To crooked eyes truth may wear a wry face - Lilliana

[Neverwhere]

She blinked, and it was gone.

The surprise of it catches the dappled mare so off-guard that she snorts loudly and stumbles back across an invisible line in the earth. When her eyes open again, she sees perfectly well, like before. Confusion ripples across her skin, one ear turned back, uncertain, and she lifts her head high, muzzle tilted slightly upwards and nostrils wide, drawing deep breaths that cause her chest and sides to heave. The air moves so fast that it makes a low whistle through her sinuses. There is nothing on it to suggest anything has changed. Pale eyes narrow as she looks around her for a sign, but there is nothing, she is surrounded by trees and ferns and a fog that stirs around her feet and from here to one step away nothing has changed.

Seeing has me jumping at shadows... she thinks to herself with a soft growl. Since she met Heartfire in the Meadow she had seen much more clearly than before. It was the immortal mare's magic - a gift, or an experiment, given without explanation or instruction or request, and accepted in exactly the same vague manner. The two mares had travelled back to Nerine in near perfect silence, stopping at several impressive vistas along the way, and then they had parted with an offer and a curt nod. It was a dubious way to find yourself with a new home, but Neverwhere is used to living in uneasy territory and finds she is not particularly bothered by it. She also finds she is not terribly bothered by the hypocrisy of grasping onto this gifted vision while making no effort to hide her disdain for magic. She has never claimed to be innocent of greed.

She shakes her head, irritated, and steps forward again, bold in her assumption that it was a mistake, a bit of fog falling across her eyes, or a spiderweb floating by.

A blink, and it's gone. Again.

This time, she doesn't move, but drops her head down to rub the pink, scarred, flesh of her white face against one dark knee. There is no difference, the fog sticks, will not be blinked away. 

"Of course there was a catch." Heartfire didn't tell her that it wouldn't work outside of Nerine. Did she know? She must have known. But it had worked before. When I was with her, it had worked... There's the rub. The chocolate-brown mare scoffs loudly, whipping her tail sharply against her flanks so that the tangled strands snap and sting. If this is a trick to keep her in Nerine, it won't work! With a stubborn sneer she pushes forward, but finds that her path is less clear than before. A root trips her up here, and there she puts her hoof down too confidently on a mossy rock and slips to her knees.

Had she lost her way so soon? How quickly she had become dependent on her eyes and lost her habit of care and sure-footedness! Anger blossoms in her heart and the pink scars across her face grow red. Impossible to turn back to Nerine just now, she is still too defiant but... to go further? She hesitates.

Am I lost?

...Shit.

[lilliana]

Where the horizon was once a hazy thing, blurred edges of possibilities had begun to take shape.

She doesn't dare look too far ahead. Plans and futures, she has learned, are things to easily altered. It's better to take the days that are offered as they are, day by day, hour by hour. She's found a structure to her days that allow them to go by easily - she talks with Aten when has a moment to spare and a history lesson to give her. She finds moments to learn the well-traveled hoofpaths that weave through Taiga's forest and to the neighboring realms. She learns how to let herself melt into the backdrop of the auburn trunks of the trees and become part of the forest. She likes the serenity it brings; the way it allows her mind to settle and the clarity of mind that comes. She's even been trying her hand at recruiting, wanting to do her part to contribute. And some evenings, Lilli quietly takes herself away to Hyaline where she and Elaina can be foolish with their secrets and laughter for a few hours.

Then there is the matter of Tir's gift that sings underneath her copper coat. In the beginning, it made her nervous and the thought of actually trying to heal another horse still terrifies her. But Lilliana is proving to be an apt pupil and she diligently works at it, learning how to listen to it and practicing her healing on some of the smaller Taigan residents when there is a need for it.  But each time Lilliana wields it, grows a little more comfortable with it, her confidence grows in it and herself. And on the days she is feeling particularly brave, she thinks that this something she could be happy with doing for the rest of her life. Here, she thinks, here is a chance to share something good with the world.

Spring has come upon Beqanna again. The chill still lingers here in the early morning and the rains that the season brings makes the ground soft and buoyant beneath her hooves. It also allows the fog to roll in thickly as it comes off the coast, dancing and circling through the colossal trees like a ghost. The smell of damp earth reaches her flaring nostrils as she emerges through one pair of trees, leaving Elaina and another Hyalean night behind her. Lilliana takes one the lesser-traveled paths today, opting for a scenic route and attempting to lose herself in the morning mist. Its an invitation to get lost, for an adventure. It also serves as a test to see how well she has gotten to know these woods and if she can find her way home through the murkiness of the fog.

In the beginning, those shadows would have cast a shiver down her spine. But Lilliana continues her journey home, allowing herself to be lead by the familiar smells and the landmarks she has come to know. This place, with its infamous fog and its dense forest, casts an air of mystery but it's grown on her. The wood and the mare have come to an understanding that allows them both to keep their secrets and so they suit each other well enough.

Lilliana rounds another corner of the trail and recognizes a particularly impressive redwood that indicates she is getting closer. A look pleasure warms her features and her eyes brighten with a sense of pride. But before she can continue to the part of the woods she calls home, the light refracts from above and a shadow looms in the corner of her vision.  She stills and turns her head, watching as the shadow grew larger. Her ears prick with attention and unable to allow the stranger to get themselves lost further, she approaches. It's only as she comes closer the scent catches her nostrils and an awareness dawns, recognition turning the purpose in her stride to an upbeat tempo that speaks of excitement.

"Neverwhere," she calls out loudly, hoping the silver mare would be able to locate her by the sound of her voice. Lilliana draws closer and the shadow takes shape, becoming the familiar form of a friend. Concerned but pleased to see her, Lilli takes a sweeping glance of Neverwhere before grinning: "Surely you can't be bored of Nerine so soon?"

LILLIANA

i left home on account of snow
(buried all the things i know)

@[neverwhere] @[Wolfbane]

[Neverwhere]

She's never been one to panic and, even now, with the morning sun struggling to spear its light through the trees and fog of Taiga, she does not panic. But it is a strange sensation that settles over her as the realization that she is lost in some way drapes heavy and woolen like a cloak. She has never been lost before, or, perhaps more rightly, she has never felt lost before. There was never a plan or a place or a home, and it shocks her to find that, suddenly, all of these things exist for her. Her first reaction is one of anger, anger directed at nobody in particular. Angry teeth rend the green stalks of a sapling that grows too near and the tastes of mint and tar and pine flood her mouth. With a snort, she drops the ravaged limb to her feet, preparing to crush it with slate-dark hooves when a familiar voice calls from somewhere between the clouded trees - Lilli?

The chestnut had said she was going to Taiga, hadn't she? It had seemed an odd choice and, even now, Neverwhere takes a moment to pause and wonder. Quieted, the white-faced mare turns to look in the direction of the call, one second of clarity almost enough to recall her to her familiar dependence on scent and sound and feel. Not quite enough, she doesn't move from where she stands to meet her friend, but she calms and returns the greeting.

"Lilliana," the familiar auburn shadow of her friend comes into view from between two trunks where, to Neverwhere's hazy eye, she was essentially invisible, "sleeping under trees, still?"

Lilli's question about Nerine picks at a sore scab in Neverwhere's mind and she blinks again hard as though to flush away the fog that has flooded into her vision, more, even, than the fog that wraps through Taiga on its own.

"Not bored of Nerine, no, only... I thought I'd be able to see more." This will not likely make a great deal of sense, the last time they had spoken, the dappled mare was half-blind, but now she feels as though it is worse than ever and she cannot tell if it is the Taigan fog, or if she grew used todepending on her vision that quickly.

Or if she is actually worse off than before.

The familiar itch of distaste for magic rises again in her bones. There's a price, and it's rarely what you think. Even before she had let Heartfire play her game, Neverwhere had known this truth, and still she had stumbled blindly into the lesson of it. Anger threatens to bloom again, though with herself this time, and her scars flush scarlet. It is obvious and she knows it, shakes her head to distract from the redness across her face, from the dirt on her knees, and the scent of evergreen on her lips.

"You're very close to the Nerinian border, Lilli, were you coming to visit me?"



@[lilliana]

[lilliana]

Neverwhere appears from the gloom, a silver ghost in all these dancing shadows as Lilli approaches. The specter materializes beneath the Taigan trees in a reassuring presence that is absolutely the dappled mare. Hearing the familiar voice call out through these haunted woods causes her initial apprehension to subside and Lilliana emerges like an apparition herself, a red-gold phantom that shimmers beneath what little light breaks through the fog.

Her ears prick forward alertly as she steps between the two trees and as she spies Neverwhere standing there, affection sweeps across Lilli's face in one broad stroke. Whatever the reason that the dappled mare has found herself here, Lilli is pleased to see her.

The trees, apart from the mammoth trunks that stand guard, are hard to see today. But Lilliana makes a point to tilt her head up, picturing the impressive umbrella of branches that linger above them. The glance is only a moment, there is nothing to see while they stand buried in a spring fog and the crimson mare turns her attention promptly back to Neverwhere. There is a teasing shrug of her shoulders, an easy roll that comes comfortably enough. "What can I say?" she admits, "Old habits die hard."

She can't help but tease Neverwhere. The beginnings of a playful smile are never far from her youthful features, those blue eyes always ready to brighten with the mirth that lingers so close to the surface. Lilliana closes the remaining space between them and takes another step towards Neverwhere so that the mare can see her more clearly -  so that there is no confusion where the fog and shadows end and Lilli begins. She can the stark white of her friends face, the dapples that adorn her neck, the creamy mane that has started to collect small droplets of water much like her own. While not an overly chilly morning, the damp hovers with the fog and it can easily settle on an idle body.

But the presence of Neverwhere drowns out the damp and numbs whatever bite there might in the chilly spring air.

Lilliana tilts her head slightly to the right, perplexed by the dappled mare's statement. "See more?" she asks, wishing that she would illuminate a little more on the subject. Lilli doesn't fully understand what she means but it doesn't stop her from offering assistance a heartbeat later. "Can I help?" The fog doesn't help, she thinks.  What is Neverwhere doing wandering through it? It's already easy enough to get lost in.

The red on her face bluntly stands out and Lilliana can feel.. something surging beneath Neverwhere's coat. Anger? Frustration? Lilli reaches her muzzle out and offers her friend a tender, tentative touch on the shoulder. Whatever is brimming beneath that lovely coat, clouding her keen mind, it will be okay. Everything will be okay. (She has other thoughts on where fates and destinies come into play but this feels safer, something she has carried with her from Kagerus and the dreamscape.)

Lilli smiles gently to her, hoping that she can at least briefly ease whatever has left Neverwhere so heated. "Guilty," she murmurs as her weight shifts back. The soft smile quirks on one side, "I heard there was a mare wreaking all kinds of havoc over there so I came to see what exactly you had been up to." But all joking aside she adds, "What are you doing in Taiga? I'd offer you the scenic tour but.."

She motions with her head to the fog around them, the only explanation needed.

LILLIANA

i left home on account of snow
(buried all the things i know)

@[neverwhere]

[Neverwhere]

Unlike Lilliana, smiles do not leap readily to Neverwhere's lips, perhaps something wry or sarcastic here and there, but a true, genuine grin, much less frequently. Now, they only press together firmly, jaw muscles flexing and bulging for a moment, and then releasing with a final, sharp, snort.

"It's nothing," she says, curtly, turning away and letting the silence lay thick for a moment, her frostbitten ear fluttering, "It really is nothing, Lilli. I assumed something I shouldn't have, and I'm paying the price, I suppose. You'll never believe it, I let some mare play magic tricks with my vision."

Tricks indeed. The border of Taiga and Nerine pulls at her greedily from somewhere behind, calls her back to where she can see without the thick cloud of her destroyed sight, without the auras and fog and shadow. But could she even find it at this point? She lets her gaze - such as it is - fall back onto Lilliana, her expression brightened, the red receding, "Heartfire. I ran into her, along the way."

It is very possible that, living in Taiga, Lilliana has heard the name, perhaps she has even met her. Somehow, the smiling chestnut seems to find her way into everything, eventually. Neverwhere takes a long, deep, breath, letting the air tumble noisily from her nostrils as the last of her irritation fades. It leaves an empty raggedness behind that she finds is replaced by a rush of relief, of gratitude. Her muzzle swings to the place where Lilli's presses warm breath against her shoulder, a fleeting moment that ends swiftly. Though she works to keep her tone neutral and unconcerned, she is pleased to find Lilliana here. She is well and truly lost until her senses remember their usual work.

How long before that happens, though?

A ripple of worry runs across her skin. She is no more used to worry than she is used to being lost. It is a day of unpleasant lessons. With any further admission on the topic requiring her to expose this newfound weakness, she lets it drop away.

"Wreaking havoc? I'm afraid your informant is quite wrong, I've been too busy staring at everything until my eyes cross. As for this fog, I don't think I couldn't tell you where my fog ends and yours begins, it's all rather the same... wetter, though."

The silver mare says this last with a full-body shake that sends water spraying in all directions.

"I guess you'll have to give me the audio tour."

@[lilliana]

[lilliana]

Lilliana's eyes study Neverwhere's face, sweep over the pale marking and linger on the jaw where the tension stays. A snort releases it but Lilli regards her friend with careful consideration. Despite her protestations that nothing has happened, something has upset the dappled mare. And while Lilliana would certainly like to know, for the sake of finding a solution, she won't prod and so the silence falls around them, as thick as the fog that blankets the northern redwoods.

But the silence is shortlived and Neverwhere reveals the source of her frustration, the reason why her irritation is almost as palpable as the droplets that condense against their skin. Lilliana listens as the silver mare explains it - magic. She's been made an experiment of sorts, or perhaps been given an unusual sort of test. Lilli tries to see a reason for it, for it to be something other than a callous experiment of what happens when you give a mortal a taste of something that's been missing, that they might have longed for.

A glimmer of recognition sparks behind those blue eyes. Lilliana has certainly heard of the Nerinian queen. Besides the very young and newly arrived, who has not? Perhaps introducing Neverwhere to sight was meant to be an incentive, something to encourage the mare to stay in the old Amazon lands. Maybe it was nothing at all. Lilliana has no way to make any assessments of Heartfire and she hopes for Neverwhere's sake that there was a reason behind all of this. A purpose.

Lilli wants to apologize, to offer sympathy for what has happened. But for some reason, she doesn't think the dappled mare would want it and so Lilliana offers her touch, a warm press against her shoulder. She hopes to impart some steadiness, some reassurance for Neverwhere and at the very least, to let her know that she isn't alone. She has a friend here in the Taigan woods.

A smile quirks as Neverwhere speaks again, Lilliana replying wryly,  "Welcome to Taiga." A response that is met with beads of water flying, pelting against her already damp coat. The mare can only laugh in return, "Follow me then." There isn't much to see with the fog and since what Neverwhere could see without it is questionable, Lilli decides to offer her something that she could hear, that she can smell. The chestnut is careful with her steps and mindful of her pace, glancing back at Neverwhere during certain intervals of their misty walk to make sure she doesn't get overwhelmed with all the uncertainty. The silence looms with the fog and so Lilli breaks it with her words, using them as a guide for Never to follow. She tells her everything she knows about Taiga: about how impossibly big these woods can seem and despite their solitude, the forest hums with the activity of young families. She tells her about the landmarks she's learned and what she knows of navigating through the northern woods. She tells her of the Comtesse, Lepis and the Commandant, Wolfbane who lead this place. Lilli speaks of Aten and how once, long ago, this forest had been burned in a blaze.

Maybe Neverwhere knows this already; maybe she doesn't care for the details of this place. But what knowledge Lilli has, she gives it to her.

Finally, the smell of brine and tang of salt drifts in on the breeze. The ground beneath their hooves yields from the earthen soil of the forest to the granite sand as Lilliana takes one cautious step after another, making sure there are no large rocks or surfaces to slip on. A lone gull cries above, piercing the silence in its shrill demand.  Lilli continues to lead Neverwhere down to the beach, her hooves relishing the feeling of sinking into the soft sand.

There is something ancient, timeless about the way the fog greets the coastline. The dark shadows loom and give way to the rocky outcroppings that Nerine is fabled for. It's close enough that Lilliana can take Neverwhere back to the old Amazonian lands, if that is what she wishes for. But this beach is secluded, empty except for the two of them. Lilli comes to stand before the coming tide and tilts her head up, offering her pulse to the old gods of the wind and sky. It's only a minute, a moment, but she closes her eyes and feels the warmth in the breaking rays where the light breaks through the fog like a knife. 

She should be wary of the fog but all she thinks of are the legends, the stories her dam from brought with her from the rooftop of the world. And there behind where the fog should rise, hides the ancient things that the gods hide from mortal eyes.

When she feels the weight of Neverwhere's presence beside her, those dark lips tip upward in a smile (Lilli's shield and armor, her weapon of choice when she battles the unknown), "I know everyone comments about Taiga's woods. But nobody says much about her beaches." It's one of her favorite spots and she shares it with her, hoping that the wanderer in her appreciates what she feels here, what she can sense. Another gull cries, just as clamorous as the last.  Lilli opens her blue eyes and looks at Neverwhere curiously, "What was it like? Being able to see again..?" 

LILLIANA

i left home on account of snow
(buried all the things i know)

@[neverwhere] i wrote you a novel.. sorry

[Wolfbane]

Heartfire and her infinite meddling irked Wolfbane on good days, but just pissed him off otherwise. It was because she was right more than half the time, and even when she was wrong there was still an annoying sense of truth to her ideologies. Those alone he could forgive -  if she kept to herself and let the world spin on like it should. But her reach in Beqanna and her desire to split Wolfbane’s loyalties was pushing him forward down a treacherous path. The darker edges inside of him seemed tempting, knowing that Heartfire had threatened to rip Taiga from Lepis’ grasp.

He stalked the Northern border now, unable or unwilling to rest while the tension simmered between his relatives. Desperate to intervene, maybe even prevent an all-out blood feud, he’d slept out here in the wilderness shaped to look like a dusky panther, all leather-black and sleek with muscles, slinking quietly at night and watching through wide, yellowish eyes from hiding places during the daytime. Should any one or any thing seek entrance, he would know of it.

Neverwhere and Lilliana belonged to this category.
Neverwhere escaped being greeted by the overlarge predator cat through Lilliana’s lucky mediation. Wolfbane would’ve snarled quietly at the blind mare and hissed out a warning, but the moment he crouched into a tight coil the glimmering, copper mare Lilli strode in. Poised, he waited and held his breath. The two greeted one another warmly and moved off, keeping downwind. If either had noticed him they never let on, so he stalked both precariously and from a safe distance.

The females moved out from the cover of shady ferns and during a break in conversation Wolfbane quietly changed from a black, long-toothed wildcat into a blue and gold pegasus, high-stepping over tall grass onto the sandy beach with a signature grin. He should have more decorum than to appear out of thin air, but he beamed shamelessly at Lilliana and glanced last to assess the unfamiliar dappled mare with a bald face.

“I truly hope I’m interrupting,” And he meant it, “some extremely juicy bit of cross-border gossip.” The grin turned toothy smile. He’d changed but forgotten to dispose of the fangs so they stayed - two large, curved teeth that stuck out from his top gums and hung down on either side of his sparkling blue chin. “Lilli -” He breathed her name, widening his pupils with visible hunger, “- who’s your guest?”

@[Neverwhere] @[Lilliana] I was told I could butt in, so here's my butt

[Neverwhere]

It could, perhaps, be attributed to shock that Neverwhere did not notice him following. The normally vigilant mare was leaning heavily on Lilli for guidance in the aftermath of her lost vision and had let her guard fall. As the two mares weave through the foggy trees, she does not hear the cat that follows, and cannot smell him from his place downwind of them. Instead, she listens closely to Lilliana's voice, lost on the rhythm of her words until, slowly, she remembers her own senses. Her steps become more sure, knees lifting high above the fog and ferns, and if she occasionally knocks the softly rotting logs that litter the forest floor with a hoof, she no longer stumbles over them. Her nostrils flare, ears swiveling, even the long whiskers on her lips and around her eyes seem to bristle and feel the air. Though she makes out only the vaguest of shapes and shadows, her confidence increases.

By the time they reach the sandy beach, she is almost back to her old self, and she presses forward, past the auburn mare that brought her, getting a sense of her hooves sinking into sand, of the fog that swirls around their legs and gathers thickly in her nostrils. The evergreen scent of redwoods and the salt smell of the rolling water permeates the air. The sound of the waves bounces off a rock wall to one side and the wind blows her mane wild, tangling and twisting the cream-colored strands of her mane and tail into witch knots. This is, certainly, as much like Nerine as the Taiga could be, though that kingdom is high up above the cliff-faces and its beaches mostly small, rocky, things. She draws near Lilli again, gazing out at the horizon she knows if there, but which cannot be seen through her eyes, or through the natural fog of Taiga.

"Well, Lilli, I suspect there is a reason for that," she says, perhaps a bit gruffly and unkindly. There would truly be little reason for anyone to remark on a little stretch of wet, foggy, beach when giant trees stretch into the sky as if to spear the stars. She does not turn, but her ear falls back, something has caught her attention from behind.

"If this place was the sole destination of all of Taiga's visitors, it would be ruined. I think you love it because it's ignored and forgotten." It would be so like the chestnut to fall in love with the neglected grey beach because nobody else could be bothered to appreciate the hushed hug of solitude. You never felt alone with trees, an empty beach was something else.

But this beach is not empty.

Before she can respond to the question of her sight, the sound of another step from behind catches her ears and she spins to face the sound of rustling grass. An unknown stallion is stepping from the shadows, his voice smooth and hungry, and she distrusts it immediately. There is no way to miss his unnatural coloring, it is the least of things, not even magic, really, but she has no love for the strange coats some horses wear. It puts her on edge as much as any other part of him and she bares her teeth in a brief sneer.

"Lilli, who is that supposed to be?"

@[lilliana] @[Wolfbane]

[lilliana]

She doesn't notice the panther. Its sleek black coat becomes another shadow in the Taigan fog and Lilli instead focuses on what lies ahead, on the careful intonations of her words and leading Neverwhere to a remote northern beach where the two of them might go unnoticed by the Comtesse. The chestnut is very much aware of the growing tension between the two kingdoms and Lilli, refusing to turn away her first friend in Beqanna, intends to take Neverwhere somewhere where the fog and the surf might temporarily shield them.

It's still an unusual feeling for her, to lead Neverwhere and to feel her reliance in the damp chill of spring. Its something that Lilliana takes seriously with a determined tilt to her chin and keen glance in those blue eyes. If only she looked behind them, if she hadn't been so focused on what might lay ahead of them instead of behind them, she might have seen him.

But she doesn't.

Instead, she finds relief that Neverwhere begins to sound more and more like her old self, that dry witticism coming through and Lilli grins to her silver friend as she comes alongside her. This feels more like the Neverwhere she has come to know and her sarcasm, perhaps too sharp for some, slices straight to the point as it always does. That amused grin on Lilli's face broadens and out here where the fog and the waves meet into one endless sea of gray, Lilliana laughs.

She shouldn't adore a beach like this. It is a hollow and barren place that should perhaps be left to wilder and more primal things. Maybe its the old magic of Beqanna that draws her out here; maybe it just that wild imagination of hers and Lilliana likes to imagine everything this beach could be, what it should be. The roar of the ocean is impossible to deny and Lilli finds her thoughts, whether whimsical or troubling, are often pulled away with the outgoing tide.

"You're probably right," she acquiesces to Never. Still, her blue eyes regard the outlines of the breaking waves as they draw closer to shore through the veil of sea smoke. "You'll have to keep it a secret." There is one more regarding glance for the tide and Lilli turns her attention back to her dappled companion, tilting her head playfully to the left. "We wouldn't want to ruin a perfectly good beach." The conversation drifts towards Neverwhere's sight and there Lilli intends to ask what the dappled mare plans to do - will she return to Nerine or will she return to wandering?

But then the conversation careens from that course.

Neverwhere spins while a familiar voice overrules the fog (and for a moment, her senses) and Lilli angles her head over her shoulder to see Wolfbane's masked face beaming at her. 

She is quick to turn to face him and quicker still press the remaining fog between herself and Neverwhere, a firm touch of the shoulder to silently tell her friend to rein in the scowl that starts to darken her pale features. "Easy, Never," she murmurs, words meant only for her ears. Words that carry the edges of a warning on them before Lilliana addresses the Commandant.

"Absolutely," she teases back at him, an easy retort she gives with a shrug of her slender shoulders. "We were just getting to the best parts." The chestnut meets his hungry gaze with a glittering one, unable to tame the reckless grin that tugs at the corner of her dark mouth as she regards him, fangs and all. "And now it will have to wait. Neverwhere," she says pointedly, tearing her gaze from the olive green of the pegasus stallion to the silver form of her friend, "Wolfbane." There is a slight incline of her head from the dappled mare to the shapeshifter, a slight dip where she makes the introduction. "Neverwhere got turned around in our fog. I thought the ocean air might do her some good."

LILLIANA

i left home on account of snow
(buried all the things i know)

@[Wolfbane] @[neverwhere]

[Wolfbane]

Horses individual reactions to seeing him were like natural highs for Bane, since so many things had changed lately. His focus had shifted outward now; he no longer feared losing control of his limbs in a bought of emotional distress. Safe to say he went the extra mile sometimes, just to test how he could further the shock-and-awe or instant disgust. How deep could he make Neverwhere’s scowl, he wondered? How reckless could he make Lilliana? His attention was glued, no gravitating to every little twitch or motion on her fiery red face. There were so many, and so varied! And each one put together was such a lovely image when he pulled back from looking so intensely. Even the dinge of a ghost beach failed at dulling her incessant shine. His heart thundered while the pit of his stomach clenched in a low growl

“That’s exactly who I am.” He chimed light-heartedly, hearing his name, “And if you’re in the company of wolves like Lilli, then I’m glad to know exactly who you are, Neverwhere.” He purred, committing every finite detail of what he could see and sense from the bitter mare finding refuge in his territory to memory.

He wouldn’t forget this one.

“Say no more -” He said without missing a beat, sliding closer to Lilliana as a needle seeks magnetic north. With her the corners and ridges on his face and in his voice smoothed clear; Wolfbane lost himself all too easily in their usual banter… and the electric blue of those eyes. How could he have ever forgotten the blue of those eyes? Bluer than the heavens, and he’d been up there enough to claim such a thing. “- you could probably lead the hounds of hell here for a drink of water and I’d wave them through.”

He’d seen them touch and had clearly heard Lilliana’s breathy warning to her companion. There was something there, something more than just a desire to curb bad attitudes. Wolfbane let it rest, wondering if it was something deeper than the way her friend stank of the North. Like he’d said: Lilliana could bring the hounds of hell if she wanted.

Wolfbane lacked a certain kind of fear, these days. Nothing came to where he was and threatened his peace anymore. Not without consequences.

And Neverwhere’s distaste of him was nothing more than another reaction - her words held very little weight and he could admit to himself that being blind would piss him off too. So he smiled in a way that only Lilliana seemed to bring out and said, “You know when I was a colt someone told me that everything around us - this beach, the land itself - was just our past recycled into something new.”
Wolfbane seemed to sigh, looking around and hearing the crash of ocean waves. Though heavy, the fog showed enough of the beach that it looked to curve up into nothingness. “I grew up believing that Taiga was probably the Chamber of long ago, or that maybe Hyaline was once the Falls. Silly fantasies I suppose, but still…” His voice seemed to fade away, just like the mysterious beach.

“Lilliana I think I know the perfect place for you and Neverwhere, if you know it.” He suggested instantly, snapped clear from his reveries and looking between the couple of female friends. “A short walk if you follow the shoreline, and it’ll lead you dead on to the Boneyard.”

He was talking about a grove of petrified trees; up the shore a gathering of felled, ancient redwood trunks dipped in and out of the sand, their bark bleached white and gone stone-hard from exposure to the salt spray. Eerie enough without the fog, they were impressive and offered respite sometimes from the wind and constant wetness. “The payoff is worth the walk. This your first time in the forest of the giants, Neverwhere?” Wolfbane asked the dappled gray, taking in the shape and color of her white-washed face with quick little flicks of his pupils.

@[neverwhere]
@[lilliana]