"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
She didn’t know what to do, she was young and inexperienced and afraid. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this scared; that soul crushing, gut wrenching, heart stopping fear that she rarely let touch her now clawed at her insides and threatened to tear her apart. The white mare quietly and carefully picks her way to them once more, before prodding Sakir gently with her nose. Iset throws a harsh glare her way, angry that she would dare touch her twin, but a strange lump in her throat strangles away any cruel words that would normally fly from her lips. Her tight grip on Sakir's mane brought him back to them, but only for a moment before he shivers and fades away yet again.
As she rose, she saw some sort of desperation in his eyes; a silent pleading that his voice was too tired to convey. Witnessing her normally strong, smart, take-charge brother this frail and feeble cut far deeper than she ever could have anticipated and a gasping sob escaped her mouth, her eyes welling with tears she refused to let fall.
The fierce tug she dealt to his short tail had some of the desired affect, and though he remained prone on the ground he spoke for the first time in a while, asking her to stop. Though whether the gentleness of his words came from his physical weakness or his desire to comfort her, she did not know.
Well, that isn’t exactly true.
She was hoping for the latter. And though she knew she was wrong, her hope fooled her into thinking otherwise.
That terrifying blankness and distance flooded into his eyes again-into eyes that looked identical to hers. The sheer volume of the large gulps of air that Iset is attempting to suck down to keep her calm keeps her ignorant to his approach, and the moment the new voice speaks up and calls out the name of the boy laying prone on the ground Iset whirls around. “Amet,” she whispers, not quite sure how to feel about the arrival of their eldest brother. He approaches them slowly, the tears rapidly filling up his eyes mirroring Iset and Sakir’s own.
Everything seemed to be crashing down on her at once; the grief of seeing Sakir like this, the relief of having him here at all, the fear at what may happen, and the anger that this had to happen in the first place.
Anger…the anger was something she could hold on to.
She steps between her brothers, baring her blunt teeth and narrowing her eyes at Amet. “Your fault,” she chokes in a voice that is deadly calm, “This is your fault. You left us; He would’ve listened to you!” she’s screaming now, all of that fear and anger and sorrow clashing together and exploding within her, “He would’ve come if you’d asked! We both would’ve! He trusted you! He wouldn’t be hurting if it weren’t for you!” Her voice breaks before she shoulders past her brother, approaching the white feathered mare.
“Please,” she whispers, attempting in vain to choke back the tears that were spilling over anew, “Please. Do something. I-I don’t know what to do, and he’s my brother and I- I-,” her bony frame becomes wracked with sobs as she fell to her twin’s side once more.
“Sakir,” she whispers, this time only for him to hear, “Sakir I need you to be okay. Who’s going to look out for me? Who’s going to keep me from killing Amet? You have to be here to keep me out of trouble. I need you. I love you,” she falls silent, unable to force more words past the tears that filled her throat. Her eyes closed and she wrapped herself tightly around the boy on the ground, holding him as best as she could.
there's an old man sitting on the throne thats saying
05-21-2017, 02:53 PM (This post was last modified: 05-21-2017, 02:54 PM by Snowphish.)
every pearl is a lynx, is a girl
sweet like harmony made into flesh
They were so young still, fragile, made of dew and spider-webs as all children are in their first year. The bay stallion, hardly that (due to age), came by as if Sno is a ghost. This she does not take offense to and steps backward as the pair embrace at her feet and the larger metallic bay proceeds.
"Do you... do you know any healers?" When he addresses her she feels a cold chill run through her warm veins. She is of no help in that regard and she can only shake her head in sorrowful silence. Her eyes flutter and refocus, their blue catching the light like deep ocean water, still and calm. She draws in a deep breath and watches the sister try once again to make her brother get onto his feet. This situation was somehow growing worse even with another, older sibling present. Sno takes another deep calculative breath, exhaling and propping her wings out – she’s preparing for flight.
“I’ll search for a healer. I’ll try my best to return quickly..” She locks eyes with the eldest of them before turning to get a running start and lifting off into the sunlight. She will soar within a few mile radius and announce her need for a healer in hopes that there is one nearby. Her stomach twists and her heart throbs, she worries for them, for the little weak one. What if she returns with no one? What if there is no help? She swallows hard and pinches her cloven feet to her chest, diving into the stream of wind roiling across the tree tops. She is determined to find someone, anyone who can possibly help…
@[Sakir] @[Iset] @[Amet]
so she's off to try and find someone! if no one pops up by the time it's her turn she will return empty handed :>
if there's a light at the end, it's just the sun in your eyes
His amber eyes see only Sakir for a few moments, and then his focus widens to envelope both of the twins, the boy and girl pair who never should have been separated... who never should have been left behind in the Dunes. Amet's heart squeezes painfully as his tear-filled eyes find the scars on Iset's neck and the malnourished, unfocused ball that is Sakir.
It is his fault that they are here in the Forest of Beqanna, broken and scarred and terrified. His, with a lower case h. The Akhal-Teke boy suppresses a sob just as Iset turns on him, her personal version of pain turning him into the obvious target, for which he, obviously, cannot blame her. The metallic filly screams at him, screams things that he already knows, things that he has tried to push into the dark recesses of his mind. Amet can't help but to pin his ears atop his skull, his pupils narrowed harshly at the filly as she yells.
He can feel his own anger roiling deep in his chest, growing with every vehement word that is spat at him. The light bay boy tries to refrain, his tongue punctured by blunt teeth with the effort, but then, finally, he can't stop himself. "You think I don't know that, Iset?! You think I don't regret leaving you both there?! I regret it every second of every day!" He pauses long enough to take a quivering breath, his words sharp and spoken through a clenched jaw. "I'm sorry that I was too weak to bring you both with me. You deserved more. I am aware of that."
He forces himself to turn away from his sister and towards the winged mare. Iset seems to have the same idea and, after shouldering past him, she pleads with the adult to find a healer for their brother. Amet watches anxiously, his muscles taut and cold, as the winged mare leaves for help and Iset returns to their sickly brother.
I need you. I love you.
Amet exhales shakily before taking a step closer to them. "We need to bring him to the Lake. When she comes back."
He felt the anger around him, and the sorrow. Though not as much as he felt the icy bite of air lap against his trembling and weak body. Iset was gone again, her teeth no longer entangled amongst the dark hairs of his tail. Though he could still hear her voice somewhere out there in the deep night, laced with accusation, so like Iset. And he smiled internally as he let his head drop upon the leaf littered floor of the forest once more, his twin’s voice bleeding into the tone of many others.
And then she was back again. Back before he could truly fear her gone. He welcomed once again the gentle thud of his twin’s body against the cold trembling flesh of his own. She was cosily warm as she curled the parts that she could around him and held him close.
‘Sakir,’ she whispered, and he could hear the sorrow that weighed down his name.
‘Sakir I need you to be okay. Who’s going to look out for me? Who’s going to keep me from killing Amet? You have to be here to keep me out of trouble. I need you. I love you,’
He loved her too. And he was here, wasn’t he? She needn’t be sad. He just needed to rest, to give in to that weariness that urged his weakening mind and body to sleep, to fall into dreams of happier times whilst he lay alongside his twin, he just needed a moment. She needed to hush. And a smothering weariness overcame him. There was no winged mare to light for him the path of this journey this time, but he was not afraid. He could still feel the beat of Iset’s heart against his side, it beat for him too, and grew stronger and stronger. And he felt his pulse match hers, her warmth only grow, and an impossible sensation which felt both warm and cool bleed from his neck into every part of him. And slowly at first, he found the fogginess which suppressed his mind’s eye begin to dissipate. And his thoughts became clear, their voices stronger. He lifted his head, no longer weighed down with that weary murkiness, his amber eyes bright and focused.
“Thank you.” He said to the blood orange stallion, those two simple words formed well and strong. “You have given me more than your strength.” And he cast his eyes upon his twin, the tiny hairs below her eyes slicked wet from tears. He pressed his muzzle against her there, gentle and comforting. “I am here and I love you.” And he blew warmth through his nostrils against her cheek before rising on legs that should have been shaking but weren’t. “Fear not,” he teased “I will not let you kill our brother.”
And he strode forth to meet his brother then, magnificently changed as he was, he would recognise Amet anywhere. “Brother,” he said softly, warmly “I did not think we would see each other again.” And he reached for his older sibling and bumped gentle affection against his neck, and in doing so left many words unsaid. There would be a time to shed his anger later, when Iset’s ears and easy temper weren’t so dangerously near.
06-07-2017, 10:45 PM (This post was last modified: 06-07-2017, 10:46 PM by Iset.)
Iset
goddamn right you should be scared of me
She practically growls at Amet when he goes off on her, and his final words have barely left his mouth before more are flying from her own. She laughs humorlessly, “You’re right! You were weak! Not only weak, you’re a damn coward! You’re so scared for yourself that you left us with Him to die! At least I tried to take Sakir! He stayed of his own accord. But this,” she shakes her head roughly and her eyes flick to her prone twin, “This is all. On. You,” with every word she grows quieter and her tone harsher, taking a step forwards each time and ending up in her brother’s face. Tears spring from her eyes anew, this time not in grief but in anger.
The white mare flies off then and leaves them. Iset has never been to keen on relying on someone other than her twin. Even Amet, who was with them through it all, had never shared to connection with his sister that she did with her twin. But when the feathered woman flies off with no real promise of return, Iset feels her stomach drop. She was an adult, the only adult that they had access to. They were children, what were they supposed to do on their own? They would probably hurt Sakir more than they could help him.
She glances up at her brother from her position on the ground, wrapped around her twin the same way she imagines they had been in their mother’s womb. She keeps her mouth solidly shut at Amet’s next words to her, refuses to acknowledge the obviousness and stupidity of them.
Because, naturally, they were just going to leave him there. Dumbass.
She doesn’t move, doesn’t speak until a new stranger joins their little trio. A stallion this time. Well, part stallion at least; part bird too, apparently. Unfortunately, Iset was too distracted by her sickly twin to fully appreciate the awesomeness of the shapeshifter.
He speaks to them, but it is all a blur. She was loosing focus just as quickly and severely as her brother had, and his calm words flew straight over her head. She nods distractedly, unsure of what she was agreeing to. However, when the stallion closes the distance between them and lays his nose on Sakir, the filly bares her teeth and nips harshly at his neck. Before she could scream at him however, to tell him that if he touches her sibling again she’ll make him wish he was dead, she feels a change in the colt at her side.
His lungs expand further, his heartbeat quickens, and then evens; she can feel him coming back to life. Distracted and astonished, she barely notices as the stallion takes a wobbly step back and mumbles a few words before switching back into the form in which he arrived.
Sakir’s head lifts, the first real movement he had made since she had found him, and Iset’s heart swells with joy and excitement. Her twin thanks the retreating stallion with words that should have been too heavy for him to form.
But they weren’t.
He tosses a teasing remark her way and the metallic filly had never been happier to be on the receiving end of one of his smart retorts. He rose then, leaving her alone on the ground and bereft of his heat. She stays on the ground temporarily, still in shock at the recovery that was nothing short of miraculous.
He approaches and speaks to Amet gently, much kinder and softer than Iset and her temper had been. She rises and comes between them, her anger still fresh and tangible enough that she didn’t want the source of her anger to be anywhere near the current source of her joy.
“And I wonder why you thought you’d never see him again?” She questioned sharply, speaking to Sakir but her tone and cutting glare directed at their older brother. She snakes her neck underneath her twin’s, pushing firmly into his side before whispering softly to him, “Lets go home. You’ll love it there."
every pearl is a lynx, is a girl
sweet like harmony made into flesh
The red Pegasus flies ahead, he overheard and flew in as a bird – she hadn’t seen that he was watching, but when the gyrfalcon dove into the wooded area where the group gathered, she knew. She’s never met the opposite eyed shapeshifter, but she’s eternally grateful for him anyhow. She stands back and in the dense under-brush smiling to herself as she adjusts her wings against her rib-cage.
The child brightens visibly and even his protesting sister eases and watches the healer’s magic. The red healer’s meet hers and she nods in thanks before he morphs and launches back into flight. Snowphish turns on her heel and with a galloping start she too takes wing and disappears into the clouds and mists beyond and above the treetops.
![[Image: iawIsA4.png]](http://i.imgur.com/iawIsA4.png)
