[private] would you be so kind

[Beyza]

The pale mare nods in response to Aela’s question about Anaxarete - yes, another magician. More powerful than Beyza knew and certainly an inspiration. With a lot of practice she believed she could weave her own magic with the same easy power as the shadowmare. And a few more years as well - every once in a while, Beyza remembers how young she is. Practically been practicing magic since the day she was born but that was nothing compared to decades of perfecting the art. Maybe one day she could even be as powerful and magnificent as the dark god that had helped to salvage Pangea. Her wandering mind returns to the girl standing before her when Aela begins to speak again. She does not need to consider the answer because she has used her magic in such a way before. Mostly with her own family, to find her way back home if she got lost, but she’s sure it could be used for others. “Yes, unless you mean them harm.” Beyza replies with a cool smile - she cannot imagine the girl before her would want to find someone for nefarious purposes but it was one of the stipulations of her magic. Of course, if Beyza simply did not know about it she’s sure it would work. Her magic was a strange thing with strange rules that did not seem to apply to anyone else. As of yet, it has only limited her in small ways. She had not been able to increase her glow to the point where it would hurt Jamie, for example. "Who do you seek?" B E Y Z A

artwork by musonart

@[Aela]

[Aela]

If Aela had any notion of Beyza's aspirations, she would have smiled. While she doesn't have the scope of power that the white Magician has, it's something that the golden girl understands perfectly. And it's that perfection that Aela is always chasing. To be perfect at a craft was to be powerful; to have it honed so perfectly sharp that it became a weapon that could be mightier than any strike from a hoof or bite from blunt teeth.

She knows it's in there - something greater than what she is now. And she follows the departing advice that her grandmother gave. That it would come with patience and practice.

While Aela is thinking of that future, Skandar comes to mind. It's infuriating that he does but there he is, shifting his skin just as much as what the future might hold. They had argued below the base of Straia's tree and the palomino had told herself that should be the end of it. He had slunk in the night (albeit doing what she asked of him) and then vanished. One of those foul beasts had probably devoured him.

(But no, Aela knows that isn't true. Skandar was too skilled, his blood too close to ichor to simply be torn apart.)

"No," she thinks, too sharply. The thought is too quick and her delicate ears curve back at her own reaction. "No, I don't want him hurt." Aela looks away from Beyza and across the shadows, as if wishing a shadow monster might appear. That might be easier to deal with than to giving her friend a direct answer because the truth is that Aela doesn't know it herself. She's never felt like this: to be relieved with the space between them and yet want it gone. Maybe this is why she is so angry with him, for making a hypocrite of her. 

"His name is is Skandar," she explains with a flurry of memories. The young stallion swims in her vision with the cosmos radiating across his skin and the brute changes one shape for another. "If you could -," Aela pauses because she isn't accustomed to asking others for help. If it was anyone but Beyza, she wouldn't dream of it. "If you somehow cross paths with him, could you let me know?"

image credit to footybandit


@[Beyza] i am the worst for taking so long - have an open-ended closer?