"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
Momma's little bear is sneaking off on her own yet again.
Dawn thinks she's being sneaky when she runs off from her dam's side, but the opposite couldn't be more true. Cress's eyes never leave her daughter as the filly scampers off, and she is never far behind the little bear. I'm sneaky! the girl delights in thinking. Mom would have caught me by now if she had noticed I'm gone! Truly, though, how sneaky can a young foal be? Her tiny hooves thunder over the grass and the shiny golden horn isn't exactly helping her blend in with the shadows.
Cress follows her daughter until the tiny golden filly crosses the border of the playground.There she will wait until Dawn grows tired of playing or needs a meal, knowing that her child is safe within the magical borders. The fairies may giveth and taketh away, but they would never deign to harm an innocent child. Even the most vile of Beqanna's villains were foals once, frolicking in the fields and nurturing friendships that would one day become lovers and allies in their individual quests for powers. She knows that, no matter what, her little girl is safe, and that is all that she can hope for.
The girl doesn't even notice that she's crossed an invisible border, but when she turns her head to look behind her, suddenly her mother is nowhere to be seen. Success! she crows to herself, stumbling to a halt and drawing in a deep breath. She isn't quite sure where she is, but she knows she'll find her way back to Cress eventually; she always does. Maybe that's why she never seems worried when Dawn races off on her own.
Then again, it could be the fact that Dawn can sprout fangs and claws at a thought, however small that they might be. She is a foal in horse form and a cub in bear form, but she can protect herself wherever she may end up, just like her sire... who she's never met, but that's not a big deal to Dawn. Her and her mother have gone on so many adventures in her short life that such a trivial detail such as her father has never really bothered her.
With a sigh, Dawn surveys her surroundings. There are plenty of other youth around her, but she doesn't approach any of them. Let them come to her; she has all the time in the world.
[waiting for the activation code for Dawn's acct D:]
They all have time, he thinks to himself, and what do I have?
It's summer, the first turn of the season since his birth not long ago. Such as that is, his journey from Hyaline to the playground treats him well - perhaps not as well as it might his sister, but she's a special exception. The little buckskin smiles to think of Warlight and her pesky magic; waking up in the middle of the night missing a warm body that ought to be right next to you is incredibly disconcerting, especially for their mothers. Sviko gets nervous sometimes, but with a nudge from Rhae, he settles into giggles and soothes their mothers with his many words as best he can.
The little colt shakes his head of these thoughts as he descends back towards the earth. His wings, scrawny and the same black-brown hue of his mane and tail, are barely strong enough to keep him aloft: but barely still implies success, and so, with the stubbornness known only to himself, he got all the way across the continent. He'd have to walk back of course, or maybe stay the night in the playground. Mom had been very firm about the going-away rule: you have to stay somewhere safe. And in Beqanna, that meant about two places: tucked in the embrace of one of Hyaline's Queens, or surrounded by other infants, not that he wasn't already at home what with his triplets as well as his older twin siblings, and Abysm, though Rhae wouldn't quite count him as a child anymore, what with his broody teenagerness and all.
But, he consoles himself, there are no broody teenagers here.
Alighting atop a small crest in the playground, the winged colt gazes eagerly from face to face. There's a warmth in his brown eyes that is inviting and calm, reminiscent of his great-grandfather before him. Just as he's about to take a step forward, a hazy shadow of a vision crosses his mind's eye. A little filly, different from Warlight but also not. He sees her bumping right into him, and then --
Mmph, comes a little grunt from the colt as his vision comes to life. Wordlessly, he blinks his eyes towards the stranger girl, nostrils flaring as he made as if to greet her in good stead even after their little run together. She has a gorgeous golden horn; it reminds him of his mother's antlers. Thoughtfully, a small, gentle shaft of light appears from his own skull; I want to be like you, it says. Simple; sweet.
Clayton had not met his father, only his mother, she was much older in age and she did not put up with Clayton. She let him off on his own and do as he pleases. He did however spend most of his time in Hyaline, with a sister he met and she has taken on the role of mother, at least she was more of a mother to him than his actual mother.
Today he ventured out to the playground, a place he had only heard of. It was supposed to be filled with foals similar in age to himself, perhaps he could make some friends. He hoped that he was in the right place and without another thought he trekked through the field in hope to find others. He saw a few others, but it was not long until there was on specific foal who caught his attention. She was a palomino and she had a horn! He stood out from the rest, the two horns that twirled on his dome, others looked at him like he was odd. It was hard to make any friends, although she only had one horn he had hoped that she would not think anything of his second horn.
She was with another foal, but he mustered up the courage to approach the pair. H..Hello! He said with a smile, he looked to the colt, he had wings upon his back, and splashes coloring. His gaze then flicks to the filly, the one who caught his attention My name is Clayton, what is yours? He asked them both, only hoping he did not join in a private conversation.
Dawn is so focused on escaping her mother, she doesn't even realize she's about to bump into another foal until--SMACK!--she does. "Oh, crap!" she squeaks as she goes positively ass over teakettle, and she's sure that her golden fur has taken on a more fuchsia hue as she scrambles to her hooves in embarrassment. At first she thinks that it is her mother, angry at her for escaping, but of course it isn't Cress. Cress is never made when she wanders off, and Cress isn't this small. "I'm so, so, so, so sorry!" she exclaims, quickly examining the other foal to make sure he isn't injured. If he is, Mother can help. She can always help.
As if in response, a small shaft of light beams on his forehead, an echo of Dawn's own horn. Her chocolatey brown eyes light up, and she wiggles happily. "That is so cool," she tells him, reaching out to brush her nose against the warm light. "My mom named me Dawn because my coat reminds her of the morning sun, but your power is so much more like the dawn than me."
Feeling a bit like show-and-tell, Dawn takes a step back and squares her shoulders. "My power isn't as cool as yours, but watch what I can do!" Squinting in concentration, she reaches for the power. The change is uncomfortable, but it only last a moment, and in her place stands a small polar bear cub. She watches him to gauge his reaction, then releases the magic and returns to her natural form with a sigh. "It makes me really tired, but it's cool too, right?"
Before he can respond--unknowing to her, he will not respond at all--another approaches, and Dawn stares wonderingly at the second colt's swirling horns. "Whoa..." she murmurs, then grins at the bay-and-green Clayton. "I'm Dawn!" she tells him happily, tipping her head in a friendly manner. "And this is..." she pauses as she indicates her companion, realizing that he hasn't yet said a word. "Actually, you haven't told me your name. Do you have a name? Can I call you Sunny? I think I'm going to call you Sunny.
For all his silence, it doesn't seem to bother his little assailant one bit. In the wake of their collision comes a tumble of squeaked words, most of them apologetic in nature; her exuberance reminds Rhaegor of his younger brother, Sviko, and so he smiles to hear it. Eager to show that no harm has been done and that he, too, can be exuberant, the little colt fanatically tosses his head up and down, sending his scraggly forelock every which way as he does so.
After her quick inspection as to his health, the golden girl becomes enraptured by Rhae's light show. He wants to sing for joy at the sight of her brown eyes lighting up like stars, but instead he lowers his head, happy to oblige her need to touch and discover and know. When she goes off on a little spiel about the meaning of her name, he straightens his head and blinks his eyes wide, snorting loudly at the end as if to say we can both be like the dawn!!
Blinking som'more as his extroverted friend takes a step back, Rhae watches with a soft smile atop his lips as she prepares to do her thing. When a little bear appears without any warning, that little smile bursts into a grin! Beneath his gangly frame, his forelegs prance, portraying excitement and joy. That's way cooler than my power! He thinks to himself, slowing his legs just in time for him to skirt forward and snuffle at the baby bear before she shifts back. Her fur is white and surprisingly cool for the hot summer day, and an empty clicking sound at the back of his throat indicates his exultant laughter at the magic of this day.
Before he can give a silent response to her innocent question, another figure approaches their group. His grin dies down some as he steps aside to allow the newcomer some room in the conversation, but he's still eagerly paying attention as their conversation begins to flow. A small pang in his heart turns his ears uncertainly away for a moment, a kind of childish darkness telling him that he doesn't belong and that he's being a burden; but then Dawn is gesturing towards him, and speaking for him without pause; and that little darkness dissolves like snow.
"Sssssss," Rhaegor elicits, the air of his breath rushing through his teeth; the sound is cut off by the wide smile that follows, but it is enough to confirm her nickname for him. Feeling absurdly loved and accepted by this absolute stranger, the little colt shimmies closer to her golden frame, nose reaching to nuzzle the underside of her jaw with an undeniable affection. He needed to introduce her to Koko and Will!... As long as he could trust them not to steal away his new (and only) friend.
Turning now, he blinks towards Clayton expectantly; and as if to give a final stamp of approval to this nickname of his, the colt sends out gentle, scenic rays of light from his whole body. Like the sun...
He was relieved to have a warm welcome by Dawn, a smile tugged on his lips as she introduced herself. His eyes flicked to the dappled colt, he expected an introduction from him, but he did not get one. His gaze flicked back to Dawn as she attempted to introduce the colt, but she admitted ahe did not know his name. Looks like he did not interrupt a deep conversation, and he felt a tad bit more comftorable knowing they did not know each other either.
Dawn told the colt she was going to call him Sunny, Dawn and Sunny he dipped his head slightly. The colt allowed a brief Ssssss to escape his maw. He did not understand completely, although his response made a smile appear on Claytons maw. He did mind the lack of conversation from the colt, besides we are all unique after all.
The dappled colt nuzzled Dawn and the colts next action took Clayton by surprise. Sunny had rays of light beaming from his body, he looked like a small sun on earths ground! Claytons eyes grew wide in amazement, woah! was all he could manage to get out. His name made sense now, he had probably shown Dawn his magic before, or perhaps Clayton was so excited to make friends he hadn't noticed it before. Thats so cool Sunny! Clayton didn't have any cool powers, just the fancy horns on his head, but his sister could shift into a bear! What kingdom do you two live in? He asked, he knew of the other kingdoms, perhaps he end up in the same kingdom as one of them.
![[Image: rhae]](https://66.media.tumblr.com/c013fae479a9e0c775688ff921306b4e/tumblr_pivbqpgHuG1xsr748o1_250.png)
![[Image: clayton_by_cowgirlconrad-dcmmo18.png]](https://orig00.deviantart.net/8f0d/f/2018/254/c/4/clayton_by_cowgirlconrad-dcmmo18.png)
