"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
01-26-2020, 04:32 PM (This post was last modified: 01-26-2020, 04:32 PM by Agetta.)
This process had never, ever, been easy on the white mare. Not in this life nor any of the previous ones she has ever had. She wonders if her body remembers that first foal, sweet Shiri, and how she did not want that baby at all. How she was not ready to be a mother. She had tried, and her history has shown well enough that she has failed more than she has succeeded.
And now - well, it’s been so long that she’s not sure that her body will even remember what to do and the whole afternoon when she realizes what’s coming is spent pacing and frustrated in the copse of trees and soft grasses they have found near the Pangea border. After meeting Ana and being invited to this place, Agetta had found Plume and the two had decided to try it out. If they decided the kingdom wasn’t for them, they could always move on. The news that they would be having twins, and that one of them had magic still made Agetta’s head spin. And her anxiety even worse.
Thank goodness for this new friend Ana, a fellow magician, who was having twins of her own. It was surely such wonderful fortune that had blessed her upon meeting that dappled mare. Agetta had her tricks, of course, but the concept of magic baffled her and if her child were to have questions - she wanted someone close, someone they could trust, to help with the answers.
Darkness is falling when Agetta finally lies down, muttering to herself about how stupid she was to get pregnant at her age - half-heartedly sharing some of the blame with Plume outloud in an attempt to hear his laugh. She distracting herself from her thoughts, which are flickering between all her other children. The three she had with Plume and the others with less peaceful beginnings.
All lost now.
Before long, these new lives demand all her attention. The stars are fully out when the first arrives. This process, Agetta is noticing, is not as taxing as it has been in the past. She assumes it has something to do with the magic which, via connection with the foal, may be flowing through her veins temporarily. What she hasn’t noticed, however, is that there is a soft light around her - the light of the stars, healing her body and soothing it as it tears and shifts to bring in these two lives. She turns head to see a white filly with soft downy wings, nickering softly to her as she stands to give this new daughter attention before she feels the tug for the next.
A look that is a dizzying combination of fear and excitement is cast towards Plume before she settles in again.
It is not long before the other arrives - another white filly. The glow around her fades, but still she does not notice as she stands and moves towards them. She’s not sure she would even notice if the night turned to day around them, so complete is her focus on her new daughters, her dark eyes swimming with the overwhelming sense of love she feels for these two new, perfect lives.
She turns to Plume, knowing he won’t be far, to press her muzzle to his skin. “What were the names we chose, Caledonia and Beyza? Which should we give which?” She asks him with a short, bright laugh - amazed that it is possible to feel as happy as she does in this moment.
