"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
02-01-2018, 12:58 AM (This post was last modified: 02-01-2018, 12:59 AM by Trekori.)
Mother had said to come here - to the place where lost souls are harbored. She had spoken with such tenderness, with a love that Trekori felt bestowed upon himself each time their paths crossed - and though it was many still, as he required her milk, those times of togetherness would soon cease to occur. His father, he sees less still - but with each encounter, a firmer bond grows. One of unspoken trust, and of loyalty.
Trekori loves them, in his way.
Today, he moves to meet another of their band, a brother. Little of him was ever spoken, as little was ever known - but Trekk had seen him once, in the field, and knew in which direction he had departed. It was in that same direction that Noori pointed him, and now, he has reached his destination.
The land is cool, welcoming, a silent sort of embrace that welcomes the child, that ruffles his golden wings and causes the light at the end of his horn to glow more brightly. His nostrils flare, his guard dropping in the curiosity this land inspires - he likes it far better than Tephra, thus far. It's heat, it's ash, hadn't suited him. Here, the water is clear - and calm.
02-15-2018, 10:41 PM (This post was last modified: 05-10-2018, 02:18 PM by takei.)
Takei
As quickly as it had gone, it came back (his eyesight). One morning he woke up to find the world drenched in color and shape, so different from the year he spent in the shapeless, dark void. And when Takei had glanced at his reflection, the onyx horns had glanced back. They were short at the time, but every week they gain length and their ends become more pointed, more dangerous. He truly doesn’t mind that factor.
But he’s been planning to leave Hyaline for quite some time, though he hasn’t taken action just yet. The mountainous kingdom has been generous to him in his time of darkness — and he will be forever grateful for Keeper’s initial invitation into her home — but the quiet, lakeside life doesn’t suit him. It could be something he could grow into, but for now it rubs at some unfitting pieces of him like an ill-fitting shoe that needs to be stretched some.
He’s walking out toward the borders when he hears his name called with a thin voice. The gold and ivory colt standing nearby doesn’t have the same blood and bone color that father and firstborn both carry, but Takei doesn’t have any trouble identifying his younger brother. For a moment, he is confused. He can’t remember the last time he saw Noori, let alone his parents together.
He steps toward the boy on hesitant legs. “I’m Takei,” he says when he reaches a close enough distance to talk. Takei had imagined himself to have his own children before he ever saw another sibling of his (especially not a full-blooded sibling; but he can tell the boy is his full brother in the formation of his wings and the pattern on his body and the slope of his face). “You’re my brother, aren’t you? What’s your name?”
02-19-2018, 11:12 PM (This post was last modified: 02-19-2018, 11:13 PM by Trekori.)
Trekori
i'm freezing, it's not winter yet but my fingers and toes are shivering beneath these sheets and i feel so alone i don't want to die, i want to sleep
In truth, he doesn't know what to expect of his brother. In looks, in disposition. Their parents were not like to raise any child further than absolutely necessary after all - two mentally deranged people, lost in the stars with eyes only for each other. They tried their best, and so of course Trekori doesn't hold it against them - but they did fall short. As most who wander in a world beyond do.
He arrives quickly, quietly, a bone-and-blood figure that Trekori recognizes as brother. Hesitant - a similarity between them. Trekori stands waiting, observing his approach, watching the roll of his muscled shoulders and the way that his oryx horns gleam in the soft Hyalinian sunlight. When his voice sweeps across the child, he smiles a little: a secret happiness.
"My name is Trekori," comes the colt's tenor voice. "And yes, of course I am." He is nearly a yearling now, standing tall but not as tall as his brother, skinny at the shoulders and hips. One might see each rib that guards his lungs and heart, if it weren't for the wings clinging desperately to that area. A strange and lanky figure, one that perhaps Takei once looked like, though for now, he seems far healthier. Perhaps it has something to do with not being blind any more.
"Is this your home?" His amethyst eyes look pointedly at the mountains. "It seems beautiful. Lots of places to hide."
02-26-2018, 02:55 PM (This post was last modified: 05-10-2018, 02:18 PM by takei.)
Takei
There is another, wandering somewhere between Beqanna and the Beyond, a full-blood brother between the three of them. Takei had only heard of him in passing (in the short conversations between his parents on those summer nights long ago) but he knows of him still. An older brother, at that. Takei had never fathomed himself to be an older brother — he had honestly figured he would be the last one. His parents had abandoned each other following his maturity and he hadn’t seen them since.
But it is obvious they are together again, somehow, in the form of his new brother. The boy is nearly a year old (skinny and jaunty and looking like the golden version of their father), Takei muses as he looks him over. He nearly laughs aloud at the sound of his brother’s name — the mashed concoction of their parents’ names — but controls it to an amused smile.
“No.” Hyaline offered itself as a sanctuary for Takei when his eyesight disappeared, but he never considered it his home. “This is Hyaline.” Although Trekori’s eyes turns toward the mountains, the blood-and-bone keeps his own gaze on the colt. There’s a quick dagger of disappointment in his chest when his little brother mentions his lack of a home. He isn’t surprised; their parents never were the type to find a place and stick their flag among the dirt.
Rather than responding to that prompt, Takei asks a different question. “How are Mom and Dad?”
i'm freezing, it's not winter yet but my fingers and toes are shivering beneath these sheets and i feel so alone i don't want to die, i want to sleep
Ah, yes, Daemron - I too have heard of him from our parents. And Nihlus and Cerva as well, though not so often from both parents do I hear about the latter two. Something about our mom being a slut - but I'm a little too young to really want to picture those images, but I could if I wanted to I suppose. At any rate, her and dad are settled down now, and although she cries a lot (too much), I think they're going to make it this time.
Maybe that's naive of me. But I'm just a fucking kid.
I wonder at the barely restricted grin that flashes across Takei's face when I introduce myself, having never really considered the origin of my name, though it's not exactly a hard one to figure out. But the blood-and-bone stallion is moving on quickly, so I let it slide, unconcerned with such trivial things.
"Not your home, just where you live, huh?" I cock an eyebrow and cast my eyes to the surrounding flora, then up to the mountaintops with a sigh. "I guess I can relate to that." Perks of having homeless parents hey? I consider asking if he wants to move somewhere with me then, but something tells me that he wouldn't have a damn clue about where to go either. So instead, I listen to his next question, easing my weight into a hip as I grow more comfortable.
"They're giving it their all this time, which I admire, cause sometimes I think it's hard for them to be together. Mom's been having lots of nightmares lately, or at least, the last time I was with them for a night anyway." I make a face a little at remembering the way Noori cried and clung to Trekk under the stars, loudly rending her demons public, though I suppose that I was the only one around to hear. But I don't really mind. I can understand making mistakes and then regretting them.
She's a good mom, and I love her. I love him, too. I hope one day that I can love someone as much as my dad loves my mom...
"But I think they're going to make it this time." I look at him piercingly, though in truth I'm a little uncomfortable with this whole situation - as always. "They told me about hey they split up right after you grew up."
These two are never allowed to change their html, they have such cute brother html I love it
@[Takei]
03-05-2018, 03:40 PM (This post was last modified: 05-10-2018, 02:18 PM by takei.)
Takei
His brother is growing up too quickly. Takei can see it among the lines of his face and the weight of his words. Although their parents did their damn best to protect, provide, and raise their children, there is no doubt that Trekori will grow up much the same as the rest. Takei’s heart aches for his brother, but he admits that there isn’t much he can do about it. He’s barely providing for himself as it is.
If Trekori had asked if they could live together, the assumptions would be true. The blood-and-bone wouldn’t know where to go. The only place he had ever felt he could call home was the island, and it was swept away by means he couldn’t understand. So he moves with the motion of the conversation, twisting his ears forward to catch his little brother’s response.
He isn’t surprised that Noori is having nightmares. Their mother has endured a lot in her past (in her childhood, in the times before Eight and Trekk and Sinder, in the times before Takei himself) and eventually it would catch up to her in one form or another. “Our mother’s gone through a lot of shit.” Takei’s voice isn’t stern or compassionate; he sounds as though he were stating a simple fact.
He’s sure it could be unnerving for the colt regardless, so he takes a few steps forward. Takei had originally intended to touch his brother in some sort of comforting way, but suddenly he realizes he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing. So he stops just a few feet shy of touching Trekori, an uncomfortably confused look crossing his face.
The man eagerly jumps back into the rhythm of conversation before acknowledging the awkward moment. “They did. I didn’t think they’d get back together.” His eyes scan the terrain behind Trekori, wondering if his parents were somewhere in the background, watching from a distance. But that’s silly thinking and Takei gives his head and neck a rough shake to clear his mind. “I’m glad they’re doing better.”
i'm freezing, it's not winter yet but my fingers and toes are shivering beneath these sheets and i feel so alone i don't want to die, i want to sleep
It runs in the family, I suppose, this inability to properly care for those around you, never mind yourself. Trekk and Noori are trying to again, but that leaves little to no attention devoted just to me. I get by though, and yeah I'm growing up quick, but it's clear that he did too. All my siblings did; we had to. We weren't allowed to be dependent - I mean, there wasn't really much to depend upon.
Our parents mean well, and we can both see that. Despite some reservations, we also give them passes for their shortcomings - there's no point in holding their negligence against them. They would be too distracted to listen.
When Takei allows that Noori has indeed been through a lot of shit, I nod gravely. She has, and again, I forgive her for that which she cannot give me. I am growing up quick, but I'm also doing fine on my own; my ribs might poke out a bit, but I'll get there soon. Wherever the hell there is, anyway. And maybe I can help my brother get there, too; he seems about as lost as I am.
I smile weakly at his failed attempt at a familial touch, grateful for how quickly he recovers after the awkward moment. I do not mean to accentuate the stumble by any means, but there is little for me to do. So instead I listen to his final words, and nod in agreement. "I am too."
Glancing behind me, I figure that it's about time I head back - back to where is questionable, though I do have something of an idea. I look back to Takei. "Well, I better head out. Thank you for meeting with me, brother. It's good to have a face for your name." I grin a little, trying out his expression on my own face. "If you ever feel like it, you can find me in Ischia."
Stepping forward, I do what he could not, pressing my nose to his. A kind of goodbye - though I hope to see him again soon.
