"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
Just as the seasons changed so did the structure around them. Leaders rose and leaders fell. Nothing was to remain a constant in her life. Just as she became familiar with one land it changed. Maybe this is why she was a wanderer. Never to expect nothing more then unfamiliarity. So as the darkness came over the lands once again she looked to the skies for comfort. For familiarity. The stars rarely changed. The patterns in the night sky remained as they were then and as they were now...
In her nightly travels new lands had risen from the breast of Beqanna. They asked for more and she givith. So her destination was just that, something new. With ease she morphed with the thought in her mind and settled again by that of a river. The twisting and turning as it bent to the will of the land. It gave life to all that surrounded it. All who seeked it out. Without it the lands would shrivel to dust. Becoming barren of life sustaining vegetation. She watched it flow so carelessly but with so much strength and purpose. She smiled in contentment.
Steele gaze looked about curiously. It was quiet here which she liked very much. Tranquil in it's newness still but she was sure someone had laid claims to it. Who, she would maybe soon know. She was trespassing after all...
DANCING NEON
and i felt closer to the stars for having loved you
so often times it happens that we live our lives in chains,
The breeze is gentle – weaving through the tightly knit oak and pine and their spindly, wiry branches – rustling through bright, lively vegetation and rattling the dry and brittle bark. The usually vivid sky left dull and gray with a looming storm, and the atmosphere is dense with precipitation as the sun clashes with the boundary line of the heavy haze – letting only bleak, minuscule rays of light gleam onto the thicket canopy, and across the roaring water below. The woodland is quiet, dark – with no light to penetrate the unyielding shadow and the bristling frigidity, it is a serene respite from the humidity and heat of summer.
Change is constant – as powerful and as relentless as the river itself, and perhaps that is in part why it feels so intricately woven in with the very thread he is built of. He had never denied change; it was impossible to resist and without it, each long and winding day would be stagnant and without purpose. He had known stability, and the comfort of steadiness by the hand of his own father – but he had grown bored; and longed for change.
And change had come.
The deafening roar of the water is soothing, drawing him out of the brush and into the pale light of day, his pallid skin gleaming within its dreary tint. His hazel eyes search along the perimeter of the riverside, a scent unfamiliar to him enveloping him as the soft mist of the rushing rapids cascades across him. Quietly, his long limbs carrying him south towards the lingering figure, observing the faint silver shade of her own skin, and the dark, tangled tresses that lay across her neck.
”Hello,” he says simply, though careful to raise his voice above the sound of the rumbling water. ”I haven’t seen you here before; welcome to the river. My name is Canaan – what is yours?”
Enticed by the flow of the water her gaze landed upon it again. Content on watching it in it's travels. A breeze drafted from behind her tossing ebony tassels about. She loved the feeling of the wind in her mane. It had been forever that she had ran anywhere, or let alone even walked. Maybe she would take a stroll about these lands...
As she pivoted to head farther north on foot this time her gaze fell upon a golden figure nearing... Magnus? He was the only golden horse she had been familiar with. A slight smile brought forth on her lips as memories surfaced. Seemingly like ages ago they had traveled to the beaches of Tephra. Her memories were cut short as upon closer viewing it was not Magnus. She couldn't recall having met the stranger nearing. As he called forth a greeting she smiled once again. A question was asked so an answer was to be given, " G'Day Sir. I am Neon. " She paused momentarily to further think of what to say then continued, "I wish not to disturb ye's home. I 'twas seeking a new view..." She really wasn't sure what she was looking for, if anything. She usually just went where the wind took her...
DANCING NEON
and i felt closer to the stars for having loved you
so often times it happens that we live our lives in chains,
The wind was every bit as much of him as the blood that thrust through his veins or the marrow in his bones; it had been a part of him for as long as his memory could recall. He wielded it with the sheer will of his own mind, controlling its strength and presence and many times without intention.
It is a comfort to him, to feel a gentle breeze entangling itself within his two-toned mane, to feel the enveloping power of a harsh gust urging him along. The soft whistle of the air weaving its way between the russet feathers that line the broad plane of his wings soothes him, and even as though the atmosphere is unpredictable, there are very few moments in which he is content to simply be left with the stillness of stagnant air.
Though the zephyr has risen without his conscious will, it sweeps down along the winding course of the river, cascading alone the unknown figure standing before him, intertwining in her dark tresses. He can hardly stifle a chuckle in the thickness of his throat – hardly anyone knew he was capable of harnessing the wind; he supposed that unless he was using it to control the actions of another, it mattered little.
His dark eyes study her for a long moment, observing the bridge of her nose and the hollow of her cheek, a flicker of recognition within the golden flecks of his gaze. ”You were in Tephra,” he muses softly, a warm smile lingering. ”I think you know my father, Magnus. I feel like I remember seeing you.” A pause, as his gaze searches the thick line of vegetation, the jagged line of worn stone and the river itself.
”Not to worry – I am only standing watch. I don’t care much for politics, at least not at this stage in my life.” His voice is thick, and rich with amusement. ”I see the river as a refuge. A place to come and go, but to call home when needed. You are welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”
Steele gaze glided with ease across the stranger. Though he didn't seem so much of one. A familiarity in his posture and structure reminded her of the golden stallion. It was all too possible that Magnus bore children but she had not had the pleasure of meeting any. His thoughts seemed to process one of recognition. She cocked her hind hoof as she waited...
Just then as he finally placed a finger upon it. He spoke of the kingdom from which she came and his relation of son to Magnus. The world never ceased to amaze her. She smiled gently as he talked of having seen her in passing, though it was rare to see her at all. So she was surprised at that. Usually only wandering at night under the comfort of the stars. With a nodd of her crown, acknowledging his words, she voiced her opinion on the matter, "Yes I had called Tephra home. 'Tam unsure to where I belong anymore. Ye's Father 'twas a grand leader. Accepting those as they were." She thought back to those days for a moment as she listened to his own rule here. Finding him even more like his Father. Upon hearing his invitation to stay and call his land home now she smiled again. She wasn't one to be tethered to such things as diplomacy or politics herself but to defend those she cared for was easily done without position. Her response wasn't immediate though and she wondered if he wished to journey about the new lands as well so she asked her own question instead, "Twould ye care to accompany thee on a walk, M'Lord?" She realized that neither of them must walk but it had been a while since she had stretched her own legs. Her gaze fell north to a treeline of pines in the distance...
Strangers of the Night no more
DANCING NEON
and i felt closer to the stars for having loved you
