"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
She traverses the space between the where she had come to be that night and where she should be now. The tips of her bright plumage drag across water, dirt and stone alike, dulling their vibrancy with the sentiments of her journey.
When she finally arrives in the Dale it is midday. Her eyes look about frantically, expecting to see her family gathered with inquires on where she had disappeared to. But there is no one.
She arrives at the mouth of their shelter. Empty. It didn't surprise her that they were not within the confines of the stone walls.
Turning, her gaze falls on the lake shores. No one.
Her heartbeat quickens as she pulls herself into the open meadow with a quickened pace. She turns left, then spins right. "Jack?" She calls out, caramel ears twisting atop her head, seeking any reply.
"Eviction? Escence?!" Again, she calls out. But as before no reply comes.
Panic begins to set in causing sweat to dampen her usually light coat. Her breathes become shallow and fast as her eyes shift and body turns. The walls of her world begin to close in around her. She closes her eyes.
Breathe, Aurora, just breathe.
Maybe they had simply gone to look for her, she tries to convince herself. When her eyes finally open, she is not alone.
Amenadiel looks towards CeeCee as she prances beside him as they make their way towards the lake. He lifts his head up as a familiar face emerges from the horizon. He smiles and trots towards her with CeeCee in tow. As he approaches, he is met with a panicked Aurora. Her nares flared, head swinging from one side to the other. Something’s wrong, but what?
“Hey! Aurora, It’s me, Amen, what’s wrong?” He lifts his brow and his smile turns to concern. “Where is everyone? Where are the twins and Jack?” He looks at her as she begins to slowly settle when he feels CeeCee rubbing up against his scales, weaving through his legs.
He smiles softly, nudging her out from under him. “It’s ok CeeCee, this is Aurora. She’s a friend of mine,” he smiles toward the curious-eyed filly. “She has babies of her own, though they’re not quite babies anymore,”
It’s been a long journey for Jack. He’s exhausted from the pleading and torment he had endured for the fae. He lowers himself to the ground at the base of the Mountain and rolls around to release the stress he has held for so long, since Zain had found them.
He groans as he flops to one side, but it feels different. It feels as if he has extra weight attached to him. He immediately assumes the fairies have punished him again, but he did his due diligence with freeing Sheer from the brambles. He rolls to his other side, kicking his legs in the air trying to balance himself as he flops over to his other side and again, he feels something strange has happened to him.
He groans as he gets up and shakes his body, but as he does white feathered wings open on his side. He is startled as he turns his head to get a better view. They listened to him finally! He is no longer an ugly creature of the underworld, but in fact an angel from above. He excitedly prances in place for a moment before he trots off with his wings spread wide showing them off to all that will listen.
“How does one fly?” He asks himself as he picks up a canter and canters a circle trying to get momentum before he leaps himself in the air, scrambling his legs before he lands hard, skidding the ground leaving a trail from where he took off to how far he slid after landing. His ears flick backwards annoyed. “Amenadiel makes it look so easy!” He grumbles under his breath. He takes a deep breath and tries again, each time ending like the last.
The sun is setting and he doesn’t want to be looking like prey for whatever could be lingering around each corner. He stands tall, seeing a slight circular glow that is in front of him. He turns around quickly, hitting himself with his newfound wings, unable to find the source. He raises his head up to the sky, thinking it might be the starlight emerging through the night sky.
He walks to a nearby stream, lowers his head and is startled to find that the glow is from his head. “Let’s go find Aurora,” he smiles as he canters off to find the others. He shakily opens his wings, not having the muscles yet for them as he once again tries to lift himself in the air and thinks deeply about trying to control his wings and he does!
He has made it above ground, hovering before falling again. A sharp pain shoots through his leg. His head shoots up, whites of eyes illuminating the night with the glow of his halo as he limps around. He lays down, resting as he nurses his wounded ankle. He closes his eyes falling asleep under the calming glow of his newfound ability.
He dreams of his family. The glow and irridescence of Aurora’s blue, green and gold feathers that line her body. The fiery glow of the twins flames that flick and fly around them, melding together.
Birds chirp as the sunlight breaks through the dawn. He gets up, expecting his ankle to give out from under him, but instead it feels like nothing happened.
He slowly makes his way back home to the Dale, excited to show his family his new abilities. As he goes, he practices flying each time getting better than the last. His stamina still low, but slowly improving.
It isn’t until he makes his way over the border of the Dale where he sees the glimmer feathers over the horizon. He hesitates before cantering over to Aurora. He’s unsure if she missed him or didn't realize he was gone. His excitement overtakes his hesitation. He whinnies excitedly as he canters to her. He nuzzles her and holds her close against him, feeling her feathers rub up against his feathers.
Her return is a whirlwind of emotions, apparent in her expression as she looks at Amen. "Amen! Thank Goodness!" She recollects her thoughts before speaking in which Amen asks what is wrong and where everyone was. Panic again washes over her, "I-I don't know. I just got home, and I can't find anyone. They aren't in the shelter, and I don't see them by the lake... You..." Her words give pause as she notices the miniature creature snug between Amen's front legs.
He must have noticed my sudden distraction and shift of my gaze. He quickly introduces his daughter and for a brief moment she forgets her own troubles. "Hello there little one," she says sweetly, but when he mentions her having children, she remembers they were missing still.
She is about to ask Amen if he had any idea where they could be when a familiar whinny calls out. "Jack?" She cranes her neck around just as he is coming to her side. He embraces her but he is different, feels different. The usual smoothness of his deep brown hide is rigged.
"Jack, you... have wings! And you are glowing??... What is going on!?" There is a dumbfounded look on her face as her gaze shifts between those gathered.
Before Jack can answer she shakes her head, "Ok lets take one thing at a time here... We need to find the twins and THEN we can discuss... this." Her face motions to the whole of him before looking around, "When did anyone see them last? They were in the shelter sleeping when I... Well, I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk and then I followed a shooting star which led me a lot farther than I meant to go. And then... Ahhh... I got back here, and everyone was gone."
Her navy eyes fall on Amen as if to prompt him to go next...
Much had changed within him in the months since he met Kreation in the meadow.
He knew his home was within reach - the metal mare had told him as much. He knew his father had been reborn, much to his chagrin. More importantly, though, Phoebus knew that his mother was alive, and he knew she resided in the Dale. Today, that is where the boy of fire ended up.
It took some courage to leave the meadow, to choose to reunite with the one who gave him life, who nourished him, who loved him so truly and deeply. Phoebus secretly hoped his father wouldn't be there, that he would've made some detour. He needed to talk to his mother, to hear her sweet voice. He was just a child when he left Tephra - only with age can one realize how young they truly were. He knew it broke his mother's heart to lose both her lover and her child in one fell swoop...but Phoebus didn't have the strength to stay in Tephra after Rou's untimely death. Would his mother even recognize him?
The Dale reminds Phoebus a lot of his old home, the one he'd left so long ago. There was no volcano, no lava, no sulfured scent; but it was rocky, worn, and ancient. He finds that it is almost second nature to find his footing atop the rocks, bounding from boulder to boulder, like he did in the more rocky areas of Tephra. He makes his way from the rocky hills, down to the greenery at the center of the kingdom. He lets out a relieved sigh - he was here, and he could finally find his mother. Phoebus is surprised at how little effort he puts in to finding her - he recognizes her cadence as it dances on the wind to his ears. His mother sounds panicked, and it immediately sends a shiver down Phoebus's spine. He quickens his gate, following the sound of her shouting.
Jack? Eviction? Escense?
Phoebus's brow furrows. He doesn't recognize these names, but he doesn't really care. He knows his mother's voice. When he finally finds her, she is standing in front of the mouth of cave, not unlike the one he was born in. However, she is not alone.
Three figures crowd around Aurora, all rather close together. From the trees, Phoebus is shadowed, but he knows it won't last for long - his glowing armor would give him away eventually. One stands particularly close to her, nuzzling her tenderly. Phoebus feels a pull at his heart - she found another lover. Phoebus feels a swell of sadness overcome him - a moment of empathy for his father, if only for a fleeting second. Did he know? Or was he caught up in some illusion that Aurora never found another lover? He couldn't be quite sure, but he listens to their conversation intently.
AuroraElis mentions that she is looking for "the twins." It doesn't take Phoebus very long to realize that those twins are...hers. Tears well in the fire boy's eyes as he watches her, frantically asking who had seen them last. Is this how she acted when he disappeared? He couldn't imagine the pain, the confusion she must've felt...that she surely felt for years following his leave of absence. Phoebus decides not to waste a second more - he emerges from the trees, azure eyes staring only at his mom. He didn't make any introductions, there was no grand fanfare - he walked towards his mother.
He'd grown to tower over her. He looks at her, takes a deep breath, and speaks.
Amen is clearly also very shocked to see Jack’s return…with wings! He turns to him and before he can say anything at all, to Jack, Aurora pipes in anxious about the twins. “Yeah, I can help,” he says. “Last I saw them was when I brought them home from showing them CeeCee’s egg…”
Amen turns around to a new face approaching. His eye brow raises as he feels CeeCee slink deeper into Amen’s shadow. He reassuringly speaks to her. He hears the stranger mention, “Mom…let me help you fik nd them,” he looks towards Aurora and over to Jack and back to the stranger. It’s not his place to question.
He turns to Jack, seeing his face drop at the mention of the twins disappearing and this new horse coming in saying “mom”. Jack cuts in, worried. “Uh? Who are you?” He asks, stepping forward to protect Aurora.
He has a strong suspicion on what happened to the twins. One word slices through the silence like a knife.
His welcome home wasn’t quite what he had expected. He’s no longer the ugly demon the fairies made him out to be, but now an heavenly angel.
He is startled as she steps back and examines his new appearance. One he thought she would like. He hears Amenadiel explain the last time he saw the twins. Jack’s ears shoot back towards the forest hearing twigs snap. He swings his head around to see a roaned horse make his way to the group as if he knew them. Jack protectively steps in front of Aurora, ears back. “Who are y-“ before he could finish his answer, the stallion speaks of his mother. There’s no way that Aurora is his mother. Jack turns his head to Aurora and back to the stallion, keeping a close eye on the roan. “Who are you? What are you doing here? How’d you find us?” He snarls at the stallion, spitting questions as fast as he can form them.
“Mom, let me help you find them,”
He looks to Aurora to get an idea of what she’s thinking and what her next steps will be. She pushes him aside as she steps up to her son. Jack stands back, looks over to Amen and sighs softly. A thought comes to his mind of where the twins could be or how they disappeared.
“Zain…”
He knew he would come back for them at some point. An even better time when Jack was away and couldn’t defend them. Of course Escence followed him like he was a Prophet and relished the ground he stood on, but Eviction wouldn’t have gone so easy unless his sister showed him it was ok.
The cool crisp wind blows through the feathers against Crucis’ wings as she grazes nearby the lake. A chill runs through her body as she rests against a boulder. Her belly a lot larger than the last time she had seen the crew, but she’s excited to tell them about her adventures with Beyza. Just walking a few feet exhausts her. She rests against the rocky wall as she catches her breath before making her way down to Aurora’s cave. She groans as she hoists herself up after her short rest, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to fly far for very long. How she misses those long nights flying under the stars.
A few moments later, a familiar voice drifts in the wind as she pricks her ears making her way towards it. Knowing it very well is Amenadiel. The father of her child. She picks up a trot and finally makes it to the group to see Aurora panicking. “Aurora right?”She questions, since it has been awhile since last seeing her. Crucis looks at the group, not recognizing the roan and barely recognizing Jack. She feels Amenadiel nuzzle her as he fills her in on the situation.
She nods and responds, " I can help find the twins,”
With quick deep breaths she clears her mind and decides it was best to take one thing at a time. Finding the twins was priority and then she could speak to Jack about what had transpired with the fairies. Clearly, she had missed a lot in her evening romp.
Amen makes mention having not seen them since their return to the shelter just the other evening, and obviously he has been busy since with his newborn daughter.
She is about to propose a plan when another approaches. Jack is quick to step in front of her protectively and begin drilling the stranger with questions. The man is coated in fire but there is a familiarity in his eyes. He is quick to speak and instantly she knows who he is. “Phoebus?” she says breathlessly, “you’re alive!!” Her dished lifts so she may see over Jack before taking a step towards her grown son. She wants to embrace him, but being he was covered in fire she settles for reaching her muzzle to touch his.
Jack, committed to the cause at hand, makes a suggestion that the twins' father is to blame. She does not look away from her son's aged face, still flabbergasted that he is indeed standing before her. Losing a child without no idea where they were was the greatest grief she has ever carried. And that it was happening again makes the pain so much worse.
Zain took them! Jack says again and this time her gaze shifts. Shifts to another that is approaching, a familiar young mare that appears heavy with child. Crucis comes to stand beside Amen with an affectionate nuzzle and the pieces all come together. Under different circumstances she may have given him a gentle jest, but she refrains. She smiles at the purple mare and gives a light nod to her head.
“Why don’t Jack, Phoebus and I go scout out the east border where Pangea lies. See if we can find any evidence that the twins may be there,” she pauses for a breath, “Amen and Crucis, you stay here in case they return and keep your own children safe… Does that sound like a good plan?” Her head swivels around to each member of the group before ending on her sons face. She smiles the faintest of smiles as her eyes begin to water. Today was becoming one of her worst and best days.
AuroraElis
