[open] i still worship the flame, anyone

[Deception]

with each love i cut loose i was never the same --

He stands alone, but his mind is busy.

All around him there is a flourish of color, from the vibrant jewel-tones of the flowers that sway in time with the sea of grass, to the nearly unnatural robin’s egg blue of the sky. Between two trees wisteria has twisted its way up their trunks and along the branches, reaching out and entangling to form an arch of violet blooms. He stands beneath the floral canopy, a few stray petals drifting towards the ground and nestling into the black strands of his mane, with fox fire shifting lazily around him.

He looks around, his eyes narrowed just slightly in thought and concentration. There is something missing, and while he knows what it is, he cannot bring himself to add it to the illusion. It is one thing to architect a dreamscape for himself, to brighten what he considers to be an otherwise dull view. But to fill the space with made-up bodies, to design and orchestrate their voices and white-noise of chatter…that would be a step too far. 

No matter how tired he grew of his own thoughts, he could not allow himself to fall to such a low pit of desperation. 
He would shoulder his loneliness and his boredom just as he always has, in stoic silence and beneath the veil of whatever image his mind has decided to bring to life that day.

And so he continues to add to his existing piece of work, more flowers—daisies, larkspur, and cosmos—manifesting from thin air, more wisteria reaching through the trees, not at all caring if anyone else is around to witness the illusion.

D E C E P T I O N

[Snowshadow]

The pure white coat of the young mare made her stand out some in the green background of the forest. She managed to lose her brother, well for now at least, he'd find her later on.
She loved being surround by plants, could feel their energy all around her, some much so she could walk with her eyes closed as she moved through the trees that skirted the edge of the meadow. It was probably all link to her ability of plant manipulation, she could effectively have them guide her to stop her walking into things.
Well that was at least the plan anyway, occasionally she'd end up walking into something.

With a sigh she opened her eyes, she wasn't use to being alone and as much as it was peaceful here, it was absent of any others. It made her feel lonely. She needed some companionship, some friends even because as much as she loved her brother being in his company an only ever his company could become overwhelming at times.

She was silent when something caught her eye in the distance, moving forward slowly and quietly as not to disturb the artist, because watching what he was creating was art. She watched from a short distance away, memorised by the creation and not wanting to disturb his concentration.

It was only when there was a lull in his manifestation that she finally spoke that's beautiful she said quietly, loud enough that he'd hear here, but not enough to shatter the silence.

[Deception]

with each love i cut loose i was never the same --

The stranger is like a specter in the corner of his vision, and he turns to look at her with jade-green eyes that stand out like jewels against the dark of his face. He is most often alone, and while he does not prefer it that way, it is what he knows best. Conversation did not always come easy to him, but thankfully his illusions were often an easy deflection from his own poor skills.

And as he expected—and hoped—it is his illusion that she comments on first.

“Thank you,” he tells her, his voice feeling rusted from disuse, but the gratitude is genuine all the same.  “Unfortunately,” he begins, focusing his attention on a patch of wildflowers. They shimmer and fade, disappearing entirely—no wilted petals left behind, no earth disturbed, as if they had never been.  “It isn’t real. But lovely nonetheless.”

Finding that he does not like the empty space, he brings the image of the flowers back, just as vivid as before. Satisfied, he looks back to her, his dark lips shifting into the barest of smiles. “My name is Deception.”

D E C E P T I O N

[Snowshadow]

The snow white mare watches as the illusion disappears before her eyes, slightly surprised at just how real it had looked before fading away into nothing.
It is still impressive none the less, to be able to conjure such a creative pieces from nothing but your own mind, that is a gift not many have she say softly with a smile.
Herself included when she thought of it, oh her powers of plant manipulation were good and came in handy, but her artistic streak.. that was often lacking.

She thought for a moment, she wasn't sure how much company he wanted, but so far he hadn't told her to go away. It gave her an idea.
Her eyes brightened slight as her mind called on the vines that were looped around a low hanging branch, instructing them to follow her minds eye in a similar pattern to one he had made.
As the vines curled round each other without touching, small flowers bloomed to life. It wasn't perfect by any means, especially as her mind grew tired.

When she looked back to him she shook her head like i said, an artistic mind is not a gift many possess she said with a grin.

She listened as he introduced himself it's nice to meet you Deception, i'm SnowShadow offering he own introduction in return of his.

@Deception

[Deception]

with each love i cut loose i was never the same --

He had never known life without illusions. For most, even the gifted, there’s struggle before control. For him, there was none. He could not recall a time where he could not conjure his thoughts into dreamscapes. And as a boy, he had tried his best to turn that talent into affection, yet he quickly learned that this was one illusion not even he could craft.

Starlust, while never openly cruel, treated all of her children with a cool indifference, and nothing he made ever closed the distance she kept between them.

Perhaps it was that desperate need, the stubborn determination of a child, that sharpened his skill so quickly. But to him, mastery had always been a consolation prize — impressive to others, maybe, but never enough to fill the hollow she left. He hated how terribly cliche it all felt;  a boy starving for love from his mother, growing into a man that still let fear of rejection and need for validation to shadow his thoughts.

So when the stranger praises him, it sparks something small. Pride, and though it is faint, it is there. It slips out only as the shadow of a smile, gone almost as soon as it comes, flickering more in his eyes than showing on his mouth. He watches as she coaxes the vine above them to curl and bloom. Her magic feels tangible, more real. He isn’t jealous, not exactly. But he wonders what it might be like to touch the world that way. “You seem to have your own gift, though.” He watches the vine for a few moments longer, before leveling his gaze back to her. “Were you born here?” he asks her, always curious to learn if someone carried magic from another land.

D E C E P T I O N

@Snowshadow

[Snowshadow]

She watches him as her magic continues to try and copy his illusion. Its not as good as his one though, as she coaxes flowers of all colours to bloom. She wasn't that use to being round other without her twin, not that he wasn't over-bearing at the best of times but since they'd left home he'd become even worse. It caused her to sneak off, something that would probably come back to bite her but she wasn't thinking of that right now, enjoying talking to this stranger who could make such beautiful illusions.

At his question she shook her head no, although our home was only a few days travel from here, so perhaps quite closer to the outer lands her expression changed as she thought of home, her eyes dropping to the floor before working to push away the sadness.

It doesn't exist any more though, that why myself and my twin brother travelled here her voice low as memories flooded her. It was just the two of them now, their family gone, there home gone.

She drew in a deep breath, shaking her head to rid herself of the emotions that wanted to take over, not that she would let them, she didn't want to be a buzz kill, especially not when she was enjoying his company, maybe even making a new friend.

What about yourself? She asked

[Deception]

with each love i cut loose i was never the same --

“Oh,” he says, his brow furrowing just slightly when she says that her home no longer exists. “All of it is gone? What happened?” He queries further, his mind struggling to comprehend. Beqanna herself was known to be temperamental; kingdoms were flooded or leveled, sometimes resurfacing or rebuilding, but sometimes not. But Beqanna, as a whole, appeared to be immortal. It may experience lulls and quiet lows, but he could not fathom it ever ceasing to exist entirely. He had a feeling that, even if something should wipe all of them from existence, that Beqanna would still be there, waiting for someone else’s stories to unfold across her meadows and mountains.

“I was born here,” he tells her, and adds with a small smile. “My twin sister and I. I see we have that in common.” He has not seen Hysperia in what seems like ages, nearly as long as the last time he saw their mother. They had not been born with or nurtured by love, and the twins had both found their ways to deal with that. It is hardly a wonder that they could not even maintain the tie they had been born with — that supposedly unbreakable bond that twins had. The thought causes his chest to tighten, but he pushes it aside. “Beqanna is the only place I have known, for better or for worse.”

D E C E P T I O N

@Snowshadow

[Snowshadow]

She sighed, thinking of the past, her eyes dropping to the floor. We weren't a large herd but we were family. There were whispers of something bad was going to happen. I think my brother knew what was going to happen, because he ushered me away from our normal sleeping spot before the fires took hold. She paused her breath catching as her magic responded to her sadness without her thoughts, her creation turning to ash as the flowers and grasses surrounding her started to blacken and die.

She sucked in a breath, her eyes widening as she looked at the decaying flora sor.. sorry she stammered I can't control that part of the magic very well she said, feeling idiotic for letting her emotions get out of control.
Anyway, we ran. We were the only ones to make it out. The land is still pure ash, nothing will grow there, even i can't get my magic to try and grow something there. Which was unusual because her magic for flora was strong, but that land, it was as if it had been cursed, and maybe it had, it would make sense of how the fire spread and engulfed the whole area so quickly.

Glad to change the subject she smiled, yes i guess we do. Are you close with your twin? She asked, having not sensed his pain. My brother has protected me from when we were foals. He says as the older of the two its his job to be in charge she rolled her eyes, hating how often he brought up that she was the younger of the two... even if only by minutes!

@Deception