I see us written in the Stars
When Cheri saw what remained of Loess and the southern territories, she lost a bit of herself. Eventually her journey with Aela and Obscene led them to the fringes of Beqanna’s forest, where she finally broke past the scraggly line of saplings and beheld the few remaining spires of her kingdom floating in a sea of water.
It was like… dying.
Feeling the water lapping against her quartz hooves, smelling the brine and the cry of a gull somewhere amidst a heavy fog rolling in from the east. Knowing that out there, on the other side of the landbridge that seemed to disappear into the water, was Tephra. A part of her absolutely died that day, laid to rest on the ocean floor in the deepest, darkest parts of the sunken canyons.
Cheri had blinked at the choppy water, raised her head, and let the dark tendrils of bitter hatred curl around her heart. For the first time in her life, she felt capable of a pure and powerful violence. Instead of fearing the sensation, she let it flow across every cell of her being until it bathed her senses in liquid fire.
But in the next ragged breath, she saw the sense in choosing to be cold instead. The fire cooled and hardened to steel, encapsulating the young magician's feelings. She turned her back on the sea and in a matter of hours, she was alone again. For now, she would rather calculate her next move; there was still the matter of her relatives in the north, and Tarian.
Most importantly: she needed to feed her magic.
Whatever she’d done to herself and Obscene had nearly killed her. Before the moment of their disappearance, Cheri couldn’t be sure that anything was capable of killing her - she’d felt as bright and hot as the sun’s surface, untouchable. Now she knew better. Her idiotic nature could easily be the end of herself or someone else, and from now on she would have to think twice before she did anything without considering the repercussions first.
It felt too risky to just up and wander off, so Cheri lingered in the woods and out of sight, feeding off the land like a vine rooted to the soil. For all her vigor and slow-spreading rage, she was not yet convinced that eating flesh or consuming the bloody, coppery lifeforce of a more sentient creature was a higher route to take, so she never fed on other animals.
On her many walks she often found her way to the River’s edge, drawn to the water by memory or desire (neither of which she liked to linger over.) Tonight, she floated down the peaceful banks like a haunted spirit, following Obscene’s trail toward the lights of the winking wisps.
“If that’s what you’d like.” She responded from the shadows, taking shape in the dark as her powers slowly illuminated every dip and curve of her replenished form.
The pegasus mare was achingly lovely. Even in the pale, dim light of her ethereal glow it was painstakingly obvious that not a single hair was out of place. Everything was exactly as it should be, where she was concerned. Frozen midwinter, she was the undying bloom of the Southern court, and the ice in her veins reflected coldly in the look she gave Obscene and his companion.
He was ready to hear the truth.
It was like… dying.
Feeling the water lapping against her quartz hooves, smelling the brine and the cry of a gull somewhere amidst a heavy fog rolling in from the east. Knowing that out there, on the other side of the landbridge that seemed to disappear into the water, was Tephra. A part of her absolutely died that day, laid to rest on the ocean floor in the deepest, darkest parts of the sunken canyons.
Cheri had blinked at the choppy water, raised her head, and let the dark tendrils of bitter hatred curl around her heart. For the first time in her life, she felt capable of a pure and powerful violence. Instead of fearing the sensation, she let it flow across every cell of her being until it bathed her senses in liquid fire.
But in the next ragged breath, she saw the sense in choosing to be cold instead. The fire cooled and hardened to steel, encapsulating the young magician's feelings. She turned her back on the sea and in a matter of hours, she was alone again. For now, she would rather calculate her next move; there was still the matter of her relatives in the north, and Tarian.
Most importantly: she needed to feed her magic.
Whatever she’d done to herself and Obscene had nearly killed her. Before the moment of their disappearance, Cheri couldn’t be sure that anything was capable of killing her - she’d felt as bright and hot as the sun’s surface, untouchable. Now she knew better. Her idiotic nature could easily be the end of herself or someone else, and from now on she would have to think twice before she did anything without considering the repercussions first.
It felt too risky to just up and wander off, so Cheri lingered in the woods and out of sight, feeding off the land like a vine rooted to the soil. For all her vigor and slow-spreading rage, she was not yet convinced that eating flesh or consuming the bloody, coppery lifeforce of a more sentient creature was a higher route to take, so she never fed on other animals.
On her many walks she often found her way to the River’s edge, drawn to the water by memory or desire (neither of which she liked to linger over.) Tonight, she floated down the peaceful banks like a haunted spirit, following Obscene’s trail toward the lights of the winking wisps.
“If that’s what you’d like.” She responded from the shadows, taking shape in the dark as her powers slowly illuminated every dip and curve of her replenished form.
The pegasus mare was achingly lovely. Even in the pale, dim light of her ethereal glow it was painstakingly obvious that not a single hair was out of place. Everything was exactly as it should be, where she was concerned. Frozen midwinter, she was the undying bloom of the Southern court, and the ice in her veins reflected coldly in the look she gave Obscene and his companion.
He was ready to hear the truth.