"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
Amorette doesn’t know what exactly it is that drives her to – temporary – leave Tephra in favour of Taiga again. Last week it had been her curiosity, and as bottom like she had wanted to learn something about it that she could report back to Warrick. She had been rather active within the borders of the volcanic land, the world beyond Tephra was very unknown to her.
That had changed last week, though only a little, and yet, the ebony woman finds herself back in Taiga again. Meeting Lavendel was something she remembers with a smile, and had shown her that Sylva was home to at least one gentle soul. It makes Amore look forward to her formal visit to Sylva with Warrick. She thinks it won’t be long before they actually set of.
But today, today she roamed through Taiga again. The only thing on her mind are wonders what adventures the redwood land would bring today, what souls she would get to meet and tales she could bring back home. Perhaps she would learn of a tale she could tell Kryptic, to entertain him.
And telling him that his mother was dead wasn’t the things he had in mind. Amorette gasps, staring at the obviously dead form of a once powerful mare. Karaugh stares ahead, but her eyes don’t register anything. Nor does her barrel rise and fall with her breaths and her body is rigid and cold. The ebony mare stumbles back, almost tripping over her own legs in her own hurry. ”What.. no..” she speaks out loud, to nobody in particular. How could this have happened? The Karaugh she had gotten to meet – and Amore wasn’t fond of the buckskin vampire – was someone to be weary off, not one that was easily taken down. And yet, someone had.
The forest around her has turned dark, and the only sound she can hear is her own loud heartbeat. Her eyes only see Karaugh, simply unable to tear her dark gaze away. Tears cloud her vision, Amore is unable to stop them. Not because she’s heartbroken over the mare’s passing, but because of the shock that holds her in its grasp. And the idea that she has to break the news to Kolera and Kryptic is heartbreaking.
Purpose, it is all one has and without we are nothing. Just aimless souls trapped within an earthly body and bound to pass through time. Time grew long without purpose and he dreaded the moment his ward had disappeared into the misty shadows of the Taiga. His duty to his master satisfied and with it, his purpose faded away as well. The blood eyed stallion stared into the dark abyss surrounding him. A body laid before him, stale with death. This soul had been freed but he couldn't say it was a gentle passing. Her purpose had been served on this earth and there would be nothing more for her here. The finer muscles of his jaw hardened in envy. To have served your purpose with your life was the ultimate sacrifice and he assumed a great honor. Oh but little did he really know...
He had stood, a tall solider, examining the body while he pondered. Wrapped in the mists and tucked into the darkness. His thoughts interrupted by a gasp and stumbling. Red eyes shift to find a dark little thing, eyes wide with fear. Fear of the unknown, of death, of reality. It causes a grin to sweep across his maw as he does not move. His steely voice calls to her, "You look as though you've seen a ghost M'Dear. Do not be afraid." With a smooth stride he steps into the filtered moonlight. It's plays along his hide, creating an extension of his white blanket and dark crater's. His red eyes look to the corpse as he nears quietly, "She has moved on to the next life. But she leaves a child, here in her place." He curls around the body and finds himself very near the dark woman. A devious grin on his lips, "Kaurma is her name."
He wonders slightly if the dark mare had known this body and if she cared to know more about all that he says. She could do with the information as she pleased. It made no difference to him. He had served his purpose...
Knowing of dead is one thing, forced to face is something entirely different. It is no pretty sight. Unmistakable it is Karaugh, or perhaps ‘was’ is a better way of phrasing it. The vampyric buckskin mare no longer is. And although Amorette can’t really get herself to mourn the mare, she doesn’t deserve this fate either. It is not really a pretty sight either. Her body is all rigid and her eyes stare into nothing.
The sudden voice startles her. Her head jerks up sharply and she stumbles a couple of steps backwards. Ears flick back, then forth, as the red eyed black blanket male peers at her across Karaugh’s dead body. ”Who’re you?” she asks, her voice shakier than her liking. Many thoughts swirl through her mind, but to back away from the red eyed stallion isn’t one of them. As he speaks her eyes – still full of shock – move back to the dead body, unable to grasp the reality. ”W-what happened? Where’s the child?”
Had the witch died during childbirth? And if so, where is the child? The stallion had spoken about the girl having a name, so she should be alive, but where was she? The thought of a newborn girl alone out in these woods angers her, but it would also give her the drive to find Kaurma. That the girl might be Levi’s daughter is a thought she attempts to push to the back of her mind. Amorette strongly dislikes the idea, however, it’s not the child’s fault. And if she was out there alone, she definitely needs help.
The mare is taken aback. Rightfully so, given the situation. Still he remains hovering over the fallen mare like the mists that consume him. Her inquiry of who he is brings a grin to his devilish lips, "My master, the child's father, appointed me to watch over the young one until she was found. I am Ouija." His eerie red gaze floats from the live mare to the departed, "Kaurma is safe...with family." He doesn't further provide details as to where they had went or what had truly happened. What horse could believe a foal stole the life of it's mother?
Shortly after the wolf had drifted off, the pair of equines had slipped away to the west. He himself had nearly turned to leave, when the soft hoofbeats of the dark mare peaked his interest.
His eyes return to look to the dark mares face, still weary and unsure. His lengthy limbs bring him forwards. Stepping high over the sunken bones of the carcass remains, he draws closer to the mare. Words tempting answers from the stranger, "And who might you be?" Red gaze slipping from her face to her feminine frame as he veers to her right slightly. Coming to stand before her but to the one side...
When he starts speaking, she listens closely. A relieved sigh escapes past the barrier of her lips. Levi is not the father, she surely would’ve known of this snow blanket stallion if he considers the bay sabino fire wielder as his master, right? ”You were here? Watching over them? Did.. did she-“ a brief pause, her eyes quickly glancing over Karaugh’s body. ”… die in childbirth?”
With her eyes on the fallen body again, she notices more and more on the buckskin mare’s body. It is mangled, and in a few days it would be unrecognizable. Sure, the scent of blood and dead must lure in scavenger hunters. But even now, it’s no pretty sight.
Ouija stepping forward pulls her from her stare. A quick shake of her head and her dark eyes find his red ones again. For a moment she wonders if he is another descendant of Offspring’s line. But no, Offspring’s line isn’t important now. Karaugh’s is. ”With family?” she questions. Did Kolera and Kryptic have more siblings, aside from young Kaurma? ”She has family in Tephra.” Amorette wouldn’t hesitate to take Kryptic’s younger sister under her figurative wing too.
His approach has her lift her head, but even so, she stands much shorter than him and thus has to glance up to meet his gaze. For someone who always is comfortable around others, she doesn’t like Ouija’s proximity. There is something eerie about his gaze, even though she is familiar with seeing red eyes. ”My name is Amorette” she answers him after a short pause. Then, deciding that she is reading too much into it. ”Do you live in Taiga? Were you here when..” She doesn’t finish, and instead glances at what used to be Karaugh, when that happened?
