"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
The wind here was swletering, it made the flies attack her flesh with a passion causing her to flip her head and lash her long ebony tail on her sides as she trudged along in this heat. Dai sighed softly and came to a halt in her forward march and surveyed her surroundings. She had wondered into a serene environment with lush green grass and an abundance of shade trees, she shook her head again and angled her self towards a little grove of shade trees. She need to cool off, her black and blue coat not offering any relief from the heat just soaking it up. Making her hot and sweaty.
She finally came to the grove of trees to find a little creek running through them. Jack pot. This would be where she will spend her nights unless a stallion comes a swoops her up. She shivered at the thought. She slinked towards the water, dipping her head and taking long gulps of the cool fresh water. Dai smirked as she brought her head up it looked deep enough for her to take a well deserved dip. And so she did. The cool water felt heavenly on her over heated body she tiltd her head back slightly and relished the feeling of peace and relief
Things had begun to stir in Loess, her ‘home’ (if she even wanted to call it that just yet). What once was a quiet, solitary land now became buzzing with life and new residents, which Merida knows is good for a growing kingdom but she could not help but feel a bit distraught at the idea of new strangers roaming throughout. She didn’t mind meeting new people; but she was constantly on edge and wary (a bit untrusting, at first) with anyone she came in contact with. That is why she decided to venture from Loess, to relief herself from the anxiety of the bustling liveliness that was now there.
Summer has hit Beqanna with full force, the sun steaming up the land with its intensity. Merida’s black skin felt uncomfortable beneath its heat, itching and shining with a coat of sweat that had settled over her. Even her mane, fiery red and normally running wild around her face, clings tightly to the curve of her freckled neck in the summer heat. As she walks through the meadow, she could plainly see the waves of heat as it flickers above the grass, the lazy hum of bees filling her ears. Quietly but quickly, with a purposeful trot, the strong black mare brings herself to the creek. She used to wander the meadow frequently before she found Loess, and remembers well the different landmarks that pepper the wide, open field.
She remembers the creek from two winters past, completely frozen over and solid. Merida comes to a halt before the now fluidly moving water, her dark red eyes staring at the flow thoughtfully. She remembers falling through the ice and the tightness of the cold water in her chest and nostrils; she remembers the eerie magicians who brought her to safety – not without a cost.
The black mare shakes her head to rid herself of the memory, but her heart rate has already increased from the recollection. Without another thought she steps into the water, the coolness immediately soothing her hot legs. She enters until she is up to her chest, lowering her muzzle to drink from it. Merida had been distracted in her own thoughts previously, but now she realizes that she is not alone in the creek. With a soft snort that causes ripples of water to leave from where her nostrils touch the water, she lifts her head curiously as she watches the blue mottled mare. “The heat is dreadful, isn’t it?”
Dai sighs softly as she felt the cool water run over her back and her rump making her long ebony mane stick to her neck. She wasn't paying any mind to anything else on this planet beside her self and the amazing water. So naturally the sound of someone else's voice made her jump slightly. The fea opened her bright sea foam colored eyes and was met by the keeper of the voice that spoke to her. It was a mare with a dark bodice and firey red mane and tail. Daimhin waded towards the bank to get out of the water and to stop acting like a filly. "Yes, It is. My name is Daimhin you can call me Dai if you would like" she said chuckling softly. Her mother blessed her with a mouthful of a name. Its not that the mare didn't like it it was just so much to say, but it was Irish for little deer because Dai used to spend her time playing with fawns whilst she was younger. Now the deer were just passer byes.
She looked over at the firey maned mare "What brings you to the Meadow?" she asked cocking her head slightly interest deep with in her green orbs. She lashed her long ebony tail quickly on both of her flanks and sighed softly "These bugs are the worst" she said then shaking her head to get the flies out of her eyes
She’s partly glad that she’s found her way to the meadow today, despite the terrible sweltering heat and the flies that bump aggressively against her sweating skin, drawn to the moisture there. Even the creek is beginning to rise in temperature from the everlasting heat day in and day out, and after a moment, the cool water does not seem as refreshing against her body as it did moments before. Merida’s black legs easily move through the muck and grime at the bottom of the creek, crunching on pebbles covered with smooth algae. Even tiny minnows nibble at her fetlocks, attracted to the sand she stirs up. The strong and muscular black mare heaves herself out of the creek, water falling in buckets down her back and shoulders, splashing downwards with a big slop. The fiery red tendrils of her mane and forelock cling helplessly to the freckled red of her ebony neck, leftover creek water still pouring in rivulets down her muscled shoulders and legs, pooling beneath her hooves in the soft, compacted sand in which she now stood.
Merida comfortably positions herself beside the blue marbled mare, which named herself as Daimhin (or Dai). The summer breeze gently brushes itself against the duo, lifting damp hairs from their skin and even though it was a warm wind, brought a refreshing coolness over them for the moment. Merida isn’t really one to go out and search for a conversation, but she has found that she is more comfortable with mares than she is with stallions. The many experiences she’s had with the male species have left her skeptical and rather unimpressed, whereas mares were easier for her to understand and communicate with (since she was one herself).
The black mare tilts a single back hoof as she shifts her hips, resting casually beside Dai. As the blue roan mare speaks, Merida aggressively swats her tail against a stinging bite from a fly on her haunch. “Tell me about it,” she murmurs with an eye roll and a huff leaving her dark lips.
“Call me Merida,” she begins, a slight lilt of a Scottish accent to her slow and fluid voice. “Ah, if only I had an actual purpose being out here today. Merely got bored back in Loess and needed a change in scenery.” Merida has closed her eyes slightly now, almost sleepily, though a single black ear was trained on her companion beside her. The soft hum of bees buzzing lazily over the green grasses behind them fill the quiet silence that grows between them, as well as the gentle lapping of the creek’s water against the shoreline, licking at Merida’s fore hooves. She thinks back to her weeping willow that she sleeps under, wondering if it would have been smarter to stay within the shade of Loess than venture out in this heat.
“What about you? Certainly something more than boredom brings you out here. Hopefully a reason far more interesting than mine.”
