cold in the violence after the war
hope is a fire to keep us warm
She should be sleeping, but the night is alive with sounds and smells and all manner of interesting things. It’s warm and cozy here though, curled with Dagen and Daddy. She’s debating whether it’s actually worth it to go investigate the dark, unexplored hills and hollows when the call rings out over the land. She stills, blue eyes widening as she glances quickly around her.
She pokes Dagen insistently with her nose, trying to wake him. “Dagen! she hisses, hoping she won’t wake Daddy too. When he finally stirs, she pushes at him, squirming away from Dad.
“Did you hear that?” she whispers, blue eyes bright and curious and decidedly impish. “I wanna go see.” She doesn’t wait for his response, instead pulling herself carefully to her feet. When Dagen joins her, she presses briefly against him, nibbling his neck before tossing him a wide grin and lurching forward into a trot.
She barely pays any mind to the time that passes them as they make their way through forest and rolling hills, until they stare up the path that leads into a tall, intimidating mountain. The impossible pull of the call that had woken her draws her forward though, and she barely pauses along the gentle slope of the foothill before she is surging forward once more. She bumps her shoulder briefly against Dagen before they begin the climb, just to tell him, without words, she is glad he is there with her.
When finally they have reached the peak (and find the fae that had called them here) Brazen is equal parts curiosity and determination. What might have intimidated others only draws her in, an irresistible lure that she wants only to conquer. She stares wide-eyed at the fae stallion that speaks to them, pressing close to Dagen as she does, his subtle comfort reminding her of his steadfast presence.
When he finishes speaking, she immediately turns to her twin, blue eyes peering up at him with unmasked excitement. Her smile quickly slips into a frown however, when she realizes the wings she had grown so used to seeing tucked neatly against his sides have vanished. “Dagen!’ she exclaims sharply, her nose immediately going to touch the bare skin of his shoulder. She can nearly feel his concern as though it is her own, and that is enough to cause her to stiffen, features setting into fierce lines.
“It’ll be ok,” she says, reaching up to scrape her teeth along his jaw in a comforting gesture. She’s not entirely certain that’s true, but as far as she can tell, there is only one way forward now.
But Dagen, as indomitable as ever, recovers quickly enough and they are making their way back down the mountain.When they reach the sloping hills that stretch to the north, Brazen pauses for a moment, peering around her with a frown. She is too young, not yet versed in the terrain of Beqanna. Only instinct and a faint understanding of where they are now headed have her turning to follow the river. She looks at Dagen for confirmation, and when he seems amenable, she starts forward along the unsteady edges of the landmark waterway.
She cannot quite name the lands they now pass through, but she is ever curious, eyes attentive and inquisitive as she studies the scenery they pass. She pauses a moment to stare in wonder at the lake they come to, admiring how lovely it is beneath the early morning sunlight. Only Dagen nudging her onwards sends her feet once more into motion as she turns reluctantly away.
As they continue, something begins the tickle the edges of her thoughts. Something that doesn’t click until they finally encounter their first horse since beginning their journey. Only then does she suddenly recognize how odd that absence had been.
She knows of the plague, of course. But it hadn’t seemed terribly important before today. Collecting the cure seemed a fun distraction. A way for them to do something exciting beyond the safety of their previously small world. Now though, as she approaches this stranger with childish exuberance, it suddenly occurs to her that perhaps she had taken too much for granted.
Because this stranger seems terribly ill. She is sickly thin, her hair coming out in clumps, a thin trickle of blood dribbling from her nose that worsens each time she coughs. Brazen stumbles to a sudden halt as she stares at the stranger, consternation and concern warring on her red features. “Are you ok?” she asks uncertainly, her blue eyes dark with worry.
“Help… please,” she gasps between a cough, her eyes pitiful and bleak as she stares pleadingly at her.
“Oh.” The soft acknowledgment slips from her lips as she grasps for something more appropriate to say. “Maybe, I think, we know someone…” Her words grind to a halt when Dagen suddenly interrupts her, his body coming between them as he shoves her away. She scowls at him, immediately butting her head against him to inform him in no uncertain terms of her displeasure.
With a huff, she turns back to consider the stranger, but Dagen’s interruption (as rude as it was) has given her pause. Reminds her of the fairies warning not to tarry. She stares at the woman with troubled eyes for a long moment before she sighs, head drooping a bit. “We’re helping, I think.” She turns then, though her gaze lingers on the stranger. “I’m…” She coughs, and Brazen interrupts, “You should find Island Resort. There are healers there.”
She couldn’t very well leave without doing anything, but that would have to be sufficient. Hopefully the woman would take her advice.
She is distracted as they continue their journey, eyes roaming aimlessly over the landscape she had previously studied so closely. She continues with Dagen leading, following the water almost absently now. It isn’t until they reach the ocean that she finally snaps back to herself, shaking her darker musings.
“We’re almost there, I think,” she whispers to her twin, pressing her shoulder against him as she looks forward, along the coastline. After only a moment’s pause, she presses onward, even more fiercely determined to complete this task now than she had been before. Determined to prove herself to the fairies. To Momma and Daddy. To the poor sick woman she hadn’t known how to help.
They continue their journey along the coast, until the cliffs begin to flatten and curve around a large inlet. Brazen slows then, surveying the land around them, the glittering blue waters and the stretching beach that has begun to darken. She’s never been to Silver Cove, but somehow this looks familiar. Like perhaps she’s seen bits and pieces of it before.
Until, suddenly it clicks. Lio! Lio had seen this. They must be in the right place then. This must be Silver Cove. After a moment however, she frowns, abruptly realizing she hadn’t heard Lio speak to her once since they’d left. She turns her eyes to Dagen, worry evident in her bright blue gaze as she considers the ramifications of that realization.
Brazen
Permission to powerplay Dagen from Toli
