"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
It had been a long journey, a couple days at least, when Voudou finally told her to stop. Sretan looked around, aweing at tall trees and still full of energy despite the fact that they had been walking all morning. She was a tiny little thing yet, not even a week old, her mane and tail still fluffy, and barely able to keep her own mother from stepping on her. Though the blue filly didn't know any different, Voudou wasn't exactly the best example of a nurturing mother. Sure she stayed clean and dry, and felt safe from the outside world, but the large friesian mare still wasn't kind-hearted by nature.
"Look for the black mare, Sidra. And don't forget what I told you," her mother said softly before giving her a slightly rough bump. Wide-eyed and confused, Sretan complied, trotting off away from her mom. Of course mom would stay nearby...right?
She wandered aimlessly, soft hoofs barely leaving impressions in the dirt behind her. Everything just seemed so... large. The trees reached towards the sky, almost seeming to brush the clouds at their peaks, even the grasses here easily reached her stomach, hiding her delicate black legs. Oh! A butterfly! The task at hand was completely forgotten as Sretan chased around the colorful insect, blue and black like herself, only to have it land upon her nose, clinging to her velvety muzzle. With a snort the butterfly fell, and Sretan quickly moved on, making sure to step on the bug as she went. Coming to a sudden realization, the filly noticed she could no longer smell Voudou in the air, and she had no idea where she was. "Mom? I can't find anyone, can't we just go somewhere else?" she called out, a slight hint of worry shadowing her voice.
Although Sahm had been lost for what felt like a thousand years he was finally home in the Gates. On this particular day Sahm could be found lipping at sweet tendrils of grass that grew beneath a rather large and brightly decorated tree. With each taste of green Sahm felt a tinge of warmth sink into his belly. It gave him a sense of peace that he hadn’t felt since he was young. Normally such a feeling would cause him to over indulge in his snack, but a particular scent forced his eyes open. He lifted his head and inhaled deeply, and out of the corner of his eye he spotted a hint of blue. Dad Sahm hopefully thought. The hope was diminished as quickly as it had come for with a full open look he noticed the blue shimmer was attached to black, and the body was small. No matter the source of the color Sahm’s curiosity was still sparked.
Sahm slowly approached the young foal. His large body merely acted as a hindrance to his speed. ”Hello, young one.” He simply said once he had drawn near enough. Sahm easily noted that the blue tinge on his white speckles almost matched the hue of the filly. A kind, friendly smile reached across his lips and he continued to step closer. ”My name is Sahm…what brings you here?” He spoke louder this time. His voice was smooth, and his words aroused slower than normal. Sahm wasn’t quite the talker.
While he waited a quiet response from the young one Sahm realized that she was alone. ”Where is your mother?” He questioned lightly- a part of him eagerly wanting to ask Where is your father?
Sretan froze suddenly when a figure appeared before her. A large black horse, sort of like mother said, except a grand stallion, not a mare. He had too much white to be Sidra anyway, a large splash of it reaching up from his stomach, weirdly tinted with blue (though Sretan thought nothing of this). The creature pulled itself towards her slowly, stopping only a small bit away. He spoke, and the filly stared back at him, slightly wide-eyed and seemingly unable to form any words at all. Until now, she had never even attempted to speak to another soul besides Voudou, and she was completely unsure of what to do next.
Perhaps sensing how uncomfortable she was, the large stallion spoke some more, urging the conversation forward with a little more confidence. Quietly but firmly she uttered, "I'm Sretan." Words! Success. Sretan perked her ears towards him, not afraid just confused. A stupid smile was now plastered across her tiny face, even as the realization kicked in that her neck might start to hurt if she had to keep looking up at him for too long. Just as she noticed she hadn't even answered his question he asked another.
Mother? Oh right. "I'm not sure exactly, I'm sure she's lurking around here somewhere. Voudou wanted me to meet Sidra, I didn't really think I would find anyone else around here," she said, her voice now oozing the type of confidence that came only with children, so innocent and unafraid. Noticing how much easier it was to talk now, Sretan decided to continue, "I suppose it was silly of me to think Sidra would be the only one who lived here... Voudou...er... mom said she used to live here herself, and she knew Sidra when Sidra was just a little teeny tiny baby like me. But she didn't mention you, Sahm... You seem pretty nice so far, it's lovely to meet you." With this the filly gave a small duck of her head, an unpracticed bow of sorts. "But it is sort of important I guess that I talk to Sidra, mom was very eager to get me over here..." a concentrated frown crossed her face, "but mom didn't seem like she wanted me to be nice. From the way she talked she doesn't seem to like Sidra very much..."
02-09-2016, 03:05 AM (This post was last modified: 02-09-2016, 03:05 AM by Sidra.)
She is so, so angry.
It’s so fucking rich for Sahm to have come back now. Just in time to be completely and utterly useless. Where had he been when he’d actually been needed? Where had he been when the Chamber had raided and Gryffen had kidnapped their mother? And what of his blasted quest? After all that searching, where is their father?
Sidra’s been seething for days now, ever since Sahm thought to show his face in the Gates. What an idiot. Had he really expected to find her waiting for him with a welcoming smile?
And the idiot still hasn’t left the Gates.
She’s been making an effort to avoid him. Harder said than done, now that she’s decided to come out of hiding. He seems to be around every corner she looks, and today is no exception. She’s on her way to a favourite quiet spot of hers, when she rounds a small copse of trees and discovers that Sahm is already there.
“Fuck.” She mutters quietly to herself and is about to turn away when a flash of familiar grey-blue that is not Sahm catches her eye. “Da-?” But no. It’s not their father. It’s a girl. A young filly, definitely under a year old, with a blue-grey, black tipped coat. She pauses, both curious and hovering at the edge of yet more anger. That coat colour … she’s only met one other horse with it. “What the fuck did you do Dad.”
The filly looked up with doe eyes, and Sahm was simply embarrassed. He had never grown accustomed to his size, and he wasn’t particularly happy with how it wished to continually grow. If given an option he would have stopped his height at an unnoticeable and average size. Instead he grew tall, and his muscles grew large, and he sunk deeper into the shadows. The filly established her name quietly, and Sahm gently repeated it at a similar level. ”Sretan.” It was a pleasant name; one that seemed to suit her nicely. Sahm listened on with a warm smile still spread across his deep black lips. She mentioned Voudou- a name that registered as familiar though without a face attached to it. Sidra was another name mentioned and Sahm merely sighed pleasantly. His sister may not be happy with him, but he was happy with the possibility of running into her again. Slowly and gently he would restore his relationship with her. He loved her, and she needed to feel it.
”Well Sretan, you seem pretty nice as well.” Sahm said. He lowered his stance and head so Sretan wouldn’t have to bend her neck too meet his eyes. ”And it just so happens that Sidra is my sister, so I can definitely help you find her.” He nudged the filly’s cheek in a friendly gesture. If her mother wished for her to meet Sidra than Sahm would make it so. ”Well you best be yourself. I am sure that is all your mom could possibly want from you, and you seem pretty nice.
”Follow me..I know a few places she likes to go.” Or at least he used to know a few places. Sahm lifted his head, just a bit- he still wanted to be at the same level as Sretan. His body twisted to the right, and he began to slowly walk toward a grouping of trees that stretched out along a ravine near them. His pace was steady, and he watched Sretan beside him to make sure she was with him. It didn’t take long before he spotted Sidra. ”Oh- There she is!” He exclaimed ”Sidra!
Sretan was quite enjoying her time so far with the towering brute before her. He seemed kind and warm, much more inviting than even her own mother. As he mentioned that Sidra was his sister and that he would help her find the mare, the filly's face lit up with excitement. She was eager to follow him, now completely forgetting that she had no idea where she was or where she should be, or even where her mother, her protector, was. Nope, right now Sretan was 110% focused on following Sahm to wherever his sister might be.
Barely waiting for him to start moving, Sretan continued the conversation, suddenly very hyper and talkative. "So where are your parents? I guess you're probably too old to live with your parents huh? I haven't met my dad yet, but Voudou says I will someday, he's just not around as much as he wants to be. Mom says he's the most wonderful horse in the whole world, and that I'll get to meet him someday soon." She was chattering mindlessly, not even giving the poor stallion a chance to respond, when he finally cut her off with words of his own. Who? Oh right! Sidra!!
The filly would have perked up more if it was possible. Speeding up into a trot, which barely put her at a faster pace than Sahm with his long legs, Sretan approached the new mare. Stopping just a couple feet away, not noticing the tension in the air, the filly bowed, before straightening out to analyze the stranger. She certainly looked just as Voudou described her, a bit less grumpy perhaps, and Sahm had said this was her so Sretan blindly accepted the fact. "Sidra? I'm Sretan..." her words were more hesitant now, intimidated by the tall figures and focusing on remembering what her mom had said. "Voudou...uh...mom told me to find you. She said you know who my dad is I guess... mom says she found him, and she wanted you to know but last time she saw you you got mad at her so she didn't tell you..." Sretan spent this time staring at the dirt, playing with the soil with one of her front hoofs, somehow scared to make eye contact, and slowly inching closer to Sahm.
It was then that a familiar scent once more appeared in the air. Looking to the right, having to peer under Sahm's stomach, Sretan uttered, "Mom?" though the black mare was still nowhere to be seen.
Aaaand of course they spot her. Sidra’s seething inwardly, but she keeps it under wraps. If it’d been only Sahm she’d have no problem with ripping him a new one (he still thoroughly deserves it), but the kid hasn’t done anything. And even if she’s not being paranoid and the little niggling suspicion in the back of her mind is correct, it’s not the girl’s fault.
She forces a smile onto her face as the both Sahm and the girl approach (though the smile is somewhat halfway between a grimace and a grin), and resigns herself to what is surely going to be an uncomfortable conversation. “Hey … Sahm.” She doesn’t say anything derogatory, but her tone indicates that she’s not at all pleased to see him.
Thankfully the girl chooses the moment to provide a distraction and introduce herself. “Nice to meet you Sretan.”
And then her heart drops out of the bottom of her chest. Voudou? Her mother is Voudou? And with these questions about a father, and with that blue-grey colour … could it really be …
It couldn’t be … could it?
“What’s your father’s name Sretan?” She doesn’t realize it, but she’s holding her breath. Could it be true? Is this what her father’s been doing all this time? With her, of all bloody people?
Suddenly the girl peers under Sahm’s belly, calling out for her mother as if she’s somewhere nearby. Sidra’s eyes eyes narrow and her head whips about, searching out the black bitches smug, ugly face. It would be just like her to set something like this up, just so she can gloat.
