06-04-2021, 11:29 AM
stifled the choice and the air in my lungs;
better not to breathe than to breathe a lie
Tiercel isn’t sure if it would be easier to pretend the last few months had never happened. He’d been able to push through the flashbacks to meet Mazikeen and Nashua, to balance his way across the rolling log, to chase his brothers while the bitter wind swept over his shoulders. The festival is supposed to be a celebration, after all, and his experience in the Underworld was not something to celebrate.
Aquaria’s voice is tight in her reply, and it gives him an indication that she’s playing along too. They’ve been invited to a day of fun, to forget the eclipse’s terrors, to laugh in the sun. But she crumbles in her next sentence, and Tiercel is grateful for it. He’d already been feeling the effects of playing the part for so long, and even while he played the part he had seen the Underworld in paranoid flashes. He’s relieved that the ocean-mare is comfortable enough that she can tell the truth, and that he can put his own guard down, and that he is not the only one who’s been traumatized by the eclipse.
The dun-and-navy sighs heavily, and though it’s full of the emotions and memories and thoughts he’s had over the past months, it still doesn’t compare to what he’s experienced. Aquaria might feel a softer dose of his emotions (longing, fear, loneliness, and hopelessness), but he pulls them back into his chest as he speaks. “Actually pretty terrible.”
How could he explain the Underworld to the pale mare? Tiercel is certain he isn’t ready to speak of the horrors; he hasn’t even talked to his wife about them yet. He feels instantly panicked even thinking about the oil-black clay, the harsh white lights, and the feeling of his heart sliding out of his chest. Aquaria’s anxiety flashing in her eyes feels like a mirror to Tiercel’s emotions, and he tries to take comfort in it. But it’s hard, especially when he can still hear the winged mare’s screaming echoing inside his mind.
His next breath is shaky and uncontrolled. “I’ve been… away from Beqanna. Not by my own choosing. When the eclipse ended, I somehow came back.” Tiercel’s cerulean eyes flick between her nervous face and the tundra landscape over her shoulder. “I… uh, I have nightmares every time I try to sleep.” He can admit he’s a mess, like Aquaria, but deeper than that he thinks he’s broken.
Aquaria’s voice is tight in her reply, and it gives him an indication that she’s playing along too. They’ve been invited to a day of fun, to forget the eclipse’s terrors, to laugh in the sun. But she crumbles in her next sentence, and Tiercel is grateful for it. He’d already been feeling the effects of playing the part for so long, and even while he played the part he had seen the Underworld in paranoid flashes. He’s relieved that the ocean-mare is comfortable enough that she can tell the truth, and that he can put his own guard down, and that he is not the only one who’s been traumatized by the eclipse.
The dun-and-navy sighs heavily, and though it’s full of the emotions and memories and thoughts he’s had over the past months, it still doesn’t compare to what he’s experienced. Aquaria might feel a softer dose of his emotions (longing, fear, loneliness, and hopelessness), but he pulls them back into his chest as he speaks. “Actually pretty terrible.”
How could he explain the Underworld to the pale mare? Tiercel is certain he isn’t ready to speak of the horrors; he hasn’t even talked to his wife about them yet. He feels instantly panicked even thinking about the oil-black clay, the harsh white lights, and the feeling of his heart sliding out of his chest. Aquaria’s anxiety flashing in her eyes feels like a mirror to Tiercel’s emotions, and he tries to take comfort in it. But it’s hard, especially when he can still hear the winged mare’s screaming echoing inside his mind.
His next breath is shaky and uncontrolled. “I’ve been… away from Beqanna. Not by my own choosing. When the eclipse ended, I somehow came back.” Tiercel’s cerulean eyes flick between her nervous face and the tundra landscape over her shoulder. “I… uh, I have nightmares every time I try to sleep.” He can admit he’s a mess, like Aquaria, but deeper than that he thinks he’s broken.
tiercel.
@[Aquaria]