"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
”Absolutely!” she says at the mare’s question. It wasn’t uncommon for mares to come and spend some time in the Jungle before deciding if they wanted to stay or not. If you ask Rhy, she can’t imagine leaving, now that’s spent some time there. It is a bit much at first, and while some fall in love with it instantly, others take time to decide. It’s hot and loud and definitely not the typical lifestyle of a horse. But Rhy finds that everywhere else is just cold and quiet now. For her, the Jungle is normal.
“Come on, I’ll give you a tour.” she smiles, nodding out of the field, leading the mare toward the Jungle. It’s not a short walk, sadly, but Rhy uses the time to point out kingdoms and important areas as they pass, answering any questions Anahi might have as well.
Eventually, the trees loom in front of them, the heat already growing even outside the tree border. It’s a thick, wet kind of heat that gets worse as they enter the trees. Rhy slows down considerably, allowing Anahi to take her time navigating the trees and the undergrowth. She keeps going, leading the other mare into the heart of the Jungle, where the trees thin, and everything around them is green with pops of bright colored flowers and birds, and a river that runs through the center of the kingdom. “Welcome to the Jungle. You can stay as long as you want, until you decide what you think.”
Anahi couldn't help but smile at Rhy's sudden display of enthusiasm. With an eager spring on her step, the champagne mare followed after the palomino mare. Even Anahi had to admit to herself, she was rather curious about what this place was like. She didn't have an opinion on the stallion thing 100% yet, but had a feeling she would soon, after seeing what it was like.
As they neared the Jungle, Anahi could feel her body temperature rising. This was definitely not an environment that she was used to. A thin line of sweat was already forming on her neck, but she also supposed it was from all the walking they had done to get here. Even with the hot temperature, she'd cool off eventually.
Upon reaching the tree line, Anahi felt a bit hesitant; she was not accustomed to any environment that had this. However, once she'd gotten her hooves underneath her securely, she'd stepped over the intrusive tree roots, and caught up to Rhy. When the reached the Jungle's heart, Anahi gasped at how wonderful the sight was.
"It's absolutely beautiful," she stated in an admiring tone, clearly impressed with this place, disregarding the heat of course.
02-21-2016, 03:27 PM (This post was last modified: 02-21-2016, 05:49 PM by Draconis.)
But the night fades away and gives way to the day
It had been a bit of time since the young mare had last seen Rhy, her guardian/adoptive mother, and she wonders if this was because the older female was off visiting the Field. The notion makes her think back to the day Rhy had found her in the Den, where she'd ended up after wandering off from her mother in the middle of the night on a self-appointed quest. She had never seen Shadowsilk again after that night, and her memories of the unicorn mare were becoming few and faded things, kept up on a high shelf and looked upon, but not to be taken down and played with lest they break from their fragility. Rhy was her mother now, in all ways except blood, and that was not always a binding tie. There were foals who lived with their birth parents, lived unhappy and tragic lives. Not that Shadowsilk had been such a parent, but blood was not always best.
Deciding to try and see if the gold and white mare had returned to the Jungle from wherever it was she had gone off to, Draconis ventures to the main gathering area. It seems luck is on her side today, for as she meanders through the open space, so rare in this tropical kingdom, she spots Rhy, along with another mare who she doesn't recognize. Perhaps she was a new recruit? The fire-breathing girl advances towards them, smiling. She had attended a certain meeting while Rhy was away, and she watches the gold and white mare for her reaction to the tiny flower and dragon that now adorned Draconis' ebony chest, hoping that she has made her adoptive mother proud by pledging herself. She nickers a greeting to the two before her, before speaking aloud. "Mother! Hello, welcome home. " She turns her attention towards the unfamiliar mare. "Hello, I'm Draconis. Are you new here? What's your name? Welcome to the Jungle, I hope you like it here. "
Anahi’s reaction is not uncommon. Most find this kingdom beautiful, and often, that is enough to keep them. First they see the beauty of the trees and the brush and the flowers. And then they meet the Sisters, learn what kind of family this place can offer. It’s far from traditional, certainly. But for Rhy, who’d hardly had a family at all, this place was heaven. The Sisters had accepted Rhy unconditionally (despite the electric in her veins that had scared everyone else away).
“You get used to the heat,” she adds with a grin. Rhy’s hardly broken a sweat at all, but of course, this is pretty normal to her at this point. She’d spent most of her life in the Jungle (some fourteen years or so at this point). She’s about to speak again when she hears Mother!, accompanied by a friendly nicker.
Rhy turns, a smile already on her face, knowing who she’s going to find at the other end of that greeting. Only Draconis calls her mother, after all, and it’s been some time since Rhy has seen the girl. She isn’t the world’s greatest mother, with so much of her time taken by the Jungle, but she tries her best. And if nothing else, she loves the girl more fiercely than she ever thought possible. It doesn’t matter that the black girl isn’t her own flesh and blood. Not even a little bit.
“Well well Draconis,” she says at the girl approaches, reaching down to brush her muzzle against the dragon on Draconis’ side. “I see you’ve decided to stay. I admit, I’m rather happy about that.” She turns back to Anahi, feeling bad for getting distracted, but it’s hard not to be thrilled that Draconis had taken the oath. Rhy had only wished she’d been here to see it. But still.
“Draconis, this is Anahi. She’s here to check the place out.” Rhy smiles, and then nods at the tattoo on Draconis. Rhy has her own as well, the matching red flower blooming on her chest, though on her side is a raging electric storm. It’s grown over the years from a small thing that sat just on her shoulder, to a nearly constantly moving storm that covers half her side. “These are a product of taking the oath. Sisters swear their loyalty to the Jungle, and if you ever leave, the tattoos become a large red X on your chest. But no one is forced into taking the oath unless they feel ready to do so.”
The champagne mare heard the nicker as well, and turned to look in the direction it had come from. An appaloosa was approaching them, a female by the looks of her. Anahi was briefly taken aback by the unusual coloring of her coat, but before she could make a small comment, the new arrival was on her with a rapid series of questions.
Rhy jumped in and answered a few of them before Anahi got tongue-tied. The champagne mare sent her a grateful glance before looking back at Draconis.
"I am new here, but this place is gorgeous; I have no doubt I will like it very much here," she stated with a smile.
Hearing Rhy speak about the tattoos, and noticing the ones both Rhy herself and Draconis possessed, Anahi formed another question.
"Are these... tattoos, unique to each individual?"
