"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
11-04-2019, 10:37 AM (This post was last modified: 11-04-2019, 10:37 AM by Velkan.)
It takes a lot of effort for me to leave Ischia – I’d be happy to stay there until I die… or, as long as my children are there.
Which is still a phrase that’s making me just like, flat line. Every time I remember that I have a family, that I am a father, I fall over like a fainting goat.
It is making the trip to Taiga to see Lilliana rather long, but it’s worth it. It’s been too long since I’ve seen that spunky chestnut and I am DELIGHTED that I actually have news to share.
Fortunately, a few helpful strangers point me on my way because I have absolutely no idea what a Taiga is or where it might be. My journey even ends up being a little bit longer than anticipated because, honestly, these forests look all the same to me. There are trees everywhere.
If someone had been watching from the sky, they would have watched me just skirt the edge of Taiga and keep going.
But, eventually, I double back and arrive in what I think is the right place.
And then… okay. Why don’t these lands have a doorbell? Or some nice little carrier pigeons that you can speak the name of who you’re coming to visit and they go and find them?
The idea of wandering through this forest sounds daunting, so I decide to just stand in front of a giant tree, eyes narrowed as I peer upwards, and wait for someone to come ask me what the fuck I'm doing so I can ask them where to find my friend. Great plan, right?
11-04-2019, 08:19 PM (This post was last modified: 11-04-2019, 08:25 PM by lilliana.)
Winter can't last forever.
It is a thought she clings too as a frigid breeze blows through the Taigan woods. It ruffles her copper mane and Lilliana finds the shelter of another thick redwood to stand behind while she lets the artic blast through. Her thoughts come out in plumes of smoke from her nostrils, dancing in the winter sunlight that manages to reach them below the canopy of branches above.
When she thinks that the worst of it has blown through, she weaves through the forest some more. Lilli goes in between trees with a quick stride that has to do more with the chill that isn't able to brace against. The air is too crisp and while some might find that refreshing, it just burns in the back her throat and the chestnut gives a soft snort.
Ischia sounds pleasant right about now.
The copper mare shivers and reminds herself again. Winter can't last forever.
And then as always, she searches for that silver lining. At least it isn't snowing.
But as the thought of warm sunshine and tropical paradise encourage her mind to escape the reality of a barren, wintry forest - the smell of Ischia and something familiar drifts in on that clean air. Another silver lining. Lilliana follows the scent past a few more redwoods, the snow still soft and pliant beneath her hooves from a recent storm blown in from Taiga's coastline.
She peers curiously around a rather tall and wide redwood to see the familiar form of Velkan on the other side, a stark black contrast against the pale snow and auburn redwood trunks, as he tries to find the tops of Taiga's trees. The copper mare smiles and rounds the trunk, "Careful." She playfully chides him, "Stare too long and you'll get stuck like that." Despite the iciness of the day, her voice is warm and Lilli finds herself happy to see a friendly face. And Velkan's is always a welcome one, with or without his flower crowns. "Anything interesting up there?"
Luck is on my side because the first one to find me is the one who I’m looking for. Just as I turn to look at her, I think I see something move in the branches overhead but I can’t be certain because I can barely even see the branches they are just so damn high and there’s so much fog!!
I’m a little too enthusiastic about seeing my friend that it takes me a second to realize that she asked a question. “I have no idea.” I confess, though I glance back upwards to see if there is any more movement or if I was just imagining it. I glare at the tree, both curious and annoyed at it for tricking me, but then I remember that Lilliana is here! And my dark expression lights up considerably when I return my head back to to her.
There's a little bit of an excited body wiggle as I take a step back from the tree and shake my head a little to clear away the lightheaded-ness that has showed up after staring upwards for so long.
“How do you guys even see with all this fog? It’s crazy!” It’s just totally everywhere too. And then I chase it with another question, because why just ask one? The weather and the weirdass trees are already fading from my mind as my focus continues to narrow onto my friend. “I was hoping I’d run into you! How’ve you been??”
11-17-2019, 12:17 PM (This post was last modified: 11-17-2019, 12:19 PM by lilliana.)
Lilliana stares at the bare branches above them, a few still wearing the last drab leaves of the previous autumn. Persistent, stubborn things that cling to a world that no longer exists - a season gone.
The copper mare raises her head as concentration lights behind her eyes, suddenly intent on seeking whatever it is that Velkan is looking at. Whatever it is, Taiga's trademark fog prevents her from finding it. More things that the Gods (are they are her Gods, really?) wish to hide beneath a veil of mist and mystery. So the chestnut mare simply stares up watching the fog swirl between the barren branches like empty fingers.
There is a small exhale, dismissing whatever was up there as imagination - a fitting place for things of the mind unseen and unknown - and pulls her head back. Lilli glances sideways at Velkan and the look on his dark face teases a smile out of her. He looks as affronted with the trees and the fog as she feels about winter. She studies the angles of his face that she can spy from the side and it is the first time that she realizes that Velkan could be terrifying, perhaps even frightening, if he wished to be. Her friend has been wild and wonderful from the start. Everything about him is so dark, hard lines that should hint at something sinister and yet Velkan is nothing of that sort. His gentle nature has radiated from that dark exterior from the moment she met him.
His kind heart has remembered a friend in Taiga and there are no words that Lilliana can surmise her gratitude at his remembering except, "Didn't anyone tell you?" It's a whisper that finishes with a conspiratorial smile, laughter lighting up behind her blue eyes and lifting the corners of her dark mouth further upward. "We're all ghosts out here." Where else would ghosts be found but in a neverending fog? The Wendigo moves away from the tree and Lilliana mirrors his movements, taking a backward step from the massive redwood.
And he follows his question with another as Lilli shifts her weight and relaxes despite the chill and the fog that would goad her to another mood entirely.
"Still in one piece," she muses with a shrug of her shoulders. She looks no different than the last time he saw her - still the same shade of firegold dressed around a dreamer's heart. And that should count for something, shouldn't it? "It's good to see you, Velkan." He brings with him with smells of Ischia and Lilliana finds he is a welcome distraction from everything the world that waits outside their cloud of fog. Earnestly she adds with a warm expression and inviting tilt of her crimson face, "Tell me about you. How have you been? Are you still wandering?"
My black eyes widen a little at the mention of ghosts and a small chill runs through me. I know she’s teasing me, but I do watch the fog a little more warily. I’m not scared of ghosts, I swear. I just have a healthy respect for their boundaries and never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever want to encounter one.
Fortunately, though, there are more wonderful things to talk about. Lilliana doesn’t offer much by way of what’s been going on with her which does not escape my notice, but if she does not wish to talk about it I’m not going to pester her. Yet. “Not as much of a wanderer! I’ve been staying in Ischia, which has no ghosts I’ll tell you right now.” I cast a sideways glance at the fog, hoping that any ghost there might not be offended by my talk, but there’s a lightness in my heart that makes even this jesting fade away. “I’m a father now.” The words are spoken with undeniable pride though still feel strange.
And I can’t pretend that thinking of my foals, who I love so damn much, doesn’t make me choke up a little bit.
The weight of those thoughts is so significant. I may be in denial about my fear of ghosts, but what I fear the most is returning to my life as a true wanderer - without a single friend, with only monsters for family.
But now, my family is bigger - and less toothy - than I ever could have hoped. “Which means you’re an aunt, to a little boy and a girl - Donny and Millie.”
01-26-2020, 10:29 PM (This post was last modified: 01-26-2020, 10:31 PM by lilliana.)
His jet eyes widen and the smile on Lilliana's face softens from that impish expression to a rueful one. She was a girl raised primarily in the company of her brothers and her affection emerges this way. It comes with a spark behind those blue eyes and a dimple that forms when the smile on her face reaches its full potential. He casts a glance out into the mist that surrounds them and her smile gentles, "Your with a Taigan." She deliberates with a playful tilt of her head, "no ghosts will bother you today."
Lilliana inclines her head and invites Velkan to walk to with her. Conversations always seemed to flow so much easier when the bodies moved with it. Her legs itched to move and she could feel the restlessness spreading. She cranes her head back to look at the black stallion and when he speaks again, she can't help but grin. "No," she laughs. "I wouldn't doubt there are no ghosts in Ischia. Its women and beaches are too lovely to harbor them, I think." An ear flicks back and then she asks, "Do you know of a mare named Aquaria? I met her on my last visit there." A lifetime ago, Lilliana doesn't say.
And then, there it is.
Velkan speaks with such a source of pride that Lilliana can feel it in her own chest. Her heart swells for him and even her eyes light up with joy. She beams back at him with an elated smile, "Velkan! Congratulations!" The laughter bubbles up in her chest and she turns to face him, feeling a million questions wanting to burst from her copper frame. "And two," she teases with a broad grin. "What an overachiever you are."
"Donny and Millie." Lilli says with a contented sigh before smiling back into the dark eyes of her friend. "What beautiful names. What are they like? Do they share similar personalities or are they polar opposites?" Lilliana has to remind herself to breathe and there is a reprimand to slow down with all her questions. Velkan didn't come all the way to Taiga to be bombarded with questions. Just one more, she tells herself as she tilts her head, "And their mother? What is she like?"
LILLIANA
light me up, i will blaze like a soul you have saved
Lilliana’s gentle words of assurance help to sooth my worries, though I’m not sure I’ll be charging into Taiga on my own anytime soon. Thank goodness for my wonderful friend! She makes everything better and I am happy to add another excuse (ghost protection) to the continuously growing list of reasons why I like hanging around her.
I’m bursting with a smile while thinking about the twins but I still make a note to file away the name she mentioned - Aquaria - away. “I don’t know an Aquaria! I haven’t been very social, the twins keep me busy most of the time. Is she someone I should say hi to?” I like the idea of having friends recommended to me, I hope that’s where this conversation is going. But I’ve also got approximately 500 questions to reply to about said twins, so I better get cracking on those.
This is a dream come true moment, talking about my gorgeous kids with one of my most wonderful friends, and I’m absolutely shining with the happiness of it. My coal black eyes shine with the soft tears that come into them so easily. I didn’t know happy tears were a thing until the first time I saw my children.
“They’re amazing. They both inherited my antlers, but Donny’s are dark and Millie’s are a soft brown like you see on deer. Both of them incredibly sweet - Millie collects seashells for Donny while she swims around with the other mer-fish-horse-things. I don’t know what they’re called but she gets it from her mom.”
“Eva is their mother, she’s very kind. I wasn’t sure if she would be okay with me helping out with the twins but we’ve been managing it pretty well I think.” Am I rambling? How much information is too much? “We’re not like… together together though. Just friends.” At least, I’m pretty sure we are just friends? Like, good friends of course - we’ve been a little too intimate for anything else (even though it’s still a little embarrassing to think back to that moment).
02-04-2020, 03:03 PM (This post was last modified: 02-04-2020, 03:10 PM by lilliana.)
How is such a smile able to exist only on the planes of Velkan’s dark face?
As Lilliana glances back at him from where she stands, there is no containing his joy and she is glad for it. His happiness pierces through the Taigan fog and Lilliana finds herself mirroring it as she smiles back at him. (It can’t be restrained and it isn’t - if he looks close enough, he might see the faint glow coming from the front ankle and her hind socks.)
A smile like that is worth everything for the pure and innocent joy it holds. Lilliana is standing in this misty forest thinking again that the Mountain isn’t the only holder of powerful magic in Beqanna. She believes, fervently, that there is magic in this too. Untapable, pure magic that makes the Mountain a mere candle to what she believes, that the happiness in this moment, is the full flame.
”I haven’t met a more thoughtful mare than Aquaria,” Lilliana answers. It’s been some time since she has last seen the Ischian but the Diplomat thinks that much hasn’t changed that aspect of the Nereid mare. ”It’s been a while since I’ve last seen her.. But if she has children of her own perhaps they might be playmates of your Donny and Millie.” She has only been to Ischia once and her knowledge of its layout is limited. But maybe, she thinks, there is a chance that the island children romp and play in the surf together. It certainly paints a lovely picture in her mind.
And then she laughs before gladly adding, "But yes. She is absolutely someone you should meet.”
Lilliana pricks her ears forward again and listens as Velkan tells her of his foals. Both children have inherited his proud antlers and her blue eyes glance upward at them for a moment to admire them, imagining the twins he has proudly bestowed them on. One child is Nereid while the other is not and then he discloses their mother, Eva. Recognition lights up her face and she listens as the black stallion speaks of the Ischian Dame. They aren’t together in the traditional sense that families are but they come together to raise their children. They are friends and Velkan has a home.
She is glad for him. Intensely glad for this happiness he has found and the family he has created. He speaks of thinking that between the two of them, he thinks they are raising their children well. Lilliana smiles softly and thinks that there are no more fortunate foals than they with Velkan and Eva as parents.
"Two,” she murmurs. "I can hardly imagine what it must be like with one. But twins..”
It’s not something she can imagine at all.
"Would you like a tour?” she finally asks with a smile, feeling as if she has detained him long enough with all her questions. Family, she thinks and warmly looking at Velkan, there is no amount of gratitude she could say to convey her happiness at belonging to his.
LILLIANA
light me up, i will blaze like a soul you have saved
I make a note to meet Aquaria when I get the chance - I should really start meeting more of the other Ischians. They’re all so pretty and fishy! I stand out. But maybe that will make me easier to spot and make conversations easier to start.
Not that I usually need any help starting a conversation.
My smile is still bright but it softens as Lilliana murmurs quietly about two foals. Two foals had seemed like a lot at first to me as well, but now I couldn’t imagine it any other way. Donny and Millie were utterly perfect as a set. Maybe I would feel different if I had been the one who needed to feed them both when they were hungry at the same time, but for my part it was nothing short of magical having two foals to fill my days up with laughter and wonder. My family was growing by leaps and bounds and it finally felt right.
I could talk about my perfect children all day but I am delighted by the change of subject. I am, after all, not just here to brag about how wonderful my life has turned out lately. I want to see dear Lilliana's home! To learn more about the world of my non-Ischian family members. “I would love a tour! Show me all your favourite spots.” I reach out to give Lilliana a little nudge, but I stop halfway, my black eyes widening a little as I over exaggerate my glance into the misty forest. “But no ghosts, right?”
I say it as a joke, but it’s only a joke because she’s assured me that none will bother me while I’m with her. Which means that for as long as I am in Taiga, I am going to be glued to Lilliana’s side whether she likes it or not.
02-19-2020, 02:06 PM (This post was last modified: 02-19-2020, 02:07 PM by lilliana.)
As she gazes back at him, Lilliana studies the changes on his dark face.
Velkan has always had a smile that she admired. It was a beaming, sparkling one that revealed the inner warmth that the Wendigo stallion always seemed to have with him. He has been endlessly kind to her and there is something in Lilliana that lightens to think that it is something that he shares so easily and so freely. Where his smile softens, hers warms in appreciation of that.
When he reaches out to her, Lilliana tilts her head with a playful smile on her lips before the chestnut gives her head a gentle shake.
"No,” she smiles as she tries to reassure him. "I promise. No ghosts will bother you.”
Her mention of a promise stills the spread of it and her expression, only momentarily, becomes worried. She has to be careful with her promises. A promise, she knows, can turn into a prison and the promise holder can turn into their own jailer. But as the concern flickers in her blue-eyed gaze when it meets the dark one of Velkan, the Taigan mare gives a light-hearted shrug of her slender shoulders and decides that he easily falls into the group of horses that Lilliana would imprison herself for.
The smile brightens and Lilliana inclines her head through the trees, having already picked out a perfect spot to show the antlered stallion. (It’s almost winter in Taiga but her mind is thinking of a place towards the east, where the River meets the border of the Redwood. Lilliana decides she’ll teach Velkan how to listen for laughter in the running currents before it finally freezes.)
The chestnut mare starts to walk and the dark stallion isn’t far behind. It’s only when the reach a part of the forest not haunted by the haze of fog does she look back and see the sunlight marking his hide. Lilliana stops, already laughing. "Velkan, look.” She angles her crimson head for her friend to look behind him to where the sunlight has broken through the treetops and illuminated his charcoal hide.
