"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
09-05-2016, 05:54 PM (This post was last modified: 09-08-2016, 06:43 PM by Beqanna Fairy.
Edit Reason: put as [petition] in subject
)
" I'll never lose sight , "
He is walking beside Romek as the Stallion leads them towards the mountain. His heart is pounding, his head spinning. It's as though the closer they get the more of a pull he feels on his body. It is even worse when they step onto the mountain and begin to move up towards the center point that he groans, the feeling of wings sprouting from his shoulders almost excruciating and yet he pushes through it, having been through much much worse when the fire was once birthed within his soul.
It is now he walks in silence, until finally the rest come to a stop and for a while he stands there not yet ready to speak until finally he turns his head to Romek. "You are our leader. You are the strength. You should be the one to call to her first," he is referring to the Goddess, to her fairies, to all of Beqanna. Romek had done most of the work and so he was the most deserving to be called their leader and to be the one to interact with the Faeries and Beqanna herself on this matter. "If you need my input once she is here, just ask."
He smiles then, reassuringly as he nods in the direction of the small open meadow infront of them. Demian had always been the type to encourage and to believe most in those who either were obvious in their abilities to be great leaders or completely the opposite and he loved seeing those who deserved their hardwork recognized able to take those steps into gaining the rewards they worked so hard for. So moments like these were the moments he lived for.
ooc: Hello! We as a team are here to claim a land! Romek is the leader of our team, demian is just posting first!
here are my points: click here and here is the overall point tracker for our team: click here; also overall as a team if we are allowed to pick a mist, we would prefer silver mist but realize we may not get a choice at all and that's perfectly okay!
09-05-2016, 06:01 PM (This post was last modified: 09-05-2016, 06:51 PM by Romek.)
fuck all your dreams; they're not all they seem.
His heart is pounding, perhaps merely a result of the thin mountain air combined with the exertion, but he thinks that is not all it is. Here, he will secure a home for his family if he is successful. Here, he will face with the powers that took everything away from him (even as, now they reach this magical land, he feels the familiar feeling slip back into his body – and it feels good to be the tiger stallion again).
And, despite the fact that it was Demian who came to him, it was Demian who recruited him, it would seem the gauntlet of leadership had been passed onto him. Perhaps, at a time, he would’ve cringed away from it but he steps forward, now. Behind him, he has his family and his friends. He does not feel scared.
He reaches back to hold his children close to him, before he calls for the strange powers of this land, not knowing what to expect, a little apprehensive. ”We are here to ask,” he says, not knowing what else to say. They would hardly be surprised, after all, they were well acquainted with the insatiable greed of the equids.
He wished that Maribel could be here, too. Perhaps she might turn up. Perhaps.
Romek
What she said! Haha.
This is the team:
@[demian] @[Durotan] @[Lilitha] @[Maribel] and of course, Romek.
The mare moves cautiously over the foreign lands. Nothing is the same but she must remain calm for her children. For her and Romek's children. Tears threaten her eyes but she forces them back, the blues glittering like sapphires. Arete and Alivia was surged forth in their infantile lives so far, playing and tugging at one another is nothing has changed. Mari nudges them occsaionally, caressing the matted softness of their brows as she treasure the odd pair.
Soft wuffles help guide them as the now white and gold mare moves through the foliage. It was strange but the woman is changed, different. The blue of her eyes are stronger and confident. Mari also knows that she has changed...the birth of her children had lead her to death but they had also been the reason she returned to them. In the time of her return, her ability to change colors to camouflage herself had left but the mare was no longer palomino. She stands a glistening white, like the snow of the tundra, and golden on her limbs, muzzle and mane.
Mari knows that she can be seen and so she hurries the children along for the sake of finding a safe place for the girls. Lobes are flickering rapidly when voices carry like smoke from her place. At first there is an unknown voice. It's keeper is male and asks to claim a land. Confusion befuddles the mare as she calls the fillies close but when his voice - Romek's voice states that he is there to ask then the woman feels her limbs uproot from their place. Ret and Ali are ushered along with little protest as this was all a grand adventure.
Eyes peek from the sanctuary of the foliage till she sees the glitter of the white points along his spine. "ROMEK!" Mari does not care that she shouts so loudly. "Come girls." She commands gently and the pair of color children come bursting out as the little indigo filly nips her sister and tears of. Maribel follows after as she crashes into the stallion, forgetting her currently new color state but not caring. Romek should know his wife no matter her color.
Eyes shift to Demian and she moves to dip her head politely to him as they stand on this mountain asking for a land. Mari takes her place next to her husband, stealing a glance in hope he realizes they could talk later. The girls are currently paying no mind to all the adult business. "I, too, join Romek and his team." The mare speaks confidently to no one in particular as she touches every part of her side against Romek's that was possible. Mari does not understand what is happening but all she cares is that she is next to her mate.
And when she laughs you'll always take notice.
'Cause her heart's charm will shine right through it all.
it's rushed, i know, but i am kinda behind lol no more vacation for me!
He followed in a pack, nervous as can be, it was soothing to be beside his father. He was ready to devote himself to the Tundra as a warrior, protect the kingdom, but now he was devoting himself to all the equines who choose to fall under there group, there mist. They go to the mountain, together, it is rumored that you must ask permission to own a land now. It is not like before, were you could fight it out whoever is victor gets the lands.
His chest is beating with nerves, he does not like the unexpected, he doesn’t know what is going to happen. His father steps forward announcing there wish to claim lands. Durotan gave a nod of his head, and acknowledgement that he desires to be in the group.
It wasn’t long until Maribel appeared, she was the mare who raised them but he never found himself attached to her. Now she came with two foals, who obviously were Romeks.
09-05-2016, 07:29 PM (This post was last modified: 11-02-2016, 01:45 AM by Kortnee.)
I pretend to close my eyes; I pretend I'm burning bright.
I really do not want to walk back up the mountain. It’s big, and it’s scary, and it’s hard. But Daddy asked me to come with, to help us find a home, so of course I follow him. What else could I do? The walk is long and arduous, and I’m soon panting and lathered in sweat. But a home would be a very nice thing to have, so I walk. And I walk. And I walk.
We’re part-way up the mountain when the cold that has seeped into my bones is finally, finally gone, chased away by the fire that comes back to me, rushes through me--ignites my lovely new wings and burns them away. Oh it hurts! It hurts so much, and I fight not to scream. Tears roll down my cheeks and my whole body shakes, but I don’t make a sound as my fire friend burns away what doesn’t belong to me. What I was only borrowing, I guess.
And when it is done, I walk on, trying my best to hurry after the rest of my...family, I guess. The only one who feels like family still is Daddy, but he said Espy and Duro are family too, so I guess that makes it true. Even if they don’t exactly feel like mine yet, it’ll come in time. I mean, I assume. That’s how it works, right?
And then we are finally, finally there, and even though it’s kind of hard to breathe this high up, I sidle up next to my daddy and nod. “Oh, a home would be so nice!” I add, rubbing my face against his shoulder and peering cautiously around at the others.
“Romek!” And this must be Mama Mari, because she’s crashing into Daddy just like I did, finally reunited after all the scary things that have happened since the land ate our home. Oh goodness, and there are more babies. I fall back a little, letting them have their happy moment, feeling a little overwhelmed by all this extra family. So many, when before it had just been me. But.
But these are Mama Mari’s babies, which means they’re Daddy Romek’s blood and definitely more sisters. So I smile a hesitant little smile and give them the space to meet their daddy. When they’re ready. Meanwhile there is the maybe more urgent matter of asking for a home. So I watch, and I wait to see what happens.
now don’t you understand…that I’m never changing who I am?
This was a long trek… One that she had known she would make, and as she pulled herself up the craggy slopes, called forth by the spirit of the mountain, and recruited by Demian for the purposes of finding a home and stability, Reagan was finally aware of who held her magic in the palm of their slimy grasps.
The ones who called themselves blessed had placed themselves on high, snatching for themselves what they deemed theirs. So this was not God and Mary punishing her after all. But instead, ones seeking punitive measure on the land as a whole for a corruption which was not hers to take. She clutched her rosary to her breast and said her prayers as she watched her every step, keeping aware that each step was as surefooted as the last—until all at once, she realized that she had reached the top.
Taking her place next to Demian—really, the only one of them she knew, as yet—she took a glance at the rest of them, each with a power as different as the last. This was not the path that she had imagined for herself, and yet here she stood, knowing that somewhere below the mountain Ruan was following her. Perhaps he’d fly, with those luscious wings of his? She addressed the incorporeal mists as they swirled around her there upon the summit, and as she breathed in, she felt her old power returning to her, as if she had never been without it. The color returned to her eyes, and she made a sound of pure joy, willing the ground around her to open and produce flowers at her feet, just to test out her blood of the deep magic. Waking up to the new day, and feeling her abilities again, she addressed Demian, bidding him to look at the growing vegetation at her feet. “I guess we have discovered the magic after all. And now it is for the fairies that we must discover our homeland.”
Turning to the mist again, she sounds aloud with a whinny and a thump of her front hooves. “I too hold allegiance with Romek. My name is Reagan, same of old.”
They think she cares to whom they pledge allegiance. Hah.
The patter up, one after another climbing her mountain, forcing even their young ones to breathe the thin air and suffer a climb so strenuous as to make grown horses wheeze.
What do they need so badly?
"Ask for what?" says the wind and the earth at their feet. "What do you come to ask for when you should be here to beg?" She is as benevolent as she is prideful, and to reward them only for making a steep climb would make her a fool as well. No, she decides, they must plead their case.
It is not long until they are joined by the others, and then he notices out of the corner of his eye, into the distance – a familiar figure, although the colours unknown. As it gets nearer he notices the children gambolling around her feet and his heart shifts for a brief moment – until he realises that it is Maribel, his Maribel, and these must be his children – the pretty one all in indigo, and the pretty one all in black and yellow. Pretty, like their mother, he thinks, as Maribel careens into him and is the wind strong up here, or is he just happy to see her…? Either way, there are tears in his eyes as he snuggles his nose into her and whispers her name over and over again. She is different, he notices, but there will be time to talk later.
They wait for what feels like an age, and then there is the voice, coming from the earth and the wind around them ”Beg,” he repeats quietly, musingly, tilting his head, a half-smile on his lips. Understandable, really, her fury must be great if she tore herself to pieces just to teach them all a lesson. It would’ve hurt her far more than it hurt them all, as much as they would all like to think so. To see her children whom she had nursed at her own breast squabble as if there was anything to prove, anything to win from just plain bloodshed.
And Romek? He was guilty of it himself. As much as he would like to pretend that he was innocent, he is guilty. They all are (though perhaps not the newborns, who have barely had time to do much of anything). He wanted, above all else, to put it right. He wanted to atone for every error he had made, for every error they had made. It was only what was fair, after all.
”I am here to beg you for your forgiveness even if it be a little of it, not all. I am here with those that follow to admit to our wrongdoings, our selfishness, our greed. I am here, as are the rest to say that we are truly sorry for our past. We have been unworthy and we know it. This change in Beqanna has shown us that. And so we come here today not only to ask for even the smallest form of forgiveness but the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy to be a part of your beautiful land. We seek a place where we can create a home, not just for our family and friends but for those who also seek redemption and the chance to prove themselves. We seek to build a home built on selflessness, hard work, golden hearts and patient minds. We call to those who are not greedy, to those who simply wish to do right and we plan to prove it to you to the best of our ability. We are not much, just a simple group of family and friends and most of us do not have the past experience to rule a home, like myself. But we plan to teach and learn from one another and the rest that follow how to do things correctly. We want to be the group that helps bring light and kindness back to Beqanna. Yet we cannot do that without your help.”
He stops talking. Too much talking, he decides, and not enough doing. He hopes that what they have accomplished already counts in any way towards their cause, hopes that the lands recognise this, hope that they realise that they are trying their very best to right their wrongs. He looks at his wife, their children, his friends and their family.
I pretend to close my eyes; I pretend I'm burning bright.
((Ummm, sorry in advance, guys. D: I tried to make this more cooperative. Lilitha wouldn’t have it.))
Oh, I try to keep my mouth shut. I do. We’re standing before the greatest powers in the land, it’s not smart to get upset. But when she tells us we should be begging, instead of just asking, well...newly rekindled sparks fall from my skin, fading into ash before they hit the ground. Still, I don’t say anything. This is more grown-up business, really, and I’m just here to follow my daddy, hopefully to our new home.
But see, then instead of being offended too, he just obeys. He takes her command in stride, and pours himself out at her feet, begging for forgiveness, enumerating his sins. Our sins. Saying we were all so very sorry for our pasts, that we are unworthy, that we’ve done wrong and we deserve the bad things that have happened.
Well that’s just dumb.
I’m not sorry. I’m not sorry for anything. And being treated like we’re all naughty little children who deserve to be punished, well that has my fire up. Even a little literally, as it flickers along my skin. I know I should stay quiet. I know I should let the adults dance like little puppets dangling from strings, saying the words Beqanna wants to hear in the hopes of receiving some scrap of affection, of approval.
As it happens, I’ve never been good at keeping my mouth shut. I dragged myself up this huge mountain, after just making my way down it not very long ago at all. My fire friend burned away my wings, and I didn't even scream, even though it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt in my whole life. And I came here thinking that the world was still my friend, even after everything that had happened. So when my hopeful little murmured almost-request is crushed beneath her hooves, I don't do the smart thing and play along.
I get mad.
“You want us to beg?” I ask, quiet rage seething in my voice as I step out of my daddy’s shadow and make myself a bright, shining target. “We came here looking for a home. For somewhere we can grow up in peace and safety. There aren’t exactly a lot of safe places left now that all of our homes are gone. Now that all of our lives have been torn apart, and in some cases far more than our lives. We were lucky. We found our family really fast. There are still a lot of people frantically searching for the people they love. You already took so much, and now you want us to beg?”
I snort, and a shower of sparks falls to the ground, dying before a fire can start. “I’m here to ask you: will you grant us shelter, and give us a home to live in? But I won’t beg. And I won’t let anyone else apologize for me.” I glance over at my daddy, and he’s the only one I apologize to, with just my eyes, for maybe jeopardizing his request.
“We aren’t bad. I’m not. My siblings aren’t. My daddy sure isn’t; look at how many kids he’s taken into his heart and his former home. My mama isn’t, or he wouldn’t love her the way he does. I don’t think I’ve ever even hurt anybody at all, so I won’t apologize or say I’m bad or wrong or unworthy, which is just a really mean thing to try to make someone feel. And I won’t let anybody make me feel bad about myself for no reason.” My ears pin back against my neck, and sparks cling to the red of my mane.
And that’s all I have to say. Even if it costs me my place with my family, I won’t let somebody treat them like dirt, or treat me like dirt. Not even the world herself. I want to be with them and be safe somewhere that is ours, but not at the cost of being dishonest, and pretending to feel bad about things that I didn’t even do wrong. The world can do what she likes with that. I only dance because I want to, not because somebody scary pulls my strings.
now don’t you understand…that I’m never changing who I am?
Reagan’s ears went straight up upon hearing the fire-child’s speech as she lit up the air around her. She was angry—and she had a right to be, but having made it all this way to speak to the fairies only to be turned away by the antics of another, when there was so much at stake…
Something had to be done. And so, Reagan stepped forward and addressed the fairy herself, as if they were old friends. Perhaps the fairy would remember her from all those years ago, and perhaps she wouldn’t. But it was worth taking the chance to at least be congenial.
“Dearest fairy, you see what this magic has done to our next generation. They are proud, and confident in their abilities as you have foreseen to give them. The fire child speaks with all the personality as you yourself have bestowed upon our children graciously and lovingly… turned each one with the needles as you knit our abilities and our magic together. Some of us for fire, some of us for ice. You see fit to give richly, and thus you also have the ability to take richly. You have given us your favor and allowed us to see what our abilities can look like if we only repent ourselves of our pride and humble ourselves before you. But you see us, here, with the abilities you gave us, willing to do what is necessary to survive. This is your game, my dear. We have played it willingly, and we will continue to remember the kindness and the lessons taught to us therein… but as the winter sets in, think of the children. Please give us a home where we can raise them in peace and quiet, to teach the next generation of your goodness, and of what happens when we use magic too foolishly…
Please grant us our petition, if it is your will, dear fairy. We beg you. Have mercy on our souls.”
