it for you.” Michaelis gently threads through her mane and settles it into some semblance of order. It wouldn’t do for such a pretty girl to not appear at her best after all.
He wonders at her abrupt change of mood when he mentioned Nebibi. Did they perhaps have a falling out? The blue roan wasn’t too happy to see any discord amongst those he considered to be his. But her next couple of sentences alerts him to where the heart of the problem lay. Wayra had always been of the cautious sort as compared to her more wayward sister. He knew the meadow was a place of rumors and stories and these stories could translate into scary things for a young girl. She had been a fretful child; Michaelis was often soothing her childish fears. He supposed her attachment to her could be attributed to the way he would often coddle her.
But a father couldn’t help but try and be the dark knight for one of his precious children.
He nuzzles her cheek once and sighs. What to do with this child so full of doubts? “Nonsense, silly girl. Of course I’m delighted you’re here.” He steps back and eyes her accordingly. It’s time she tried to make some sort of life decision. He knows it’s hard to find your own way into the world. But it is something that is done by many others time and time again. There comes a time when the fledgling grows too large for the nest and must learn to flap its wings if it did not want to starve.
He tries to keep a stern expression but his mismatched eyes radiant his deep affection for her. How could he not favor his blue little girl who would constantly trail after him? She was the only one of his children to be blue like him and his own father.
“Oh Blue. If not the field, then where will you find a home? Do you plan to stay with your mother? Or do you find the chamber more to your liking? I worry about you, you know. I’m more than happy to help if you are uncertain about something.”
Michaelis
( The Shadow Child )
Wayra felt her world shift into place, like the tumblers in a lock when fitted with the key. One by one the remnants of her loneliness began to ease. Her worry for her sister, her walk through the mist, even this feverishly burning tree seemed like one more thing she could handle. Each piece seemed like less of a burden.
Her dad was here now. Surely, if there was anything to worry about he would tell her so? If he wasn’t worried for Nebibi, then did she have any right to be? He didn’t seem to think the burning tree would fall down around them, so suddenly it seemed less likely that it would do so.
For a child on the brink of adulthood, it was a relief to put off some some of her concern. To be a little girl again, if only for a moment. With a happy sigh she leaned into his nuzzle. This, this is why she had come. She was glad he did not mind that she had followed him, and in truth, she had found it impossible to believe that he would. When faced with the full force of his fathering, Wayra felt guilty that she had ever doubted it.
She watched with wide eyes as he tried to school his face to sternness. Not wanting to take advantage of the warm welcome she had received, Wayra tried to assume a serious expression of her own. She wanted to be with her father, but she did not want him to think her incapable of being on her own, whether or not it was true. She wanted him to be proud of her, and apparently that meant making life decisions.
Wayra bit her lip. She had been prepared to look serious, but she was not sure she was prepared to answer the questions he posed to her. She had only thought about getting here, she had not given much thought to what happened next. Did she want to stay with her mother? No, she didn’t think she wanted that. She loved her mother, but being with Mom just reminded her that Nebibi was not. Her mother had always meant her, Nebibi and Wayra together. Where there had once been three she could not imagine two.
Did she want to stay here?
Wayra wasn’t sure about that either. But, with a flash of realization, she found she didn’t want to leave either. She didn’t want to leave Dad, certainly, but it was more than that. The boy she had met, Vercingetorix, she found she rather liked him. She knew only two people in the Chamber, him and her father. She liked them both. It wasn’t a lot, but it was something.
She wasn’t prepared to admit it, but there was something else as well. Something alluring about the tall, tall trees, and the black, black birds, accursed though they were.
Wayra sighed. Was she a fool? Staying here because of her father, a boy, and the alluring look of pine? Slowly, and with a great deal of consideration Wayra murmured.
“I won’t pretended to be a warrior…or a diplomat.” Wayra winced, she was making this every bit as hard as it needed to be.
“I won’t say that I’ll be of any use…but do you think I could stay here? At least for now?”
Would they even let her stay? If it was up to her father Wayra was pretty certain she wouldn’t be packed off, but there were a lot of other horses here, and they had very little reason to love her.
“I promise I won’t cause any trouble, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll leave.” She looked up at him hopefully. A little more time, she just needed a little more time.
Wayra not all who wander are lost
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