Young Blood [Any/All]

[Zephyr]

"The bittersweet between my teeth, trying to find the in-between..."

There aren't many places the alabaster mare liked better than the sea. On numerous occasions she found herself lurking around the water, listening to the waves crash to shore, sometimes staying until the tide nearly reached her pale stomach. She enjoyed listening as the seagulls called to each other, how the air smelled strongly of salt and sulfur. She found an odd sort of solace in how the water could be so gentle sometimes, but so terrifying at others, kind of like how life is. 

Life is so curious, isn't it?

She had met the stallion named Krigare but a few months ago. Though, she could not see him, she enjoyed the way he made her feel, the way he seemed so adamant about helping her find her way around Tephra's lands. He seemed so open, so honest...and she had let her mind ruin it. 

He's leading you to your death. Don't go!! Run away!!

So, she did. And now she was alone yet again, all because of her fear. A single tear rolled down her pale face from her milky white eyes - something she had done so often, it was second nature to her now. 

She felt exceedingly confused, and the more she thought about the incident, the more befuddled she became. It was like a switch had gone off in her mind - one minute she felt at ease and safe around her newfound companion, the next she was bolting away...and falling. Zephyr wished she knew why her mind played such tricks on her...and why so often it left her with a feeling of deep grief and anxiety. 

So, there she was. Standing by the sea yet again, letting the waves splash around her. High tide would be coming soon, she could feel the water rising above her legs. She wanted to submerge herself in its beauty, swim in its chaos. The rest of the world seemed so scary, but here, along the border of Tephra by the sea, it seemed halfway alright. 

She felt her body moving deeper into the sea - a dangerous idea, but she suddenly didn't really care. The water was cool as she plunged into the depths - she wouldn't stay out here long, but the feeling of the crisp aqua felt good...almost like she was washing away all her sorrows. She just needed a feeling of comfort, even if it was for a moment.

Like he had given her that short amount of time.

Zephyr

I’m a ship in a bottle, rain pouring down on me

[Iron]

The sea.

They were born by the sea, in a cavern beneath the volcanic cliffs doted on lovingly by mother and father. Neither of them wanted for anything; father made small horses of fire that raced around the cavern walls providing light and entertainment and mother kept them close to her soft warm sides, and they guzzled milk from her flanks whenever they desired. Even the sound of the surf in the distance lulled them to sleep as did the sounds of their parents talking in hushed tones above their swaying sleepy heads. But even in this idyll of contentment, the twins grew curious and sought ways to venture further and further afield from the cavern and their parents’ ever watchful eyes. It was how they discovered the one secret about themselves that brought them closer as if the bond of being twins was not enough (it was, but this was something else too, that made them united and feel further as one only halved) - they could shift their shape!

It had happened by accident.

Mother let them leap and splash in the low tide while she stared at the sea and father groomed her back and sides. Iron chased Wine farther than he intended, nipping at her heels as her girlish peals of laughter rang loud from her throat. Both of them had strayed too far into the sea’s clutches and a wave bigger than normal bowled them both over until they tumbling end over end and the wave finally deposited them upon the shore but far from their parents. Neither was afraid, they were breathless with delight and laughter but each of them was not a foal any more - they were sleek black panther cubs now damp from the sea and eyeing the claws that sprang from their newfound paws. By rights, they ought to have been surprised but Iron and Wine took this change in stride and scampered around the sand until their parents called them back to their sides with whistles of irritation and fear.

Something in their parents’ tones made them shift back though they had no true idea of how to effect this change on their own. One moment they were gamboling as happy cubs and the next, they were foals again on long skittering legs as they joined their parents, sharing secretive looks with one another and sly smiles that their parents mulled over but never asked questions about. After that, mother kept a closer watch on them whenever she allowed them out and about. It was as if she knew, or suspected at least, that the twins had discovered something but refused to share that discovery with either of their parents. They liked having this secret between them, even if they could not fully exercise it at the moment but they’d also learned how to duck their mother’s watchful eye - they simply got father to distract her.

Just as they did on this day when father started fawning all over mother, winking at them over her back. He suspected too, and knew that the twins needed time to themselves to just be twins since he was one after all. So safe from their parents’ eyes, the two took to trying to make each other shift in order to better control it. This was no easy feat for either of them since it acquired some element of danger at first or pain, as they had unerringly discovered one time when Wine had pushed her brother over then stepped on him. It wasn’t like she had done it intentionally, things like that happened during bouts of rough battle and she hadn’t meant to step on him but her hoof had found his pastern and the yowl he’d let loose came from no horse’s throat but a panther cub’s. Of course, Iron bit her with his sharper feline’s teeth and that had caused her to shift shape too. So today, they took turns trying to bite and kick each other until their shapes changed.

Nothing happened no matter how hard they tried.

So, panting and sweaty, they decided to cool off in the sea but there was a pale mare there swimming out against the tide that had turned and was growing considerably more dangerous. Iron looked at Wine. Wine looked back at Iron. Neither seemed to want to disturb the mare because she had a look of happiness about her that struck them as almost reverent, like she worshipped the way the waves washed over her and left her smiling. Sometimes, their mother looked like that when she stared out at the sea, standing ankle-deep with the twins playing hide and seek behind her tail.  

“The tide is starting to change… you probably shouldn’t swim out too much farther!” 

It was Iron who spoke, the silver bay overo colt whose pattern wasn’t a traditional overo one but rather, mimicked flames consuming his small body. Wine, the black overo and very much his twin in every way besides that and the flame markings, stood beside him quiet and concerned.

[Krigare]

He had allowed emotion to cloud his judgement. Something the bay stag found himself doing often these days. This was unlike his true self. The stallion that was once so against the feeling the brewed deep inside of him now. A feeling that the labaster doe had struck a match under and sent a burning.

Love.

It was this that sent him far away from Tephra. Away from Beqanna entirely. He gave himself two weeks. A time period long enough for him to think. A time for him to decide if this life was what he most truly desired, and it was. Two weeks was all he needed, but then he needed more time... and some more. Those two weeks grew to a month, and that month was too long.

He made his return to Tephra gradually. Like one would dip themselves into a hot bath. One toe at a time, it was simply impossible for him to charge right into this. 

The warmth was the first indicator, the salty smell of the air was the next, and the unmistakable glow of the volcano was his last indication that he had returned home.

Tephra.

Zephyr, he needed to find Zephyr. There were only two places the pale mare could be, and judging from the lack of unsettled leaves, their hollow was not one of them. He meandered to the coast line next, the ash ladened air slowly giving way to salt scented breezes. It is here that he sees her. She stands unbothered int he waves that lap slowly at her chest, she is sinking, and he is ready to cry out in protest.

But the children catch his eye. Two brothers, deep in color and so concerned for the pale woman that waded in the waters. He listened to them speak as he approached, dark mass moving swiftly across the pale sand.

It is now that he chooses to call to her, his voice steel against the soft water.

"This is not you Zephyr."

Krigare regards the children momentarily, a soft nod as an indication to his thanks. They had postponed whatever it was the mare was choosing to do. And he was grateful.

((UNEDITED))

[Zephyr]

The bittersweet between my teeth, trying to find the in-between…

There is a strange sensation in being underwater. 

Although waves crashed above her in a state of havoc, under the water, it felt like she was gently being pushed, her body dancing with the bedlam. Submerged in the sea, she couldn't hear the water crash violently to shore, and retreat almost angrily...no, it sounded more like a soft swish...swish.... She could feel fish swim between her legs, and she allowed the seaweed to tickle her fetlocks. Her mind felt at ease...that is, until she came up to take a breath. 

The two children had called for her in a worried tone; they must've assumed the worse - that she was so heartsick, she would end her life. The current was becoming exceedingly rough, and the mare decided it was time enough for her to come back to shore. Fighting the undertow that threatened to pull her under, she drug herself through the thick sand onto the land. Her head moved to the unfamiliar scents, and she tried her best to muster a smile at the siblings as she struggled to remove herself from the ever-rising tide.

"I thank you," She muttered, a wave pushing her forward roughly. "The waves are getting rough tonight, children. Do you have a home...?" The pressure in her eyes had begun to fade, a good indication that night was falling. She worried that the foals were alone...that they wouldn't be safe...a feeling she knew all too well. 

She was nearly away from the water when a voice emerged from further up on the grasses. Her ears perked. The deep, velvety voice was familiar...it sounded like home. 

"This is not you Zephyr." He was stern in his approach, almost like he was scolding her. She swallowed, heart pounding heavily against her chest. A voice she had dreamed about since their separation...

Krigare. 

She wanted to race towards him, to cry as she nuzzled into his chest. She wanted to apologize for running away, for making a complete fool of herself. 

But instead, she stood motionless as the water rushed to her knees and back to the ocean behind her. She tried to muster up a response, but it came out a pathetic squeak. She flicked an ear to the children, then back to him. The waves in her mind were coming again, threatening to tear apart everything once again - to make her run away instead of facing her problems. Her body, sopping wet and cold, felt heavy as she tried to figure out what her next steps would be. 

Zephyr

@[Krigare] @[Iron + Wine]

[Iron]

Neither of them tears their eyes off of the pale mare in the sea.

She is beautiful to look at, but the tide concerns them as it changes and the waves suck at her pale breast. It is possible that she is sinking but neither Iron nor Wine thinks that is the case, she appears to be adrift like some strange beast the sea has taken a liking to it. The waves look to be lifting her up then tugging her back down in a gravitational pull that is as old as the earth itself that the twins stand upon, but neither of them is certain. How can they be? This is all too strange for them to comprehend aside from the fact that their mother taught them about the tides and their concern for the mare being so far is tantamount to little else in their small brains.

Wine’s ears flick first to the sound of sand sucking at hooves, and her eyes follow suit to fix upon the large shape of a bay stallion as he comes from the night and the sulfur-smoke of Tephra’s inner heart. He is impressive, and his fixation upon the pale mare is apparent upon the features of his strong face. She turns to nudge her brother who follows her as the stallion offers a nod to them and calls out to the mare in the water. They learn that she has a name and that he knows her, and that seems enough for them for the moment as they watch, curious to see what happens next - -

Iron and Wine know nothing of heartsickness.

They did not know that this is what she might be suffering from; or that she had strange desires to drink the sea until it filled her up and changed her. Could she be like them in some form or another? Iron and Wine shared a look between each other and their eyes glowed green and became more feline for the briefest minute before becoming wholly normal again as they looked back out to where the mare lifted her head above the waves. It seemed then that she noticed them first, and fought the tide to step bedraggled and tired from the sea onto the shore, mustering a smile just for them.

“We live in a cavern by the sea with our mother and father.” piped up Wine in a girlish tone. She looked much like her twin brother, same size and shape – few things set them apart at the moment, except their voices and their coloration. “Are you okay?” asks Iron, from his sister’s side, noticing for the first time that something seemed off about the mare’s eyes… neither of them had encountered a blind horse before, it elicited fascination from their little beating hearts as they thought to come close and touch her with their whiskery little noses but something about the sternness in the big stallion’s voice kept them where they were.

[Krigare]

He takes dragging steps across the sand as they talk. His head lowered with that of a peaceful gesture. The children were intimidated, it was easy to tell. Just as anyone could tell the two were siblings. Twins it seemed. The girl, spoke first. Her voice small compared to the situation at hand. The boy then began, a question of concern upon his dark lips.

Despite the urge to go to the alabaster doe, to comfort her and tell her it was okay, he knew he would have to wait. Waiting was cruel, but his words were best saved for private he reasoned. He opted for this instead,

"Whom are your parent's young ones? And what are your names?"

The questions came out soft, his tone restricted as he fought the need to embrace the mare before him. He smiled at them none the less, stealing glances at the other equine when he could.

"I am Krigare, and it is always lovely to see new faces around the Tephra."

He quipped, suddenly thinking of his own child (wherever he may be). This was another thing he wished to bring to Zephyr. He wished to seek out the gray stallion and his boy. The painted child whom he had abandoned all those months ago. He simply wished to know if the child was happy. Safe. And he wished for Zephyr to go with him.

The tide danced near their feet as the night went on, his head slowly rising to the alert position it held so often. With his ears tipped forward, listening for any sign of unwanted guests. For out of the group he was the protector it seemed. Two children and a blind mare. Then there was he, Tephra's very own body guard service.

"Why dont we move away from the coast, hmm?"

[Zephyr]

The bittersweet between my teeth, trying to find the in-between…

Zephyr feels the presence of the children to her front - their voices are small and gentle, and they seem rather confused about the situation at hand. They tell her of the cavern by the sea, where they reside, and the alabaster femme feels another smile pull at her lips.

Life has a way of giving and taking, kind of like the sea. In a way, it is heartbreaking - they do not yet know what heartbreak is, what hardships will befall them is yet a mystery. They have an entire life ahead of them...and they didn't even know the things that could happen to them...the way life rips you to shreds at every twist and turn. The one thing that gave comfort to the pale mare was the fact that the two seemed to have two loving, doting parents by there side (although they were nowhere to be found; a dangerous idea at this time of evening).

She could feel their eyes locked on her...she couldn't see it, but she knew. And then, they asked it. They asked the question the mare continuously braced herself for.

"Are you okay...?"

In their naivety, the words slip out. A rare thing to be exposed to - a blind horse - so of course they were to ponder over the filminess of her eyes and blankness in her stare. It hurts her - again, they do not know of the cruel cards life can hand you, but she smiles anyway and nods her head reassuringly. 

"I am fine children," She begins, waves lapping at her feet. "I was born without the ability to see clearly. It got worse as I grew." She didn't usually tell people that this is what happened to her, but for the unaware children, it seemed like a good way to explain. 

Krigare's presence is welcome, but nervewracking, and she can feel his gaze strictly on her as she talks to the children. As she finishes, she listens to the stag, whose voice goes from stern to soft as he speaks to the foals. 

"Why don't we move away from the coast, hm?" She enjoys listening to the way his voice is so sweet as he acknowledges them. It makes her heart flutter girlishly, but she isn't too interested in moving away from her haven. But, unwillingly, she follows, curious to see what the stag had to tell her. 

Zephyr

[Iron]

The bay stallion didn’t necessarily intimidate them… he was just big, the biggest horse they’ve seen so far in their short lives. If they’d met their grandfather, the King, they might have thought otherwise but for now, the bay was like a giant to them and they thought giants existed only in stories. So it was more like they looked at him with a healthy measure of respect and awe. He certainly posed no threat from his peaceful posture and they liked him more for that, and the fact that he seemed to know the seafoam-colored mare and maybe even loved her. Both of them picked up on that because they recognized the look in his eyes, it was the same look their father had in his eyes whenever he looked at their mother. It was a look of love, of things unsaid but somehow known and Iron and Wine shared a knowing smile between them.

“Spear and Antonia,” said the colt as he casually threw out their parents’ names.
“Iron and Wine,” said the filly, nodding first to her brother to indicate that he was Iron and she was Wine so the distinction was clear.

The stallion suggests moving away from the sea and for a moment, they balk at the idea of this until both of them realize that the tide has become a force to be reckoned with it and his suggestion is for the best. There might be something of an authoritative ring to it that reminds them of their parents, knowing full well that mother and father would say the same thing as the dusk deepened to full night around them. Their concern is still tantamount for the pale mare even as she assures them that she is alright. Something in her tone is not entirely convincing but they do not press the matter, knowing when it is best to just shut up and listen.

Neither of them is aware that they’ve done an injustice to her by asking their question. It was naive and thoughtless of them in their haste to understand if she was fine or not, which she said she was but then why the long swim out to sea as if to never come back? Her thoughts and feelings seemed more important to them than the milkiness of her eyes and the unnerving way that she stared beyond them at something neither of them could ever see, though that too, left them curious because blindness was not something introduced to them or told about in stories that they could remember. Giants, yes, like the stallion. Blind mares like her, no. They’d have to ask mother and father if there were stories about blind horse-heroes or something like that.

It was Wine of course, who was more compelled than Iron was to snuggle up to the pale mare’s side and rub her little face against the sea-damp shoulder. “I’m sorry, that seems like a cruel way to grow up. Slowly losing the ability to see the world around you.” There was genuine compassion in her soft voice as she nuzzled the pale skin and planted one small kiss there as a token of understanding and sweetness. Iron came to join her, running his nose over the same place and crowding his sister tight between the mare and himself. The mare moves though at the stallion’s behest and the twins trail her, like bright little shadows as the coast falls further behind them.

Iron wants to ask the obvious - why she went swimming so far out in the dangerous tide at near-dark but the question never leaves his lips. Wine can sense his curiosity enflamed more so by the mare’s admittance of her hardship and she chides him with a nip to his flank. “Don’t ask,” she whispers as the small motley group comes together.