"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
07-08-2024, 09:47 AM (This post was last modified: 07-08-2024, 09:48 AM by Crucis.)
Crucis
The moon shimmers serenely over the icy waters. Crucis takes her hoof and gently taps the crust, causing water to bubble above the icy surface. She lowers her head and gently drinks as the water pools under her mouth. A slight breeze fills the air, causing the thicker coat on her body to raise up. She looks at her reflection, her belly looking larger than normal. The sound of nearby crunching of snow and ice catches her attention. She raises and turns her head to the sound as it gets closer. "Hello?”She calls out, standing still, not seeing the source of the noise.
A familiar face breaks through the moonlight. She smiles, relieved. "Hey,”she greets, shifting her weight from one side to the other, making her look even larger. "You alone? Where is everyone?”
The caramel and cream mare knew loneliness. She has spent the better part of her life alone. Only fleeting moments would someone come into her life, sweep her off her feet, promise her the stars and then drop her like a sack of shit. Maybe this time will be different, she thinks. Maybe this time she will be enough.
It is no surprise to her that she finds the starlight mare here. What does surprise her is that she too in alone.
The feather-gowned mare walks quietly up to the other, the unmistakable bulge of Crucis belly could only be that of a soon-to-be mothers. She too was expecting, though the gown of bright feathers hid it well.
"Good evening Crucis," she says with a kind smile, "I couldn't sleep." She admits as she reaches the water's edge and takes a drink of the ice-cold water.
Lifting her head she turns to the mare, "How are you doing? You look as radiant as ever." The mare had a glow about her beyond that of the ethereal one. Her navy eyes scan the mares face, finding something attuned to worry in the lines of her face. If she was anything in this life it was a good listener and confidante.
As Aurora approached, Crucis couldn't help but notice the genuine warmth in her smile. The Dale was a new place for her, and she had only encountered Aurora's family and their leader, Beyza."Good Evening, Aurora,"she greeted, her eyes drawn to the gentle curve of Aurora's belly. "Thank you,"Crucis replied with a nod, her response infused with a sense of respect."It's my first... I'm a bit nervous, if I may admit. How're you doing? Any luck on finding the kids?"
As the conversation flowed, her gaze kept returning to Aurora's belly, barely concealed under her feathers. She couldn't help but envy how well Aurora concealed her own pregnancy. Her own wings hardly offered much coverage when spread open. Unfurling her wings, she felt the satisfying stretch after a prolonged period of dormancy. The longing to soar through the skies surged within her once more. Whenever she yearned for the stars, a vivid dream of flying alongside Amenadiel and their child would captivate her mind.
07-10-2024, 07:51 PM (This post was last modified: 07-10-2024, 07:55 PM by AuroraElis.)
AuroraElis
The stars dazzle brilliantly above them, but matched is the dazzle in Crucis wings. The mare seemed a part of the sky, plucked from the blueish-black and painted upon the form of an equine. She smiles, thinking to the star that had lead her to the river that night. Where unknowingly Rou, her late love, had appeared to her. She couldn't believe the magics of Beqanna had returned him to her. It was as if fate were written in these very stars as she stood here with the starlit mare, pregnant with his child.
The mare lays bare the worries that plague her mind. She smiles, knowing too well the fears of motherhood. "It never leaves," she admits. The worry, the fear, the pain. It only morphs as she thinks of her own children now. The oldest, having disappeared for decades suddenly returns. The youngest, one didn't even want to come home and the other was sent away to where she had no clue.
The she thinks of the child she has lost. Even her own magic of healing couldn't save him from his premature fate. And now, this new life that stirs within her. Oh, how she wished it would stay young forever so she could love it, cherish it, nurture it. And it in return love and cherish her...
The rambling thoughts of her mind quiet briefly so she may answer the starlit mare, "I am hanging in there..." A forced smile returns to her lips, "Their father took them... And now they are separated worlds apart." Her voice is riddled with sadness, her eyes wet with tears. "I just wish they would stay young forever!" Tears fall from her eyes as she chokes back her cries, trying to muffle them in the quiet of the night and recompose herself.
Little does she know Craft and Anatomy hear her plea and grant her all she desires.
The two expecting mares stand side by side as Crucis’ ethereal glow softly illuminates the dark between them. She recognizes Aurora is struggling. The waves of emotion and hormones plaguing her. She and Amenadiel have experienced that side of pregnancy. One they didn’t expect to occur, but this is brand new for the pair.
Crucis smiles gently to Aurora as her voice breaks mentioning the twin’s father took them into Pangea. The starry mare could never imagine the fear and pain that her feathered friend is feeling. Crucis hates seeing her friend so upset as tears well in Aurora’s eyes.
"Anything I can do to help?”
She shifts her weight slightly as she feels the unborn foal shift drastically to one side. She holds her tail out slightly to keep herself balanced before deciding to take a walk hoping it takes some ease off Aurora’s mind. She reaches her muzzle out to comfort her friend as tears fall from her eyes. "I’m so glad that I met you and Jack and your family. It’s been a very long time since I have had friends,” Her eyes turn softly to her protruding belly as she anxiously awaits for her child’s arrival.
Her milk and honey form shifts under the starlit sky, her gown shifting along with it. The burdens of life began taking its toll on the mare's emotions, crippled by the hormones of pregnancy, she sniffles away the last tear as Crucis offers to help. "You wouldn't be able to stop time, would you?" A grieving laugh leaves her cream lips as again she shifts her heavied form.
Her head tilts to the stars, wondering if her family was looking up at them as well when Crucis speaks of friendship. The mares delicately dished face turns and smiles as her tears dry, "I am very glad as well. We need all the friends we can get in this world." A yawn creeps up on her, the weight of her troubled mind lifted just the slightest, "Better turn in for the night," she says as she looks to the shelter in the distance. It would be lonely tonight, that she was sure. "Goodnight Crucis."
AuroraElis
