"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
Somewhere between Taiga and Tephra, she finds herself. It wasn't just anywhere though. No, here in the Forest it had began. Two lost souls finding themselves here time and time again. She to reminisce of the past, him...well she wasn't entirely sure.
Maybe it was something her father had said that lead her back under the singular redwood pine. It had been so long ago she had planted here. A task given to her by the fairies and her magic caused it to grow at an unnatural speed. Now it was rising above the other trees canopies. Spreading it's needled branches to blanket the birch and elm that surrounded it. Sienna eyes look up as a smile creases her ebony lips. It was so majestic in comparison to the others. It gave her much pride to see it flourish at her doing.
The journey here had been slow. Her sides bulged with child. There was no hiding it anymore. Still her decision hadn't been made to return to Tephra or to find Levi. She wasn't sure what she'd say and if he refused them, giving birth in Tephra, the foal may not make it across the channel. Light contractions had already started to ale her. Even though she had not foaled before, she knew the time was nearing.
Standing beneath the base of her tree, she leaned into it's trunk. Finding the support it gave a much needed relief. Shifting her weight from one hip to the next as one grew sore was getting more frequent and her appetite had all but been lost. Ebony tail swatted flies from her pelt as sleepily her eyes began to close. Being tired constantly had been her norm for weeks now and it felt good to be at peace in her, their spot.
Kolera
Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.
@[Levi] I'm stopping it there if he wants to find her before Zain is born. If you don't have time I'll just continue it from here into the birthing part and he can jump in whenever
Although he had not seen her since their passionate reunion last fall, Kolera had been on his mind constantly for the last few days. Amore had given birth to his son a week ago and the sight of little sabino colt had stirred feelings in him which he had never felt so strongly.
They were like his feelings for Ceara, his sister, but so much stronger. As he had touched his nose to his son's brow, he knows he would do anything for his child... children?
For years, the relationship between Levi and Kolera had been a tense companionship. Sometimes the feelings of friendship had flowed freely, and he was content when he traveled by her side - letting her do the talking when they met curious strangers. But other times... she stoked the anger in his belly to an unbearable temperiture.
Until the day last fall when they had given into the urges of the season. He hadn't had faith that it would last, that they could be anything more than the on-again-off-again couple, standing on the shaky middle ground they found themselves on. But in those two days, she had been his everything.
Still, when she disappeared he didn't chase her, at least not until now. Not until the thought of her hiding her pregnancy from him becomes nearly an obsession - he needed to know if she was carrying his child.
He plans to set out for The Forest first, then Taiga and finally Hayline to find her. But he never makes it to his second destination. He finds her in the place where he had suspected he would, and her presence there makes him think she wanted to be found.
He dims the flames along his crest as he slides up to her side, hoping that whatever tension may of caused her to leave can be forgotten. He touches his muzzle to the curve of her belly in the familiar way of a lover, but he does move after her if she shies from his touch.
"I thought I would find you here.."
Levi
so scream you, out from behind the bitter ache.
i don't know why i always feel obligated to include a history re-cap xD
As her sienna eyes disappeared behind an ebony curtain, her mind drifted off. Her worries seeming to fade as she rested against the brittle bark of the pine. So exhausted, she hadn't heard the footsteps nearing or the new scent mixing with the musky pines. The sensation at her side was dismissed as the child stirring. Only when his deep voice is heard does her lids open quickly.
In shock she begins to back up away from him but he is quick to follow her. His name whispers from her breath in surprise, "Levi!" Refocusing her mind, she looks to him, "I...ummm...was just..." Explanation escapes her as she thought it would. She feels stupid for stuttering and the right words evade her still.
As she is about to try again, there is a pain that ripples through her body. She gasps for breath as she stumbles back into a tree. Unsure if the sudden stress was causing her bodies reaction or if this was it. Tears well in her eyes as the pain grows. Why did he have to come now? She didn't want Levi to see her like this. Leading to step forward and find her footing again, now that the pain had eased, she asks, "What are you doing here Levi?" It's all she can think of to say and before she can look to him for an answer, another surge of pain overcomes her. Sending her forwards and turning towards the redwood. Nervously she paces around it, her eyes focused on the ground as her mind focused on the pain.
Nearly three laps in the pain subsides and she stops. Looking back at him with hardened eyes. If he had answered, she hadn't heard it. Tears stained her cheeks again as sweat lathered her earthy brown hide. She was a mess and she knew it. If he had approached her to offer his empathy, she simply brushed past him. An irritated twitch to her ebony tail as she again paced. This time it was cut short by more pain. Struggling to remain standing or comfortable, she walked to a patch of ferns and collapsed on top of them. Labored breaths puffed rapidly from her nares as her body laid outstretched. This wasn't anymore comfortable but at least her limbs could rest.
Within minutes an urge came upon her, met with extreme pain. Her head raised and neck craned to bring her view to her belly. With several grunts of restricted breathing, her head lowered again. Face wincing as hooves scraped the ground under them. Another few minutes and urges, coupled with pain came a sudden relief of pressure. For a brief second she sorts through her thoughts, then lifts her head. Followed by limbs scrambling to sit her upwards. Sienna eyes look to find a wet bundle of dark and white specks at her rear. It remains still. Too still she thinks at first. Instinctively she rises and turns to clean the fluid and debris from his nostrils. Unknowing that in doing so, she also breaks his life line to her. Still it doesn't move.
Tears begin trailing down her cheeks again at her continued failed attempts at bringing life to the foal. Pausing to look to Levi with concern. Her muzzle lowers again and with a more agressive approach, she pushes the foals head up and to it's chest. Trying to seat it upright. As the foals shoulder rises to follow it's neck, there is a sudden spark of movements. Legs thrash and his mottled face whips skywards. Eyes bursting open to reveal a firey hue.
As his eyes open and he flails to life, a sudden crumbling of grass and ferns surround them. Her eyes widen in horror at the sight. Sending her stumbling backwards a step. "No!" She sobs as she realizes what they had done. What she had done.
The circle around them grows and suddenly it is reaching the redwood pine. Grasses, brush, sablings all parish in the magics wake. "No!" She cries out as it reaches the tree, her tree, their tree. Slowly the poison creeps up through the roots and the effects begin to dry the redwoods needles. She watches in horror as the tree becomes consumed by the blight and soon it is withered to bare branches. The needles falling like acid rain upon them. In disbelief she looks to where the child lays(and Levi if he had moved near the boy). "What did I do..." She whispers but the words are lost to a faint feeling coming over her. She had not noticed the massive amount of blood she had been losing and it was quick to quiet her. Collapsing to the earth, conciousness begins to slip away...
03-27-2018, 04:21 PM (This post was last modified: 03-29-2018, 01:47 PM by Levi.)
She doesn't seem to notice him - the towering stallion on fire - and he knows that something is wrong. She is in pain, so much so she seems nearly blinded by it. He reaches to comfort her and she snaps at him, but he blames the situation not her. The pain draws her away from him, and this time when she looks to him with something close to hatred (or uncaring?) in her eyes, he turns his back to leave her in peace.
The dark stallion paces the perimeter of the small clearing, ears pricked and listening for any sign of danger. He glances to her every so often as she labors, but most the time his mismatched eyes remain cast out int the dense forest, scanning for any predators which could be drawn to the scent of birth.
Another glance back to Kolera informs him that the foal has been born, and his sentry duties are immediately forgotten as he rushes to her side. The little creature is terrifyingly still as its mother cleans it, and the only sound Levi can hear is his heart hammering in his ears.
His son comes to life in a sudden explosion of movement, and the dark beast doesn't care that the damn tree in dying, only relief floods him as Kolera's dismayed cry fills the air. His son is alive.
But he is not allowed to feel joy for long. Kolera collapses into her bed of soiled nettles, and he forgets their child for the briefest of seconds. Helpless, he presses his muzzle to her brow, lifting her damp forelock away from her eyes. "Kolera," he grimaces, "Kolera get up." But a when he sees the blood, too much blood, he knows that all his powers are worthless here.
There is only one who can help them.
"I need to go get Amore," he speaks the words as soon as he realizes they are true, not sure if she can hear him or not.
He had to go to Tephra, and quickly...But there was no chance he was leaving his son in the dark forest with an unconscious mother. Cautiously, delicately, Levi traces his muzzle behind her ear, only taking a moment for parting words which he hopes will not be his last to her. "Hold on, Kolera, I'll be back with help as soon as I can."
Herding the child he presses through the trees towards Tephra. The spring foliage is dense and their progress is slow - too slow. It doesn't take long before he knows that Kolera doesn't have a chance if he escorts the colt all the way back to the island... even if they could get that far before sundown there would still be the channel to cross.
"Alright, change of plans," he says as he extends his broad head out to catch the un-named colt as he gets his little hoves tangled in a root. "Come here, under this sapling. Yes, good. Now just crawl back there into that dark place way back there." The colt obeys, maybe he senses the intensity in his father's voice, or maybe he thinks they are playing a fun game - Levi doesn't have time to figure it out- he's just glad the child is cooperating. "Now you stay right there until I call for you. It's going to be a while, but don't leave... and don't kill the plants, they are keeping you hidden."
He leaves the child, taking careful notice of the exact location.
On his own, it doesn't take long before he reaches the volcanic island - but he doesn't stop there. "Amore!"He calls, masking the panic as simple urgency. He finds her with their son, and he takes a precious moment to greet the colt.
"We need to go now," he says in a whisper to the child's mother. He is afraid that if he admits to her exactly why she is needed she will hesitate, he has no idea how much Amore knows of his on-again-off-again relationship with Kolera. She complies and as they reach the edges of Tephra he begins to explain what is going on.
"Kolera is in the forest," he begins, "she needs your help, she is losing a lot of blood. She was in labor and then something went wrong..." he watches her face as they canter, trying to gauge if she will put all the pieces together. The circumstances certainly pointed to one obvious fact.
He shows her the way to Kolera, it was a place he knew well and found easily. There is nothing else he can do now, and he remains back to let Amore and Kolera have the space they need. His body is spent, and his legs tremble but still, he pushes on - returning to the place where he had left his second son.
Levi
so scream you, out from behind the bitter ache.
@[Kolera] @[Amorette] I tried to leave the vague! Amore can decide what happens to their colt on Tephra & Neo I left the last part open so you could decide what state he finds Zain (SP?)
It is one of the more rare sunny days. Tephra was known to be misty and clouded, they kept the land warm. Like always, all is green, from the lush grass to the sapling trees, but even here the spring is in the air. Something which Amorette is enjoying, as the sun warms her dark back. The children – yes, children – are nearby, and Amore is watching both Byrne and Arden with a half eye.
Hearing her name being called makes her ears flick back first, locating the sound, and then her gaze follows. She does not need to see him in order to know who is approaching. Amore had expected him to come sooner or later, though her – futile? – hope was definitely waging on sooner. Her dark eyes study the big bay’s features as he greets their son, a small smile on her lips. But how would he react to Arden’s presence? Would he even notice her, or perhaps think she was just one of Byrne’s playmates?
She meets his odd gaze with a small frown, her head tilted a little to the side. ”Go where? I can’t le-“ Something in his gaze cuts her off mid-sentence. She had meant to say that she couldn’t leave her children, but Amorette simply cannot ignore the pained look upon his features or the panic in his eyes, though both are well hidden. ”Give me a moment” she murmurs to him, then turning to both Byrne and Arden.
She definitely wasn’t going to take them with her, but neither would she leave them unguarded. And there was only one other she would entrust their care to. With a soft mumbled apology and a thank you they are off.
The longer Levi stay’s silent, the more anxious she becomes. What happened that had him panic like this? It surely couldn’t be good. The longer the silence last, the wilder her imaginations run, the next even darker than its processor. And when he does spill, his words force her into a stop. Kolera. The bay mare hadn’t really been on her mind lately – only Byrne had been – but how could she have forgotten? There was only one explanation to Levi’s absence following the days of Byrne’s birth. The realisation is like a slap in her face.
She is slow to catch up again, and not only because he is much taller compared to her own petite frame. Amorette bites back the sting, ignoring her own pain and needs. Never had her own feelings been important, and she cannot allow them to interfere with her duty now. Not when someone needs her. ”Where is she?” she asks curtly, her ears flicking back and eyes refusing to meet Levi’s.
He shows her the way to Kolera. She tries to ignore his ease in finding the place, telling herself that he just must know the forest very well. Even before the bay mare is revealed to her eyes, she can already smell the blood. It is enough to push Amorette forward, eyes widening at the sight. The déjà vu hits her as a second slap in her face. She had found Kolera’s mother Karaugh just like this.
Her throat tightens, a big lump blocking it. ”K-kolera?” is the soft whisper that comes from her lips as she wills herself forward. By then Levi is long gone. Gone and left them both this time. Worry holds her in its grasp, her muzzle softly on Kolera’s cheek. She nudges again, and again, but never does the mare respond. Her breathing is faint, too faint, and it is getting weaker with each breath.
Not getting a response does nothing to ease her worries, they only spike. Tephra’s fire healer moves her muzzle along Kolera’s body, lingering on her stomach. Childbirth complications. Far as Amorette knew the cause of Karaugh’s death. Her teeth grind together, and ears press back against her skull. Healing visible wounds was one thing, but never before had Amore attempted to heal intern damage like Kolera’s ruptured uterus. Insecurity of her own skill ánd worry for her friend’s life gnaw at her.
Their only result: even further limiting Kolera’s chances on survival.
The time between Kolera’s breaths becomes even longer, and only when Amorette thinks that the bay woman is no longer breathing, she gets pulled out of her haze. No more time to hesitate. With closed eyes Amore pushes her dark muzzle against Kolera’s barrel, willing the flames to burn inside the mare’s belly. With no oxygen to fuel them – not that they normally linger long – they burn short, though intently. The tear is mend, stopping further blood loss. Amore knows she is not yet done, and although she is exhausted, she gives more of herself in an attempt to save Kolera.
By the time she is done, her legs are trembling. She no longer has the energy to keep herself up, and thus she goes to the ground. The ebony woman forces herself to keep sitting up, though her eyes are only half open and her muzzle is resting in the dirt. Like that Amorette keeps an eye on her patient, glad to see her breathing sturdier than before. She had restored a minimal amount of blood in Kolera’s veins, just enough to make sure she’d survive, and also not too much to prevent herself from blacking out. That would do nobody any good.
She is lost to an abyss of space much like a dream but a dream does play behind her lids. She finds nothing here. An empty portal of space that has no beginning or end. It is bright, almost blindingly so. Time also seems to still and it leaves her to wonder how she got in this place. It is peaceful and yet she feels she shouldn't be here. But why?
K..Kolera...
Her name is all she hears, but where had it come from. "Helloooo," a mental call rings in her mind. Confusion consumes her then. "I don't want to be here anymore! I wanna go...home." Home. Tephra. Levi... Their baby. "What did I do?!"
Suddenly there is a burning within her and she screams from inside. The pain was excruciating, for a moment. Then just as quick as it had came, it was gone. Her heart pounded within her chest cavity as her conciousness began. Drawing in a deep gulp of air, her eyes shot open as her head lifted. Legs thrashed as hooves searched for traction to seat herself up. Finding little, but enough, she rolled forwards. Sienna eyes searching to make sense of where she was. Trees. That's right, the forest. Finding in her view the redwood now, the dead redwood, it all comes back to her. Then her eyes land upon a dark form hovering over her, "Amorette! Wha...what happened?! Where is Levi? Whe...where is the baby?" There were so many questions, so many answers to be had. Not knowing that Amorette probably didn't have all of them but in her delusion she asks anyways.
Also not knowing of her vulnerable state of health, she attempts to stand. A feebile attempt but an attempt nonetheless. Her limbs barely gather under her before she is sinking back to the earth...
The world I come into is cold. I am damp and motionless at first. Not knowing what to do, even as something crawl across me. I feel it's warmth and rough texture. It isn't until there is a pressure against me that I come too. Flailing my limbs about. I feel another sensation and soon crunching if dried foilage.
My hazy eyes attempt to focus on a brown splotch but I stare at it blankly. Blinking my crimson eyes to find any clarity. The form is dwindling and noises are heard. Words. Cries. I struggle to get upright. Wobbling limbs grip for traction as I pull myself to stand. More words come but they don't sound like the first. They are deep. The words are called out and panicked almost. What was happening?...
There come a nudge at my bum and stern orders. I'm following someone. Something to somewhere but I do not question it. I try my best to move quick, but it is hard. Too hard. They must realize this too as they tell me to hide. Forcing me into the dark, underbrush of the lands. It is cold, I am wet and tired. The voice says not to move, and not to kill the plants. What did that mean?
I do as I'm instructed. I lay down and do not move. My head wraps around to rest on my limbs and I drift to sleep...
Zain
@[Levi] if you want to respond and close up the thread with everyone following you back to Tephra I'm cool with that.
*Be Warned*
Possesses health transference
and may steal your health.
Zain
