"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
10-03-2017, 03:56 PM (This post was last modified: 10-03-2017, 04:06 PM by Jah-Lilah.)
Jah-Lilah
I know a girl, she puts the color inside of my world.
The red mare hadn't been so happy in years. She had not one, but two mates who she would fall upon her knees and give her life to, they had babies for days too for her to dote on. First had come Corvus and Crevan, bursting into her world without warning, flipping everything upon its' head. Now, here was @[Nyxa], the little girl to bring them all closer like glue. The honey hued filly lie at her feet, as her older brothers had once done. Her mane was a fresh, bright green that blended beautifully with the summer grass. She snored loudly, coaxing a bewitched smile from Jah-Lilah. She sighed loudly, absolutely filled to the brim with baby fever. She had been swept up in a whirlwind with the pair of lovers, and they gave her the confidence to be able to do anything. She hadn't felt to alive and so powerful in so many years.
She's locking feathers into Made-From-Love's mane when she scents her mate. Instantly her head jerks up and she dances in place. They had seen each other, but had hardly had a moment to speak since her Wolf-of-the-Water had been on a mission to acquire territory. Little did the emerald siren know that Jah-Lilah had been on a mission to help get it for her. In the midst of all these politics, a joining had commenced, a courtship initiated. My firefly hadn't even been able to tell her shoulder-friend that she had met their winged lover deep in the depths of the forest. They had been dancing for a time now, for the first time in her life, Spark-and-Flame wanted to bring her own life into the world. She wanted it for @[Circinae], for Canaan, for herself. She wanted so badly to be kin with them. She emits a shrill greeting to her Wolf-of-the-Water, careful not to tread upon the sweet baby at her feet. She helps little Made-From-Love to her feet, and they stand, awaiting the arrival of Circinae together.
She's just like a maze where all of the walls, they continually change.
-Oh my love, don't forsake me; Take what the water gave me-
Gryffen’s powers, much like everyone else’s, had their limitations. When Circinae had stepped into the stunning grip of that red stare it had been with partial curiosity over what the wraith could really do. Mind-altering, that’s how she would label it - mind-altering and beneficial for the one seeking answers. What she most certainly had not expected was how dually beneficial such a vision quest could be.
The King of Sylva knew her mind, yes, her desires and wishes brought to life in the shape of Ruan and his ‘daughter’, Heda, but what he couldn’t puzzle out was why she had wanted it that way. That milk-white brow would often furrow when his attention was brought to her and it made the little wolf smile; she liked to keep the odd stallion on his toes. Assuredly her choice to leave was strange to him - if she had wanted Heda’s destruction, who better to follow? That’s just the thing, though; she had never wanted their demise, or their death.
What she had wanted was to wear their crowns, to watch them brought low with humility and shame.
“A mirror always reflects the truth.” She ponders, topping the rise of a pleasantly-warmed hillock that gave her a stunning overlook of Hyaline. Below her, the verdant pastures of her homeland stretched to touch the bowl of mountains that was their make-shift border, while at its epicenter the great lake rested peacefully. Her bright eyes scan the tops of trees, glide over the jagged rises and slopes, and then fall to where Jah-Lilah waits patiently for her return. It is in that moment her ruby love jerks to attention, rounding with a shrill call that brings the easy tug of a smile to her bloodied lips.
Down the incline, weaving with practised ease through mountain laurel and twisted underbrush, the nimble predator finds her way to the pair. They’re picturesque - so sweet and lovely that her heart seems near to bursting as she trots easily onto the scene. “Jah! Nyxa!” She barks in greeting, wagging a darkly plumed tail in welcome before shifting upwards into horse. Her babe, growing in leaps and bounds, rushes to meet her on spindly legs that cannot stop the crash of her thin body as it slams against her mother’s. “OOF, hello to you too, little one.” Circy laughs, bracing against the impact before lowering a curious eye to her daughter’s mane.
“What’s this? Some body art, I see? And so young! Tsk.” The mother chides playfully, lipping the airy feathers woven with love. A kiss here, a rub there, and then she brushes past her little girl to greet Jah-Lilah with a hushed, warm embrace of her own. “The hunt was good today,” She relates, pulling gently back, “an unlucky pair of quail met their match.” She chuckles lightly, snapping her teeth together in mock play. Fascinated by this mimicry, Nyxa pokes a curious head around to stare up at both mares with puzzled, amethyst-colored eyes. “Whassa Quail, Momma? And why did you eat one?”
Circy laughs. “You’ll know soon enough, little pup.” She teases with a wink, “but first why don’t you tell me what you and Aunty Jah have been up to, hmm? Have you been practicing with your fangs?” The viridian mare asks, head rising to wait for either her daughter or Spark-and-Flame to speak.
I've done all I can to stand on her steps with my heart in my hand.
Her canine companion wears blood on her mouth like lipstick as she shows herself to my mare. Her makeup is beautiful to Jah-Lilah. She should feel disgust, feel turned off and tuned out at the predator's war paint, but she feels quite the opposite. There's a strange animal magnetism that pulls at Jah-Lilah when she sees such a feral display. Circinae is so raw, so primal when she's this way. It sends a tingle down the red wytch's spine and brings a smile to her face. How she loved this wolf, this mare, it cannot be put into words. Her heart it fit to explode from her chest out of excitement.
The little wolf weaves it's way down to them, and in a moment is the form that my firefly fell in love with. The air jumps with electricity as Jah-Lilah shows all her cards unabashedly. She is happy. As she watches mother and daughter reunite, she looks on, waiting her turn. A twisty mess of legs and fur, the filly is upon her dam. Jah-Lilah chuckles as well, tossing her mane. She steps close and nuzzles the emerald mare, lipping at the side of her cheek. She makes a face and attempts to look innocent as Wolf-of-the-Water muses on the feather in her daughter's mane. "Oh, come now lover, it's ONLY one. Plus, we match." She grins mischieviously and turns to Circy can see the new feather at the base of her own mane. "Sorry, Wolfy, I couldn't resist." She sidles playfully alongside her mate, nipping at her barrel.
She bobs her head excitedly as Circinae relays the details of her findings, enthralled and captivated by her prey-turned-predator lover's stories. She laughs as @[Circinae] snaps and mimics a wolf, making a high pitched noise and playing her part. She shies away, pretending to be the quails that met their end today. Nyxa watches curiously and then speaks us, asking questions and looking on curiously. Jah grins at Circinae's answer, then kisses the filly between them. "She has, and she's quite fearsome. Go on, Lovey, show your mama." She bumps the little one gently, encouragingly.
Now I'm starting to see that maybe it's got nothing to do with me.
-Oh my love, don't forsake me; Take what the water gave me-
Nyxa’s entire body seems to melt at the touch of Jah’s lips. Where the boys had been rough, callous, and introverted, her daughter is seemingly blossoming from such tender attention. It’s never an inherent emotion for men; love. But Circinae reasons that if Crevan had practised it more and if Corvus had opened his own heart to it, they might not be such strong-willed boys. Time, she hopes, might fix that. “Or worsen it…” The tingling premonition comes to mind, unbidden. Circy only shakes it away with the sideways tilt of a grin as the two elder mares watch their young in her practise.
Nyxa’s white-washed brow is struggling to furrow with concentration. Her eyes are trained on nothing, but she works tirelessly to change a physical feature that otherwise would be blunted and square to sharp and dangerous. It is hard, harder than it would seem, and so patience from understanding settles quietly over Circinae’s shoulders as she shifts to comfortably stand. Her babe’s mouth is opened wide, the dewy wings crossed over back pushing against each other with the strain of her effort.
Her canines succeed in elongating themselves with a brief flourish, expanding quickly before fading once more back to equine standards. “BRAVO!!” The bicolored mother cries, perhaps exaggerating the need for excitement only because this is their baby and, naturally, she feels inclined to seem fascinated by acts that she herself has long mastered. “Soon you’ll have the eyes down, then the nose. After that comes full shifting, but we have time to worry about that later, made-from-love.”
“Speaking of later,” She starts, her green head rising to pin Jah with a blank stare, “there’s something I’d like to address with Spark-and-Flame, Nyxa. Will you be alright playing on your own?” Circy asks, but Nyxa has already begun to turn away from them in favor of adventure elsewhere. A sigh, followed by a chuckle is all Circinae can manage before the little filly is hopping off to elsewhere.
In the silence that follows, Circinae feels her awkwardness grow. Her gaze, which usually seems so bold and determined, is downcast and filled with dark turmoil. “Can I take you outside of Hyaline?” She starts suddenly, glancing sideways at her mate. Near to them the shore of Hyaline’s great lake waits undisturbed for Jah’s response.
Fathers, be good to your daughters, and daughters will love like you do.
She dances her flighty dance around her mate and Nyxa, watching with eager excitement. There would be no one to tell her that this was not her family, her kin, her heartbeat. There was a longing though, a nagging ache. She missed her twins. She shouldn't be surprised that they couldn't be still, one was of the Wolf and one was of the Wind, it was in their nature to move around. They were mad at her, the both of them, but still she missed her surrogate sons. Fuck that being mad shit, they were still her family. She watches Nyxa furrow her brow and break a sweat trying to impress her mother, and it is one of the few comforts she has.
The girl huffs and puffs, and like the wolf she is, succeeds. Baby fangs pop out momentarily, before retreating into their equine form, and Jah is beaming. She clucks and noses the girl encouragingly, as proud as her mother at her slow but steady acheivements. She is progressing, she will shift like her mother and her brother. Jah-Lilah forgets how difficult it must be, @[Circinae] and Crevan make it look effortless. The filly triumphs, and all around is celebration. They rejoice playfully, their words dripping saccharine sweetness and encouragement. Jah noses her emerald lover and then her adopted daughter, filled with pride and love.
She turns to her mate and is greeted with a penetrating stare, and Jah-Lilah meets the oceanic gaze with an emerald one of her own. Circinae speaks as their youngling retreats, and Jah is already swaying and licking her lips. She misses her mate every time she is drawn away on politics, yet she always returns. It is this that Jah stakes her love on. Quickly she realizes that this may not be a meeting of the senses, that raw, rugged, nameless passion they have. Her Wolf-of-the-Water looks troubled, stormy, cloudy. Jah reels it in, enveloping them in a warm glow.
"My love, you can take me anywhere, this you already know. Let's go, I'm ready." Her words are sudden, quiet, honest. She picks up a steady trot, dancing away from Circinae now, any excuse to go back to the gypsy vagabond that she was. She needs no encouragement, her wanderlust is always at the surface, her mate and her family the anchor. She increases her gait to a steady three-beat, never looking back, trusting in her mate that she is not far behind.
Girls become lovers, who turn into mothers, so mothers be good to your daughters too.
