"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
And in the haze of just-waking, in the moment where sleep blurs into consciousness, she actually thinks it has been a dream. That is, until she is aware of an itching pain that wraps around her barrel, finds herself scratching it, and finds that it hurts. Then her shifting eyes fly open, she sees it all, and she instantly knows that it was not a dream.
And it's only a moment more before they all flood in, the voices of the many that she met on her travels.
She is stunned then, not knowing what to think. Perhaps unlike many of the others who answered Carnage's call, Wrynn had done so with no thought for herself and no idea that it could lead to lasting repercussions. It's only a moment before one voice rises to the top of the buzz – Rain, her sister. "Wrynn?" the girl's voice is curious. "Rain?" Wrynn speaks with her mind, and it's both voice and not-voice at the same time. It's definitely not anything out loud though. "You can hear me!" Rain is excited and surprised at the same time. "And you can hear me?" Wrynn is unabashedly excited. "Are you here? Did you come back with me?" it's almost heartbreaking how hard she hopes, even though she figures if they were here, they'd be near her. "No." Rain's voice is a little sad, and Wrynn immediately regrets asking. Of course they couldn't have come back – the dead can't do that. The world of the living is for the living, not for them, not for Gail either. She is silent for a moment, sad for all her dead friends. They may have been dead long before she ever met them, but that doesn't make her wish any less that they had been living.
"But we can talk. You and me, and it seems like everyone else too." Wrynn's voice is calm in her mind, and even as she says it she knows it's true. She smiles. "I'm so glad. I would've been so sad to lose all of you!" and she can hear a chorus of agreement from hear dead friends.
It's then that she remembers the promise she'd made to Rain, and she scrambles to her feet in her rush to keep it. She moves through the jungle quickly, seeking her mother and father. She almost trips sometimes, filly-hooves tangling in the underbrush, and her dead friends yell at her to take her time, to be careful, but she doesn't especially listen. She slows only when she sees the familiar bulk of her mother come into view before her.
She bursts into the clearing, coming to an ungraceful stop. What a sight she must be, the normally timid girl lathered in sweat, sides heaving, knees scraped and a circular abrasion running around her girth and barrel area. She pauses for a moment, rainbow eyes wide, suddenly realizing that she has absolutely no idea how to explain any of this to her mother.
They've not had the best of relationships so far, although Wrynn still has no idea why. All she knows is that her mother appears not to like her very much, and thinks she shouldn't exist. But her promise to Rain is more important than any of that, and she swallows, hard.
"I met my sister." she says, her voice as quiet and small as usual. "I met Rain."
06-12-2015, 08:11 PM (This post was last modified: 06-12-2015, 08:12 PM by Scorch.)
WATCH THE FLAMES CLIMB HIGH INTO THE NIGHT
Ah, how close Carnage had come to summoning Scorch to the land where four of her sisters have gone. How close her life had come to transforming into something else entirely. Yet as Scorch now stands unchanged, her far-away grandson shifts through the realms, terrifically terrified of his new ability to visit the dead, among other… Things.
The druh-drum, druh-drum of galloping hooves catches Scorch’s attention, though she must strain her ears, as the sound is light. When Wrynn bursts into the clearing, her ears twitch irately; she consciously forces them to stay forward, though the kind expression mentally pains her.
Oh, how torn you are my girl. Your mind races to Echion, remembers the neglectful fist with which she raised you, remembers the way it hurt you, the way it drove you. And yet you see her in Wrynn, the witch, the deceiver. Camrynn and Wrynn, how poetic; deceiver and deceptively-created.
Decisions, decisions.
Scorch allows Wrynn to begin the conversation – confrontation? – with a steady gaze. When the words finally fly, her expression changes. At first, her muscles tense, nostrils flaring, eyes shifting, ears leaning back, tattoos roaring silently upon her ugly, scarred skin. Noori or Kaida, she thinks, She’s met Noori or Kaida.
Rain.
“You’ve been where Rhy went, then,” She mutters hoarsely. “To the realm of the dead.” The thump-thump of her heart intensifies, slamming into the ivory bars which trap it, drumming a beat for the blood in her veins to dance to.
“How…” Scorch swallows, the knots in her stomach tearing her in two directions. Yet no matter how brashly she disapproves of Wrynn’s existence, she hungers for a taste of the life which never was. And no matter how direly she craves to know the sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound of Rain, she would never wish Rain’s fate upon Wrynn.
“How is she? And you,” She adds quickly, throatily. She overcorrects by speaking slowly next. “How, are you.”
Her mother responds, and Wrynn seems to visibly relax. Perhaps it's just that she is winding down from her mad dash to reach her mother, or perhaps it is that she was expecting a different reaction. But as soon as she mentions Rain, it's as though her mother deflates, becoming instantly more relatable to the girl.
She doesn't know how much she's done right by becoming a medium. She doesn't know how much more her mother will consider her now, compared to before. It's not as if she'd even chosen the fate. Scorch figures out where she's been, and Wrynn merely nods, a tiny, subtle gesture.
She lets her mother speak then. You'd think her heart would break when her mother asks about Rain first, but it never occurs to Wrynn that she would do anything different. In fact, she's surprised when her mother does ask after her, caught off guard by it. The girl had been preparing to answer about Rain's well being. It was uncharacteristic of her mother to ask about Wrynn.
"She's good." she says, her small voice gentle and warm, a tiny smile on her miniature lips. "She's best friends with Kora." She pauses then, and the smile grows a little bit. "Actually, they're all friends down there, all the horses around my age, who….died when they were very young, or before they were even properly born." she exhales gently. "Rain wanted me to tell you – and dad – that she loves you very much."
She pauses again then, trying to figure out how to say the next part. Her shifting, mood-ring eyes soften, but do not look down at the ground as she speaks again. "They're…always with me now." she starts, a little awkwardly. "Not like walking with me, or me walking with them. But like I can talk to them in my head." A pause, and the smile is back again. "They're so nice." The smile starts to fade then, the hint of tears licking at her eyes. "I wish…I wish I could've brought them all back. Or even just a few of them." Little does she know that she actually had – at least sort of. Not any of the ones she was expecting, not in the way she was expecting. Not in a way she or her family would necessarily ever know, unless she were to remember.
"Oh, and I'm just fine. We had to fight some things and I got a little hurt, but I'm sure it'll be okay." Her sweet voice is bright, confident in her ability to recover. "I think I wouldn’t have been fine though, without Rain and her friends. They got me back here." She pauses for just a moment. "We were sent by someone named Carnage, who lost his love, Gail. We got her all the way back to the land of the dead, but then we had to get her and ourselves back. Rain and Kora and the rest of our friends were able to send me back, but I don't think Gail could come with me." She says sadly, clearly distraught that she'd failed to reunite what she believes to be two dear lovers. "But I'm so glad they did bring me back." She offers then, with a smile.
Wrynn’s posture liquefies, like hard butter thrown into a microwave. Scorch eyes her small daughter, considering how stiff she herself made the small bay. Decades ago, in the presence of her mother, Scorch would have reacted identically to such a – luke – warm greeting. Her skin twitches in discomfort, eyes itching to break the gaze between mother and daughter. Instead, she simply blinks, allowing the unease to pass.
This is her daughter, whether she asked for her or not.
This is her daughter who will connect her to the underworld.
Words claw at her throat when Wrynn speaks, but none make it to her lips. They jostle for position, and like too many people attempting to enter a door, not one gains access to the world outside. Unwelcomed, a wide, sad smile appears on her lips; if Wrynn cared to look closely, said lips trembled once, or perhaps twice. I love you too Rain.
“You did your best,” She manages eventually, just after Wrynn wishes to have brought some back. “All those children can live vicariously now, because of you…” She hesitates for a moment before stepping forward and blowing warm, awkwardly affectionate air across her small daughter’s face. “Take solace in that.” She steps back, cooling her emotions as Wrynn continues to speak.
“I’m glad that they returned you too.” She speaks the words tightly, but she speaks them regardless. Continuously uncomfortable with how affectionate she had just been, Scorch glances into the forest. After a moment, her gaze returns to Wrynn.
“Will you tell her…” She hesitates, paranoid of the emotions, memories, feelings that arise within her. “Tell her mom and dad love her too.” She falls silent then, grief flooding her being; the flames upon her skin do not flicker, and her eyes become a snowstorm; grey and thick.
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