"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
Autumn is nearing an end; she knows soon snow will fly and cover the world in a soft white comforter. She doesn't mind the changing of seasons and has always appreciated the way nature bends and adapts to the weather. She has been avoiding wandering during the night, though. The ooze from the river that she was certain was going to kill her had left behind a strange new form underneath her skin. When the sun set and the world went dark, her body would change drastically. The ooze had left behind magic causing her skin and muscle to melt away with the daylight and when night settled on the land, Starbry would be a skeleton. She wasn't sure if it was permanent or even controllable, but it happened and she had come to terms with it. Kind of.
She weaved through the thick grass of the meadow, keeping her eyes open for any new company. She spotted a stranger in the distance and made her way towards him. Starbry decided recently that she didn't want to spend her entire life daydreaming and stargazing and perhaps it was time to meet some others. As she approached, she slowed, trying not to startle the new stranger.
Kylan lifted his head to look at the approaching mare, he'd been trying to get something to eat from the ground and looked at her. "Hello there." He looked up to see her curious and wanting to know more about this world. He had a quest from the faeries of the land after all. He studied her for a moment, noting the way she moved, deliberate, cautious, like someone who had learned to expect change. The air around her shimmered faintly, as if the meadow itself bent to accommodate her presence.
"Starbry," he repeated, he was trying to be considerate. "My name is Kylan." He said to her softly he was trying to be courteous but his father had never been that. He was focused on her. He didn’t flinch at the sight of her though the bones beneath her skin whispered of midnight magic and river curses. Instead, he tilted his head, ears flicking toward the wind. "How did you come to be as you are?" He asked as he looked at the mare curiously, "I uh..I'm trying to learn how the abilities come into being." He then paused a few more moments and thought it over, "I am sorry if I am offensive I'm trying not to be." He murmured to her.
She would have smiled kindly at him if she had flesh at the moment, appreciating his curiosity and kindness. Starbry knew that such qualities could be hard to find in others and it always warmed her heart when she met someone that didn't appear to be wrecked by the atrocities that life could bring. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kylan." She said warmly, and she meant it. It was always nice to find a friendly face.
When he asked how she had become the way she is, she flinched unintentionally. Starbry had grown up around mostly traitless horses. Her mother was bay like she, but instead of blue points hers were magenta. She was also a telepath, but like Starbry, she rarely used it. Starbry knew that she had inherited the blue from her father, along with the mind reading and infrared vision she possessed. While she could read minds like her mother, Starbry couldn't push her thoughts into their heads like she could. He quickly voiced the intention behind the curious question and further apologized. She shook her head gently, "No need to apologize. I know Beqanna can be a wildly interesting place. I've found that out the hard way." she chuckled, aware that a talking skeleton must be quite the sight.
"I, uh, change into a skeleton at night, it appears." she tipped her head slightly, still unsure of it herself. "I wasn't always this way. During the daytime I'm dark brown and blue. That's how I was born. A while back I was by the river and..." She then laughed, shaking her head knowing how absurd it's going to sound coming from her "and the river overflowed this wild green ooze. I guess it must have left some magic behind and now when the sun disappears, so does my flesh. I'm not sure if it's permanent or if I can control it. I haven't figured that much out." she sighed. She wasn't even sure where she would start with trying to control it. She had never even completely mastered reading minds out of fear something would go awry.
"I was born with some special abilities, though. I can read minds, I don't do it often. Or really ever. I feel rude when I try." Occasionally she would just skim the surface of someone's thoughts, to get a feel of safety or awareness of what they might be up to. "I also have special vision. I can see differences in temperature. For instance, you are warm against the grass and to me that looks shades of orange and red versus green and blue." Starbry watched him curiously before asking "Do you have any special abilities? My mother was a telepath. She could read thoughts and speak to you in your mind. I got my mind and vision abilities from my father."
Kylan listened with wide, earnest eyes, the kind that always seemed too soft for the bloodline he carried. He didn’t recoil from her skeletal form, he had seen far worse in the shadows of his father’s domain or so he thought, but there was something different about Starbry. Something that made him want to step closer instead of away. Her voice, warm despite the lack of flesh, wrapped around him like a summer breeze.
When she flinched at his question, Kylan's ears dipped back in immediate apology. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, and the thought that he might have made her uncomfortable tugged at him. “I didn’t mean to make you remember something bad,” he murmured, shifting his weight in the grass. “I just… you seem kind. And I wanted to understand.”
As she explained her strange transformation, Kylan's expression softened even more. A river overflowing with magic, a body that melted into bone at night, Beqanna truly was full of wonders, but he didn’t see her as frightening. If anything, he admired the way she spoke of it with humor and honesty, even though he could hear the uncertainty beneath her words.
“That sounds scary,” he admitted gently, “but you’re handling it better than most would. My father says the world only respects strength, but I think… I think it takes strength to stay kind when things get strange.”
He hesitated, glancing down at his own hooves. Talking about his father always made his stomach twist. “I wasn’t born with anything special,” he said after a moment. “Not like you. I don’t read minds or see heat or anything like that. At least as far as I am aware.” He lifted his head again, offering her a small, shy smile. “But I try to be good. Even when it’s hard.”
Kylan shifted closer, not touching her, but making it clear he wasn’t afraid. “My father wants me to be like him. Dark. Cruel. He says that’s how you survive. But I don’t believe that. I think every creature has something important about them, even if it’s small. Even if others don’t see it.”
He paused, then added with quiet conviction, “You’re not wrong for what happened to you. And you’re not wrong for being different. I think… I think it makes you interesting.” The young stallion's tail flicked lightly behind him, a nervous habit. “If you ever want help figuring out your magic, I can stay with you. I can’t do much, but I’m good at listening. And I won’t run away when you change. I promise.” He dipped his head respectfully, the way he’d been taught to treat mares; with gentleness, with care, with a sweetness that came naturally to him despite his lineage. “It really is nice to meet you, Starbry.”
"I will try and help you understand as best I can, but I don't fully understand everything myself." She said with a soft chuckle. There were so many unknowns and surprises in life, she was beginning to decide that not everything is meant to be understood. Sometimes allowing things to remain mysterious seems to be the best route. He seemed to kind and gentle, soft around the edges despite what the world contained.
He mentions his father and the world only respecting the strong. She felt a little twinge of something, maybe sadness? He states he was born with nothing special and that made her ache for him. She had never felt special with her gifts. He shifted closer to her and spoke about his father and how he believed being dark and cruel is how you make it in the world. The change in his body language and the energy in the air when he spoke of his father brought a heaviness to her. Starbry had never been either of those things and she had never felt less than for it. She sighed softly "Strength comes in many forms. You do seem to have been born with something special, though. Being kind despite the things life throws at you is something special. You're right, everyone is important in their own way. Sometimes those small things, like kindness, are actually really big things."
She had been very fortunate. Life had never really mistreated her. She had a wonderful mother, a peaceful existence. Starbry had never found a reason to mistreat those around her. "If the worst thing to happen to me is turning into a skeleton every night, I suppose I can find myself lucky." She chuckled. "I'm still alive and well and capable of making new friends."
He continued to speak about how she isn't wrong for being different and it makes her interesting and she warmed at that. It was nice to have some reassurance outside of her own mind trying to convince her she's okay. She dipped her head to him in return. "I really hope life blesses you with greatness. It can be difficult to find such warm and kind individuals, especially when the world can be so cold and cruel. Thank you for not being fearful of me. It means a lot." She glanced at the horizon, seeing the colors were changing from night to dawn and knowing that brown and blue would start to fill out over her bones. The familiar warmth washed over her as the process began and she turned her head back to the young stallion, hoping it wouldn't startle him too much.
Flesh flowed over the white, blue sprouting into a flowing mane and tail and warm brown eyes filling their sockets. She shook her body a bit, adjusting again to the feeling of herself and swishing her navy tail against her brown haunches. "Well, this feels better." She said with a soft smile as the sun continued to change the color of the world around them. "If you were to be given some type of magical gift, what would you hope for?" It was really none of her business, but she was curious. He seemed to be such a gentle soul.
