"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 is noon on the second day since the Happening, and it is time for their meetup.
The red and white stallion hopes that the gathering will be larger than the three it was before, and that @[Neoma] and Zai had luck finding the scattered members of their kingdom. He had found @[Ygritte] (argueably the one he had looked hardest for), but their two older children are still unaccounted for.
Kreios hopes desperately that @[Jedi], @[Raxa], @[Blazed], @[Blazing Sunfall] and the rest of the kingdom are safe. Better yet, Neoma or Zai will have found them and the told them of the meeting. The large stallion is unable to call with the wildcat screech that so easily would carry through the wind, but the loud trumpet of the large stallion is no easy thing to miss.
He calls for his friends and his family, the horses to whom is responsible for protecting and keeping safe, even if he is no longer their king.
She was tired; that much was obvious. Beqanna had changed so much in so little time, Anahi was still in shock. The champagne mare had been awake for the past two days, roughly, give or take that short time she'd taken a nap before being awakened by the sound of something that spooked her enough she galloped to the Meadow for safe haven.
The good news is, while there, she encountered her second foal and daughter, Eiria. The two had been extremely happy to see one another, sharing a moment of reunion before deciding they should start looking for other members of the Falls so they could regroup and recover after all that had happened. However, after a long day of searching, they came across nothing, and started to worry. Especially Anahi; she had three foals out there, one of whom was just a yearling and who she was extremely worried for. What if Aten was forced to survive on his own, without his dam or any of his siblings?
The very thought made Anahi sick to her stomach. It also bothered her that she couldn't find Archam anywhere; where could the stallion be?
A call broke the silence; Anahi almost thought it was Archam, given she was searching for the stallion, but recognized it as another; Kreios, the former king of the Falls.
With an encouraging look to her daughter, Anahi raced toward the call, her lungs heaving with exhaustion by the time she reached the area of the meadow where the call came from. Standing out in the open was Kreios, a sight that relieved Anahi. Finally, another familiar face...
Dipping her head, mostly from exhaustion, Anahi spoke in a tired, respectful voice to the king, "Kreios... it is good to see you are well..." she heaved out.
09-05-2016, 10:06 PM (This post was last modified: 09-05-2016, 10:07 PM by Neoma.)
Neoma could not have been happier with the number of Falls members she had found. Though it could have been more, the horses she had traveling back with her to Kreios' meeting place made her happy; it meant they still had members out there, others searching for a home. Perhaps by recruiting more of them, they'd have a strong enough presence that they could continue to carry each other through these tough times.
It was nearing noon by the time that the group reached Kreios' meeting place that he'd established the other day when he'd sent out Zai and Neoma to look for Falls kingdom members. The spotted form of the king was easy to pick out; two more horses were there, a mare and a filly, both of whom shared a light colored coat similar to Nerius.
Knowing who they were instantly, Neoma glanced back at the young colt before calling out to Kreios, letting him know of her presence. She gazed back at the group behind her as she spoke to the king, "I managed to find these members of our kingdom. I apologize that I could not find anymore of them; there was many horses to go through, and a lot of them seemed hurt. I will set out tomorrow to look for more, if that is your wish," Neoma explained.
Finally, they'd found him. It had taken forever to find Kreios, especially since not a lot of horses in the area had seen him. He was either very good at hiding while searching for Falls kingdom members, or he was just looking in places that Raxa, Jedi, and Sunfall hadn't been to yet.
Whatever the case, that call the king had let out was just what they needed. Or, was it ex-king? Raxa didn't care about ranks right now; she had a feeling that they were non-existent since the kingdoms had fallen and Beqanna began anew. Right now, she just wanted to get around more familiar faces, especially for Sunfall's sake; the pregnant mare was due any day now. Raxa was too, but beside that fact, the brindled mare would've been fine on her own. Even if she hadn't been that way in a long time since she joined the kingdom, the instincts she'd developed still flowed in her veins. They were skills she would pass onto her foal after it was old enough to learn, just in case s/he needed them to survive.
Raxa led the way to the group. She had noticed the way Jedi was acting around Sunfall lately; was it perhaps because he was just worried, since the sire of her foals most likely wasn't around? Raxa wished she knew the answer, but this wasn't exactly the best time to question Jedi what his motives were. Right now, the trio's goals were to find Kreios and whoever was with him.
After a long while of walking since they'd woken up that morning, the group arrived. A number of horses were there as well; Raxa recognized Anahi instantly, as well as two of her foals, since the resemblance was undeniable even if the colt had the roan markings of his sire. Neoma, the blue roan mare Jedi had recruited some moons ago was here too. Andras and Blazed were also present. That was good; a nice number of familiar faces.
Raxa put on a joking manner as she approached Kreios, though her manner of speaking was serious, "Sorry it took us so long to get here Kreios. That mountain was a bit of an obstacle to get down from. Has anyone else besides those of us here shown up?"
He looks up to see a familiar champagne face. "Anahi!" he says, stretching out his own pale nose in greeting. She is not accompanied by the passel of childrne that he knows she has with Archam - he hopes that they are safe as well, but does not have time to inquire because Neoma has arrived.
She is followed by a great number of familiar horses, and Kreios whickers a happy greeting to them all has he turns to listen to Neoma. "You have nothing to apologize for." He tells her, the sincerity in his voice matching the gratitude in his eyes. "You found more of our friends than I did." He had found Ygritte and Lucrezia and while the sabino mare was not a member of the Falls, Kreios had been as grateful to find her unharmed as he would be had she been.
Raxa speaks up next, and Kreios turns to her with a smile. He has always enjoyed the mare's sandpaper personality and manner of speaking, and when he says that "Perhaps the army should have been in better shape," in response, it is clear that he is speaking in jest. He answers her question though, not wanting her to worry: "Ygritte is here, she is looking for our youngest daughter. Our son Zai, has been found as well. He went to look for others but I expect him back any moment."
With Kreios, Ygritte, Zai, Raene Jedi, Blazed, Blazing Sunfall, Raxa, Anahi, Neoma, and Eiria, they have a large portion of there former kingdom gathered in one place. Are there enough of them to venture back up the mountain, to ask Beqanna for a place to rest and gather their bearings? More importantly, Kreios knows, is finding out how many of those assembled wish to stay. They are no longer bound by their loyalty to their former kingdom - they are all equals in this strange new land.
It would be easy to stay silent and wait for the topic to be broached, but Kreios has never chosen the easy path, especially not when it might mean days or weeks spent out in the open, with no haven to call their own. It is not safe, he thinks, who knows what will happen next? Ygritte he knows will follow him as her leader (that is the way of mates), but he would not demand that of the rest of them. He respects them too much,
"Everyone," he says quietly, and then a little louder as his own certainty grows: "Everyone!"
"There are enough of us here that Beqanna might grant us a land. I would gladly go to the Mountain to ask it of her, but i believe i must do so as your leader. Would you all trust me to do this for you, and for us? I do not know what this strange new Beqanna holds for us, but I am sure that were we to have a place of our own, we could better weather any storm that might come." He falls quiet and still, and his smiling face is more serious now. The journey back up the mountain is likely to be a treacherous one, but he would do it for his family and his friends.
Eiria smiled as the king hurried over to greet Anahi, clearly happy that a familiar face was here. The champagne filly dipped her head in respect to the king, glad to see he was here and alive as well. Another group of horses arrived, led by Neoma. Eiria did not fail to spot the familiar champagne roan colt with the black mane and tail near the front of the group.
"Nerius!" she shouted, racing over to greet her brother. She nuzzled the colt along his neck, nickering in greeting, glad to have him back. Anahi came over and did the same, the dam's eyes filled with love as she was reunited with another one of her foals.
Raxa was the next to arrive, followed by the paint stallion Jedi and the gray mare Sunfall. Eiria whinnied to them, glad they had managed to find the group as well. Her eyes bulged with sympathy when she noticed how heavy Raxa and Sunfall were getting; more than likely, they would be due to foal within the next couple of days.
The filly returned to greeting her brother, overcome with joy. She said hello to the others, Neoma, Blazed, as well, though everyone began to quiet down when Kreios spoke up, clearly having something to say to them all.
When he was finished, Eiria found no hesitation in her words. She took a couple of steps forward and dipped her head to the king, "As I have done before, and for all the years I lived in the Falls, I place my trust in you Kreios. Whether we acquire a land or not, as you have before, I have little doubt you will continue to lead us with wisdom and just so that we can survive during these times. You have my full support."
Jedi, Raxa and Sunfall trailed down the mountain, it took a while but they did it together. They agreed to search for the Falls members in the Meadow, Raxa hurried off while Jedi took his time. It wasn’t long until he found the Falls members gathered a smile grew on his maw, it was an overwhelming feeling to see all of them again. His pace quickened as he gathered to her Kreios speak, the stallion talked about taking over new lands, similar to the Falls. Of course! he exclaimed with excitement. He was nervous for his future, the Falls was all he knew, at least if he stayed with the kingdom members he would feel more at home. Perhaps he would have all the same responsibilities, or less with so many equines, more time to spend with his future children.
He dipped his head to the King with pride It would be an honor to serve alongside you yet again his gaze looked for the large stallion. And turned to listen to a champagne mare he wasn’t too familiar with, she had similar feelings.
The appaloosa stallion appeared after Raxa and before Kreios spoke, the King discussed the forming a herd together. Basically the Falls without all actual Falls lands, of course he wanted to be with his Kingdom but in all honestly perhaps it would be nice to go his own way. All he could think about was Gyps, he needed to speak to her before he made any decisions, he need to find her.
His attention flickered to Jedi who spoke, of course he was so quick to make up his mind, his mate would follow him. He didn’t know anything other than the Falls, but Andras was born and raised in the Falls change was good. His sister spoke up saying she would like to stay in the kingdom and he slightly rolled his eyes, maybe it was just the relation to Archam but she instantly annoyed him. He cleared his throat before speaking Kreios you are a great King but I need to find Gyps before I can make any commitments, I will seek you out should I choose to follow you he gave a dip of his hornless head and moved away from the group.
Let Go Of The Thoughts That Don't Make You Stronger
Ygritte is not far from the group. She stands quietly next to her spotted daughter. The pink-orange muzzle brushes the spotted wither of Marlyn, encouraging the young mare to follow. Lobes flicker as she hears the band of Falls residents and she smiles with a sigh of relief.
Though Marlyn stands taller than her mother, she is a leggy girl of two, wide eyed and confused. The spotted mare remains close as her mother guides her. The pair eventually breach the coverage of forest and step into the meadow. The tall grasses of summer are long gone and Ygritte feels her youngest daughter shiver against her. The russet woman lips at the dark mane to draw her closer as they near the group .
Pools meet Kreios' own as he stands before the gathering but the former queen does not interrupt him nor disturb the watching crowd. Marlyn is practically bouncing on slender, feathered limbs. The girl smiles brightly to her father and attempts to cut the group to greet him but Ygritte stops her with a stern gaze. "Let the discussion finish, sweet girl." Ygritte speaks slowly with a bowed head, secluding the conversation.
BUT HOW COULD YOU KNOW THE SWEETEST SUFFERING OF MOVING ON
He isn’t quite as quick as he had been. The magic wiped from their bodies has slowed him down, exhausting him much more than he ever thought possible. The lack of power in his bones makes him feel brittle and as though he can offer nothing to anyone who needs it. His heart is both angry, but also disappointed. In wandering through the meadow he has witnessed the solemnity that has plagued many others and the worry that has enveloped the rest. Each one of them are scrambling to find their families and their loved ones just as Tiphon originally had. With many within his reach he has found enough comfort in roaming to find others who are in similar despair.
All of them are suffering.
A deep breath is drawn into his lungs and he inches from the treeline upon seeing Kreios. Their previous meeting had been brief and slightly bitter, but Tiphon hadn’t been certain as to the reason. He wasn’t here for the raids, but he was seeing the repercussions across the kingdoms. Is the past moot now, he wonders, now that the world has crumbled and risen again? Their home has been rebirthed from ashes and with so much at stake he contemplates whether grudges will continue to be held, or if they will wither as each of them struggle to find means of survival.
”Kreios,” he says when he reaches the group of horses. The scent of the Falls surges into his nostrils and it’s already nostalgic thinking of their homes and what has been laid waste by the untamed magic. ”Everyone,” his aurulent eyes sweep over their faces with concern despite the bitter stares he may receive. ”My offer still stands, Kreios,” he looks to their leader as he had during their last meeting, ”in that I want to help you and your family in any way I can. Although, at this time, I cannot heal injuries, I can offer at least one thing.” He pauses to consider this and to take regard to the situation that he is all too familiar with. ”If, in the case, Beqanna denies your petition for a home, which I hope won't happen, we would graciously – and happily – like to offer you a home. I, and my family, are currently petitioning for land.” There is no definite way of knowing that they will be granted a home, he realizes. Assuming that the idea is also trickling across their minds, he adds, ”Of course, it isn’t guaranteed, but I hate to see anyone left with nowhere to go. I can only hope that our request will be regarded kindly. If not, perhaps all of us can join together and try another time.”
Ygritte
