AuroraElis

The galaxies shine brilliantly overhead as the pair rest.  The rise and fall of her chest is steady throughout the night, hinting that she is very much still alive.  Winters end is nearing, and the chill tonight is tolerable, but the shared warmth is welcoming between them. 

-

Her dreams come and go tonight.  Bits of the day replay, mixed with harsh realities of her past.  They are playing in the river, laughing without care.  Then suddenly there is fire surrounding them.  The trees are engulfed within moments and they are trapped.  Luckily the water keeps them safe as they huddle together watching the smoke swirl around them.  The fear and shear panic in Jacks eyes as he is frozen in place has her whispering reassurances out loud. "It'll be ok Jack.  We will make it I promise," her words are barely audible against the babbling of the river in the distance.

Her dream then shifts from a blazing inferno to a grassy meadow.  They are grazing lazily in the mid-summer heat.  Her ivory tail flicks to brush flies from her legs as she munches on the tall grasses.  Trees line the northern edge of the meadow beckoning them to seek shelter within their shade.  Her head rises as she whickers gently.  Her ears flicker to the sound of children laughing.  Her head turns in confusion, her eyes finding two red and white foals coming to her side.  The moment of confusion turns to clarity as she acknowledges knowing these children as hers.  Jack is not far from her side as she looks to the tree line once again.  Her mind wills her to move forward and towards the trees but she remains unmoved, staring into the dark shadows of the forest.  There is a faint glow, a pair of red dots seemingly floating in the darkness.  Explanation escapes her but she feels fear.  The emotions curls within her.  Rising like the flame of the inferno.  She wants to scream, but there is no sound that escapes her lips no matter how hard she tries.  Panic begins to swell now.  So much so that her conscious mind jolts her awake...

-

It is hardly dawn when she comes to.  Her legs thrash to find the ground and seek footing upon it.  Quickly she rises, her feathered gown shuffling in the process.  The look on her face is panicked as her eyes scan the area.  Her mind trying to place her in reality or dream.  Carmel ears twist side to side; forward to back.  She then sees Jack, his large stature hard to misplace.  "Jack!" She says hastily, "What happened?  Are you ok?"  In her confusion she forgets she was the one who had been in pain, though it was in her nature to confirm others wellbeing before her own.

Not all that glitters is gold

AuroraElis

When she comes to she hardly realizes she had been holding her breath until she hears Jack offering comforting words.  She exhales deeply, a puff of white vapor casting to the dawn, before drawing in a breath, now realizing she is awake and what he says is true.  

Her balance is remarkably steady for all that has transpired.  The healing magic given to her by the fairies had renewed her physical state so now it was only the mental she need deal with now.  Her golden flecked eyes find Jacks as he is nuzzling her.  "B-But it was so real!  They were there. The twins.  And you, you were there," the memories flash through her mind like still frames.  "A-and there was someone, something else there too... In the darkness.  I saw it," she explains.  The twins!  Her necks curls to bring her muzzle to brush her side.  Her ears flicker as her minds sifts through more memories.  The beach.  The injured horse.  The words whispered into her unconscious mind now scream at her.  I will be back for what is mine.  Her eyes widen as she realizes what the words truly meant...

"I'm fine.  This is fine.  We are fine.  Everything is fine," she manages a halfhearted smile even in her whispered ramblings. She regains composure as she looks again to Jack, "It was just a dream.  A silly dream."  She musters a light laugh before looking to the rising sun.

Not all that glitters is gold

AuroraElis

The moments pass as a whirlwind and she realizes she hasn't explained much very well.  She smiles warmly at his remark.  She never thought herself to be pretty.  Though the feathers did help.  She sees his embarrassment and is quick to respond, "Thank you."  Her head lowers to his with a smile, her eyes searching his face as he asks what twins are.  She hadn't considered he didn't know what it meant.  "Oh... Umm it means I'm pregnant with not one but two foals," her expression goes stoic as she thinks of what she said could sound like.  Quickly she offers more explanation, or what she could fathom as explanation, "right before we met, on the beach, there was this injured horse... Well I thought he was injured.  I went to go help him.  He looked...dead almost, but he wasn't... I guess.  His eyes, they... glowed red."  Her mind searches thru more memories, digging as deep as she can, "All I remember is leaning to help him up and then everything went black.  B-but I remember him whispering something... Or I dreamed it maybe, I'm not sure."  Her brow furrows in confusion and frustration, "He must have done something to me Jack.  There is no other reason I would be pregnant..."  Her eyes look into his to see if he understood now, or perhaps to see any other reaction he may have...

Not all that glitters is gold

AuroraElis

Her body shifts as she relieves her weight from one to the other, tipping a rear hoof to rest it while the other holds the burden of her heavier than normal mass.  Her ears flicker as he reaches to press his muzzle to her side.  It had been nearly a decade since another had touched her so kindly.  She smiles briefly but as she listens to him speak of her dream and the red eyes it fades.  Could this stranger on the beach have been the thing that hid within the shadows of her dreams?  She supposed it could be possible, so she replies simply, "Yes in my dream there was a pair of glowing red dots in the depths of the trees.  I suppose they could have been eyes glowing against the darkness."  

Concern wrinkles her features as she thinks.  That is until Jack presents her with an apple from a nearby tree.  A warm smile erases the concerned expression when he speaks.  "Aw thank you Jack," her head lowers to the rosy treat and gingerly bites it in half.  The sun was beginning to rise higher into the sky.  Her gaze glances around the area, "Maybe we should continue north?  There is a meadow not far from here that should have plenty to eat... Now that I'm eating for three it might not be a bad idea."

Not all that glitters is gold

AuroraElis

She decides on a path that is north bound, winding along the river.  Her gown of emerald and sapphire envelopes her body in a cloaking embrace.  When the fairies had gifted her the wings upon her arrival, they were simply to conceal her scarred hide, not to fly.  They feathers were long and flimsy, only holding enough together to create the gown in which she wore.  They shifted easily and were quite weightless to carry, upon her back which was a godsend with the extra pounds she carried within her.  With each stride they shift, the very tips trailing slightly behind her like the train of a fine dress.

She choosen her path carefully, but it is not without the usual dangers.  Loose stones, hidden rodent holes, and even creatures could pose a threat at any moment.  She doesn't hear the faint rattle alerting them to danger, but Jack does.  He springs before her, stopping her in her tracks.  She slides onto her hunches, her body half rearing and twisting away from him.  Her peripheral vision catches sight of the serpent attached to Jacks leg.  Her nostrils flare as she snorts in alarm, turning herself in a 360-degree circle until she is faces him again.  The snake is now dead in the brush as she rushes to Jacks side, "Jack!  Are you ok?  How bad is it?"  Her face lowers to see the blood staining his white socks red.  She can see the puncture wounds and slight swelling beginning to inflame his tendons.  "This doesn't look good at all," she says, concern in her voice.  Usually, she would ask for permission before calling forth her magic, but time is of the essence.  "Hold still Jack, I promise this won't hurt," the powers within her crawl forth.  They brush along his flesh before penetrating deep within the veins.  The snakes' venom was already making its way to other parts of his body.  The magic begins to destroy the poison and repair the damage.  The swelling slowly subsides and the wounds eclose.  Her breathing shallows as the energy from her drains.  All that remains is the blood stains as she stumbles forward from exhaustion.  Even though she has spent years, decades even, strengthening her magic, it still takes a toll on her just the same. "There, all better," she says breathlessly as she looks to Jack to see that he is alright.

Not all that glitters is gold