all of my devils are free at last
all my secrets revealed

One minute, Time is before her - the next, she is in the midst of the forest. For a moment, she simply blinks, attempting to comprehend her surroundings. When she realizes she is back in the forest, back in the very place (the very time) she had been taken from, she releases a breath she feels as though she has been holding for ages.

Birds continue on from their frozen flight and leaves flutter to the ground, the feeling of time continuing unaffected far too surreal given the events of the past few days (weeks? Hours? Seconds? So hard to tell). That so much could have happened, yet nothing in the world had changed seems too odd to be real.

But perhaps odd is subjective. This is Beqanna after all. She is a mare colored purple and gray surrounded by those gifted with the fantastical. Perhaps saving Time’s beloved is but a small feat in this land of eternal strangeness.

Taking another deep breath, she closes her eyes briefly as she basks in the warmth of the sun. For some reason, the light of that brilliant orb feels different. Feels somehow… familiar.

She soaks it in, a slow smile curving her red-tinged lips. With her eyes closed and head tilted up towards the call of that warm light, she does not realize that she has begun to glow. A glow that radiates from her with the very essence of the sun.

divide

all of my devils are free at last
all my secrets revealed

For her entire life, she had been a wanderer. Small feet carrying her through far-reaching fields and close, sheltered glens. Her life had been a blur of days, of sunrises and birdsong, of sunsets and stormclouds. Until Time had found her, snatching her from her cozy little world and placing her on a perilous path.

Somehow, she had arrived victorious. Somehow, she had braved terrors and defeated monsters. The small girl of purple-red and gray, with no particular abilities or special skills, had faced fear, had faced death, and won.

She hasn’t yet realized she has returned to this world changed. Different in a wholly fundamental way that would no doubt affect the entirety of her future. But she soon would, and oh what a glory it would be. For now though, she is a simple girl basking in one of life’s simple joys. Her bones are weary, and though skin has been knitted and healed, she can still feel the phantom pain of bruised and torn flesh. But she is happy. Truly, remarkably happy.

She could finally say that she has accomplished something. That her life has given meaning to another.

When a newcomer speaks beside her, she starts rather violently, delicately formed head whipping around, small frame shying sideways, and gray eyes widening in alarm. The light abruptly dissipates, scattering into the ether as though it had never been.

Breathing out a laugh, she shakes her head as her eyes catch on the dipped head of pale stallion. One whose words are mild and quaintly spoken. Not to mention quite flattering.

She is not used to being flattered.

She offers him a bit of a wry smile, her puce form relaxing as the realization sinks in that no threat is imminent. ”Oh no,” she responds, a faint note of humor evident in her voice. ”I am none of those things, I promise you.”

She smiles then, a true, deep smile filled with natural warmth. ”I’m Divide. It’s nice to meet you Orion.”

divide

all of my devils are free at last
all my secrets revealed

Her bright smile broadens as she turns the full weight of her attention onto her newest acquaintance. She ducks her head a bit beneath his compliments, gray eyes drifting downwards a bit bashfully until she forces them back up to meet his. His words are soft and smoothly spoken, apologies freely offered for any fright he might have given her.

Shaking her head a bit, she laughs wryly before demuring, ”Oh no. You did not disturb me at all. I was just a bit… well, distracted.”

Shifting, she glances at the trees around her. They are redolent with scent, busy with birds that fly to and fro and the occasional flicker of a small woodland creature scurrying through the brush. As far as she can tell, there is no one else nearby. They are quite alone.

Which is good, because she is not entirely certain she should be sharing stories of her recent escapades. But Orion is so friendly and sweet. She feels she could quite comfortably share her secrets with him (though she has few).

”You see,” she continues, glancing furtively around once more before her gaze jumps back to the gray stallion. ”I just came from… somewhere else.” Her gaze turns a bit distant as she tries to figure out a good way to explain where she had been. Abruptly, she shakes her head once more and lets out another soft laugh. ”You know, I’m not entirely sure I can explain where I was. Far, far away, I suspect.”

She smiles then, gaze turning once again slightly bashful. ”I apologize for going on so,” she goes on, a bit deprecatingly this time. ”I’m just bursting I suppose. Can’t seem to keep it to myself.”

divide

all of my devils are free at last
all my secrets revealed

She has never truly had friends before. Never had someone to share her secrets with. She had wandered too much for such luxuries. It is a novel experience, but one she finds she enjoys immensely. She could quite easily get used to this.

Her smile softens and warms as her eyes once again rise to meet Orion’s. The deep gray hue is bright with excitement, with shared conspiracy, with the delight of a newfound friend. She inches a bit closer, a quiet almost-giggle escaping her lips. The sound surprises her. Such a girlish thing, that laughter, and it causes another, more robust chuckle to escape.

”Oh, goodness,” she adds hastily, realizing belatedly how her laughter must sound. ”Please don’t think me loony. I swear I’m not. It’s just that… I haven’t laughed in so long.” She pauses then, features turning reflective, bright gaze distant and tone musing. ”It feels nice.”

Orion’s kindness brings her inching a bit closer however, head ducked and smile conspiratorial. She could talk all day, especially to a listening ear. One of her many faults (and one of the many ways in which she is less than an angel). ”Well, it sounds absolutely preposterous when put into words, I’m sure,” she continues, voice soft but echoing with excitement. ”But I was sent to rescue someone! A woman, actually. She was very kind, and good. She was… a, well… I’m not really sure. Something of a timekeeper I suppose?”

Her gaze turns wistful then, losing focus as a soft, pensive sigh escapes her lips. ”It was quite sad actually. A love story gone wrong.”

divide

all of my devils are free at last
all my secrets revealed

He is good to listen to her babble on so. And she can certainly babble. It’s not something she has truly had much cause to note before as she had been so often alone. But the way the words simply wish to spill from her lips is rather astounding. To her at least, if to no one else.

And he is so very good at it. Listening that is. All encouragement and responsiveness. She might wonder if she speaks only utter nonsense were it not so. Indeed, it sounds rather nonsensical to her, but she is not one to complain if her will listen so freely.

Her lips quirk a bit as his head ducks, blue gaze meeting gray as she lifts her own eyes. It is not in her nature to remain melancholy for long, so his words easily serve to lift her spirits. ”Oh, you are too kind Orion.” And though her gaze remains a bit wistfully distant, the sadness eases from her features.

”In this case though, I am not entirely sure it will. It is good to have hope though,” she continues, a soft, breathy sigh escaping purple lips as her gaze shifts to stare off into the distance of the dark forest. ”She is trapped at the end of time, you see. A place her love cannot go and a place she cannot leave.”

Her gaze shifts back to his, a small, half-smile tilting her lips. ”I offered to stay for her, but I do not believe I was equipped for such a task. I wish I had been though. Much better me, a nobody, be trapped there than such a lovely creature with such abiding love.”

divide