"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
Izarra knew that her time left in this mortal world was dwindling. This mortal body was only powered by the immortal soul trapped within - destined to live on for an eternity. But that soul of a star longed to return to her home. She had lived a fulfilling mortal life. She had found love and children grew out of that love. Her mortal bloodline lived on in her grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren and beyond. She had established a legacy, of sorts, here. A legacy that was no longer reliant on this mortal form to live on.
The star-mare had lingered in these lands - perhaps unwilling and perhaps unprepared to leave it all behind. More and more frequently, she’d found her gaze drawn up to the heavens - found herself longing for her immortal sisters who flickered serenely above.
The waves lapped at her fetlocks as she waded into the water. It seemed only right to come to this place - this place where mortal souls escaped from their earthly prison. Izarra could not die like those that came here. When her soul departed, it would not be to the afterlife as those bound to this place. However the departure would be just as permanent as death. For once she resumed her life as a star, the mortal world would be barred from her. She would not be able to return or to interfere. Instead, she’d simply be able to watch from above - unrelenting and eternal.
It was equal parts comforting and terrifying to the star-mare. But she was ready to shed this body and the mortal connections with it. She knew she had been given a gift in this mortal life, and she also knew she could not be the only of her sisters with a thirst for such an experience. So in her last few moments on earth, as her mortal body began to burn away in a sea of blinding light, Izarra called out to her sisters. She offered an exchange, the opportunity for one of them to embrace the gift she had once been given.
She did not linger to see who had accepted the gift she offered, but in her last moments she smiled warmly knowing that now another’s legacy would begin. The light burned brighter, illuminating the sandy shores for a brief moment before winking out into inky darkness. Silence reclaimed the Beach for a moment, just before the sound of a shaky first breath cut through the quiet. Ankle deep in the sea stood not the teal star-mare, but another. One inky black with stars draped across her back, wings folded at her sides, shining softly under the starlight.
And up above, a star burned brightly for the first time in years, finally at peace in the heavens above.
I Z A R R A
No body lies strewn across the beach, but this night Izarra, the fallen star, has departed.
"WHEN YOU'RE SOARING THROUGH THE AIR, I'LL BE YOUR SOLID GROUND. TAKE EVERY CHANCE YOU DARE, I'LL STILL BE THERE WHEN YOU COME BACK DOWN."
Vela had heard the call of her sister. Her decision had not been a conscious one. Vela had always wondered, but never wanted something like mortality. However, her answer had been instantaneous and instinctual and only a heartbeat later, she was tumbling.
Her fall was brief - equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.
At first, it was quiet. Vela was accustomed to the quiet. Space was the very embodiment of quiet. But the sounds came trickling in and then increased to an unfamiliar roar. She could hear everything. The sound of the wind tangling in the trees along the shore. The sound of the waves lapping against the wet sand. But before she could process how overwhelming the sounds were, she became aware of her other senses. The smell of salt heavy air and distant decay. The feel of the cool water rushing around her fetlocks.
It was overwhelming. It was wonderful. It was terrifying.
Vela couldn’t help but feel she’d made this decision too impulsively, and for a moment regret flickered deep within her mind. But she was determine not to waste this gift - this life she’d been given.
So with an unsteady step, the star mare lifted one leg and made to take her first steps upon this mortal earth.
