"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
And just like that Falls is gone. A parting caress on her cheek is the last the queen sees of the water nymph avatar before a wave rises up and crashes over her where she stands knee deep in the pool. Shatter had heard the summons whispered in her ear as she slept, and without hesitation she answered. Now she can only hope that she will live up to the expectations set before her. The path may not be quick or easy, but in the end she has high hopes for the growth of the kingdom.
The silver queen feels refreshed as she steps, dripping, from the water. Instead of drying normally, she feels the healing waters absorbed into her skin and lying calmly just under the surface. Her armor is back! Shatter lets out a soft giggle of joy at the ability she has been lacking finally falling back into place, and spends several childish minutes bringing it up and making it disappear just because she can now. There is something else, something extra, that the Falls gave her though she can't quite identify it just yet.
With a loud whinny she calls them to her. The remaining members of the neutral kingdom that have received a gift far greater than they realize. A wide , joyful grin stays firmly planted on her lips as she waits for them to arrive.
There's no denying it now, I've denied it for the past several turns and rollbacks, and now I know I am definitely lost. The darker patches of forests were starting to give way, their boughs bending and bowing, concealing the sun. The walk through the spires of woodland was a cold one, the winter chill is still evident and it is harsh against my strawberry pelt. But the barricade of bark and leaf kept me on the straight and narrow, so to speak. I'd been walking the winding tracks in the woodland for hours, for days even; evidence in my matted red mane, complete with additions of burrs and thistles and a few crispy leaves. I have literally dragged myself through hedges, and dying brush and now finally break through the darkness int the spring sunlight.
Have I died? Perhaps the winter chill had been too much for a weary traveller, and I had faded in one of my brief slumbers. The scenery is vivid, viridian green, luscious and enticing. Slate rocks decorate and frame the prized monument. A waterfall. The gushing water is music, a lullaby, a gentle serenade and a smile etches my lips. I remember my childhood, not too long ago really, and I recall the gentle lapping waters of my previous homeland. My strawberry ears turn and perk forward, listening to all the sound the spring orchestrates. but then there is another sound, a piercing cry, a sharp whinny that echoes throughout, and it catches me off guard. I stumble forward, tripping over my heavy feathered feet. I am such a clumsy beast of a mare sometimes. I gather myself and wander onwards, spotting then out of my soft eyes, the source of the call.
Ah. I'm definitely lost and now, now I'm trespassing. my weary mind pings with thoughts but my feet still trudge on, lips cracked and dry, throat parched and calling out for sweet, sweet water. My mussy mane falls in thick knots over my neck as it sways with every, weary movement. Fatigue is gnawing at my bones, my muscles. And I finally, finally reach somewhere pleasant, somewhere so beautiful it's like a daydream, and yet it's occupied. I whicker gently, head turning this way and that, fluffy ears turning to try and catch any sound of threat. The silver lady before me, she is as shimmery and beautiful as the waters that ripple just by her. I have to catch my eye then, as it wanders with desire to the lapping pool. I ignore it and trudge on, closer, careful. As I near the mare, I trip once more and stumble to my awkward knees.
'Ah. Forgive me, I've stumbled somewhere unfamiliar.' I steady myself and get back to all four feet. Eyes swallowing the beautiful world, like a dreamland, plucked right out of a serene and blissful dream. 'It would seem I am... quite lost.' my words fumble like cascading rocks, and me with clumsy hands trying to catch them. Tired eyes meet the dappled's face and my lips curve into a soft smile. 'I'm Eld. I.. I don't suppose there's the off chance I can rest for a while?' or forever. the thought occurs to me then, the beauty here, plucked right out of a dreamworld, it calls to the beating of my heart and soothes my insides. in honesty, I don't think I could bear leaving it now I've found it. A beautiful paradise. They do say that those lost often find the most wondrous of things...
-☆-
and i'd apologise for bleeding on your shirt; wanderer
html by magpie77 - photo manip by magpie77 - character by magpie77
He’s sleeping when he feels it, a tug at some part of his insides that he has no word for. It wakes him after a while, but he does little more than blink sleepily at the grove of birth trees around him. He is in no rush to get anywhere, and watching the sun rise is as a good a way to spend a few hours as anything. A few years ago he’d have been off around the borders, but the vigor has been pulled away from him as the years he time he had escaped finally caught up to him. He’s no longer the youthful bay stallion that had come to the Falls five years ago. He’s an old mane, aging a decade in the span of a year.
So when he hears Shatter Me calling them, he grumbles and prepares to shake the kinks out of his body. It’s not until he’s already stretched his neck and both front legs does he realizes that the typical crackling is not quite as loud as he is used to. He kicks out with one hind leg and there is no uncomfortable tension. That’s odd. Best not to think on it too much, he finally decides, and then leaves his grove to respond to the call.
Texas isn’t quite sure who she expects to show up – is there anyone but the two of them, and occasionally Tyrna? – but he doesn’t get a chance to ask. He’s seen a great deal in his long life, but he’s not sure he’s ever seen someone playing with water quite like the way she does. “Pretty trick,” he says with a nod, but knows that if she’s suddenly become a magician he’ll have to give her a quick shove off the top of the waterfall. They can’t have that kind of shenanigans here.
“You, on the other hand, look horrible.” He says to the red mare that is rising to her feet after a rather awkward stumble. She looks like she’s been wandering the forest for months, and while Texas had once taken a nap for so long that moss started growing on his neck, he’s quite sure he’s never looked quite so awful. “If you don’t rest, at least roll around in the water for a bit.” The tone with which he speaks is more than a little condescending, but there’s a smile on his grizzled face that hints he might not be as callous as his words imply. Or perhaps he is, and simply enjoys being contrary; with Texas there’s really no way to tell.
If we don't make it alive, well it's a hell of a good day to die
The Falls are much the same as they ever were as she saunters towards the pool from the tree line. She hadn't seen the other members of her small family in some time and boy wouldn't they be in for a surprise. Her coat was dirty, her hair matted, but it was the time spent on her own that had given her a lean, hard body and a predatory glint in her eye.
The first thing the wolf girl noticed as she came to a stop near the others was not in fact, the large mare stumbling to her knees, but rather the way the voice in her head was not as quiet as usual. It whispered for her to look at the roan, and she did. For her to smell the air and taste how weak she was, how easy it would be to ripandtearandshredandfeed. The voice sang to her about rendering the titan useless, making the foreign mare unable to claim a spot in her pack, to watch the light drain from gentle eyes. The wolf is insistent and she is frozen as she watches the roan's pulse jump in her throat.
With a shake of her head she moves to stand near Texas. She knows she is safe near him, though thoughts of destroying the intruder plague her mind. Texas is part of her pack so she feels no inclination to slaughter him, which is good since the wolf is only now starting to separate friend from foe. So she stands near the graying bay and bobs a polite greeting to her mom, before waiting for the show to continue.
It isn't long that the queen stands waiting before they arrive. The first to stumble in is an unfamiliar roan. She is polite but faltering, so without a second thought the queen rushes to her side. "You are quite welcome to stay for as long as you need my friend" the queen replies as she helps stabilize the larger horse, pressing up against her side as she tries to direct her towards the pool.
The next to come is her ever faithful adviser. Texas looks much better than he had at their last meeting. Beqanna's gift already working it's way through the kingdom. Once Shatter has taken care of Eld she greets him. "Ah, Texas! you are looking better! I'm so pleased to see you." She beams at him so happy that he would be around for longer than she had previously anticipated.
The last to approach is her daughter, and in truth she is surprised that Tyrna had made the attempt to present herself at all. Shatter had seen the figure of her daughter as she passed through the border forests, but it was like seeing a ghost. The queen was saddened every time they were near each other. The once bright and outgoing child had changed into some predatory beast, prowling the woods as a tale to frighten children. Of course the queen had heard the howls, but she was never able to determine the source for certain. The queen bobs a return greeting to her daughter but leaves it at that, if Tyrna wanted to talk to her she would in her own time.
Once she has finished surveying the crowd, Shatter smiles gleefully at those gathered. "It is good to see you, Texas, Tyrna. Eld if you would like to stay you are welcome to for as long as you like. As for you other two," she looks both of her loyal family over, "I have had an audience with the Falls, and Beqanna is giving our kingdom power. Our healing waters are diminished for now but as you can see," and here she pulls her watery armor around herself," our powers are back. What was once gone has returned and will not dissipate over time." She looks over those assembled to see if there is any reaction before continuing.
"Texas, Tyrna I would like both of you to bath in the renewed waters, Beqanna has granted us extra powers that will reveal themselves in time." Shatter nods towards the pool behind her as she speaks. "I hope you think this news is as fantastic as I do. Now, do you have any questions?" The silver queen stands gleaming and hopeful before the waterfall waiting to see how the others react.
Exhaustion lines my face with deep Crimson wrinkles, creases my strawberry pelt with throbbing veins. My eyelids threaten to close on me as I sway on vast feathered limbs. My eyes shift, viridian green behind the glassy sheen. I see a mottled bay figure, he slinks in and offers a whole different sort of compliment. I don't know, perhaps I was doing the feral goddess look quite well? Dried leaves crumpled into my knots of red mane, moss lain dormant on my back. I snorted briefly, shaking my thickset skull.
'I suppose not.' I say, voice thoughtful for a moment, squirrel tail ears fluttering. 'You don't expect me to look like a glorious wildflower when I've been running through weeds?' My chin lifts, stubbly whiskers twitching with my mottled lips as I turn my head to catch sight of a new arrival -- this one reacts in a whole different way and my glassy eyes dilate momentarily.
'I.. I'm not here to pirate and pillage. Don't let my appearance fool you.' My tone is lighter than normal, a laugh, course and dry in the back of my throat. That's when the dappled mare, she attaches herself to me with the sweetest of words. They feel bitter in my ears but I accept them, nodding carefully. I to as instructed and wobble over to the crystalline waters. Putting my nose down to the waters, I catch the rippling reflection and I recoil. The bay, Texas, he was certainly right. I was silent as the gunmetal girl spoke to Tyrna and Texas. I listened, ears flickering. Eyes watching them. When all was done and the air was clear, my lips parted.
'That would be.. Most delightful if I could stay here. Is there.. Is there anything you wish of me in return?'
If we don't make it alive, well it's a hell of a good day to die
Tyrna is still eyeballing the stranger, wondering how easy it would be for her to separate meat from bone, when she hears her mothers command. Well, request, but it rings as the same tune in her ears. With a soft huff, the silver girl crosses the few steps it takes to stand ankle deep in the waters. The pool is cool and clear as it always is, and Tyrna starts to have doubts as to her mothers sanity. But soon enough her fears are replaced.
Almost immediately she feels a pull, an involuntary compulsion to wade out deeper and deeper into the waters. Casting a backwards glance at those that still stand at the shore, Tyrna sucks a deep breath into her lungs before plunging beneath the surface of the water. She feels the healing powers of the water caressing her and healing the aches she didn't know that she had, but there was something else in the water with her. Something far more powerful and ancient than she could ever hope to be or see again.
Tyrna hazarded opening her eyes to gauge her surroundings beneath the frothing surface of the pool. She was no longer certain of the amount of time that she had been under the water, for when she opened her eyes, she saw her. The spirit of the Falls. A deep endless blue, the nymph that was the Falls laid a gentle hand on her cheek and ran the other over her back and along her sides. With a final caress along her neck Falls disappeared and Tyrna shot towards the surface. Gasping for breath she made her way back to shore, a strange and not entirely unpleasant burning sensation along her back. Turning her head to look at what had transpired, questing eyes found the source of the pain and the gift she was given. A pair of tiny, downy wings lay uselessly near her withers.
Tyrna was shocked. Looking at the fluttering nubs on her back she was assaulted by images of her encounter with the wolf god that had cursed her. How much more in his image would she become?Only vaguely does she hear the soft voice of her mother over the incessant howls of glee from her demon.
"They will grow with time as the Falls gain power, and soon you will have a full pair to bear you aloft. My darling you are the first of the Falls current airforce." Shatter says in an attempt to soothe the distress so apparent on her daughters graceful features. The gentle words fall on deaf ears as Tyrna stares in shock at her latest addition.
