09-03-2018, 01:31 PM
Wild places had something of a thrilling magnetism to them, didn’t they? Buzzing with life and energy, ground so old you could feel history stretching out in untold ages beneath your feet. Even amidst catastrophe and upheaval, land crashing together and taking new shape, thrusting up out of the earth below with the force of collision or sudden outbursts of magic, the rock was still the same rock, just bent and twisted and shaped into something new. Wasn’t it brilliant?
Beqanna’s mountain felt like one of the wildest of wild places, the air thick with magic as oxygen thinned, almost visibly shimmering with possibility. The highest peak, with gods but the most amazing view. All of Beqanna stretched out before her, craggy peaks and rolling hills, a patchwork of colors formed by the magical climate of each land, autumn leaves crashing up against early winter freeze, mountains rolling up into the sharp cliffs of the northern coast of Nerine, reaching over toward tropical island paradise that stayed vibrant green despite the season. Her heart still ached for the lost jungle, the home of her childhood, happy days surrounded by love and family, roaming the wilds with her tamarin friend clinging to her mane, climbing up to play with her ears and perch on her bright yellow forelock while they adventured through dense, vibrant green together.
She’d imagined, once upon a time. Finding someone to love with the depth and passion her mothers loved each other, but maybe a little less of the pain and heartache and devastation. Had put it off, really, after a couple of early attempts at least, thinking perhaps if she were older when she settled down, she’d avoid some of the pitfalls of falling in love as barely more than a child, struggling to grow up and discover yourself and grow together when the world wanted to take you in different directions. But she’d dreamed, maybe all along, of someday crashing headlong into just the right someone, falling heart first into love as thrilling as the wildest places in her jungle home, bringing her own children into the world and raising them in her childhood home, teaching them to love the wild inside themselves the way her mothers had done with her.
It had been so easy though, to wait just a little longer, to help raise siblings and nieces and nephews instead. And then the home of her heart was gone, torn away when the world was thrown into chaos and rearranged, and the dream faded some, tarnished by the disappearance of the land she’d loved so much. Her family had splintered, breaking off into their own little groups or heading off to wander alone, restless hearts searching for something indefinable, pulled in different directions by the call of fate or the pull of gifts, bashed in the head by magic or claimed by death and taken far beyond her reach. She’d followed the largest group, stuck with Drow and Daeryssa and their complicated, delightful, wild little family that quickly became not so little, and for a while it had been enough to dance on the edge of their world, drawn in now and again and engulfed in the kind of love her heart had almost forgotten how to ache for, wrapped up in family and home and a feeling of almost belonging.
Lately though. Lately, she’d felt a quiet little tugging at the edge of her awareness, something like Strange used to describe before disappearing for days or weeks or years. A call of fate, a gentle coaxing to leave behind what she knew and seek out the wild places again, let the world work on her in its puzzling and mysterious way. Maybe it was her turn for a fresh start.
Well. She wasn’t wrong. Light flashed out of nowhere, a sudden bolt of lightning followed by rolling thunder that echoed out across the mountainside, and the whole world changed again.
At least for her.
…
“Oh, shit. Ummm. Sorry, I think I went a little overboard.” A fresh start, a heart wish practically shouted into the ether in Beqanna’s most magical of places, it was only natural that a fairy was drawn to investigate. And well, the heart in question was bright and shining like sunlight, all radiant yellow like her cute forelock, and what fairy could resist such a hopeful little wish? Except, um, this particular fairy was perhaps a little...overly enthusiastic? And not so much the best at focusing her intent and shaping it and making it something...specific. Magic was tricky like that, and after all, ummm, the world worked in mysterious ways? Yeah! Sure! So. It probably wasn’t a big deal that her adorable wish-maker got uhhh knocked to the ground in a cloud of smoke! No big deal! The smoke cleared, and the fairy flew closer to investigate.
Oh. Um. Oops? Nah, it was fine, see? Fresh start, that totally meant like starting from the beginning though! And what better way to do that than as a newborn? Really, it was fine! Still. Maybe she’d better stick around for a minute and make sure little miss heart wish was gonna like...wake up. And be okay. The sort of glowy-ember look to her skin was new, but it was fading fast and probably fiiiiine.
“Hello?”
…
“Mmm?” A gentle tapping on her forehead made her stir, coaxed her to open her eyes. She did, very reluctantly, ‘cause her head was aching something fierce. But there was nothing there, and everything looked...weird somehow, though she couldn’t quite sort out what was off about it. She groaned, shaking her head a little--and something squeaked on her forehead.
“Whoa, easy there!”
She froze, eyes crossing to try and look where the sound was coming from, but have you ever tried to look at your own forehead? It did not go well, and only made her head ache louder, and added a little dizziness on top of it. “Hello?” A funny crawling sensation across her forehead, from the center toward her left eye, and then a face peeked into her line of sight, making her startle and jerk her head.
“Whoa!” The fairy spread her wings wide for balance, fluttering a little and holding onto the short fur on her forehead with little hands. “Hey now, hold still, huh? You alright there, darlin’?”
Darlin? She snorted, and managed not to shake her head only by flicking her tail instead, an irritated little waggle that felt funny somehow, like there was an afterthought of it missing. Didn’t sound right either, should’ve been a nice swish through the air, she thought, but wasn’t quite sure where the thought came from anyhow. “I’m not Darlin.’
“No, no, ‘course you’re not, you’re…” The fairy tilted her head, peering into her eye like she was looking for the answer, then lit up with a big grin. “Xero. You’re Xero. Darlin’s just a cute little nickname.”
“I don’t like it.” Not the name, that felt right, just the nickname made her twitchy and grumbly and felt like not the right one. Another little huff of a snort, and a frown that made her brow furrow just enough to set the fairy to wobbling again. Little love. Baby girl. Those fit. Darlin though, that was somebody else.
“Okay, okay, sorry. Xero it is. Look, you’re alright, right? Awake and talking and whatnot, you’re fine, all good, yeah?”
Xero flicked her ears, snorting again. “I’m fine, yeah.” Pretty sure, at least. Everything felt kinda blurry fuzzy funny, and she couldn’t quite pinpoint why? But probably she was fine. Sure. Yeah.
“Cool, cool. You wanna...maybe like get up and walk and test that out? Just to make sure, no big deal, just don’t wanna like, leave you here...defenseless...and all. I’m sure it’s fine, you’ll be fiiiine, wish granted, that’s a good thing! Yeah?”
Xero huffed again, tossing her head just a little in a nod that okay was maybe also a sneaky little attempt to get the fairybug off her face? “Sure, okay, no big deal. I can do that.” She was pretty sure. Took a second, took inventory, and yep, four whole legs to stand on and all she had to do was get up. She planted one of her front feet, then the other, and then sorta shimmied the back ones into--oof!
What.
Also ow. She groaned and shook her head--and hey, the fairy wasn’t attached to her face anymore, so there was that. Sorta dislodged herself with a squeak when Xero was face-planting into the dirt. Naturally. Okay well that was weird, but it was fine, she could do this whole standing thing, no big deal. Gritting her teeth--hey. Wait a sec. She opened her mouth, tried to click her teeth, and...squish. That was not a click sound. There was supposed to be a click sound, wasn’t there?
Whatever. Future Xero’s problems. Right now, there were more important things to focus on. Like figuring out what the fuck was going on with her legs. She planted her feet again, and managed to get almost up--and then wobbled and fell over onto her hip with a grunt. “What the heck?” Hell, she’d definitely meant hell, but whatever.
Also her voice felt...squeaky high? Everything was weird, and she did not like it. Pinning her ears, she tried one more time, grumbling and lashing her tail as she set one foot, two, and then shifted her weight to get her back feet under her. The fairy even helped a little, tugging at her ear to help balance her out, flitting back to tug her tail just so, and yes! Up! Her legs were shaky as hell, but she was up! “See? I’ve got this.”
“Yay, good job! Atta girl!” The fairy patted her hindquarters, and Xero snorted and shied away from the unexpected touch--and flopped right back onto her face. Growling, she set her feet firmly on the stupid damn ground and shoved herself back upright, glaring back at the fairy over her shoulder. “Oops. Sorry, friend. Um. Practice though! Practice is good! Look, I think you’re gonna be fine, and I really gotta go, sooooo. Ummm. Here!” The little bug waved her hand, and sparkles danced through the air and hit her in the tummy, and a loud grumbling growly feeling she hadn’t even noticed yet went away. “That should keep you nice and topped up for now, and look, so, if you just go that way, you’ll find your way back down the mountain, no worries, right? It’s gonna be great! Wish granted, have fun, okay?” Fairybug flew up to pat her on the nose, and Xero chomped her teeth at her. Or tried to. Again with that funny squishy gumming sound. “Okay, bye!”
And then the fairy was gone.
Xero huffed and grumbled some more, and wobbled her way forward in the direction the fairy had pointed. Back down the mountain, to...uhhh...oh. She...didn’t really know. Couldn’t remember. Um. Anything, come to think of it, before the fairy was tapping on her forehead.
Well, shit.
((I have permission to powerplay a fairy and have Xero zapped back to babyhood, with her memories uhhhh a little displaced. XD Thank youuu! This is gonna be fun!))
Beqanna’s mountain felt like one of the wildest of wild places, the air thick with magic as oxygen thinned, almost visibly shimmering with possibility. The highest peak, with gods but the most amazing view. All of Beqanna stretched out before her, craggy peaks and rolling hills, a patchwork of colors formed by the magical climate of each land, autumn leaves crashing up against early winter freeze, mountains rolling up into the sharp cliffs of the northern coast of Nerine, reaching over toward tropical island paradise that stayed vibrant green despite the season. Her heart still ached for the lost jungle, the home of her childhood, happy days surrounded by love and family, roaming the wilds with her tamarin friend clinging to her mane, climbing up to play with her ears and perch on her bright yellow forelock while they adventured through dense, vibrant green together.
She’d imagined, once upon a time. Finding someone to love with the depth and passion her mothers loved each other, but maybe a little less of the pain and heartache and devastation. Had put it off, really, after a couple of early attempts at least, thinking perhaps if she were older when she settled down, she’d avoid some of the pitfalls of falling in love as barely more than a child, struggling to grow up and discover yourself and grow together when the world wanted to take you in different directions. But she’d dreamed, maybe all along, of someday crashing headlong into just the right someone, falling heart first into love as thrilling as the wildest places in her jungle home, bringing her own children into the world and raising them in her childhood home, teaching them to love the wild inside themselves the way her mothers had done with her.
It had been so easy though, to wait just a little longer, to help raise siblings and nieces and nephews instead. And then the home of her heart was gone, torn away when the world was thrown into chaos and rearranged, and the dream faded some, tarnished by the disappearance of the land she’d loved so much. Her family had splintered, breaking off into their own little groups or heading off to wander alone, restless hearts searching for something indefinable, pulled in different directions by the call of fate or the pull of gifts, bashed in the head by magic or claimed by death and taken far beyond her reach. She’d followed the largest group, stuck with Drow and Daeryssa and their complicated, delightful, wild little family that quickly became not so little, and for a while it had been enough to dance on the edge of their world, drawn in now and again and engulfed in the kind of love her heart had almost forgotten how to ache for, wrapped up in family and home and a feeling of almost belonging.
Lately though. Lately, she’d felt a quiet little tugging at the edge of her awareness, something like Strange used to describe before disappearing for days or weeks or years. A call of fate, a gentle coaxing to leave behind what she knew and seek out the wild places again, let the world work on her in its puzzling and mysterious way. Maybe it was her turn for a fresh start.
Well. She wasn’t wrong. Light flashed out of nowhere, a sudden bolt of lightning followed by rolling thunder that echoed out across the mountainside, and the whole world changed again.
At least for her.
…
“Oh, shit. Ummm. Sorry, I think I went a little overboard.” A fresh start, a heart wish practically shouted into the ether in Beqanna’s most magical of places, it was only natural that a fairy was drawn to investigate. And well, the heart in question was bright and shining like sunlight, all radiant yellow like her cute forelock, and what fairy could resist such a hopeful little wish? Except, um, this particular fairy was perhaps a little...overly enthusiastic? And not so much the best at focusing her intent and shaping it and making it something...specific. Magic was tricky like that, and after all, ummm, the world worked in mysterious ways? Yeah! Sure! So. It probably wasn’t a big deal that her adorable wish-maker got uhhh knocked to the ground in a cloud of smoke! No big deal! The smoke cleared, and the fairy flew closer to investigate.
Oh. Um. Oops? Nah, it was fine, see? Fresh start, that totally meant like starting from the beginning though! And what better way to do that than as a newborn? Really, it was fine! Still. Maybe she’d better stick around for a minute and make sure little miss heart wish was gonna like...wake up. And be okay. The sort of glowy-ember look to her skin was new, but it was fading fast and probably fiiiiine.
“Hello?”
…
“Mmm?” A gentle tapping on her forehead made her stir, coaxed her to open her eyes. She did, very reluctantly, ‘cause her head was aching something fierce. But there was nothing there, and everything looked...weird somehow, though she couldn’t quite sort out what was off about it. She groaned, shaking her head a little--and something squeaked on her forehead.
“Whoa, easy there!”
She froze, eyes crossing to try and look where the sound was coming from, but have you ever tried to look at your own forehead? It did not go well, and only made her head ache louder, and added a little dizziness on top of it. “Hello?” A funny crawling sensation across her forehead, from the center toward her left eye, and then a face peeked into her line of sight, making her startle and jerk her head.
“Whoa!” The fairy spread her wings wide for balance, fluttering a little and holding onto the short fur on her forehead with little hands. “Hey now, hold still, huh? You alright there, darlin’?”
Darlin? She snorted, and managed not to shake her head only by flicking her tail instead, an irritated little waggle that felt funny somehow, like there was an afterthought of it missing. Didn’t sound right either, should’ve been a nice swish through the air, she thought, but wasn’t quite sure where the thought came from anyhow. “I’m not Darlin.’
“No, no, ‘course you’re not, you’re…” The fairy tilted her head, peering into her eye like she was looking for the answer, then lit up with a big grin. “Xero. You’re Xero. Darlin’s just a cute little nickname.”
“I don’t like it.” Not the name, that felt right, just the nickname made her twitchy and grumbly and felt like not the right one. Another little huff of a snort, and a frown that made her brow furrow just enough to set the fairy to wobbling again. Little love. Baby girl. Those fit. Darlin though, that was somebody else.
“Okay, okay, sorry. Xero it is. Look, you’re alright, right? Awake and talking and whatnot, you’re fine, all good, yeah?”
Xero flicked her ears, snorting again. “I’m fine, yeah.” Pretty sure, at least. Everything felt kinda blurry fuzzy funny, and she couldn’t quite pinpoint why? But probably she was fine. Sure. Yeah.
“Cool, cool. You wanna...maybe like get up and walk and test that out? Just to make sure, no big deal, just don’t wanna like, leave you here...defenseless...and all. I’m sure it’s fine, you’ll be fiiiine, wish granted, that’s a good thing! Yeah?”
Xero huffed again, tossing her head just a little in a nod that okay was maybe also a sneaky little attempt to get the fairybug off her face? “Sure, okay, no big deal. I can do that.” She was pretty sure. Took a second, took inventory, and yep, four whole legs to stand on and all she had to do was get up. She planted one of her front feet, then the other, and then sorta shimmied the back ones into--oof!
What.
Also ow. She groaned and shook her head--and hey, the fairy wasn’t attached to her face anymore, so there was that. Sorta dislodged herself with a squeak when Xero was face-planting into the dirt. Naturally. Okay well that was weird, but it was fine, she could do this whole standing thing, no big deal. Gritting her teeth--hey. Wait a sec. She opened her mouth, tried to click her teeth, and...squish. That was not a click sound. There was supposed to be a click sound, wasn’t there?
Whatever. Future Xero’s problems. Right now, there were more important things to focus on. Like figuring out what the fuck was going on with her legs. She planted her feet again, and managed to get almost up--and then wobbled and fell over onto her hip with a grunt. “What the heck?” Hell, she’d definitely meant hell, but whatever.
Also her voice felt...squeaky high? Everything was weird, and she did not like it. Pinning her ears, she tried one more time, grumbling and lashing her tail as she set one foot, two, and then shifted her weight to get her back feet under her. The fairy even helped a little, tugging at her ear to help balance her out, flitting back to tug her tail just so, and yes! Up! Her legs were shaky as hell, but she was up! “See? I’ve got this.”
“Yay, good job! Atta girl!” The fairy patted her hindquarters, and Xero snorted and shied away from the unexpected touch--and flopped right back onto her face. Growling, she set her feet firmly on the stupid damn ground and shoved herself back upright, glaring back at the fairy over her shoulder. “Oops. Sorry, friend. Um. Practice though! Practice is good! Look, I think you’re gonna be fine, and I really gotta go, sooooo. Ummm. Here!” The little bug waved her hand, and sparkles danced through the air and hit her in the tummy, and a loud grumbling growly feeling she hadn’t even noticed yet went away. “That should keep you nice and topped up for now, and look, so, if you just go that way, you’ll find your way back down the mountain, no worries, right? It’s gonna be great! Wish granted, have fun, okay?” Fairybug flew up to pat her on the nose, and Xero chomped her teeth at her. Or tried to. Again with that funny squishy gumming sound. “Okay, bye!”
And then the fairy was gone.
Xero huffed and grumbled some more, and wobbled her way forward in the direction the fairy had pointed. Back down the mountain, to...uhhh...oh. She...didn’t really know. Couldn’t remember. Um. Anything, come to think of it, before the fairy was tapping on her forehead.
Well, shit.
((I have permission to powerplay a fairy and have Xero zapped back to babyhood, with her memories uhhhh a little displaced. XD Thank youuu! This is gonna be fun!))