"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
How many years I know I'll bear I found something in the woods somewhere
She has always known about his transgression and she doesn’t hold it against him - never has, never will. It was something they did not discuss and never would: a colt appeared and she took him in as if he were her own and she has not seen the boy since.
They have their own daughter now and Roan has never been happier. Her happiness is overshadowed by the fact that Igni’s birth left her sick and weak and therefore less of a mother than Igni deserved. There is little that she can do to get that time back or solidify that bond between mother and daughter - Igni is her own creature now and so very like her father in that she is bold and dutiful. Roan is proud of how the girl has grown up with only her father to nurture her, and some part of her that she tucks far away and deep inside herself is sad that she was not there to do her part in the girl’s raising.
No matter now, Roan is up and venturing further afield by the day. She ventures far enough now to call to both her mate and their child.
“Brynmor,” she beckons sweetly.
“Igni,” she calls more softly.
And the small bay roan mare waits for her family to come.
She doesn’t have to call for him twice. Nor would she ever whenever he was within the Tundra’s borders. There simply was no way he would keep her waiting, heck, he couldn’t even describe how much joy it brought him to hear her call out to them like this. So Brynmor cuts his conversation short, excuses himself and sets off into the air.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her for so long – in fact, the graying man had kept a close eye on her to make sure she was okay, or at least, not getting worse – but it was for the first time since their daughter’s birth that Roan had called out for him this actively. They had had their sweet moments and their soft talks, but everything in her pace, whenever she was ready. It excited him to learn that she now felt this good and Brynmor desperately wanted to be a part of that moment. During their short talks he had told her about his wings, his promotion and of course their daughter. Igni was quite headstrong and somewhat rebellious, but he had never hidden his pride from his lover. She was their daughter after all.
With a soft thud he lands. Secretly he’s somewhat glad that she hadn’t seen him landing, he still had some trouble landing. Overall Brynmor managed to fly pretty decently by now, but it was the landing that troubled him the most. Once he stands he nickers softly to her, ears pointing forward and an eager look upon his face. ”Roan.” He murmurs her name softly, knowing her sharp hearing would easily pick it up, before gently pressing his nose against hers. He breaths her scent and the blue eyed male even has to close his eyes and hold back a groan. He had missed this so, so much and seeing her this well makes his heart flutter all over again.
Soon his muzzle travels over her cheek, her neck and eventually her withers, before moving back towards her face again. ”I’m glad to see you outside like this. How are you feeling?” He’s still speaking softly, knowing it wasn’t necessary to speak louder and also afraid to ruin the mood and atmosphere.
BRYNMOR
OOC: Sorry for the wait <3. Wanted to get this one up. Igni's will follow this weekend, I think.. Somewhere between horse and work I should have some time to word this saturday..
Igni is probably just as eager to see her mother as her father was, excited and desperate to see her mother. That she would turn two next spring and that she had spent quite a lot time around her mother in the cave didn’t change anything about it. Because she too enjoyed some quality time with her mother. The bond between mother and child just was this strong. Of course Igni loved her dad too, but it was somewhat different. She couldn’t really put it to words, but that was how it was.
When the blue roan girl reaches the spot Roan had called them too, she notices that Brynmor had beat her to it. For a moment she stops, watching them from a little distance, also giving her parents some sweet time together. Her mother had called for them both, but Igni was old enough now to know that she should give them some time. A small smile is toying with the corners of her lips when she decides she has been waiting long enough.
”Ieuw, mom, dad, please go find a private spot if you’re just going to be all mushy mushy and cheesy.” She doesn’t mean it, of course she doesn’t, but that wouldn’t stop her from appearing with a teasing remark. So Igni offers an apologetic grin to her father – she would’ve shrugged if she could – before offering her nose to her mother. ”Mom” she murmurs in almost the same way as her father had done before her.
How many years I know I'll bear I found something in the woods somewhere
Roan is small and alone with the cold until they come.
She doesn’t mind though, it has been that way for her for years.
Maybe, in another year when her strength has come back into her own, they’ll work on giving Igni a sibling. It is a sweet thought that her mind flirts with as she stares blindly at the snow, never seeing how kindly it swirls around her and melts into her skin with familiar little kisses. She tucks this sweet little thought away for another time and listens for her precious family to find her - it doesn’t take them long and she is glad for that.
There is a thud on the rock nearest her and she turns her head towards him, a smile gathering in the corners of her mouth. She cannot see him land but has listened to him talk proudly of all that has happened since she became ill after their daughter’s birth - the wings, the promotion, all of it. She is proud of him too and the name he has made for himself in this cold hard kingdom. Pride and love are tangled up in the lines of her face that have become harsher over the difficult time she has had after the birth, but the way he says her name softens her face back into its old loveliness. Their noses touch and happiness overwhelms her - almost hurts, because she has missed this as much as he has.
His nose roams across her skin and scars until it comes back to her face and she turns to rub her cheek against his own - they don’t have much time together until their daughter will join them and she savors these few precious moments that are just the two of them and the wild wind that blows across the Tundra. “Better than I have been,” she murmurs back to him, keeping the same gentle quiet that permeates the air around them and keeps every hushed and sweet. Her lips slide down his neck to his shoulder, where she presses a long lingering kiss into his fur and just breathes him in - holds his scent in her lungs in a way that she hasn’t done in what feels like forever.
She takes a step back from him when their beautiful daughter joins them, voicing her fake disgust and barely contained joy. She can feel her daughter’s nose touch hers and she just stands there, trading air with the light of her life in such beautiful horseflesh that she cannot see and her heart tightens just a little at what she is missing out on. She has never loathed her blindness but she does just a bit in that moment that she cannot look upon the mare that Igni is growing up to be. Roan doesn’t mean to sigh but disguises it with happiness as she bumps her daughter’s nose and plants a swift kiss on the girl’s cheek knowing that she is getting a little too old for such public displays of affection.
“My daughter,” she murmurs.
“My darling daughter,” and her head swings between the two like a pendulum weighted by her love for these two horses, her heart brimming with joy that she is still with them and not defeated by the sickness that sapped her of strength and almost of life itself. She can do little but smile and look between them into complete darkness but to her, they are two pinpoints of brightness in her life and she has never been happier to stand there between them, touching noses and just breathing in the smells of them.
Her touch leaves a tingling sensation wherever her muzzle travels. He breaths in her scent as he eagerly pushes his nose against her, exploring her all over again. It is not like they hadn’t been around each other during this hard time, but to see her up and this well has his insides flutter all over again. Off course Roan had always been Roan and he loved her dearly, but seeing her like this meant more to him than anybody could imagine. Brynmor can see how the traces of her illness disappear from her face – at least momentarily – when she smiles. He cannot help but to grin back, although he’s aware of the fact that she cannot see it, he simply can’t stop it from spreading upon his lips.
He grows somewhat excited, like he’s still young and cannot keep his emotion in check, but unable to get the excitement and tension out by moving he just stands at her side, electricity almost noticeable in the air. ”You look better too, healthier, livelier.” Almost like the Roan he had met when he still had been blind. Not that he had taken in her appearance them, but although her somewhat timid nature she had been witty. Not to forget to mention that the spark was still there, or at least, Brynmor still felt it. Igni arrives way too soon for his liking, but it wouldn’t be fair to keep Roan busy and to himself, their daughter had just as much the right to spend time with the bay roan mare.
Igni was a roan, just like her mother, except for the fact that she had a black base, which he assumed came from himself. That was only a guess though, he only knew himself as a gray, when his coat still had had some color his eyes had only seen the darkness. The gift to see had only come later. With those same eyes he watches mother and daughter, stepping back a little, but never too far. His muzzle lingers upon her shoulder, not yet ready to pull away from his lover entirely. Except for a short moment when he moves towards Igni, brushing his muzzle across his daughter’s cheek – opposite from Roan.
Hearing her speak he chuckles lightly, playfully nipping at her withers. ”Our daughter” he teases. It is impossible for him to express how he feels right now. Roan is finally showing signs of improvement and he cannot only share his joy with her only, but also their daughter. Although Igni’s birth had partily been the cause of Roan’s illness, the blue roan girl is an outcome of their love.
Her stomach flutters in excitement and she can barely keep calm as her nose is gently pressed against her mother’s. Finally, finally the day has come that she can have some real time with her mother. Now her father was there with them too she couldn’t really call it quality time with her mother, but this was already better than it had ever been. Of course Igni had spent time around her mother, like every child she had needed the bay roan mare to keep her alive and fed. Yet they hadn’t done anything together. That could finally change now and although they couldn’t go on far adventures – Igni was sure that her dad wouldn’t allow that – she was eager to learn from her mother.
A smile spread upon her lips, but other than that the blue roan girl stands still, allowing her mother to explore her. Meanwhile she does the same in return, eagerly moving her muzzle across Roan’s skin, wherever she could touch. ”You look better, mom. Are you really getting better?” She doesn’t asks out of concern, which she of course is, but Igni desperately needs to hear her mother confirm it. Roan just had to get better, it pained the young mare to see her mother ill and weak. During times like this she felt so small, like she still depended on her mother, but she just really needs to hear her mother tell her that she’s alright and that nothing would be able to bring her down.
”How have you been, dad?” You couldn’t really blame her that she only properly greets her father only now. Brynmor had always been there, watching over her, guiding her, learning her things. It was natural for him to be there, but it was something new that her mother joined them. And Igni wanted to include the bay roan mare from now on, as she seemed strong enough to be out more often.
