I lock myself inside these walls, cause out there I'm always wrong. [Scorch//Any]

[Scorch]

Breckin followed the mare as she lead her through the kingdom with an honest meekness, a willingness to listen and observe that Scorch appreciated - mostly because, at Breckin’s age, she had had nothing of the sort. Impulsive, loud, judgmental, and god forbid she ever be observant. But in her old age things have mellowed out a bit, and perhaps that is what makes the rhythm of their conversation so easy and comfortable. Years of practice at being a friendly person will do that to you - and it helps that Scorch really does see herself that way now, and not as a a mask or anything.

But suddenly, at Scorch’s seemingly innocent question, Breckin halts and pins her ears; for a moment the mutilated woman fears that she has angered her new recruit, that she has over stepped her bounds somehow (perhaps, where Breckin came from, such questions were considered impolite). But when the spotted mare raises her pleading eyes to meet Scorch’s sympathetic and concerned ones, she understands that it is fear and confusion that mars Breckin’s expression. Ah, well, they had people like her come too - their minds emptied of memory, left only with a hauntingly chilled feeling where a whole life should have been.

Scorch allows Breckin her moment of silence and restabilization, joining in with her purposeful inhalation and exhalation in the hopes that the solidarity would further steady the mare. Scorch did not consider Brecking weak for  needing her moment - hell, if you only knew how many moments Scorch had taken between birth and death and life again, there wouldn’t be any role playing, just moments where she’s trying not to flip her shit. But Breckin opens her eyes and tries out a smile, so Scorch deigns to speak, her own smile reassuring and calm. “That’s okay, there’s no expectation for you to remember. We don’t have to talk about it again, I’m sorry that I caused you distress.” Her bare nose reached out to briefly press against her new friend’s shoulder, encouraging her to continue moving to the center of the kingdom, to a new life with new memories to be had.

Well, unfortunately for Scorch, her life was full of memories - and right then as she begins to walk, Breckin asks her to recount some of them. Snorting a little at the question - not offended, just surprised (she hadn’t been asked this in... decades) - the sound quickly turned into chuckle, and she resettled her hooves, giving up on the whole making any progress through the kingdom thing. With any luck, Breckin was here for good, and so would have loads of time to explore on her own or with the other Nerinians. But now, to her question!

“Well, since you asked, I’ll give you the full tale - but be warned, it’s a lengthy one.” Her smile split into a grin as her weight sank into a hip, eyes turning to peruse the sea as she recalled the nightmare that christened her as Scorch more permanently than any birth given name ever could. “Once, long ago when Beqanna was a far, far different place, I found myself traveling between kingdoms and in need of a rest. So, I laid down - but the faeries had other plans.” She fumbled in her speech for a sec, eyes refocusing to glance apologetically to Breckin. “I should explain. Faeries are the servants of the land - Beqanna is alive with magic, but when she speaks it is almost always in anger. The faeries are mostly good, but some are harbingers of chaos and darkness - this was one of those. Loki was his name. He brought me into a nightmare where I dreamt horrid things - my mother and birthhome being burned alive, being trapped and having to run through fire, and last of all, fighting a dragon. All was well in the dream because I felt no pain while I was alight with flames, I thought I was invincible. But when I defeated the dragon, I awoke, literally in flames.” She frowned, shuddering at the memory of her fur burning and her skin melting, dirtying the clean night air. “The only reason I’m still alive is because there was a lake nearby that I dove into. It was... beyond painful. Being scarring. But I gained these eyes because of it - dragon eyes, with which I can see many more things than others.” Those eyes glimmered their usual red, and then suddenly flashed to every imaginable colour until they settled back on red. Scorch’s expression softened then, and she cast her gaze aside. “Even more than that, the dream caused me to flee, and because of that, I met my husband, Hestoni. He’s not with us any more, but he and I raised ten children together. We ruled my birthhome together, and... I wouldn’t be who I am if that hadn’t happened to me.” She chuckled again. “I had another dream like that, and got the ability you saw in the field. Beqanna is strange that way, giving and taking simultaneously. But funnily enough, I was born completely without magic.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled, scanning the horizon before finding Breckin’s pretty face. She smiled again, a little sheepishly. “I’m sorry Breckin, I’ve talked your ear off. But I hope that I’ve perhaps opened your eyes to the possibilities of Beqanna. And please, if you have any other questions, ask!”