05-23-2018, 06:29 PM
Time changes him, finally.
The gold wings hoisted over his back, though strong, cannot support flight for very long these days. The old black stallion has lived years beyond his expiration date, he thinks, and even the steps he takes to leave Taiga protest with every snap of his knee or twist of his hips. The walk out into uncluttered, open space is filled with the memories of Jinju and their love; how it’d taken shape in the form of Ander and then renewed itself when his fire-girl had been reborn.
The yesterdays gone past roll like film across his mind, clouding his already hazy eyes and leaving him with the likes of Titanya, Heda, Ruan, and all the rest he’d met along the way.
When the skies clear of tree branches, Terran sighs deeply and unfurls his four wings to take flight. They lift him with laborious effort; something of a slow start, but then he’s gotten the hang of it and soon he’s soaring past the red-gold plumage of Sylva and banking left, straight for the end of Beqanna. Every flap drives him on, but it also pulls him back.
Back to Jinju, who no longer needed him. Back to Ander, who’d outgrown him and become a man. Back to Titanya, and the past he never really knew.
He sighs again, pushing ahead until the semicircle of empty shoreline is beneath him and then he drifts, enjoying the final descent and the last sight of this world stretched out far ahead of him. It lasts for as long as he wants, and then ends all too suddenly for his taste. You could go back, the bald-faced elder thinks, be surrounded by them, one more time.
But no; his trademark golden hooves fold beneath the weight of brittle bones and Terran is all too aware that there is no turning back.
Not anymore.
He closes eyes that opened for the first time to Titanya and his mother Talulah, and the heaviness that follows means they’ll never open again.
------------
Here lies Terran; father of one and lover of one.
He lived his life for his family and nothing else.
To Jinju: There was only ever you - I hope you remember that in your lives to come.
To Ander: I couldn't have made a better son. My pride in you gave me hope for a thousand lifetimes.
To Titanya: Thank you, for everything. You'll never know how much you influenced me.
The gold wings hoisted over his back, though strong, cannot support flight for very long these days. The old black stallion has lived years beyond his expiration date, he thinks, and even the steps he takes to leave Taiga protest with every snap of his knee or twist of his hips. The walk out into uncluttered, open space is filled with the memories of Jinju and their love; how it’d taken shape in the form of Ander and then renewed itself when his fire-girl had been reborn.
The yesterdays gone past roll like film across his mind, clouding his already hazy eyes and leaving him with the likes of Titanya, Heda, Ruan, and all the rest he’d met along the way.
When the skies clear of tree branches, Terran sighs deeply and unfurls his four wings to take flight. They lift him with laborious effort; something of a slow start, but then he’s gotten the hang of it and soon he’s soaring past the red-gold plumage of Sylva and banking left, straight for the end of Beqanna. Every flap drives him on, but it also pulls him back.
Back to Jinju, who no longer needed him. Back to Ander, who’d outgrown him and become a man. Back to Titanya, and the past he never really knew.
He sighs again, pushing ahead until the semicircle of empty shoreline is beneath him and then he drifts, enjoying the final descent and the last sight of this world stretched out far ahead of him. It lasts for as long as he wants, and then ends all too suddenly for his taste. You could go back, the bald-faced elder thinks, be surrounded by them, one more time.
But no; his trademark golden hooves fold beneath the weight of brittle bones and Terran is all too aware that there is no turning back.
Not anymore.
He closes eyes that opened for the first time to Titanya and his mother Talulah, and the heaviness that follows means they’ll never open again.
------------
Here lies Terran; father of one and lover of one.
He lived his life for his family and nothing else.
To Jinju: There was only ever you - I hope you remember that in your lives to come.
To Ander: I couldn't have made a better son. My pride in you gave me hope for a thousand lifetimes.
To Titanya: Thank you, for everything. You'll never know how much you influenced me.
