"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
We’re an odd trio, that’s for sure. Me, midnight black with four golden wings, two stretched over a yearling colt at one side and the other two draped protectively against a spindly filly on the other. All three black, with hints of gold and red, you could mistake us for family and that is exactly what I want others to think. Just a small, unassuming, flustered-looking family making their way to the Field for the first time as dusk begins to settle.
Tourist, almost.
@[Ander] and @[Jinju] (my young companions) are dependent on me now. A bachelor sort of life turned on its head by the mistakes of others. If they had known what sort of ripples their puny bitching would make, the idiots in charge of Taiga’s downfall might have done better to keep it in line. But, as the situation was different, I could only silently curse them and hope that all involved - horse to fey - would realize how utterly stupid they all were. Just big, dumb imbeciles living in a tiny pond.
“This is fun, huh?” I try with a chipper tone, head swinging between the two at my shoulders. “New places, new faces. New beginnings!” I force with obvious chagrin. Just what the hell was I supposed to do with a wobbly newborn and an emotionally scarred yearling? “Keep it together. Keep your shit together.” I chide myself internally as we slow to a halt, somewhere center-focus in the expanse of the spring grass. “Let’s rest for a bit, I know we’ve been walking for a while now.” I tell the two as my wings shuffle closed over my back.
It's practically night and I'm worried that we might only attract distasteful creatures, but I’m not perturbed. Innocent as they may seem, Ander and Jinju could wreck pure destruction if they were pushed. My only concern now is that someone might not come at all and that would be very unlucky.
OOC: Sapphire would like to reply first with Ander/Jinju before being recruited
It was impossible for Ander to get the sight of his mother going up in flames out of his mind. The fire had been so hot and bright, he had been forced to take a few steps back. Never before had his mother’s fire threatened to burn him, but today it would have. However, that wasn’t what had spooked him. For a moment he had thought that he had lost his mother. She had never been far from him, always watching him over, making sure he stayed out of trouble. Now it was quite the opposite, as he was suddenly forced to adapt the big brother role. The flame that had consumed his mother, had left behind an inky black girl with ruby eyes.
That said girl huddled at Terran’s other side. The wings that kept her close and sheltered made her feel a little bit more secure and less alone. She was still missing her Mama, who hadn’t replied to her calls. And Jinju just couldn’t understand why. Terran had promised to take care of her and from the very first moment she had laid her ruby eyes on him, she had known it was okay. There was this strange familiarity around them.
It was the openness of the field that made her press closer against his side. She had felt more at ease in the forest, but at the same time, Terran’s pretty golden wings offered her the same protection the trees had. And secretly she was curious to explore more of the world. Something told her she had done that too little, even though she was only a newborn. It has her nodding to Terran’s question, a small, quivering smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She doesn’t voice it out, not sure how her voice would hold. Her muzzle gently brushes across his shoulder, but her ruby eyes are already taking in the darkening field around them. ”W-where are we going?” she asks.
That question makes Ander lift his head too. Red eyes, meeting ruby for a second, but only a second, then look up to his father. He couldn’t be more happy and relieved that Terran had found them, he honestly wouldn’t have known what else to do. Just looking at Jinju made him squirm. This was his mother. And she was just a little baby now. And Ander didn’t know how he really felt about that. He thanked the lord that he hadn’t lost her, but he simply didn’t know how to deal with the situation on hand.
”Dad.. We will be sa- okay here, for the night?” he asks softly, not really wanting to spook his mother. He had lived in Taiga all his life, the idea of sleeping out in an open field was quite strange to him. Not just that. He had lost his home today, and his mother, in some way. Wasn’t too strange he was a bit – or quite – shaken up?
OOC: Jinju and Ander in one post ^^ depending on how the thread goes I'll post them seperately or together again
Ea had never enjoyed the Field. Seeking others out for conversation had never been her strong suit -- perhaps not the best quality for a leader -- and she found it uncomfortable competing with others over who had the better, more interesting home. Aside from tagging along with her mother as a young child, she had only ever recruited a handful of times after the destruction of their old homes, hoping to build Ischia’s numbers in the early days. Since Kerberos’s departure, Ea had found purpose again: cultivating her Ischian family.
She makes her way to the center of the open field, still a bit damp from the long swim. From there, she takes in her surroundings: a few mares and stallions of varying sizes and colors, the small number most likely due to the time of day. It was a little unusual to recruit just before nightfall, while most were trying to find shelter for the night, but Ea didn’t know that, of course. A small family catches her eye -- a stallion with two young children, all various shades of black with gold and red, the children huddled beneath the stallion’s wings. She starts to approach them as her ever-changing eyes turn red to adjust to the impending darkness, and as she reaches them, coming to a stop directly in front of the trio, she catches the tail end of the colt’s questions.
“Hello, I’m Ea,” she says, looking at each of them and then landing on the stallion, “from Ischia. It’s an island up north. If you’re looking for a place to stay, you’re welcome to come with me.” She pauses then, looking to the children. “The beaches light up blue at night, if you’d like to see,” she says with a quick smile.
It isn't often that one would find her here, as the golden queen is always swept up in her kingdom duties. Envoys always to be found dashing around her kingdom grounds in search of her, and strangers kissing her border, hoping to join the serene, peaceful land that was hers. But instead of remaining with her kingdom's grounds today she finds something snagging at her strings, dragging her forth into the field.
Her gaze flickers as she entered the rather crowded area, an arena for kingdom members to try in an effort to recruit new members to their kingdoms. Her heart flutters, as the stench of sweat and body odor finds it's way into her lungs, as old memories wedge their way into her mind. This was the place where her sister and her father found her, two people she presumed that were lost during the fall of Taiga. The people that made her who she is, were gone, or so she thought.
Hazel eyes leaping from side to side, scanning the premises to what had drawn her here, her nostrils gently flaring as a familiar scent reaches her nares. The sweet smell of embers and the faintest tinge of everdeen trees, Jinju. Her eyes dance around frantically, until she finds her, she finds them.
Terran, Ander, and Jinju, possibly her only living family members still walking on this earth. The sigh of the obsidian trio, brings a smile to her navy toned lips, as golden wings at her side gently flutter in excitement as she makes her way towards them. But when she reaches them, something is different. Jinju is younger, wait no, she's a filly? But this indeed unmistakably is Jinju.She was still her sister within Heda's eyes, therefore she would not be treated any differently. "Jinju! Terran!" She exclaims her words coated in joy as she reaches the group, a mare stood near them trying to coax the trio to join her kingdom. "I'm glad to see you alright." She pauses taking time to gather and recollect what had happened to Taiga, and with a happy note she adds. "Ander, my love, my have you grown since I've last seen you!" She chuckles, allowing herself to near the boy to fully inspect him.
She felt horrible not being the fun aunt she hoped to be for him, to steal him away and frolic through the playground and Loess for a day. All those fanatasies she longed to have were halted by her queenly duties, if only she could turn back time to grow closer with her only nephew.
Her gaze turns to the mare, her smile still glinting, "Hello, I'm afraid we haven't met. I'm Heda, Queen of Loess." Her navy tail stirs at her hocks. "Speaking of Loess, I'd love for all of you to join me in Loess. It's quite breath taking right now, especially during the evening when the moon illuminates the crimson hills and the sky comes alive with stars." Her gaze lifts to the sky for a brief moment, before focusing upon her golden, red, and ebony family members.
OOC: I couldn't help myself, Heda loves her family!
09-26-2017, 10:44 AM (This post was last modified: 09-26-2017, 02:22 PM by Terran.)
Terran
I was more than glad to find them, too. The simple comfort of having them both here, beside me, had put to rest a discomfort I’d long been harboring since Jinju and I had ghosted each other. Looking at her now you would never believe that we were parents together; in fact, it almost astounds me that we’ve come this far. Her soft touch reassures me, though - we could do this. I could do this. “For now, yes.” I tell Ander gently, but the tone indicates no further room for discussion. If I had my own son questioning me every step of the way, the three of us won’t get very far.
And that’s exactly what I want to do - get very far away from here. Our first ticket to that end comes in the form of a mare, approaching delicately enough that I know not to stop her. From the smattering of starlight she looks almost black, the only pale thing about her being the trim of bone mane and tail to set her into a lovely-looking frame. “Ea, pleasure -” I begin, fully intent on asking her the first question that comes to mind when she mentions the word island but my thoughts are halted by a newcomer.
This other mare is increasingly more familiar by scent alone, and when she calls out to us across the expanse, edging closer with each confident stride, I know exactly who’s approaching. “Heda.” I name her, though my tone is flat. Inside of myself I feel joy - no doubt radiating from Heda herself - and it reminds me with a sharp edge why I’d not stayed long inside the confines of Loess. Jinju had (near the end of her first life) wanted to stay far from involved with her adoptive sister and it had confused me, at first.
But my journey to Loess and Ander’s birth had opened my eyes. Heda, despite being cheerful enough to always seem appealing, was often rude and sometimes abrasive in her speech. Even when she draws close to Ander I can’t help but extended a wing of comfort to my son, or from shifting to press Jinju close to my shoulder. With Heda, even if I wanted to feel uncomfortable, oftentimes I simply couldn’t. She’s conveniently skipped right over the fact that Jinju was a baby - the transformation seems to not bother her at all and, with another mental note, it reminds me that she sees but does not care to actually look.
“I’m sure the children would love a visit … someday.” I offer lightly enough, my smile all but lost to the darkness. “But for now we should get to know each other, yes?” I tempt, turning to look between the two children at my sides before raising my eyes to the mares before us. “Ea, you say that Ischia is an island filled with delight - but how are my young supposed to get there? I’m the only one capable of flight between the three of us.” I ponder aloud, growing silent to allow for her reply.
To Heda I simply ask, “Loess is landlocked by two tumultuous kingdoms, has your guard grown in strength since my first visit? Jinju and Ander’s safety is my only priority now.”
All around these golden beacons, I see nothing but black
Although her eyes had strayed away from the black, golden winged stallion, she is looking back at him again. The answer doesn’t come and secretly the inky filly is a bit sad when he does answer Ander’s question that follows hers. Not that she gets time to ponder over it much longer. A silver bay mare appears.
Jinju looks at her from her spot at Terran’s side, safely hidden underneath two of his four golden wings. It felt so natural, so familiar too, and she’s glad for the support. It gives her just enough courage to study Ea. And Terran didn’t seem to mind her presence. The ruby eyed girl even stepped a little forward, as if she was peeking around her hiding spot, the promise of a pretty blue lighted beach at night. The beach alone was already something new for her to discover.
With a smile and enthusiastic twinkle in her eyes her gaze moves back to Terran, to silently plead him. It also makes her unaware of the arrival of another. Well, that’s until her name – and Terran’s - gets loudly exclaimed. But even though it is laced with joy, the suddenness startles her. Just as the fact that the mare seems to know them. Jinju didn’t know her. Pressing closer against Terran’s side, the inky girl is glad the buckskin and midnight mare seemed more interested in Ander than in her.
It doesn’t stop her from peeking around the solid back chest, ears perked forward and slightly drawn to the happiness and joy that seems to radiate from the mare. It probably would’ve lured her too, if Terran hadn’t been there to keep her safely at his side. Her ruby eyes lock on both mares at Heda turns to talk to Ea, her dark head slightly tilted. Just like the blue beach, a starry sky and moon illuminated hills sounded very nice too.
But Jinju doesn’t know politics. And even if she did, Terran was much quicker to reply. And yes! Jinju would love to visit. ”Oh yes, can we visit one day?” she asks, beaming and nodding her head. It was like suggesting a kid to go to an attraction park, who wouldn’t deny that? That it was an option to live there never really occurred to Jinju.
10-03-2017, 02:55 PM (This post was last modified: 10-03-2017, 02:56 PM by Ander.)
He hadn’t even been an hour old when he had first met her and after that time, Ander had never seen his aunt again. Neither had he heard about her from either his mother, grandpa or Polaris. Logically he had always assumed that his mother side of the family didn’t go further than grandpa Ruan and Polaris, his glassy aunt. But like that, Ander had never really thought about Terran’s family.
Taiga had been family. And Taiga was gone now. Lost, perhaps even forever. What had become of all those who lived there? Grandpa, Polaris, aunt Circy, Crevan and all the others? And that wasn’t the only thing emotional ballast he had to deal with. Ander had seen his mother die – and rise reborn – with his own eyes. Eyes that resembled hers so much.
With those same eyes he stares up at the winged mare. He inspects her, just like she was eyeing him, though he’s glad for his father’s wing drooped over his back. ”Hi!” he greets back, too enthusiastic for how he should be feeling. Ander simply cannot shake the joyous and excited feeling off, and his golden pointed ears point forward. And secretly, he takes pride too. He had grown and which colt didn’t like to hear that? Still, he hadn’t reached Terran’s height, not Heda’s or Ea’s. He would, in the future, but that was still a couple of years ahead of him. ”I’m also much faster! Though.. I cannot seem to surprise dad..” But even that disappointed is dulled by the happiness.
The conversation carries on to more formal business, something he is yet too young to really have formed an opinion on. He knows they are talking about homes, new homes, to settle. No Taiga anymore. But Ander doesn’t know better than Taiga. However, he does know what he values. ”Are there forests on your lands?” he curiously asks, his neck bending so he can look from the one queen to the other.
OOC: Sorry for the wait! Will try to be a bit more active.
Ea
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