"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
It was almost as if she was paralyzed, unable to move. She just stared and watched as the world around her changed, she wanted to screaming, no she was screaming you just couldn't hear her. Everything was gone, her home was gone, she couldn't find anyone, she was all alone.
She stepped forward to the new world of Beqanna, she knew the lands inhabited magic, but magic to change the shape of everything? She stood around a mountain, she watched as the faerie molded it. What did the equines of Beqanna do to make the faerie so mad?
She stepped forward once again, this time she frantically let a whinny escape her maw. Was she alone? Surely the others had to be around, was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Another whinny escaped her maw Anyone she screamed, her voice trembled with fear.
She opens her gold-flecked eyes slowly, unsure that she even wants to see what the world has come to. Djinni is trapped, unable to flee as she has in other questionable situations, and her inability to mask her uncertainty is all too clear.
The sound of another voice (the terror in it almost matching her own) causes her to jump, sending the frosted edges of her mane flapping against her grey neck.
"I'm over here!" she calls back through the mist, surprised by the calmness in her own voice. "I'm coming closer," she adds as she moves, heading in the direction that the voice had come from. When the shape of a black mare emerges in the distance, Djinni picks up her pace thankful - for perhaps the first time ever - that her petite frame and pretty face do not tend to inspire instant fear in strangers.
"I'm Djinni," she says as she comes closer, stretching out her black muzzle in a greeting. "What's your name?"
She wasn’t alone for long, others appeared, climbing down from the mountain top. To be honest she doesn’t remember how she got down, she just woke up at the bottom. Her call was answered, another spoke to her. The voice was friendly, she looked for the source but it was too foggy to see anyone. The voice spoke up again, announcing they were going to find Josie, so she stood still.
A darker paint appeared and a gentle smile appeared on Josies face, It was nice to not be alone. She wished it was Akkadian but it was good enough to not be alone. The mare introduces herself as ‘Djinni’ it was an odd name but Josie repeated the name in her head. Her gaze looked for hers when she asked for Josie’s name Josie her voice was gentle. She looked around before setting her gaze on Djinni's Do you know what happend? her eyes were filled with hope.
When the other mare returns her smile, Djinni relaxes. A weight she'd not known she was carrying seems lighter now; she's not alone in this place. Though Josie is still very much an unknown entity, she is at least a living equine, and in times such as these, any friendly face is a lifeline.
"It's nice to meet you, Josie." She replies.
When the black horse asks what had happened, Djinni knows that her answer is likely to dim the hope in the other mare's eyes.
"I don't." Admits the grullo mare. "But I do know that the farther down the mountain I go, the harder it is to use my m...my abilities." She'd almost slipped, almost revealed herself. "But it's too hard to breathe up here. I think we'll all have to leave eventually."
Glancing down the slope, the tobiano mare frowns for a moment before looking curiously back toward Josie. "Where were you, before this all started?"
The mare before her appeared friendly and that warmed Josie’s heart. It was a tough situation but she wasn’t alone, no she had this mare. Its nice to meet you as well! she said, her voice was much happier than earlier.
Of course she didn’t imagine the mare knew what happened, and she didn’t, it was just hard to be so lost. The mare spoke, saying the further she goes down the mountain the harder it is to use her abilities. Josie imagined it meant her traits, lots of equines had traits, but Josie did not, so she could not relate. I’m sorry to hear that, I hope once we reach the ground you will feel better Djinni than noted it was hard to breathe and they should reach the bottom of the mountain. Josie gave an agreeing nod to her Yes, we should make our way down she moved closer to the edge of the mountain, looking for a path. There was plenty of other equines making there way down, and others already gathered below. She was so focused on finding a path down that she almost missed Djinnis last question, where were you before all this it stung her to hear the words. Everything was such a blur, and she stayed silent for a moment trying to recover her memory. Hmm..I am pretty sure I was in the Tundra, with a group of equines weird that she was alone when she woke up. What about you? Did you belong to a Kingdom? surely it didn’t matter now, because there was no kingdoms.
The black mare looks for a path down the mountain and Djinni follows her, looking a bit farther to Josie's right for passable terrain. "Here," she says, gesturing toward a thin strip of bare earth. There are at least the tracks of three other horses, and Djinni seems no bodies at the bottom of the hill, so it seems as good a way down as any.
She answers as Djinni begins to make her way down, saying that she was in the Tundra...maybe? The tobiano mare can't blame her - she is not quire sure where she was either.
"I wasn't in a kingdom, no." She replies. "I had a friend in the Chamber, but I was raised in the Desert." A day ago, such an admission would have been a pitiful thing - 'poor thing to lose her kingdom in a magical flood'. Now they are all in the same boat, all of them as unsure as they next.
"Where are you going to go now?" Asks the grullo mare. Would you mind a companion? She doesn't add, but perhaps if the other mare's answers is a positive one she might just tag along.
The grullo mare stated she was not from a kingdom, although she had a friend from the Chamber. Josie can’t say she has ever been to the Chamber but heard they were feisty equines. She gave a nod of her head in acknowledgement slightly curious to the nomad equine, she was innocent like that. If she didn’t belong to a kingdom does her home still remain? The meadow or Forest?
She refrains from asking any questions because the next thing the mare asks keeps her very interested. She asks where she was going to go next I’m not sure, I have a few friends I need to find, maybe stay around with them she answered truthfully, her future was unknown. Then she asks if she wants a companion, her ears shot up as she stared intently Of course! I would love for you to come along….if that’s what you mean. she laughed out of awkwardness I don’t know where I am going to go though, any input?
She has never been able to call anywhere home, not since she was a child. She had never stayed in the Meadow or the Forest long enough to feel comfortable, though truth be told those are the places in Beqanna that she knows the best.
None of the kingdoms or herdlands had ever truly called to her wandering heart; nothing kept her attention for long. It is both a blessing and a curse, and so when Josie agrees so readily to allow her to ta along, Djinni's pretty face lights up with a true smile.
"Wonderful!" she says, the genuine emotion doing wonders to her already bright expression. She is glad that she will not have to be alone on whatever comes next, even if her companion is as much a stranger to her as she is to this new Beqanna,
"We could look for your friends?" She suggests, knowing the to look for hers would be to find him, and she is never entirely sure if she wants to find him again. She inevitably does, but with their reunion always comes the next separation, and their game of cat and mouse seems an eternal one. "Will your friends be together, do you think?"
