05-31-2017, 11:05 PM
Polaris
She did not mind how busy he kept, that his role as protector of the Taiga often drew him away from her, required his attention elsewhere in matters of diplomacy and politics. He was made for this, whether he knew it or not, whether he still believed it or not, made for the task of protecting those who could not protect themselves – just as he had found and collected her, kept her safe and loved when no one else would.
But today he had woken her gently from where she slept nestled in the crook of his belly, just a gentle tap to her shoulders before rising and leaving their den. She knew what this meant, and a gleaming smile had pulled quietly at the corners of that glossy teal mouth as she had bound after him on chiming, spindly legs. He only woke her on the days they spent together. On the days he was gone, he would slip out while she slept and try to return before she woke.
She expects him to take her east to the forest or its neighboring meadow, two of the neutral places they occasionally visited. She liked the meadow for its wide open skies, for the strength of the wind as it raced unopposed through a vast, treeless landscape. It was different than home, different than the thick forest and dense trees, and somehow that made it exciting. But for as much as she loved the meadow, the nearby forest had a way of dampening her mood, a quiet reminder that although she was good enough for Ruan and his family, she had not been that way for someone else. She didn't want daddy to know though, not when he tried so hard to make sure she knew she was loved.
But instead of following the well worn trails at the eastern edge of the Taiga, he leads her north, north, until they reach the curve of a whispering river. Almost immediately she bounds ahead of him, graceful and delicate, nearly avian in her brittleness as she follows the current for quite a ways (never out of his sight) and then returns to find him nestled in spot of sun and frost. She moves quickly to his side, brushes her lips across his neck and under his mane, nibbles at the hair with a happy hum of pleasure and then moves off again.
At once the air around her grew chilled – not enough to make her shiver though, she wasn’t even sure she was capable of that – and a small gleaming crown appeared in a ring around her ears, a lace-like veil of sparkling white spilling across her back. At her side grew wide pillars, thick like tree trunks but translucent like her, cut through with whorls of white and trapped rainbows. She smiled when she saw the nearest ones reflecting the softness of her glowing teal.
She is lost to the world in an instant, those pale amber eyes soft and dreamy as they traced the hazy outline of her reflection in the ice. Just barely, she could make out the pocks and cracks, the chips in her skin where he had made her beautiful with pieces of himself, of his ice, embedding them like glittering diamonds in the teal. It had been a long time since she had wondered at the scars, at her flaws, wondered if they somehow made her less or ugly. Daddy didn’t give her any time to dwell on it, didn’t give her any reason to doubt herself. He loved her too much, made sure she saw beauty before she saw anything else.
She turns carefully, avoiding bumping any part of her delicate glass body against the structure of gleaming ice, and returns to the arch of the doorway. She is surprised to see that daddy isn’t alone anymore, frowns worriedly until she notices his body language is still soft and unconcerned, pleased maybe, but it is harder to tell from so far away.
Slipping forward with a sound like a jar full of bells, she fills the small archway, watching them quietly with a puzzled tilt of that still-crowned delicate teal head. It is only when the mare turns and Polaris can see her face, see those eyes like living coals, that she softens again and inches closer. Jinju. She knew Jinju. Or at least she kind of knew Jinju, had met her once very briefly that time daddy had gotten so upset. She frowns for a fleeting second, remembering how Ruan had been so stiff and strange beside her, how deep a contrast it had been to the man who had rolled on his back to greet her. But the frown fades as soon as it comes, and she inches forward again, now fully outside the ice castle daddy had made for her.
Daddy loved Jinju, she could tell from how fondly he spoke of her, from the way he watched her even now. Sister, he had told Polaris one evening when she wondered quietly at all the faces in the forest. He had said it with a kind of softness that her heart seemed to remember as she looked quietly on at them. "Sister." She echoes from so far away, so quiet, barely a whisper, barely an exhale. The flutter of wings on a moth would have been louder.
But today he had woken her gently from where she slept nestled in the crook of his belly, just a gentle tap to her shoulders before rising and leaving their den. She knew what this meant, and a gleaming smile had pulled quietly at the corners of that glossy teal mouth as she had bound after him on chiming, spindly legs. He only woke her on the days they spent together. On the days he was gone, he would slip out while she slept and try to return before she woke.
She expects him to take her east to the forest or its neighboring meadow, two of the neutral places they occasionally visited. She liked the meadow for its wide open skies, for the strength of the wind as it raced unopposed through a vast, treeless landscape. It was different than home, different than the thick forest and dense trees, and somehow that made it exciting. But for as much as she loved the meadow, the nearby forest had a way of dampening her mood, a quiet reminder that although she was good enough for Ruan and his family, she had not been that way for someone else. She didn't want daddy to know though, not when he tried so hard to make sure she knew she was loved.
But instead of following the well worn trails at the eastern edge of the Taiga, he leads her north, north, until they reach the curve of a whispering river. Almost immediately she bounds ahead of him, graceful and delicate, nearly avian in her brittleness as she follows the current for quite a ways (never out of his sight) and then returns to find him nestled in spot of sun and frost. She moves quickly to his side, brushes her lips across his neck and under his mane, nibbles at the hair with a happy hum of pleasure and then moves off again.
At once the air around her grew chilled – not enough to make her shiver though, she wasn’t even sure she was capable of that – and a small gleaming crown appeared in a ring around her ears, a lace-like veil of sparkling white spilling across her back. At her side grew wide pillars, thick like tree trunks but translucent like her, cut through with whorls of white and trapped rainbows. She smiled when she saw the nearest ones reflecting the softness of her glowing teal.
She is lost to the world in an instant, those pale amber eyes soft and dreamy as they traced the hazy outline of her reflection in the ice. Just barely, she could make out the pocks and cracks, the chips in her skin where he had made her beautiful with pieces of himself, of his ice, embedding them like glittering diamonds in the teal. It had been a long time since she had wondered at the scars, at her flaws, wondered if they somehow made her less or ugly. Daddy didn’t give her any time to dwell on it, didn’t give her any reason to doubt herself. He loved her too much, made sure she saw beauty before she saw anything else.
She turns carefully, avoiding bumping any part of her delicate glass body against the structure of gleaming ice, and returns to the arch of the doorway. She is surprised to see that daddy isn’t alone anymore, frowns worriedly until she notices his body language is still soft and unconcerned, pleased maybe, but it is harder to tell from so far away.
Slipping forward with a sound like a jar full of bells, she fills the small archway, watching them quietly with a puzzled tilt of that still-crowned delicate teal head. It is only when the mare turns and Polaris can see her face, see those eyes like living coals, that she softens again and inches closer. Jinju. She knew Jinju. Or at least she kind of knew Jinju, had met her once very briefly that time daddy had gotten so upset. She frowns for a fleeting second, remembering how Ruan had been so stiff and strange beside her, how deep a contrast it had been to the man who had rolled on his back to greet her. But the frown fades as soon as it comes, and she inches forward again, now fully outside the ice castle daddy had made for her.
Daddy loved Jinju, she could tell from how fondly he spoke of her, from the way he watched her even now. Sister, he had told Polaris one evening when she wondered quietly at all the faces in the forest. He had said it with a kind of softness that her heart seemed to remember as she looked quietly on at them. "Sister." She echoes from so far away, so quiet, barely a whisper, barely an exhale. The flutter of wings on a moth would have been louder.
though i never needed any proof to trust the heart that beats inside of you