the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows; Any

[Natilyn]

the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows

Home.

It’s strange to be here, on the verge of the familiar territory again. She can feel it humming under her skin – a familiar song, a good feeling, but even better than before. Something has changed, which of course she had heard through the grapevine, but knowing and feeling it for yourself is different. Nairne has struck out ahead, wandering into the home of her childhood, but Nat hesitates on the border. She thought she might never come back, once upon a time, because she wasn’t welcome in her entirety. But that has changed.

Cautiously, she thinks about the waterfall – the sky – a flash of lighting – the green spring grass. Her color changes as quickly as she thinks the things, and with none of the accompanying nausea she had grown used to. Joy leaps in her head and she laughs, leaping forward to run and catch up with Nairne. The twins are safe in the playground, watched over by forces supernatural, because she cannot bring them here yet. First she must take them to meet their father – Mikhael knew that Nat and Nairne were coming back to Beqanna, to return Nairne to the Falls, but she’d not known she was pregnant.

She wants to stay, so badly, but she cannot. Not without going back to Meeka and telling him. She will not leave him without a word, and she will not wait an undue amount of time before introducing him to his two younger children (and won’t he be surprised? A part of her brain supples). Inhaling deeply, she moves past Nairne and into the pool of water, her beautiful waterfall, wading chest deep before she stops, tears of conflicted emotion not quite falling from her eyes. “I though you weren’t coming,” her daughter says quietly, from the shore of the pool, worried. She had not heard the rumors that her mother had, but the fact that Nat is the same color as the water she stands in, not her natural buckskin, tells Nairne that something is different. When she was a child, her mother was unable to change color. It was only after leaving the Falls that she had regained that ability.

“Everything’s different.” Nat whispers.

and that's where I'll be found

NATILYN

barret x nylee

[Tiberios]

He’d taken to exploring his new home like a fish to water. There was something so soft to this land that settled his otherwise irritable nature. Tiberios felt as if some part of him had always belonged here, rather than the Dale. Being born into one world doesn’t always mean you’re suited for that life. It was easier to forget the pain of his past here in the Falls, and he often found that he no longer reflected on the harsh memories his scars bore him. Besides this fact, the water of the Falls had eased the mild discomfort he carried because of them. He made the journey to their waters almost daily now, with encouragement from Shatter.

Shatter. There had probably never been a better fit for her here. She wore the crown with pride, and bore her gift like a badge of honor. What a fitting thing to have - command over water here in a place where the water ruled all. Tiberios had first thought that his gift would be rejected here, that somehow his manipulation of the white, hallowed flame would cause a clash here. But none of the above seemed true. He smiles with this thought, and sends tender blue butterflies of flame swirling into the air about him. They flutter for seconds at a time, before extinguishing on his command.

So caught up in his own game, Tiberios doesn’t notice the newcomers at first. His amber gaze shifts from his powers to the Falls, and there they are. A tepid blue mare who seems to be made of water herself, and another female. Curiously at home though Tiberios has no recollection of them. He smiles, letting the blue-white flame tendril around his forelegs before completely snuffing his fire out. “Hello there.” He calls out in a rather neutral tone. “Is there anything I can help you two with?”

Tiberios

Initiate of the Falls

[Natilyn]

the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows

Both mares turn at the sound of another voice – the younger buckskin her concerned gaze from her mother, and the older mare drags her attention away from the tumbling waterfall. Nairne’s body follows her head, coming full circle to face the stranger, letting a smile ease onto her face. “I am here to stay,” she tells the man with a tilt of her head, watching the flame flicker across his legs before it disappears. “Coming home, as it happens.” He is right to observe that they are at home here – they are natives, after all, and their hiatus does not change that innate familiarity. “I’m Nairne.” She brightens that smile marginally after giving her name, waiting for reciprocation.

The older mare turns in the water, and then wades from the depths with obvious reluctance. The embrace of the water is comforting and it is home, but she knows that she can return to it now as often as she likes. When she reaches dry land, the mare sheds most of the blue, letting her body fade back to its natural dappled gold, all except the water-fall blue streaks that still permeate her mane and tail. “I’m Natilyn,” she offers, though she has not heard that name in years. To her lover, she is Nat or Natty; to her children, she is mom. She’s also not staying.

Because she can’t. Not yet. “I’m just here to drop Nairne off, for now. I have other business to complete before I can return home myself.” It’s killing her – she can feel the love of home, the water, the song of the Falls beneath her hooves. But she can’t stay until she finds Meeka and introduces him to the twins. “But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the rumors are true. That magic is no longer forbidden in any of the Kingdoms.” This gets them a startled glance from the younger mare – a large part of her childhood was affected by the fact that her parents couldn’t truly live whole lives in the Falls. A change in that basic rule could change everything for her family.

and that's where I'll be found

NATILYN

barret x nylee

[Shatter Me]

It had been awhile since she had seen her love, Tiberios. The birth of their precious boy had left her weak and unable to venture far from the home they had made together. So the silver queen and her son wander towards the pools. Shatter needed to feel the cool waters and the lifeblood her kingdom before she would be satisfied after her short absence.

Khalis is a happy colt. Every inch of him radiates love and sweetness, and his curious nature has him wandering out in front of his mom, happy to explore the safety of his home. Shatter takes her time following after her son, taking in the peace of her kingdom. Though the years had passed and the small kingdom had been through much, she had never been more proud of her home.

With a sweet, happy nicker, Khalis bounces off towards the pools and Shatter can do little more than smile and follow along. She watches her boy bolt through the treeline and hears a small squeal and a splash. Picking up her pace she arrives in time to see Khalis wobbling in the water towards his father who happens to be talking to a blue mare. Not a roan, but a blue to match the color of the water. As the mare and Tiberios talk she starts to change color, back to a dappled gold that is so familiar. It's then that the queen sees the second mare standing on the shore.

Taking a few hesitant steps forward she stops to retake everything in. It had been years since she had seen Natilyn, and having overheard the introductions, she can't believe how Nairne has grown. Shatter is momentarily at a loss for words, trying to take everything in. So much had changed since they had left, but so much was the same as well. The affection that the silver queen felt for the two had not changed.

Shatter walked to Tiberios' side and leaned heavily into him, drawing comfort from his warmth. With a hitch in her voice, Shatter finally manages to speak up. "Nat, is that really you?"

shatter me

queen of the falls

[Tiberios]

They’re bold in a fashion that Tiberios finds rather respectable. He feels no initial need to raise arms over two peaceful mares, and he’ll do no such thing until Shatter is present to tell him otherwise. The younger of the two - nearly a copy of the elder buckskin mare (the drain of blue from her coat gives away her power) is forward with her intentions and tells Tiberios such. He smirks, understanding the pressure of a youthful horse to assert oneself in the presence of elder company. He’s impressed with her, and feels an emotion akin to relief when she gives her name. “Nairne, welcome home.” And her smile is met with an equally approving one.

Natilyn, the senior of the two, speaks with longing. Her comment about the restrictions falling between the magical and the ordinary spark a wild interest in him, but his reply is cut short by the entrance of his second-born. Khalis is clearly uninterested in the affairs of adults, but his appearance brings a genuine and deep smile to Tiberios’s lips. He offers his son a moment of brief attention, lowering his muzzle to stroke the velvet hair along the colt’s shoulder before tuning his focus back on the previous Falls residents.

Where his son abides, his partner is soon to follow. This much is true as he feels the brush of her silver skin against his, and her weight is an easy burden. His mouth, as if thinking on its own, reaches out to her cheek and he silences while she speaks up. With the flick of his gaze he notices the connection, and marvels that Shatter would be so emotional over their return. “Nairne has come to stay.” He says with a smile, hoping this will bring Shatter up to speed. “And Natilyn has come for a brief visit.”

Tiberios

Initiate of the Falls

[Natilyn]

the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows

It’s quiet in the Falls – it’s ever quiet in the Falls – but the quiet allows them all to easily hear the approach of more company. Both golden heads turn towards the exhuberant youth in the water – smiles on both of their faces. A part of Natilyn aches for the child that Nairne was the last time they were home, though she is proud of the young mare standing beside her for the woman she is growing into. An even bigger part reminds her of the twins in the Playground and the father they haven’t met – she will not deny Mikhael knowing his youngest children, even though she longs to stay here.

The gray mare who ambles along behind the colt is familiar as well, and Nat is happy to see that the other mare remains behind. It would be strange, to return to a Kingdom entirely composed of strangers. Not that she has ever minded the flow of people into and out of the Falls, but to her the Kingdom is Family. Much of it literally (for even now she cannot stand here at the base of the waterfall without thinking about her mother and father, her aunts, her uncles) but there are those who simply become family as time wears on.

Those whose hearts bind them to the Falls, for better or for worse.

They join Tiberios, the gray mare pressed to his side, and it’s easy to see that they belong to Shatter. Nat is happy that her friend has found someone, her own Meeka, and even more glad to see that he has joined her here in the Falls. She knew the strange break of loving a Kingdom and a man who did not lie there for some time before she gave the Falls up for Mikhael, and she would spare others that duality. He introduces them in a way, summarizing the conversation, but it is the mare that Natilyn chooses to address when she finally speaks. “Shatter,” she breathes the name on a quiet smile, “Yes, it’s me. You have a beautiful family.” Hazel eyes flick back to the colt, to Tiberios, but ultimately settle again on the Queen. “We heard many things while we were away. It is good to see that the Falls remains no matter what.”

There had been tales of droughts and fires, of Kingdoms melting and reforming. And of greater magics. Some of it would be exaggeration, of course, as talk does, but rumors must start somewhere.

and that's where I'll be found

NATILYN

barret x nylee