"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
I had left here, hadn't I? I was certain I had, but as the months passed and I find my porpoise body bulging and I know what I tried to convince myself hadn't happened. This time though, something weakens me. It is like nothing I have experienced before with any of the other three spawn I have birthed. This one was not normal.
I find my body washing up along the very shores I had stood upon not so long ago. My slick skin turning into the sea-foam splashed hide of my equine form. I remained laying upon the malleable silt as waves lapped at my four hooves. Luckily, my face had escaped the seas reach...
It started with a burning of my insides, like that of consuming something poisoned. I lift my head and my guts convulse, unnaturally trying to expel whatever it was that was causing this sickness. I feel my flesh become itchy and to my dismay, pussy boils have begun to form along my once steel coat. If I hadn't been so gravely I'll, I may have screamed for help. Begged the God's to make the torment stop. Little do I know that it wouldn't be long now...
The colt is birthed without pushing. Unnatural as it is, he is perfect, but she will not know this. Her body is eaten away by the acid that has made him. Her pain dulled by the lack of sensation and conciousness slips away without a departing word. Finally, she had created something worthy of her lovers affection, but she will never receive it. Not in this life...
From the bursting boils a new life rises. Strengthened by the rotting flesh of his life giver. She giveth and he taketh.
There was nothing for me here alongside the corspe of a mother I will never know. She is nothing to me, and I find myself wandering from the waves that lap at the fragments that remained intact. Most had liquified upon his exit. Turning to pools of acidic fluid and washing away to the sea, her sea. That is what she had always wanted, to be one with her beloved ocean. Now she had gotten her wish.
Each careful step brings me farther into a foreign land of emerald and granite. My unnaturally hued eyes seek out something and nothing all at the same time. An instinct to belong takes control of my actions, chasing me from the brush and onto a plain of rolling greenery. My voice calls out my demands into the southern breeze that tugs at my chocolate locks...
"Hello..."
Delta
@[Arthas] @[Rey] @[Lepis] anyone who has muse to intercept him really
The last shell I place is large and pale, a conch half-cracked to expose the soft pink heart. It balances easily on the top of the pile, the centerpiece. I take a step back to take in my handiwork, but despite the hours of effort it had taken there is no warm glow of satisfaction at its completion.
A mound of sand at the mouth of the river, moved by gentle hooves until it covered the tiny body completely. There was no sign of the birth, of the buckskin colt that I had labored over for hours, who had never even taken a breath. He had looked just like his father. Just like Arthas.
All those months of fear that the foal I carried was not his, and I had never thought to fear this.
I'd felt him moving yesterday. I'd swear it. Just a few little taps (nothing like the internal battering when he'd discovered his feet), but something. Something.
There's nothing now. Just a little lump of sand and some shells. The nightfall creeps up without my even noticing. The ocean has grown black, and the shoreline is barely discernible in the light of the crescent moon. Below me, there is a painful and swollen reminder that I do not have a child to nurse. The physical pain is somehow less than the darkness that roils around me, and I do my best to focus on that instead of my thoughts. I turn south, unsure of where I am even going. It doesn't take long for me to catch up with the other creature that takes the trail back to Loess, though I hadn't even been aware I was follwoing someone until I raise my head.
There, not a dozen yards ahead of me.
A buckskin colt, a newborn, wet and spike-haired in the dim light.
His mother is not nearby, there is no doubt of that. He is far too small to be alone, and I glance at his hollow sides and breathe in the smell of salt and sea on his yellow coat. "Wait up," I call to him. I am banking on the fact that he is too young to be anything more than instinctive. He is hungry and I offer readily available food. Children have no memory of their births, and there is no reason for him - for anyone - to think that I was not the one who birthed this green-eyed colt minutes earlier.
He had been back in beqanna for a while now, he made a few stops and even picked up a potential mare to add to his appearingly growing herd, if you want to call it that. It was about time he stopped messing around and returned to Loess to find the three mares he planted his children with. Shit, they could have all delivered by now.
He reaches the boreer and his mind instantly flicks to Rey, who really caught his attention, though Lepis peers into his thoughts as well. They had quite the odd relationship, but he truly cared about Lepis, he only hopes there time apart treated her well. Of course, there was Despayr, the physical attraction was there, but she never was in his heart like the other two, a cruel truth really.
He found himself nearest the beach as he waltzed into the kingsom, he had only hoped one of his lovers was nearby. It did not take long, the scent of one ran througj his nares. It was not his first choice, but he did hope that she had produced a live child this time. He quickly moves towards the scent but he comes to a halt when the body is in sight. Something was wrong, she lay there, no sign of life, no foal! As he grows near her body was destroyed by something . It was eaten and destroyed, her body already beginning to be picked apart by bugs. What a shame he mumbles to himself, he gives her a quick nuzzle and moves onward.
There was no foal from Despaye and he can only hope it died peacefully. It was not long that Lepis' scent hit his nostrils and a smile appeared on his maw. A great distraction from the trajedy he just witnessed. He allows a whinny to escape his maw as he moves further into the beach, bordering the lush fields in Loess. It was not long until his young beauty was in sight Lepis! A foal stood by her. He was mad at himself that he could not be there for the birth, but overjoyed to see the pair alive and well.
He reaches them and nuzzles Lepis cheek I missed you he did not want to leave her side but he also wanted to examine his child. His eyea move to the colt and his smile grew wider A strong colt, my first boy! a small chuckle escapes his maw. He lowers his neck ruffling the colts forelock what is his name? His gaze moves to find Lepis'. He takes note of the painted colt, his coloring looking nothing like either of them, and most of Despayr. Lepis was no longer pregnant, which means....He would not bring it up, if anything, from this day forward, Lepis is the rightful mother to this colt.
The wait is hardly long before there is a form coming across the emerald knolls. They call to him as if they had been searching for him all along. He wonders if this equine knew he would be here searching as well. The knowledge of why he was searching is lost to him but he finds this strangers sight comforting.
Noises come from the mare quickly approaching and he instinctively stops and looks her direction. A whinny is his response. It is foreign on his lips and vibrates within him. Slightly bewildered, he tries it again and this time it has more strength. His ears flick forwards when she is beside him and his darkened muzzle reaches from her buttery hide.
They were just getting acquainted when more noises fill the void around them. His lime eyes seek the source and find yet another nearing. This one much larger and far less delicate in approach. The pair seem to recognize one another, so he does not fret. His new limbs have lost most their wobble by this time in his adventure and so he moves in front of the mare to gaze upon the stone colored stallion. Finding happiness to be reflect upon the faces of those gathered, he listens to their interaction...
The surprise in the colt's face as he whinnies brings an unexpected smile to my face. It is still there as I lower my head to his inquisitive nose, bumping it gently before sliding up his face and neck. My tongue cleans away the last of the dampness from his buttery yellow coat, and along with it the scent of his birth mother. He might have an unexpected pattern, but I've no knowledge of equine genetics, and he might as well be mine. Tobiano, sabino, what is the difference? It is fate, after all, that the colt I had borne had left a space in my heart the perfect size for this boy.
I hear the sound of hoofbeats and step closer to the foal, turning my head to search for the approaching horse in the oncoming darkness. Even in the shadows I can make out Arthas' brightly dappled form, and I make no effort to stop the buckskin colt from moving closer to him. Arthas is his father, after all. There is nothing for me to protect him from.
Returning Arthas' touch is second nature, and I breathe in the familiar dusty scent of his as I press my blue muzzle to the curve of his jaw. I missed you, he says, a greeting that has become common for the two of us. I know he has responsibilities and I do as well; the kingdom life is not always conducive to relationships. Still, I am glad to see him, and proud to show him our son.
