silver rings and gypsy bells; nevi - Maribel - 06-18-2016
i was born in the arms of imaginary friends,
free to roam; made a home out of everywhere i've been.
»«
The once small palomino child had grown. She was cresting her second year of life and the once ungainly and sharp points of foal-hood had smoothed and become slender. The long young mare sees now her little brother. Pale blue eyes seek out the dusted black form as she moves over the drying grasses of the Tundra.
In fact, Mari had not seen her father for a bit of time either but he was always so busy. Her features are clouded for a moment but it is immediately cleared when she thinks she sees her brother. "Nevi!" The soprano tones launch his name excitedly. The honey silk gold of her skin shifts excitedly to an ombre'ing pale blue hinting across her crest and hips to rich cloudless blue sky day tapering to the tips of her hooves. The shock of her platinum hair resembles the fat, white marshmallow clouds floating over her skin.
The young mare begins to cover the ground at a quicker pace as she is overwhelmed to see the growing boy. Their other siblings were off on their own agendas and even as Mari started to accept suitors, she still thought of her brother...her best friend.
I know you're trying to fight when you feel like flying.
It's rare for me to be out and about in the Tundra, especially on such a lovely day. A clear blue sky accented by fluffy white clouds—normally with this kind of weather I'd either be curled up in a cave somewhere or off exploring Beqanna. Today I'm not in the mood for the dark isolation of my favorite cave—though if I did make my way to one, maybe Lee would come and find me, and that thought does interesting things to my insides.
Um.
Clearing my throat, I look around, part of me needing to make sure no one overheard that confusing little whisper of a thought. Holding her in the dark, her skin on mine, the smell of her hair and the feel of her pressed against me, it's...private. Mine. I tuck it away inside and it keeps the dark parts company, an almost unsettling warmth in my chest where nothing but desperate, aching loneliness once was.
As I look around, I hear a clear, high voice call my name. Mari. I can't help but grin as she runs toward me, her golden coat shifting to match the blue of the sky. I love that about her; she so easily wears her joy on her skin for the whole world to see. I have never been so brave, nor so innocent. And I'm so damn glad she still is. My lovely Mari. Before long, those eager strides carry her to my side, and when she's next to me I wrap myself around her in a huge hug. “Hello, rainbow-girl. How are you today?”
Who cares if hell awaits?
We're having drinks at heaven's gate.
The warmth of his skin against her own is something like a comfort blanket. Against his skin, she is pressing her face and inhaling his scent, the velvet lips nipping at his tangled mane and giving it a little ruffle. She presses her thin form against his fully. "I have missed you Nevi." Her voice muffled as she rubs her cheek against the thickness of his neck, lips tugging at the skin playfully. Where a small gangling colt once stood was now that of a stallion. Maribel can not help but giggle as his skin prickled against her and she could not seem to bear pulling herself from his side. "I am much better now that I've seen you." The honey dipped form unsticks herself enough to look to the silvery dark features of the young male, her eyes glinting with happiness and her heart practically bursting with excitement.
"It seems like everyone is so busy or just...gone." The dip in her voice towards the end of the sentence give way to her concern. It had been nipping at her lately that the tundra was quiet and Mari saw her siblings less and less. Thank goodness Nevi was still here. The slight frown that touched her lips is quickly banished when she sees him looking at her. "At least we have each other." A small, hopeful smile curls her the very edges of her lips as she looks to Nevi but there was a heaviness in her breast. It had been sometime since Maribel had seen Isle or Australis or Lee or even little Argo. Her body shivers impulsively at the thought of being left alone.
Being alone flooded thoughts of the Den from when she was a child. Mari would never ever ever live like that again.
Alone.
Quiet.
Vulnerable.
A rush of breath on her next inhale scatters the memories like dry autumn leaves and the exhale rids them from her mind. She needed to not think of such things when she was with Nevi. He would never abandon her.
I know you're trying to fight when you feel like flying.
Ah, my Mari girl. She wraps herself around me, plays with my hair, and I grin as she rubs her cheek against my neck and lips at me. “Hello, love,” I reply, returning her affectionate gestures with a few of my own. I play with her forelock, so long and silky now where it used to be fine, fluffy baby hair. I press a kiss to her cheek, brush the soft of my nose down the curve of her neck. “It's so good to see you, rainbow-girl. I've missed you too.”
I love the unrestrained joy lighting her pretty blue eyes, the way she lights up when she pulls away to look me over. She's outgrown me, a little taller than me. Gently curved where I am slim and lean. All grown up and lovely, when did that happen? Well, not the lovely part, that was always the case. But when I think of Mari I still see that bouncy, delighted little girl I first met, her whole body practically vibrating with excitement as she met her brand new brother like Mom brought me home as a special surprise just for her.
For the first time I see a hint of worry clouding those soft blue eyes, just a shadow of a frown on her lips. “Of course we have each other, love,” I reassure her, pressing my lips to her forehead. “That's not going to change, either, no matter where life takes us. You'll always be my rainbow-girl, yeah?” I smile and wrap her up in another hug, and my heart hurts just a little that she's been feeling lonely. “Always.”
I know that quiet yearning, just as well as I know the determined smile that hides it. “Oh, sweetheart,” I murmur, stroking my muzzle along her silky white hair. “It's okay, I'm here. Talk to me, huh, angel?” I know what it's like to feel alone, even surrounded by people who love you. I've never seen even a flash of that sad vulnerability in her before, and it melts my heart now.
Who cares if hell awaits?
We're having drinks at heaven's gate.
The press of his lips against the bevel of her cheek and the crest of her neck is a touch that grays her thoughts, slinking fingers to the depths of memories so murky and deep. In response, her own poll is lifted (and not necessarily a jerk) but abrupt in the motioned to gaze upon the silver gray stallion, her heart beating against the bone cage as blue pools deepen to that of a dark and stormy atmosphere.
When the press of his dark lips caress her brow, her eyes slam shut in response. His words reach her ears with the comb of sullenness that she can not help but to listen to. Her Nevi. Sweet brother. There's a twang that abruptly makes itself present as she stands next to him. "I'll always be your rainbow girl..." It's a whisper that passes across her lips.
The young mare sides along him still, the tangle of golden follicles mingling and combing that of the dark abstract of Nevi.
He is scent is heavy.
Intoxicating.
The sound of his concern when he strokes the soft cashmere of her forelock is melting her. The blue of her eyes is hidden behind yellow lids as she closes her eyes to his sweet words. The innocence of their being structures her but she can not help but follow her own bodily reactions and once again drive her face against the strong lower neck of her Nevi.
The tears flow freely, dampening. She can not, WILL NOT, restrain herself against the inevitable tide of emotions. "I'm scared Nevi. I'm scared what will happen. I'm scared to be alone." She brings her own face not far off of Neverwas' own. Her eyes red with hot salty tears and honest fright, lower lip trembles ever so slightly as does the slender form against his own. But she must be strong and so she steels herself as much as she can. The long platinum of her hind end flicks against their haunches as she tries to settle herself.
"Thank you Nevi." The words are murmured low and soft against the dark lobe of an ear, her own lips brushing against the poll of Neverwas. Blue pools seek that of the silver black stallion when she pries her warmth from his side and a smile tries to earnestly curl her lips in an acceptance but also so that he may believe she is okay when she pulls away from the closeness of his bulk.
But,
a stir tickles within hers depths. Confused but bitten back by first advance.
A small minuscule tug at the very edges of the honey dipped lips as she sighs against the dark male's coat. The kind words,
'honey'
'love'
'sweetheart'
'angel'
they are foreign to her. Thick lashes raise heavily to meet those of Nevi and she smiles...
(it's all she can muster)
"I'm just so scared-"
Her voice slips between the cracks and her form shivers against Nevi's own.
"There are so many changes..." It's all she can say. The dim of her worried eyes reflected but perhaps it would bring a good change.
Mari had recently noticed the change of her body. She noticed the desire to be amongst the population but the young mare had bit back. On one spectrum her mind desires the comfort of her siblings to ease her, console her but in the other...well... the natural instinct to be close, touch, caress overwhelmed her...maddening her. Such complications from the young blond woman.
The shake of her skull clears the murky thoughts that dare enter her mind. Nevi was her friend, her brother. Blue eyes clouded to gray as she presses her lips to the very edge of his lips, to where the creases meet.
The kiss is hard, meaningful, against his skin."Thank you Nevi." The four syllables fall against his skin, velvet lines tracing the words. Mari dares not to continue about herself but instead reroutes. Have you chosen a caste, love?" Mari changes the conversation, a bit grateful to not have to address anything else. Trouble clouds her features but she voluntarily pushes it all away with the smoothness of her brow.
Azure pools trace over his features, though she knows he is slightly shorter, the calm gentleness does not deter from tracing his features.
The dark canvas of his skin, like watercolor, lightened and darken in respective areas. His mane and tail...a yellowish white falling across withers of sinew and muscle. Mari can not help but admire the young stallion.
Heck, they had both turned out to be quite the fetching pair. The toy of a playful smile is what meets the eyes...long gone is the sullen sadness as she puts on a brave face for Nevi.
I know you're trying to fight when you feel like flying.
Mari buries her face in my neck, and the feel of tears falling there breaks my heart. I murmur gentle sounds of encouragement in her ear, just holding her while she cries and lets go of all the complicated, tangled emotions she’s been hiding behind that sunshine smile of hers. Have I been wrong all this time? Maybe she’s just as lost as I am, but better at hiding it. Those big blue eyes never look clouded over with sorrow, but here she is crying on my shoulder.
Sighing, I stroke her hair. “Oh, sweetheart, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I know it’s scary, and it feels like the whole world’s changing around you. I think...I think maybe that’s just part of growing up. Seems like yesterday we were just a couple of little kids, you know? And now…” I trail off, meeting her gaze and smiling sadly. “Now we’re all grown up and trying to figure out how we fit in the world, and that’s hard, and it’s scary. But I’m always going to be here for you, okay? You’re not alone.”
And I’ll pay better attention now, knowing how much she’s hurting. I’ll watch, and notice the places she goes to hide when she isn’t being happy sunshine Mari. Because I know what it’s like to hide in the dark and feel completely alone, feel like you have to wear a mask and play the happy (if quiet and reserved) child, and smile to erase the worry from angel eyes.
“You can always come and find me when you’re sad, Mari. Or when you’re scared. I’m here, no matter what.” Not just for her, though I’d do it for her sake. But it’s selfish too. Moments like this...they make me feel less lost myself. Oh, things have been better lately, because of Lee. Because she came and found me in the dark and held me close and let me fall apart. And still loved me even though I was shattered glass and jagged edges, shadows and mist and sorrow stitched into my soul.
Still.
Whoa. Wait, what? Her lips pressed against the corner of my mouth completely derail my train of thought, sending an extremely confusing jolt through me. “Uh...y-you’re welcome,” I manage, distracted by the tingling heat warring with awkward discomfort. Almost kisses are nice. But almost kisses with Mari? She's always been my rainbow girl; I've never even thought about kissing her before. If I could change colors like she does, I would be bright red, and the relief that washes over me when she quickly changes the subject is almost overwhelming.
Maybe I imagined it, the feeling like that was something more than just an innocent kiss. The added weight to her words when she thanked me, that could have just been from the heavy emotions she was talking about. Probably it was nothing. Right?
“I don’t know yet,” I answer her, buying myself time to sort through what just happened. “I’m not exactly much of a warrior.” In fact, the thought makes me smile. Me, not even quite as big as Mom, training for battle? “But it might be fun to be a diplomat, now that Dad has changed the rules. I’m not sure yet. What about you, are you doing the initiation and joining the ranks? I know you talked about joining the peace caste at the kingdom meeting. I think you’d make a fantastic diplomat.”
Who cares if hell awaits?
We're having drinks at heaven's gate.
The sudden surge of paralysis of the dark stallion causes the golden coat to change and warp. With the sense of embarrassment and surprise (even by her own actions), her hue peaks to a cherry red.
She blazes like the sun but her own face is turned away to look out over their home of frigid ice and unforgiving jagged rocks. The redness in the white of her eyes begins to clear and the blue irises shine through as she falls quiet. No sounds would part the velvet lips when she moves to detach herself from Nevi's sooty coat, to stand away from him. Her skin cools where his warmth once was, seeping into her skin.
The kiss was gentle enough...able to be perceived as innocent-
(though she's not sure how innocent it was meant to be)
and she does not want to explore the thought any more. A shake of her tapered skull sends the bright red rippling over her form, washed away with the moments before. Slowly, her skin becomes that of Nevi's and she looks over a strong shoulder to smile at him happily enough. "Neat, huh?" The syllables quip lightly as she follows with a small laugh at her ability to change her exterior with only a half thought.
Lobes move to catch the words of her brother. "I do plan to join the diplomat caste but the cave does scare me. I must learn to be brave." A rather sheepish look crosses her features, pelt returning to the honey dipped hue of her every day wear. "Nevi, love, you will be amazing at whatever you decide on." A large encouraging smile curls her lips as she meets his gaze.
The silver silk of her mane falls across her eyes when a warm breeze tugs it at will. A little toss of her tiara sends it away. Attention returns to Nevi's and she sighs softly, banishing away the distraught emotions of earlier. Sometimes the sunlight shown through her cracks too.
I know you're trying to fight when you feel like flying.
My startled, stuttered reaction to that almost kiss has my poor rainbow girl turning a very bright shade of red and putting distance between us, avoiding my gaze. “Hey,” I murmur, closing that distance and touching my nose to her shoulder to get her to turn and look at me. “It’s okay, honey. You don’t need to be embarrassed.” A sad little half-smile on my face, I meet her pretty blue eyes with my drab brown ones--sky and dirt, and isn’t that the truth? Don’t let me drag you into the dark, love.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I know how...confusing and…” I almost wish for her sake that I could change colors, so she could see how bright red I would be too. “I understand complicated emotions is all,” I try again, glancing away. Boy, is that an understatement. The way I feel for Lee, and...and for Argo...I understand how easily innocent touches can take on unexpected meaning.
I meet her eyes again, leaning in to gently bump my shoulder against hers. “Please don’t feel bad, angel. I love you, and I don’t ever want to be the reason you’re feeling sad or embarrassed or uncomfortable. We’re okay, alright, love?” Her reaction was enough to tell me I didn’t misread the situation, didn’t read too much into the way her lips lingered at the corner of my mouth, or the intensity in her voice, in her eyes. But she has nothing to feel bad about.
Hell, I’ve done far more than that with Lee. I’ve...at least thought about as much with Argo. I’m the last person who would ever judge her for getting caught up in a moment, or in the touch of skin on skin, or the giddy rush of hormones racing like fire in the blood.
She changes her coat to match mine, trading in the bright red of embarrassment for the shadows and dirt of my coat, the mist and ash of my mane and tail. “Very neat,” I agree, leaning into her to compare. I love her sunshine bright coat, so happy and cheery and radiant. But I understand the appeal of hiding in the shadows, and besides. She looks adorable dressed up like me. “Goes really well with the blue of your eyes.” Still, I smile when she returns to her normal golden shade. “That’s better. There’s my Mari girl.” She should shine like the sun.
Who cares if hell awaits?
We're having drinks at heaven's gate.
It was confusing.
It was all so damn confusing but that is what happens in their situation. The lines blur and disintegrate but Mari comes back to earth with a verbal smack. She was attempting to buy herself some time, to spare herself from the embarrassment of what had just happened but Nevi, precious Nevi, reinforces his comfort and understanding and all Maribel can do is give him a little crooked smile.
She realizes that she must step away from the sooty black male. Perhaps time away from the lot was best. Mari would never leave the Tundra for her loyalty to the massive stallion that was her father ran to her core. Nevi compliments her cheap trick of color change though she knows her is smarter than that. He sees her feeble attempts to push away the recent motions on her behalf. A low sigh falls through parted lips and she tilts her head slightly, the crooked smile blooming and adjusting to a fuller one.
She is not sure how to part from him. Neverwas. The sweet colt having grown to the stallion before her. They were thick as thieves from the day Offspring had brought him home. Maribel could not wait to show him her secret spots, make him laugh by changing her coat to match their father's and impersonating him when he gave orders (all in good fun and play of course) but now the cracks had begun to show in the porcelain of their family. Mari saw it. She knew Nevi saw it too. Mom and dad with their distant passing and weak words. It burdened the honey girl but she mustn't show it again. Not to Nevi or Lee or at all. She would tuck it down, buried in the depths of her soul.
She smiles at him. The edges twitching to maintain the upward curve before she is shifting away as though something was pressing for her attention before she looks over a shoulder to the dark eyes of Neverwas. "Be good, Nevi." Truthfully it's all she can say before looking outward towards the center of their home. There had been some loss in the very moments of time that trickled like sand in an hourglass, each foot fall of the golden girl was more blessed distance between them. Finally she will allow herself to breath when she can no longer smell him on her skin and when the sharp cut of chilled autumn air burned her lungs and purged her mind.
M A R I B E L
((wanted to tie this up :/ mari is just withdrawing from everything. idk))
