10-30-2025, 07:08 AM
A relit cigarette never tastes the same, and thats all I'll preach about rekindling old flames
She hasn't really thought of The Gates in years. It had been a good place to grow up, she supposed, as good as any place. She had been sheltered there, even adored there, but there was always something lacking. It wasn't a lack of magic; The Mother Tree saw to that and gave her gifts freely to any in the kingdom who would use them for good. It wasn't a lack of friendship, either. There were always other foals around for her to frolic with, though they had more of a tendency to abide by the rules than Topsail did. In all manners The Gates should have been her favorite place, but its lack of shadows and mystery and might had always left her feeling hungry. Always hunting for more.
A hunger she didn't even realize she had until The Valley filled the void. An ache she hadn't felt until the pain was no longer there. A place she hadn't missed until she found it for the very first time.
"The Valley. I ruled The Valley, beside the great magician Eight." she says softly, her iron gaze meeting Starbrys kinder one. "I thought I would hate it when my father sent me there to rule. I dreaded it every step of the way. But once I was there, the wolves and the shadows welcomed me like an old friend..." her voice trails off, all but disappearing in the sound of the rushing water. Its been so long since she's thought about those days, and something about the memories tug at heartstrings she forgot she even had. But before she can be lost totally, her eyes snap back to the other mare as an idea takes hold. "You've got mind powers, do you not? Instead of me telling you, let me show you." And with that she fills her mind with the swirling fog and wolf-song she had loved so much. The memories change and she is standing alongside Eight, her shoulder barely brushing his. Together, but not, a formidable team in their own right. Another shift shows her in her other form, with gnashing teeth and razor sharp claws meant for nothing else besides violence and destruction. Her children are there too, that brood of four mouse-colored boys and a girl that she had bore Eight. As the memories fade to black and a sad smile works its way across her lips, she finally gives herself a moment to reminisce about all she had and lost all those years ago...
For once, Topsail is grateful when the conversation shifts back to something lighter. She finds that easier, somehow, than remembering. A laugh rings through her mind before twirling its way through Starbrys, and it is a genuine thing. "Lucky for you, when Beqanna fell she took my monster-hood with her, so what you see here is what you get." Other than the power she had and fear it caused in others, Topsail doesn't miss much of her other form. It had been a reckless thing, hard to control and always succumbing to its most basic wants. "But enough about me. Old queens are boring, even Raptor Queens. What brings you to The River, and what brings you here in such a fluster? I've still yet to see anything alarming from that body of water you've looked at a dozen or more times.
with love,
topsail
@Starbry
Ooc- I blame whatever this rambling is on a lack of coffee and sleep >.<