"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
The Grulla man is delighted to hear that the mare will accompany him back to Hyaline, his stance perked as he begins to turn and walk in he correct direction, a stiff breeze brushing against his brumal coat. The Stallion was eager to return, especially since he didn’t have to go alone, yet still he worried about the absence of his re-birth, the thought still circulating around his now tired brain, the Stallion shrugged it off for now and walked forward, keeping his pace relatively slow, his hooves languidly draping over the tousled earth below which was oddly damp and weird smelling.
As they approached the border of Hyaline Rouhi decided to cut off the silence held between them, he introduced his question quietly and with little noise created “If I may ask, what was your home like?” His question pierces the cold air softly, his head turning to face the mare as they cross the border, the mare could leave at any moment now if she wanted to, he didn’t want to keep her if she was interested in exploring but also wanted to accommodate her and be friendly.
The stallion’s smile grows as they enter a forested area, the silence falls on them immediately, the shadow of the grand trees standing tall above them and shading their coats, the shudder of the trees overwhelming the silence now, creases of light entering the canopy and breaking the darkness of the forest, highlighting the fine details of the forest floor, a delicacy for Rouhi’s icy eyes.
The Stallion walks carefully as his pace slows, his nostrils filling with the sweet scent of fruits and the dark perfume of old trees. Rouhi lifts his head into the air as he gathers information, odour of deer herds lingering in the area, he was completely lost in his own wonderland, still walking around as if in a dream, his eyes shutter for a moment before looking at the mare, he gives her a slightly embarrassed smile and continues the trek, the sound of a crisp river filling their ears, the air was now thickening as the moisture from the river flowed toward them, it seemed to transform into small snowflakes that now circulated around them airily, Rouhi halted as he looked around him, small specks of light filling his orbs as he stood stunned, his smile only increasing as they walked through the woods. The small snowflakes landing on his coat, creating small spots of moisture, the pair now increased their speed to a soft trot as they entered an opening, silence once again regaining contact as they stood hushed, Rouhi's soft hooves slowly sinking into the damp grass.
The Stallion turned himself to face the mare, his soft snout moving in beat to his words “Well we have arrived, I hope you will like it as much as I do” he speaks slowly and smoothly, watching the mare as he finished speaking.
The Stallion now stood stagnant, his body softly swaying to the slowing breeze, the journey was surprisingly peaceful, although he didn’t complain about it, he was happy to be home and to have been accompanied there by someone.
She follows him, mostly in silence, cold nipping at their heels. She doesn’t register the chill, though a few heads turn and look, and she doesn’t know if it’s for the cold or if it’s how she appears, stark white and blue-eyed. Or maybe it’s not her at all, maybe it’s her companion – Rouhi – and she’s a narcissist for assuming anything else.
He asks about her home somewhere she can’t identify, and she inhales, sharp, and for a moment she considers lying, or perhaps mentioning the place where she was born, the strange dark shore she has almost no memory of.
“Cold,” she says, “and snowy. No one visited, really, except my father. It wasn’t a welcoming place, but I liked it.”
She could have ended there – it was enough – but she adds one more piece.
“It was lonely, at times.”
She had not often been lonely, had only felt the most distant of aches as she looked into whiteness. Truth be told, she’s felt more lonely since leaving the mountain, so out of her element.
She is not lonely now, following him, venturing to see this kingdom of trees that he described to her.
(It’s so lush. So verdant. The scent of growth in the air makes her dizzy.)
He stops, eventually, and it’s only then she notices the patter of snowflakes, small and inconsequential, but oddly comforting. She does not know if her are her doing, or nature’s, but she savors them. She draws with towards her without realizing she’s doing so, until they’re swirling around, settling on forelock and eyelashes. They do not melt, not immediately, and she is grateful for such a small comfort, a taste of home.
“It’s so different,” she says. She does not say beautiful, though it objectively is, to her, beauty is all stark white and granite. But different, yes – this is different.
“Have you lived here long?” she asks, still taking in the trees, snowflakes settling over her back.
As she describes her homeland, Rouhi's imagination runs unrestrained, his mind creating pockets of thought, shrouded in snow and ice, huge pillars of rocks forming and peircing the sky, cutting the clouds away. Although he does not dream for very long, his attention is now based around the mare's speech, he nods as he looks around, it definitely did look different in comparison to the home she described, before he can drift off in thought again, his mind is confronted by a question. The winged male takes a moment before replying, his eyes staring into the expanse as he began to speak "I haven't been here very long at all, but it doesn't take much time to fall in love with something this serene" his eyes seem to wander off again, already staring at the land before them.
He couldn't help but notice the snowflakes that were now swirling around her, gleaming in the light as they fell, it was quite a wonderful sight in the expanse of lush green that surrounded them, it reminded him of his re-birthing and of how random it could be, spontaneous fire erupting from his hooves followed by a sea of ashes, later reforming as himself, quite weird. It seemed to attract attention but also do the opposite, the male was slightly relieved he wasn't re-brithing, even though it was quite unusual that it did not happen yet, he was still happy, he didn't particularly want to scare anyone away, make them fear him, he wanted the opposite.
The grulla stallion starts to think about the mountain again, he thought about it for a while, the cold harsh weather accompanied by the lust for companionship, the way he felt about friendship when he was smaller; a desire he always needed to fulfil no matter what, he couldn't stand being alone, just the thought of it made him shiver, his eyes shooting toward the mare with speed, she wasn't gone and so he relaxed, his breath relaxing in time with his body, swaying again calmly with the breeze.
Rouhi flutters his eyes for a moment before finally speaking, breaking the increasing silence, watching the weather changing "So I guess this weather is s-no-w joke, huh?" he retains his laughter for a moment before bursting, almost ready to roll in the snow as he laughed, only regaining himself after a few moments "Apologies" he coughed momentarily with a smile "We should probably get moving" his words seemed elongated as he took in the chilly air, moving away slowly for a moment before halting "Uh, where are we going?" they had already reached their destination, well within the border of Hyaline, Rouhi was posing the question as if the mare knew her surroundings, he shifted his weight as he looked at the mare, unsure of where to go, or where she wanted to go.
She is quiet, makes no promises to love such a place. She is not sure it’s within her, to love a place so rich, so fertile, she does not know how long she can even exist within such a place. She is built for mountaintops, she fears, but this is yet unconfirmed (after all, she has not perished yet!).
She wishes she could feel as he did – the love for the land is writ clear on him, his words only supplementing what is already clear. He is meant for these kinds of places, for fecundity and nature abounding, and she –
She isn’t sure what she’s meant for.
But she smiles, and the snow swirls with her smile, as if tethered. For now, it does not matter. He is not asking her to love the land, or even to stay within it. Only to visit, and that, she is sure, she can do.
She laughs at his joke, foolish as it is, and it snows harder around them. She can almost feel the cold, now, welcomes it like and old friend.
She follows as he moves, but he stops, looks back at her. Asks a question she isn’t sure how to answer – she knows nothing of this place. So there’s really only one kind of answer.
“Show me your favorite place here,” she says, looking around, wondering which paticualr spot within the lush kingdom had drawn Rouhi the most.
The grulla stallion listens to the mare as she suggests what to do, instantly the stallion knows where to go. His ears perked, smile visible and tail almost starting to wag like a dog "I know where to go in that case" he speaks softly but with purpose, he begins to walk in the opposite direction to where he was facing, passing the mare with a smile as he increased his pace, looking back to the mare as he opened his stride "It might even be quite, chilly, there" his smile is followed by a small laugh as he moves toward the place, his eyes planning out a route as they went.
As they neared the scent of water filled the air, a sweet sensation of comfort, with this scent there was also a cold breeze, carrying the information of winter and hardship. Rouhi paused atop a small hill that overlooked the grand lake, supplied by three main rivers. In the middle of the river there was already ice forming, after a few moments of admiration the stallion sped down the hilltop, snow flying into the air as his hooves swept it up behind him, as they neared the water's edge he slowed and took a quick drink, the cold liquid was soothing and calming.
Once he was done he lifted his head and faced the mare with a smile "I was hoping it would have frozen fully by now, but I hope you will like it too" he shares his admiration of the land with her as he settles into the cold now, steam rising from his nostrils as he stood still, gazing upon the grand lake.
As he watched the rivers stream into the large lake, Rouhi wandered about the mountains again, his head turning to face the mare once again "If I may ask, what is your favourite place to be in the world" He blinked a few times as silence passed them, ending his sentence but wanting to say more, instead he waited for a reply quietly.
She follows him once more, and is pleased to see what’s unveiled – the lake, wide and sprawling, fed into by the rivers. She moves down the hilltop, close to the water’s edge. She can feel the cold radiating, the ice calling to her like kin. It’s even colder here, down by the lake, and she draws it forth, the cold, and when Rouhi finishes his drink she focuses on the area, concentrating, and a thin sheet of ice manifests. It will crack at the slightest movement of the water, she has no doubt, but it’s there.
“When I’m stronger,” she says, and it’s with a strange confidence that she says if and not when, “I think I could freeze it solid.”
She says this partially to herself, partially to him. He’s made no mention of her powers, but then, she has not been showy about them, the most she has is a crust of ice and her own strange appearance.
He asks her a question then, one she does not have to consider.
“The mountaintop,” she says, “it was quiet, but it was beautiful. I felt like I could see the whole world, there. And it was mine.”
Not truly – she will never own nature – but no one else ascended it in her time there, save for her father, and that was infrequent.
“I might have stayed there forever,” she continues, “but I woke up one day, and though I loved it…it wasn’t enough. It was my favorite place in the world, but still wasn’t enough.”
At first Rouhi is slightly surprised by the mare's sudden comment, his head turning to her almost instantly, his ears fixed on her as she pauses, the pause instantly followed up by the mention of freezing the lake. Rouhi looks back toward the mass of water with a smile "I'm sure it would look delightful, it would definitely spice things up a little bit" his gaze returns to the mare as she continues to speak, answering his question.
The mare speaks of the mountain again, mentioning it not being enough.
Rouhi could relate to the same thing in a different way for certain things, especially when it came to his personality.
Rouhi quickly breaks the silence, the confines of his lips parting to speak "What would be enough?" his expressionless gaze follows her as he moves closer to her, leaving the water's edge quietly, the blue liquid softly slamming against the gritty banks that were covered in white sludge in the winter time. He makes himself comfortable again as he awaits her response.
His soft, pale eyes begin to wander across the lake again, staring at its blatant beauty as it began to softly shimmer with the descending light, his eyes comfortably fixated on the soft and snowy texture.
His question is, at heart, an impossible one.
How is she is to know what would be enough? She thought it was enough, to live, the daughter of a god and a near-goddess, on a place that was practically built for her. She thought it was enough, to have the snow and cold at her beck and call, to live strange and beautiful among it, alone and ethereal, wind whipping at her cheeks and mane but never stinging, always feeling like a caress.
She had no way of knowing the way wanderlust would bloom inside her, turning from pinprick into an ache, until she finally had no choice but to obey, to give in and make her way down the mountain, stones tumbling down the side, the air growing warmer and richer until it was almost too much to breathe.
“I don’t know,” she says, because this is the easier, simple way to saying it, without loading him down with the words that made no sense, not to one who has never known such strange and exquisite solitude.
“What would be enough for you?” she asks, as if his answer could guide her, as if they were anything the same.
In the same way that the mare does not know how to answer his question, the stallion does not know how to respond to it either now as it spins back at him.
He glances at the mare with this icy blue eyes, his thoughtful gaze meeting her halfway "Well, how would I answer that..." he thinks out loud, his head returning to look toward the lake "I guess, anywhere where I could live with a companion, someone I care about. That would be enough, for sure." his tone is quietly soft, his gaze still stretched out on the lake.
It was true, Rouhi would never be content unless he was with someone else, a painful and eerie reminder, slowly creeping up on him every day.
Until he found that someone, he would still be haunted by his own desires.
He looks back toward the mare with a sort of emptiness, one that perhaps matched the mountain she spoke of, in terms of living beings anyway. The stallion is slightly stuck now, unsure of what to say to her past this point. After his mind had drifted from current reality, the stallion was already gone again, his speech and embodiment constantly travelling in a hollow space, nightmares looming over him with laughter in mind.
But for now he kept the demons at bay, his eyes blinking wildly as he stared at the mare, almost confused.
Rouhi
@[annapurna] I made it short and sweet cause its 12 am and a weird time and I'm in an odd mood hehe
