"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
By the time the spotted stallion returns to the Falls, the blood on his coat has begun to dry. He limps heavily, favoring his left foreleg. Burnt, bruised, and bleeding, he climbs into the familiar warmth of the waterfall. He waits, eyes half-closed, for the magical waters to begin their work. Kreios has nearly dozed off before he realizes that nothing has happened - that his wounds still exist, and that he is slowly turning the water around him red.
So this is what the fairy had meant.
They really have been forsaken.
The wildcat remains in the water regardless, and watches the sun begin to set over the western forest. He is wary of the change and worried by the explosion of light that had overcome the drowned Deserts. Were they alright? His father and his siblings? Something is wrong, but he cannot quite put his hoof on it. He will talk with Kratos and his father soon, he tells himself; they will finally patch things up.
The young colt who was almost a stallion grew more comfortable in the Falls, learning all that the layout has to offer, he was almost two and would induct himself as a warrior following in the foot steps of his father Archam. As he was wondering into the lands he stood about fifteen paces away from the base of the waterfall, he was not alone. There was a large stallion in the water, he was covered in blood but his spots looked like the King. He never personally met him but was told about him, and even saw him in passing. He instantly grew curious to the bloodstained pelt he wore and moved closer, he just watched the waters heal Geisha why were they not healing the king?!
But than he remembered.....a warning the Beqanna faeries gave, they said all the magical powers were drained from the kingdom. Does that mean...He could not be healed? Kreios.... he mumbled as he grew closer, much smaller in size comparison. He hoped that Kreios would not mistake him for an enemy, he reeked of the Falls, hopefully that was enough. Andras had no healing powers and could not offer relief for the pain he was in, only comfort in someone to speak with.
Eiria had felt something was amiss in the kingdom a little while after she'd gotten back from her journey with Sirana to the Chamber territory to check on their half-sisters, Morigan's twin fillies. It hadn't been an eventful trip, but they had told their sire the fillies were healthy for now and being raised by a dun striped mare.
The trio had gone their separate ways for the time being following that, interacting again at night when they stayed with the herd and Archam returned from his business with the kingdom. Their dam would sometimes be away as well, attending to kingdom business, which wasn't a big deal to any of her children. Sirana, being the oldest, was quite willing to look after her two younger siblings, but she did it with an enthusiasm that Eiria had never really seen before.
Could it have to do with the fact that she was to be going somewhere in the next couple of moons? Eiria remembered her sire and dam had spoken to her about that after Sirana had run off one day, looking quite upset. Now, whatever it was, she seemed to have accepted it, and wanted to spend time with her brother and sister when she could before she had to leave.
Eiria would miss her, but it's not like they weren't used to being separated. Except for Nerius, on occasion, they already spent time away from both of their parents, getting used to the world and the realization that they would one day be on their own. Even Nerius joked about it nowadays, that he would leave when he was old enough and become a strong herd stallion, one that would make his sire proud.
The filly rolled her eyes, but hid it, considering her brother was right next to her. Was that his only goal in life? To gain his sire's approval, to make him proud?
Eiria and Nerius had decided to go off and spend some time grazing in a different part of the territory that day. Anahi was off with Sirana, doing whatever they decided to do, so that left the two siblings alone. Nerius was now old enough to eat grass, which meant he could stray from his dam's side how he wished. Eiria had told her dam she would take Nerius to one of her own favorite grazing spots along the riverbank she'd found a couple of months before, during the last days of summer when the grass was still plentiful.
She couldn't wait to taste it in the springtime.
But as they got closer earlier in the day, Eiria once more got that bad feeling. Something was wrong in the kingdom; she couldn't quite place her hoof on it, but she did know that the kingdom was different now; something had changed...
Brushing it off, Eiria and Nerius grazed by the riverbank for the day, deciding to head back home when the sun started to set. They prepared to head out, but heard a voice not too far downstream, close enough that the river wouldn't mask it.
Eiria glanced at her brother, silently telling him to stay behind her. She walked forward, keeping her champagne colored body covered by the trees. Her head peeked around the brush lining the bank, her eyes widening at what she saw.
The king, Kreios, and one of Archam's colts, Andras, were both there. The unicorn seemed to be watching the king as he soaked in the healing waters, but that was what alerted Eiria that something was wrong. He stood in the healing waters, but his wounds remained.
Was this what she had picked up on?
The yearling walked up to join the king and her half-brother, "King Kreios? Why are your wounds not healing? Have the healing waters been taken?"
Eiria had a flash of a memory; it was quick, but she felt like she should know what happened. The ocean dipped into her head; wait, why would she have seen that? Why the ocean? Was her memory trying to tell her something?
BETTER BEWARE, I GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT DEVIL-MAY-CARE WITH A LUST FOR LIFE
When she had awoken from her slumber there was a hollowness in her soul. The sienna woman could not place with at first as she struggled to rise due to a growing belly. She had spent time with her king before he had entered into battle. Since his absence, did the woman remain concerned for his return. She could not imagine her life without the massive spotted male holding her close at night and stroking her cheek till nothing but sleepy happiness filled her mind's eye.
Something certainly had changed though and Ygritte recognized it by the creak of her joints from the growing baby and the way the flowers died around her. No longer did she posses her ability to grow flora...the ability had been snatched up over night.
Her heart is heavy as she moves through the Falls. The trees no long bent from her to make way for their queen. Her flower crown was drying, becoming brittle as the blooms wept and died. Her soul was pained for tall the death she could feel around her. Bu wait- She heard something. The heavy sound of large hooves in water.
As nimbly as she could, with the sway of a growing barrel, the mare in moving towards the roar of their namesake. Her jaw is slightly slacked as she pulls in breath, her heart hammering in her her ears and chest. A lather of sweat is collecting at her hips and neck as she hurries. Some time passes but yes! Yes! It is Kreios but something is terribly wrong...even more so than her own loss.
The king stallion is in the waters but it does not heal. The water in turn churns to a vivid red that causes Ygritte to break from the tangle of trees. Thankfully there were two other horses there should the king fall. "Kreios!" His name rings high and clear from her throat, perhaps a little too sharp with the worry that is filling her breast. Without hesitation she is in the water and at his side, pressing against him in raw happiness to see his face (no matter how bloodied and bruised). The red of his blood is staining her skin, her own mane and tail saturated and sticking to her skin as she buries her face into his neck. Ygritte does not care if the others saw her. She did not care who saw for she was overcome with her emotions (and possibly hormones) that the king was back alive.
07-24-2016, 05:06 PM (This post was last modified: 07-24-2016, 05:07 PM by Nerius.)
Nerius was quite happy that he was getting the chance to hang out with his big sister today. Ever since he'd been weaned from his dam, and she'd given him permission to stray from her side at the distance he chose (within the kingdom for now, of course), he'd been eager to go out and explore. Eiria had offered that morning to spend the day with him, something he'd agreed to, after hearing Sirana and his dam, Anahi, had some business to attend to.
The grass tasted delicious to him, even if it had been near the end of autumn. He was able to live without his mother's milk, and getting to eat new things he'd never tried before made him happy. It improved his mood to the point where he could've eaten winter grass and it would've been delicious.
When the sun started to set, Eiria made a note that the two of them should head back to the herd. Agreeing with his older sister, they prepared to head back, but Eiria's attention drifted elsewhere when both horses picked up on a nearby voice. Eiria told Nerius to stay behind him, and though he wanted to argue that he was big enough to take care of himself, he did as she said. He stayed behind her as they walked along the bank, keeping behind the brush line to mask themselves from the sight of others.
The two of them peeked around the corner of the bank (Nerius peeked under his sister's belly since he didn't want to walk around her, lest he face her wrath). He was shocked to see the king of this kingdom, Kreios, along with his half-brother, Andras. Eiria walked up to them, questioning the king if he was okay.
Nerius walked up to his half-brother, a worried look in his eye, "Andras, what's happened? Is something wrong with the river? Why is Kreios still hurt? Are we going to be okay? Is the kingdom hurt?"
Ygritte
