07-15-2015, 09:19 PM
what is dead may never die;
And then there were three.
The grey girl is unaffected by the other two mares. She does not ignore them, but they are merely stars passing by; there is no gravity for her in them. But she does not miss a thing. She sees the way that the first mare, Straia, smiles ever so slightly at what might or might not have been her joke. She sees the way that Wichita doesn't quite feel comfortable being here. She sees the way that young Tioga curls into his mother.
Perhaps she's simply here to observe all these things, so banal to the others gathered, and so strange to the frozen star-child. Perhaps she's here to soak it all in, to absorb it, to teach herself the things that slipped from her mind with the rush of memory. Perhaps she had been this way once; perhaps she'd curled into a mother, walked a field.
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
The boy speaks again, saying that he wants what any of them want. Straia is quick to respond, and Aletheia knows she is right. But that doesn't stop her from tilting her pretty, chiseled head in response to the tri-colored mare, icy eyes regarding Straia with an unconscious coldness as the other woman makes her pitch. Aletheia knows that she knows little of the other kingdoms, and she's hungry for any information she can gather.
Not that you'd know it from looking at her. Her face is that same mask of neutral interest, a look that Straia had appropriately pinned as vapid. How embarrassing for Aletheia, when she finally realizes that's how it's being taken. She doesn't mean it, Straia is right about that too – Aletheia has never been wanting for activity. She's simply not accustomed to faces, to expressions, to the way one is meant to look.
"Straia is right," she acknowledges easily, her voice unhurried. "Any one of us could offer you what you ask." She tilts her head to the other side. Chamber, Gates, Valley – how different were they really, especially with the changes that had so recently been made? "The Valley offers you an unparalleled opportunity to define yourself and an unparalleled opportunity to define your kingdom." she pauses for a fraction of a second, watching the boy. "We are not the weakest of the kingdoms, but we can and should be far stronger than we are." she pauses again, smiling slightly. "As a member of the Valley, you'd have the opportunity to help shape the kingdom while building your own skills among some of the best."
She tilts her head again. "The members of the Valley will not coddle you. We push each other to be stronger, and we rise to the challenge. We may fight and we may bicker, as all families do, but in the end, we stand together." she wishes for just a moment that she had something more to draw on, some kind of history that she could cite. Her face cold as ice, her eyes wide and sweet, she is reminded that she knows nothing. When she speaks again, her voice is soft, almost a whisper. "I cannot imagine a better home." Her honesty is as piercing as her icy blue eyes.
The grey girl is unaffected by the other two mares. She does not ignore them, but they are merely stars passing by; there is no gravity for her in them. But she does not miss a thing. She sees the way that the first mare, Straia, smiles ever so slightly at what might or might not have been her joke. She sees the way that Wichita doesn't quite feel comfortable being here. She sees the way that young Tioga curls into his mother.
Perhaps she's simply here to observe all these things, so banal to the others gathered, and so strange to the frozen star-child. Perhaps she's here to soak it all in, to absorb it, to teach herself the things that slipped from her mind with the rush of memory. Perhaps she had been this way once; perhaps she'd curled into a mother, walked a field.
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
The boy speaks again, saying that he wants what any of them want. Straia is quick to respond, and Aletheia knows she is right. But that doesn't stop her from tilting her pretty, chiseled head in response to the tri-colored mare, icy eyes regarding Straia with an unconscious coldness as the other woman makes her pitch. Aletheia knows that she knows little of the other kingdoms, and she's hungry for any information she can gather.
Not that you'd know it from looking at her. Her face is that same mask of neutral interest, a look that Straia had appropriately pinned as vapid. How embarrassing for Aletheia, when she finally realizes that's how it's being taken. She doesn't mean it, Straia is right about that too – Aletheia has never been wanting for activity. She's simply not accustomed to faces, to expressions, to the way one is meant to look.
"Straia is right," she acknowledges easily, her voice unhurried. "Any one of us could offer you what you ask." She tilts her head to the other side. Chamber, Gates, Valley – how different were they really, especially with the changes that had so recently been made? "The Valley offers you an unparalleled opportunity to define yourself and an unparalleled opportunity to define your kingdom." she pauses for a fraction of a second, watching the boy. "We are not the weakest of the kingdoms, but we can and should be far stronger than we are." she pauses again, smiling slightly. "As a member of the Valley, you'd have the opportunity to help shape the kingdom while building your own skills among some of the best."
She tilts her head again. "The members of the Valley will not coddle you. We push each other to be stronger, and we rise to the challenge. We may fight and we may bicker, as all families do, but in the end, we stand together." she wishes for just a moment that she had something more to draw on, some kind of history that she could cite. Her face cold as ice, her eyes wide and sweet, she is reminded that she knows nothing. When she speaks again, her voice is soft, almost a whisper. "I cannot imagine a better home." Her honesty is as piercing as her icy blue eyes.
but rises again
Aletheia
harder and stronger