"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
“Yes, everyone,” he repeats to her with a gentle laugh, a little bit of incredulity in his voice - as if it had been silly for her to even question such a thing. Svedka tilts his head, his cerulean gaze diving into the depths of her wide and curious eyes, really attempting to piece together what lies so close beneath the surface, yet remains hidden. “Of course, water-walker. There is a destiny - a design - for everything and everyone. Even if there is a mistake made, or tragedy strikes, destiny still manages to find a way.” His eyes narrow, feeling solemn suddenly as he explains this to her, wondering why she is so engrossed in his belief and his ancestor’s superstitions and stories. “We were meant to find each other, one way or another. Destiny finds a way.” His voice is stern as he repeats himself, wanting her to really hear what he is saying and hoping that it stays with her, and gives her hope and light for whatever sorrow and grief that had just crossed her beautiful eyes.
Remember that, please, when we part. Remember me, he doesn’t say.
“You must take me to Ischia, one day. I have tasted cool and clear water, but never one that is sweet.”
Her surprise is quick as it covers her face, and Svedka’s lips turn into a deep frown as she sputters the name of his country, wondering why there is shock written in her expression. “Yes...” his voice drawls out in a questioning tone, the frown fading as his thoughts blur together. “You’ve been there, haven’t you? Yet somehow we are only just now meeting.” A smile is now brushing across the paleness of his lips, a softness in his laughter as it leaves him.
To him, believing in such thing comes so natural, whereas it is a little harder to wrap her mind around for Kylin. It does not make sense, and yet, more and more things fall into place the longer she thinks about it. Which, of course, does not make it any less unsettling, however, it also fuel her excitement. If destiny did this, and all other things that had happened in her life, they must be a good reason. Really good too, going from all the hardships Kylin has gone through. Or, perhaps, Svedka is that said reason. He sort of insinuates the same. “We were meant to find one another?” she repeats after him, her voice soft and amazed, as if she is not yet ready to grasp it. Nevertheless, it is something she whole heartedly wants to believe.
Her eyes meet his for a short moment, only to glance away flustered. But she’s smiling, somewhat, and her stomach is fluttering. The promise of something new, something that is meant to be is thrilling and exciting. Almost too good to be true, but oh, Kylin knows she wants it.
His words make her chuckle, shaking her head ever so slightly as she looks up to meet his gaze rather amused. “Compared to the sea, all water is sweet” she tells him, and although it sounds quite rather-of-fact-like, she does not mean it in such way. Which she hopefully conveys through reaching out and gently nudging the side of his face with her muzzle. “But.. I.. I’m going to have you follow through on that… promise.” The looks in her hazel eyes plead him to come. “I would.. It would be fun to show you around..”
She can only nod when he fills in the gaps himself, learning why she is surprised without having to ask her. “I have..” she mumbles, glancing away only to peek up at him through her lashes right after again. “Twice even.. But the first time was five years ago.. or something..” Back then Hyaline had not been habited, and Father had claimed it as their home for the duration of the summer. After that, they had moved back to Ischia. “And last year again.. Ka-Kagerus.. found me on Ischia beach..”
“I believe so,” he replies confidently, the gentle curl of a smile on his pale lips. “And I believe we will find each other again.” The stallion closes any distance that may be between them, touching the pale lavender of her nose against his, nostrils fluttering. The innocent gesture suddenly turns intimate, however, as he begins to trace the soft velvet of her jawline, humming a quiet tune in his throat, his warm breath against the mottled purple and white of her skin that shivers in the winter’s cold. She did not have to believe wholeheartedly, he would believe enough for her.
He withdraws as her tinkling laughter cascades through her mouth, met with a lopsided and charming smile he so often adorns. She nudges his face, her muzzle finding his skin on her own and the touch electrifies him. As she pulls away, he follows, keeping her face close to his as she promises him adventure and seeing each other once more. The blue and white of his forelock has fallen over mischievous eyes, pressing a quick and fluttering kiss to her jawline, and then to her throat. “Then you must come find me, too,” Svedka breathes to her with a reckless grin, halting for a moment as he brings his chin to his chest and away from her. He doesn’t want to, but he knows that their time together is slowly coming to an end as snow begins to fall from the grey, clouded sky.
Svedka lowers his head and gently plucks a snowdrop flower that has pierced through the ice and snow, carefully holding it in his teeth. A small whinny strains from his mouth, bobbing his head a few times in playful candor, before stretching forward and placing the white bud in her mane, just behind her ear, in a streak of lavender. He places a warm kiss there, gentle and unassuming, before withdrawing wistfully.
“To remind you of your promise. Until we meet again.”
When she shudders again, it is not only because of the cold. And she is not ashamed of it. Kylin has always been one to prefer close proximity over respecting one another’s personal space, though Svedka’s touches are much bolder than just that. “I.. I hope we will..” she replies, softer and less confident than him, but clearly flustered. She does not pull away from his touch, and even though she does not lean into it, her hazel eyes flutter closed as her lips part to allow shallow breaths to pass through.
It is only when he makes her laugh that she opens them again. Her joy and amusement make soon room for surprise. Kylin’s eyes widen when he follows her, not allowing any distance to be created between them. She’s mesmerized, her gaze captured by his, and she can only glance away shyly as he continues to trail his lips down her skin. A sigh, soft, barely audible, but there. “In Hyaline..?” she asks, voice soft as a whisper. She only dares to glance up at him out of the corner of her hazel eye, but again finds herself unable to hold his gaze as her stomach flutters.
When he looks away, seemingly searching for something, oh, a flower. A very pretty flower, she dares to look at him again. Both her lavender ears are turned in his direction, and curiosity shows in her gaze. She’s about to ask what he is doing, when he plucks the flower and without hesitation reaches over towards her. It is in Kylin’s first instincts to pull away, but instead she stands frozen, only able to look at him in surprise as he moves to tuck the flower in her mane. “Sved-ka?” she manages to mutter out, shy gazing up at him through her lashes.
For a moment she studies him, her dished head tilting to the side, unable to keep some disappointment from showing upon her face. “You.. You’re leaving?”
@[Svedka]
I had forgotten how freaking hot he is :|
She is unsure and hesitant, her soft eyes framed by the whitest lashes he had ever seen as she blinks slowly up at him. All he can do is reassure her with the charming smile he so naturally adornes, his breath warm as it flutters across her jawbone and the slender slope of her lavender cheek. Snow alights on their bodies, gentle flakes of white clinging to the bold colors that streak through their mane and forelock. “In Hyaline,” he repeats in a murmur, nosing the snow-drop bud in her mane so that it would sit just right. “In Ischia...” he continues, his voice trailing off as he takes a step back to admire her, his cerulean gaze finding hers.
“I must,” he tells her, a soft frown deepening on his pale lips as he notices her disappointment, finding that it does not sit well on her beautiful face. “and you as well.” There is no a simper of laughter on his voice as he reaches forward to press the bridge of his nose against the solidity of her neck, inhaling the sweet and tropical scents from her homeland. Her skin is smooth and supple from the warmer climate of Ischia, and not at all ready to protect her from the harshness of freshly fallen snow - even though Svedka would provide her with his own warmth, if allowed, but it would not be enough, unfortunately. “Do not be sad, sea-maiden,” he says with a grin, stepping back a single step. “Destiny, remember?”
Svedka’s voice is unwavering and thick despite the falling snow. He wonders if his thoughts would ever wander away from this moment, or remain vividly in the forefront of his mind until he saw her again.
Somewhere along the way she had slowed down, until standing completely still ankle deep into the snow. Relentlessly the white crystals keep coming down, wetting their backs and mane, but Svedka keeps her mind too busy to notice. When she shivers, it is all due to his touch. Across her jaw, cheek and from there to just behind her ear, where he had planted the flower. “Soon..?” she asks almost breathlessly, lids heavy as she blinks her eyes while she looks at him. “I shouldn’t.. Not this close to…” she does not finish, instead glances away from him. After all, her barrel is round with another man’s child. “But after..”
Her disappointment grows, but Kylin finds herself nodding. The sun is setting and she has stayed away too long already. Not that there was someone waiting for her on the isle, not when all had left, but the thought of traveling home in the dark makes her feel uneasy.
Svedka’s actions do not match his words. Her stomach tenses, in a good way, and she leans into his touch. Her neck bends, then her muzzle presses against his skin and as she inhales, her hazel eyes fall closed. Just musky and masculine enough, not overly bravado. The golden and pastel blue male does not need it. “Destiny..” she murmurs, repeating after him and smiling from just the thought alone as she pulls back.
But then they both stand still. Not in close proximity – much to Kylin’s disappointment – but neither of them getting ready to leave too. Her teeth sink into her lower lip, and her dished head tilts as she studies him, cheeks flushed. “You leave first..” she mumbles, not wanting to be the one to turn her back on him.
He doesn’t want to leave her, but they can no longer stay in the cold as the snow continues to fall around them. His gestures do not match what he says, and he wonders if she can tell why they do not correlate. He almost wants to go with her, almost asks if he could, but there is no way he could travel the way she could, nor could they arrive to Ischia as quickly as she needed to with him slowing her down. He sighs; if only he had wings, then perhaps their goodbye would not have to begin so quickly…
Destiny… she murmurs and he hums in agreement, nodding his head as she leans into him, pressing gentle and innocent kisses to the skin she offers to him. She pulls from him, and both of them stand in the frigid cold, neither one leaving nor coming together once again. He almost does, he almost gives in to the tug that she has on his heart and soul already, but instead he inhales deeply, a rumbling sigh leaving his lips in a cloud of vapor. She asks him to leave first, and a tender smile adorns his pale lips.
“I will see you again,” he promises, stepping forward to press the velvet of his muzzle against her cheek, before moving away from the river and trudging through ice and snow back towards Hyaline.
Though he doubts the freezing cold will be able to permeate the warmth that she has left in his chest.
(be my escape)
Svedka
@[Kylin]
SO PRECIOUS.
loved this thread.
can't wait for another one in ischia! <3
If she only had been a little more selfish, she would’ve asked if he could walk her home. She likes his company, and she even more likes the attention he offers and the interest she knows. The affection easily flusters her, even if she lately had found herself lucky to be on the receiving end more than she could phantom. Kylin does not want him to leave, because that simply meant it would end. And that’s exactly what the lavender and white woman is afraid of.
His lingering touch makes her skin tingle. It is impossible to not look at him, her hazel eyes locked on his charming, handsome face as she glances up at him through her lashes. He has her wrapped around his figurative finger. The longer it lasts, the more she wants to reach out, even just a brush of their noses would satisfy her, only for a short moment.
When he closes the distance she smiles shyly, but eagerly returns the favour. Her lavender muzzle finds his cheek just as easily, and a soft sigh leaves her lips as she does. “Soon?” she murmurs, just before he pulls away. Even when he turns and walks away – first, like she asked him to – Kylin cannot get herself to leave. Not yet. She watches his retreating silhouette, soon only a faint golden spot against the snow.
The next time she shivers, it is only due to the cold. By the time she finally can get her stiff muscles to work, the sky has turned dark above her. Slowly she turns around, and let her hooves find water again. As she finds her way back to Ischia, her head is elsewhere. Somewhere less lonely and abandoned.
@[Svedka] Wanted to wrap this up <3 And YES it was so lovely! They should reunite sooner than later ~
Don't tell Ivar.