"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
07-26-2016, 02:33 PM (This post was last modified: 07-28-2016, 01:01 PM by Dara.)
Wolves in our own skin, we're savages. We act so primitive.
Something has been going on at home, something secret and quiet that no one will tell me about. It's nothing, love, but I see the concern in my fathers' faces. Everything's fine, sweetheart. But I would have to be blind to miss the restless patrolling night after night, Grandma and Uncle Pazuzu doing their utmost to ward our home against whatever might be coming.
They still see me as a child, for all that I'm five now. And why shouldn't they? I've done nothing since we got here but wander, meet a few people, and play with my baby sisters and my cousin. All of whom are growing up so fast, too. Everything moves so fast here, and it's hard for us to keep up. Of course they still see me as a child. It wasn't that long ago I was still a gangly, leggy adolescent with nothing to trouble me and just as little trouble to get into. And I've still done nothing to prove differently, not even...not even leaving the comfort of my family's home to try and make some kind of life for myself.
Maybe it's time I changed that.
I love them. All of them, so very much. But it's hard to be anything but my daddies' little girl living with them every day. Letting them protect me and take care of me. I'd miss them all terribly, but I don't have to leave, really. I could...maybe I could join the Dale. It's near home, near enough that Luna has already snuck off to go exploring there, and I could live part time in both places. I'd still be around for my sisters and Tycho, and my new baby cousin Aunt Ryss is carrying. I'd still be close enough that my family wouldn't have to fret too much...but I would be venturing out on my own.
Oh, I like that. I think I'll talk to my dads when I get home.
Wandering has always made it easier for me to think things through, which is how I find myself so far from home when I've finally sorted out the problem that has been bothering me for months, more and more as each one passed. My feet at least traced relatively familiar pathways, because when I pause to take stock, I realize I'm in the Forest. A place which is, as it happens, a great spot for meeting new people. So I might as well see who's around before I make my way home, huh?
With a friendly smile on my face, I amble through the snow-strewn forest, pausing to scratch against a tree with especially rough bark, to get at a hard to reach itch on my side. I'll stumble across someone new and exciting sooner or later, might as well enjoy myself and this lovely winter day in the meantime.
He had just come from the strangest encounter he’d ever had.
His mind was still spinning, in fact.
One second, he was leisurely minding his own in the forest. Then, out of nowhere, a strange winged purple dude flops down in front of him and claims he had been attacked by a fairy. So they go and find this perpetrating fairy, exact their revenge, and run off before she could dole out her retribution.
Either he had the strangest dream of all time, or he and his new buddy just acted like teenage hoodlums.
He was still trying to get his head in order from the past day’s events when he ambled inadvertently into another. Literally.
“Oofph,” he exclaimed in surprise as his shoulder collided with her rump. Quickly he bolted sideways and shot his attention towards the figure, more out of fright than anything else. In his mind, he expected the fairy to have found him. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the vengeance she’d have for him! (Little did he know that the revenge was instead, quite unintentionally, distributed to the next generation of Beqanna’s youth by a very confused fairy.)
Luckily, his gaze befell not a ferocious winged fairy but a lovely roan mare. Quickly, his look of fright vanished, giving way to a deep and warm blush that had begun to rise into his cheeks. She looked quite elegant, and his gaze was wholly entranced by her beautiful white hair. “Oh!” he exclaimed at first, not quite knowing what else to say. He had never been very skilled socially, and pretty girls only erased what little charm he may have had.
“Uh… I’m so sorry, miss,” he finally stuttered after a moment, looking down at the snow in embarrassment. What a way to make an introduction! Although, he thought to himself, now he was beginning to understand Kirin’s less than glorious arrival in the forest as well. Shyly he peeked back up at her, an uncertain smile beginning to show on his lips. “I’m quite a klutz sometimes,” he offered after another moment, hoping to rid the awkward silence between them.
fate she hears me | fate stand near me | fate state clearly whether there will be another card
Wolves in our own skin, we're savages. We act so primitive.
Oh! When I said I would stumble into someone, I didn’t mean quite so literally! Someone bumps into me from behind, and a jolt of adrenaline rushes through me as I whirl around to face the stranger. He seems just as startled though, darting sideways and looking absolutely terrified. That terror quickly fades into shy blushing and staring, and the shock that widened my eyes and dilated my pupils and set me on edge fades just as quickly into a shy smile of my own.
It’s hard to meet his gaze, somehow, and there’s a fluttering in my belly when I manage it, “It’s okay,” I murmur, and my voice is uncharacteristically soft as I steal glances at him through my thick white lashes. He’s cute, all awkward uncertainty and endearing embarrassment. He’s a rich, lovely bay and white, but where his hair would be black it’s silvered out some, kind of like mine. And there’s a quiet, rugged elegance to his build, not the broad, towering mass of my dad...something closer to the sleek lines of my papa, though still unlike. New, and isn’t new always just a little bit intriguing?
I meet his hesitant gaze with shy little glances, an equally uncertain smile on my lips to match the one on his. “No harm done, really. You startled me, that’s all. Got my heart racing a little. But it feels kind of nice, so I don’t mind.” My heart’s still beating a little faster than usual, come to think of it, and there’s a nervous excited glow deep down in my chest.
“I’m Dara. I live in Echo Trails with my dads, and my sisters, and--well, and my family,” I say, grinning at myself and cutting off the list before it runs on for another three ands or so. The amusement chases away a little of my lingering shyness and I meet his gaze a little more solidly instead of those shy little glances. “What about you?”
As she spoke, he listened while attempting to placate the thumping of his heart from the fright. He was normally a carefree, jovial fellow, and so, he did not find any pleasure in the anxiety that had overtaken him. Unfortunately, the racing of his heart was no longer from just the shock, and the tobiano stallion could do nothing to calm himself down. Leave it to him to have no issues insulting and mocking the infamous Kirin, but completely lose his cool with meeting a pretty girl.
Luckily, the mare seemed pleasant in demeanor, and her gentle words soothed his nervousness… just a little. He was glad to hear that he wasn’t the only one with a beating heart, though he pegged the reason for hers to his ungraceful greeting. His smile grew as she spoke, and he had to agree that the tingly feeling did feel somewhat nice.
“Dara,” he repeated after she paused. It was a pretty name, and he liked the way it rolled off his tongue. She spoke of her home and family, and instinctively, the painted stallion tried to recall if he’d ever wandered by in his prior travels. Didn’t ring a bell, however, caused more likely from his own inclination to avoid populated areas than any fault of the land or its residents. After all, prior to his adventure with Kirin, he might have been one of the few long-time residents who’d never heard of the purple stallion and his infamous cove. In fact, he still thought the lavender quite the upstanding gentleman whose only fault was an unlucky rendezvous with a cruel fairy!
“I’m Clark,” he then answered, but then trailed off a moment as he pondered her question. From her excitement at describing her home, she seemed to have quite the close family. He once had that sort of life with his lovely mother and protective father, but it had been more than a couple decades since he’d last seen them. “I tend to just wander in these forests. I don’t really have a home…” he finally admitted, his gaze slightly dropping in shame.
Yet he was determined to not let that linger between them too long. Blinking quickly, he chased his embarrassment back and returned his gaze to meet hers. His thoughts, meanwhile, raced back to her introduction of herself, back to the part that caught his attention the first time. “You have more than one dad?” His voice was more animated than before, his interest fully captured.
fate she hears me | fate stand near me | fate state clearly whether there will be another card
Wolves in our own skin, we're savages. We act so primitive.
When he says my name, I can feel my face flush with warmth, and a tiny smile playing at the corner of my lips. My head ducks a little all on its own, and when I glance over at him that little smile grows bigger. I like the way he says it, like it’s something lovely and special and novel. “It’s nice to meet you, Clark,” I reply, trying out his name like he tried mine. Oh, his is cute, too, and I like the sound of it hanging in the air. Clark.
“Oh, that sounds lonely, not having anywhere to call home!” I step closer, so used to cuddling when someone’s maybe feeling sad that it takes a step or two before I catch myself and remember that he’s a stranger and might not actually appreciate being comforted like that just yet. That perhaps it would be more awkward and uncomfortable than reassuring. But he looks so sad. So I gently nudge his shoulder and give him an encouraging smile, even if I’d rather wrap him up in a hug.
Oh, and then he’s asking about my dads, and I could talk about my family forever! My eyes light up with enthusiasm, and I can’t even pretend to help the huge grin on my face. “Yeah, I have two! My Grandmas helped make me from both of them, just like Grams and my uncle Pazuzu helped make my three little sisters from both of them. It’s kind of funny, I’ve got two dads and no mom, and Dad has two moms and no dad, on account of his moms are both shapeshifters. Well, had. One of them died a long time ago now, but anyhow they were both shifters. Not me though, I’m pretty normal, just your basic average girl.”
Or, at least I’m just your basic average girl here. I’m fine with being nothing particularly special here, just a girl with a darker version of my late grandmother’s coloring and her golden eyes. No fancy abilities, no rainbow colors, just a girl, with a huge family watching out for her, and a whole lot of curiosity about the land of her ancestors. There’s nothing self-deprecating in the comment, or in the smile that accompanies it, just uncomplicated honesty.
“What about you? I know you said you don’t have a home, but do you have family? People who love you and have your back?” God, I’d be so lonely without my dads, my grandma, my sisters, my aunt and uncle, my cousin. Without being surrounded by people I love, always having someone to talk to or spend time with. The idea of being all alone, with no one to love and no place to call home…? Oh, I’d be a wreck. But I’ve been lucky my whole life, never without at least a couple of people to cuddle up with and tell all about my day, or to hold me close and comfort me when I’m feeling sad. I’ve never known anything else. Maybe being without it isn’t as lonely as it sounds?
