"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
To tell the truth, Lea hadn’t told her much about the Dale either. In fact, it was by the widening of eyes and begging of heart that Xiah managed to pry the simplest forms of information from her father. Ever since birth the little unicorn has been something of a daddy’s girl, though to say that she neglected her mother would be absolutely false. That being said, their disappearance has only been harder on their daughters because of the family’s closeness. But they struggle onward.
The trek to the Dale is less taxing mentally, however, and in the pleasurable – if not sometimes pesky – presence of her sister, they make short of the journey. When they see new, exciting things (like a spotty deer fawn unlike the big elk in their kingdom), Xiah succumbs to the situation and levitates, legs flailing with glee. Her shoulder demon comments sassily every time, but she contains her own remarks in the presence of her sister. So, despite the short-seeming length of the walk, it is in truth just past noon when the duo arrives upon the border of the Dale, even though they had started with the rise of the sun.
“Uhm…” Xiah mumbles as their hooves meet the ferociously strong scent of Daleans. “These are their borders.” (You sure you haven’t passed them, fuzz-for-brains?) Oh shut UP, I’m not stupid… (Uh-huh). Eyes rolling irately, Xiah determinedly plops all her hooves to the grassy-strewn floor. “We shouldn’t just walk in, that would be rude.”
Clearing her throat awkwardly, the young woman raises her spiral-horned head to call gently for a greeter. Hopefully their coming wouldn’t be absolutely out of line, I mean, Xiah doesn’t even know the political standings of the two kingdoms, never mind if two young princesses would be free to romp around at their leisure. Tittering embarrassingly, Xiah concenterates on not dancing or hovering about, and doesn’t make eye contact with her sister.
(Apparently SOMEONE hasn’t though this out).
Be quiet, I’m just introverted okay?
(Mhm. Tell me more, Pinocchio).
You won't have any friends, and I'll live in a room With flowers on the walls, and golden doorknobs
It is troubling that he spends so much time alone, now.
It is quiet. Silence blankets the Dale, covering each little corner of the kingdom with a stillness that is, in truth, too much like death. He lingers anyway. All the time, he hopes he will run into someone he doesn’t know. Perhaps he’s simply missed the arrival of a horde of newcomers, however far-fetched the idea is. Maybe they are a secretive bunch, prone to prowling the new place before revealing themselves to their new herdmates.
Ramiel knows better, but he doesn’t like to dwell on his hidden surety.
There is more than just the silence that disturbs him these days. Unrest has shaken the lands, and he fears it is only the beginning. On all of his recent trips outside of the mountainous kingdom, the grey stallion has heard the rumors each time. He’s heard about the Chamber, heard that their soldiers had rained upon the Gates with disturbing and unwarranted ferocity. He’d heard, too, how they had taken the queen as a live-in prisoner – how they hadn’t returned her even after their successful show of force. So far, the outburst has appeared to quell the violence in the once-dark land’s heart. So far, but likely not forever. More than anything, though, the young king cares only as far as his home and its extended relationships. He worries for the Falls and the Jungle – so long as they remain untouched, the Dale will stay its involvement.
These thoughts are at the forefront of his mind today. As he walks through the woods, (quite literally, as he phases through any blocking trees on his straight-line path) he tries to plan ahead. Their army is pathetically small and wholly untrained, despite the fact that they have very powerful bodies in their midst. That will have to change, he thinks, stepping through an ancient, overlarge oak tree without flinching. He’s grown so used to his second skin that it feels more like the one he was born into. As a ghost, he is as unobtrusive as any other non-breathing entity in his environment. He is soundless and heatless and unobservable; he could disappear and nobody would be the wiser.
It’s as good a defensive strategy as any, and coming across two young girls at the border, Ramiel is thankful to have the ability in his arsenal. It allows him to watch them undetected, at least for a while. They seem harmless enough, of course, but looks can be deceiving. And in this time of uncertainty, he will take no chances. After a time of silence reigning over the scene, Ramiel decides to reveal himself. He comes to visibility slowly, artistically. His feet appear first, his legs rising from the piles of leaf-litter and supporting his charcoal torso. After his neck sprouts from his chest, he considers leaving his head invisible, just to have some fun with the youngsters. But thinking better of it, the king’s face appears with a bemused grin.
“Hello.” The older one seems like the natural leader of the two, but he spares no more attention on her because of it. Instead, his golden gaze flickers between the girls, bright but curious all the same. If they are Chamber spies, the piney kingdom has surely sent the least threatening candidates of all time. “Have you come to the Dale on purpose, or are you just passing through?” He asks gently, looking away further into the kingdom as if to welcome them either way. It will not be the first tour he gives if so, but he’s not entirely sure it’s the reason they’ve come. “I’m Ramiel.”
The journey to the Dale is … frustrating, in some ways, as travelling with siblings often is. It rankles her a little bit every time Xiah zooms off in excitement over something she spots. Kida can’t help but be a little jealous after all - flying does look like so much fun. But on the whole, the journey is rather pleasant.
As they walk, her thoughts keep turning to the kingdom that lies ahead of them. She is both excited and nervous about visiting the Dale. She’s looking forward to seeing the place that her mother had spent so much of her life in, and had spent so much time working for. She wishes she knew more about the place that had meant so much to her mother, and this way, she can.
And yet, she can’t help but be a little nervous. She’s lived in the Tundra for her entire life, first under her parents care, and then under her sister’s care. This is the first time that she’s even left the kingdom, and everything is just so new.
By the time they reach the Dale’s border, she’s practically vibrating, from both the excitement and the nerves. Xiah awkwardly points out the border and Kida rolls her eyes (she figured that out for herself thanks), and calls out for a member of the kingdom. Then they settle in to wait.
It doesn’t take long for someone to arrive … and it’s not exactly in the conventional way. The dark stallion slowly materializes out of thin air, starting from the feet. “Ahh!” Kida jumps, and disappears around Xiah’s rear end.
She peers out nervously from around her sister, single brown eye wide and staring. The stallion, now that he’s … solid … seems friendly enough. But how the hell had he done that?
She offers a nervous smile. “W-we want to visit our Mom’s kingdom.” Right, because that makes a lot of sense. She hasn’t lived here in a long, long time. “She used to be a queen here.”
Okay, maybe she does need to work on her self-control; with every little hop she gives, the looks she get become dirtier. Xiah makes a note-to-self: no hopping on the way home. Or zooming or hovering or flouncing. Her lower lip gets sucked between her teeth at the thought. It wracks her nerves, supressing the gifts she’s been blessed with; yet her sense of responsibility as a sister trumps her pride, and with a great effort, she releases her lower lip.
They stand for some time on the borders, surrounded by sound: in the Tundra, Xiah only ever remembers the sound of her breathing or the clip of her hooves against the ice. Here, the birds sing, water runs, and the wind rustles rather than howls. Leaning towards Kida, Xiah brushes their shoulders together, mouthing the word ‘wow’ without taking her eyes off the scenery. I can see why mother loved it here.
He begins appearing at the worst moment: mouth hanging half-open, eyes bulging out of her head, Xiah could not have possibly made a worse impression. And to make it all worse, she doesn’t even notice the gradually appearing ghost until Kida screams.
Wishing she had someone’s rump to jump and hide behind, Xiah pins her ears and points her spiralled horn towards the materializing stallion. Inside, her heart beats frantically, and her tongue feels like it could fall out of her mouth she’s so stunned.
When his face finally appears with a grin laced along it, Xiah blinks and slowly raises her weapon. When he speaks, she fumbles to gain the use of her tongue. Just as she thinks that they’re doomed to stand on the borders like two figures who locked eyes with Medusa, her baby sister speaks up.
Well, that’s embarrassing.
Laughing and breathing simultaneously, Xiah retreats a step before finally finding her voice.
“Lea, Queen Lea. It was a long time ago, I hope you don’t mind.” Her silver eyes glitter with excitement and uncertainty; she inhales shakily, and exhales firmly, solidifying her calmness. “I am Xiah, and this is my sister Kida. We’re King Errant’s daughters…” She swallows at the enunciation of both her parents’ names, a sort of coolness washing over her to hide the rise of emotions. “It’s nice to meet you, Ramiel. That’s a neat trick you did.”
You won't have any friends, and I'll live in a room With flowers on the walls, and golden doorknobs
