"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
All I want is one more chance to be young and wild and free
She is an awful friend.
When Sette needed her, when the young princess was sent off to live in a foreign kingdom for a year, Vi had done nothing. Instead of going to her friend and keeping her company, she had held back, hiding herself away in the depths of the Jungle, and isolating herself from everyone. She had failed Sette.
And now Sette is back, and Vi doesn't even know how to begin to approach her. How can she even begin to make up for the mistakes that she’s made?
But approach her she must. She owes her only friend that much. Even if it isn’t anywhere near enough.
She tracks down Sette in the the centre of the kingdom and shuffles forward, barely able to meet Sette’s eyes. God she is such a painfully awkward thing “I’m so glad you’re back.” She is truly glad that Sette is back, but due to the shame in her heart, her voice lacks some of the enthusiasm that it should. “How was the Valley?”
She has no doubt that Sette sees through her awkwardness though, and knows that there’s something else she’s burning to say. She might as well bite the bullet and get it over with. “I … I’m so sorry. I should have gone with you.” She hangs her head. “I’m a horrible friend.”
The Valley was nothing like I expected. I thought there would be a treeless void in the earth where shiftless, wicked creatures lived and blood sacrifices were performed (okay, I may have been a little melodramatic) but the truth was much less eventful (although I think their Queen would prefer that we all think of them as monsters if only so the rest of Beqanna will fear them). There were trees, first of all, of a sort I'd never seen. Towering, massive pines that covered everyone who lived near them in the scent of sap. And the inhabitants were less demonic and more eccentric. The atmosphere of oneness was close to what I had found at home, and though I never felt truly at home in the Valley, I can't say th experience was rotten.
Except, of course, that I missed the Jungle.
My mother and my baby brother, oh how I've longed to settle down at night with them in our usual spot. And the humidity and the wildlife teeming around me, peering through vines and watching capybara play. Daring the crocodiles to leave their watery traps. Parrots squawking angrily at their nest disturbed. All of it has haunted my dreams. Visiting isn't the same as living.
And I also missed, more than I thought possible, a beautiful blue roan filly.
I have been home for several days before I catch sight of her, of Vi. Her approach makes my heart flutter and an eager grin appears on my face. That is, until she greets me with a less than enthusiastic welcome.
I bite back the hurt in my heart, and respond quietly. “Thank you, Vi. The Valley was all right. It was... different, I guess.”
I feel lost, confused. I'm not sure whether my friend is truly glad to see me. I spent many nights thinking of her, and now I wonder if she noticed the loss of me by her side.
Hush, I scold myself. This is Vi. She's shy and lovely and you care about her deeply. Like a... like a sister.
My thoughts are interrupted by a rush of words, and my ears flick forward in surprise and then embarrassment.
“Oh Vi, no, never. You aren't a horrible friend. I won't have you saying that.” I nudge her playfully, thoughtlessly, before drawing back shyly. I am certain my feelings are plastered across my face. I clear my throat and smile warmly. “I'm so glad that yours is the first face to greet me. I've missed you... and home, of course. Can you catch me up? How have you been? What's been happening? Oh, the Jungle feels so wonderful, Vi. It's so different than the chill of the Valley.”
12-20-2015, 07:26 PM (This post was last modified: 12-20-2015, 07:29 PM by Vi.)
All I want is one more chance to be young and wild and free
She can see the moment when Sette picks up on her tone and her shame deepens instantly. Not only has she been a horrible friend by abandoning Sette during her trip to the Valley, but now she’s clearly making her friend feel like she didn’t care at all. Which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Her apology seems to reassure Sette somewhat, but it does nothing to make Vi feel better. She’s let Sette down time and time again, and the wonderful mare keeps forgiving her. She doesn’t deserve it.
Her head hangs low as Sette nudges her. “I still feel like a horrible friend though. I keep letting you down.” She can’t help but feel a small bloom of happiness though when Sette says that she's missed her (though that too, makes her feel guilty). It’s nice to be missed by someone. No one else cares enough to miss her.
She finally looks back up at her friend as Sette launches into a myriad of questions. She can’t help but smile, just a tiny little bit. “I’ve missed you too. And I’m alright. I’ve been keeping to myself mostly.” Which is really nothing new. “But as for the kingdom … they’ve voted to side with the Gates. We could be heading into a war.” She hadn’t attended the meeting, but news like that spreads quickly. It scares her a bit to think about. What will happen if they go to war? Will Sette fight alongside the other sisters? She doesn’t like to think of her friend getting hurt.
She shakes her head slightly, trying to clear the thought from her head. There’s no use worrying about it now. For all she knows the war might not even happen. “What are the Valley members like?” She is actually curious, though she also is trying to change the subject. Having never stepped foot outside of the kingdom since her arrival here, she knows very little about the other kingdoms.
