"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
01-21-2018, 02:28 PM (This post was last modified: 01-21-2018, 02:29 PM by Klaudius.)
The thick tropical flora brushes along his lavender bodice and feathers as he slips through the heart of the kingdom. In tow his current interest follows. A colorful young mind, quietly chattering like the colorful parrots of the jungle canopy. His ears swivel to show her he is listening, however distantly. His thoughts come and go from their conversation.
You know, she starts. High pitched realization in her tone, you look very similar to another horse here! He half chuckles before acknowledging her attempt to fit together the pieces of a much too large puzzle for such a young thing. His voice is quick to twist the pieces, “Ah yes. You are speaking of Kylin. The spotted little flicka with curious wings.” His silver-hazel eyes do not seek his follower. They cast out to find the very cave he had spoken of earlier, “I suppose we have similar family relations. As many of us on the isle have. Did you know Krone is my sister…?” A sly grin coming to his features as he thinks on the emerald and earth mare. They were very near their destination and before long the soft pad of hoofbeats turns to a sharp clip on stone.
Coming to the edge of the caverns shadowed entrance he unfurls a wing to point to the abode with a gentleman like offer, “After you M’Dear…” A gentle bow of his valiant face is given as he awaits her hesitation or naive acceptance. The slight drizzle had become a pitter patter on the cool rocks just as they had arrived and he is quite thrilled to get out of the elements with such splendid company...
“Fins.” She corrects him under her breath, when he mentions Kylin’s “wings”. “They’re fins.”
But Klaudius is busy indulging her - saying something about how Krone was his sister and that Ischia harbored plenty of his family. This furrows Nyxa’s usually smooth brow into an adorable wrinkle; the puzzle pieces (though well placed) still seemed a bit off. So there were three, distantly-related horses sharing the same home. So what? Why does his mouth quirk into a wiry smile when he says, sister? As if it were a private joke.
The young mare can only assume that this … odd behavior is due to some vital information she’s lacking. Maybe he and Krone were not full-siblings? Not like her brothers and herself? Her mother, Circinae, had also come from a large brood with a singular sire; Nyxa remembers just how ‘close’ Circy and her half-brother Wyrm had been.
Practically strangers, a few drops of blood away from enemies.
“After you, M’Dear,” The purple stallion offers with a sweep of his brow. Have they reached the cavern already? With a soft glance to her feet, Nyxa can see that, yes, they’ve reached their destination and, yes, this place is a familiar one. Not a grand cave, and not one she’s extensively explored (the best were elsewhere, closer to the heart of Ischia) but a familiar one all the same. With a forlorn sigh, the seamare moves away from the gentle fingers of fresh rain and slips quietly into the dark shadows of Klaudius’ hideaway.
Only a few feet in though and she stops. Her head jerks up; both nostrils flare and at the same moment, her ears strain ahead to listen. “I think there’s water further back … I can almost,” and she whuffs again, “I can almost smell it, can you? Earthy, like mold.” She explains, her voice a silvery whisper in the dark.
“Is there a pool in this grotto?” She turns behind to ask - what a silly question, though - they both know Ischia is practically water itself.
With an amused chuckle he allows her correction without rebuttal. Indulging it no farther as the young mare crosses into the cavern with no hesitation. His silver-hazel eyes sweep the area briefly before he brings his extended wing to fold at his side. A faint scent carries on the strong wind but he dismisses it again. Next entering the shadows after his company.
Now in the natural shelter, he shakes the gathered water droplets from his feather. Dismissing her alarmed questioning with casual words, "Most likely there is. We are on an island after all." He jives with a bump of his shoulder into hers. Their backs turned to the incoming storm barring down on the kingdom outside.
Her sudden interest in the deepest parts of the underground tunnel intruiged him enough to suggest further exploration despite his dislike of water, "Should we go see?" He leans forward but allows her to decide which path they proceed to take. Willing to explore as long as he doesn't have to be outside in the elements.
Klaudius
I was just born this amazing
@[Nyxa] sorry it's short. I don't want to power play you though
Well, at least Klaudius is game to search for water in near-total-darkness. Other horses might’ve brushed off her weird inquiry and turned to more interesting topics of conversation, but he seems pretty content to pass the time doing whatever while the storm built up outside.
“Why not?!” She laughs, her smile lost in the shadows. Her nose guides her further in, twisting through a tight corner that brushes her shoulder much like Klaudius had done earlier. It’s hard to tell which way they’re going, even when her eyes adjust she still bumps against the uneven footing, but Nyxa is determined to find this hidden pool. She’d passed this cave hundreds of times, drifted in and out without much care before, but the idea that she’d missed a secret passageway - some underground spring - is too much for her curious mind to bear.
“Do you often hideout in caves around the Island?” Nyxa queries, trying to make small talk. Maybe that’s why she hasn’t seen him around; too busy being a hermit like herself.
Her leading foot comes down on a slope and Nyxa cries out suddenly in shock as she loses her footing, scrambling to stop herself. In the process her hind feet go wild, body sliding sideways to slam against the side of the cavern. The stone floor is slick with algae; no doubt grown from the years of water dripping slowly off massive stalactites. The fluffy mare hisses -she’d scraped her hip and pulled a muscle, an easy feat for a klutz like herself. “I’m alright.” She calls out, before Klaudius can ask her. Her breathing evens out, goes quiet … and then a splintering sound echoes through the cavern, right before a snap and shattering crash.
“Klaudius …” Nyxa whispers coldly. Then another splinter can be heard, followed quickly by the shattering of a few more rocks. “Klaudius I think they’re falling -” The growing girl pants, backing up until she bumps against him.
A stalactite to her left splinters, breaking free to lance her in the shoulder as it falls earthward. With a cry of fresh pain, Nyxa wheels around and yells, “Run, go!”
With more enthusiasm than hesitation, she agreed. Turning their backs to the raging storm, just beginning to bare down on the island, they push onward. He, content on following her lead, strained the see anything in the pitch black of the underneath. His senses resort to hearing as his guide, and with the soft patter of hooves before him, he follows closely. She is busily chatting as usual and he managed an amused laugh at her question, "Do I look like a cave dweller?" His lavender wings seated tightly against the curve of his body as he squeezed through the narrow passage. Ducking his head at an increase dripping of water coming from above. The whistle of wind from the outside world echoed across the walls, creating a daunting hum. "I prefer the open skies... So I've spent much of my youth above the clouds. Only recent...activities...have brought me to return." He draws on the word activities with an underlying meaning hidden. A masked grin sweeps across his lips, but he does not elaborate. The young girl need not know of his extracurricular hobbies.
The slick flooring began to decline and he steadies himself. The lower portion of his muzzle grazes the girls backside, setting off a domino effect. Throwing up his head as bone scrapes on rock, it is all he can do to listen to her struggling for traction. "Nyxa!" He calls out as the mares position is lost to him. I'm alright, she voices. Though by her tone he is not entirely convinced. "Where are you?" Taking a cautioned step forward but it is cut short as he reels backwards to a crumbling of stone just in front of him. Her body then collides with his, sending him into the wall with a hefty thud. Shaking the confusion from his mind, his lavender ears fall flat. He can feel her body turn to rush back in the direction they had came. A cry emits from her as another pillar falls from the cavern ceiling. Spinning himself in the same direction his hocks drag along the jagged stone walls. He does not cry out in pain or hobble in disability. "I'm right behind you, GO!" His hooves slip on the wet flooring but he manages forward motion. Following the sound of her panting breath and clip of hooves he weaves through the tunnels. The cool breeze growing stronger as the entrance came within view. It was an eerie shade of greenish grey outside as they approached. A curtain of rain blinding them to what was really happening to their home. Trees were uprooting and thick foilage blown flat, scattered about the cave. He began to slow slightly, a warning echoed to his companion, "Stop Nyxa!" right as a loud crack broke loose. Branch and bark, along with stone and canopy debris filled the gaping hole that allowed them access to the island. With a buckling of his hunches he slid to a stop just behind the light mare.
As he straightened himself and curved around to her side, his face bobbed with flaring nostrils. After a few rattled breaths, he eyed the obstacle blocking their path for a brief period before turning his attention to her, "Are you hurt?" The lighting was poor but the unmistakable wince of pain from her earlier rang in his ears...
