"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
When we can crucify our tragedies on overbearing parents or the razor tongues bullies in our foalhood, blame is far to easily painted against the skins and hearts of those who care most. One can walk roads of glass shards without being cut if only they should believe that they are untouchable.
Lux enters the field not knowing it is more than a thickly spread grass blanket that lay before the homeless and abandoned. Each foot fall of the Arabian is muffled only by the small sounds of crumbling vegetation. Her black eyes are wide with ears moving in the nest of her dark hair. She can smell others but they remain just beyond eyesight, camouflaged on the edge of tree line and great grass sea.
From the edges of her eyes are shadows and whispers. The sun is warm but she shivers slightly, the flames along her spine a modestly low and burning gently. Lux wonders briefly if she could tear this world apart. Malice was not a bitter drink on her tongue but a genuine curiosity for each world she slipped into was different than the last, each a puzzle box that held secrets that are never truly meant to be concealed.
One foot after the other, she moves, the grass licking her slender sides. Mars of black smudge the green edges as they greedily dip into the wax drippings that carve their way down her barrel. A crawl of a smile drifts over her black lips as she notices there are others not far up ahead. Lux debates a moment to call but knows that as the sun begins to sink, she would glow against the inky sky and would soon be noticed.
again you’re gone, off on a different path than mine i'm left behind wondering if i should follow
Lepis stands at the edge of the Field, perched at the peak of a hill that falls sharp into the summer-bright plain in front of her. Her golden wings are pulled tightly to her sides, and her blue-marked face is deceptively serene. In this world of magical creatures, the dun is visibly remarkable only for her wings and the navy shade of her markings. Her blue-grey eyes track a far more arcane creature, one who is far more eye-catching than the sturdily built dun mare who watches her.
Flames dance along her spine, and though Lepis is appropriately wary of fire she finds herself nearly unable to pull her eyes away. It’s an odd sensation, for the stranger otherwise does not seem to exhude other qualities that might catch the tobiano’s attention. She is here for Loess, to see if there might be anyone in the Field that would fare better in her red kingdom than here in this aimless land. The chaos that her king longs for has begun, and in the absence of other responsibilities, the Cleric has come to the Field. Falling back on age-old habit is nevertheless odd; how long as it been since she came here for Loess? Five years? More?
Lepis reassures herself that comfort will come with time, that slipping on an old dress always feels strange for the first few minutes.
With that, she descends her hill, and angles her path so that she might come up beside the flaming mare without startling her or cutting her off. Twilight is falling steadily, and the glow of the other mare is easy to track, as is the foreign smell of her skin. Is that where she comes from, Lepis wonders, or the odd substance that drips from her sides? The scarred mare’s eyes linger there for a moment, but there is no stink of burnt or damaged flesh, and she assumes the substance is harmless, at least for the woman who wears it.
“I’ve seen fire-wielders before,” she says by way of introduction, “but they’ve carried it inside them, not along their bodies.” There is a smile on her face and the very faintest bit of friendship in the air. Not nearly enough to sway another (Lepis has learnt her lesson well), but rather just enough to suggest it and just enough to be easily ignored if the other is not entirely receptive.
“My name is Lepis,” adds the dun mare, “Am I right in welcoming you to Beqanna?”
LEPIS i’m the one who sees you home-- but now i’m lost in the woods and i don’t know what path you are on
Each step is smoldering and slow as the fire that alights her spine. The two toned mare watches with her black eyes as the sun begins to sink and the small sounds of pepper frogs take to the damp air. It would not be long before the chill of autumn manifested in small wispy clouds of hot warm breath.
Soon are the familiar sounds of weight gently crushing grass beneath their mass are echoed against the darkening sky. Lux turns to see a silhouette of a tanned and sapphire mare descending by foot rather than the ample wings that are clipped against her hide. Of her polite nature, Lux feigns neither surprise nor fear for she has known neither of those emotions in some time. The inky black eyes that rest in her delicately carved skull creep over the soft edges of the pretty mare.
A few words press from her blue tinged lips as she offers a greeting in the form of a question and Lux spreads her own dark mouth into a small smile as a return for the pegasus inquiry. "I believe you are right in your welcoming." Her words slip between the space of their words coolly but without the edge of malice. "Beqanna you say?" Another short pause as the arabian mare tilts her head up and away, the length of her hair shifting heavily at her neck. Lux passes a short judgement before her black face returns to Lepis. "I'm Lux..." Three little letters, a simple lift and lick of the tongue as it tiptoes across the edges of the her front teeth. L-U-X...small enough to be swept away in the chilled air.
"Have you just arrived as well, Lepis?" Lux wishes to continue her conversation with the aled mare as she lifts her eyes to the other's wings once again. "These flames have always been with me...would you like to touch them?" Perhaps is is bold of the smaller mare to ask as she traces the edges of Lepis' soft feathers with her eyes a moment longer, lingering, before she lifts her attention to meet the other mare's own. Lux would make sure to not burn the other if she should chose to pass through her flames.
staring at the ceiling in the dark same old empty feeling in your heart
A lifetime of flame, Lepis hears, but is hardly able to empathize. Her gifts were born with her as well, but none so bright and obvious as flames along her skin. The flames reflected in her blue-grey eyes dance merrily, but despite her clear interest in the fire she is able to give a reasonable answer when asked. “They won’t hurt, will they?” They don’t seem to hurt Lux, she reasons, and fire-maned Reia had borne Lepis a granddaughter so surely some magical flame is safe? The inexplicable urge to step closer to the light pulls at her, and though she raises one hoof as though to step forward, she manages to replace it before carrying out the action.
“Beqanna has always been with me,” the dun mare answers and the change in subject cause her blue grey eyes to visibly sharpen, and her wings shift slightly as though she rolls something away. Her voice is less dull when she continues, having finally looked away from the flame and back to the dark mare. Her head feels less warm this way, less buzzy. And effect of the flame, she wonders? Or something else?
“I was born there, in Loess.” Her gesture is broad, her blue muzzle pointing first due west toward the Pampas, and then sweeping up to include the forest of Sylva, the hills of Loess, and even northern Taiga. A large land, her wordless gesture says, and a strong one.
“That’s where the fire-wielders I know live,” Lepis adds, “most of them are the family of our Dragon King, Castile.” Lepis’ blue grey eyes search Lux’ at this statement, knowing from Oceane that there are other realms with dragons, and wondering if perhaps Lux is from such a place. For a moment she hesitates before this last question, but Lepis finds herself wanting to look at the flams again, and adds: “Perhaps some distant relations? I would be happy to take you to meet them, even if the chance is slim.”
LEPIS staring at the bottom of your glass-- hoping one day you’ll make a dream last but dreams come slow and they go so fast
@[Lux]
I realized halfway through I mixed up the order of the questions so just pretend Lepis and I were equally distracted by Lux’ “drawing moths to flame ability” haha
