06-19-2024, 02:57 PM
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I doze fitfully. In the hopes of finding some semblance of peace, I’ve come to one of my favorite spots. Cradled in the earth and ruins in a hollow undisturbed by wind and rain though the ocean is not far, I twitch and and shiver, my spine and mouth filled with a cloying, choking sense of dread. I wake with a start, blinking the nightmares away, sides heaving, but I make no sound. Never make a sound. I shift my weight and leave the sandy loam I’d bedded down on, blinking against the soft darkness and stifling a yawn. Something had woken me, prodded me from my sleep. Though I am no longer as on edge as I was in those first few months, I think I might never know what safe is and my heartbeat is heavy and loud. I listen for a few moments, but I hear nothing but the distant crash of waves. There is no pull of strong magic - that unique heavy feeling that beckons to what’s in me, like a siren singing a ship to dash itself on her rocks …
They’re upwind of me when I finally peer out from my hiding place. The slight breeze, tasting of brine and tameless freedom, brings me only snatches of what the first says. I’ve not seen her before, but that doesn’t mean anything. Though Beqanna is my home, it’s been a long time since I’ve been free to do anything but their bidding. A very long time.
I watch her for a moment, measuring the dark grace with which she carries herself, before I turn and slink through the rear exit of my hiding place, climbing the soft sand that spills into the belly of the ruin. I am taking care not to expose myself but freeze when I hear a different yet equally unfamiliar voice. I am trying to hide, I think in response, swallowing hard and sparing the bright celestial body a quick glare. My mouth is dry, nerves tingling with self-preservation, but when I turn to face the disembodied voice, the second isn’t even looking in my direction. My stomach clenches with relief and I turn to slip away into the night. Unfortunately, I don’t see the partially exposed bit of rock until I trip over it, going down on my knees as if I were still an ungainly foal and not a colt whose seen the seasons nearly twice over now. I scramble to my feet, knees stinging where they scraped against the rock’s rough surface, and wheel around to face the two who’ve no doubt heard my clumsy attempts at skulking away.
They’re upwind of me when I finally peer out from my hiding place. The slight breeze, tasting of brine and tameless freedom, brings me only snatches of what the first says. I’ve not seen her before, but that doesn’t mean anything. Though Beqanna is my home, it’s been a long time since I’ve been free to do anything but their bidding. A very long time.
I watch her for a moment, measuring the dark grace with which she carries herself, before I turn and slink through the rear exit of my hiding place, climbing the soft sand that spills into the belly of the ruin. I am taking care not to expose myself but freeze when I hear a different yet equally unfamiliar voice. I am trying to hide, I think in response, swallowing hard and sparing the bright celestial body a quick glare. My mouth is dry, nerves tingling with self-preservation, but when I turn to face the disembodied voice, the second isn’t even looking in my direction. My stomach clenches with relief and I turn to slip away into the night. Unfortunately, I don’t see the partially exposed bit of rock until I trip over it, going down on my knees as if I were still an ungainly foal and not a colt whose seen the seasons nearly twice over now. I scramble to my feet, knees stinging where they scraped against the rock’s rough surface, and wheel around to face the two who’ve no doubt heard my clumsy attempts at skulking away.
@Nocturnéa @Famkee